Hidden History, Setting Sail Again

Kibi, Zhonghua Town

Located in the tunnel beneath the 'Yihong Courtyard'.

"Commander-in-chief, please stay close to me. This tunnel is very complicated, and it's easy to get lost if you're not careful."

Indeed, Roman had scattered a little scrap of paper as a marker at each corner. Now, 362 markers had been placed, and they still hadn't reached their destination... It was practically a giant underground three-dimensional maze.

Let alone ordinary people, even top experts could destroy this place, but finding a specific target in such a maze is like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Arrive,"

Since the deputy commander of the Bad People is leading the way, getting lost is not an issue. However:

"Seastone?"

Roman isn't Luffy, who can nonchalantly step into a room made of sea towers. Not even a recently comrade-in-arms from the Bad People! Because:

His title of "Great Leader" came out of nowhere, and the Bad People were clearly hiding something. His unnatural expression when facing him, the secret treasure Kaido mentioned, and even the elusive Ancient Weapon "Dragon Pluton" were all involved.

This forced Roman to take precautions.

"Commander-in-Chief, please wait a moment, I'll go get the things."

Even the vice-commander of the Bad People, now wrapped in bandages again, could tell that Roman was reluctant to step into the Seastone room before him. No one with an ability could resist the Seastone. After all, having one's livelihood suddenly suppressed was far more terrifying than a great swordsman losing his sword.

As the Bandaged Vice Commander stepped into the room, there were no dramatic scenes like "close the door, unleash the dogs!" or "three hundred Ax Hand jump out from behind the door." After about ten seconds, the man came out carrying a box.

What could be inside?

In that instant, Roman thought of many things: Devil Fruit, Dyna Stone, the Pluton Blueprints, his laptop, even Imu's photobook...

"What... book is this?"

Then, the moment the Bandaged Vice Commander opened the box, even the usually composed Roman showed an expression of disbelief, because:

Inside the box lay a book, its cover displaying a line of square characters boldly displayed vertically:

The Compendium of Gods!

Don't misunderstand, while the English alphabet is the dominant alphabet in this world, 'Chinese characters' are not uncommon; Wano Country is full of authentic traditional Chinese characters. Therefore, the appearance of a book written in Chinese characters is nothing to be surprised about. However:

Come,

Roman reached out, and the book flew into his hand automatically. In an instant, a tremendous life force flowed from the book into Roman's body! It was as natural as water flowing from a high place to a lower place.

"This thing..."

Looking at Roman's complicated expression, the Bandaged Vice Commander sighed.

"Indeed, it belongs to you."

?

How much do you know about this book?

Faced with Roman's serious question, the Bandaged Vice Commander had already decided to take out the item, put down his burden.

"This is the core secret of our 'Bad People,' and the treasure we can pass down: each page of this book can grant each of us a Devil Fruit ability. Although it's not as flexible and versatile as a real Devil Fruit ability, it's enough to allow us to continuously pass on our abilities to the next generation..."

"I'm referring to its origin!"

Facing Roman, who was frowning and unconsciously raising his voice, the Bandaged Vice Commander shrugged.

"I don't know, after all, it's something from hundreds of years ago. Anyway, our 'Bad People's' historical records don't mention the origin of this treasure book, only leaving a coded message and a prophecy that someone will come to retrieve it eight hundred years later. And that person will become our 'Great Leader'..."

Without a doubt, 'that person' is Roman.

"Everyone always thought this kind of old-fashioned thing was a prank played by a leader when he was drunk, but it was just a joke to prove the leader's 'succession'."

The Bandaged Vice Commander looked at Roman in front of him, and it was this man who had fulfilled the prophecy.

And this face—if he didn't know his father was extremely rigid, he would have doubted whether he had a long-lost brother.

"At first, I also thought this so-called 'prophecy' was utterly stupid. Even if the eight-hundred-year deadline arrived, it would at most just make the patrolling Melody a little more aware. But when I heard 'Mayfly' report that someone was making a lot of comments about our name and moves, I suddenly had a feeling..."

The prophecy is about to come true.

And 'Mayfly' is the black-and-white robed man who led the way; he is clearly a sensory-type ability user.

"In other words, whether it's a book or a prophecy, you... never mind, I understand."

Roman, who wanted to press for more information, shook his head. He put himself in the other person's shoes. His family's centuries-old treasure was being mysteriously linked to some centuries-old agreement, and then handed over to some inexplicable person. His first reaction would definitely be:

Fuck you!

Why should I?

But···

"Such powerful strength,"

The book in her hand is essentially the same as "The Thief's Intent" that Roman developed for Nami by developing his own abilities, but it is clear that this book is much more powerful than the one in Nami's hand!

Even after all these years, it still retains a vast amount of life force. It contains a dazzling array of Devil Fruit abilities, some that Roman collected, and Roman didn't. Even—

?!

"What is this?"

Roman's hand, which had been turning the pages, paused on a pitch-black page. This page gave him a very dangerous feeling! As if it could:

"Oh, this page. The ability on this page is called 'Dragon Claw,' which is another very core ability of our Bad People..."

As the Bandaged Vice Commander uttered a familiar move name, Roman had confirmed the nature of this page:

Isn't that just Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit ability?

Sure enough, its effect is:

"We, the Bad People, also have some Devil Fruit user. When a user's life comes to an end, or when they voluntarily give up their Devil Fruit ability, we use the power of this page to transfer the Devil Fruit. My 'Word-Word Fruit' is one of those that has been passed down from generation to generation."

"Even the poems I use in conjunction with my Devil Fruit ability are also inherited and complement the abilities themselves."

I see!

The names of the Bad People," the "Heavenly Stars," the martial arts techniques, and even the poems—all of these were intentionally chosen to attract the attention of specific individuals... Only a time traveler would notice this information! It seems:

"Ugh, really..."

Roman held the powerful "Devil Fruit Ability Encyclopedia" in his hand, but he couldn't feel happy at all.

"Putting everything together, I've pretty much got a guess. But..."

Can't you just give me a couple of days of peace and quiet?!

They just defeated Kaido, and now Wano Country has buried such a huge secret. Are they trying to kill us all?

"For you,"

?!

Holding the precious book that Roman had casually tossed back at him, the Bandaged Vice Commander was stunned.

You should know that what you hold in your hands is the foundation of the Bad People's legacy for so many years! It's a treasure that can instantly create a powerful team! It's a secret that Kaido of the Four Emperors, has coveted for twenty years! It's something you hesitated for a long time before finally making the difficult decision to take out... but this Commander-in-Chief looks completely uninterested and treats it like trash?

This is outrageous!

Give me back my inner turmoil, give me back my resolve!!

"You can keep this. You've kept it for so many years, so I don't think it'll make a difference if you keep it for a while longer."

Roman waved his hand at the Bandaged Vice Commander who still wanted to say something.

"It's not about being sentimental; this thing does have a deep connection to me, but the information I gained from seeing it is the most important. The importance of books comes second at most..."

"No, Commander-in-Chief."

Now that the decision has been made to face it, there is no need for the Bandaged Vice Commander to conceal any other information.

"There's another secret about this book: a warship is hidden beneath Wano Country! This book is the core of that warship, and it's also why Kaido is reluctant to use a large-scale attack against us. That warship is incredibly powerful! It's—"

"It's Pluton, isn't it?"

Roman rubbed his temples, interrupting the Bandaged Vice Commander.

"I knew it! No wonder the Pluton hadn't shown himself for eight hundred years; he was hidden beneath Wano Country..."

The existence of Ohara is not a recent phenomenon; there are numerous scholars capable of deciphering Ancient Script, and it's safe to assume that ambitious individuals over the past eight centuries have coveted Ancient Weapon. The fact that it remains a mystery to this day suggests that:

Pluton is in a place that most people, even the strong, cannot reach.

With its harsh climate, cliffs and waterfalls, and warriors, Wano Country is a wonderful place.

"I have no interest in 800-year-old antiques,"

Roman sighed again as he walked out along the marks he had made. No wonder the Poneglyph he got from Kaido was translated into a document about the fusion ratios for creating various alloys using the Munch-Munch Fruit, and it even mentioned the 'Adamant Alloy' that hadn't been tested yet... That's just Wapol Metal!

Connecting these points, Roman also had a guess about what the so-called Pluton was.

Pluton, also known as the Little Sunny Merry...

"Roman, it's time to go!"

As Roman walked past the scarred archway of Zhonghua Town, and faced Nami, who had been chatting with the archer girl Melody not far away and turned around to wave at him when she sensed someone coming out, his previously furrowed brows softened.

What eight-hundred-year-old secret, what world freedom...?

This is none of my business!

As long as I can travel happily with Nami, Luffy, and the Straw Hat crew, that's all I need.

"They're here."

·······

"Luffy, are you leaving so soon?"

Near the Whitebeard Pirates' base, which was built off the ruins of Onigashima with Roman's help, off the coast of Kuri. Ace, the Whitebeard Pirates' commanders, Yamato, Hiyori Kozuki, the Seven Red Scabbards, Hyogoro, four yakuza bosses, the Zou warriors...

"Hehehe, I'm going to become the King of the Pirates! There's no way I can stay here any longer, and besides—"

"As long as we're on this sea, we'll meet again someday!"

Facing the departing crowd, Luffy grinned. Then he turned to look in the other direction:

"Carrot, Pedro, aren't you staying on the ship?"

"No,"

The Jaguar Ranger, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, shook his head.

"Although I have been invited by the future King of the Pirates, I have decided to stay and help rebuild Wano Country. This is the duty of all of us in Zou."

As for the bunny girl Carrot, she was simply captured by the beautiful dog girl Wanda who arrived at the scene.

"Waaaaah, little Brulee, I'll miss you."

"Waaaaah, Carrot, I'll miss you too..."

Sanji stood helplessly by his best friend's side, who was crying in his arms. Zoro pursed his lips in disapproval.

"Useless cook,"

"Hey, you Green Algae Head, what are you muttering about?!"

"Everyone, let's set sail."

As Jinbe turned the helm, the Sunny Merry, carrying a group of people, slowly departed. And Roman, after taking one last, deep look at this country that held so many secrets, also said:

"Judging by the time, our new bounty should be coming down soon."

?!