Maybe something disgraceful happened eight hundred years ago, or maybe something that was harmful to the World Government. For whatever reason, a full century of history had been erased.
But scattered across the world were about thirty strange stones that still recorded that missing history. No matter what method was used, these stones could not be destroyed.
The idea was simple: the World Government wanted to erase history but couldn't destroy these indestructible stones. At the same time, they couldn't find all of them, and for some reason they didn't bury or disguise the ones they had, nor did they bother forging fakes to confuse people.
Instead, after enacting a law forbidding anyone from studying the missing century, they just left the clues scattered across the world.
Ten years ago—when Roger had just become Pirate King—the scholars of Ohara were discovered researching the Poneglyphs. The World Government accused them of breaking the law and ordered the navy to launch ten battleships and wipe out the entire island with cannon fire.
The ease with which they destroyed an island shocked the world. To many, it felt like more than punishment—it was also meant as a warning to pirates.
Seeing a Poneglyph so casually placed in the coral forest, Zhang Da Ye couldn't help asking, "Isn't it dangerous just leaving something like this out here?"
Princess Otohime was surprised. "You know what this is, Mr. Da Ye?"
"This is… wait. Maybe I shouldn't know?" Zhang Da Ye scratched his head, realizing he might have said too much.
Otohime nodded seriously. "Among the five million residents of Fishman Island, only men like Jinbei and Den-san, who are very well traveled, and our royal family know what this stone is."
For an ordinary tavern owner like Zhang Da Ye to recognize it instantly was unusual.
"By coincidence, I happen to know a little about it," Zhang Da Ye muttered to himself, thinking, I actually know it's an apology letter from Joy Boy to the mermaid princess eight hundred years ago.
He didn't explain further, and Otohime didn't press the issue. "Because research and discussion have been forbidden for so long, ordinary people stopped knowing what Poneglyphs even are. Most would never see one in their entire life. That's why this one can be left here in the open."
"I see… makes sense, I guess. So should we just pretend we didn't see it?" Zhang Da Ye wondered if the Fishmen had a duty to guard it—like how the Alabasta royal family guarded the Poneglyph of Pluton, or how the Shandians on Skypiea protected the one about Poseidon.
"That's entirely up to you," Otohime said calmly. She already knew what this stone recorded, and it wasn't something that needed to be kept secret.
What truly caused conflict was the red Poneglyph that had once stood here.
The red stones were called Road Poneglyphs. There were four in total, and together they revealed the path to the final island.
Sixteen years ago, Roger's crew had made rubbings of this stone. That was also when Madam Shyarly predicted the birth of the mermaid princess.
But ten years ago, sometime after Roger's death, the red stone vanished. Maybe Roger's men had taken it to protect it. Maybe Whitebeard had. Maybe someone else entirely. In any case, no one had asked the Fishmen's opinion before carrying it off.
Since Zhang Da Ye didn't seem particularly interested in the Poneglyph's content, Otohime didn't mention it further. She had only wanted to bring them here for fun.
And Zhang Da Ye truly didn't care. He had no interest in being Pirate King, and the world's lost history didn't mean much to him. At most, he was curious about what the World Government wanted to hide—but even if he never found out, it didn't matter.
The Poneglyph was just a short detour. They spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the Sea Forest, taking plenty of photos as souvenirs.
At some point, Tom unearthed a golden hook like Crocodile's and a black pirate hat. Everyone had fun taking turns cosplaying as pirate captains.
But the one who looked most convincing was, of course, Zhang Da Ye, because he even had lines prepared. "Are you ready, kids?"
Everyone stared blankly at him. Rui Meng Meng, whom he had expected to play along, tilted her head. "Boss, what are you even doing?"
"You're supposed to answer, 'Aye, aye, captain!'" Zhang Da Ye sighed, taking off the hat. "Unbelievable. None of you had a childhood."
"What does that mean, Mr. Da Ye?" Princess Shirahoshi asked curiously. She was so used to speaking with honorifics.
"Emmm… it's the story of a little sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea."
Those big, expectant eyes of hers were impossible to refuse, so on the way back, Zhang Da Ye began telling her the story of SpongeBob.
He had experience telling stories—back when he lived with Uncle Goodman, he often told tales to Baier and the other kids—so he was confident.
But his memory of the details was fuzzy, so he ended up… improvising.
"…Just when all seemed lost, Plankton used his forbidden technique, the Heaven-Flipping Water Splash, to dodge Mr. Krabs' Twin Golden Shears. He was only one step away from seizing the Krabby Patty Secret Formula and conquering Bikini Bottom…"
"Luckily, SpongeBob unleashed the Sponge Indestructible Body Technique, a legendary move that can only be used five times in a lifetime. This was his last chance. To stop Plankton's evil plans, he had no choice…"
"…Plankton unleashed eighteen strikes but still couldn't break SpongeBob's defense. SpongeBob staggered back one step—and with that step, all of Bikini Bottom's martial arts regressed twenty years…"
"Alright, that's the end. To find out what happens next, wait until the next chapter." As they reached Ryugu Palace, Zhang Da Ye finally sighed with relief. If he had to keep making things up, his brain would explode.
"Eh? That's it?" Shirahoshi pouted. How could anyone stop halfway through? Did SpongeBob defeat Plankton or not?
Even Tom wanted to hear more. He realized he had discovered a new favorite kind of story—one that was thrilling without being scary.
Shark Chili and Rui Meng Meng just wondered what kind of childhood Zhang Da Ye must have had to come up with such nonsense, while Artoria was only concerned about one thing: whether Krabby Patties tasted good, and where to get them.
By the time they returned to the palace, it was already evening. The farewell banquet was scheduled for noon the next day, so after dinner, everyone went to rest.
Meanwhile, the three princes of Ryugu Palace had just finished their grueling daily training. Determined to protect their sister, they were becoming stronger by the day. Still, being good brothers meant they had to check in on her as well.
Shark Star asked, "Shirahoshi, did you have fun today?"
"Yes! Today we went to the Sea Forest—it was so beautiful. And I played treasure hunt and hide-and-seek with Tom…" Shirahoshi counted off each game with her fingers, smiling brightly.
Seeing that smile, the princes felt all their exhaustion melt away.
Second prince Ryuboshi said, "That's wonderful. Once we get stronger, we'll be able to take you out to play more often."
"Mm-hm!" Shirahoshi nodded happily. "But I do feel a little tired now."
The youngest, Fukaboshi, quickly added, "Then you should sleep early. Do you want a bedtime story tonight?"
Shirahoshi perked up immediately. "Yes! I want to hear the story of SpongeBob falling off a cliff, learning a secret martial art, and becoming the number one fighter in Bikini Bottom!"
The three princes froze. "???"
A/N: As for the missing red Road Poneglyph from Fishman Island—it was the final piece the Straw Hats needed. If Neptune had known its whereabouts, he surely would have told them, but since he hadn't, it must have been taken in secret. The likeliest candidates were Blackbeard… or perhaps it had been hidden away in Elbaf, the land of the giants.
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