For the Pirate Realm, although Straw Hat once briefly held the position of Sea Emperor not even the Four Emperors could resist, now he can only be referred to as a Great Pirate. Returning to the East Sea is big news, but not something that would hold too much attention.
Great Pirates retiring isn't unheard of.
But for those who know more or less the significance of Nika, it's a major event.
For this reason, Sage even convened a meeting, with all key figures attending, including the Three-Phase Seven Stars, and Vegapunk's clone, who serves as Shaka's representative.
"Why did he return to the East Sea?"
Sage sat on the main throne, tapping the table rhythmically, looking at those present.
"Probably like Roger."
Moriah laughed sharply: "Starting from the East Sea and finding Laugh Tale again. Sage, does Straw Hat already know the location of Laugh Tale?"
"Lucci?"
Sage looked towards Lucci, who also came to attend the meeting.
"We've had intelligence since they were at Elbaf, but we haven't received any information about Straw Hat finding the 'Burn Scar Man.' After leaving Elbaf, they disappeared instead of turning back, continuing to Lodestar Island after which you know what happened—a mysterious appearance in the East Sea."
Lucci spoke while glancing at Urouge, who also attended, "Either they descended through Sky Island or there's an unknown underwater passage at the Red Earth Continent's endpoint."
"Hmm, there shouldn't be any Sky Island over there..."
Urouge thought about it and said: "In that area, there's not even a cloud sea, so the Sky Island option doesn't exist. I'm really curious how Straw Hat disappeared from Lodestar Island, there's no way forward."
From Daffodil Star Island forward, there's a long distance before reaching the Red Earth Continent, with Inverted Mountain above. In that water area, there's no island related to the magnetic field, the route stops here. From a sailing perspective, it's utterly impossible to freely sail in that sea area, and the only choice is to continue forward.
If they didn't encounter an island where they could stock up in the middle, reaching the Red Earth Continent basically means lacking necessary supplies for the return trip, only passing over the Red Earth Continent.
"Is the East Sea really so mystical?"
Sage chuckled: "If it's about retracing the Grand Line, any sea area would suffice. The Grand Line's route circles from southeast to northwest, not directly east. Or maybe he simply wanted to return home? To meet his grandfather and uncover some secrets?"
After being rescued, Garp retired completely and is now farming in East Sea Windmill Village, much like Rayleigh in Shampodi, having disappeared from the sea.
But what secrets could he possibly have?
Not even an Admiral, what a Vice Admiral encounters is definitely limited, and still under the name 'D.'
"Kuzan, what do you think?" Sage asked.
"Not sure, I haven't come across such profound matters, maybe only the Fleet Marshal knows."
Kuzan scratched his head, "That East Sea place doesn't seem so mystical, maybe he just wanted to go to Logue Town, since it's the island of beginnings and endings."
Shaka suddenly spoke: "We know there was once a 'Great Kingdom,' whose territory size is unknown now. The only fact known is that this kingdom should have appeared a thousand years ago, meaning it's the 'Second Chapter' of the Harley Divine Scripture."
"But there's the First Chapter before that. If the 'First Chapter' is the era of slaves and slave liberation, according to the chapter content, the world was one. The First Chapter showed the Earth God and Karma Fire Serpent, also the emergence of the Red Earth Continent."
"During that time, the world began to divide. But even then, there was no 'Grand Line' place, it was geographically divided into southeast and northwest."
"The Second Chapter introduced the Sea God's fury, if the Calm Belt formed during the Second Chapter, could it be that the Calm Belt intentionally formed, creating a core region, resulting in the 'Grand Line.'
"The Third Chapter's content emphasizes the Sun God coming for salvation, and 'believing' they will eventually meet. It can be determined that the Harley Divine Scripture isn't a complete prophecy, but perhaps some record of the past along with expectations for the future."
"If we hypothesize like this, based on the world's geographical position and the fact that Roger once considered Laugh Tale a 'laughing matter,' can it be thought..."
Shaka projected an image of a globe, rotating it, changing the globe's regular map from the Red Earth Continent and Calm Belt's 'X' shape into a 'plus' shape map, the current mainstream world map, pointing his finger to the center.
Mary Geoise!
"With Lodestar Island as the substantive endpoint, the magnetic field is extremely chaotic. The World Government, knowing Laugh Tale exists, does nothing to address it, nor seeks any signpost. Clearly, they know it influences the foundation of world governance, yet they allow signposts to fall into pirate hands instead of starting a decisive battle to seize signposts back..."
Shaka stated: "On the contrary, they are heavily focused on the Nika Fruit, with even the Five Elders making a collective appearance. But despite their clash with Nika at Elbaf, it wasn't significant. The trump card involves more than just Ancient Weapons; perhaps Laugh Tale is entirely under World Government control somewhere, maybe even hidden beneath the Red Earth Continent, not merely targeting the world-ending sea crisis."