By this point, almost the entire truth of the world had been laid bare.
Dragon and Shanks were stunned. Professor Clover and Olvia looked deeply moved, while Ye Mu alone remained calm.
"So that island is Laugh Tale, the island Pirate King Roger named, and it lies inside that enormous undersea cavern?"
Dragon asked.
"That's right. The Grand Line was also left behind by Joy Boy for those who would come after him. He knew that once the war was over, the others would stop anyone from reaching Laugh Tale. He had to leave future generations a path to their destination."
"After the war, the newly established World Government discovered Joy Boy's intentions and began smearing his former companions. GOD and D went their separate ways, and the D Clan became the sworn enemies of the so-called God Tribe. Over the course of that hundred years, the World Government also used Joy Boy's research to gradually learn some of the ways to operate the machine the God Tribe had left behind. That only strengthened their resolve. They sealed the opening above Fish-Man Island and claimed the World Tree growing in the sea above it, Sunlight Tree Eve, for themselves."
At this point, Professor Clover seemed to remember something.
"You've both been to Fish-Man Island. You must have heard the legend of Sunlight Tree Eve—that it carries sunlight from the surface ten thousand meters down to the seabed."
"Yes."
Both men nodded. Dragon then asked,
"Is there something wrong with that?"
Professor Clover shook his head helplessly.
"It's actually a lie the World Government told the Fish-Men."
"A lie?!"
"That's right. The World Tree can't transmit sunlight at all. It draws heat from the earth, especially from magma, and produces its own light and warmth. That's why Fish-Man Island's scientists have