In this wondrous ocean, countless magical and absurd legends exist: Sky Island, the City of Gold, the Emerald City, the Millennium Dragon, the Golden Apple, the Island of Rare Beasts, Ancient Weapons, and so on. Even the great treasure, the ONE PIECE, is merely the most well-known legend of them all.
After all, besides the Pirate King and his former crewmates, no one has seen it with their own eyes.
As for the legend of the Seven-Star Sword, it was the type that sounded incredibly unreliable just by listening to it. Curiously, however, rumors about the Seven-Star Sword were quite numerous and often sounded surprisingly plausible. Consequently, many adventurers like Rovick made it their goal to find it.
Nico Robin, as a veteran archaeologist, had naturally heard of this legendary cursed blade. However, since she wasn't particularly interested in swords, she hadn't looked into it deeply.
"That's right, it is the Seven-Star Sword. Legend calls it the most beautiful and powerful holy sword in this sea."
Sherlock narrowed his eyes slightly. "However, it's not entirely about the Seven-Star Sword. Although I'm not an expert in ancient scripts, the parts I translated next clearly aren't referring to a sword."
"Oh? Not just the Seven-Star Sword?"
Robin scrutinized the four black books on the desk once more. She flipped to a new page, skipping the parts translated earlier, and began to decipher them properly. Perhaps because four black books were still too few, she could only pull out fragmented, disorganized words that failed to convey a clear meaning.
The only thing she could translate completely was a single name.
(Aqua... Aqua Laguna? That name is...)
Robin repeated the name in her mind several times. It felt incredibly familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before, yet she couldn't quite place it.
"But since it's recorded alongside the Seven-Star Sword, it means they must share some similarities."
Ceasing her struggle to remember the name, Robin looked at the Sorcerer and said with a chuckle, "I suddenly feel like something truly extraordinary is recorded in here."
"It's a weapon."
"A weapon?" Robin froze. Then, a spark of realization flashed through her mind, and a terrifying suspicion began to take root.
"Yes. And strictly speaking, what's recorded here should be considered 'low-tier' versions of Ancient Weapons."
Sherlock pulled a stack of documents from his Mirror Space and handed them to Robin, explaining with a calm expression.
"We don't know exactly what happened during the Void Century before the World Government was established. However, the three great Ancient Weapons—Pluton, Poseidon, and Uranus—should all be products of that era."
"The research my grandfather conducted back in Ohara showed that eight hundred years ago, or perhaps even longer, there were more than just those three Ancient Weapons named after gods. While those weapons were far inferior to the three that claim to be able to destroy the world, they were still undoubtedly terrifying weapons of immense power."
The expression on Robin's face shifted between light and shadow. Most of the documents in her hand were legends concerning the three Ancient Weapons and the Seven-Star Sword. Combining this with the Poneglyphs she had seen before, the female archaeologist was already seventy percent convinced by the hypothesis of the Sorcerer's grandfather, Dr. Fresnel.
"But if that's the case, why isn't information on these weapons engraved on Poneglyphs like Pluton and Poseidon?"
(And why is it Ancient Weapons again...) Robin suddenly realized that ever since Alabasta, every ancient script she encountered seemed to be connected to Ancient Weapons.
"It's quite obvious: the people who made these black books and the people who made the Poneglyphs were not the same group. In fact, I suspect these black books might have been created after the World Government was established."
Sherlock lightly pushed up his glasses, his deep black eyes flashing with insight. "Furthermore, based on the decryption method of these black books, one would have to collect the entire set to obtain full intelligence on those weapons."
"What do you think they hoped to achieve by going to such great lengths, Robin?" Sherlock took a sip of black tea and posed the question back to the intellectual beauty.
Robin remained silent. She looked back at the mysterious black books on the table, her gaze complicated.
"Perhaps they didn't want the World Government to find out, just like the Poneglyphs," the beautiful archaeologist murmured tentatively. "Or perhaps, they didn't want anyone to—"
Clang!
The cabin suddenly jolted violently. Half the tea in the Sorcerer's cup splashed out, nearly soaking Robin's clothes. Then, Sherlock and Robin discovered to their shock that the Going Merry's rate of descent had suddenly accelerated.
"Hey! Look, the Octopus Balloon is shrinking!"
"No way! Are we going to fall to our deaths like this?!"
"You idiot moss-head, get up right now! This is no time for a nap!"
"Usopp, Nami, Sanji, have any of you seen Luffy?"
"Ahahaha... I think I might have played around a little too much."
"..."
Hearing the chaotic commotion outside the cabin, the pair first shared a very calm look, then both flashed helpless smiles.
"Hehe, that certainly fits our captain's style." Even without knowing the details, Robin was already certain who the culprit behind this disturbance was.
"Yes, it really is quite foolish." Sherlock lightly pushed up his glasses.
Enies Lobby, also known as the Island of No Night, was a nominal court of law established by the World Government. Because anyone sent here was guaranteed to be declared a criminal, it served as an expression of the Marines' Absolute Justice.
A high tower stood in the center of Enies Lobby, known as the Tower of Justice. Atop the tower, the cross-shaped flag symbolizing the World Government fluttered in the wind, exuding an air of solemnity and gravity.
Inside an office on the top floor of the Tower of Justice, a sleazy-looking man with short purple hair and a leather mask over his face sat sloppily at his desk. Looking at the Den Den Mushi on his desk—whose eyes were obscured by blond hair—it wasn't hard to guess who the current chief of CP9 was communicating with.
"What? You didn't get the location of Pluton?"
Spandam snorted and propped his legs up on the desk without any shred of decorum. "I say, Fred, you aren't slackng on the job, are you?"
"Believe what you want..." Major General Fred's attitude was incredibly arrogant. "In any case, I've done what you asked. Isn't it about time you fulfilled the promise you made to me?"
(This bastard, who do you think you are? If you didn't have that father of yours, you'd be nothing!)
The purple-haired creep cursed in his head, completely ignoring the fact that he himself had inherited his position from his own father. These two "privileged second-generation" officials were essentially two peas in a pod.
"Don't worry. It's just a matter of having a group of CP-5 agents pose as pirates for a 'staged prison break.' It's a small thing, as long as you don't screw it up."
Spandam turned his head to look at his pet elephant eating fodder nearby and continued, "Speaking of which, you really are bold to come up with a 'thief crying thief' scheme like this."
"Hmph, likewise. Creating an opportunity by any means necessary when none exists—I learned that trick from you," the blond-haired Den Den Mushi said ominously.
"Ah? You mean that business with Tom? Hahahaha!"
Spandam laughed out loud. "That was his own fault. Who told him to have such a 'good apprentice'?"
Gently touching the leather mask on his face, Spandam's expression suddenly turned distorted and grim. He calmed his emotions and continued, "Alright, looking at the time, my subordinates should be arriving soon. I'll wish you luck in advance, Major General 'Fred'."
Deliberately emphasizing the title, Spandam then curtly hung up the Den Den Mushi.
"That arrogant guy! If it weren't for the fact that my father needs the help of the Falconer family, there's no way I'd help him!"
After cursing a few more times, Spandam scratched his hair and leaned back in his chair, sinking into thought.
(So Sir Crocodile didn't know the location of Pluton either. It looks like the people I sent to Alabasta went on a wild goose chase.)
(According to the news brought by Black Cat Carter, Nico Robin seems to be hanging around with the Straw Hat boy now. That woman won't be easy to catch.)
"But once I get my hands on the blueprints for Pluton, then... hehehe, hahahaha!"
In the empty office, the unrestrained and frantic laughter echoed, refusing to fade for a long time.
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze