New Era

Back at the Sabaody Archipelago, when they had punched a Celestial Dragon flying and sought out Rayleigh to coat the Thousand Sunny, they had spoken with him at Shakky's Rip-off Bar.

As the right-hand man of Pirate King Roger, Rayleigh had naturally been to Laugh Tale. He knew the truth of the world and all its answers.

But what he had said then was that different people would arrive at Laugh Tale and receive different answers.

Now, it seemed that Oden's determination to open Wano Country after his return had been the answer he found at Laugh Tale.

"Robin is right. The previous Pirate King and his crew had their answer, so Roger chose execution while the others chose to hide away. We are the crew of the current Pirate King, so naturally, we must have our own answer."

Moonlight nodded.

He already had a rough guess about the truth of the world.

He even had a faint lead on Laugh Tale's approximate location.

But only by going to Laugh Tale in person could they confirm it.

Which meant that, for now, they had to find the fourth Road Poneglyph, reach Laugh Tale, and obtain the so-called One Piece.

"Luffy!"

Hearing Moonlight's words, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Franky, Brook, and Robin all turned to look at Luffy.

He was their captain!

And the future Pirate King! Seeing this, Luffy nodded, his expression incomparably resolute. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!"

At those words, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and everyone else were deeply moved.

They had set out from East Blue and weathered countless storms and adventures to reach this point. Wasn't it all to help Luffy become the Pirate King? Now, that goal was no longer far away.

Moonlight, too, felt his heart stir. The truth of the world and the lost history were finally about to be revealed!

At once, the group was ready to head for Laugh Tale.

Seeing this, Ace, Law, and Kin'emon of the Foxfire were moved as well, but they immediately stopped them from acting on impulse.

Law even stepped forward, staring at them all speechlessly.

"Hey, Straw Hat-ya, and everyone in the Straw Hat Crew, even if you're going to Laugh Tale, shouldn't you first find a way to get the fourth Road Poneglyph? Otherwise, do you even know where it is?"

"Ah!"

Hearing Law's words, Moonlight and the others froze where they stood.

Right, without the direction indicated by the Road Poneglyphs, how would they know how to get to Laugh Tale? Luffy's words had gotten them so fired up that they had forgotten such an important point! Zoro immediately turned his head aside.

Sanji took a drag from his cigarette, turned his back on Luffy, and looked away.

Usopp, Nami, Chopper, and the others immediately moved away from Luffy.

They all looked like they didn't know him.

Moonlight could not help sighing.

"Idiocy really is contagious."

After spending so much time together, Luffy's idiotic tendencies had infected everyone else.

The only way to reach Laugh Tale was to gather all four Poneglyphs and deduce its exact location.

They only had three right now. How could they possibly go to Laugh Tale?

It was one thing for Luffy to act like this; he did it all the time. But for all of them to follow along was truly inexcusable.

Once they came to their senses, they all immediately distanced themselves from Luffy.

"For your crew to have made it this far, I have to say, it truly is a miracle. Since that is the case, let this old man join you and lend you a hand!"

At that moment, Jinbe stepped forward and looked at Luffy and the others.

He had already intended to join the Straw Hat Crew, and Luffy had approved it back on Whole Cake Island. But after they arrived in Wano Country, they had immediately entered a fierce battle with Kaido and remained in a constant state of combat, leaving no opportunity. Now was the best time.

"Jinbe, that's great! With you joining us, I can finally relax!"

Luffy was overjoyed. He patted Jinbe on the shoulder while pointing at everyone else.

He looked like a captain who had worried himself sick over his crew!

"You bastard, who exactly is putting whose mind at ease!"

"Shouldn't we be the ones saying that?"

"Luffy?"

"Let's pick someone else as captain!"

"Fine, we'll rename ourselves the Usopp Pirates right now, and I'll be Captain Usopp!"

"Hahahaha..."

Seeing this, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Nami, and Chopper could no longer hold back. Cracking their knuckles, they walked toward Luffy.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Under the flurry of punches, Luffy was soon bruised and swollen, his head seeming ten times bigger as he apologized repeatedly.

"S-Sorry!"

Robin covered her mouth and chuckled, while Franky and Brook could only sigh helplessly.

Moonlight merely waved at Jinbe.

This was the Straw Hat Crew.

But Jinbe only nodded, remaining completely serious! As the captain of the Sun Pirates, he had weathered far too many storms in his life to care much about this scene.

He even found it somewhat heartwarming.

The Straw Hat Crew's eleventh member, Knight of the Sea Jinbe, had officially joined!

"Then whose hands is the fourth Road Poneglyph in?"

Ace nodded and asked.

To reach Laugh Tale, they naturally needed the fourth Road Poneglyph, but figuring out who possessed it was a problem!

"By normal reasoning, the first is on Zou Island, the second is in the hands of Four Emperor Big Mom, and the third is with Kaido. Then the fourth..."

Law looked directly at Luffy, his meaning clear.

Though he did not say the rest, a name immediately surfaced in everyone's mind! Red-Haired!

The captain of the Red-Haired Pirates! The youngest of the Four Emperors! And once a member of the Roger Pirates!

By normal reasoning, there was a high chance that the fourth Poneglyph was in his hands!

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Shanks in a long time!"

At the mention of that name, Luffy looked at the straw hat in his hand, excitement appearing on his face.

Several years had passed since their parting. According to their promise, it was time for them to meet again.

Especially since this straw hat had been given to him by Red-Haired! "The man known as the youngest of the Four Emperors?"

Hearing that name, everyone was shaken! The Red-Haired Pirates differed from the other Four Emperor crews in that not one of their members possessed a Devil Fruit ability.

Moreover, the crew's strength was remarkably balanced, as impenetrable as a wall of bronze and iron.

Their Vice-Captain, Ben Beckman, possessed strength no less formidable than Red-Haired himself. It was like having two Four Emperors on one ship.

"I can't wait!"

Usopp could not help getting excited.

His father Yasopp was aboard Red-Haired's ship. Father and son had not seen each other for years, and the thought that they would soon reunite filled Usopp with excitement.

"The Red-Haired Pirates?"

Marco and the others nodded.

They had a fairly good impression of Red-Haired. There was indeed a strong possibility that he possessed the fourth Road Poneglyph, and given Luffy's relationship with him, getting it should not be too difficult.

"Luffy, I really want to go with you."

Momonosuke looked at Luffy and the others with reluctance.

Wano Country had only just returned to their hands, and they naturally could not leave now.

Which meant they had to part ways here.

"Zoro Juro, are you leaving?"

Hiyori looked at Zoro.

Over this period, they had formed a deep friendship.

"These past days, it was truly thanks to all of you that the Kozuki Family could once again..."

Kin'emon of the Foxfire, Denjiro, Kawamatsu, Shutenmaru, and the other Nine Red Scabbards looked at each other before bowing deeply in unison to Luffy, Ace, and the others!

Without Luffy and the others, they never could have defeated Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi.

Kaido alone would have been enough to crush them.

Not to mention Kaido's alliance with Big Mom! "Luffy, I won't be accompanying you to Red-Haired's place. Some members of the Whitebeard Pirates are still scattered abroad. When the time comes, we'll meet again somewhere!"

Seeing this, Ace nodded. He was preparing to leave as well.

After the Marineford War, the Whitebeard Pirates had splintered apart. Then Blackbeard's attacks had scattered the crew even further. In this era, he needed to gather them all together again.

Only then could they truly gain a foothold in these seas!

"Yeah."

Luffy nodded.

Ace had duties that Ace needed to bear, and he had responsibilities of his own.

It really was time to part ways.

But before long, they would all gather again.

And Sabo would appear as well!

At once, everyone departed.

The Straw Hat Crew set course for Foosha Village. Ace led the Whitebeard Pirates back to where they had been before, while Momonosuke and the others remained behind to guard Wano Country.

After all the turmoil, Wano Country was in the midst of rebuilding. They still had much to do.

On the third day after everyone parted ways, the seas were immediately thrown into a storm by Rocks's appearance.

The legendary pirate quickly found a place to establish himself.

Golden Lion used the power of the Float-Float Fruit to seize several islands in an instant, lifting them into the sky and creating an incomparably magnificent cluster of sky islands.

He then announced to pirates across the world that Rocks would rebuild a New World belonging to pirates as the World King, drive the Celestial Dragons from their pedestal, and conquer the entire world.

Upon hearing the news, pirates throughout the seas went wild.

They flocked to join Rocks.

At the same time, Big Mom and Kaido also received invitations.

These two former members of the Rocks Pirates had once again received their captain's summons.

"Just as expected, once someone like Rocks emerges, what he overturns will be the entire world!"

Aboard the Thousand Sunny.

On the third day after Luffy and the others left Wano Country,

they received this news.

Moonlight could not help sighing.

A new era was about to arrive, and no one could stop it. Especially from the moment Rocks left Impel Down, such events had been inevitable.

"This legendary pirate has caused an earth-shaking upheaval the moment he made a move. They already have powerful pirates like Ochoku and Golden Lion. If Big Mom and Kaido join them as well, along with the vast number of pirates flocking to his side, they will immediately form an unprecedented grand fleet!"

Robin's expression was grave.

Especially since what this group sought was the entire world!