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

The young man beside the leader's face suddenly changed upon hearing this.

He then became somewhat agitated and wanted to say something, but was stopped by a look from the leader.

The leader looked at Raleigh in front of him, his expression suggesting he was considering something.

"Sir Navy officer, is this your intention?"

Raleigh shrugged and looked at the leader with an indifferent expression.

As I said at the beginning, I am not involved in this matter, and whether you accept peace or maintain the status quo is none of my business.

"But Ganford promised me one thing, so I'm willing to be his messenger."

However, I will not offer you any advice; the decision-making power rests entirely with you.

After hearing Raleigh's words, the leader was somewhat tempted.

"Father, how can we let him make peace with just a few words?!"

Have you forgotten? For four hundred years, how many of our people have died at their hands? Your brother, my uncle, and my best friend Bartley—all died at the hands of the Sky Islanders.

They stole the land where our ancestors lived for generations, they killed our kin, and now a mere "reconciliation" can erase the hatred between us? I don't agree with that!

The young man, who had been very agitated, finally couldn't hold back and exploded. What he couldn't accept the most was shaking hands and making peace with his enemy.

The leader, somewhat enraged, swung his hand and slapped his son.

Snapped!

"Shut up, Allen!"

I know you're very resentful inside; I've been through the same feelings. But we really need to think about this.

The leader's expression was heavy, with a hint of embarrassment.

Raleigh didn't care about the father and son arguing; instead, he picked up the fruit on the table and started eating.

After a moment, the chief scolded his son before turning to Raleigh and continuing:

"I'm sorry, my lord, you must have found this amusing."

Raleigh waved his hand and said:

"It's alright, this is your internal matter, I have no right to interfere, and I won't interfere at all."

To be honest, this is indeed a very complicated matter, spanning four hundred years.

You've been through so much.

"Our brothers died at the hands of the enemy, but many of their own also died at your hands."

Well, you can decide for yourselves. I'll be staying here for three days, and I hope you can come to a decision as soon as possible.

"Oh, right. I once saw the Shandora's Lamp, which Nolando described, atop the giant vines of Apayado."

Raleigh appeared relaxed and calm as he shared the information he had gathered with the two Shandians in front of him.

"On matters that affect an entire race, only they themselves can make the decisions."

No one can make the decision for them. Afterward, Raleigh picked up the rum in front of him and drank it all in one gulp. Then, he elegantly wiped his mouth and left the banquet.

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night for many, and also a night that will change the fate of many.

Father, why do you want to reconcile with the Sky Island people? Have you forgotten the blood feud between us?

After Raleigh left, the father and son returned to their residence. Alan, who had been slapped, couldn't help but ask, of course, he didn't understand at all, so he asked as soon as he got home.

Claire glanced at her still immature son with a sorrowful and helpless look in her eyes.

With a heavy heart, he said, "Come with me, and I'll tell you why."

Claire led Alan into a secret basement. This basement had a long corridor with walls made of bluestone bricks.

Claire turned the mechanism on the wall, and one lamp after another lit up and then stretched into the distance.

"Father, what is this?"

Allen couldn't help but ask, as he had never been to this mysterious basement before.

"These are portraits of our ancestors who bravely sacrificed their lives fighting against the Sky Islanders."

Claire said to Allen as they walked.

"Almost from the moment we arrived at Sky Island, our ancestors were fighting against the enemies of Sky Island, both of them and us, and both sides suffered losses."

"Spanning a history of four hundred years, in such a long history, we have lost far too much."

Upon seeing these portraits, Allen felt that the ancestors hanging on the wall were all worthy of respect.

You are my son, and the most likely successor to the clan's leadership, so I should bring you here to see our history.

The passageway leading to the basement was long, but it eventually came to an end, where there was a small room!

Everything inside was very simple, with a stone bed, a stone table and stools, and other simple furniture. The only thing that wasn't simple was the few glittering gold items on the stone table.

These are gold ornaments that our ancestors brought back from Shandora. They only had time to bring back one or two pieces; most of them are still sleeping inside Shandora.

"The purpose of bringing you here is to let you know that what we Shandians have always insisted on is struggle. As the leader, my philosophy is that meaningful reconciliation is worse than meaningless war."

"The conditions the navy offered were very tempting, so I plan to have a proper talk with Ganford."

If we can resolve our peace issue, then we will no longer have to worry about our people dying in pointless conflicts.

If anything happens to me, you will be the new leader.

Claire breathed a sigh of relief. For many years, he had tried his best to prevent his people from fighting against the inhabitants of the Sky Island.

Coincidentally, the other party's god, Ganful, shared the same idea, and through a long period of interaction, the two sides reached a tacit understanding of mutual benefit.

Perhaps this is why Ganfor proposed the idea of ​​reconciliation. It was because of his daily activities that Ganfor concluded that the Shandian leader, like himself, was a person who hated war, which is why he proposed this idea.

However, whether this matter will succeed or not, to be honest, depends on fate.

Time passed little by little, and in the blink of an eye, three days had already gone by.

That morning, Raleigh, unusually, didn't sleep in. Instead, he stood on the second-floor deck, watching the soldiers busily carrying supplies.

"Lord Raleigh, absentmindedly eating his egg toast, do you think they'll agree?" Enel asked curiously. Raleigh shook his head and then said:

"Humans are the most complex creatures in the world, and nothing can simulate the human brain."

Even someone you know very well might sometimes do things you would never expect.

Enel asked, looking completely bewildered;

Why should we wait here for three days?

Raleigh patted Enel's head in an annoyed tone and said;

"Wherever I am, it doesn't matter. Besides, the food and drinks here are pretty good. I'm very satisfied with this kind of life."

Gion, holding a cup of black coffee, also came to the deck.

"Is it done, Raleigh?"

Raleigh nodded, then spoke to Gion;

"Since you promised Ganford, you have to keep your word."

Anyway, I conveyed Ganfor's exact words and demands to the Shandians. How they interpret them or what they do is beyond our control.

Gion nodded and asked curiously:

"Then they"

Raleigh reached out and pinched Gion's cheek, saying;

That's their business; it has nothing to do with us. After all, we're just running errands and relaying messages.

"Enel, keep an eye on the speed of the supply delivery. Once the supplies are delivered, we'll set sail back to Angel Island."

In the Shandian village, a large crowd had already gathered in the central square.

But people kept pouring into the square from all over the place, lining up and sitting in place to wait.

Claire and her son Allen had already arrived at the central platform of the square.

However, they are currently remaining silent.

Claire and Allen behaved very differently; Claire's attention was always focused on those in the crowd who were too young or had disabilities.

Allen's gaze was fixed on the soldiers who were the same age as him and the captains who were the same age as his father.

Claire's mind was like a kaleidoscope, constantly flashing through fragments of her memories: her youth, her first day as chief, her brother dying in her arms, and the image of her first time becoming a father.

Since everyone is already here, I'll just get straight to the point.

The rumors circulating in the village lately claim that I'm representing the Shandians in seeking peace with the enemies of the Sky Island. I can only say that this is completely unfounded.

Three days ago, the warship that came from Qinghai did indeed deliver some messages on behalf of Ganful, but we did not agree to it. Instead, after careful consideration, we decided to let everyone vote.

Before that, I want to tell you something.

Much later, after everyone had heard Claire's story, their eyes were filled with disbelief and skepticism.

However, Claire's story was completely unassailable in terms of both evidence and logic, so naturally no one refuted Claire's claims.

Just moments ago, Allen was furious and ready to fight the enemies on the Sky Island, but now he has a new understanding.

When he looked at the audience again, he also looked at those who were too young, just like his father had been paying attention to.

"Chief, what should we do next?"

"Leader, we will all listen to you. We will do whatever you say."

"Chief, if we truly reconcile with the enemies of Skypiea, will we never die again?"

Hearing the simple questions below, Claire was filled with admiration.

This is why Claire was moved by Ganford's words; in fact, it wasn't from this session that they began seeking ways to reduce friction and coexist peacefully.

However, most of the Shandians have now forgotten what their mission was and only know to follow their people into battle.

We don't need too many people for this trip to Apayato; two hundred will be enough.

Claire has decided to go and talk to Ganford herself.

The warship had already left the island inhabited by the Sandy people. After looking around for a while, Raleigh gave up completely and decided to go back to his sunchair to rest.

Fortunately, he now has a capable assistant like Enel, so he has entrusted all the tasks that require Observation Haki to Enel, ostensibly to train Enel's Observation Haki.

It's funny, actually. Although it wasn't his first time here, Raleigh hadn't noticed anything special on Jaya Island the last time.

Perhaps it was because he was born with a taboo against Shandora. As for how to find Shandora on Jiaye Island, it would be faster and more convenient for Enel to go. However, in theory, it shouldn't be the case that the gods and the inhabitants of the Sky Island, who have occupied Apayado for more than four hundred years, left such a large unknown place right under their noses. The warship was very fast and arrived in Apayado again in just half a day.

"Lord Raleigh, I feel a strange, inexplicable feeling about this island."

These things seem to have appeared in my memory before, and I remember them very clearly back then.

"I feel that there is something in that direction that is very attractive to me."

Raleigh looked up and in the direction Enel was pointing.

As for Apayado, last time, due to the rules set by the Shandians, Raleigh didn't have enough time to search for Shandora.

With Enel joining the fray, the team has naturally grown even stronger.

In a small, dark cave in the mountainside, Raleigh and Enel held their breath and went inside. Raleigh casually entered the password and then waited for the door to open.

Is this Shandora, Lord Roli? It doesn't seem to have anything particularly outstanding about it.

Although the interior of the Golden City, Shandora, has magnificent buildings, those are ultimately a minority.

Although there was some initial surprise, most people forgot about it after watching it; their expectations were too high, and they couldn't keep up.

"Who told you that this is the complete picture of Shandora?"

Raleigh smiled, looked at Enel in front of him, and then walked into a very dilapidated-looking house, going down from its basement.

It wasn't until a burst of light appeared that Enel realized what it meant to be outrageously wealthy and what the golden city of Shandora truly meant.

Perhaps only a dreamlike place like this deserves to be called a golden city.

Enel looked around and saw that everything around him was golden, made of gold.

However, its center is pierced through the four tall golden pillars by a huge vine, which is the continuous shape of that huge vine.

Its existence replaced the original Shandora's Lamp, placing it at the highest point of the vines!