Gan Fall was both happy and somewhat bewildered. The chime of the Golden Bell held extraordinary significance for both the Shandians and the Skypieans. Bege ringing the Golden Bell meant that his status would be imbued with a new meaning in the hearts of both peoples.
Modi, clutching his sword, glanced at Gan Fall and silently gazed at the sky.
"Bege, you've taken another correct step."
High above, the Golden Bell's chime resonated across the sky for a full quarter of an hour before Bege finally stopped ringing it.
He jumped down from the golden altar, placing his hand against it. A strange ripple emanated from his palm, rapidly enveloping the entire altar.
The enormous golden altar began to shrink rapidly. A Castle Gate opened in his chest, and the ever-shrinking altar flew into Bege's castle body.
Taking a deep breath, Bege jumped down from the island cloud and headed towards the Giant Jack. Soon, he returned to the Shandora ruins on the Giant Jack.
Inside the ruins, he saw a disciple carrying a golden drum, placing it in the center of the ruins' plaza, where numerous other golden artifacts were piled.
Bege leaped through the air, landing nearby. The disciple immediately bowed respectfully upon seeing him.
"Godfather, this place truly is a golden paradise! We found many golden items inside the houses," the disciple said excitedly.
Bege was in high spirits, instructing, "Good! Search every corner of this place. Don't miss even a single grain of gold, understand?"
"Yes, sir! Mission guaranteed to be accomplished!"
This area of the ruins was vast, and it was unclear how long it would take just a few dozen disciples to search it thoroughly. He released the disciples from other roles within his castle body, such as doctors and nurses, ordering them to search the ruins as well.
Unfortunately, most of them were far too weak. As soon as they emerged, they lost their ability to move due to lack of oxygen and had to return to the castle body.
About four or five hours passed, and the interior of the island cloud ruins began to darken. It was nightfall outside.
Bege had no choice but to order his disciples to return. The plunder from these four or five hours had yielded a mountain of gold.
Boxes upon boxes of gold flew into the castle body. The gold obtained from the Lord of the Sky, combined with the gold found today, filled an entire room. Its value was incalculable.
And that didn't even include the massive golden altar.
Bege's fondness for these ruins grew even stronger. He planned to thoroughly scour every layer of ruins on the Giant Jack over the next few days.
Bege jumped down from the Giant Jack and returned to the Skypieans' shrine.
In the shrine's plaza, two groups were facing off: Skypieans and Shandians.
Bege swiftly leaped into the plaza. The Skypieans immediately bowed to Bege, addressing him as God.
He could sense that these Skypieans weren't entirely willing, but Bege didn't mind. An outsider had forcibly seized the position of God and become the ruler of Skypiea. It would be strange if the Skypieans were completely accepting of it.
"You are the Shandian Chieftain?" Bege asked, looking at the old man with the wolf-head hat beside Calsedon, already having a guess.
"Indeed. I am Kalwolf, Chieftain of the Shandians. Greetings to the new God of Skypiea," the old Chieftain said, leaning on his cane and bowing his head respectfully.
Seeing this, Bege knew the Shandians were intending to submit to him. He immediately laughed heartily and invited him to rise.
"Hehehe, Old Chieftain, please rise, please rise."
"Calsedon should have relayed my decision. Has the Old Chieftain come to a decision himself, by coming here personally?" Bege inquired.
The old Chieftain nodded solemnly and asked, "Four hours ago, I heard the Lamp of Shandora ring. I don't know if Your Excellency was the one who lit the Lamp of Shandora."
"That's correct. I found the Lamp of Shandora and rang it," Bege confirmed, nodding. A Castle Gate opened in his chest, and the massive golden altar was pushed out by unseen hands.
With a boom, the massive golden altar landed in the plaza.
The old Chieftain and the Shandian warriors were immediately overcome with emotion upon seeing the golden altar. The old Chieftain even ran over to touch the altar, tears streaming down his face.
The old Chieftain excitedly shouted to the Shandian warriors behind him, "That's it! This is the Lamp of Shandora! This is the Lamp of Shandora recorded in our ancestral teachings! After four hundred years, we finally see it!"
The old Chieftain led the Shandian warriors in a kneel of reverence towards the golden altar.
Bege stood to the side, not disturbing them.
When the old Chieftain stood up again, he walked to Bege and said solemnly, "You rang the Lamp of Shandora. You are a great benefactor to our Shandian people. As long as you promise that we can return to Upper Yard, we Shandians are willing to obey you. I only ask that you treat the Shandians kindly."
"Heeheehee, Old Chieftain, rest assured. Your Shandian people will live in Upper Yard alongside the Skypieans. I will treat everyone equally. Moreover, I will appoint you as my second Regent, with the same authority as Gan Fall," Bege responded solemnly.
The old Chieftain's aged face lit up with joy, and he nodded emphatically.
The old Chieftain returned to the Shandian village that very night. They were eager to return to Upper Yard.
Both the Skypieans and the Shandians had submitted to Bege, giving him effective control over Skypiea.
Over the next week, the entrances to Skypiea were sealed off, and Bege began to implement his plans. He had the Shandians and Skypieans select elite warriors to form two God's Guard units, directly under Bege's command.
These two units were trained by Modi. The Skypieans and Shandians relied too heavily on Dial weapons, and their own physical strength was lacking. Bege intended to train their physical strength, teaching them all the Rokushiki techniques.
Bege also summoned the most skilled Dial weapon craftsmen in Skypiea to create the best Dial weapons for his subordinates.
Furthermore, Bege ordered the Skypiean people to collect the nearly extinct, powerful Dials throughout Skypiea, the White-White Sea, and the White Sea.
To gain the support of the Skypiean people as quickly as possible, Bege continued Gan Fall's previous policies and added many policies to benefit the people.
These policies were formulated and then executed by Gan Fall and Kalwolf. Their implementation was quite smooth. Meanwhile, Bege personally led his disciples to Birka, searching for Enel, or more precisely, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
How could he possibly miss out on one of the top-tier Logia Devil Fruits in the world of One Piece?
At this time, Enel should still be a kid. It was just a question of whether he had obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit yet.
With Skypiean guides, Bege quickly arrived at Birka Island.
Upon entering Birka Island, he immediately ordered his disciples and the Skypiean warriors to begin searching for Enel.
Birka Island was already very small, with few residents. Before long, the Skypiean warriors found Enel and brought him to Bege.
Before Bege stood a filthy, skinny child, dressed in ragged clothes and looking like a small, scrawny monkey.
The child kept his head down, not daring to look at Bege, his small body trembling.
"Raise your head!" Bege commanded.
The child raised his head, and seeing Bege staring at him, his face filled with terror, he quickly lowered his head again, shivering all over.
"You're Enel?" Bege asked, frowning.
The child was too terrified to speak. The Skypiean warrior beside him barked, "God is asking you a question! Answer quickly!"
The child was so frightened that he burst into tears, sobbing as he replied, "Y-yes, I'm Enel."
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