A Celestial Dragon Scholar, and Bartholomew Kuma's Master

Vikengam did not bother arguing with Professor Clover, a mere "ordinary man," over such ridiculous remarks.

Vikengam quickly shifted the topic to studying this "Forbidden Knowledge."

After some time, having noted down several key points and while deciphering a passage of Ancient Language on his own, Vikengam casually asked, "By the way, did you find any Poneglyphs this time?"

"How could something like that be so easy to find?" Professor Clover replied calmly.

"Tsk, try harder. How do you even sleep at night if you haven't found a Poneglyph?" Vikengam teased.

"If you people didn't keep coming around to cause trouble, I might have had results long ago... And besides, is it really appropriate for someone of your status to say that?" Professor Clover could not help complaining.

"How do you pronounce this Ancient Language character?" Vikengam asked, pointing at a strange symbol in his notes.

"De. I haven't figured out its precise meaning yet, but in modern pronunciation, it is read as 'de.'" After taking a look, Professor Clover did not hide anything and taught him openly.

Professor Clover actually supported this young Celestial Dragon, Saint Jaygarcia Vikingum, learning the Ancient Language. Otherwise, he would never have taught him.

In Professor Clover's view, the voice of history needed to be passed on. As for who passed it on, that did not matter. Whether it was a Celestial Dragon or anyone else, every additional person in this world who mastered this knowledge meant another hope for its preservation.

"De... Laugh..." Vikengam read the Ancient Language in his notes, then suddenly paused. A flash of surprise appeared in his eyes as he sharply looked up at Professor Clover.

Professor Clover, on the other hand, showed no particular reaction. He simply said, "Laugh Tale. I only deciphered those four characters recently. It sounds like some kind of name, but I'm still completely in the dark about what it means. Perhaps once I have more material to support it, I'll understand what it represents..."

He did not know, but Vikengam did!

About a year ago, in 1483, a major event had occurred on the seas. The flourishing Roger Pirates had found the legendary Final Island, Lodestar Island.

The news had caused quite a stir across the seas, and many people considered it a great feat by the Roger Pirates.

But in truth, very few people knew that Lodestar Island was not the Final Island of the Grand Line. After arriving there, the Roger Pirates discovered that there was another mysterious island within the Grand Line, one no one had ever mentioned before. Yet the Log Pose was so chaotic that it could not point the way there.

If nothing had changed, the Roger Pirates should now be trying to figure out how to reach that mysterious island.

In the not-too-distant future, they would successfully follow the guidance of four Road Poneglyphs to reach that mysterious island. It was then that the Roger Pirates would name it "Laugh Tale."

Vikengam had always thought that Roger had come up with the name "Laugh Tale."

But now, he had learned that name ahead of time through the Ancient Language. How could he not be astonished?

Why had Roger named that place Laugh Tale?

What exactly did those four characters mean?

Why were there traces of it in ancient records?

All of a sudden, Vikengam recalled the scene from the Ohara Incident, when Professor Clover had been about to mention the name of the Great Kingdom before the Five Elders ordered him shot dead.

"Laugh Tale..." Vikengam murmured softly.

Was it possible that the legendary Great Kingdom had once been called "Laugh Tale"?

Because he had transmigrated and possessed something of a god's-eye view, he knew a fair amount about the many secrets hidden in this world. To be honest, there were not many secrets he did not know, and the history of the Void Century was among the most important of them. It had always made him deeply curious.

That was one of the reasons he had readily accepted the training mission from old man Saint Saturn, gone to capture Professor Clover, and learned the Ancient Language from him.

At the same time, according to what Vikengam knew, the one behind the strange cycle of Professor Clover being captured, released, captured again, and repeatedly investigated was his ancestor from who knew how many generations ago, Jaygarcia Saturn Saint.

Clearly, Saint Saturn was not a man who could stay still either. Who knew what he was plotting in secret?

After all, the old man had a record. Just from what Vikengam knew, nearly two hundred years ago, the giant robot that had attacked Mary Geoise had been ordered destroyed by those above. Yet Saint Saturn had secretly kept it.

Later, things got out of hand, and the Haki released by that robot had nearly scared Imu to tears.

Looking at it that way, Imu having the old man killed would have been perfectly justified.

"What are you spacing out for? Focus and study. You've memorized most of the methods and materials for deciphering the Ancient Language. These are already the last of them. Once you learn all this, you'll be able to decipher it on your own in the future. With the resources of you Celestial Dragons, you might even master more Ancient Language than I can, and faster at that... Just thinking about it makes me a little jealous." Professor Clover interrupted Vikengam's thoughts and urged him on.

Those guesses about the Great Kingdom were ultimately nothing more than Vikengam's wishful thinking. He could not verify the truth right now, so he put those thoughts aside.

Just as the professor had said, thanks to the Sharingan, he could now be considered a scholar capable of deciphering the Ancient Language independently.

Thinking of that, Vikengam looked at the professor and said, "This may be the last time I'm responsible for capturing you, Professor. I probably won't take on this kind of training again in the future..."

Hearing that suddenly, Professor Clover was stunned for a moment. Then, with a somewhat wistful tone, he said, "That really is a shame. After all, being captured by you has been rather comfortable for me..."

"If you keep this up, sooner or later, you'll bring disaster upon yourself and the people around you..." Vikengam warned him.

Professor Clover looked at Vikengam with complicated eyes, but in the end, he merely nodded and said nothing more.

Vikengam had said all he needed to say, so he did not bring it up again.

Several days later, the fleet arrived at the Holy Land Mary Geoise.

After ascending the Red Line, he parted ways with Professor Clover. The CP organization would interrogate and investigate Professor Clover afterward, but judging by the previous occasions, he would probably be released back to sea again before long.

Vikengam had little interest in what happened afterward.

He had already said what needed to be said.

As the center of the world and the pinnacle of culture, economics, and politics, Mary Geoise was not called the Holy Land for nothing.

At least on the surface, it was incomparably prosperous, filled with outstanding figures, and glittering with splendor.

As a member of the Celestial Dragon class, Vikengam was naturally very familiar with the place. After all, he had lived there for more than ten years.

The moment he arrived, he saw a group that had clearly been waiting for him for quite some time.

Several retainers of the Jaygarcia Family stood there respectfully. Among them was a burly figure who seemed completely out of place with everyone around him.

Vikengam had no interest in the respectful retainers. Instead, he smiled at the burly figure wearing a slave collar, dressed in plain clothes, smiling as he looked at him with slightly excited eyes.

The man was huge, but his face still looked quite youthful.

He was one of Vikengam's only three slaves in Mary Geoise: Bartholomew Kuma, who was only nine years old this year.

As for the other two slaves, they were Kuma's parents.

Bartholomew Kuma possessed Buccaneer Tribe blood, and the Buccaneer Tribe had long ago been designated by the World Government as a "criminal race." They were people born guilty, to be executed upon discovery or captured and made into slaves.

Several years ago, Bartholomew Kuma's family had been discovered to possess that bloodline. The World Government had then captured him and his parents and brought them to Mary Geoise as slaves.

Such things were utterly ordinary in Mary Geoise. No one cared whether they lived or died, nor who owned them.

Vikengam happened to have little interest in slaves, and some Celestial Dragons occasionally gossiped about it. So when he learned that Bartholomew Kuma's family had been brought to Mary Geoise, he simply claimed all three of them as his personal slaves. It had been a matter of convenience.

Out of consideration for the future, as well as pity for Bartholomew Kuma's tragic story, Vikengam treated the family of three quite well.

Although they still retained their status as slaves, their treatment was completely different from that of the other slaves in Mary Geoise.

They could eat and drink their fill with ease. Bartholomew Kuma did not need to do any physical labor at all. By Vikengam's orders, he was outwardly being trained as a future "combat slave," and he currently trained his strength and fundamentals every day in Vikengam's residence.

His parents, meanwhile, did simple work in the residence, such as chopping firewood and boiling water.

The Buccaneer Tribe was naturally special. They possessed a certain amount of Giant Tribe blood and tremendous physical strength, which made them appear so robust. In the original story, Bartholomew Kuma had been extremely strong even as a child while starving and poorly clothed, let alone now.

With full meals and daily foundational training, he was now far stronger than Vikengam remembered.

"Master! You're back!" Bartholomew Kuma was the first to greet Vikengam excitedly.