Rumble.
Thunder and lightning flashed across the sky as fierce winds swept through the sea, stirring up massive waves.
Amidst the raging storm, a massive fleet of pirate ships braved the surging waters.
Boom!
Several enormous currents surged into the sky like sea serpents, threatening to engulf the ships.
Shiryu of the Rain stepped forward, his sword flashing as multiple slashes tore through the air, slicing apart the deadly waves.
"How many of these snake-like currents have we encountered already?" he muttered.
At the bow of the lead ship, Lucifer sat motionless, unfazed by the chaos.
The sea's violent currents were nothing more than a nuisance to his crew.
As the world's strongest pirate crew, dealing with mere oceanic disasters was well within their capability.
The real threat wasn't the currents—it was the sea itself.
After obtaining Raftel's exact coordinates, Lucifer had immediately set sail with the Ghost Pirates.
However, upon reaching these treacherous waters, he finally understood why no one had been able to reach Raftel for so many years.
One reason was that Raftel's location remained a closely guarded secret, unknown to most.
But the more significant reason was the sheer brutality of this sea.
So far, Lucifer had encountered every kind of extreme weather imaginable on the Grand Line.
One moment, massive hailstones the size of icebergs rained down from the sky.
The next, a blizzard struck, with snow falling not in flakes, but in tons.
At times, the ocean itself split open, forming sheer 90-degree drops that threatened to consume entire ships.
Then came the thunderstorms—where the rain was not water, but lightning itself.
And all of this was happening simultaneously, without a moment's respite.
Rumble!
A deafening thunderclap snapped Lucifer out of his thoughts.
Above him, streaks of lightning coiled through the dark clouds like writhing electric serpents.
The storm's energy agitated the sea, making the already violent currents even more aggressive.
Bolts of lightning crashed down, forming a cage of electricity over the ocean.
"Sea serpents and thunderstorms... what a grand welcome," Lucifer mused as he gazed at the sky.
Ordinary sailors wouldn't dare approach such a perilous region.
Even the unfortunate ones who stumbled in by mistake wouldn't last long—the merciless elements would swallow them whole.
Without power, crossing this deadly sea was impossible.
This was Raftel's natural barrier—an ultimate test that separated the unworthy from those who dared to claim the world's greatest treasure.
For 800 years, only the Roger Pirates had successfully conquered this Sea of Death and reached Raftel beyond it.
Whoosh!
From behind Lucifer, Enel shot into the sky in a flash of lightning, disappearing into the storm clouds above.
The moment he made contact, all the surrounding lightning was instantly absorbed into his body.
What was a disaster to others was nothing more than a buffet to Enel.
With their unyielding will and overwhelming strength, the Ghost Pirates continued forward, pushing deeper into the heart of the Sea of Death.
But the sea was not only dangerous—it was vast.
For seven days and seven nights, without rest, Lucifer and his crew fought against the relentless forces of nature.
At last, they broke through the final barrier.
Whoosh!
As they emerged from the oppressive black mist, the warm sunlight finally touched Lucifer's skin once more.
Beyond the fog, the sky was blue, the sea calm and shimmering.
Beneath the crystal-clear water, schools of fish swam freely.
Every so often, a fish would leap from the sea, splashing down gracefully.
The entire crew let out a breath of relief, and the Ghost Pirates erupted into cheers.
The past seven days had been a nightmare.
They had fought on the brink of death every single moment, where a single mistake meant certain doom.
"We finally made it!"
Standing at the bow of the ship, Lucifer fixed his gaze on a distant island.
His instincts told him that this was the end of the Grand Line.
This was Raftel.
"It's here... it's finally here!"
"Raftel! That's Raftel!"
"Roger's treasure is hidden there!"
"One Piece!!!"
Tens of thousands of pirates erupted into cheers—some shouting in excitement, others shedding tears.
But all eyes turned to Lucifer, awaiting his next command.
They had waited too long for this moment. They could not wait even a second longer.
And Lucifer had no intention of making them wait.
"Little ones, set sail! We land on Raftel now!"
"OH!!!"
The mighty fleet surged forward, the ships cutting through the waves, heading straight for Raftel.
The danger was behind them.
All obstacles lay within the natural barriers surrounding Raftel—beyond that, nothing stood in their way.
Boom!
Lucifer leaped from the ship, landing first on the island's golden sands.
A single footprint was left on the untouched beach.
This was only the second time in history that a human had stepped onto Raftel, after Gol D. Roger's crew.
One after another, the top officers of the Ghost Pirates—Red Earl Ryder, Edward Weevil, Shiryu of the Rain, and others—followed suit, stepping onto the legendary island.
Raftel was vast.
Its surface was covered with dense forests and towering ancient trees.
Untouched for centuries, the island exuded a deep, timeless presence.
"There were once people living here," Lucifer noted as he walked through the thick jungle.
Occasionally, remnants of broken walls and ruins emerged from the overgrowth.
It was clear at a glance that these structures were man-made.
"A lost civilization?"
As they ventured further, more ruins appeared—scattered remains of buildings long since reduced to rubble.
Finally, Lucifer pushed past the final stretch of jungle.
Before him stood a crumbling, ancient city.
Ruins stretched as far as the eye could see—monuments of a forgotten past.
Even in its devastated state, Lucifer could sense what this city once was.
It had been grand—grander than any city he had ever seen.
Even the Holy Land of Mariejois paled in comparison.
"A great war must have taken place here," Shiryu of the Rain murmured, his nose twitching.
Even after all these centuries, he could still smell the lingering scent of blood in the air.
The battle that had taken place here… was beyond comprehension.
Even Lucifer's War of the Century—the one that shook the entire world—was likely insignificant compared to what had happened on this island long ago.
And now, history was about to be uncovered.
Raftel's secrets were within their grasp.
"Hey, come and see this!"
Suddenly, a loud call echoed through the ruins.
Lucifer stepped forward and arrived at the edge of a massive pit.
As soon as he saw what lay at the bottom, his pupils constricted.
Bones!
The pit was filled with countless bones, densely packed and stretching endlessly into the distance.
The sheer number was beyond calculation, but with just a rough estimate, Lucifer could tell that there were at least a million remains.
This was a mass grave where over a million people had perished.
Some might have been thrown in after death, while others could have been driven into the pit while still alive, only to be mercilessly slaughtered.
Activating his Observation Haki, Lucifer suddenly heard the eerie echoes of tormented souls wailing in agony.
The air was filled with the restless spirits of the dead. Even after centuries, their souls had not found peace.
They lingered in hatred, cursing the world and despising the World Government.
"Isn't this terrifying? What exactly happened here?"
"A massacre...?! A genocide!!!"
Even the battle-hardened members of the Nether Pirates, men who had taken countless lives, couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.
The sheer scale of this slaughter was staggering.
Yet, this was only the beginning.
Soon, more mass graves were discovered.
One after another.
Thirteen in total.
If each pit contained over a million bodies, then more than ten million people had perished here in total.
Even the most fearless pirates, who had fought through countless battles, were trembling as they stood over the remains of the dead.
Cold sweat dripped down their faces as they stared at the endless graves beneath them.
"This... this must be the site of the final battle from 800 years ago... when the World Government crushed their greatest enemy," Lucifer muttered, his voice steady but dark.
"It was after this battle that the World Government seized absolute power... and has ruled for the past 800 years."
Lucifer stood motionless, staring at the pit. His face was expressionless, but a storm was raging in his heart.
There was no historical record to confirm it, but deep down, he knew this could be the only explanation.
BOOM!
A sudden explosion-like noise shattered the eerie silence, startling everyone.
The pirates instinctively grabbed their weapons and looked up, their eyes scanning for danger.
It turned out that a few pirates had accidentally touched a crumbling structure.
Perhaps due to centuries of weathering, the wall gave way instantly.
The ancient stone, weakened by time, could no longer hold itself up.
"You idiots! Don't touch anything!"
"You scared the hell out of me!"
"If you do that again, I swear I'll chop off your damn hands!" a pirate captain roared in anger.
The culprit, his hands still raised, gulped in fear.
But before the captain could finish his scolding—
CRACK! RUMBLE!
The wall's collapse triggered a chain reaction.
One after another, the ruined high-rise buildings of the ancient city began to fall.
Dust filled the air as centuries-old structures crumbled, revealing the dark secrets that had been buried for 800 years...
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