Deep within the cathedral treasury on Vanti Island, a single Poneglyph sat quietly among the countless relics collected by the Church, so inconspicuous that it hardly drew attention at first glance.
At this moment, however, both the scholars' expedition team and the Roger Pirates stood gathered around it, unable to hide the excitement on their faces.
"We finally did it… we finally gathered them all!" Roger swallowed hard as he stared at the stone tablet before grinning broadly. "Once we finish making the rubbings, we'll finally be able to head for the final island and complete our dream of sailing all the way around the Grand Line!"
"Congratulations on finally reaching your dream," Professor Clover replied with a smile. "As for us, once this is over, we'll be returning to Ohara in the West Blue as well."
Unlike the original story, the scholars in the past had never managed to gather all the Poneglyphs. In fact, the number they possessed back then had been nowhere near enough.
But things were different now.
Because of Valthior, the scholars and the Roger Pirates had formed a mutually beneficial partnership regarding the Poneglyphs, allowing both sides to finally complete the full collection they needed.
"Once you return to the West Blue, are you planning to stop researching all this?" Roger asked curiously as he looked toward Professor Clover.
Professor Clover shook his head before answering calmly, "The records engraved on the Poneglyphs are ultimately nothing more than rough summaries. Altogether, the thirty stones contain less than ten thousand words. How could something so brief possibly describe the true history of that hundred-year period in full detail?"
As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward the many ancient relics stored throughout the treasury.
"During our journey, we've also collected a great number of ancient artifacts, many of which hold extraordinary academic value. Once we return to Ohara, we plan to establish specialized committees dedicated to systematic and long-term research. At the same time, we'll continue dispatching suitable scholars across the world to gather more ancient records, relics, and inherited materials…"
Thinking of the scale of the undertaking, Clover sighed with emotion.
"There's no doubt this will be an incredibly complicated project. Even if we achieve meaningful progress, it may still take decades before real results begin to appear."
After all, the Poneglyphs together contained fewer than ten thousand words. At best, they could only be seen as Joy Boy's rough, subjective account of that lost century.
And although Professor Clover did not trust the World Government, he also had no intention of blindly accepting Joy Boy's version of history. He was a true scholar, one who pursued historical truth as objectively as possible.
The Poneglyphs were only a small part of the scholars' broader research framework.
Judging from the vast amount of information, technology, and ancient knowledge Vegapunk would later obtain from Ohara, the real work clearly began afterward—the systematic excavation, organization, and deeper analysis carried out once they returned home.
As Professor Clover himself had said, it was the kind of undertaking that would require a very long time before any significant results could emerge.
And based on both the original story and Valthior's current deductions regarding Saint Saturn, Ohara should remain safe throughout this period.
Only after Saturn succeeded in shaping Vegapunk into the tool he desired, and after Ohara's research into ancient technology had reached a level he deemed satisfactory, would he finally move to erase the scholars.
After that, Vegapunk would be used for the next stage of the plan.
And once Vegapunk himself lost his value… he too would be silenced.
"Speaking of which," Valthior suddenly asked, "how did you even know the Church had a Poneglyph here?"
"My network is broader than you think," Professor Clover replied with a faint smile. "Some time ago, the Church invited me to assist in deciphering ancient scriptures and filling in gaps in their doctrine. I initially declined, citing my ongoing search for Poneglyphs, but they told me they possessed one themselves—and offered my team access as payment."
"Heh… looks like the Church isn't exactly behaving itself either," Valthior clicked his tongue and muttered.
Still, none of that really had anything to do with him.
And frankly, he couldn't be bothered to stick his nose into someone else's business.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Shanks was carrying little Robin in his arms while Buggy stood beside him holding a baby bottle and carefully feeding her milk. Bullet followed close behind them every single step of the way, acting as though he was terrified the tiny girl might get hurt if he took his eyes off her for even a second.
"Big Bro Valthior, what exactly is written on this Poneglyph?" Shanks asked curiously.
"I already told you, brat, I'm your uncle," Valthior shot back with an annoyed glare.
"On this ship, everybody goes by their own rules!" Shanks laughed shamelessly, completely unfazed.
Looking purely at bloodlines, the Jaygarcia family had clearly intermarried with the Figarland family at some point. Valthior remembered that such marriages existed even in the current generation, and the previous generation as well.
Which meant that, technically speaking, he and that bastard Garling really did share some kind of "brotherly" relation.
And since Shanks carried Garling's blood, that made him, by extension, Valthior's nephew—someone who would normally be expected to address him as uncle.
But Shanks knew perfectly well what had happened in the past. That bastard father of his had personally killed his mother, so Shanks completely rejected the identity tied to his bloodline. On the ship, he constantly emphasized his role as an apprentice pirate, and when addressing Valthior, he always insisted on calling him "Big Bro Valthior."
Perhaps, in its own way, that was also a form of rebellion against the blood running through his veins.
Beside them, Olvia gently rubbed Shanks' head before turning toward the Poneglyph and reading aloud from the translation:
"To the Buccaneers, the Lunarians, and the Giants, I have entrusted the rhythm and heartbeat that will one day break the seal. They are all comrades and allies worthy of my trust, and each race possesses strength powerful enough to protect itself. They promised me that the story of the Sun God Nika, the Warrior of Liberation, would be passed down from generation to generation until the day someone inheriting the will of freedom and liberation appears once more. When the Warrior of Liberation meets these companions of mine again, when they unite, and when they once more beat the Drums of Liberation with that rhythm, the gift I left behind shall reappear upon the seas!"
"The rhythm and heartbeat…?" Shanks scratched his head in confusion.
Valthior, however, stared at the names of the three races as countless thoughts surfaced in his mind.
It was true. The Giants, the Buccaneers, and the Lunarians all possessed legends regarding the Sun God, and all of them had passed down the same "rhythm." Bartholomew Kuma himself knew the beat used in the Dance of the Sun God.
Clearly, Joy Boy had believed these three races were powerful enough to ensure that rhythm and those drums would survive through the ages.
But perhaps the World Government had realized this as well.
That would explain why, over the past several centuries, they had continuously hunted the Buccaneers and Lunarians toward extinction while isolating the overwhelmingly powerful Giants.
And the result was obvious.
By now, both the Buccaneers and the Lunarians had been nearly wiped out entirely.
As for the Giants, much of their literature, knowledge, and cultural heritage had been erased under the World Government's suppression, justified under the pretext of the Galleila threat.
It could be said that, in the current era, almost nobody alive still knew of this rhythm or those drums anymore.
And thinking about that suddenly reminded Valthior of what had happened in the original story during the God Valley Incident.
Back then, Saturn had clearly declared his intention to kill the nine-year-old Bartholomew Kuma. Yet instead of finishing him off immediately, he spent an oddly long time talking to him, almost as though he were deliberately hinting at something. In the end, despite Saturn possessing a Mythical Zoan, Conqueror's Haki, and overwhelming home-field advantage, the young Kuma somehow managed to escape completely unharmed.
Afterward, Saturn inexplicably allowed Kuma to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Not only that, he stubbornly insisted on turning Kuma into a modified human weapon, all while constantly emphasizing the importance of preserving his consciousness for as long as possible.
At the time, those actions had seemed confusing beyond belief.
But now… they suddenly felt very different.
At the end of the day, wasn't that old monster trying to preserve at least a trace of Buccaneer blood? And by stripping away Kuma's consciousness, was he perhaps attempting to uncover the secret behind that rhythm and heartbeat?
When Valthior also considered the fact that he himself had sheltered Kuma's family for years before later sending them back to the South Blue — and Saturn had quietly allowed all of it without interference — the whole thing became even more suspicious.
"You're seriously starting to look like Danzo in my eyes, old man," Valthior thought to himself with a strange expression. "Every mystery somehow circles back to you in the end, doesn't it?"
And it wasn't just the Buccaneers.
The Lunarians probably couldn't escape Saturn's involvement either.
After all, the entire Science Unit had always been under his authority. Alber—the man later known as King—had escaped from the Government's science facility alongside Kaido. And when one considered the later development of the Seraphim, the entire situation only grew more suspicious.
According to Imu's orders, these races should have been driven to extinction long ago.
But somehow, whenever they ended up in Old Man Saturn's hands… they always managed to survive.
Even if they couldn't reproduce naturally, he would simply clone and replicate them himself.
In short, no matter what happened, he absolutely refused to let those races disappear completely.
...
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