With the previous topic wrapped up, no one continued discussing it.
Roger pointed at the Ancient Language rubbing on the table. "Translate it for us, will you? We're curious about what it says too."
"Leave it to me." Vikengam smiled, sat down at the desk, and picked up the rubbing. "Which one of you has decent handwriting? I'll read it out sentence by sentence, and you write it down."
Rayleigh smiled at that. "Those two write like dogs crawling across the page. I'll do it."
"Asshole."
"What are you so smug about?"
Gaban and Roger each muttered a complaint, but neither argued back.
It was obvious that Rayleigh was indeed more cultured than the two of them. Normally, he also carried himself with more refinement and gentlemanly grace. No wonder Shakky had chosen him instead of Roger or Gaban.
After smiling, Vikengam turned his attention to the Ancient Language rubbing and began translating it.
"After the great war, the world did not welcome the dawn. Betrayal shattered the goal we had once shared.
"Someone sought to seize the fruits of victory. Uranus was the first to disappear, but fortunately, David Jones had already destroyed the weapon's core during that war, robbing it of its terrifying power.
"Soon after, my dear friend Poseidon was murdered, yet we still had no way of knowing who had done it.
"The shadow of betrayal hung over us.
"To prevent such a thing from happening again, we hid Pluton as a deterrent.
"How absurd and laughable. We had once done everything in our power to oppose the strength of Uranus and Pluton, even going so far as to awaken the Sea King. Yet now, we had no choice but to rely on that very power, even though it might destroy the world."
Those were the words recorded on the first rubbing, which Roger said had come from a Poneglyph.
After Rayleigh finished writing, no one discussed the contents. Instead, they all looked toward Vikengam.
Vikengam picked up another rubbing and began reading again. "We had once wanted to fight that power together. We had once been comrades who fought side by side, but sadly, nothing could be undone now.
"A new war had begun, and caught unprepared, we had clearly fallen behind. But I believe the final victory in this war will certainly be ours.
"Even if it continues into a distant future beyond anything we can imagine.
"What pains me even more is that the promises I once made to my friends will likely never be fulfilled. That is truly regrettable.
"Still, I believe that this will of freedom will eventually spread across the entire world.
"When that time comes, there will surely be those who inherit that will and fulfill the promises I regret leaving behind.
"The world has begun to perish. I do not know how long this destruction will last. Perhaps until all things sink into the depths of the sea?
"Perhaps this is David's final curse.
"He had clearly warned us...
"I buried the secret to fighting that terrifying power within the ruins where we once fought. Perhaps it will leave a precious spark for you in the future."
After translating this Poneglyph rubbing as well, Vikengam picked up the final rubbing. After glancing at it, he curled his lip. "This one is meaningless. It records some palace scandal from an Ancient Kingdom. Says the king got cheated on..."
Clearly, this rubbing had not come from a Poneglyph, but from some ancient document.
Hearing that, Roger and the others had no interest in it. Rayleigh put down his pen, a hint of confusion on his face. "Why do the Poneglyphs feel like confessions? It seems like both were recorded by the same person?"
"What does it mean when it says the war isn't over?" Gaban muttered, equally puzzled.
"The world is being destroyed until everything sinks into the deep sea? David's curse?" Roger murmured in confusion as well.
"Why does this David Jones feel like a villain? Weren't they fighting Imu? Or perhaps the Twenty Kings or something?" Rayleigh added.
David Jones was a legendary figure widely known among pirates. Legend had it that he dwelled in the deep sea, and that every treasure sunk to the ocean floor belonged to him.
Most famous of all was Pirate Game: Davy Jones's Battle.
This game allowed players to steal one another's crew members, flags, and more. The reason the Rocks Pirates had been able to gather so many powerful pirates was closely tied to this game during its early days.
Vikengam did not explain anything about the great war as he remembered it, or about Joy Boy. Those were still only his guesses, and saying them now would not mean much.
Ultimately, they still needed to find more Poneglyphs before they could truly unravel these mysteries.
"I'm thirsty. Is there no tea?" Vikengam glanced at the desk and complained with some dissatisfaction.
"Just drink alcohol. Why tea? What are you, some young noble lord?" Roger picked up Rayleigh's notes and instinctively mocked him while reading.
"Here." Gaban casually handed Vikengam the flask hanging from his waist.
Vikengam was still somewhat unaccustomed to their rough pirate ways, but he did not reject the goodwill. Taking the flask, he had a sip, then said with a disgusted expression, "This tastes awful. Even the servants in my house wouldn't drink something like this... Where did you get it? Isn't this just swill?"
"My alcohol tastes terrible. I'm terribly sorry, Lord Vikengam," Gaban sarcastically replied, though he did not take it too seriously.
"Say, could that spark for fighting that terrifying power be what we just guessed?" Roger asked, suddenly interested.
"Possibly. At the moment, we need to gather these Poneglyphs, decipher the mysteries connected to them, and see whether we can find a way to oppose Imu. At the same time, we need to search for Final Island... Well, it sounds troublesome, but fortunately, those goals do not conflict. We can handle them together," Rayleigh said with a smile, stroking his beard.
There were too few clues, so there was little point in investigating further here.
Still, this proved Vikengam's ability. Roger was delighted and raised a hand to pat Vikengam on the shoulder. "Nicely done. With you around, we should be able to achieve our goal much faster."
"All right, all right. Stop thinking so much about these heavy matters. Let's throw a party to celebrate Viking joining us, as well as our gains!" Rayleigh called out, no longer dwelling on it.
Before long, the Roger Pirates began holding a banquet. Judging by how smoothly everyone got to work, they had clearly thrown plenty of parties before!
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters—Marineford.
Garp had just fought his close friend Sengoku and was in a terrible mood as he headed toward the underground detention cells.
His son, Monkey D. Dragon, was being held there after violating numerous regulations at God Valley.
Inside the cell, Dragon was shackled with his hands behind his back against the wall, his expression dark.
Hearing approaching footsteps, he looked up beyond the bars at his father, Vice Admiral Garp, who had recently been called the "Hero of the Marines" in the newspapers.
Father and son looked at each other in silence, and the atmosphere became extremely heavy.
After a moment, Dragon spoke. "Don't you have anything to explain?"
Pain flashed through Garp's eyes, but in the end, he said nothing.
Seeing his old man like this, Dragon was ultimately disappointed. He took a deep breath and looked at Garp. "Old man, I'm leaving the Marines!"
"Mm..." Garp quietly responded.
The role the Marines had played in the God Valley incident had made him lose all face. Faced with his son saying he was leaving, Garp could not find a single word to persuade him to stay.
In fact, if not for the young Marines who still carried passionate justice in their hearts, he would not have wanted to keep struggling in this mire either.
But if even he chose to leave, then who would protect those Marines?
"Heh..." Seeing that Garp had nothing to say, Dragon gave an even more disappointed, cold laugh. "No, I should say I despise you!"
"Yeah..." Garp still answered calmly.
Having been seen in such a pathetic state, being despised was only natural, wasn't it?
Not knowing what to say, Garp could only toss the keys to the shackles and cell before Dragon, then turn and leave with a lonely air.
Watching his father's retreating back, Dragon's gaze gradually became complicated.
"Old man..."
Before you continue