From Ancient Times

The Grit Saber finally came down.

Boom!

There was no other reason. He was just venting.

But Aiven Lindsey had already regained consciousness and figured out how the Grit Saber worked, so dealing with it afterward took little effort.

What was more, his body was wrapped in Armament Haki that looked like "black cloth," so it couldn't hurt him in the slightest.

"Tch... cough, cough!"

Crocodile nearly choked on his own breath. After a long pause, he finally managed a few coughs.

Several veins bulged on his forehead. He spoke each word with great emphasis, his teeth clenched in anger.

"I hope you'll give me an 'explanation.'"

"..."

Lindsey thought for a moment, then replied, "Because you had that look like 'he must be up to something.'"

"..."

"Did I?"

"You did."

Dust swirled everywhere, then gradually settled.

The battle everyone had expected never broke out, but Crocodile's earlier onslaught had damaged the underground chamber's foundations, leaving the entire structure on the verge of collapse.

Rumble, rumble...

Seeing that the chamber was about to cave in, Igaram urged everyone to evacuate as quickly as possible.

Cobra and the other four went first, with Lindsey and Crocodile close behind.

As for the Poneglyph, they left it to be buried underground.

Crocodile made no attempt to take it with him. After all, until they found someone who could decipher it, it was nothing more than a hard stone.

Now that they knew exactly where it was, leaving it underground was actually safer.

Besides, Crocodile's mind was now filled with even more questions. He needed time to sort them out.

The most pressing of these was Aiven Lindsey's "transformation"!

On the way out of the underground chamber, Crocodile carefully examined Lindsey.

Same body, same clothes.

Compared with before, the only difference—and the biggest one—was the great quantity of black cloth wrapped around him.

It looked a little like bandages, all tattered and ragged.

But no matter what it looked like, Crocodile was certain that its true nature had to be Armament Haki!

Armament Haki made tangible?

Crocodile couldn't make sense of it.

As they walked, Lindsey seemed to find the black cloth on his face bothersome. He yanked it off and tossed it aside.

Before it could even hit the ground, the black cloth that had come away from Lindsey scattered in the breeze, leaving no trace behind.

Hmm. So it wasn't truly tangible, just something close to it.

A very special kind of Armament Haki...

Crocodile silently committed all of this to memory.

Before long, everyone emerged from underground, and the chamber behind them promptly collapsed completely.

"Ancestors, please forgive us."

It had once been a royal treasure, after all. Cobra and the other four bowed toward the ruins in mourning.

But Cobra didn't blame Crocodile in the slightest.

Whatever his motives, when the transformation occurred, Crocodile had stood between everyone and the danger, shielding them from most of it.

And as a Shichibukai—and a former pirate—Crocodile hadn't spread word of the Poneglyph's location. That was a good thing, too.

Even if the chamber hadn't collapsed, Cobra would most likely have ordered it filled in, hoping to bury its secret for good.

The Poneglyph was a taboo of the World Government, and the risk it posed to Alabasta was simply too great. Cobra had to be cautious.

Still, it was worth noting that, as a brief "adventure," the expedition had been quite interesting—almost miraculous!

The "friend" Crocodile had brought with him had actually "merged" with the Poneglyph, and his body had undergone some kind of transformation.

Who was he?

And what had happened?

What had happened?

Lindsey also bowed toward the royal treasure, then sat cross-legged on a nearby dune and looked up at Crocodile.

He wanted to answer Crocodile's question, too:

What had happened?

"..."

Lindsey carefully recalled everything that had just happened.

The moment he stepped into Alabasta, he'd felt something drawing him toward the direction of Alubarna.

It wasn't a physical attraction. It was more like a calling from somewhere beyond, something ordained by fate.

And the moment the underground chamber's door opened and everyone stepped inside, that feeling intensified, compelling Lindsey to move forward and reach for the Poneglyph!

At first, he felt only a chill.

But when Lindsey stretched his hand all the way out, it was as if he'd touched some kind of liquid. His entire body sank into it!

In an instant, countless possibilities flashed through Lindsey's mind.

He had once been part of an ancient stone tablet, but after being soaked in the liquid of a Devil Fruit, he'd eventually gained the ability to move freely.

And the people who had forged him were the Kōzuki Clan, the same people who had made the Poneglyphs!

In other words, the material that had originally made up Lindsey was the same as that of the Poneglyphs—exactly the same!

Was that why? Or was there something else?

Whatever the reason, Lindsey felt himself "overlapping" with the Poneglyph. Then his consciousness sank into it, and he sensed something more...

It was a memory.

Who knew what year or month it was?

At any rate, a young man weathered by hardship appeared before "Lindsey," holding a hammer and chisel.

He placed the chisel against Lindsey's surface and brought down the hammer again and again, carving out Lindsey's body.

A strange liquid dripped onto Lindsey.

Blood? Sweat? Tears?

Perhaps all three.

The young man's voice trembled as he shouted something. The scene was blurry and indistinct; Lindsey couldn't make it out.

It might have lasted a second, or it might have lasted years.

Lindsey strained to listen and finally caught a few faint words.

"..."

"Is everything 'God' does right?"

"Those people call themselves 'God.' They don't want to be human anymore!"

"..."

"'God's' rules are what caused all this suffering, so why do we blame one another instead of questioning 'God'?"

"..."

"Gah!"

The young man roared. His face was no longer visible, but he kept shouting, kept swinging the hammer and chisel, kept bleeding, weeping, and sweating.

"If opposing God makes me 'evil,' then I'd rather worship the 'devil'!"

"..."

The blurry scene ended there.

Lindsey felt something rush toward him. Instinctively, he grabbed hold of it, and the scene before him came into focus.

It was Crocodile, along with Cobra and the others in the distance...

Their faces were full of shock, and they seemed to be on their guard against Aiven Lindsey.

So Lindsey thought for a moment, then—

"Heh heh heh heh heh..."

"This is it!"

"Finally, I've finally obtained this power!"

"..."

Lindsey finished recounting what he remembered and shrugged at Crocodile.

"That's more or less what happened."

He hadn't hidden anything, because to Lindsey, there was no point in doing so.

"..."

Crocodile pondered for a moment. "So, that last thing you said was just an impulse?"

Lindsey nodded.

Boom!

The Grit Saber slashed down once more, and Lindsey casually dispersed it with two fingers.

Crocodile had cooled off a little. He changed the subject and continued asking:

"Then what exactly is all that stuff on your body?"

"..."

Lindsey casually pulled off a piece of the black cloth and watched it scatter in the breeze before replying:

"It's Armament Haki."

Crocodile frowned. Of course he knew it was Armament Haki, but this was the first time he'd seen such an unusual kind!

"But..."

Before Crocodile could ask anything else, Lindsey added:

"It seems to be the Haki ancient people used when forging the Poneglyphs—"

"Ancient Armament Haki."

That piqued Crocodile's interest.

But then Lindsey made a gesture and said something that gave Crocodile a chill.

Lindsey lightly drew his finger through the air, pulling out a small, tattered piece of black cloth.

Then Lindsey said:

"I think I've learned a tiny bit of it?"