Ancient Script, Poneglyph

"A bottle in the sea? What was that?"

"It was... something... the World Government... didn't want anyone to see..."

Her speech was still halting, but compared to before, it had become smoother. The Lunarian Tribe's innate adaptability was helping her body break down the toxins within her.

At this rate, it would not be long before her body completely neutralized the toxins.

Having always been on the run, Amphitrite had little time to pay attention to bounties or news from the seas. The Lunarian Tribe's circumstances were different from those of Pirates.

When Pirates defeated opponents, they sometimes handed them over to the Marines through underworld brokers in exchange for their Bounties.

Though a hefty brokerage fee would be taken, it was still one of the ways Pirates made money.

If Lunarians did the same, they would most likely be reported directly.

The underworld was extremely complicated. Loyalty barely existed there, and information brokers were everywhere. Naturally, Lunarians would not seek out such people.

Thus, Bounties were nothing more than unredeemable bad checks to Lunarians, so they naturally paid no attention to such matters.

Amphitrite could only tell that Nereus was at odds with the World Government.

Whatever his intentions toward her, handing something the World Government hated to a stronger force opposed to it would benefit her.

In her current state, she could not even handle those CP9 agents, much less someone like Nereus, who could kill them in an instant.

"Before... those people were chasing me... I threw it... into the sea..."

"That won't be easy to find..."

After listening to Amphitrite recount what had happened, Nereus looked down at the vast, boundless sea below.

Even the traces left behind by the battle that had ended only moments ago had already been swallowed by the ocean. Looking for a tiny bottle in a place like this was no different from searching for a needle in the sea.

But since it was something the World Government did not want to see, Nereus was interested.

"Let's give it a try. It'd be best if there were more well-behaved children in these waters. Can you fly on your own now?"

"My body... still can't move. I need... a little more time..."

Amphitrite tried to flap her wings, but she still could not move.

"Your racial talent is impressive. In such a troublesome situation, all you need is time. What do you plan to do afterward? Want to consider following me?"

"Follow... you? Why?"

"You're a Lunarian. A grown Lunarian would never be weak, and there is no possibility of reconciliation between Lunarians and the World Government.

"And I'm at odds with the World Government. Under these circumstances, we share the same position, so isn't it perfectly reasonable for me to invite you to join me and strengthen our side?"

Nereus did not hold anything back and spoke plainly. After all, the World Government's policy toward Lunarians was genocide. The once-glorious Land of Gods had long since fallen, leaving behind only refugees on the run.

Under such circumstances, Lunarians could not possibly join the World Government's camp. They were natural allies.

"You can take your time thinking about it. If you're not interested, I can still find you a safe place to live. At the very least, you won't have to keep hiding like this.

"For now... let's find the thing you mentioned first."

As he spoke, Nereus descended toward the surface. However, he did not dive in to search himself. Instead, he stood atop the water and gently closed his eyes, as though communicating with something.

Before long, the nearby waters seemed to boil. White splashes erupted across the surface as all sorts of fish leaped from the sea, some carrying strange objects in their mouths.

"Fish... So you're from the Fishman Race..."

After glancing at Nereus's legs, Amphitrite understood his race. As long as one knew about the other races, reaching that conclusion was not difficult.

Communicating with fish was originally a talent of the Merfolk Race, but male Merfolk never developed legs, no matter how old they became. Their lower bodies would always remain fish tails.

Other than the Merfolk Race, only a small number of Fish-Man Race members could do something similar.

[Amphi, Fish-Men who can communicate with fish—or more precisely, marine creatures—are rare. Only the few kind-hearted Fish-Men can do it.]

It was something her family had taught her before. She had not expected to actually encounter such a Fish-Man.

Still, being able to communicate was one thing. Many fish were not very intelligent. Even though Nereus possessed the Voice of All Things and could communicate with more fish, only some responded to him.

The fish brought Nereus all kinds of things: broken porcelain shards, seashells of all shapes, dagger sheaths, and occasionally a few bottles. But none of them were the one Amphitrite had thrown away.

"Chirp—"

After a while, a pod of dolphins leaped from the sea. One pink dolphin carried a bottle in its mouth as it swam over to Nereus.

"That's... it!"

The dolphins' arrival also frightened away the fish that had gathered there. To ordinary sea fish, these dolphins were top predators and exceedingly dangerous.

"Thanks. Remember to stay away from humans in the future. Don't let yourselves get caught."

After exchanging a few simple words, Nereus sent off the pod of dolphins beneath his feet and brought the bottle before Amphitrite.

"Can I see what's inside?"

"Of course."

The bottle's mouth had been sealed with wax to keep out water. Judging by the marks of age on it, it had likely not been opened for quite some time.

When Nereus opened it, he found a parchment scroll inside. Whatever material it was made from, the parchment remained intact, and the writing upon it was still clear.

However, those strange symbols were clearly not the script currently used across the seas.

"Those are... Poneglyphs. It says..."

"The dark demon devoured the world. The Drums of Liberation of the Sun God dispersed the darkness. Cast aside everything, carry a fearless spirit in your heart, and break the horn beyond the chessboard..."

Amphitrite had just been about to explain the contents to Nereus when she realized he had already read it aloud himself.

"You... can read... ancient script?"

"I spent time learning it. Looks like I didn't translate it wrong? Unfortunately, it's another allegory. What these ancient scripts say is always too indirect."

Taken as a whole, the text was like a compressed file. By Nereus's own translation, it roughly recorded some method aimed at the World Government.

"That should be right. But I don't recognize those words. I only memorized the translation."

Amphitrite's words gradually became clearer. It seemed the effects of the drugs were slowly fading, while her face was filled with surprise, as though she could not understand why Nereus knew such writing.

After all, even within her people, the method of translating this script had already been lost. Those who remained could only forcibly memorize the translated text.