That night, along the shores of Laugh Tale, aboard the Oro Jackson.
Inside the grand library, Valthior lounged lazily across a sofa, gently swirling a glass of red wine in his hand while enjoying the peaceful night surrounding the island.
To the Roger Pirates, the final island, Laugh Tale, was more of a spiritual symbol than anything else. It represented the fact that they had conquered the seas and successfully reached the end of the Grand Line.
As for what actually existed on the island itself, nobody truly cared all that much.
Well… except Roger now.
After all, more than sixty billion Berries of his life savings had just vanished into the underground palace.
Aside from Joy Boy's mysterious treasure, there was basically nothing else worth paying attention to on the island, so the crew had already decided they would rest for two days before departing from Laugh Tale.
According to the original plan, once they reached the next island along their route, Roger would be the first person to leave the ship. And with the captain stepping off, the Roger Pirates would officially disband.
After that, everyone would go their separate ways and return to their own lives.
Those unwilling to part ways would instead regroup under Valthior and form a new pirate crew, continuing their glorious career of causing chaos across the seas.
Although Roger's sudden "generous donation" earlier today had briefly shaken his determination to disband the crew, he ultimately still chose not to change his decision.
Of course, the plan had undergone a slight adjustment now.
Once they reached the next island, Roger would first hold a press conference on behalf of the Roger Pirates. He would publicly announce that they had completed the impossible feat of sailing around the entire Grand Line, reveal the existence of the final island Laugh Tale to the world, and then proclaim that he had left behind his "fame, wealth, power, and status" there for whoever could claim it.
Naturally, the important part was the wealth.
After all, the rest were just abstract concepts.
But those sixty billion Berries were very, very real.
Every single member of the Roger Pirates could personally testify to that fact.
Still, this only added one extra step to the process. Once it was over, Roger would still be the first to leave the ship and go search for his true love so he could live the peaceful life of an ordinary wealthy man—
No, wait.
An ordinary broke man.
"Truly magnificent. No further words needed," Valthior muttered to himself, nearly laughing again as the thought crossed his mind.
After taking another sip of wine, he pulled out a Den Den Mushi.
He hesitated briefly before dialing the call.
A long while later, the line finally connected, and the familiar voice of Saint Saturn echoed from the other side.
"Valthior?"
"It's me, Grandfather," Valthior replied softly. "It's been a long time since I last checked in. Have you been well?"
"Everything remains as it always has," Saturn answered.
He did not say whether things were good or bad.
Only unchanged.
But for someone like Saturn, "unchanged" already meant things could not possibly be better.
Valthior did not bother with unnecessary small talk.
"We reached the legendary final island, Laugh Tale, today."
On the other end of the line, Saturn's breathing noticeably deepened for a brief moment.
After a short silence, he asked quietly:
"What's on the island?"
"It's completely deserted," Valthior answered honestly without hiding anything. "There's only a ruin left behind by Joy Boy. It appears to be some sort of underground palace, but the entire structure is built from the same indestructible stone used to create the Poneglyphs. We have no way to enter it, so we don't know what's inside."
"That," Saturn said slowly, "was the final desperate struggle they left behind in those days."
"After the great war ended, the World Government once intended to travel there and erase every trace of it completely. However, an enormous global catastrophe struck the world. The environment underwent drastic change, sea levels rose violently within an extremely short period of time, and the continents themselves were reshaped."
"The 'Final Land' consequently shifted from its original position, becoming the final island, never to be trodden upon by anyone again,"
Clearly, when Joy Boy originally constructed that place, the world had looked completely different from the world of today.
Then catastrophe struck.
Or perhaps… Joy Boy had intentionally built the "Final Land" precisely during that period, waiting for the world itself to transform it into the isolated Final Island before leaving behind its coordinates, creating the Poneglyphs, and preserving the final sparks of the Void Century for future generations.
However, Saturn himself could not guarantee whether that version of history was truly accurate, and Valthior had no intention of digging deeper into it either. At this point, what meaning was there in obsessing over the past?
Although he had traveled alongside the Roger Pirates in search of ancient truths, Valthior had always been someone who firmly believed in the future rather than the past. From the very beginning, he had never placed his hopes in ancient history. His pursuit of the past stemmed merely from curiosity and a desire to better understand the world.
In his view, people could only rely on themselves.
Joy Boy.
The Warrior of Liberation.
The Sun God Nika.
The so-called D. Clan.
Trusting any of them was far less reliable than trusting himself.
"What do you plan to do next?" Saturn asked again.
"Roger has already decided to disband the crew," Valthior replied softly.
However, he still did not mention his own intention to reorganize the crew under his leadership. Before saying that, he first wanted to test Saturn's attitude.
More importantly, he wanted to see what kind of arrangements the old man had in mind.
Perhaps through that, he could glimpse the way Saturn truly played his game.
"Disband?" Saturn clearly sounded surprised, as though hearing this for the first time. "Why disband?"
"The Roger Pirates were originally formed for the sole purpose of sailing around the Grand Line," Valthior explained calmly. "Back when they first reached Lodestar Island, they had already planned to split up. It was only after realizing that Lodestar wasn't the true final island that they began their second journey. Now that they've fulfilled their dream, they have no intention of ruling the seas, nor do they plan to use the information, knowledge, and power they gained along the way to oppose our World Government."
Here, Valthior deliberately used the phrase "our World Government."
It was a subtle way of showing Saturn that his loyalty remained unchanged.
"I see…" Saturn's tone became somewhat complicated. "Before hearing this news, we had believed Roger and the others might… never mind. There's no need to continue that topic."
Without dwelling on it further, Valthior smoothly continued:
"My own journey has essentially come to an end as well. So next, should I return to Mary Geoise? Or perhaps, Grandfather, do you have any tasks you wish to assign me?"
The moment this topic came up, Saturn's interest immediately sharpened.
"Regarding your situation, I already informed the other four some time ago," Saturn said. "Not long ago, the five of us discussed this matter together. After reaching a unanimous decision, we concluded that you should not return to Mary Geoise for the time being."
"Instead, while the Roger Pirates are disbanding, you should seize this opportunity to recruit as many powerful members from the crew as possible, establish a new pirate crew of your own, and attempt to compete for influence throughout the New World under the identity of a pirate."
Valthior had originally assumed that once this matter ended, Saturn would summon him back to the Holy Land to "report on his duties."
He had even prepared himself for the possibility of being assigned into the Holy Knights or something similar.
If that happened, Valthior had already planned various excuses and methods to steer Saturn away from such decisions while preserving his standing as a Celestial Dragon.
And if absolutely necessary, he had been fully prepared to turn hostile.
What could they really do if he simply stayed in the New World and refused to return?
After all, returning to Mary Geoise would only lead him back into the same dead end as before — signing some contract with Imu and becoming another obedient dog beneath that throne.
Yet unexpectedly, Saturn had somehow convinced the other Four Elders to give him an entirely different mission.
Not only would he remain active as a pirate, but he was being encouraged to expand his influence even further and rise to greater heights within the pirate world itself.
The arrangement aligned perfectly with Valthior's future plans, instantly putting him in an exceptionally good mood.
"You mean… you want me to become one of the dominant rulers of the New World?" Valthior asked, pretending to sound surprised.
"There are some things that it is finally time for you to know, Valthior," Saturn said slowly, his voice carrying a rare trace of emotional complexity. "Your actions over these years have satisfied me greatly. From this day onward, you are no longer merely a descendant in whom I place high expectations…"
Valthior blanked for a moment. Clearly, the old man was about to speak some deeply candid words.
Back in Mary Geoise, Saturn had once told him that the most valuable thing he possessed was the bloodline of the Twenty Kings, and that whether he acted as a Celestial Dragon or a pirate were merely identities that could be discarded at any time for that bloodline's sake.
Even back then, those words already carried deeper meaning.
But now, it seemed Saturn intended to take the conversation even further.
"From this day forward, you must never return to Mary Geoise lightly," Saturn said in a low voice. "Back then, when we first discussed the Poneglyphs, you very cleverly avoided mentioning that individual, and I likewise refrained from explaining matters to you."
"But now that you have reached the final island and gathered all the Poneglyphs, no matter what, it is impossible for you not to know of the existence that looms above this world."
"Am I right?"
"You mean Im—" Valthior began while raising a brow.
"There is no need to say the name. Stop there," Saturn interrupted immediately.
Then, after a brief pause, he continued:
"In any case, that is an existence of extreme danger. My life and death rest entirely upon a single thought from that being. For hundreds of years, I have searched for a method to break free from this deadlock. Though I have only discovered fragments of a path forward, I have already placed several pieces upon the board."
"And before today, you too were merely one of those pieces."
"But now…"
"You are finally qualified to sit at the table and play this game alongside me."
"Grandfather…"
Hearing Saturn lay everything bare so directly caused even Valthior's emotions to become complicated for a moment.
"This world functions exactly like this," Saturn continued bluntly. "If you wish to become a player rather than a piece, then from now onward, whenever you place your pieces upon the board, you must stand above them."
"You may invest emotion into them. Emotional bonds are necessary for deepening connections and maintaining loyalty."
"But you must never become too emotionally attached, lest hesitation and sentiment become the source of your downfall."
"I can tell you this plainly — before today, and even in the future, if necessary, I will sacrifice you without hesitation in order to preserve myself."
"Even though among all descendants born over these past centuries… you are the one I favor most."
Before Valthior could respond, Saturn continued speaking.
"From today onward, your task is simple. Be a pirate properly. Become a figure whose name shakes the seas. Use all your strength to search for the path that you believe can break this deadlock."
"As much as possible, I will secretly make things easier for you from behind the scenes."
"And perhaps one day… I may witness within your hands a new hope entirely different from my own plans. A hope capable of escaping this cage."
This time, Saturn no longer viewed Valthior merely as a chess piece.
Instead, he had become a new possibility.
Saturn would still continue playing his own game.
But at the same time, he had also begun hoping that Valthior might someday bring him an entirely different future.
Finally, Saturn spoke in a solemn voice:
"Never forget this. We are all descendants of the Twenty Kings. While enjoying the authority and privilege inherited from them, we must also bear the weight of this world upon our shoulders."
"The humiliation suffered by our ancestors…"
"Must one day be cleansed with glory once more!!!"
By now, Valthior already fully understood what Saturn meant by the humiliation of their ancestors.
Imu had corrupted the nineteen wise kings — those who were originally meant to represent hope and oppose tyranny — using dark power.
Yet this was the first time Saturn had openly spoken of it.
Perhaps this too was a way of revealing his true convictions.
Valthior took a deep breath.
His expression became serious and solemn as he answered firmly:
"For the glory of our ancestors!!!"