"God's Tribe?"
Lin Nuo's eyes flickered.
Stockton set down his teacup, his eyes filled with caution and excitement.
"I once read a description in an explorer's journal."
"It mentioned an ancient mural on the Red Line depicting a race with black wings on their backs, control over fire, and powerful adaptability."
He looked up and met Lin Nuo's gaze directly.
The room fell silent.
Even Ivankov and the others stopped fooling around and looked over.
Lin Nuo was silent for a few seconds.
He stared at Stockton and activated Voice of All Things.
The other man showed no unnecessary emotion, only pure curiosity and yearning...
"Yes, and no."
"My bloodline is somewhat special, but the fewer people who know about this, the better."
Lin Nuo did not deny it outright.
Stockton drew out a long acknowledgment, then turned even more serious.
"Please rest assured. Everything heard in this room today will remain in this room," he said solemnly.
Then he smiled somewhat sheepishly.
"Still, it feels like I'm taking advantage of you again, asking about such an important secret..."
"How about this?"
He stood and made an inviting gesture toward Lin Nuo.
"Would you be interested in seeing my true 'treasure room,' sir?"
"Consider it a small gesture in return."
After thinking for a moment, Lin Nuo nodded.
Stockton then led him out of the public research room, through a narrow corridor, and to a wooden door behind the captain's quarters.
He took out two strangely shaped keys, inserted them into the lock, and turned them in a specific order.
Click. The door opened.
Inside was a secret room far smaller than the one outside.
There were no windows, and the walls were packed with towering bookshelves.
"Please, sit."
Stockton lit the whale-oil lamp on the table.
Lin Nuo sat down, his gaze sweeping across the ancient books. Many were written in languages he did not recognize at all.
"Mr. Lin Nuo," Stockton said as he took a seat opposite him.
"How much do you know about ancient history?"
"I know some fragments, but much of it has been deliberately concealed."
"That's right. Concealed." Stockton gave a bitter smile.
"The World Government's stance toward those who study ancient history, especially scholars involved with the Void Century, is very clear."
"Suppression, or even eradication."
His fingers tapped lightly against the tabletop.
"But do you know? Some people study history not to overthrow the world, nor to find Ancient Weapons and rule over all."
"They simply want to know what truly happened in this world eight hundred years ago."
Stockton's voice was very soft.
"Knowledge itself is not a crime. Exploration and the pursuit of knowledge are humanity's most precious instincts."
Seeking the truth...
Those words aligned perfectly with one of Lin Nuo's goals in unraveling the Void Century.
"Stockton..."
"If I told you I knew when the three Ancient Weapons of the future—Uranus, Pluton, and Poseidon—would likely appear, in what form, and in whose hands, would you believe me?"
Clatter.
A magnifying glass Stockton had been idly playing with fell onto the table.
More than ten seconds passed before he asked hoarsely.
"...What, what did you say?"
"I know some secrets the World Government is desperately trying to hide."
Lin Nuo did not go into specifics.
Stockton leaned back in his chair and pondered.
"It seems your knowledge and experience far surpass what I imagined."
He stood and paced a few steps around the cramped secret room.
"Since you've chosen to tell me something so important, then in exchange, I should offer stakes worthy of a deeper exchange."
He returned behind the desk, opened a hidden drawer, and took out a thin notebook.
"I, Alger Stockton, am not merely an ordinary archaeologist."
"I actually possess a... very rare constitution."
"I can hear the voices of ancient writing."
Lin Nuo raised a brow. "The voices of writing?"
That ability was rather similar to his Voice of All Things.
"Not voices in the literal sense," Stockton explained.
"When I stare at and touch genuine ancient texts for a long time, my consciousness resonates with the writing in some way."
"I can sense fragments of the writer's emotions and even see certain scenes from history."
"But every time I use this ability, it consumes an enormous amount of mental energy. Afterward, I fall into a deep sleep for weeks or even months."
"That is why I spend most of my time in seclusion conducting research and rarely interact with the outside world."
He gave a self-deprecating smile.
"This voyage is partly for academic exchange, but also for an appointment."
He looked at Lin Nuo, his expression complicated.
"An old friend who took tremendous risks to obtain rubbings of ancient Poneglyphs is waiting for me at Whiskey Peak."
"We agreed to meet there, exchange our research findings, and then... find a way to decipher whatever information may be hidden in those rubbings."
"Rubbings of Poneglyphs?"
Just as the two spoke, the ship suddenly jolted.
Several books slid from the shelves and fell to the floor.
Ivankov's shrill shout came from outside.
"Ah!! What is that thing?!"
Lin Nuo and Stockton exchanged a glance, then immediately rose and rushed out of the secret room.
The deck was already packed with people.
Everyone crowded along the railing, staring in the same direction.
The endless rocky wall of the Red Line was now close at hand.
In the distance, they could faintly see the spectacular sight of five waterways flowing into the summit of Reverse Mountain.
Only a short stretch remained before they reached the entrance to the Grand Line.
Yet at this moment, no one was paying attention to the mountain. Their attention was fixed on the sea between the ship and the Red Line.
There, the seawater was bulging unnaturally.
A colossal cylindrical object emerged from beneath the surface.
Its diameter was estimated at over a hundred meters, and that was only the small portion protruding above the water.
"Th-that thing's head?!" a young sailor asked, his teeth chattering.
"A Sea King? But isn't that size completely absurd?!"
Lin Nuo stepped to the foremost edge of the railing and examined the massive pillar-like head rising higher and higher.
"Stop the ship first. I'll go take a look."
As soon as he spoke, he stepped over the railing.
Behind him, his folded black wings spread fully open.
With a beat of his wings, Lin Nuo whipped up a gust of air and shot toward the colossal creature in the sea like an arrow released from a bow.
Silence fell across the deck of the Quest for Knowledge.
"Ehhh—!!"
Led by First Mate Raymond, every sailor aboard the Quest for Knowledge nearly had their eyes pop out of their sockets.
"He's flying! He's flying!!"
Raymond moved closer to Stockton and pointed into the distance.
"Sir! He called those wings decorations!?"
Dr. Stockton adjusted his glasses, his expression unchanged.
"Raymond, calm down."
"This is merely new technology: Biomimetic Powered Wings."
"The fact that their ship can also fly briefly is due to similar aerodynamic principles and special propulsion devices."
He patted Raymond on the shoulder, his expression utterly sincere.
"As a navigator, you must keep up with the times and believe in science."
Raymond's eyes went blank.
"I believe in science... Believe in science my ass!"
"You know something, don't you?! You'd better explain everything clearly to me later!!"
Stockton merely smiled without replying, turning his gaze back into the distance.
In the air.
Lin Nuo rapidly approached the gigantic creature in the sea.
The closer he got, the more he could feel its outrageous scale.
Yet its speed through the water was equally astonishing.
It was charging straight at the rocky wall of the Red Line without slowing down at all.
Lin Nuo's thoughts raced.
West Blue... the entrance to the Grand Line... before the Red Line... that size...
Could it be...
The instant that thought arose.
The colossal beast had finally gathered enough strength.
It made a slight adjustment, aiming its round head directly at the wall that divided the world.
Then—
It accelerated!
It crashed into the Red Line with a thunderous boom!!
Lin Nuo halted in midair, his pupils shrinking slightly.
The next instant, a section of the crimson rock wall caved in and cracks spread across it.
Massive waves rose from the sea and swept out in every direction.
Even from some distance away, the Quest for Knowledge and the White Shell were caught by the waves and violently pushed backward.
After the collision, the colossal beast shook its head, then...
It retreated a short distance and adjusted its direction again.
Once more, it began gathering strength.
Hovering in the air, Lin Nuo looked down, all doubt gone from his heart.
"So it really is you..."
He murmured softly, speaking that name.
"Island Whale, Laboon."
Before you continue