"This… is because we heard there were powerful weapons buried here," one of the space pirates hesitated before finally revealing.
"Weapons?" Mio's eyes narrowed with interest. "Tell me everything you know."
"Yes!"
The space pirate, eager to save his life, began confessing everything he knew.
As it turned out, space pirates really did exist—though they were rare. These pirates lived on various scattered planets in the universe, but interestingly, many of them originally came from Qinghai. Their ancestors had ventured into space long ago and never returned, having adapted to the life among the stars.
Occasionally, some space pirates revisited Qinghai, but they quickly returned to the universe after realizing just how many powerful beings resided there.
The reason these two were on the moon was due to a persistent rumor—one claiming that a powerful weapon was hidden here. A weapon capable of bestowing unimaginable strength.
More than a decade ago, there was even a strange explosion on the moon. While no one in Qinghai seemed to notice, the space pirates did. Many believed it signaled the weapon's awakening, so pirate crews came one after another.
But years passed, and no such weapon was found. Though some ancient ruins were uncovered, none of them seemed valuable, and most of the space pirates eventually gave up and left.
Only these two remained, blasting holes in the moon in search of the rumored weapon.
After hearing their account, Mio's thoughts deepened.
"Powerful weapon… could it be Uranus?"
Even if Uranus was indeed hidden on the moon, it clearly wasn't so easy to find. These pirates had been bombing the place for over ten years and found nothing, which showed just how well-hidden it was.
Mio looked at the pair and ordered, "Draw me a map of all the ruins you've discovered on the moon."
The ruins were useless to these pirates—but to Mio, they were potential leads. If Robin could translate any inscriptions, they might uncover clues about Uranus.
"Okay… but will you let us go after we finish?" one of them asked cautiously.
"Of course," Mio replied with a smile. Calm. Convincing.
But then again—he was a pirate. So were they.
And pirates don't always keep their promises.
While the two pirates began sketching a crude map, Mio continued his inquiry. "Are there other pirates still on the moon?"
"Yes," one pirate responded. "The moon is huge. There are areas we haven't explored. But in some places, we found fresh traces—signs that other space pirates were recently here."
"I see." Mio gave a short nod, his Observation Haki expanding again, this time reaching its fullest range.
The moon's entire surface lit up in his senses—flickers of life, energy signatures, traces of movement.
He noted something—but didn't act immediately. He waited.
Half an hour passed.
A map was finally completed. Bai Feng took it and handed it to Mio, who examined it with a spark of surprise in his eyes.
"Three separate ruins on the moon? Just these two found that many…?"
His mind flashed to a theory he had heard before his reincarnation—one suggesting the Celestial Dragons had migrated from the moon to Qinghai, and that the Sky Islanders were descendants of lunar dwellers.
Could the ruins really be related?
In the original records, some ruins were said to be ancient mechanical factories, and others housed massive robots now dormant from lack of power.
Power, of course, meant lightning—the same energy Enel used in the original work to awaken the robots.
Mio wasn't too concerned about the robots themselves, but whether these ruins were somehow connected to the King he was searching for.
"Think about it," Mio muttered to himself. "Pluton was built by shipwrights… Poseidon is a mermaid princess, the race known to be favored as slaves by the Celestial Dragons… and Uranus…"
"Could Uranus have been created by those who sought to maintain control over the world?"
If so, and if those people were the Celestial Dragons…
Then what if each Ancient Weapon represented something?
Uranus: the ruling elite
Pluton: ordinary humans
Poseidon: the enslaved and oppressed
And the mysterious giant straw hat in Marijoa? Could it represent freedom?
The pieces didn't perfectly align, but the symbolic connection stirred Mio's instincts.
And he remembered that iconic panel from the original work—
"Joy Boy… I wish I'd been born in the same era as you. What a treasure you left behind… what a joke!"
That was Roger's remark.
Now, standing on the moon and thinking of the Final Island, Mio's lips curled slightly.
"Joy Boy… Radluff… Maybe I should go see it myself one day."
His thoughts concluded, Mio silently raised his hand.
Bai Feng and Asuka stepped forward, wielding a wind blade and the Seven-Star Sword.
Slash.
Two screams rang out—and were instantly silenced.
Blood sprayed across the silver dust of the moon's surface. The two space pirates lay dead.
Mio then calmly gave his next command. "Get ready. Asuka, Bai Feng, Lilith, and Mashi will stay behind to guard the Ark. The rest of you—come with me to investigate the ruins."
The ruins were far apart—one of them so distant it might take a long trek to reach.
But Mio had a feeling.
If he could find the King…
Then maybe, just maybe—
He would finally uncover the truth about what happened eight hundred years ago.
And whether Joy Boy had laid a trap…
A trap still waiting to be triggered.