In the vast, empty hall, only Bege and Cobra remained.
Cobra's gaze fell upon the empty space where the Poneglyph had once stood. His expression was grave as he turned to Bege. "Captain 'Demon Dragon,' I wonder what it is you wish to ask me."
"The Nefertari family was one of the twenty royal families that founded the World Government 800 years ago," Bege said nonchalantly. "You should know about the Void Century. Tell me about it."
Cobra's pupils contracted, his expression shifting rapidly. He hesitated before answering, "That is the history of 800 years ago. Our family has long since lost any records of it."
"Is that so?" Bege chuckled. "No one is supposed to know that your family possesses a Poneglyph. If the World Government were to find out, what do you think they would do to you?"
Cobra's face turned grim. The Poneglyph was a matter of immense importance. The primary reason his ancestors had refused to ascend to Mary Geoise and become Celestial Dragons was to fulfill their duty: to protect this Poneglyph and safeguard the Ancient Weapon, Pluton.
If the World Government discovered the stone, the Nefertari family would undoubtedly be stripped of its status. They would all become prisoners, and it was highly likely they would be silenced forever. And given the depravity of the Celestial Dragons, the Kingdom of Alabasta itself would suffer, plunging the entire nation into an abyss of misery.
Cobra finally relented. "Our family has indeed passed down some historical accounts concerning the Void Century," he admitted. "However, these accounts are of such gravity that no written records were ever kept. The knowledge has been passed down orally from one king to the next. Over the course of 800 years, most of the history has been lost. What I know is very little."
"Tell me what you know," Bege commanded.
"The truth is, the history of the Void Century is the story of how the twenty royal families, led by a certain leader, overthrew a great empire. That is all I know," Cobra said.
"That's rather concise," Bege noted, his brow furrowed in clear dissatisfaction.
"It is truly all I know," Cobra explained. "When our ancestors chose not to ascend to Mary Geoise, they immediately drew the suspicion of the other nineteen families. Over the past eight hundred years, our family has been secretly suppressed by them. Many of my predecessors died young under 'accidental' circumstances, causing vast portions of the history of the Void Century to be lost. It is a miracle that even this small fragment has survived to this day."
Bege stroked the ring on his finger, mulling over Cobra's explanation. It was certainly plausible. If the history of the Void Century was truly that significant, the Celestial Dragons would never allow the Nefertari family, who remained outside their direct control, to know too much.
"The D. clan," Bege continued, changing the subject. "What do you know of them?" He was just as interested in the meaning of D. The clan was almost never mentioned in the current era, yet it constantly influenced the balance of the entire world.
Every person who bore the initial "D." was a figure who had shaken the world to its core.
The former Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, found the One Piece and, with his dying words, ignited the Great Pirate Era.
The Marine Hero, Monkey D. Garp, held a transcendent status within the Navy.
The leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon, created an army with the sole purpose of overthrowing the World Government.
Jaguar D. Saul, a former Vice Admiral, spared Nico Robin on Ohara, allowing the one person who could read the Poneglyphs to survive.
Marshall D. Teach, the future Emperor from the original story, was a ruthless opportunist who would one day usurp the Whitebeard Pirates' territory.
The son of the Pirate King, Portgas D. Ace, would later trigger the Summit War, leading to Whitebeard's fall and causing the Great Pirate Era to spiral completely out of control.
And in the future, Dragon's son, Monkey D. Luffy, the protagonist of this world, held the grand dream of becoming the Pirate King.
Trafalgar D. Water Law, user of the Op-Op Fruit—the most valuable Devil Fruit in the world—also possessed the power to upset the world's balance.
Every single one of them, in some way, had a profound impact on the world. Though the D. clan was small in number, each member was a figure of immense influence.
So, what was the purpose of their existence?
Bege had always been intensely curious. He had once asked Dragon about it, but Dragon had been tight-lipped, seemingly unwilling to let the meaning of the D. clan be known.
His predecessor had seen many fan theories about the D. clan. They were varied, but one prominent discussion was about the "Will of D." Some believed this will was the core of the clan, an invisible force guiding the world. If one could understand the meaning of the Will of D., the mystery of the clan would be solved.
There was no consensus. Most believed the hidden meaning of "D" was Dream, as the world of One Piece revolved around the grand story of the protagonist Luffy's dream to become Pirate King.
Others thought it was Destiny. The members of the D. clan all seemed to bear their own unique fates. Roger, Garp, Dragon, Teach, Ace, Luffy—their destinies were all different.
A minority guessed "D" stood for Demon, Destroy, or Dawn.
Among the many theories, Bege found two the most compelling: Destiny and Demon.
He remembered what Donquixote Rosinante, Doflamingo's brother, had once told Law about the D. clan. He said that whenever someone with the initial "D." made a name for themselves, they would inevitably bring forth a storm. In Rosinante's memory, the "D"s were troublemakers, and it was from his mouth that the phrase "Natural Enemy of the Gods" first emerged.
Furthermore, the core power system of the One Piece world was Devil Fruits. The "D" and "Devil" seemed to fit together all too well.
Of course, what Rosinante had heard was from the elders in his homeland, so it couldn't be ruled out that it was just propaganda spread by the Celestial Dragons to slander the D. clan.
But these were all just guesses. No matter how reasonable Dream, Destiny, or Demon sounded, they were still just speculation. He wanted to know the true meaning behind the Will of D.
"D.?" Cobra looked at Bege, surprised once more. "You know of them as well? Yes, I do know something of the D. clan." He paused, considering his words. "The oral traditions of my family do contain information about them. The D. clan is inextricably linked to the history of the Void Century. Of course, most of the information about them has also been lost."
"From what I know," Cobra said, his face serious, "the D. clan was a mysterious and powerful people. In the surviving fragments of our history, they were recorded as a clan of god-slayers—the natural enemy of the gods."
"A clan of god-slayers... So the Will of D. is to kill gods? The Celestial Dragons? No, that can't be right. The Celestial Dragons didn't exist 800 years ago," Bege mused, his brow furrowed in thought before he shook his head.
"I have told you everything I know," Cobra said earnestly.
"Thank you, King Cobra. I'll be taking the Poneglyph with me. Until we meet again." Bege nodded, then turned and walked away.
"This is getting more and more interesting," he thought to himself as he left the hall. "The Void Century, the D. clan... Sooner or later, I will unearth all of these secrets. I'm dying to see just how big of a secret this world is hiding."
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