"Beware… Nefertari?"
Michael and Robin did not deliberately lower their voices, so Crocodile—who was not far away and had been paying close attention to the situation—flashed forward and turned into wind and sand, arriving at Michael's side.
She frowned and looked at this Poneglyph.
"This… doesn't make sense, does it? Joy Boy was indeed defeated by the twenty Celestial Dragon families that formed the World Government—the so-called 'Twenty Kings'—but was it really necessary to single out the Nefertari family? What's more, the Nefertari family never became Celestial Dragons at all, and instead returned to Alabasta."
"That part, I don't know either." Robin shook her head. "Although it has no direct connection to historical records, this is indeed something left behind by Joy Boy, and it really is written this way."
"And the even bigger question is… why would Joy Boy leave a message for 'that six-winged bastard Michael'? There's a gap of eight hundred years between Michael and Joy Boy!"
After saying this, Crocodile's gaze shifted to Michael, eager for an answer.
Michael looked at Crocodile, then at Robin, and sighed.
"Alright. I was planning to inform you all anyway… gather everyone."
Robin nodded, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and around each of the busy members of the SWORD Secret Special Force nearby, a hand with a mouth sprouted.
"All personnel, assemble at the temporary camp."
...
Within a few minutes, all members of the SWORD Secret Special Force, as well as Jack and Yamato, had arrived at the temporary camp.
Looking at the puzzled expressions on everyone's faces, Michael sighed.
Then he retold the relationship between himself and Kozuki Toki.
Aside from a few sharper minds like Rosinante—who had already sensed something strange and gotten answers from Kozuki Toki—everyone else was completely stunned.
"Huh!? Time travel!? Eight hundred years ago!? Foster father!?" Hancock's eyes had already started spinning like spirals. "So how many daughters do you actually have!? You bastard dad!"
"Sandersonia, Marigold, calm your sister down." Michael rubbed his temples. "As unbelievable as it sounds, it seems that at some point in the future, I will travel through time to more than eight hundred years ago—and it looks like I won't just adopt Kozuki Toki, but will also come to know the legendary Joy Boy…"
In fact, Michael was already starting to feel confused himself.
Just how long had he stayed in the past?
As investigations across the world deepened, Michael discovered that the traces he had left eight hundred years ago were becoming more and more numerous…
So numerous that it felt excessive.
Not to mention that now there were two additional mysteries.
One was the warning he had just learned: "Beware the Nefertari."
The other was the information about Rocks brought by Charlotte Linlin.
Everything converged on more than eight hundred years ago—an era when the World Government had not yet been established…
The mysteries… were a bit too many.
Even as a time traveler, Michael felt somewhat helpless…
Oda didn't draw this shit at all!
Sure enough, how could an entire world possibly be fully depicted within a single manga?
After his moment of reflection, Michael raised his head and looked at everyone.
"Regarding these matters, all of you need to stay alert. If you obtain any strange information related to the point in time eight hundred years ago, you must inform me immediately."
"Yes!"
"Alright, no need to be so tense. How is the cleanup going?"
"Report! The remnants of the Beasts Pirates and their allies have been completely wiped out… however, there is one small problem." Rosinante stepped forward and gestured with his hand. "And this small problem is a bit difficult to deal with."
"Difficult to deal with, and you still call it a small problem!?" Michael shot a glare at his occasionally airheaded brother. "What problem?"
"Dyna Stones."
"Dyna Stones… Dyna Stones!?" Michael froze. "Where did the Beasts Pirates get Dyna Stones from? Even on the black market, no one dares to sell that stuff!"
"That's exactly the problem… Not only do they have Dyna Stones, they also used members of the Donquixote Family to place and deploy them throughout various unknown corners of Wano… and in considerable numbers." Rosinante sighed.
"The reason I call this problem 'small' is that the Donquixote Family values their lives. They didn't bury the Dyna Stones directly, but instead installed impact protection and detonation devices… so unless there's excessive external force, they won't explode. In other words, the only issue is locating them."
"Are the Donquixote Family members all dead?"
"Some are still alive, but they placed them in batches, so they can only locate a small portion." Rosinante shrugged. "There's not much danger, but it's a project with a fairly large workload."
As he spoke, Rosinante sighed.
"If only we had hunting dogs that were smart enough and numerous enough… it might speed things up."
The moment Michael heard that, his eyes instantly shifted to the cats and dogs who were talking with Kozuki Toki…
"You know… that kind of thing actually exists!"
...
One day later, after receiving Rosinante's report, Marine Headquarters immediately dispatched the Great Staff Officer Vice Admiral Tsuru and the Marine Hero Vice Admiral Garp to Wano to handle the transfer of prisoners.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Little Tsuru, look at this—Rosinante is lying more and more without even bothering to draft it properly." Garp flicked the report in his hand. "Kaido and the Totto Land Emeror Charlotte Linlin disappearing after a great battle… He doesn't seriously think we don't know Michael is in Wano, does he?"
"That's precisely how you know Rosinante has grown up." Tsuru took a sip of tea and chuckled softly. "Some things—both the person writing the report and the person reading it understand perfectly well, yet they simply can't be written honestly in the report."
"Tsk, all these twists and turns—I'll never learn them in my lifetime."
"You're far more advanced than these so-called 'twists and turns,' Garp…" Tsuru glanced sideways at him. "What they call great wisdom hidden beneath foolishness…"
"I don't understand a single word you're saying, Tsuru."
"If you don't understand, then so be it. But don't forget—right now, our entire Marine force is tied to Michael… you people should at least give me something to work with."
"Well… you'd better ask Michael yourself when you have time." As Garp spoke, he pointed ahead.
"Look, Tsuru—Wano is finally in sight."
As the fleet led by Garp's warship as the flagship sailed into Wano's inner sea, the scene along the shores of Wano instantly came into view.
Keen-nosed Mink Tribe members could be seen everywhere, pressed to the ground, frantically sniffing at something.
"Uh…" Garp looked around, confirmed it, then lowered his voice to Granny Tsuru. "Are we really in Wano?"
And just as Garp was speaking, a Mink Tribe member seemed to catch a scent. After digging with its claws for a while, it unearthed an object wrapped in a transparent substance.
"(^o^)/ The Mink Tribe has made a great contribution!"
With Garp's eyesight, even from some distance away, he could still see it clearly.
"Ho—holy shit!"
"Dyna Stones!?"
Garp and Granny Tsuru looked at each other, their expressions instantly turning grim.
These days, the only ones who could get their hands on Dyna Stones…
Were the World Government.
Which meant that behind Kaido this time…
Once again, there was the shadow of the World Government!
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Fanfic is finished. 583 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg