Not long after, in front of the Poneglyph tablet.
The group of people behind Gawain stared at each other, then rolled their Byakugan at Rayleigh.
Jinbe rolled his eyes and his round face fell.
"Grandpa, we did indeed see the Poneglyph stone tablet you mentioned."
So here's the question...
We have absolutely no idea what this thing is!
At this point, Jinbe shook his head dejectedly.
"Our Fish-Man Kingdom also has two Poneglyph, one of which is red."
But I still don't recognize them...
So, sir, can you read these words?
"Ha ha!"
As soon as Jinbe finished speaking, Rayleigh smiled and patted Jinbe on the shoulder.
"No need to know him. When we landed on the Sky Island, Oden already translated the Poneglyph for us!"
At this point, Rayleigh's expression suddenly became extremely serious. He looked at everyone with great focus and said in a deep voice.
"This historical stone tablet records only one piece of information, which is..."
The exact location of a legendary Ancient Weapon!
"Based on the inscription on this stone tablet, we can easily find an Ancient Weapon!"
At this point, Rayleigh's voice became incredibly low, and his words successfully made everyone except Gawain tense!
"The location of the Ancient Weapon!" Gion's eyes widened.
"There's another way to get it!" Hancock immediately grabbed Gawain's hand; she knew Gawain definitely needed this information!
Jinbe, standing nearby, gasped.
"By the Sea God, if you obtain the second Ancient Weapon, you will be one step closer to your dream!"
As expected of Mr. Rayleigh, this truly shows that "having an elder in the family is like having a treasure!"
"Indeed, as expected of the Pirate King's vice-captain, Mr. Rayleigh knows far too many secrets!"
Shiryu also offered a word of praise from the side.
However, none of them noticed that Shakky helplessly covered her face at this moment.
Then, facing the expectant gazes of everyone, Rayleigh took a deep breath.
"This stone tablet with its Poneglyph records one of the Three Ancient Weapons..."
Poseidon's location and how to obtain it!!!
Poseidon!
"Sri Lanka No. 1!"
"It's Poseidon, what is it... wait?"
"Wait a minute, something seems off!"
One second ago, everyone's eyes lit up at Rayleigh's explanation, but the next second, they looked at Shirahoshi with completely bewildered expressions.
At this moment, Shirahoshi was equally bewildered. She first looked at Grandpa Rayleigh in confusion, and then looked to Gawain for help.
"My lord, haven't you always said... that I am Poseidon?"
At that moment, Shirahoshi blinked her big, confused eyes and looked at Gawain with a bright, sparkling gaze.
Seeing Shirahoshi's eyes brimming with curiosity, yet also showing a hint of trepidation and nervousness, Gawain and Rayleigh burst into laughter.
As he laughed, Rayleigh gently patted Gawain on the shoulder.
"As expected of Celestial Dragon, you know so much! I performed like that, and you weren't even a little bit curious!"
"Haha, old man, although I don't understand the text on the Poneglyph tablet, I understand you."
"I could tell from your expression that you were fishing, haha!"
While laughing, Gawain teased Jinbe.
"And you, Jinbe, you said that when you go fishing, you never catch a fish, which is fine too."
But why are you so eager to bite the hook while everyone else is fishing? Haha!!!
"Grown ups..."
Hearing Gawain's loud laughter, Jinbe's expression completely fell.
"Grandpa Rayleigh's acting was so good! I had completely forgotten that Shirahoshi is also one of the Ancient Weapon!"
I thought the old man was talking about Uranus and Pluton!
Taking a deep breath, Jinbe looked at Rayleigh Jinbe a face full of distrust. He swore that no matter what astonishing things Rayleigh said next, he would be completely unfazed.
He will simply ignore it and absolutely refuse to cooperate with Rayleigh's performance!
Rayleigh chuckled as he explained softly.
"Back then, it was only after seeing this stone slab that I learned about Poseidon's specific information."
According to the inscription on this stone tablet, Oden translated it as Poseidon being, and only being, the princess of Fish-Man Island!
In other words, every so often, Poseidon will reappear as the Mermaid Princess. After she Awakening, she will have the ability to summon and command all the Sea King in the entire ocean.
Of course, if there were many Mermaid Princess in the same era, then only one of them would possess this ability.
So after that, we went from the Sky Island to Fish-Man Island in search of the Fish-Man Princess from back then.
But...
Well, back then, the Fish-Man Kingdom didn't have a princess, and Neptune had neither sisters nor sons!
So, having no other choice, we went to little Shyarly, who was still a tiny little girl at the time, for a fortune telling.
Through divination, we learned that the Mermaid Princess was born in our present future, and that person was you, Shirahoshi, who was born eleven years ago!
At this point, Rayleigh gave Shirahoshi a deep look.
After a glance, Rayleigh turned to look Jinbe, then gave him an amusing smile.
"And Jinbe, haha, even I know the meaning of those two Poneglyph that you can't understand."
The two Poneglyph on your Fish-Man Island are the red Road Poneglyph and a letter written by the Kozuki Family to Fish-Man Island on behalf of Joy Boy.
That letter was an apology letter...
As soon as he finished speaking, Rayleigh leisurely took out the flask at his waist and took a big gulp.
Then he tossed the wine jug to Gawain.
Seeing Gawain catch the wine jug, Rayleigh chuckled.
"Have a drink, kid, and then let this old man tell you some stories from the past."
From the moment I boarded the ship, you seemed completely uninterested in the story of Laugh Tale, not even asking a single question.
Originally, I wanted to keep you in suspense a little longer; I didn't believe you weren't curious at all.
But you're really not curious...
Rayleigh rubbed his Whitebeard in frustration.
"Ah, seeing this Poneglyph has brought back a lot of memories for me."
Since I'm in such a state, I'll share my experiences from back then with you and all of you.
Just like you said, there's nothing you can't say to others, haha!
Rayleigh laughed and sat down on the golden chair next to him.
Seeing this, Gawain smiled and finished the wine in the flask.
Setting down the wine jug, Gawain took out two cigarettes, tossed one to Shakky, lit it himself, and then sat down on the gold.
"I thought the old man didn't want to talk to me about those things, but it turns out you just wanted to keep me hanging for a while."
Haha, it seems I'm not as easy to catch as Jinbe.
But now, you yourself can't hold back anymore.
Come, everyone, sit down and listen to Grandpa Rayleigh tell a story! Don't miss out!
Gawain smiled and invited everyone to sit down. So everyone took out their wine jugs and started to drink. For men and women adrift at sea, wine jugs were always a must-have.
After everyone had sat down, Rayleigh leaned back against the golden chair and spoke with a sense of nostalgia.
"When we first set sail, Roger and we didn't know that those red Poneglyph were the signposts pointing to the Laugh Tale."
Even if we knew about this, we couldn't understand the Poneglyph at the time.
So, on our first voyage, when we were young...
We simply followed the old nautical charts, exploring island by island.
During that process, we spent more than a decade, and finally, in the year 1485 of the Sea Circle Calendar, which is thirty-four years ago, we reached Mercury Island, the farthest island in the New World as recorded on the map!
It's currently the year 1519 in the Sea Circle Calendar. Roger has been dead for nineteen years, and adding the previous fifteen years, that makes thirty-four years.
Thinking about it, it's been so long... sigh..."
Rayleigh sighed deeply. At that moment, Gawain, standing beside him, seemed to see Roger standing on Mercury Island through Rayleigh's pupils.
Sure enough, Rayleigh thought of Roger the next moment, and he cheered up and showed the same spirited smile as Roger!
Rayleigh continued speaking with an air of arrogance.
"In short, thirty-four years ago, we explored Mercury Island for several whole months."
As a result, we found nothing.
While everyone else was disappointed, Roger alone showed no sign of disappointment. Instead, he spoke to us with great enthusiasm.
"Rayleigh, Gaban, old folks, we've definitely missed something!"
Come on, let's do it again! Let's, this bunch of old folks, start a new voyage!
As soon as he finished speaking, Grandpa Rayleigh patted his face with a sigh.
"It was because of that sentence that I, then thirty-nine years old, and Roger prepared to travel the world again!"
But just before we set off again, something extraordinary happened in the world!
At this point, a hint of displeasure appeared on Rayleigh's face, and he let out a soft hum.
"Back then, Roger's and Roger pirate crew weren't particularly famous, because there was a dominant pirate crew on the high seas at that time!"
That old Rocks gathered three monsters— Newgate, Linlin, and Shiki— and also recruited strongmen like John and Ochoku.
Oh, and that brat Kaido too. The year we arrived at Mercury Island, Kaido had just joined Rocks.
Haha, with this lineup, the New World back then was basically Rocks's territory. Even we could only run away when we saw him.
Thirty-three years ago, in the year 1486 of the Sea Circle Calendar, Rocks went mad!
Rayleigh looked at Gawain and said with utmost seriousness.
"Just like you, Gawain, I will always be watching you to prevent you from making a mistake like Rocks."
Once you reach a certain level, there's no room for impulsiveness in your life anymore!
Thirty-three years ago, the New World and the Grand Line maintained a constant standoff, with the pirates led by Kong and the Marines led by Rocks constantly battling near the entrance to the New World!
But in the same year, Rocks impulsively rejected Shakky's plan. He refused the suggestion of a steady confrontation with the Navy and left Linlin and Newgate, who were not close to him, as bait in the New World.
Next, he took only Shiki, whom he trusted more, and some elites and infiltrated the Grand Line, preparing to launch a surprise attack on the Celestial Dragon' rear base at the time.
God Valley!
At that time, God Valley was an incredibly prosperous city, comparable in its prosperity to Mary Geoise.
If Rocks' attack succeeds, it will plunge the dozens of Celestial Dragon temporarily residing in God Valley, and millions of Celestial Dragon slaves, into the shadow of death!
At this moment, Rayleigh emphasized this to Gawain.
"Remember Rocks's capriciousness, Gawain!"
His plan did absolutely nothing but allow him to vent his anger towards the Celestial Dragon!
First of all, Rocks and Shiki's target was not a lone Admiral like Zephyr or Sengoku, and certainly not Garp.
Even if his operation succeeds, it will not result in any loss of senior naval personnel!
On the other hand, his plan can only thoroughly enrage the World Government!
Ultimately, while his plan would certainly wipe out dozens of Celestial Dragons in God Valley, it would also kill millions of slaves, making pirates a species even slaves would despise!
Rayleigh let out a heavy snort.
"Back then, if Rocks had raised his flag and called for a decisive battle between pirates and marines..."
Roger and my group will also stand on the side of the pirates and fight a good battle against the Navy and the World Government!
But he actually intended to ignite the fuse of future war with such a despicable and useless action.
That we, this old man and my group, absolutely will not allow it!
So, when Shakky told me about Rocks' decision, I discussed it with Roger.
Our pirate crew has positioned ourselves at the entrance to God Valley, the very spot where Rocks is about to make his move!
As Rayleigh finished speaking, Shakky exhaled a puff of smoke helplessly and waved to Rayleigh.
"When I gave you that message back then, I only wanted you to cause some trouble in God Valley to prevent my captain's madness from completely overwhelming the pirate camp!"
I didn't ask you to kill my captain!
"Well..."
Hearing Shakky's words, Rayleigh awkwardly took off his glasses and gently wiped them.
After he put his glasses back on, he shrugged innocently.
"That was the same plan Roger and Roger back then. After all, even if the enemy only had Rocks and Shiki, it would be difficult for us to defeat them."
You know, only Gaban and I together can reliably defeat Shiki. It's embarrassing to say, but if we were to fight Shiki one-on-one, neither of us would have a very good chance of winning.
As for the rest of our ship, they were locked in combat with the other elites led by Rocks.
Therefore, we would most likely have lost back then, because the final outcome would ultimately be decided by the battle between the captains.
But Roger and Rocks, haha, even two Roger might not be able to beat Rocks!
That guy's strength has surpassed that of any monster-level powerhouse ever recorded in history!
As for why we ultimately won...
Rayleigh paused abruptly, then let out a disgruntled snort.
"Hmph, that's because that old bastard Garp also arrived."
In short, Garp and Roger defeated Rocks, and Gaban and I drove Shiki. This is the famous God Valley Incident.
So Shakky, don't blame me, blame Garp instead.
We didn't beg him to help us!"
At this point, Rayleigh turned to the side and gave another heavy snort.
At the same time, Gion, who was standing next to Gawain, suddenly said with a laugh.
"But, Mr. Rayleigh, that's not what I heard from Garp."
He said that Rocks' attack was launched so suddenly that he was unable to arrive immediately.
He didn't arrive at the God Valley until more than two hours after you started fighting Rocks.
You were badly beaten back then, and your entire pirate crew was almost unable to fight. Rocks had also broken into God Valley taken the adult Celestial Dragon and Celestial Dragon children there as prisoners.
Just then, Garp arrived and single-handedly fought against Rocks and Shiki, allowing you to regain your strength from the brink of defeat.
I still remember what Garp- chan said back then.
He said that he was brutally beaten by Rocks and Shiki for more than twenty minutes, and Roger and those bastards only recovered when he was almost dead.
Thus, Garp and Roger joined forces to suppress Rocks, while you and Gaban suppressed Shiki. Only then did the overall situation of the war finally become clear.
Then, after the war lasted for three days and three nights, Rocks finally fought until he had lost his last drop of blood.
Rocks refused to surrender, even at the cost of his life. After his death, Shiki used the Float-Float Fruit to escape the battlefield.
Thus, the Battle of God Valley came to a complete end!
As soon as she finished speaking, Gion gave Rayleigh a mischievous smile.
"So, Mr. Rayleigh, Garp- chan saved you back then~."
"Hmph, bullshit! We were saving each other, or at best, cooperating to save millions of innocent slaves!"
He saved us? Humph, that bastard who treats his friend's son like his Sun Tzu has no morals whatsoever!
At this point, Rayleigh patted the gold beneath his buttocks in dissatisfaction.
"What bad luck! How did we end up talking about that bastard Garp? That's so inappropriate!"
Alright, alright, let's get back to the important stuff. What I'm going to tell you isn't about Garp and Roger's past.
What I'm about to tell you is the greatest treasure of this ocean, the legendary Laugh Tale!
Rayleigh excitedly stroked his beard, then looked up at the sky with a nostalgic expression.
"Let's not Rocks. Anyway, he lost. After he was defeated and died, his remaining crew members scattered and formed their own pirate crews."
Newgate, Shiki, Linlin, and Kaido have all established their own pirate crews.
However, Linlin and Kaido were ultimately too inexperienced, and in the countless battles fought by our pirate crews, they were eventually defeated.
Thus, a situation of Three Emperors standing side by side emerged among the pirates at that time.
My captain Roger, along with Newgate and Shiki, made up the three crews that were known as the Three Emperors' Crew back then.
As for Linlin and Kaido, at that time they were at best... Three Emperors Candidates?
"Why?"
Gion was standing nearby, quickly took a sip of sake.
"Grandpa, stop joking with me, or I'll start taking advantage of old people!"
"Haha, good, good, your sword, Momousagi, is very sharp."
Okay, enough joking around. I'm getting to the point. The point is about the war I had with Linlin back then.
We chased Linlin for more than sixteen days. It was during that battle that knocked Linlin down from the level of the Three Emperors Sovereigns that Roger and I seized a rubbing of the Red Poneglyph from Linlin's ship!
Back then, we never imagined that thirteen years later, the person who would send us to Laugh Tale and make Roger the Pirate King...
It was actually this piece of paper that was confiscated from Linlin!
That's the cruel irony of fate, haha!
Ah, I finally got the badge for writing 10,000 words a day! Now I'm one of those people with two badges, haha!
Tickets, please!
Keep going, you half-dead!