The gate in his system had actually appeared long ago.
To be precise, it did not look like a gate, but a three-dimensional vortex, as though it led somewhere unfathomably deep.
River's system was not an intelligent tool, either. It could not answer any of his questions.
There were only brief streams of information telling him that he had to accomplish certain objectives before he could unlock something and obtain a reward.
Now that River had unified the New World and established the Freedom Empire, the pitch-black vortex gate finally showed a new response.
Multicolored lights emerged within it, appearing along the arms of the vortex and revealing fragmented images.
River grew quiet and looked toward the vortex gate, trying to glean some information from those fragmented images.
He had once guessed that this was a gate to another world. Perhaps it had something to do with whether he could return to his previous life, or perhaps it led to some other unknown realm.
Now, he might soon learn the answer.
Before long, the multicolored lights along the vortex's arms flashed with countless fragmented images, sweeping past in rapid succession.
They showed dense forests, rolling seas, and azure skies.
Then came an enormous village. Its wooden buildings somewhat resembled the architecture of Wano Country, but there were no samurai on its streets.
"It really is an entirely new world!"
River drew a breath and sighed softly.
It was neither his original world nor the world of One Piece, but somewhere unfamiliar.
Still, he had seen too few fragments to obtain any definite information.
The images continued to flicker. Deserts appeared next, followed by a strange region filled with towering rocks, and vast islands shrouded in mist.
Finally, in one fragmented image, he saw an enormous foxlike monster with nine tails,