One Piece: The Archangel's Guide

Chapter 67: O, Youth, Become a Myth!

As night fell, the Buccaneer people lit a bonfire to welcome Louis's arrival.

Under the firelight, the middle-aged Buccaneer men and women told their descendants about the origin of the Buccaneers and their hatred for the World Government. They also informed them that their tribe had already formed an alliance with another tribe that also held a grudge against the World Government—the Lunarians. In the future, they would share weal and woe, entrusting their backs to each other.

Furthermore, they were not to reveal the names "Buccaneer" or "Lunarian." Until that day came, they were to refer to their allies as the Archangel Pirates.

Amidst the sizzling sound of beast meat roasting over the fire, all the young people clenched their fists, gritted their teeth, the veins on their foreheads bulging. It was only on this day that they learned their people had such a tragic history. The long-standing, strict prohibition against leaving the vicinity, and the mystery of why the invitations from several navy commanders to join them had all been refused, were finally answered.

"The Buccaneer race... the World Government!"

That night, these two phrases echoed endlessly in the minds of all the young people.

...

Not long after the banquet began, three more people walked out of the passage and arrived in the Buccaneer valley. They were Don Chinjao, the commander of the Happo Navy, and two younger men. As soon as they entered, they saw the lively bonfire banquet and froze at the entrance.

Chinjao was first taken aback when he saw Louis's group, then he became shocked. He had not expected the three people Boss Jin Wu had spoken of to have actually found this place. What he had expected even less was that the three of them would be so warmly received by the Longbo people.

The Buccaneers were no strangers to Chinjao of the Happo Navy and readily invited the three of them to join the banquet. Seeing the lively feast, Chinjao temporarily pushed his questions to the back of his mind, planning to ask the next day.

...

Late at night, the old man shakily pushed open a door.

Although his eyes had difficulty seeing in the darkness, with the help of a large, yellow dog several meters tall, he still made his way along a small path he remembered. The big yellow dog trampled down the meter-high weeds, its long tail sweeping the ground, clearing away any potential dangers. The old man's pace was slow, and the dog, noticing this, slowed its steps. The man and his dog proceeded slowly, just like that.

After a long time, the old man arrived before a large mountain. The big yellow dog used its paws to clear away a pile of stones and, holding a torch, went inside. After confirming there was no danger, it turned back and led the old man in.

From a crevice in the cave, the old man took out a stack of dusty, yellowed papers. He stuck the torch into the wall and then opened the stack of papers.

"Sun God Nika..." the old man said to Louis, who had appeared at his side at some point and was stroking the dog's head. "He was a great warrior from nine hundred years ago. He once led the Buccaneers, the Lunarians, and many other tribes. He also once faced the original twenty kings and their allied forces alone."

Louis sat down cross-legged, pushing away the dog's head that, content from being scratched, was now trying to lick his face, and listened quietly to the old man's words.

"His body could stretch freely, and he had an imaginative, unrestrained fighting style."

"He was Joy Boy. And he was the faith of the Buccaneers, the Lunarians, and the Giant race."

"My father said that wherever he went, smiles from the heart and soul would eventually bloom."

To this, Louis said thoughtfully, "You said not long ago that you no longer believe in the Sun God."

The old man turned to look at Louis, his expression complex. "Many years ago, our generation was in great pain. We constantly hoped that the Sun God Nika would come to us with a smile and save us. But in the end, he did not come. It was as if he never existed in this world."

"In the end, we escaped with our own strength and no longer placed our hopes in the Sun God. Gradually, we stopped passing down the story of Nika to our descendants. The mistake of placing hope in faith could not be repeated in our children..."

Louis heard this and his gaze fell on the yellowed papers in the old man's hands. The fact that this was kept meant that they were still preoccupied with the story of the Sun God.

As if sensing Louis's gaze, the old man continued, "But a faith of eight hundred years has long been deeply rooted in our hearts. In the end, someone among us still wrote these things down. I was very angry at the time. I questioned them, why did they want to pass the legend down to future generations?"

"They said they could not forget that inspiring legend, could not forget the Dance of Liberation that they had danced a thousand times."

"But in the end, you still kept the papers that wrote about the Sun God," Louis said calmly.

Hearing this, a sarcastic smile appeared on the old man's withered face—a mockery of himself. "Yes. I couldn't forget either. I even wanted to pass it down to just one person before I died, to let them see for me if Joy Boy would appear. I wanted to know if the legend we had passed down for eight hundred years was a false one that had poisoned us, or if there really was such a person."

"But..."

"Now, it is no longer needed!" Under Louis's gaze, the old man placed the papers recording the legend of Nika over the torch and lit them.

Just then, a gust of wind blew in from outside the cave, extinguishing the torch and scattering the burning papers. For a moment, the burning papers filled the entire cave, floating and swirling in mid-air. The dazzling firelight illuminated the entire cave, shining on the Lunarian youth who, in the Buccaneer elder's eyes, was as dazzling as the sun itself.

The burning papers swirled around the incomparably brilliant Louis and slowly drifted down, like meteors accompanying the sun high in the sky.

"The first moment I saw you, I knew you were dazzling. Before you, all those with outstanding talent seem to dim."

In the gradually darkening cave, the old man threw away his cane and walked step-by-step toward Louis.

"Amit learned many things from my hands. In the terms used here, he was my disciple. I know him well. His pride is no less than anyone's in the world. And he chose to believe in you."

The old man stood up straight in front of Louis, his cloudy eyes fixed on him.

"I believe him, and I believe in you."

"Therefore, I have given up the idea of having my descendants see for me if there is a Nika in the world."

The old man's cloudy eyes were full of anticipation and longing. "Louis," he said, "I want my descendants to follow and witness you become a new legend!"

"O, youth, become a myth!"

To this, specks of holy light emerged from Louis's body, spreading a golden canopy in the dim cave and making the old man's vision clear.

Louis reached out and took the hand of the old man named Hughes Holden, a brilliant, confident smile on his face. "But of course..."

An unsightly smile appeared on the old man's withered, wrinkled face, and his cloudy eyes grew brighter and brighter.

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