"Last year, we reached the so-called 'final island,' Lodestar Island. But it turned out not to be the true final island at all. The magnetic fields there are extremely chaotic, and the Log Pose can't point to the next destination. Over the past year, we've been searching for a way to reach the real 'final island.' During that time, we also went to Water 7 and built this ship—the Oro Jackson," Roger said as he led Valthior into the cabin.
The Oro Jackson was quite large. From the outside, the entire ship had a deep red color scheme.
At the bow was a giant cannon shaped like a pair of lifted mermaids. It was a standard three-masted sailing ship, and at the center of the deck stood a massive structure resembling a dinosaur egg—this served as the main entrance to the cabin.
Theoretically, the ship could carry up to seventy people at full capacity, but in practice, it only took about ten to operate it.
The Roger Pirates currently had seventeen members, so everyone enjoyed plenty of space.
Under Roger's guidance, Valthior was soon brought into a cabin filled with all kinds of books.
"This is our ship's library," Roger said with a smile, a hint of pride in his voice. "It contains valuable documents we've collected from our adventures all over the world. Many of them are one-of-a-kind."
Rayleigh added, "As the ship's scholar, this library will be yours to manage from now on."
"With pleasure," Valthior replied, a trace of anticipation in his tone.
If what Roger said was true—that many of these were unique copies—then their value was immeasurable. Even in Mary Geoise, he likely hadn't seen anything like them.
Entering the library, Roger quickly pulled out several rubbings from the shelves and spread them across the table.
"We went through countless records trying to find clues to that unknown island, but in the end, most of the leads pointed us back to these… scripts we can't read."
"Ancient script." Valthior glanced at them and immediately recognized them. "This is a language strictly forbidden by the World Government. Its origins trace back to before the Government was established. Very few related records still exist today. Most of what remains comes from rubbings of the so-called 'Poneglyphs.'"
"The Poneglyphs… those special stone blocks, right? We found a few during our travels. Some of these rubbings came from them," Rayleigh nodded.
"That's right. As far as I know, there are about thirty Poneglyphs in total. Four of them are red and are called 'Road Poneglyphs.' Each one records a coordinate. When all four coordinates are combined, you'll obtain the location of the final island you're seeking," Valthior said, his tone turning slightly serious.
The moment he said this, Roger, Rayleigh, and Gaban all lit up with excitement.
They had only reached Lodestar Island last year, and for an entire year since, they hadn't found any clue on how to proceed further.
Valthior's words had just shown them the way forward.
At the very least, that one sentence alone made bringing him aboard worth it.
"I see!" Roger clapped his hands. "Then aside from the four Road Poneglyphs, what's the significance of the others?"
"The remaining Poneglyphs represent a mystery buried over eight hundred years ago—the so-called 'Void Century.' If you gather them all, you should be able to decipher what exactly happened during that hundred-year gap," Valthior explained.
"The Void Century…" Roger frowned slightly and muttered to himself.
Gaban stroked his chin. "It sounds interesting, sure—but it doesn't feel all that important. Personally, I prefer living in the present. Something from eight hundred years ago… what does it have to do with us?"
Gaban's mindset reflected that of most of the crew. They were searching for the Poneglyphs only to reach the final island. As for history itself, they weren't particularly interested.
It wasn't some goal they absolutely had to achieve.
Roger had once thought the same—but after the battle at God Valley, his perspective had changed.
Because he had witnessed that unimaginable "monster," and a power that even someone like Rocks couldn't resist.
As if recalling something, Rayleigh looked at Valthior. "That monster back at God Valley… what exactly was it? Do you know what really happened? Why did Rocks turn into something like a demon?"
"I don't know everything," Valthior said, his tone heavy. "But from what I do know, that 'monster' you speak of is called Imu—the true ruler of the World Government."
"What?" Gaban exclaimed. "Isn't the highest authority in the World Government your grandfather and the other Five Elders?"
"That's only on the surface. In reality, both the Five Elders and the Holy Knights all serve 'Imu-sama.' They refer to him as the 'King of the World.' And Imu is suspected to go by the name 'Nerona'." Valthior explained.
The revelation was so shocking that the three fell silent.
After a long pause, Rayleigh suddenly recalled something. "Nerona Imu… wasn't that one of the Twenty Kings who founded the World Government?"
"Mm." Valthior nodded. "Exactly. That's why I suspect this Imu is an ancient monster who has lived for at least eight hundred years. For eight centuries, he's ruled the world from the shadows, while actively erasing certain hidden lineages, knowledge, and bloodlines."
Before they could respond, Valthior continued:
"The power he wields is extremely dangerous. The Five Elders and the Holy Knights have all signed some kind of mysterious contract with him, granting them immortality—or at least 'agelessness.' You should've seen that at God Valley, right?"
"Yeah… those knights kept coming back no matter how many times we cut them down," Rayleigh said with a click of his tongue. "Back in the treasure vault, I clearly sliced one of them in half, but he fully recovered afterward."
"On top of that, Imu possesses a dark power that can forcibly control others. Rocks fell victim to it—that's why he turned into something like a demon, losing his sanity and becoming Imu's pawn," Valthior said.
"That power really was terrifying…" Roger's expression gradually grew serious. "I fought Rocks at God Valley, so I could clearly feel how frightening it was. Garp and I had to unleash all our Haki at once just to barely break that control. And that was only because this 'Imu' didn't follow up further. If he had interfered more…"
There would have been no way out.
That was how Roger saw it—against that kind of power, they currently had no solution.
"Someday, we might end up like Rocks—becoming a thorn in his side. If we don't find a way to counter that power, we're in serious trouble…" Gaban exhaled, unable to hide the pressure in his voice.
"Agreed," Rayleigh nodded.
"You mentioned earlier that over these eight hundred years, he's been trying to eliminate hidden lineages, knowledge, and bloodlines…" Roger looked at Valthior.
"That's right. The Buccaneers, the Davy clan, and the 'D'—these are all things Imu has been trying to erase," Valthior said.
"The 'D'?" Roger froze for a moment, then said, "But I'm a D myself!"
At present, the World Government listed him as "Gold Roger" on his wanted poster.
But his true name was Gol D. Roger.
He had never understood why before—he thought it was just a mistake.
Now he realized—it wasn't a mistake at all. It was deliberate concealment, meant to hide the fact that he belonged to the D clan.
"I know you're a D. Many within the World Government know it too. Your name is Gol D. Roger—you don't need to explain it to me," Valthior cut him off. "The more something is hidden, the more it's likely feared. So I've always believed that the key to countering Imu's terrifying power may lie within the Void Century. If we uncover what truly happened during those hundred years, we might gain the means to fight him."
Hearing this, the others nodded.
"Looks like we really have to uncover the truth… otherwise none of us will sleep easy," Rayleigh said.
"Maybe… this is part of my destiny as well. As a 'D'…" Roger said thoughtfully.
...
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