Rayleigh: The One Standing Before You Is Saint Vikengam!

The Roger Pirates all fell into thought upon hearing this.

Only Cobra still looked utterly confused. What was any of this supposed to mean?

Pluton? Uranus?

Laugh Tale? Why had he never heard of any of it?

He had heard of Davy D. Jones before, though. Wasn't he a figure from some legend? A pirate cursed by the deep sea?

How could a fictional character from a story have been recorded on a Poneglyph?

Rayleigh was the first to speak. "Based on the seven Poneglyphs we've obtained, combined with the scene described on this one, we can now be almost certain of a few things."

"That's right. In an even more ancient era, the world wasn't like it is today. It consisted of one vast continent, many fairly large landmasses, and countless enormous islands," Jaba said with a nod.

"And in that era, there was a kingdom with incredibly advanced technology, called Laugh Tale. Its technology was so advanced that even today, it remains beyond our reach. Those advancements benefited the entire continent," Roger added.

Vikengam continued, "Many of that country's nobles bore the name D, and were thus known as the D Clan, such as Davy D. Jones."

"Tch, looks like my ancestors were nobles too! Ahahahaha!" Roger suddenly burst into laughter, his train of thought taking a strange turn.

But clearly, neither Rayleigh, Jaba, nor Vikengam had any intention of responding to him.

After pondering for a while, Shakky said, "Laugh Tale's king was selected through a council from among the seven great noble families. The Davy Clan, originally one of the elector families, ascended to the throne in that era. So Laugh Tale's last king was Davy D. Jones?"

"If the Poneglyph's records are accurate, then that should be correct." Vikengam nodded. "Davy D. Jones was a man with an extremely inflated lust for power. During his reign, he used every means available to weaken and suppress the other six elector families with claims to the throne, eventually wiping them out. Then, relying on Laugh Tale's advanced technology and overwhelming national strength, he sought to conquer the entire world, become King of the World, and turn the Davy Clan into an eternal royal family."

"But he never expected Joy Boy to escape from Laugh Tale. To stop his ambition of conquering the world, Joy Boy became the first pirate in history and traveled across the world in search of allies and companions to fight Davy D. Jones. The present-day Twenty Kings may very well have been among the helpers he found?" Roger said, stroking his chin.

During the battle at God Valley, Roger had overheard a conversation between Rocks and the monster Vikengam had called Imu.

At the time, Rocks had asked Imu who he feared more.

Davy Jones, or Joy Boy!?

Roger had not understood what the name Davy Jones represented then. But now, he seemed to understand.

He had once been a king who had come within a hair's breadth of ruling the entire world!

"Although we still lack a great deal of supporting evidence, as well as the descriptions on the remaining Poneglyphs, can we make a bold conjecture now?" Rayleigh asked with a smile.

"Mm... perhaps the rough outline of the story went like this. More than eight hundred years ago, there was an exceptionally powerful country called Laugh Tale, and Davy D. Jones was its king. His swelling ambition drove him to become a ruler who conquered the world. He began purging dissidents in Laugh Tale and imposed dictatorial rule, leading to the emergence of a man named Joy Boy. Joy Boy wanted to stop this catastrophe that could very well engulf the world, so he went to sea and became the first pirate in history. As he traveled the world, he met many companions.

"Among them were the so-called Twenty Kings of today. Together, they fought Davy D. Jones and likely won. Perhaps they killed Davy D. Jones, perhaps they sank him into the sea, or perhaps they let him escape. In any case, they won that war. But regrettably, the desire for power caused this force, which may originally have represented justice, to fracture. The traitors instead emerged victorious, burying Joy Boy and his supporters beneath the dust of history. The victorious traitors were likely the present-day Twenty Kings.

"They seized the authority of the world... and this so-called Imu may have been the mastermind behind it all. At the same time, the consequences of that war drastically altered the world's environment. Sea levels rose, or perhaps the land sank. In short, over a little more than a hundred years, the world became what it is today," Roger said, stroking his chin.

"More or less. But we can't blindly assume everyone was blinded by power. Given the current situation, perhaps Imu gained control of the power you witnessed at God Valley at some point, then secretly controlled the other Twenty Kings," Vikengam added after some thought.

"That makes sense too." Roger considered it and felt that was possible.

It was now certain that Imu possessed some ability to manipulate people's hearts. Perhaps the Twenty Kings had not truly betrayed anyone—they may simply have been controlled.

"We know the Kozuki Clan came from Wano Country, and that they made these Poneglyphs. But who is this Lily?" Jaba asked curiously.

The Poneglyphs they had found before had never mentioned that name, leaving Roger and the others completely baffled.

Vikengam had clearly already guessed something. He shifted his gaze to the young Cobra.

Cobra was utterly bewildered by now. He seemed to have inadvertently heard an earth-shattering secret!?

If this got out, wouldn't the World Government mince him into meat paste?

Then, as though something suddenly clicked, he cried out, "Lily? Our Nefertari Family is also descended from one of the Twenty Kings, and our ancestor from that era was Queen Nefertari Lily!!!"

Though Cobra was young, he was quick-witted. Considering the Poneglyph hidden by the Nefertari Family in the royal mausoleum, their refusal to relocate to Mary Geoise back then, and the name Lily mentioned on this Poneglyph—

It was enough for him to connect many things!

If the story these pirates had just told was not fabricated, then perhaps... his ancestor, Queen Lily, had actually stood against the present-day World Government?

"Do you know when the Nefertari Family began serving as Alabasta's royal family?" Vikengam asked.

"Of course, since ancient times! The history of the Nefertari Family runs almost parallel to that of Alabasta..." Cobra declared proudly.

"I'm afraid that may not be the case." Vikengam shook his head and looked deeply at Cobra. "Perhaps, as you said, this is merely my conjecture. The Nefertari Family may have begun ruling this country only a little over eight hundred years ago. Of course, there is another possibility: that even earlier than that, present-day Alabasta had already been closely connected to Laugh Tale, that Great Kingdom..."

"Why would you make such a deduction!?" Cobra frowned and demanded unhappily.

"Because you're a D too, kid." Vikengam grinned. "The Nefertari Family has a hidden name. Your father should know about these matters. He must still possess a letter from Queen Lily... Kid, your full name is Nefertari D. Cobra!"

Cobra clearly found it impossible to accept Vikengam's words. He demanded, "How could a pirate like you know these things? Even I, the prince, don't know..."

"Ahahahaha!" Rayleigh laughed as he looked at Cobra. "Don't think you're really nobler than him, little guy. The one standing before you is also a descendant of one of the Twenty Kings. Moreover, he is the young master of the Five Elders family, one of the highest authorities in the present-day World Government. His name is Jaygarcia Vikingham. If you wish, you may call him Saint Vikengam."

"That's right. At the same time, he's also the supreme cultural worker of our great Roger Pirates—the Vikengam Scholar. He knows far more secrets than you could ever imagine, you brat!" Roger said smugly.