On the vast ocean, the Oro Jackson sailed steadily.
Years ago, while traveling through the New World, the Roger Pirates had accidentally discovered a miraculous place—a country living on the back of a giant elephant.
They had boarded it for a visit and were deeply impressed.
And Roger still kept the Vivre Card leading to that place.
"Found it!"
Everyone looked up.
A colossal elephant was slowly walking through the deep sea.
Its four legs were like pillars holding up the sky, and every step it took caused violent ripples across the sea surface.
On its back, it carried a country—the Mink Kingdom, Zou.
With the assistance of the Mink Kingdom, they successfully learned the contents of the fourth Red Poneglyph.
With that, all four Road Poneglyphs were now collected.
On the deck, Dr. Clover and Kozuki Oden spread out the four rubbings and began deciphering them.
Finally, they pinpointed the location of the Final Island.
"Brothers!" Roger stood up, grinning widely. "We're heading to the Final Island!"
"Woo—!!!"
Everyone cheered in unison, brimming with excitement.
Buggy jumped up, shouting excitedly:
"Alright! Let's go!"
As soon as he finished speaking—
Thud! He collapsed straight to the ground, white smoke rising from his body, his face burning bright red.
"Buggy!" Shanks immediately crouched down. "What's wrong with you?"
The ship's doctor, Crocus, came over and felt Buggy's forehead:
"He has a high fever. Probably too excited, plus he got caught in the rain earlier..."
Night fell.
Shanks sat by Buggy's bedside, keeping watch over him.
Roger entered the cabin and saw the scene.
Shanks looked up:
"Captain, you all go ahead. If we're going, we'll go on our own ship in the future."
Roger looked at him and grinned.
Then, he took off the straw hat he had worn in his youth and placed it on Shanks' head.
The straw hat was a bit too big, almost covering half of Shanks' face.
Roger said nothing.
But everything was understood without words.
Shanks froze, looking up at him.
Roger simply smiled faintly and turned to leave.
The next day.
The sun was shining, and the sea was calm.
The Oro Jackson raised its sails and set course for the Final Island.
Shanks stood on the shore, watching the ship gradually fade into the distance.
...
After an unknown number of days of sailing.
When the Oro Jackson finally docked, everyone eagerly jumped off the ship.
"Treasure! I'm coming!"
"Gold! Gold!"
Everyone cheered and began searching all over the island.
However—
After turning the entire island upside down, they found only a massive, unique Poneglyph.
"Where's the treasure?"
"Could this big rock be the treasure?"
Everyone gathered around the Poneglyph, exchanging puzzled glances.
Dr. Clover rushed to the Poneglyph, his eyes gleaming, and began deciphering the words that had been silent for eight hundred years.
As he deciphered, he read aloud to everyone.
The contents of the Poneglyph were as follows.
To those who have finally reached this place:
My name is Joy Boy, and I am the first person in this world to be called a "Pirate."
If you can read this stone, you are the ones chosen by fate.
I have carved the truth here, hoping you will understand—this world was not always as it is now.
This world was once a single, unified continent. Together with the D Clan—those who embraced the will of freedom—we established a kingdom.
We possessed technology far surpassing that of the present era and wielded the power of Pluton and Poseidon.
But our goal was not conquest; it was liberation.
We spread the seeds of freedom to every corner of the continent.
The world should have been filled with laughter.
But we were too naive. When our ideals reached other nations, they felt not inspiration, but fear.
"If everyone is equal, who will rule?"
"If the world is truly free, who will maintain order?"
"Without slaves, who will do the menial work?"
They were afraid.
They feared a world without oppression because, in such a world, they would no longer be the "rulers."
Their leader was named Imu.
She was the queen of a certain kingdom and united 19 other powerful nations to form an alliance, declaring war on us under the banner of a "Holy War."
And so, the war began.
We possessed Pluton, a massive warship capable of destroying an island with a single shot.
We had the Mermaid Princess, who could command all the Sea Kings.
And I, having awakened as the Sun God Nika, could make the earth dance beneath my feet, reshaping it at will.
But our enemies possessed Uranus, wielded by Imu—a weapon even more powerful than Pluton and Poseidon.
Uranus rained down beams of destruction from the sky, causing the land to shatter and the seas to boil.
The continent beneath our feet fractured into countless pieces during the battle.
The war caused the sea level to rise by approximately 200 meters, and the entire continent broke apart, with many fragments submerged beneath the ocean.
I tried to stop it all.
I repeatedly altered the terrain, attempting to block Imu's advances.
Each time, I could feel my life force burning away—the power of the Sun God came at the cost of my vitality.
But I could not stop.
Because if I did, even more people would die.
In the end, we were defeated.
I have reflected on the reasons for our failure.
Zunesha, the giant beast that should have obeyed my commands, made a critical mistake at a pivotal moment.
The giant robot malfunctioned and spiraled out of control.
Some told me that there were traitors within the D Clan.
I did not want to believe it. Even now, as I carve these words, I still refuse to believe it.
After numerous battles with Imu, my life force has been completely exhausted.
I once promised the Mermaid Princess that I would take her and her people to live on the sunlit land.
But by the time I arrived, I was already a broken shell.
All I could do was carve my remorse onto the stone tablet there—my Apology Text.
As for Imu...
That being possesses an Undying Body.
I do not know how she achieved it—perhaps through her Devil Fruit Ability, or perhaps she is something other than human.
I struck her countless times, brought her down again and again.
But she resurrected each time, rising to her feet once more.
And I, in battle after battle, slowly burned myself out.
If I could obtain the Dark-Dark Fruit and awaken the Dark God Nika, with the dual forms of Sun God and Dark God Nika, I could surely eradicate Imu completely.
Hah, why am I saying this? Perhaps it's just unwillingness.
The final moment has arrived.
I watched as most of the world sank beneath the sea, as countless people lost their homes.
I watched those twenty kings arrogantly ascend the Red Line, proclaiming themselves the World Nobles—the Celestial Dragons.
They established the World Government and erased this history.
They would make future generations believe that we were the "evil kingdom."
After all, history is always written by the victors.
But I refuse to believe this is the end.
Because the D Clan did not perish entirely.
Because the blood of rebellion flows through their veins.
Remember, the mission of the D Clan is to pass on the "Flame of Liberation."
The "D" in your names stands for Dawn.
You are the remnants of the sun, the embers of freedom.
I left this stone tablet on the Final Island.
I carved everything in the ancient language.
Someday, someone will decipher it.
Someday, someone will inherit my will.
On that day, the drums of liberation will resound across the world once more.
On that day, the sun will rise again.
When that time comes, tell the world:
The Void Century was not void.
It was the era when my comrades and I fought with everything we had for freedom.
We lost, but our dreams did not.
If you—the inheritor of Sun God Nika—hear these words, please fulfill this for me.
Unite the world as one again.
Let all people stand under the same sunlight and breathe freely.
Let this great sea become a path connecting everyone, not a wall dividing them.