Chapter 304: The Road Poneglyph
The Merry quickly docked. The fish-man undead, acting as sailors, dropped anchor and furled the sails.
The crew jumped off the ship one by one, looking around with curiosity.
Residents with all sorts of strange appearances walked out of the cake houses, also casting curious gazes at them.
"What's going on here?"
Sanji slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, looking at the residents from various different races before him, puzzled.
"It's like a racial melting pot."
Ordinary humans, fish-men, tontattas, longarm tribe, longleg tribe...
Almost every race they knew of existed here, and there were even some that they couldn't name, like the snake-neck tribe and the mink tribe.
"Mmm-ah, it is indeed a magical phenomenon."
Robin nodded and said lightly, "It's said that Totto Land is an ideal nation established by Big Mom to realize the coexistence of all races. I didn't expect the rumors to be true."
"Coexistence of all races!"
Chopper's eyes lit up. "Amazing! It sounds like this Big Mom is a nice person."
During his two years of training, on the island where he was, the people of the tribe and the giant birds on the mountain had been fighting for years due to a misunderstanding.
Later, because of his arrival, the misunderstanding was finally cleared up, allowing the humans and the giant birds on the island to live in peace.
Due to the differences in ideology, culture, and habits, it was not easy for different races to coexist. Chopper's impression of Big Mom couldn't help but improve.
"This flag... could it be!"
"It's the Straw Hat crew!"
Just then, a cry of alarm came from the crowd. A resident had finally recognized their flag.
"Do you still remember me, Straw Hat?!"
A pale-skinned man with slicked-back hair and a snake-like tongue sticking out of his mouth walked out of the crowd and, leaning in close to Luffy, grinned.
"I'm Vito! We fought together two years ago!"
"Emmm..."
Luffy rubbed his chin and frowned, staring at the other in deep thought for a while. Then, a question mark unsurprisingly appeared above his head. He tilted his head.
"Who are you?"
"—Eh!" Vito's eyes widened in shock. "You don't remember at all!"
"You're one of Bege's men, right?"
Robin seemed to have some impression and said tentatively, "When we were setting off from the Sabaody Archipelago for Impel Down back then, you were the one who brought us some Seastone."
"That's right, that's right! That was me! Che-hehehe!"
Vito grinned and rubbed his hands together, leading the group as he was about to walk inside. "Our boss has been waiting for you inside for a long time. Come with me."
"Wait a minute!"
Nami called out to him, her gaze wary. "Why are you guys in Big Mom's territory! And what do you mean, you've been waiting for us for a long time!"
"Ah, this..." Vito scratched his head sheepishly, as if trying to organize his words to explain to Nami.
"I remember Bege became Big Mom's son-in-law, right? I saw it in the news before," Reiner suddenly spoke up.
Bege was doing well for himself, to be able to eat the rice of a son-in-law.
"—Eh! Son-in-law?!"
"In other words...!"
"Bege married Big Mom's daughter?!"
The group couldn't help but be surprised, and they subconsciously looked at Sanji.
"Isn't that the same as you?"
"Stop talking nonsense! I'm not married yet!" Sanji rolled his eyes and retorted loudly.
"Che-hehehe! Anyway, that's about it. The Father is in charge of security for this tea party and wedding, so he naturally knew you were coming," Vito said with a chuckle.
Bege is in charge of wedding security, and Sanji is the groom-to-be...
There probably won't be any problem, right? the group thought, looking at each other.
"What do you say, Luffy? Should we go?" Zoro glanced at Luffy.
Luffy, on the other hand, looked at Vito with a serious expression, which made Vito's heart feel a little hairy.
"I have a question. Over at your boss's place..."
The air was heavy for a good while before Luffy spoke, asking seriously:
"...is there cake to eat?"
"What the hell!!"
Thump—! The group rolled their eyes and fell backward.
Before long, Reiner and the others, under Vito's lead, went to see Bege. On the way, he briefly introduced them to Totto Land.
Each island here was managed by a minister. The island they were currently on was called Fluffy Island, and its minister, the Minister of Fluff, was Bege's wife, Charlotte Chiffon.
Along the way, besides the residents of various races, they also saw all sorts of Homies.
The most common among them were the chess soldiers. They were the most basic guards in all of Totto Land, their status and strength varying according to the rank of the chess piece.
They were divided into pawns, bishops, knights, rooks, queens, and kings. The kings were the highest-level Homies who served Big Mom directly.
Reiner was also amazed by Big Mom's ability. When he was on the small sky island of Weatheria, he had once tried to separate the connection between his undead and himself, trying to make them independent existences.
The step of separating the connection was successful, but the undead themselves had no wisdom or soul. After losing Reiner's control, they became existences that only acted according to instinct.
Moreover, their injuries could not be repaired by Reiner consuming stamina, and they lost their immortal characteristic. This had directly shattered his fantasy of building an undead empire.
Thus, Reiner had the idea of combining the undead with Big Mom's ability to grant them life. His idea of using the undead as weapons before had been learned from Big Mom.
I hope to gain something in Totto Land.
While he was thinking, Reiner and the others were led to a fortress-like building whose style was out of place with its surroundings.
"We're here. Follow me in."
Vito said and was the first to jump up, his figure disappearing into the castle.
So this castle was the manifestation of Bege's ability. Reiner and the others looked at each other and all followed Vito's example and jumped in.
The next moment.
The scene changed, and they appeared in a bright, European-style living room. In the center of the living room, a few comfortable large sofas were arranged around an exquisite, long rectangular table.
Bege, in a black-and-white striped suit, sat on a sofa, a cigar dangling from the corner of his mouth, facing them. Behind him stood a group of subordinates in suits.
"Long time no see, Straw Hat crew," Bege said in a low voice.
No one responded. Reiner and the others' gazes were all drawn to another figure behind him.
A large, heavily made-up face, with pink twin-tails and an oval-shaped body. The woman was holding a baby in her arms and stood with Bege's men.
"Hiss, isn't that... who was it again?"
"That proposal woman from Thriller Bark?"
"Emmm, Lola?"
"I think that's what she's called."
The group chattered, staring at Chiffon until she became a little uncomfortable.
These bastards are still as arrogant as ever!
The ignored Bege gritted his teeth, his eyes closed, a vein popping on his forehead.
"Hey! I'm talking to you, you bastards!"
A loud shout finally attracted Luffy. Seeing Bege, he cried out in surprise.
"Ah, Tank-man, you're here too."
Bang!
Bege slammed his large hand on the table. "I've been here all along!!"
"Hahaha! Bring out the cake quickly! I can't wait anymore."
Luffy chuckled and leaped up, squatting on the sofa opposite Bege like a monkey.
Reiner yawned, scratched his head, and led the others over, each finding a seat on the sofas.
"I'll go get something to entertain you. Let you try the mousse cake I just developed," Chiffon said with a proactive smile. With that, she carried the baby and went to the kitchen at the side.
Only then did Bege speak in a low voice, "I've heard about your recent affairs. You've just entered the New World and have already caused a big scene. You're as reckless as ever."
"I don't know if you've heard the rumors about yourselves. The whole sea is now saying that you are one of the pirate crews closest to the throne of the Pirate King."
As he spoke, Bege looked at Luffy with great interest.
"Straw Hat, what do you think of the current situation on the sea? At this Big Mom's tea party, what are your plans?"
The dagger was drawn.
The moment these words were spoken, everyone turned to look at him.
Bege did not hide the fierce ambition in his eyes. "This isn't our first time cooperating, so let's not beat around the bush."
"I know that this marriage at the tea party is not Black Leg Sanji's own wish. I'm sure you don't want him to become a victim of a political marriage."
"I have grasped a fatal weakness of Big Mom's, which can easily and heavily injure her. What do you say? Want to cooperate with us?"
Smoke rose and covered Bege's face. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "At this tea party, we'll completely topple the Big Mom Pirates!"
"—Eh!"
The moment these words were spoken, Usopp and the others' eyes widened, beyond shocked.
"Y-y-you... you're actually going to betray Big Mom?!"
"You're being a bit too direct!"
"Let's not even talk about what reason we have to cooperate..."
Zoro's face was blank as he said coldly, "Aren't you afraid we'll turn around and tell the Big Mom Pirates about this?"
"If I hadn't acted with you two years ago, I definitely wouldn't have told you so directly."
Bege sneered coldly, leaned back on the sofa, and said to Luffy, "As for the reason for cooperation, it's very simple. You want to be the Pirate King, right?"
"As far as I know, Totto Land has a piece of the Road Poneglyph that records the final landmark. Unless you give up, you and Big Mom will definitely not be able to get along."
"The Road Poneglyph?" Robin couldn't help but speak, her body trembling.
"That's right. Although I don't know the specifics, it's said that to reach the final island of the Grand Line, you need the guidance of the Road Poneglyph."
Bege explained vaguely. It was clear he didn't know much either.
Even Reiner only had a partial understanding of this. He only knew that the four red Poneglyphs recorded the landmarks, which together pointed the way to Laugh Tale.
Speaking of which, one was in Totto Land, one was in Wano Country, one was with the man marked by flames, and one was...
Damn it. Reiner was suddenly stunned. Did we miss Zou on our voyage?!
The elephant was constantly moving on the sea. To go to Zou, one needed its Vivre Card to act as a guide. In the original story, it seemed Law was the one who gave it...
Reiner's brain started a memory search storm.
There might be a Vivre Card for Zou here in Totto Land. Should I make a trip back, or continue sailing and wait for the elephant to deliver itself to my door one day?
Or wait until later and see if I can run into Law, Blackbeard, or Kaido. Whoever has a rubbing, I'll just snatch it then?
As a pirate, snatching is probably the more reasonable approach.
Thinking of this, Reiner let out a sigh of relief.
Good, I'm all set.
(End of chapter)
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 25 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you