Hey guys! How have y'all been?
The update for this chapter was later than the usual, because... it's so much headache. You'll see as you start reading. If you see any error, please do tell! Gotta fix it right away.
With that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and have a wonderful day!
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"Cavendish, get the mast." Rowan said as he gazed into the cloud under them, "Carina, set the direction; we're heading to the Water Seven."
Carina stared at the Eternal Pose in her hand, "Got it."
Cavendish, after a nod, moved his body to execute Rowan's command.
"Listen, everybody." Rowan stated in a serious demeanour, "Once we arrive at Water Seven, restock the necessary supplies. Meanwhile, I will visit one of the shipwrights of the Galley-La company for the inspection of Prominence."
Prominence was a ship that has been with them since the very beginning. It helped them to overcome many obstacles in sailing.
Now, although it is true that Prominence has been protected by Rowan's fruit ability and received many add-ons to minimize its damage and prevent from sailing on the harsh sea, its origin is none other than a random large ship that Rowan and Carina stole from the random pirate crew.
Hell, her name, prior to 'Prominence,' was 'Lady Luck.'
Rowan couldn't help but chuckle as he thought of that; she did have some luck within herself, didn't she?
Subsequently, Rowan couldn't help but wonder, 'Is Prominence really without any damage? A ship made in the East Blue—is it truly okay to go on like this?'
Water Seven, therefore, was a perfect option. After all, if a problem was to be found on Prominence, they could get it fixed and modified, before entering the New World where the climate is far more harsh.
"Sounds good." Dan nodded in agreement, "We got to make sure that our girl stays healthy, eh?"
On the other hand, Cavendish began to pull on the rope that is connected to the mast, folding it flat.
"Just wondering," Job spoke up with squinted eyes, "why do you have these masts even, if you travel through the use of those snail shells below?"
Rowan shrugged, "Cosmetics."
"Hey!!!" Cavendish, as he was working on the task, barked out to Job, "A pirate ship without masts and a jolly roger isn't a pirate ship, you got that?!!"
"Heh, whatever." Job simply snorted as he placed his hands in his pocket, causing Cavendish to growl in annoyance.
"And with that said," Rowan finally turned to Sob, "let's have a talk just like you said."
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"...Why is everyone here?" Sob stated as she gazed around the room, where all people on board of Prominence were seen to be sitting by.
"They are my crew members and friends." Rowan replied firmly, "I'm not hiding anything from them."
'Except for the fact that I reincarnated. That goes with me till my death.'
Rowan and Sob locked their eyes on each other for a moment, before Sob gave in with a sigh.
"Fine. So be it." Rubbing her forehead in slight tiredness, Sob opened her mouth, "Where do I begin?"
"Vasilia."
"Yes, the Vasilia—wait, how do you know that?!!" Sob's eyes widened as she jolted up all of a sudden.
Rowan leaned forward as his eyes flashed in an enigmatic gleam, "Vasilia, the ruler of Yggdrasil and the greatest of all twenty one kingdoms. Led the war against the Great Kingdom within the Void Century, however, was betrayed by the nineteen kingdoms and wiped out from the existence—this is what I saw and heard from the Poneglyph and King Cobra of Alabasta, or 'one below.'"
"...! Alabasta... one below... to think they were hiding a Poneglyph...!"
Momentarily stopping his words, Rowan gazed at Sob, whose eyes were trembling uncontrollably, "Tell me, what does the possession of these eyes mean?"
Then, to Sob's shock, Rowan's left eye turned into a rich purple-colour.
"A-alas..." Sob stood up from her seat and walked to Rowan as she stared at Rowan's left eye, "It... i-it has finally returned. The eyes that I've been searching for so long..."
Stopping right in front of Rowan, Sob whispered with utmost sincerity, "The Eyes of Gorgon. The treasure of the family of Vasilia. The activation of the ocular ability and the change in your eye-colour represents that you've successfully made it into your own.
The eyes that only the heir to the throne inherits. To us, those eyes of yours is the crown; the proof that you are the true king of Yggdrasil."
Raising her hand up to wipe her sweat, Sob continued,
"The power of those eyes is none other than—"
Rowan carried on as his right hand began to be encased by a matter that's crackling in black-coloured electricity,
"The incredibly dense manifestation of Conquer's Haki. A whole another level from the infusion, where only the wielder of this eye can use."
Sob nodded in agreement to Rowan's words as she gulped. Then, to Rowan and his crew's surprise, Sob took out the book, The Tale of Youchiha Medusa, onto the table.
"Ah, that book. Been three years, huh." Dan exclaimed.
"A boring children book." Carmen commented, to which Job nodded in agreement.
Ignoring their remarks, Rowan said in a serious tone, "One above, one below, one isolated."
Sob nodded, "Yes, I knew that you would've found it out, if you are indeed a Vasilia.
After all, I was the one who wrote this."
Rowan, Carina, Carmen, and Dan's eyes widened,
""""What?!""""
"This message. This is exactly what I saw in the Lodestar." Sob stated, "Within that island, one Poneglyph lied. Because all paths converge into one at Lodestar, those who make it to the end becomes aware of the existence of the Poneglyph, and the existence of the final island, Laughtale. However, as the member of Youchiha family, I saw one more.
Somehow, the message that lied at the surface of Poneglyph, was perceived through in my eyes, showing me this message hidden behind: "Those who read this message, do not doubt your name as Vasilia, for only one of our kind can read this message. Look for three places: one above, one below, and one isolated. There, you shall learn the truth."
Backing off from Rowan, Sob tiredly sat back down on her seat,
"Haa... it was an endless journey afterward, spraying the copies of 'The Tales of Youchiha Medusa' everywhere I went to. I visited many places speculated to have the Poneglyphs. Although I didn't get a chance to view the Road Poneglyphs, I explored vast majority of the Paradise except for tightly guarded place such as Alabasta, and during my journey, these two brats ended up joining me.
In the end, I did manage to find out one place among three: One isolated. I saw the message with my own eyes." With her arms crossed, Sob stated, "The world of their own, isolated from the rest: the Fish-man island."
"Fish-man..." Carina, with concerned eyes, looked at Rowan.
"A-Arlong..." Nami muttered with a cold sweat as the traumatic event of Arlong pirates haunted her.
Rowan momentarily closed his eyes with the veins on his forehead popped out, as the horrific scene of his family being brutally slain in front of his eyes was replayed in his head.
'Calm down. Remember. The hatred that you bear... isn't directed to the entire fish-men and their kind, but solely to the Arlong pirates. Don't harm the innocents because of this matter.' Taking a deep breath in, Rowan calmed himself down as he opened his eyes back up.
"Is anything wrong?" Sob raised her eyebrow upon seeing Rowan, Carina, and Nami's reactions.
Rowan shook his head, "No. Fish-man island is a place that we have to go through anyway. I will check the Poneglyph when we reach there."
Sob nodded as she brought her finger up, "You must, but let me tell you what I read there. It said:
The duality of a man.
Immortal, or in shortened form, Imu. Call it in reverse, and his name becomes Umi.
Who exactly is this man?
The one who received an immortal surgery through the wielder of Op Op fruit.
The one who came from the very beginning of time, through the wielder of Time Time fruit.
The one who owns the might of Human Human fruit, model: Umi, the god of sea.
A ferocious being, where even the fully awakened ability of the 'Eyes of Gorgon' failed to achieve the victory against.
Do not confront him, descendant of Vasilia. Joy Boy is the our only hope.
Hide, and wait for the day of liberation."
Everyone, except for Sob, Job, and Mob, weren't able to conceal their shock.
"Immortal..." Rowan massaged his temple, "A suiting name for him, eh?"
Urouge grinned in a cold sweat, "This is no joke. Forget Enel, here is the true god."
"Enel?" Carmen tilted her head, "You mean that lightning prick that captain killed?"
Urouge nodded, before stopping in mid-way as he turned his head slowly, "W-what?"
In response, Dan raised his right hand up, which crackled in blue lightning.
Urouge's jaw opened wide and eyes popped out comically.
"Is someone like him even defeatable?" Carina muttered, "And how is it that we've never heard of him until now? Why is he hiding himself?"
Sob spoke up seriously, "For the achievement of his ideal: Absolute Control. To him, there still exists one anomaly, which is the man named Joy Boy according to the context here.
And... judging by the name value of Vasilia, the moment we are discovered... we won't be able to imagine how he would act."
'But the stone tablet in Alabasta said that Joy Boy will fail . If it's false, great, I don't mind. Joy Boy will win. However, what if it was saying the truth? If it indeed is truth, it's probably up to me. My failure will lead to the obliteration of me and all of my people.' Rowan, who thought that he's gotten considerably strong, couldn't help but laugh hollowly,
'I still have to grow stronger, huh.'
As they calmed down, Robin, with her hand raised up, spoke up in inquiry, "I have a question to ask."
Sob nodded, "Go ahead."
"The Poneglyphs that tell the history, and the other ones that were made for the message purposes... and now, the Road Poneglyphs that you talked of. What are they for?"
"...You seem to be quite experienced in this regard." Sob gazed at Robin keenly.
"I can read the ancient language, after all."
"What?!!" Sob's jaw opened wide, "H-how—I see... Nico Robin the 'Devil Child.' I've heard of you before."
Taking another deep breath, Sob stated in a firm tone,
"The purpose of the Road Poneglyphs is none other than... to tell you the very location of the Laughtale, the final island of the world—where One Piece lies!!"
Rowan felt like getting a headache. It was simply too much information.
Gazing around the room, he saw the similarly tired expressions from his crew.
"Let's... end it here."
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[Sabaody Archipelago]
"Yo, you must be 'Cat Swindler' Nojiko." A man with white hat and goatee, Trafalgar D. Water Law, approached Nojiko, who was standing in caution.
"Trafalgar Law...!" Nojiko muttered as she quickly transformed her hands into cat-like paws, to which Law chuckled while raising his hands up.
'Damn... what business does one of the Supernovas have with me?! A man with 200 million Belis, known to have eaten an extremely dangerous fruit known as Op Op fruit... I have to retreat somehow.'
"Relax. I'm not here to fight you." Law said casually as he flicked a crumbled ball of paper to Nojiko, "Instead, I'm here to strike you an offer."
"...An offer?" Nojiko said with narrowed eyes as she caught the crumbled ball of paper.
"That contains the code for the Den Den Mushi of my ship. Call us when you are in danger, and I shall come to your help."
"And what do you gain through this bargain?"
Law grinned, "I want you to do one thing for me, which I will tell you when the time comes. It isn't anything hard, so don't worry. What do you say?"
Nojiko was about to reject in suspicion, however, had to stop mid-way.
'If I reject the offer here... will he attack me?'
She has heard quite some rumours regarding this man. 'The Surgeon of Death.' Cutting, dividing, and manipulating with people's bodies like toys. She couldn't fathom of what would happen if she rejected.
"Heh, take your time to decide." Law, placing his hands within his pockets, turned around and began to walk away. "Once you call me, the deal is on."
Nojiko stood in her spot, confused.
'...What's that man thinking?' After gazing at Law's figure for few seconds, Nojiko clicked her tongue as she turned back.
'The situation isn't as good as I initially believed. With Nami's exposure in Marineford, many seemed to have become interested with our crew.'
Currently, there were three rumours that were going around in Sabaody Archipelago:
1. 'Grimheart' Rowan is the childhood friend of 'Cat Swindler' Nojiko and 'Cat Burglar' Nami.
2. The wealth that the Grimheart pirates possess is astounding.
3. If any of them is caught, Grimheart will pay heftily to buy them back.
With the money-hungry pirates and bounty hunters chasing after them everywhere, the Twin Cats pirates began to face many troubles. Nojiko thought of sailing out to the sea, but once they did so, she didn't know in what ways they could meet up with the Grimheart pirates.
'Rowan, Nami... please hurry.'
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[In the middle of the sea]
"Turn left!!! Turn left now!!!" Borodo shouted in urgency, "Heavy tide incoming!! If you want to survive, we have to make the ship change its course!!!"
"Damn it!!!" Sanji cried, "It's as if the world doesn't want us to reach the next island!!"
"Shishishi, no worries!" Luffy grinned as he too took a part in helping the crew, "No matter how harsh, nothing can stop us from reaching the next island!
Onto the Jinren!!"
"Oh captain Luffy, you are shining like always!!!" Bartolomeo exclaimed with sparkling eyes, as he stared at Luffy in adoration.
Zoro grinned as well, "Of course."
Although the weather was extremely chaotic, the Straw Hat pirates continued to sail daringly.