One Piece: The sky is azure, I just time-traveled today.

Page 61

However, just to be on the safe side, he still used the tip of his knife to make a mark on the stone door. In case he encountered a problem he couldn't solve, he could break down the door at any time.

The ground shook violently, and the stone slab beneath Nami's feet suddenly collapsed. She screamed and fell downwards, but Kuina, with quick reflexes, grabbed her wrist, only to be pulled down with her.

"Hold on tight!" Robin crossed her arms, and countless arms reached out from the rock wall to try to pull them back, but the force of the fall was too strong, and the three of them fell into the dark passage together.

They slid swiftly along the smooth rock face, surrounded by complete darkness. Kuina clung tightly to Nami, while Robin used her powers to cushion their fall.

After an unknown amount of time, a faint light appeared ahead.

"Prepare for landing!" Kuina shouted.

The three of them fell heavily to the ground.

Nami rubbed her sore bottom and for a moment thought of Bellemere and Northno.

Although she left a letter before leaving home, I wonder if they were worried about me?

Or perhaps... they must have happily bid farewell to themselves?

She shook her head, clearing away unnecessary negative emotions, and looked up to be stunned by the sight before her.

This is a huge underground cavern, with its dome covered in luminous crystals that illuminate the entire space in a deep blue hue.

An underground river flows quietly, with ancient pottery fragments scattered along its banks.

"Where...are we?" Nami asked softly.

Kuina was the first to stand up, cautiously looking around: "It seems that the treasure was indeed bait."

Robin picked up a shard of pottery and examined it closely: "The craftsmanship of these artifacts is very ancient, at least a hundred years old."

They explored along the underground river. The sound of dripping water came from deep within the cave, and the air was filled with a damp, musty smell.

"Look over there!" Nami suddenly pointed to the rock wall.

The rock face is covered with ancient murals. The first depicts a pirate ship sailing through a storm, the second shows the crew carrying treasure chests, the third...

"This is..." Robin examined it carefully and quickly concluded, "A mural recording the life of the 'Tide Queen'."

The murals clearly depict a female pirate captain leading her crew in battle against slave traders. In the last mural, she is hiding treasure in a secret chamber.

"So the real treasure is yet to come?" Nami's hope was rekindled.

Kuina tapped the rock wall behind the mural with her sword sheath: "It sounds like there's nothing behind it."

The three of them worked together to push aside a loose rock, revealing a narrow passage behind it. The passage was only wide enough for one person to pass through, and the faint salty smell of seawater wafted from its depths.

"I'll go first." Guina was the first to enter the passage.

The passage wound downwards, becoming increasingly damp. Seaweed began to appear on the rock walls, and the path underfoot became slippery.

"Could we have gone below sea level?" Nami asked anxiously.

Suddenly, the sound of waves crashing against the shore came from ahead. At the end of the passage was a huge natural sea cave; moonlight streamed in through a crack in the ceiling, illuminating the scene at the center of the cave—

A well-preserved old pirate ship rests quietly in the pool inside the cave, with the words "Queen of the Tides" engraved on its hull.

"Found it!" Nami excitedly tried to rush over, but was stopped by Kuina.

"Wait." Kuina pointed to the water around the ship. "There's something in the water."

In the dark water, several huge shadows were slowly moving.

The underwater shadow slowly rose to the surface, revealing its hideous true form—a mutated octopus that was a massive 5-meter-tall creature, with each tentacle covered in suckers and its eyes flashing with an eerie red light.

"Step back!" Kuina immediately drew her sword and stood in front of the two.

The octopus monster's tentacles suddenly shot out of the water, lashing towards them with a whooshing sound. Kuina swung her sword to parry, the blade striking the tentacles with a dull thud.

"This guy... he's incredibly strong!" Kuina was jolted back half a step.

Robin crossed her arms: "Floral Spinner - Spider Web!"

Countless arms stretched out from the rock face, trying to entangle the octopus's tentacles. But the octopus's skin was exceptionally slippery, and the arms couldn't grasp it at all.

Nami, feeling anxious at her inability to help, suddenly remembered something and hurriedly rummaged through her backpack: "I think I brought salt... Octopuses are afraid of salt!"

[Science Popularization: Table salt is essentially a high concentration of sodium chloride, which is extremely dangerous to octopuses—similar to the dangers of high-concentration salt, it can rapidly lead to cell dehydration, physiological disorders, and even death.]

She pulled out a bag of sea salt and tossed it to Guina: "Sprinkle it on it!"

Kuina took the salt bag, used her sword to block the tentacles' attack again, and then flipped over to scatter all the salt onto the octopus.

The octopus immediately felt intense discomfort when the salt was sprinkled on it, emitting painful hisses. It frantically waved its tentacles, slamming them heavily against the rock wall, shaking down countless fragments of rock.

"Great, it really works!" Nami exclaimed in surprise.

The octopus, sprinkled with sea salt, suddenly convulsed violently, its once enormous body rapidly shrinking before the naked eye could see. To the astonishment of the three, it quickly became only the size of a palm, then slunk away into a crevice in the rocks.

"This...it just ran away?" Nami was dumbfounded.

Kuina sheathed her sword, looking equally incredulous: "I thought I was going to have a fierce battle."

Robin pondered, "It seems these octopuses, living in enclosed environments for so long, are particularly vulnerable to salt."

The pool returned to calm. The three carefully boarded the "Queen of the Tides," whose deck was remarkably well-preserved, and even the mooring ropes were still sturdy.

Nami rushed eagerly to the captain's cabin. Pushing open the door, she gasped—

The captain's cabin was filled with gold and silver treasures, but the most eye-catching item was a nautical logbook spread out on the central desk.

"Come and see!" she exclaimed excitedly, waving her hand.

The title page of the diary reads:

To the future navigators:

If you have come here, it means we are destined to meet. Please feel free to take these treasures, but please pass on my seafaring wisdom.

Nami gently turned to the next page, tears welling up in her eyes.

The logbook meticulously records the Tide Queen's lifelong sailing experience, from determining directions to predicting the weather, from drawing nautical charts to dealing with various sea conditions.

"This is... the real treasure," she murmured to herself.

As Kuina inspected the other rooms, she noticed that the weapons in the armory were rusty and had lost their former sharpness, which she found regrettable.

Robin found a box of valuable historical documents in the crew's cabin: "These documents record maritime trade routes from a hundred years ago and are of great research value."

As they packed up all the treasure and documents and returned to the deck, a sudden rumbling sound of shifting rocks came from above. Moonlight streamed down from the reopened opening, illuminating the three women laden with their spoils.

"It's time to leave," Guina said, looking towards the cave entrance.

Nami clutched the nautical logbook tightly and nodded vigorously. This adventure had taught her that the rewards of finding treasure were far more lucrative than robbing penniless pirates.

How do I get up there?

Chapter 68 Kuina's Strength

As Nami stood on the deck, looking troubled, Robin crossed her arms and chanted, "Hundred Flowers Bloom - Staircase."

Countless arms extend downwards from the edge of the ceiling opening, forming a winding staircase on the rock wall. Each step is made up of more than a dozen arms, as solid as stone steps.

"Amazing, Robin!" Nami exclaimed, then a question popped into her head, "But what about all this treasure..."

"Leave it to me." Robin activated her ability again, "Hundred Flowers Bloom - Transport Team."

More arms extended from the rock face, like flexible conveyor belts. They carefully lifted the treasure chests and document boxes, steadily passing them upwards.

As Robin used her powers to transport the last batch of treasure out of the hole in the ceiling, a hoarse laugh suddenly came from the shadows.

"Finally...finally I can leave this awful place!"

A ragged man emerged from behind the rock wall, clutching a strange fruit in his hand. He stared greedily at Robin: "Your ability... has been a huge help!"

Kuina immediately drew her sword and stood in front of the two: "Who are you?"

"A survivor from the previous group of treasure hunters."

The man took his first bite of the fruit in his hand, and almost vomited from the disgust after swallowing it.

"I've been trapped here for over a year... Besides the treasure you took away, there's this Devil Fruit I've been reluctant to eat! But now..."

His body began to mutate; his skin was covered with scales, his fingers turned into claws, and a long tail grew from his back.

"Now..." he hissed, "not only is the treasure mine, but you lot will also stay here and become my slaves!"

The lizardman pounced suddenly, with astonishing speed. Kuina swung her sword to meet him, sparks flying as the blade clashed against his claws.

"Useless!" The lizardman smugly flicked his long tail. "I just ate a Zoan-type Lizard Fruit; my scales are harder than steel!"

"Is that so?" Kuina's eyes sharpened, and the sword suddenly turned completely black. "How about this?"

"The weapon turned black?" the lizardman exclaimed in surprise.

In the next instant, Kuina's sword pierced out like lightning. The blade, imbued with domineering energy, easily pierced through the scales, leaving a bloody gash on the lizardman's chest.

"What?!" The lizardman recoiled in shock, unable to believe his eyes.

Kuina twirled her sword, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Looks like your scales aren't that tough after all."

"You wretched little brat! You're asking for it!"

The lizardman roared and charged again, his claws slicing through the air. Kuina easily dodged, her sword tip precisely inflicting new wounds on him each time.

"Too slow." She dodged the sweeping tail and thrust her sword at the opponent's shoulder with a backhand.

"Ugh! Damn it! This is infuriating..."

The lizardman retreated in pain, then suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a glob of mucus.

Kuina swung her sword to parry, the slime corroding the blade and making a sizzling sound.

"Interesting." She raised an eyebrow, and the domineering aura on the sword intensified.

Seeing that this tactic was ineffective, the lizardman simply chose to attack at close range, believing that his Zoan-type Devil Fruit ability made him invincible in terms of defense.

The ensuing battle turned into a one-sided toy.

No matter how the lizardmen attacked, Kuina could always anticipate their moves. Her sword would sometimes lightly tap their joints, sometimes slice through their scales, like a cat toying with its prey.

"Damn it!" the lizardman roared, wildly swinging his claws. "I'm a Devil Fruit user!"

Kuina suddenly accelerated, her sword light enveloping the lizardman like a woven net. Each strike precisely sliced ​​off a scale, deliberately avoiding vital points.

"An ability user?" She chuckled. "You overestimate yourself. In the face of overwhelming power, you're nothing."