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Three days later, Lucci, Blueno, and Robin finally arrived at the capital city of Alubarna.
During these three days, Byakuya had been subjected to repeated temptations from Vivi, mentally worn out by the experience.
On one hand, he thought about giving in, but Vivi wasn't even sixteen yet, let alone an adult. If he did go through with it, his conscience would bother him.
After all, he was a model citizen who had undergone nine years of compulsory education.
But on the other hand, Vivi was so forward that she almost seemed ready to slip something into his drink and sneak into his room at night.
This internal conflict visibly tolled Byakuya, and he appeared noticeably thinner.
Over these days, Vivi also learned Byakuya's true identity as a Marine Rear Admiral, which deepened her affection for him.
However, to avoid exposing Byakuya's identity, Vivi continued to refer to him as "Yoru," and Byakuya kept wearing his mask.
Since Vivi had seen him before, she would inevitably figure out his true identity sooner or later.
But Byakuya trusted that Vivi would never betray him, so he didn't see much harm in telling her. Still, this was something he shared with Vivi alone.
Once Robin arrived, Byakuya didn't want to delay any longer. He asked Vivi to lead them to the Poneglyph that contained information about Pluton.
Vivi's family had guarded this Poneglyph for generations.
To protect it, they had even given up the opportunity to move to Mary Geoise and become Celestial Dragons.
However, precisely this Poneglyph had drawn Crocodile's attention and plunged the Kingdom of Alabasta into years of turmoil.
They entered the royal palace, eventually opening a hidden door behind an unassuming wall.
They descended a dark, winding staircase into a spacious room.
In the centre of the room stood a massive rectangular stone block, about two people tall and one person wide, inscribed with countless illegible symbols.
To Vivi and Byakuya, the Poneglyph was as indecipherable as an ancient script.
They couldn't make sense of a single word. But to Robin, an expert in such matters, the writing on the stone was crystal clear.
For Robin, finding all the Poneglyphs and uncovering the history they recorded was her greatest dream.
She never imagined she would get the chance to see one in person.
Gently running her hand over the rough surface of the Poneglyph, Robin could almost sense the emotions of the words yearning to be known.
Byakuya, curious as well, examined the Poneglyph and pressed his finger against it. Surprisingly, nothing happened.
Given his current strength, even a slight force could easily crush iron.
Yet, the Poneglyph was far harder than steel. Noticing Byakuya's actions, Robin reminded him,
"The Poneglyphs are made from an indestructible material. It's said that only the Kozuki clan from Wano Country possesses the special technique to carve words onto the stone."
Hearing Robin's explanation, Byakuya recalled that this was indeed mentioned in the anime.
Without thinking, he unconsciously applied more force, using his full strength.
Crack!
The sound of the stone breaking was startlingly loud in the quiet room, immediately drawing Robin and Vivi's attention.
"Uh…" Byakuya awkwardly picked up a thumb-sized piece of the stone he had just broken off.
"I thought it was supposed to be indestructible? How did it just break like that?"
Robin's eyes were practically ablaze with fury—this was a Poneglyph!
Only thirty of these ancient stones were scattered across the entire sea, and countless scholars had spent their entire lives searching for even one without success.
But here, right in front of her, this guy had just damaged a Poneglyph.
If it weren't for the faint voice of reason reminding Robin that the man before her was strong enough to defeat Crocodile with a single punch, she might have attacked Byakuya on the spot.
Byakuya, however, didn't seem to mind Robin's anger.
From the anime, he knew how much Robin valued the Poneglyphs, so her reaction was expected.
"Let me see if I can put this piece back," he said, holding the thumb-sized fragment as he tried to fit it back into place.
But suddenly, he heard a system notification in his mind:
[Recyclable item detected: Poneglyph (historical data text), recycle value: 3000 World Source Points.]
What? Could the system recycle this, too? Byakuya was shocked.
This only made him more certain that the ancient Pluton weapon would have an incredibly high recycle value.
Still in disbelief, Byakuya applied more force and broke off another chunk of the stone, this time about the size of a fist.
Robin was now barely able to contain her rage. Seeing how easily Byakuya was breaking pieces off and thinking it looked fun, Vivi decided to try herself.
She mustered all her strength and pressed down.
"Ow!" Vivi gasped in pain, scrunching up her cute little nose. "It hurts! This thing is so hard!"
Byakuya looked at the now nearly 'self-combusting' Robin and the pained Vivi, who was shaking her hand in discomfort.
His mind raced to figure out how to use the system to recycle the Poneglyph without them noticing.
Using brute force would be the approach of a simpleton—Byakuya wanted to outsmart them.
"Ahem!" Byakuya coughed lightly, trying to appear casual. "What if this Poneglyph isn't real?"
Still simmering with anger, Robin was caught off guard by his words.
She hadn't expected him to say that. Vivi also stopped shaking her hand and looked puzzled.
"But this Poneglyph has been guarded by my family for generations. How could it be fake?" she asked.
Byakuya explained, "Well, Robin said that real Poneglyphs are indestructible."
"Yet I could break a piece off this one so easily. What does that tell you?"
Vivi's eyes lit up, and she shouted, "I know! I know!"
"Go ahead," Byakuya said.
Vivi beamed with admiration, "It means you're really strong!"
"…"
Byakuya nearly passed out from her response—that wasn't what he had been aiming for.
Meanwhile, Robin, still suspicious, asked, "So you're saying this Poneglyph is fake? And that's why it broke so easily?"
"Exactly!" Byakuya seized the moment. "That's the only explanation that makes sense."
Robin, though sceptical, couldn't completely dismiss Byakuya's reasoning.
If they could verify the information on this Poneglyph and find 'Pluton,' it would prove the stone's authenticity.
If not, then it was indeed a fake.
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