It was a small island resting deep beneath the sea, a forgotten patch of land hidden within the endless underwater world.
There were no towering buildings, no advanced technology, and no breathtaking scenery.
The entire place looked barren and abandoned, like a discarded fragment of earth swallowed by the ocean floor.
It was nothing like the magnificent place everyone had imagined.
Nami stared blankly at the island before her, disappointment written all over her face.
"Is this really the great treasure the entire world has been chasing? This is supposed to be the immense wealth Joy Boy left behind? You've got to be kidding me!"
Before her eyes, there was no mountain of gold, no endless treasure vault, and no glittering riches.
The only thing that stood out were several enormous red cubic stones.
Nami had always been excited about reaching Laugh Tale because she believed the One Piece truly was the greatest treasure in the world.
Whoever obtained it was said to gain the power to control the world itself.
When she first heard those rumors, she had practically seen mountains of Berries in her dreams.
But now that they had finally arrived, reality was completely different from her expectations.
Forget treasure, this island looked poorer than some random deserted island in East Blue.
Robin immediately walked toward the enormous red stones the moment she saw them.
She gently placed her hand against the surface, her eyes already focused.
Clearly, she had started deciphering the poneglyphs.
Rolan merely glanced at the scene quietly.
He already knew the true value of this place had never been gold or jewels.
"Yahaha! This god already knew the whole thing was a scam!" Enel laughed so hard he nearly bent over. "Look at this place. Does this look like some legendary treasure island to you?"
He had never believed in the existence of some grand treasure from the beginning, and now he felt completely vindicated.
"So this is the great treasure?" Zoro crossed his arms. "What a joke."
Franky suddenly noticed a small chest beside the poneglyphs.
"Oi, what about that treasure chest over there?"
Nami walked over with little interest.
"How much treasure could something that tiny even hold? Even if it's filled with gold, it wouldn't be worth much."
She opened the unlocked chest without hesitation.
Enel, Franky, and Lina instantly crowded around her.
Then all of them froze.
The chest was empty.
"What the hell? There's nothing inside!" Lina puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
Rolan looked at the chest silently.
The design instantly reminded him of the boxes once used to store Devil Fruits in God Valley.
No, it was exactly the same.
Kuro narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Could this have originally contained a Devil Fruit?"
Everyone immediately looked over.
Law frowned thoughtfully.
"The size does match the standard Devil Fruit containers, but what kind of Devil Fruit could Joy Boy have considered a great treasure?"
"Haha, who cares what it was?" Crocodile sat nearby with a cigar between his fingers. "The important thing is that the box is empty."
Before arriving at Laugh Tale, Crocodile had held enormous expectations for the island.
Ancient Weapons.
Lost power.
Something capable of overturning the world itself.
But after seeing this place, most of his expectations had already vanished.
Still, it made little difference to him.
His ambition had never changed.
Whether ancient weapons existed or not, he still intended to dominate the world.
Now, with the strength of the Ion Pirates, he believed it was entirely possible to crush the World Government without relying on ancient weapons.
Vivi looked toward the massive red stones.
"Then these poneglyphs must be the true treasure."
Everyone's attention returned to the giant cubic stones at the center of the island.
Enel pointed at them with disbelief.
"You're telling me these ugly rocks are the legendary treasure?"
"Robin-oneesan, what does it say?" Lina hugged Robin's arm while looking at her curiously.
Robin slowly scanned the text before speaking.
"This records the truth of the Void Century... the history of the Great Kingdom... and everything the World Government tried to erase."
As her explanation continued, everyone gradually understood why this place was called the greatest treasure in the world.
But their reactions were completely different.
"Eh? That's it?" Lina looked utterly disappointed. "This doesn't feel like treasure at all."
"Boring." Enel waved his hand dismissively. "Mortals really obsess over pointless things."
"Nani?!" Franky's eyes widened in shock.
He had once seen some of Vegapunk's records regarding the Great Kingdom.
The technology described there was absurdly advanced, to the point it sounded almost impossible.
Any one of those inventions could completely overturn the current world order.
"No wonder people say whoever obtains the One Piece can control the world," Kuro muttered.
Lina suddenly pointed toward a section carved into the largest stone in the center.
"Robin-oneesan, what about these lines here?"
Robin carefully read the text aloud.
"The Time-Time Fruit had already shown her the future... because of that, this task can only be entrusted to you... eight hundred years later, in the year 1523..."
Robin paused briefly before continuing.
"Dominate the world? I never cared about that. I only had one dream... to let everyone in the world eat their fill."
The entire island fell silent for a second.
Then laughter erupted.
"Pfft hahaha!"
"This was the dream of the ruler of the Great Kingdom?"
"That's seriously ridiculous!"
"It sounds completely absurd!"
Even Rolan could not stop the slight curve that appeared on his lips.
Those words felt strangely familiar.
After thinking for a moment, he finally remembered.
That was almost exactly what Luffy once said.
Back in his previous life, countless people had speculated whether Luffy was the reincarnation of Joy Boy.
The similarities between the two were simply too obvious.
But Rolan knew the truth.
At most, they merely shared the same Devil Fruit and ridiculous personality.
"1523?" Law's expression suddenly changed. "Isn't that next year?"
Nami's eyes widened as well.
"You're right... that's literally next year."
"The mention of the Time-Time Fruit makes this far more believable," Crocodile said quietly while lighting another cigar.
"Did we arrive too early?"
Everyone subconsciously turned toward Rolan.
Even Kuro and Issho looked at him.
Rolan's lips curled slightly.
Then he finally spoke.