The scene before them no longer resembled the forest they had entered.
“Your Majesty, there’s a road ahead!”
Junhe shouted excitedly.
His voice was filled with disbelief.
After searching the area countless times, none of them had ever discovered a path here.
Yet the moment the giant tree began to fall, the surrounding scenery changed completely.
Nero noticed it as well.
He glanced toward the newly revealed road before turning back to the massive tree that was still crashing down.
As it fell, countless surrounding trees were snapped apart.
When the giant trunk finally struck the ground, a tremendous impact echoed through the forest, and even the earth trembled beneath their feet.
Junhe quickly hurried over.
Looking at the fallen tree, he couldn’t understand why every problem that had trapped them had suddenly vanished.
“Your Majesty, what’s going on?”
he asked respectfully.
To be honest, Nero himself didn’t fully understand.
He had simply noticed the tree several times and acted on instinct.
He never expected everything to change the moment it fell.
“I’m not entirely sure either.”
Nero smiled.
“But one thing is certain—this treasure is hiding more secrets than we imagined.
If there’s enough wealth inside, life in the Tru Kingdom will become much easier.”
“Then does that mean the barrier has been broken?”
Junhe asked.
“If so, we should be able to reach our destination before dark.”
“Let’s move.”
Nero nodded.
“We can investigate this place later.”
No one could explain what had happened.
The phenomenon didn’t seem man-made, yet it was clearly abnormal.
Whatever secrets this place held, they were far from ordinary.
Ahead of them stretched a path roughly two meters wide.
No one knew where it led.
However, the treasure map contained a single line:
When the barrier opens, the treasure shall appear.
Based on that alone, the road should lead directly to the treasure.
As for what dangers lay ahead, nobody knew.
Nero sheathed Muramasa and hung it at his waist before taking the lead.
“Your Majesty, allow me to walk in front.”
Junhe stepped forward immediately.
“We don’t know what dangers might be waiting.”
Nero laughed.
“Your life is just as valuable as mine.
Besides, my strength is greater than yours.
I’ll lead.”
“Your Majesty truly cares about us…”
“From now on, whatever Your Majesty commands, I’ll do without hesitation!”
“Only a king like this deserves our loyalty!”
The soldiers behind them were deeply moved.
Many of them looked at Nero with admiration.
As the group continued forward, none of them noticed that the giant tree behind them was slowly disappearing.
Its enormous trunk faded away without a trace.
The path stretched endlessly.
An hour passed.
Still, they hadn’t reached the end.
The trees on both sides were extraordinarily tall, forming an endless wall of green.
“Your Majesty, you’ve been exhausted all day.”
Junhe said.
“Would you like to rest for a while?”
“No need.”
Nero shook his head.
“Let’s finish this trip first.
Besides, this level of exertion is nothing for us.”
Junhe smiled and continued following behind him.
The road seemed impossibly long.
At their pace, they should have covered a huge distance already.
Yet the end remained nowhere in sight.
An even stranger feeling gradually emerged.
Although they appeared to be climbing upward the entire time, they should have reached the summit long ago.
Instead, it felt as though they were moving in circles.
Ten minutes later, Nero finally stopped.
The atmosphere around them felt eerily familiar.
It was almost identical to the strange phenomenon they had encountered earlier.
“Junhe.”
Nero spoke seriously.
“Use Moonwalk and go up.
Check what’s happening.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Junhe immediately stepped into the air and ascended with Moonwalk.
From above, everything seemed normal.
But after observing for a while, he noticed something strange.
Despite walking for nearly an hour, the group had advanced only a few miles.
When he returned, he quickly reported his findings.
“Your Majesty, according to the treasure map, the destination should be right above us.
But despite walking for almost an hour, we’ve only covered about five miles.”
Nero’s expression darkened.
“We can’t waste any more time.”
He looked toward the others.
“Everyone stay here.
Junhe and I will continue from the air.
I want to see what’s capable of trapping us for nearly an entire day.”
His tone was noticeably colder now.
What should have been a simple treasure hunt had already consumed far too much time and effort.
Most importantly, this place was inside his own kingdom.
Yet nobody knew anything about it.
As a treasure protected by generations of kings, it clearly wasn’t ordinary.
Moreover, there was another question that bothered him.
Why had the Pirate King chosen to leave his wife in Baterilla?
There had to be a reason.
Leaving the others behind, Nero and Junhe ascended into the air with Moonwalk and headed directly toward the mountain peak.
The distance wasn’t far.
Soon, they reached the summit.
The sight before them caused Nero to frown.
This place was completely different from what he had imagined.
The mountain peak was barren.
There were no trees.
No grass.
Nothing but stone.
The entire summit could be surveyed at a glance.
More importantly, the location marked on the treasure map was clearly here.
Yet there was nowhere for a treasure to be hidden.
Could it be that after all this effort, there was nothing at all?
“Your Majesty.”
Junhe returned after checking the area.
“I’ve searched everywhere.
There’s no entrance, no hidden passage, nothing.”
“The treasure guarded by generations of kings can’t be this simple.”
Nero said firmly.
“If the location is correct, then it must still be here.”
Even so, doubt crept into his mind.
The summit wasn’t large.
The treasure map pointed directly to this place.
Yet there was nowhere capable of concealing anything.
Still unwilling to give up, the two split up and searched again.
Before long, they had examined every corner of the mountain.
Nothing.
Not a single clue.
“Damn it.”
Nero cursed inwardly.
“Could this so-called treasure really be a scam?
Generations of kings guarded this place for nothing?”
The situation was completely different from what he had expected.
He had come here full of anticipation.
The result was infuriating.
“Your Majesty.”
Junhe looked puzzled.
“Could there be a problem with the treasure map itself?”
Nero sighed.
“The problem is that when Father gave me this map, I never asked for details.”
“What else?”
Nero shrugged.
“We go back.”
There was simply nothing here.
Instead of wasting more time, he would rather return and focus on making money.
After speaking, Nero sat down on a nearby rock to rest before leaving.
Then something unexpected happened.
The stone beneath him suddenly shifted.
Both Nero and Junhe immediately noticed.
The rock wasn’t connected to the ground at all.
It was suspended.
The two exchanged glances.
Neither needed to say a word.
The excitement in their eyes said everything.
“It seems we’ve finally found it.”
Nero grinned.
“Move the rock.”
Without hesitation, Junhe lifted it aside.
The moment the stone was removed, both men froze.
The mountain’s interior was completely hollow.
Massive rocks floated throughout the empty space as if gravity itself had ceased to exist.
Because of countless years of accumulation, the mountain looked perfectly normal from the outside.
“Your Majesty, let me go down first.”
Junhe offered.
“No need.”
Nero shook his head.
“There shouldn’t be any danger here.
Let’s go together.”
With that, he jumped directly into the opening.
The hole appeared bottomless.
Darkness swallowed everything below.
No one knew what was hidden inside.
Still, one thing was certain.
Something extraordinary lay beneath.
As they descended, the strange force within the mountain caused both of them to float.
Neither could fall normally.
“Junhe.”
Nero’s expression became serious.
“Stay close to the edge and move down carefully.
Watch yourself.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The two slowly descended through the darkness.
Eventually, they reached the bottom.
The moment they arrived, the sight before them completely overturned Nero’s understanding of the world.
Junhe stood frozen in place.
The so-called treasure had absolutely nothing to do with what either of them had expected.
“Your Majesty…”
Junhe swallowed hard.
“What is this?”
Nero didn’t answer immediately.
He slowly reached out and touched the enormous black object before him.
The shock in his eyes was impossible to conceal.
At that moment, he finally understood what lay hidden beneath the mountain.
The gigantic object occupied nearly the entire hollow interior.
It wasn’t gold.
It wasn’t jewels.
It wasn’t treasure in the conventional sense.
Instead, it was something that countless people throughout the One Piece world dreamed of obtaining.
“Junhe.”
Nero’s voice became unusually serious.
“It seems we’ve truly struck it rich this time.
But whether this is a blessing or a disaster remains to be seen.”
He turned and looked directly at Junhe.
“After we leave this place, no one can learn about what’s hidden here.
If word gets out, the entire Tru Kingdom could be dragged into war.”
Junhe’s expression immediately became solemn.
He had never seen Nero act so serious before.
“Your Majesty…”
he asked quietly.
“What exactly is this?”