At the port, inside the cabin of a massive three-masted ship belonging to the World Government.
Valthior sat in a lavish hall, holding a chilled glass of wine. With clear satisfaction, he said,
"Looks like you understand me quite well."
"Serving you well, Young Master, is my duty," Spandine immediately replied.
"The fact that you caught the old man's eye means you're a smart one," Valthior remarked casually, offering a subtle reminder before saying no more.
Understanding him was fine—but understanding too much would become an offense.
Spandine naturally understood this. With a proper, measured smile, he said,
"It is my honor to serve both you and that great lord."
Valthior nodded, then asked,
"Alright, speak. What do you want from me?"
"Per the great lord's instructions, I am to establish a stable line of communication with you going forward, so that I may be of some small assistance when needed," Spandine said softly.
Valthior took a sip of wine and replied,
"I'll answer your Den Den Mushi calls from now on."
"I'm deeply grateful," Spandine said, feigning both nervousness and honor.
After a brief pause, he continued, as if slightly hesitant,
"I've heard that you achieved certain… results on Linderland Island. Tge great lord has taken some interest in it…"
He didn't spell it out, but he knew Valthior would understand.
These so-called "results" clearly weren't trivial matters like awakening Conqueror's Haki or clashing with Garp. From Valthior's previous meeting with Saint Saturn, the only things that could truly interest him were the Poneglyphs and the Void Century.
So this was about the Poneglyph they had seized from World.
Valthior lightly tapped the table with his fingers, making Spandine a bit nervous. Fortunately, his Young Master didn't make things difficult.
"Take it," Valthior said, pulling a translated document from his coat and tossing it onto the table.
It was the decoded contents of the Poneglyph taken from World.
Roger and the others had never asked whether Valthior had any dealings with Mary Geoise. As for the secrets contained within the Poneglyphs, the crew had never imposed any rules about secrecy—it was entirely up to individual discretion whether to share.
Even revealing things like Ancient Weapons wouldn't matter much. After all, they weren't saviors of the world—they were pirates. Why worry about whether the world might be destroyed?
That said, in practice, none of them had shared this information. Mainly because it was dangerous. Roger's crew had the strength and confidence to ignore the World Government's laws—but others didn't. If word leaked from someone weaker, it could easily get them killed.
As for those who also feared no one—well, it came down to mood.
Shiki, for example, had once wanted to learn about the Ancient Weapons and even proposed teaming up with Roger to conquer the seas.
But Roger didn't like him. He would rather fight a disadvantageous battle at Edd War than tell Shiki anything about Ancient Weapons or join forces with him.
Spandine, for his part, had enough self-awareness. He didn't ask about the contents, nor did he want to know. As long as he delivered this translation to Saint Saturn in secret, his job was done.
Knowing more would only get him killed faster.
As for the Poneglyph taken from World, it didn't record any mysteries of that ancient era. Instead, it detailed certain buried technologies.
Among them were references to giant robots and the creation of awakened consciousness—described as a cross-era technology originating from the Great Kingdom of Laugh Tale. The D Clan had mastered it to a deep extent, and during that great war, Joy Boy and his allies used it to create an incredibly powerful mechanized army.
According to the Poneglyph, when Imu initiated the second great conflict, Joy Boy's side quickly concealed this technology. However, if related materials or ancient script could be found, it might be possible to partially recreate it.
Based on what Vegapunk would later say, Valthior suspected that creations like the Pacifista were likely derived from this very technology.
If nothing unexpected happened, Professor Clover's team of scholars would eventually uncover numerous ancient script across the world. The vast library of Ohara would later contain fragments of similar technology—ultimately retrieved and recorded by Dr. Vegapunk.
In the past, Valthior had never understood something:
As a scientist who had long kept an eye on Clover and his scholars, why did Saturn, after ordering the Buster Call that destroyed Ohara, not bother to clean up the aftermath?
Instead, he allowed those precious books and knowledge to remain submerged in the lake, later salvaged by the giants and eventually absorbed by Vegapunk.
The other Five Elders might not have known the details since they weren't directly in charge—but Saturn surely did.
Now, thinking about it, Valthior felt it was highly likely this had been part of Saturn's plan all along.
He never appeared directly, nor did he let himself be tainted by these "threats." Whether it was Clover, Valthior himself, or later Vegapunk—
They were all merely pieces on Saturn's chessboard, pawns used to unravel mysteries and reconstruct lost technologies.
Valthior was only slightly special. Because of his identity and bloodline, he was one of the few who could interact with Saturn more directly, bearing a bit more risk.
The other two—at least on the surface—remained opposed to Saturn until their deaths. No one ever suspected Saturn of using them as part of a grand scheme.
That alone showed how masterful Saturn's strategy was.
The only move he miscalculated… was the ancient robot releasing Joy Boy's Conqueror's Haki, terrifying Imu and triggering a furious backlash that led to Saturn's death on Egghead Island.
That single misstep ruined everything.
Now that Valthior reconsidered the original story, it struck him as strange that Saturn—one of the Five Elders—personally went to Egghead to deal with Vegapunk.
At the time, the Straw Hat Pirates hadn't even arrived yet. The World Government held overwhelming advantage—they had insiders on the island and full knowledge of the situation.
With a Marine Admiral leading the operation, backed by numerous Vice Admirals, a massive fleet, and CP agents, failure should have been impossible.
And yet, Saturn still went personally.
Now it made sense.
He wasn't going there just to eliminate Vegapunk—he was going to wrap things up.
To take control of Vegapunk's remaining research assets (aside from the Mother Flame), and to erase any traces of his own involvement—to bury the evidence of the game he had been playing all along.
But then, the Straw Hat Pirates interfered midway, triggering a chain of unforeseen events.
In the end, the ancient robot unleashed Conqueror's Haki, Imu flew into a rage… and Saturn lost his life.
So what was on Egghead that Saturn valued so highly that he had to go in person?
Perhaps… it was that "consciousness clone" technology.
Vegapunk died on Egghead—but in a sense, he didn't truly die. A being that inherited all his memories—his very "soul"—survived and made it to the land of the giants.
From this perspective, that technology was absolutely critical to Saturn.
If Saturn could create a complete consciousness clone of himself…
He might even have broken free from Imu's control.
Unfortunately, that final step was never taken.
Just as he was about to step out of his cage and grasp freedom—Imu struck him down.
Of course, all of this was still Valthior's speculation.
But if his guesses were correct…
Then even Valthior had to admit—
The old man's game was worthy of respect.
Because without the Straw Hat Pirates' interference, by this line of reasoning…
Saturn might have actually turned a dead game into a winning one.
...
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