Shaka led the way ahead.
After only a few steps, he suddenly spoke.
"Miss Robin, do you think what you've seen so far is future enough?"
Robin froze.
She hadn't expected one of Vegapunk's satellites to suddenly ask her something like that.
"I don't know much about science or technology," she said after a moment of thought, her voice calm and sincere.
"But from what I've seen, it's obvious this island is filled with countless technologies that belong to the future—things that feel almost unbelievable."
In response, Shaka did not turn around.
He continued walking ahead, but slightly raised his head.
"In truth…"
"This place is the past."
"It already existed nine hundred years ago."
Yuuki's eyes narrowed slightly.
Robin, on the other hand, visibly trembled.
Her pupils shook.
For a moment, the words Void Century almost escaped her lips—
but at the critical moment, she bit them back and remained silent.
Even so, the shock on her face was impossible to hide.
Vegapunk belonged to the World Government.
She had no idea why he would bring this up.
The hundred years spanning from nine hundred years ago to eight hundred years ago—
the era known as the Void Century—
was something the World Government absolutely forbade anyone from investigating.
"Nine hundred years ago, there existed an enormous kingdom with extraordinarily advanced technology."
"As for the details, even to this day, this old man does not fully know them."
Shaka's mechanical voice carried a trace of emotion.
"Twenty years ago, your homeland, Ohara, was destroyed under a Buster Call."
"I believe that was because Ohara discovered the existence of that great kingdom."
"The so-called Void Century is, in truth, the history of the war between that great kingdom and twenty other kingdoms."
"The victorious twenty kingdoms became what is now the World Government."
"And in order to prevent anyone from inheriting the ideals of that kingdom…"
"They erased it completely from history."
To learn part of the truth behind the Void Century so easily—
not only Robin, but even Yuuki was slightly surprised.
Yuuki already knew that Vegapunk had been closely connected to Professor Clover of Ohara.
Hearing this, the slight narrowing of his eyes eased.
There was very little information about the Void Century even within the original story.
Though he had not come here specifically to investigate that history,
this was still an unexpected gain.
"And how do you know what you've learned is the truth?"
Yuuki asked calmly.
Even now,
Yuuki still believed that, aside from Imu—the true ruler of the World Government—
the only others who truly understood that history were the Roger Pirates.
More precisely—
the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger himself.
With his ability to hear the Voice of All Things,
perhaps only he had been able to uncover the truly crucial truths.
Shaka's footsteps paused for a brief moment before continuing.
"If Ohara truly was destroyed by the World Government because of this matter…"
"Then does that not itself serve as an admission of that truth?"
Step.
Robin suddenly stopped walking.
Her fists clenched tightly.
A suppressed look of pain surfaced on her face.
Shaka's words had forcibly dragged her back to the tragedy of Ohara.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"The scholars of Ohara merely conducted a small amount of research into that history…"
"And yet they were met with such a horrific fate!"
"But now you speak of it so casually—"
"Is it because someone of your status was told the truth by the World Government?!"
Her voice trembled with both pain and desperate hope.
This truth—
the truth the scholars of Ohara had died pursuing—
was the one thing she had dedicated her entire life to uncovering.
And now…
it felt as though it was finally within reach.
"No."
Shaka's tone remained calm.
"Even though this old man belongs to the World Government, if I were to investigate that history…"
"The result would be no different."
The hope in Robin's expression faltered.
Her emotions surged even more fiercely.
"Then how did you uncover the existence of that great kingdom?"
"The records and documents collected by the scholars and professors of Ohara…"
"Were all destroyed in that disaster—"
Before she could finish—
"The will of Ohara still lives."
Shaka said quietly.
Robin's body trembled violently.
In an instant, her eyes turned red and wet.
Pat.
Yuuki gently placed a hand on Robin's shoulder and spoke softly.
"Twenty-two years ago, the Island of Scholars, Ohara—the most renowned center of learning in the world—was destroyed overnight."
"Everyone on the island died except for one little girl."
"They were branded as an evil group of scholars seeking to overthrow the World Government."
"Captain…"
Robin steadied herself slightly, though her voice still carried a faint tremble.
Only matters concerning Ohara could shake the normally calm and mature Robin this deeply.
Yuuki gave her a slight nod before withdrawing his hand from her shoulder.
"I imagine that when those scholars and professors began researching the Void Century…"
"They had already anticipated that such a day might come."
"And yet every single one of them died."
"Not one escaped."
"That, in itself, is unnatural."
At this point, Yuuki turned to look at Shaka.
"So, my guess is this—"
"The scholars and professors of Ohara must have used their lives to hide something important."
Shaka let out a quiet sigh of admiration before nodding.
"Remarkable, Mr. Yuuki."
"They did indeed leave something behind."
"But more accurately…"
"It was preserved."
Shaka slightly lifted his head, as if recalling the past.
"Several months after Ohara was destroyed by the Buster Call, this old man visited the island."
"And in the center of the island…"
"I found documents covering the entire bottom of the lake."
"I suspect the scholars remained on the burning island until the very end…"
"To protect the treasure that had to be passed on to the future."
"In the face of that destruction…"
"The true victors were the scholars of Ohara."
Shaka spoke with utmost seriousness.
Upon hearing those words,
tears finally welled in Robin's eyes.
A blurred memory surfaced in her mind—
along with a voice from the past.
'Robin, history is mankind's treasure.'
'We will never abandon the future you are meant to live in!'
Robin quickly wiped away the tears slipping down her cheeks and looked at Shaka with trembling emotion.
"Are those documents here with you now?"
She wanted to reclaim them.
To take back the legacy Ohara had left behind.
"I'm sorry."
"Though this old man wanted very much to take them away back then…"
"if the World Government had discovered it, everything would have been over."
"However…"
"I encountered another group there."
Shaka continued,
"The Revolutionary Army… no."
"At that time, they were still called the Freedom Fighters."
"It was that very year that Dragon, Emporio Ivankov, and Bartholomew Kuma founded what would become the Revolutionary Army—"
"a force that now shakes the world and gives the World Government endless headaches."
Robin was stunned.
She had never imagined that the Revolutionary Army had been founded at that very moment.
From Vegapunk's words,
it was clear that the surviving documents of Ohara were now in the hands of the Revolutionary Army.
"However…"
"While the documents themselves are not in my possession…"
"Their contents were all recorded in my mind."
"And I have continued researching them ever since."
Shaka said softly as he looked at Robin.
"If you wish to know…"
"I can take you to see them."
"After all, you are the sole survivor of Ohara."
Robin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the overwhelming emotions in her heart.
Then she instinctively turned to look at Yuuki first.
"If you want to go, then go."
"As for the original documents…"
"We can retrieve them from the Revolutionary Army later."
Yuuki said calmly.
"Thank you, Captain."
Robin bowed deeply and sincerely.
After a short while,
the three of them arrived at the end of the corridor.
"Beyond this door is the laboratory where the main body is waiting."
"Miss Robin, please come with me."
Shaka gave Yuuki a slight nod before leading Robin in another direction.
Looking at the tightly shut laboratory doors ahead,
Yuuki stepped forward.
Just as he was about to push them open,
the doors slid open automatically.
What entered his sight was—
a laboratory that did not appear particularly large.
The entire interior was packed with complicated instruments and machinery.
The equipment occupied nearly two-thirds of the room,
making the laboratory feel somewhat cramped.
As Yuuki stepped inside,
he saw Vegapunk seated with his back facing him,
sitting before a massive screen while continuously recording data on a tablet-like device.
And beside him—
laying on an operating bed—
was Kuma.
His body was covered in cables and wires.
Yuuki gave Kuma a brief glance.
The man was deeply asleep.
And through his senses,
Yuuki could clearly tell that Kuma's life force had weakened even further since the last time they met.
As if hearing the laboratory doors open and the approaching footsteps,
Vegapunk finally looked away from the instrument in his hands.
He turned around to face Yuuki,
a bright, almost childlike smile spreading across his face.
"You've come."
He was a remarkably gentle-looking man.
Though he appeared elderly,
there was a strange innocence to him.
His hair was white,
and atop his head sat an apple-shaped antenna-like device resembling a small branch.
He wore a white lab coat over a floral shirt.
His enormous tongue hung outside his mouth,
making him look completely different from the sinister image of an evil scientist often whispered about across the seas.
"This is our first meeting, Dr. Vegapunk."
Yuuki said softly.
"I am merely a humble scientist employed by the World Government, Captain Yuuki."
Vegapunk hopped down from his chair.
"You are the first person I've ever seen reach this place without going through the World Government."
"On your way here…"
"I assume Shaka already told you about the Void Century."
"Although I still possess some additional information…"
"Even I cannot fully confirm its authenticity."
"So please forgive me for not telling you more for the time being."
Hearing that,
Yuuki's brow lifted slightly in surprise.
No wonder Shaka had spoken so much along the way.
At first, he had thought it was because of Robin.
But now it seemed—
Vegapunk had assumed that Yuuki's purpose in coming here was to investigate the Void Century.
Vegapunk stood and walked to Kuma's bedside.
At this moment,
Kuma looked completely different from how he usually appeared.
Whenever he showed himself on the seas,
he always maintained a cold, expressionless face.
The title of "Tyrant" had been reinforced by that very image.
And yet now—
Yuuki saw a different expression on Kuma's face.
A gentle one.
It was Kuma's true kindness.
As if…
he were having a beautiful dream.
(End of Chapter)
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