Watching Rolan and the others depart, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi exchanged glances.
"So Rolan is the one spoken of in the prophecy," Inuarashi said slowly. "That explains why his rise on the seas has been so smooth."
"Indeed," Nekomamushi replied, nodding. "His luck, his timing, everything fits the signs of someone chosen by fate, meow."
Inuarashi's expression was filled with anticipation.
"In two years, Momonosuke-sama will return. The restoration of Wano will finally be possible."
Nekomamushi exhaled a cloud of smoke and spoke thoughtfully.
"Didn't Rolan say Momonosuke-sama was only eight years old when he was sent forward in time?"
"As the one tied to the prophecy, Rolan will surely assist him," Inuarashi said with certainty.
What Inuarashi did not know was that Rolan's thoughts had never aligned with that expectation.
To Rolan, becoming Pirate King was optional. Toppling the World Government was optional.
Momonosuke, however, was an obstacle that would eventually need to be removed.
He did not care for inherited thrones, destined rulers, or symbols of legitimacy. If someone stood in his way, destiny meant nothing.
"Haaah…"
Nekomamushi yawned loudly.
Only then did Inuarashi realize the sun was still high.
"This is my time now, you foolish old cat," Inuarashi snapped. "Go back to sleep."
Nekomamushi flicked his pipe aside. "What did you say?"
He paused, then waved a paw dismissively while licking it.
"I won't waste energy arguing with you."
With a few powerful leaps, he vanished into the forest.
For more than a decade, the rulers of day and night had remained at odds.
The Mink Tribe itself was divided because of it.
By day, Duke Inuarashi ruled Zou.
By night, authority belonged to Nekomamushi.
Their rift traced back to Oden's execution eighteen years ago.
When Oden endured the hour in boiling oil, Nekomamushi had celebrated prematurely, proclaiming Oden victorious.
The people had followed his lead, their emotions inflamed.
Inuarashi, unwilling to accept a conclusion before seeing the outcome, had condemned his words as reckless.
That single dispute had never healed.
---
"Are you certain this will work?"
Robin's voice echoed softly inside the spherical electromagnetic barrier suspended in the air.
Rolan held her hand as they moved steadily toward Wano Country.
"A man doesn't say he can't," he replied casually, his grip tightening slightly. "As for whether I can, you already know the answer."
Robin flushed instantly, her cheeks tinted red like the evening sky.
"I'm being serious," she said quietly. "Do you really think the two of us can take a rubbing of Kaido's Road Poneglyph alone?"
"Do you not trust your husband?" Rolan replied, his tone lazy but confident.
"I… I do."
After leaving Zou, Rolan had ordered Kuro, Crocodile, and Enel to return to Peach Garden.
Wano was Kaido's territory, and they objected strongly to him going alone.
Rolan made it clear he had no intention of fighting Kaido.
He only needed the Poneglyph.
With his methods of concealment, even Kaido would not notice his presence.
Kuro considered it carefully and agreed. Rolan alone would be far more mobile.
Robin, however, refused to stay behind.
Rolan knew better than to argue with her when Poneglyphs were involved.
---
Using the electromagnetic barrier as cover, Rolan and Robin slipped through the concealed passage within Kozuki Sukiyaki's residence.
Just like the one on Zou, the path led downward.
Robin tightened her grip on Rolan's hand as they descended.
"It's so dark," she murmured. "It feels like we're sinking into the sea."
"In a way, we are," Rolan replied.
"This Road Poneglyph rests beneath the sea itself."
Robin looked up at him, startled.
"That well hidden?"
She peered through a transparent section of the barrier.
Beyond it lay an ancient city, resting silently beneath the ocean.
Buildings stood intact, their outlines heavy with history.
Schools of fish drifted through the streets.
Its architecture was unmistakable.
"This is…" Robin whispered.
"Wano Country," Rolan said. "From eight hundred years ago."
Robin's breath caught.
"Why is it here?"
Rolan explained the history, the flooding, and the isolation that followed.
Robin listened intently, her excitement growing with every word.
The deeper they traveled, the clearer it became.
Almost every kingdom they encountered was tied to Joy Boy and the great war of the Void Century.
The truth of those hundred missing years was far more vast than she had imagined.
Then, ahead of them, the red stone came into view.
The Road Poneglyph.
---
Grand Line, first half, Polestar Island.
Two figures sprinted toward the coast.
"Zehahaha, how humiliating!"
"Captain, why are we running from the Gold Emperor?" Burgess shouted. "If he shows up, I'll smash him with my own fists."
"You don't understand," Teach growled. "Ace is not someone we can handle alone."
Marshall D. Teach and Jesus Burgess had just fled a restaurant.
They had heard that Portgas D. Ace, commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, had arrived in Paradise.
Teach feared few people.
Marco did not concern him.
Ace did.
Even after gaining the Dark-Dark Fruit, Ace's presence still weighed heavily on his mind.
Polestar Island, being close to the New World, was a natural gathering point.
Teach had left without finishing his meal.
After deserting the Whitebeard Pirates, he had met Burgess by chance and beaten him into submission.
Thus, the Blackbeard Pirates were born.
"Zehahaha," Teach laughed darkly. "A pirate crew that has to run the moment it's formed. How fitting."
===
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