The instant the Harvester Outpost vanished into specks of light, a connection Transcendence time and space was severed.
It's not a physical connection, not an energy connection, but a broken contract.
Deep beneath Sky Island world, Robin held the warm Balance Field Fragment in her hand, suddenly feeling a pang of fear. It wasn't fear, but rather a feeling of being watched. It was as if a pair of eyes, from an infinitely distant dimension, had just turned towards her.
The fragments were slightly warm in her palm, projecting a shattered image:
--In the pitch-black Void, an indescribable being slowly turned around. It had no fixed form, or rather, its form was changing every instant: sometimes a rotating galaxy, sometimes a sprawling root system, sometimes a collection of countless eyes.
His "gaze" swept across the Void, dimming the stars and Rule Distortion wherever it passed. His gaze finally settled on a coordinate: the pirate world, Sky Island, and Robin at this moment.
Then, all the images froze, leaving only a line of text written in burning stardust:
[Where the contract breaks... the History Bearer... find her...]
The screen went dark.
Robin's hands were trembling, but she gripped the shards tightly.
" Robin, are you alright?" Sanji rushed to her side immediately, but maintained a gentlemanly distance.
"It's nothing." Robin took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, "But I might... be in big trouble."
She briefly described the scene depicted by the fragments.
Zoro's sword was already half-drawn. "So, that thing called Ithaqua now knows about us."
"To be precise, it's about knowing me," Robin corrected. "He wants to find the ' History Bearer,' which should refer to me."
Luo looked at the Kikoku in his hand. "The contract is broken... You just broke the contract between the outpost and its creator. This means Ithaqua has lost control of the outpost and has also sensed who did it."
"So He'll send pursuers," Franky concluded. "SUPER--! Then let's prepare for battle!"
"Wait a minute." Nami held up her Clima-Tact. "Have you guys noticed... the temperature is dropping?"
really.
The temperature in the underground space is dropping rapidly. It's not just ordinary cold, but a conceptual cold—even the concept of "heat" itself is being stripped away. The gold on the walls is beginning to be covered with frost, but that frost is not ice; it's some kind of grayish-white, fine crystal.
"Rules erosion!" Luo immediately deployed the ROOM field, protecting everyone within it. "Something is altering the physical laws of this area!"
Before the words were finished, a point of dark golden light appeared out of thin air in the very center of the space.
The light swirled and expanded, forming a vortex three meters in diameter. Inside the vortex was not a spatial passage, but... an eye.
A huge eye made of dark gold geometric patterns.
Deep within the pupils of the eyes, gray swirls—similar to those of the Ancient One and the voids in the crystals of the outposts.
His eyes "looked" at Robin.
There was no sound, no mental shock, but everyone felt a chill that froze their souls. It was a pure, absolute denial of existence—this eye was judging whether Robin was even worthy of "existence."
Then, he blinked.
The vortex began to contract, collapsing inward. As it collapsed, the entire underground space began to collapse synchronously! Not a physical compression, but the erasure of its existing layers!
"This is..." Cold sweat beaded on Law's forehead, "A dimensional anchoring attack! It's going to drag Robin, along with this entire space, to another dimension!"
Zoro unleashed three sword strikes simultaneously! The three slashes tore through the air, but vanished the instant they touched Zoro's eyes—not canceled out, but rather deemed as if they had never existed.
Sanji's Diable Jambe landed on the edge of the vortex, and as a result, his right leg began to disappear from the tip, like a pencil line being erased by an eraser!
" Sanji!" Chopper rushed over in alarm to treat him, but even Chopper's hand began to turn transparent as he got close.
The rules prevail.
Absolute, unreasonable dimensional suppression.
Robin looked at that eye and suddenly understood.
Ithaqua didn't care about their resistance, their will, or even their deaths. He simply wanted to "reclaim" or "erasure" an anomalous variable—a variable capable of breaking His contract.
Just like when a human swattes an ant, there's no need to understand the ant's thoughts.
For the first time, a chill of despair truly seeped into the very marrow of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Just then--
The Balance Field Fragment in Robin's hand suddenly burst forth with unprecedented light!
It wasn't an aggressive ray of light, but rather... a declaration.
A phantom emerged from the light: it was an old man dressed in an ancient robe, his face indistinct, but he held an open book in his hands. The old man's phantom stood in front of Robin, facing the eye, and turned the pages of the book.
There were no words on the pages, only a swirling galaxy.
The eye contractions stopped.
The dark gold geometric patterns began to become disordered, and the gray star spirals paused briefly.
The illusory old man "spoke"—not with his voice, but with the Echo of history:
[In the name of the last recorder of the Weavers Civilization...]
[By the blood of the Ohara Three-Eye Tribe, who uphold the contract...]
[By virtue of History Bearer in this world...]
[This child... is under protection...]
The pupils of the eyes suddenly contracted!
He recognized the phantom—not its form, but the authority it held. Though the Weavers Civilization perished, the "Recorder Authority" they left behind remained in effect within the cosmic rules. It was the final ruling power the Weavers reserved for themselves when they established the Web of Order: history cannot be forcibly erased.
Eyes confront the illusory image.
Time seemed to stand still.
Then, her eyes slowly closed.
The dark golden vortex began to reverse its rotation, changing from collapse to expansion. But it did not leave; instead, it left something in the center of the vortex: a dark golden rhomboid crystal, only the size of a fingernail, suspended in mid-air.
The illusory old man reached out and took the crystal, then vanished into the light.
The light faded, returning to the fragment in Robin's hand.
The temperature in the underground space returned to normal, and the regular erosion stopped.
Only the dark gold crystal remained, slowly drifting down in front of Robin.
Robin reached out, and the crystal fell into his palm. It felt cool to the touch, but there was a regular pulsation inside—the pulsation of the coordinates.
"This is..." she said softly.
"An invitation." A voice came from above the well.
Everyone looked up and saw Rena standing at the wellhead, with the Super Soldier Company Rescue Team behind her. Her expression was unusually serious.
" Ithaqua acknowledged your status as a ' History Bearer,' so He did not forcibly erase you. But He left behind coordinates— Beacon leading to His realm."
"Does that mean I should go to Him?" Robin asked.
"Or perhaps He will come looking for you." Rena jumped down, "But this crystal also presents an opportunity. If we can decipher its coordinates, we can find out where Ithaqua's lair is."
Zoro sheathed his sword. "Then let's go cut him down."
"Things aren't that simple," Luo said. "The power that eye just now displayed... is beyond our comprehension. Direct confrontation would be suicide."
Sanji lit another cigarette; his right leg had recovered—his disappearance seemed like an illusion. "What do we do then? Wait for him to come to us?"
"No." Robin gripped the dark gold crystal tightly. "We need to take the initiative, but at our own pace."
She looked at Rena: "How's it going with Miss Yan? The negotiations between the Star Speaker and the Chaos Remnants?"
Rena's expression relaxed slightly. "Good news. The Ancient One have been persuaded; the Chaos Remnants have agreed to assist us in finding and destroying other Harvester Outpost. In exchange, we will use Balance Field Fragment to create protected areas for them, preventing them from being Harvest."
"But they require one thing: they must participate in the fight against Ithaqua."
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Why? Aren't they afraid of the Reapers?"
"Fear, but also hatred," Rena said. " The Ancient One revealed that the Chaos Remnants once possessed a glorious civilization in ancient times, destroyed by the Reapers of Ithaqua. They wanted revenge, but never dared. Now, with us and the Balance Field Fragment... they see an opportunity."
Nami's eyes lit up. "Then we'll have a huge army!"
"The prerequisite is that we can find and activate enough fragments." Franky had already sketched a map on the ground. "Six main fragment locations; we've only found one so far. The locations of the other five..."
Robin suddenly covered his forehead.
The dark golden crystal was heating up, resonating with the Balance Field Fragment in her hand. Two streams of information flooded into her mind:
The first stream came from the Balance Field Fragment —a map left behind by Allen when he buried the fragments two years ago. Five points of light twinkled on the star map, their coordinates clearly visible.
The second stream came from the dark gold crystal—it was Ithaqua's challenge. Five corresponding dark red dots were marked on the same coordinates, but next to them was a countdown: 72 hours.
"I see it..." Robin murmured, "The location of five fragment points, but Ithaqua has also set traps there. He gave us 72 hours—either go and retrieve the fragments and fall into the traps, or abandon the fragments and give the Harvester Outpost enough time to activate."
"This is a calculated move," Luo calmly analyzed. "He knows we need the fragments to fight Him, so He's using them as bait."
Luffy's voice came through the communicator, even though he wasn't there in person:
"Then go get it! So what if it's a trap? Just step over it!"
"Wait," Yan's voice joined the communication, " Luffy, we need a plan. The Ancient One just told me something: Ithaqua isn't a 'being' in the traditional sense; He is the embodiment of rules. To fight Him, we need more than just power; we also need 'the authority of the rules.'"
"And the 'authority of the rules' is hidden in those fragments—more precisely, in the ' Weavers Legacy ' behind those fragments."
Robin closed her eyes, and the knowledge of Ohara surged in her mind. Those ancient texts that she could not fully understand before, now merged with the information from the fragments, generating entirely new meaning.
"I understand..." She opened her eyes, a glint of wisdom shining deep within her pupils. "The five fragments weren't randomly chosen. They correspond to the five ' Pillars of Order ' that the Weavers Civilization established in this world."
"The first pillar, the ' Pillar of Life,' corresponds to the Great Deep-Sea Hollow of Fish-Man Island —the birthplace of Poseidon."
"The second pillar, the ' Pillar of Time,' corresponds to the giant elephant of Zou —the secret behind its ceaseless movement for eight hundred years."
"The third pillar, the ' Pillar of Space,' corresponds to the Lord of the Sky of the Sky Island —it is actually an ancient space stabilization device."
"The fourth pillar, the ' Pillar of Matter,' corresponds to the core of Wano Country —the source of the Seastone veins."
"The fifth pillar, the ' Pillar of Consciousness,' corresponds to Laugh Tale — the Laugh Tale, the place all the Poneglyph point to."
With each word she spoke, the expressions on everyone's faces grew more serious.
These are the most mysterious and important locations in the world of One Piece.
"And Ithaqua's trap..." Robin continued, "Is likely that a ' Rule Virus ' has been implanted in these places. Once we activate the fragments, it will trigger the virus, causing these pillars to collapse, which in turn will lead to the collapse of the entire world's rule system."
Franky gasped. "Then the world would be finished?"
"Therefore, we need to act simultaneously," Yan said. "The five points must activate the fragments at the same time, allowing them to form a complete resonance network. In this way, the network will stabilize each other and counteract the erosion of the Rule Virus."
"Activate them simultaneously?" Usopp screamed. "Where are we going to find that many people?!"
"We have it," Shanks ' voice joined the communication, " The Red Hair Pirates can take over a point."
" The Fish-Man Race can take charge of the Great Deep-Sea Hollow," Princess Shirahoshi said softly but firmly.
" The Revolutionary Army can be mobilized," Sabo's voice came through. "Can we have Zou?"
"We will take charge of Wano Country." Momonosuke's voice was somewhat childish, but full of determination. "We have rebuilt the country, and now it's time to repay the kindness shown to us."
" Sky Island..." Nami looked at Rena.
" The Super Soldier Company can handle this," Yan said. "We have experience in space operations."
"And the rest of Laugh Tale..." Zoro looked at Robin.
Robin paused for a moment, then said, "The Straw Hat Pirates must go there. Because the truth about the Laugh Tale is directly related to the ' History Bearer.' And—"
She gripped the dark golden crystal tightly:
"I suspect that Ithaqua's true form is in Laugh Tale."
The communication channel was silent.
"Reason?" Luo asked.
"Intuition," Robin said, "And... this crystal pulsates most strongly when Laugh Tale is mentioned. It longs to return there."
"Then it's settled." Luffy's voice broke the silence. "72 hours, five locations, simultaneous operation!"
"But there's one more thing," the Star Speaker's voice suddenly broke in, tinged with weariness, " The Ancient One just told me... Ithaqua's envoys have been dispatched. Not the Reapers, but something far more troublesome."
What is it?
" The Forgetter," the Star Speaker's voice was filled with fear, "Another tool created by Ithaqua. They won't kill you, they'll only make you 'forget'—forget your purpose, forget your companions, forget yourself. In the end, you become an empty shell, recycled by Ithaqua as raw material for the new Reapers."
"Three settlements of Chaos Remnants have already fallen to the Forgetter. They offered no Resistance, for even the thought of Resistance has been erased."
The dark gold crystal in Robin's hand suddenly vibrated violently!
A new message forcibly flooded her mind:
Those were the images of five Forgetter, and their goal:
The first target is Fish-Man Island, and its image is that of a " Singing Mermaid "—whose song can make people forget hatred and responsibility.
The second target, Zou, is depicted as " Old Elephant Who Weaves Time that makes people forget the present and the future as they Time Rewind.
The third target is the Sky Island, depicted as a "giant whale swallowing a sea of clouds"—a place that makes people forget the difference between reality and illusion in Void.
Fourthly, the target Wano Country, and its image is that of a "blooming enchanting flower"—it makes people forget pain and the truth in their beautiful dreams.
The fifth target, Laugh Tale, has the following appearance...
Robin stopped breathing.
The image of the fifth Forgetter is herself.
A smiling Robin, whose eyes lack wisdom.
"That is..." Her voice trembled.
"Your 'Forgotten Version'," the Star Speaker said gravely, " Ithaqua used information gleaned from you (through that eye) to create a Forgetter specifically targeting you. It will impersonate you, infiltrate your ranks, and at a crucial moment, make you all... Forgotten. Why should you fight against Ithaqua?"
Despair spread once again.
Five locations, five traps, five Forgetter.
72-hour countdown.
And an enemy that is almost invincible.
Just then--
Everyone's communicator received a signal simultaneously.
The signal was unencrypted, had no source, and appeared directly on the screens of all devices.
Only two words, displayed in a font interwoven with white gold and dark purple:
[Run!]
The signature is a simple symbol: a burning Sparks.
" Allen..." Nami covered her mouth.
This was the first time he had proactively sent a complete message since entering the Gate of the Void.
There are only two words.
But everyone understood its meaning:
--The danger exceeded expectations.
--The terror of Ithaqua was so great that even he, inside the gate, felt threatened.
--It's not too late to escape now.
A long silence followed on the communication channel.
Then, Luffy smiled.
He spoke into the communicator in a voice that everyone could hear:
" Allen."
"We're pirates, you know."
"In the dictionary of pirates--"
He took a deep breath, then shouted with all his might:
--The word 'escape' was not used!!!
The shouts, transmitted via communicators, reached all fleets and spread throughout both worlds.
The silence was broken.
Zoro smiled and said, "The captain is right."
Sanji exhaled a smoke ring. "Letting a lady escape is not something a gentleman should do."
Nami wiped away her tears, raised her Clima-Tact, and said, "So what if I die again!"
Usopp's legs were trembling, but he still raised his slingshot. "I... I am a brave warrior of the sea!"
Chopper transforms into his Monster Point: "I'll protect everyone!"
Franky struck his signature pose. "SUPER--! That's more like it!"
Brook plucked the strings. "Yo ho ho ho, even in death, I'll die with my memories."
Jinbe nodded calmly. "This is an act of benevolence and righteousness."
Robin gripped the crystal and fragments tightly, his eyes regaining their composure. "Then let Him see the path chosen by the History Bearer."
Shanks laughed, "This is the man Roger was waiting for!"
Yan's voice carried a hint of laughter. " The Super Soldier Company never backs down."
Rena raised her right hand. "Let the glory of the sun illuminate this dead end!"
Ge Xiaolun clenched his fist. "For the Earth, for all the worlds."
Liu Chuang picked up his axe. "Let's fucking kill them!"
The Star Speaker's voice rang out, filled with the courage of new life. " The Chaos Remnants will fight alongside you."
Princess Shirahoshi softly but firmly, "For the peace of the sea."
Sabo: "For freedom."
Momonosuke: "For the sake of inheritance."
All voices converged into a mighty torrent.
Luffy adjusted his straw Straw Hat and looked up at the starry sky—even though he was currently on the Red Fox and couldn't see Laugh Tale:
"Let's go!"
Five locations! 72 hours!
"Get the fragments, smash the traps, and beat the Forgetter to a pulp!"
"Then--"
He grinned, revealing his brightest, most fearless smile:
"Go to Laugh Tale and get that guy named Ithaqua— "
"Smash them away!!!"
Countdown: 71 hours, 59 minutes, and 58 seconds.
The war has begun.