Chinjao quickly said, "Your Majesty, I'll go fetch the Eternal Pose and the sea chart for you right away."
After receiving the Eternal Pose and the chart, Ares did not leave immediately.
The next day, he went back down into the underground chamber and made a rubbing of the red Poneglyph.
"Roger is probably searching all over the world for the Poneglyphs right now..."
"There are four Road Poneglyphs. One of them is already with me. I need to find the other three somehow..."
"Or maybe..."
"One day Roger will come right to my doorstep and serve the others up to me on a platter?"
He knew that Roger would definitely come to Wano in the future, not only because of the Poneglyph, but also because the people who could read the ancient script on them seemed to exist only in Wano for the moment.
After that, life seemed to return to normal. Every few days, Ares would spar with Whitebeard.
Only after the people of Wano gradually grew used to him as their new shogun did he finally put on a cloak, transform into his dragon form, and leave Wano for Ohara in the West Blue.
...
West Blue.
Ohara.
Inside the basement of the Tree of Knowledge, the library said to hold the greatest collection of books in the world, the scholars were bent over a black Poneglyph, carefully breaking down the ancient script carved into it.
Dr. Clover, his hair styled like a clover leaf, frowned deeply as he said, "Deciphering the text on this Poneglyph will be an enormous undertaking..."
"Even in the library of the Tree of Knowledge, books containing similar writing are exceedingly rare. The World Government truly went to extraordinary lengths to erase that century of history."
He simply could not imagine how vast an operation it must have been to wipe out one hundred years of history.
It was almost inconceivable.
At the same time, as a member of the D. clan, there was a shadow in his heart that could never be erased. His own brother had been killed by CP0 because of the name "D."
That alone proved that for the last eight hundred years, the World Government had been relentlessly erasing everything connected to the truth of the Void Century.
Including its absolute ban on the study of the Poneglyphs.
A tremendous darkness lay hidden behind it all.
Inside the room, the archaeologist with short white hair, Nico Olvia, said with some relief, "Fortunately, Roger previously sent us several Poneglyph rubbings for comparison. We've already identified some repeated ancient characters, so our research has made good progress."
"If only we had more Poneglyph samples."
"More Poneglyphs?" Dr. Clover's eyes lit up. "Perhaps we should organize an expedition team and set sail to search for them."
But the moment he said it, regret crossed his face.
"No. Sailing out would be too dangerous. And this is exactly the sort of thing the World Government has expressly forbidden. If they found out, it would bring disaster to Ohara. Absolutely not."
But the seed had already been planted.
One of the archaeologists immediately agreed. "I think an expedition team is necessary. There's more than one Poneglyph. Even if we decipher the language on this one, we still may not learn the full truth..."
"If we want to know the truth, we must find more Poneglyphs."
Olvia nodded and said righteously, "That's right. The true meaning of being an archaeologist is to uncover the truth buried in history and tell it to the world, so people have the right to know what really happened in the past."
Hearing that, Clover rubbed his forehead in frustration.
"It's too early to talk about expeditions. We've only just taken the first small step in deciphering the ancient text."
He clapped his hands and addressed the room.
"That's enough research for today. Remember, everyone, act as though none of this ever happened. Do not mention it to anyone."
"We understand."
The archaeologists left the basement and dispersed, each pretending everything was normal.
Dusk deepened, and the sky grew dim.
At the very top of the Tree of Knowledge, hidden among the dense green leaves, Ares sat cloaked in silence. Using Observation Haki, he had heard every word of their conversation.
Because of his size, he knew that even with a cloak, he would draw attention if he appeared in public, so he simply avoided ordinary people's sight altogether.
Within his range of perception, the white-haired Olvia was walking home.
Ares immediately created a cloud path with his Flame Clouds, concealed himself above the sky, and turned into a full-fledged stalking demon, tailing her all the way.
"So that's Olvia. She really does look exactly like Robin, and she's white-haired too. Interesting."
"If I really abduct her, then in the future... will Robin simply never exist?"
Ares laughed at himself.
"Robin inherited her mother's bloodline. Maybe Olvia's future child would still be Robin. But... if that happened, would that Robin still really be Robin?"
The strange thought flashed through his mind, but he did not dwell on it.
Olvia's life was extremely simple.
Home and the Tree of Knowledge.
Back and forth between those two points.
Very regular.
The only complication was that she had a younger brother at home, meaning the household that would one day ostracize Robin was already there.
That future uncle of Robin's.
The next day, on the road back to Olvia's home, along a remote stretch of path, the cloaked Ares stepped out from behind a tree.
Even under the cloak, his broad, powerful frame and ominous silhouette instantly made Olvia's face change. She was just about to cry out in alarm.
Ares narrowed his eyes and released a burst of Conqueror's Haki, knocking her unconscious on the spot. In the next instant, he blurred forward, grabbed her, set her atop a Flame Cloud, and vanished from the area.
On a quiet stretch of coast, the sea breeze blew cold against her face.
Olvia shivered and jolted awake. The moment she sat up, her eyes widened at the sight before her.
Ares was there, repeatedly hammering his own body with his fists.
The deep lines of muscle across his back formed something like a demonic face, enough to make one's hair stand on end.
He looked like a sculpture carved from steel.
Olvia's pupils trembled. She covered her mouth at once to stop herself from screaming, then carefully, quietly rose to her feet.
Like a thief, she tried to slip away.
But the moment she moved, a voice sounded behind her, freezing her in place.
"You're awake."
Olvia shuddered.
Then she suddenly bolted.
The moment she turned, however...
Bang.
She ran straight into Ares's body.
The rebound knocked her onto the ground. Looking up at him in terror, her pupils dilated at once.
She had seen that face before.
Many times.
On bounty posters and in newspapers.
Her hands braced against the ground as she scrambled backward, her voice trembling.
"You are..."
"You're the War God... Ares!?"
The pirate with a bounty of 3.5 billion berries.
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