Jake was agape. His jaw expelled spontaneously. "Are you kidding me right now?"
"Who would've thought purchasing that junk would definitely aid us in the future?" Ryuken whistled.
Haha. A little chuckle extracted from Gojo's lips. "Log Pose, huh?" He tossed it over to his navigator who seized it mid-air.
The scene was hilarious. The duo, Ryuken and Jake were dumbfounded at how their captain had obtained a Log Pose all these while without sprouting out a single word.
"This…this is certainly a Log Pose. How the hell had you found this on East Blue?" Jake's eyebrows twitched.
"We call it fate."
"Lame ass."
Jake tossed the Log Pose and caught it once again. "I think we have our next island on the radar. Water 7."
"That's good to hear. But why don't we scout out whatever this strange island has to forfeit?" Gojo's excitement triggered skyward. "I smell adventure."
"Hey, fool. Remember this is certainly the Grand Line. We can't wander blindedly or it's gonna be our demise." Ryuken bit his lips, knowing too well they'll have to leisure measurably a day or two.
"It's useless sprouting that right now Ryu. He's an airhead who only visualizes adventure and cares less about menace." Jake sighs, strapping his pistols to his waist.
Jake, the helmsman, steered the ship closer to the island and ordered the sails lowered or adjusted as the speed drops so the ship glides instead of charging the dock.
The helmsman steered the wheels carefully, angling the ship parallel to the pier while watching the wind and current.
"Drop the anchor!"
"Roger that!"
With a precise swift of motion, Gojo and Ryu dropped the anchor and hurled thick ropes onto the dock.
Finally!
With a final creek of wood, the ship settled beside the pier, hopping onto the island.
"The Grand Line…kinda gives some chills, probably different from East Blue." Gojo hummed.
"Definitely. Everything feels different."
The trio embraced the island, still clad in marine attire as they lumped into the depths of the forest.
"What the hell are these huge plants?"
"It does feel gross and creepy."
The island was vivid, the trees and plants were kind of different or…weird I'll say. The plants danced to a rhythm watching the creeped out humans wandering through the forest.
Alas, the forest engulfed itself with a thick fog which arose out of mediocre. The hare of chirping birds echoed rigorously making the circumstances more creepier than it was.
"I think this island is cursed." Ryuken swallowed.
"Hey hey, what the hell is happening? The fog is hindering my vision."
"We gotta watch our rear. I feel these strange creepy plants are the cause of all this."
"Why don't we retreat for now? We should probably get back to the ship."
"Ship, you say? Where the hell is the route?"
Jake extracted the cigarette from his lips, "these fucking plants are definitely toying with our brains."
"We've got to find a way out of this mess."
The forest swallowed the trio into its realm of despair, the fog, hindering their sight as they wuzzled blindedly into the depths of the forest whereas all they could see was a thick cloudy mist.
After hours of wandering through the forest, blinded by thick fog, it slowly began to dissipate, allowing them to regain their vision once more.
"Where the hell are we?" Gojo said, taking a glimpse around their surroundings.
"This doesn't seem like the forest we were in a couple of minutes ago."
The trio found themselves utterly dumbfounded, their initial relief dissolving into a profound and unsettling bewilderment.
Gradually, they came to the disconcerting realization that they had inadvertently retraced their entire route from the depths of the forest, only to arrive at a location that was, in essence, nowhere in particular. The path, which had promised escape, had instead delivered them to a place devoid of distinction or purpose—a stark, featureless non-destination.
Jake halted his movement for a while. "This island feels strange. Aren't there any inhabitants living here?"
The question struck into the einstein amidst the duo accomplishing they'd not witnessed any human since arrival.
"Given that, what the actual hell is this building?"
The towering building showcased itself before the trio, vines and plants were seen engulfing the whole structure, the building was covered with cracks, fallen debris laid amidst the structure, and dead creatures laid lifeless with their bones and skulls apart.
"What the hell happened here?"
"I can't feel any presence nearby," Gojo said, stepping on a skull as it turned into sand particles, blown away by the wind, "something terrible actually occurred here a few years ago… I think."
"These are, perhaps, the desiccated remains—or more precisely, the skeletal remnants—of long-forgotten pirates. Did they once clash swords against one another in a fatal dispute, driven by greed, betrayal, or some other long-lost motive?"
"Or.. do you think a treasure might be down there?"
"Let's find out!"
They lunged propulsively in an erect line, creeping inward the building which was definitely an underground. The stairs and walls were ruined, fragments of bone—shattered slivers and splintered shards—lay in lingering disarray across the breadth of the staircase, a grim detritus scattered upon each step. Meanwhile, upon the surrounding walls, violent sprays of blood had arced and spattered; these dark, rust-hued stains formed abstract and macabre patterns against the plaster, silent testaments to the frenzy that had transpired.
"What the hell happened here really?!"
Their voices echoed repeatedly.
"Wait, how long is the depth of these stairs? This place actually feels creepy."
Emerging into the brightly illuminated library, the initial impression was one of hushed grandeur; the air, thick with the scent of aged paper and polished wood, seemed to vibrate with a profound, almost tangible silence.
Vast, floor-to-ceiling bookcases, constructed from rich, dark oak, dominated the space, their shelves groaning beneath the weight of countless leather-bound volumes and meticulously ordered texts. A series of elaborate brass chandeliers, each fitted with numerous incandescent bulbs, cast a warm, golden glow that glinted off gilded spine titles and pooled upon the intricate patterns of a vast, woven Persian rug.
Here and there, deep, studded leather armchairs and substantial reading tables, their surfaces worn smooth by generations of use, offered inviting sanctuaries for study. The sheer scale of the collection, combined with the palpable atmosphere of accumulated knowledge, was not merely impressive but evoked an immediate and profound sense of intellectual reverence.
"Who would've thought a library would be built down here?"
"If this was built down here, then, something important lies within this place."
"This place is actually a real mess." Jake's lip twitched. "What's with that passage over there?" He outstretched a finger in the direction of the passage.
"Let's check it out."
They walked diligently, their footsteps echoing dramatically as they passed through the passage and saw a huge stone covered in vines and plants.
But was that all? Nah…
Their eyes caught a glimpse of a skeleton covered in shredded clothes, sitting on a wooden chair with a notebook on its body.
"What the fuck literally happened here?" Gojo hissed.
"The fuck did he died holding a pen and a notebook? Anyways, what's with this hell ass stone?"
A stone, huh?
They extracted the notebook from the grasp of the skeleton and walked toward the huge stone engulfed in vines and plants.
The Poneglyphs.
Poneglyphs are massive, cubic steles made up of currently unidentified, indestructible type of stone. These stones usually have a text written in an ancient script carved into them.
These stones known as Poneglyphs are classified into three stones currently scattered across the world; Historical Poneglyphs, Instructional Poneglyphs and Road Poneglyphs.
Both Historical and the Instructional Poneglyphs are made up of dark blue colour, while the Road Poneglyphs are made up of deep red colour.
The red Poneglyphs consist of 4 types which are currently scattered across the world and it is said without the road Poneglyphs, it is impossible to sail into the last Island.
Gol D. Roger, the pirate king was able to grasp a hold of the 4 red Poneglyphs and with the help of Kozuki Oden who helped deciphered the ancient script carved on it, he was able to locate the last island on the Grand Line, known as Laugh Tale, which no one in particular has ever reached or knows its whereabouts.
And finally, Gol D. Roger became the Pirate king, the first person who'd ever sailed round the world to acquire the legendary treasure – the One Piece.
After accomplishing his goal, he disbanded his pirate crew and due to the escalation of his sickness, he submitted himself to the marines who executed him 20 years ago in his homeland; Loguetown.
And with that, the great age of pirates began, after Roger gave final speech; You want my treasure? Find it. I left everything the world had to offer there.
Gojo wiped off the vines and plants embodied on the stone, and saw the ancient script carved on it.
"Don't tell me…was he trying to decipher this ancient script?"
They exclaimed in unison, utterly dumbfounded and flabbergasted.
"Admittedly, who, in their right mind, carved these intricate scripts into this unyielding stone? Was the artisan's intent to bridge the chasm of time—to project a deliberate message from the distant past toward us, here in the future, concerning the nature of the world?" Jake murmured, sliding a cigarette into his mouth.
"Y'know what?"
"Huh?"
"Situations approximately occurring like this, all you've to do is smoke, smoke and smoke the shit all out, gang."
"What the hell is he sprouting out?" Ryuken buried his face into his palms.
"Jake, you good?" Gojo asked confusingly, still dumbfounded about the phrase from his crewmate.
Gojo opened the notebook he'd extracted from the bones earlier as the trio glanced at it.
"The Poneglyphs?"
They uttered solemnly after glancing at the first page. Flipping through the pages continuously for a few minutes, the trio realised the man had been trying out different formulas and calculations in order to decipher the ancient scripts before he died holding his pen on the chair.
"In order to decipher these ancient scripts, we do have to find an archeologist."
"But where could we find one? I felt whatever had happened here, it was to be kept secret from the Government."
"I think so."
"Let's go! We've got no more business here!"
Gojo toted the notebook as they ascended through the stairs to sail further into the Grand Line."
....
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