Final Island

The New World, Hachinosu.

"What?! The seniors have already collected all the red Road Poneglyph?!"

In the Las Noches high above the sky, Bartholomew stood dumbfounded in the main hall.

"That's right, the God are preparing to go to Elbaf to meet up with Cifer, so Hachinosu is in your hands."

Enel patted Barto on the shoulder, entrusting him with an important task.

Just now, Nolan contacted Hachinosu and asked them to meet up in Elbaf and then head to the Laugh Tale together.

"Enel- senpai~ I really... I really... Senpai, you must find Raftel and become the World's Strongest!"

Bartholomew gritted his teeth, but tears still streamed down his face, and he was already sobbing uncontrollably as he shouted.

"Don't worry, we are the strongest!"

Bonney patted his side, and then the group walked toward the Garganta that Shirahoshi had opened, which led to where Cifer was.

"But... isn't Senior Kuzan going? That's the Laugh Tale, said to contain a vast array of One Piece and the secrets of the world!"

Barto rubbed his eyes and found that one of the squad leaders was sitting in his seat, wearing a black eye mask as if he were asleep.

He didn't make a move, seemingly having no intention of getting up and following the others.

"We don't know anything about Raftel, nor do we know if it can contact the outside world. It's unacceptable that this great fortress doesn't even have a single squad leader."

"I'm not particularly interested in that thing. I'll find out anyway, so let me stay."

Kuzan gently lifted his blindfold and looked at the departing crowd. It was his own decision to stay.

He had a premonition that something unexpected might happen to the Hive, and that staying behind was a safeguard, at least ensuring that he could promptly seek help from the Western Zhou if any problems arose.

"Then I'll leave Hachinosu in the care of Lord Kuzan and Lord Bartholomew."

After saying goodbye to the two, Shirahoshi turned around, and the Garganta closed, and the cadres disappeared from sight.

"My esteemed seniors... we are finally about to shed the name of pirates and truly reach the pinnacle..."

Barto took a deep breath, but the twitching on his face wouldn't stop.

On the other side, in the Sunny Realm of Elbaf.

"This is..."

Led by Ripley, they arrived at a huge mural on the Adam Tree.

Robin looked at the mural and his surprise was palpable. Just from the surface, one could feel the traces of time that remained.

"It's graffiti, probably created by children. It's estimated that it was drawn eight or nine hundred years ago and then weathered here over time, so it has significant cultural value!"

"I thought maybe some people might want to see this, so I brought you here."

Ripley covered her mouth (relative to herself), squinted her eyes, and smiled at everyone.

"Eight or nine hundred years ago... wasn't that the 'Void Century' that Sister Robin has been investigating?!"

When Nolan realized what was happening and tried to look at Robin, he found that she had already walked up to him and was carefully examining the mural on the wall.

"But there seem to be many different races depicted in this mural."

After Lucci spoke, he looked at the giants. He had never heard of Elbaf being a country with extensive social connections.

"That's why I said it might be children's doodles, after all, their imaginations are boundless."

Ripley did not deny Lucci's words, but instead expressed his own understanding.

"No... this isn't imagination! This is... history?!"

Lilith walked over to Robin's side. She recognized the giant robot in the mural as the very one that Robin had been secretly researching!

"Robin, perhaps combining this with the Divine Canon will be helpful to you. Many stories of Elbaf originated from here."

Sauron pulled an old book from his pocket and placed it on the ground, opening it to the page about "the world".

Several days later.

Having already rejoined their companions, Cifer and the others set out based on the clues given in the Road Poneglyph and found the intersection of their lines.

Just like the Straw Hat Pirates, when Cifer and the others arrived here, all they could see was an endless ocean, with not a single island in sight.

"According to the road signs, it should be around here..."

Robin murmured and pondered, her index finger bent and pressed against her lips. She didn't think there was anything wrong with the road sign.

"If we rule out the possibility that Raftel can only appear under certain special circumstances, then we are left with only two possibilities: the sky and the sea."

Lucci, who was at the helm, looked around and offered his opinion.

"Other Sky Island or underwater islands...?"

Hina pondered deeply upon hearing this.

Since becoming Headquarters Vice Admiral, she has learned that there is more than one Sky Island in the world.

Could Raftel be one of them?

"Cifer ..."

"Shh~"

Just as they were about to ask the captain for his opinion, Nolan put his finger to his lips, signaling them to be quiet.

Following her finger, it became clear that Cifer had already performed a Resurrección.

His eyes narrowed, as if he were sensing something.

"Even Enel's Observation Haki couldn't sense Raftel's presence?"

Seeing this, Chopper looked at the long-eared man who was shirtless and eating an apple.

Enel's Observation Haki has extended far beyond just hearing; he can now see almost everything he can hear.

"God cannot sense the existence of islands in the sky, and the sea is a barrier to their God."

After eating even the pit, Enel spread his hands and leaned against the wall.

"Right below, at an altitude of nearly 10,000 meters, some people have already arrived—it's the Straw Hat Pirates —and there are some unexpected people who will be arriving soon as well."

Just then, Cifer opened his eyes and simultaneously deactivated his Resurrección state.

The group that was about to arrive was someone he had guessed about but hadn't paid much attention to; he just hadn't expected them to actually arrive even earlier than him.

"Huh? There are actually two groups that are faster than us!"

Chopper's chin was practically drooping onto the deck.

Although his captain had no interest in becoming the Pirate King, he still thought they would be the first to arrive after decades.

"We need to get someone to coat our ship right away. With Shirahoshi here, if we can use Sea King's abilities to call on the Sea King for help, we'll be able to go down much faster."

Hina looked at Cifer and spoke.

"No need."

With a casual wave of his hand, Cifer shattered the space next to the Little Ul as if it were glass.

"Here I am!"

Then, Nolan flicked his finger, and the entire ship floated up, slowly drifting into the Garganta.