Pirate: I was just slacking off, do you really think I'm bad?

"Hey kid, judging from your eyes, you seem to recognize what I have in my hand."

Raleigh stared into the little boy's eyes and asked, "..."

The little boy was startled by Raleigh's words and quickly lowered his head.

But because of some mysterious persistence, the little boy's head was bowed as if he was struggling to overcome some kind of mental obstacle.

Raleigh had seen this scenario many times; generally, in such situations, you should give the other person some peace and quiet.

If the other person overcomes their mental barrier, then there's nothing more to do; they will reveal the whole truth.

If the other person doesn't overcome their psychological barriers, then nothing you do will get them to talk.

Time passed slowly, seemingly spanning a century in the little boy's world. Finally, he raised his head. "Yes, sir, I recognize what you're holding."

Raleigh held a brass pocket watch in his palm, glanced at it, and smiled.

I thought you'd think about it for a long time, but it only took less than ten minutes.

"Come on up, kid, have something to drink and then we'll hear your story."

The little boy took the rope thrown down by the naval soldier and climbed up the rocky hull of the ship. Although he was surprised to find himself there, and although Raleigh and his group were somewhat rough, they were all kind people.

Besides, they are holding artifacts that prove the existence of the Golden Land.

Soon, the little boy followed the rope to the deck.

Raleigh ordered a square table to be brought to the deck, and had the cook bring some wine and drinks. He then placed the gold artifacts he was carrying on the table.

"Kid, take a look."

"Thank you, sir."

After thanking him, the little boy carefully held the gold object in his hand and examined it closely.

As he observed, a look of delight involuntarily appeared on his face, and he murmured to himself:

"That's right. According to the records in the tribal annals, this ethnic group did indeed make objects with this shape."

Raleigh sipped the rum that had just been served with ice, without urging the little boy to hurry up.

After the little boy examined the gold object carefully, he belatedly remarked:

"I apologize, my lord. I lost my composure just now; it's simply because this item is far too precious."

Raleigh nodded, indicating that he didn't mind.

The little boy held up the gold object in his hand so that Raleigh and the surrounding navy soldiers could see it more clearly.

"Dear Marines, this uniquely designed gold artifact is a ritual object belonging to the Shandya people, a special ethnic group on Jaya Island, from four hundred years ago."

My ancestors had described in detail the customs and traditions of the Shandiya people, so I was able to recognize them at a glance.

The little boy's words caused a commotion on the deck.

"What? Something from four hundred years ago?"

"To be able to contact a mysterious race from four hundred years ago is truly amazing."

It was quite unexpected; I had originally thought it was just an artifact from a merchant ship.

Raleigh, who hadn't paid much attention at first, suddenly sat up straight and stared intently at the little boy in front of him. His strange gaze startled the boy.

"Gaya Island, Shandiya clan, could it be that your ancestor was Noland?"

Although Raleigh spoke with a question in mind, he had already made a judgment about the little boy in front of him: only Noland's descendants believed in the legend of the Golden City.

Wait, Navy officer, how do you know about my family?

The little boy looked at Raleigh with a blank expression, then suddenly seemed to remember something and quickly covered his mouth tightly.

Bessem Reginode, standing to the side, looked bewildered, as if there was a very familiar feeling about him.

Nolando, that name sounds familiar.

"Yes, I feel the same way. I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before."

"Oh, now that you mention it, it's something I remember very well, but I just can't bring myself to say it."

Some soldiers on deck who were from the North Sea and grew up there suddenly felt that the name Noland was very familiar, but the impression was not particularly deep.

It seems that this person's name is widely known in the North Sea, but there are no particularly great deeds associated with him, so the naval soldiers couldn't immediately match him with any particular person.

Raleigh rubbed his temples, then downed a large glass of rum before slowly saying:

"A bunch of idiots. Noland's full name is Vimbra Noland."

"However, he has another nickname in Beihai: the King of Liars."

After Raleigh finished speaking, the soldiers on deck all showed expressions of sudden realization:

No wonder it sounded familiar; it was a fairy tale my mother used to tell me when I was little.

"If you say Wenblanolando, I might not know him, but if you say Beihai's Big Talker, I think almost everyone in Beihai knows him."

"Nolando is your ancestor? That's incredible, kid."

After hearing the surrounding chatter, the little boy raised his tiny fist, grinding his little tiger teeth back and forth.

His face was filled with a mixture of anger and restraint as he spoke righteously:

My ancestor, Venbranolando, was not a boastful strategist of the North Sea; he was a great navigator.

Noland's ancestors once landed at the port of Jaya Island on a stormy night to escape a terrible tempest.

According to the clan records, Noland's ancestor cured the Shandea tribe, who were suffering from "tree fever," and ended the tradition of human sacrifice. He also became close friends with the "Great Warrior" Calgra.

As the little boy spoke, his big, round eyes filled with tears.

For over four hundred years, his family has endured the strange looks from the people of Beihai. Almost everyone considers Noland to be the most notorious liar and big talker in Beihai.

Their family has spent their entire lives searching for evidence to prove that their ancestor was not lying, traveling to the islands that Noland once passed by on the Grand Line.

Now, with the appearance of this golden artifact, it is clear that a race called the Shandiya once existed in this place.

How could such a thing not excite the little boy?

Raleigh placed a glass of rum with ice in front of the little boy, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

Things will eventually pass, and perhaps the shame your family has carried for so long will end in your hands.

I believe that if Noland did indeed write about the Shandea race on the island of Gaddafi in his notebook, then this race must exist.

The main reason is that Raleigh knows this part of the story.

Venbranolando was indeed an excellent navigator, and he did indeed discover gold on the island of Jaya.

Unfortunately, he was unlucky. Although he made detailed records, not long after he left, Jaya Island was suddenly lifted into the sky by a huge upwelling current.

Half of the island was swept high into the sky by upwelling currents, becoming a floating island.

The island's indigenous people, flora and fauna, as well as ritual objects, historical sites, and so on, all ascended into the sky with the floating island.

Patting his head, Raleigh carefully recalled the relevant information.

The complete island of Jaya resembles a skull, floating on the sea.

Accompanied by a miraculous ocean current, the skull's head and face soared into the sky in a once-in-a-millennium miracle.

The parts left on the ground were all the skull's teeth.

The little boy's eyes turned red. He never imagined that, four hundred years later, there would still be people outside his family who believed that Noland was not a fraud.

Her already red eyes streamed down her face, a mixture of tears and saliva.

"Thank you for your trust, sir. Our ancestors will be pleased to know."

Four hundred years can change a lot of things, but there are also many things that four hundred years cannot change.

Since Noland, the purpose of the Venbula family's existence has been to continue the archaeological investigation of Noland's deeds.

They didn't want someone from their family with such a illustrious history to become a laughingstock. "If you recover, you can tell us the story of your ancestor Noland."

I believe this must be a truly magnificent story, since many events outside of the Golden City are only briefly mentioned in historical records.

The little boy looked at Raleigh with a grateful heart, bowed his head respectfully, and said:

My lord, thank you for recognizing our ancestor.

Then the little boy raised his head, his expression resolute, and his eyes filled with deep admiration as he spoke.

My ancestor, Vin Blanolando, recorded in his notes that he traversed the Grand Line twice.

Although the Grand Line is fraught with danger, in the eyes of my ancestor Noland, all of this was merely a minor hardship on the journey.

"When Noland's ancestor set sail for the Grand Line for the second time, he set sail in the dark to Jaya Island to avoid a rare torrential rain."

To avoid the storm, Noland's ancestor secured his ship in the harbor and landed on the island. But it was at this time that Noland's ancestor encountered Shandora, who was about to sacrifice a young girl to cure the plague.

"Noland's ancestor considered this a very foolish and ignorant practice, and for the sake of this poor girl, Noland's ancestor single-handedly stopped the sacrifice. And when the god who was to be worshipped on the island arrived, he cut the great serpent known as the god of Gasi in half with a single stroke."

Furthermore, because of Noland's ancestor's act of saving the girl, he even faced off against Calgara, the strongest warrior in Shandora at the time. Although he was wounded by Calgara while protecting the girl, he did not lose.

While his ancestors were searching for herbs to cure the plague, a sudden change in environment left Noland's ancestor stranded between two islands. To escape, he literally lifted up a portion of the other continent.

Because their ancestor solved the plague problem on Jaya Island, the Shandiya clan on Jaya Island regarded him as their best friend and, on his advice, abolished the custom of human sacrifice.

Afterwards, Noland's ancestor spent a long time in Shandora, the most magnificent and spectacular island on Jaya. It was there that Noland's ancestor saw a vast quantity of gold artifacts and treasures like the Golden Bell. You already know the rest of the story.

The little boy told a wonderful story, and before we knew it, two hours had passed.

Although it was a bit too long, the story was so captivating that everyone seemed to lose track of time and become completely immersed in Noland's adventure.

Through the little boy's narration, an image of a forthright, helpful, and incredibly strong man emerged in the minds of every naval soldier. "My God, it's unbelievable!"

It's unimaginable that someone could traverse the Grand Line twice four hundred years ago.

I now believe Noland's story; he's definitely not the big liar the rumors in North Sea, but a real man.

Raleigh did not interrupt the sailors' discussion.

He wasn't actually that concerned about Noland, but there were indeed things he wanted on the Skypiea.

The top-tier Logia-type Devil Fruit - the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, and Enel, whose innate Observation Haki is terrifying.

Raleigh wants them all!

After a brief moment of excitement, the little boy quickly became downcast again. Although this item proved that Noland's ancestor had indeed seen the Shandora clan, it didn't prove it was Shandora; more evidence was needed.

Upon hearing this, Raleigh's lips curled up into a smile:

"Bessem Reginod, go and fetch a nautical chart of the island of Jaya."

"Yes, Lord Raleigh."

Bessem Regiono quickly brought Raleigh the nautical chart he needed and handed it to him, along with a pen.

Raleigh spread the chart out on the left and pointed to Jaya Island on the chart, asking:

This is the current nautical chart.

What does the shape of Jaya Island resemble?

The little boy paused, examined it carefully, and then said uncertainly;

I think Jiaye Island looks like a human tooth.

Looking at Jaya Island on the map, the little boy's first thought was that it looked like human teeth.

Raleigh snapped his fingers, gave the little boy an approving look, and praised him:

"That's right, I could tell at a glance."

Then, Luo used the pen in his hand to write and draw on the stored nautical chart. Although Luo's pen tip kept moving across the paper, a well-made skull appeared at the location of Jaya Island.

"This is something our ancestor once wrote in his notes; he saw gold in the skull's right eye."

The little boy shouted excitedly.

For centuries, the Wenbra family has been trying to decipher the secrets of Noland's writings, especially the descriptions of the Golden City recorded in the notebooks. But no one has ever considered that perhaps Noland's writings were not riddles at all, but rather that the external environment had changed, leaving no original reference point.

Raleigh put down his pen and pointed to the skull's head and face.

"If, many years ago, an upwelling current, which was never recorded in any documents but far exceeded people's imagination, appeared at the bottom of Jaya Island, then it is very likely that Jaya Island would have been split in two, and all the places Noland had ever been would have been lifted into the sky."

This is why the entire North Sea, including Noland himself, searched for four hundred years without finding the Golden City—because it's right above us.

In fact, if he hadn't possessed memories of his past life, Raleigh would never have imagined that the Golden Land recorded in the North Sea would become a floating island in the sky.