Ian and his group arrived without causing even the slightest stir on the island.
Before coming, he had already instructed the pirates stationed here to temporarily evacuate the nearby residents.
So when Ian led his companions straight toward the towering lighthouse, not a single person on the island even knew they were here.
"This is the place, right?"
Yamato looked around curiously.
"If Whitebeard didn't lie to me, then this should be it," Ian replied.
If Whitebeard had dared to deceive him at that time, Ian would truly have admired the old man's courage.
Because that would mean he was willing to gamble with the lives of his beloved sons and daughters.
"Bullet, it's your turn."
Ian spoke calmly.
"You treating me like a digging tool now?" Bullet snorted, but still walked forward.
The power of the Clank-Clank Fruit activated instantly. A purple glow surged out, enveloping the lighthouse and the ground beneath it.
Everything covered by Bullet's ability began to tremble.
Shanks watched with a hint of surprise.
Bullet had been completely tamed by Ian.
The man who once defied everyone aboard Roger's ship now followed Ian's orders without hesitation.
Even if he grumbled endlessly, when it came time to act, he never faltered.
A faint smile tugged at Shanks' lips.
How nice.
The once solitary, domineering Bullet… now had comrades he trusted.
While Shanks was still quietly sighing over this, Bullet's ability had already produced results.
The ground rumbled violently, splitting open as a massive red stone was forcibly dragged up from deep underground. With a heavy thud, it was set neatly before Ian.
"Oh!"
Yamato rushed forward excitedly, running her hand along the giant stone. "We finally got the last one!"
Robin's eyes shimmered with tears.
Doctor… Mother… Everyone… The dream of all the scholars was finally within reach.
"Law," Ian said as he stepped up to the Road Poneglyph, not looking back. "Map."
"On it."
Law activated his fruit in an instant, teleporting right beside Ian and spreading out a huge sea chart across the ground.
"Hm?" Shanks froze for a moment.
Even Redfield looked confused. Why was Ian studying the Road Poneglyph so intently, while Nico Robin remained silent in the back?
Shouldn't she be the one deciphering ancient text?
Oh, right!
Redfield reacted instantly.
It must be because Ian didn't trust Nico Robin completely, so he decided to learn the ancient script from her himself.
What a meticulous man.
No matter what Redfield thought, Ian carefully examined every word carved onto the massive stone.
Each of the four Road Poneglyphs recorded a location. When all four appeared, linking them together would reveal a single point at the center—the position of the Final Island.
On the map Law had laid out before Ian, three locations were already marked.
And now, the last one had finally been confirmed.
Ian lifted his right hand and flicked his index finger.
A tiny compressed burst of air shot out from his fingertip.
The map didn't move, but a small hole suddenly appeared on its surface.
"So the position of the Final Island has been determined?"
Kaido stepped forward eagerly, stretching his neck to look at the map from behind Ian.
It wasn't just him.
More people gathered around Ian's side—Aunt Linlin, Redfield, even Shanks himself couldn't hold back their curiosity.
Ian lifted an eyebrow. His fingers slid lightly, slicing through the air. Two thin blades of wind formed instantly, tearing the newspaper while connecting the four marked points into an X.
If nothing unexpected occurred, the intersection of those two slashes would mark the location of the Final Island.
And that location was—
"Huh?"
Yamato froze on the spot. "How could it be there!?"
"Hahahaha!"
Shanks burst into loud laughter. "That Joy Boy sure played a huge joke on those who came after him!"
"Who would've thought? The Final Island turned out to be that place of all places."
Law clapped his hands as he laughed. He couldn't help thinking the man who left behind the great treasure must've had a bizarre sense of humor.
"That's exactly why no one has found the Final Island for the past eight hundred years."
Redfield let out a sigh. "Generations have searched the New World with a fine comb. Nearly every island has been inspected, yet nothing was ever discovered."
"It's because everyone was searching in the wrong place from the start."
Ian's lips curled upward.
The two wind blades he released earlier had left an X-shaped tear on the map.
And at the center of that X— was a place known to everyone across the seas, yet a place no one ever imagined.
" So that's it."
Ian's shoulders twitched as he struggled to hold back a laugh. "Reverse Mountain."
Yes. The four Road Poneglyphs pointed to four islands that connected in pairs, and the final point where their lines crossed turned out to be one of the two intersections between the Red Line and the Grand Line—the towering peak known as Reverse Mountain.
That place marked the beginning of the Grand Line. It was where every adventurer first set sail into the unknown.
"Who would've imagined it?"
"The starting point of everything was also the ending point we've been chasing all along."
Nico Robin let out a deep sigh.
The scholars of Ohara had proposed countless possible locations for the Final Island, but never once had they guessed Reverse Mountain.
"Maybe that's exactly why Joy Boy chose it," Shanks said with a smile. "After all, the front of Reverse Mountain is the start of the Grand Line, but its other side… is the Grand Line's end."
"Looked at this way, perhaps the answer was given to us from the very beginning."
Ian's smile grew wider.
Yes. It had been said long ago—Reverse Mountain was the Grand Line's end.
Yet for eight hundred years, people were convinced that the Final Island must lie somewhere else, hidden away in some unreachable corner.
Who would ever think that the thing they had been searching for was right where they first stood?
You really had to hand it to Joy Boy—his sense of humor was downright wicked.
Ian even felt a spark of excitement rising in him.
If the location of the Final Island alone was already this interesting, then what kind of joke had Joy Boy left inside the One Piece to make Roger's entire crew laugh until they couldn't stand straight?
It was enough to make anyone look forward to it.
**********
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