After Hans and Fal left, Roy Amos's expression gradually returned to calm.
"Luffy set out to sea early…"
He downed the cola in his cup in one gulp, muttering to himself.
There was no doubt, this was another shift in the storyline. The difference this time was that he clearly knew the source of the change.
Yet surprisingly, Roy didn't feel any panic about the disrupted plot.
On the contrary, he felt nothing but calm.
After a moment, he realized why. It was because he had already become strong enough. Whether Monkey D. Luffy set sail or not, whether the future storyline changed or not, it could no longer affect his plans.
"Still… I should keep an eye on him. When I get the chance, I'll analyze the Nika Devil Fruit…"
Muttering softly, Roy quickly shifted his attention elsewhere.
To the pile of documents in front of him.
Every single file bore the insignia of the World Government and the label "Confidential," indicating an extremely high level of secrecy. As Fal had said, these documents were all requested by Roy from the World Government.
Their contents included recent attacks on World Government-affiliated institutions, as well as data on nearly all major pirates over the past several decades. According to Roy's official reasoning, this was to "understand the evils of the seas in advance, so as to be prepared to confront them in the future."
But in reality, that wasn't his true intention. Most of these documents were merely for show, to mislead others.
What he truly needed were just two files among them.
"Found it."
After flipping through them, he quickly located his first target.
[Sea Circle Calendar Year 1514, Western Sky Peak Incident File]
Roy immediately opened it.
And sure enough, he instantly spotted a figure with a drum on his back and unusually long earlobes.
"Enel…"
Roy muttered inwardly as he read the log below:
[Year 1514: Skypiean Enel attacked Western Sky Peak. The Sky Guard Commander, the "Sky General," activated the site's ultimate defense mechanism, the "Sky Dome," constructed from Seastone, and successfully captured him.]
[Casualties: 514 dead, 851 severely injured among the guards.]
[Interrogation Record, Enel discovered a Devil Fruit in an ancient ruin in his homeland, Birka. After consuming it, he destroyed Birka and traveled to the "God's Domain" of Skypiea, only to find it abandoned. He then followed sky routes and eventually arrived at Western Sky Peak, where the above incident occurred.]
[After interrogation, a special envoy from Mary Geoise escorted Enel to the Celestial Dragon City. With approval from the Gorosei, Enel was granted amnesty and joined .]
"…."
Clearly, the general content matched what Roy had previously learned from the "White-Winged Knight" Hasmod.
But the problem was that large portions of the information had been erased.
That made things very interesting. After all, Roy's access level was inherited from an Admiral-tier authority under Zephyr. In theory, he should have clearance to view most of the World Government's secrets.
"The unnamed envoy… is most likely a high-ranking Celestial Dragon. Only matters involving them would be inaccessible even to Admirals."
"And also…"
Roy's thoughts continued as he looked at the final section.
"Enel wasn't executed or imprisoned… he was pardoned?"
A man who attacked the Sky Guard and caused such heavy casualties was actually granted amnesty. Even knowing how the World Government operated, Roy still found it absurd.
And without a doubt, there had to be a reason for such a pardon. As for what that reason was, Roy felt he had a rough guess. Because if one looked closely, there was something in the file that had never been mentioned at all.
That was,
"Hasmod mentioned that when Enel attacked Western Sky Peak, he carried an ancient chest… that thing might be related to the Ark 'Maxim'."
So Roy was almost certain that Enel's pardon was tied to that.
Otherwise, he couldn't think of any other explanation.
And,
[Granted amnesty and joined ]
"Joined? Some kind of organization?"
Looking at the redacted words, Roy Amos frowned deeply.
As he had already concluded, anything he couldn't access was almost certainly related to the Celestial Dragons.
"Could it be…"
A guess began to form in his mind.
As far as he knew, there weren't many organizations connected to the Celestial Dragons, and among them, only one would accept someone like Enel, who wasn't a Celestial Dragon.
"If that's really the case… then getting the Goro Goro no Mi won't be easy."
Murmuring to himself, Roy shook his head and temporarily set Enel's file aside.
Then, he began searching for the second document he needed.
And then,
"…."
Roy fell silent.
Because among the pile of documents in front of him, almost everything he had requested was there, including files on many legendary pirates currently sailing the seas.
But there was one name he searched for over and over again, yet couldn't find at all.
That name was Rocks D. Xebec.
"What's going on?" Roy frowned.
Even though that era had long passed, Rocks' name still carried immense weight across the seas. Veteran Marines, seasoned pirates, or anyone well-informed would definitely have heard of him.
Logically speaking, even if only as a formality, the World Government should still have some record of Rocks.
Of course, Roy had already guessed that parts of Rocks' history would be altered or hidden, especially the events of the God Valley Incident.
In fact, he had already discreetly asked Vice Admiral Biros about it earlier.
Although the old Vice Admiral had been evasive, he hadn't completely concealed everything. From the fragments he revealed, Roy concluded that Rocks had likely met the same fate as in the original story, his life ending at God Valley.
At the very least, Vice Admiral Biros had never heard of Rocks appearing or being active after that incident.
"With that guy's personality, if he had survived, the seas would've been thrown into complete chaos."
Biros had remarked back then.
So Roy's original reasoning had been simple.
Since Rocks ultimately died at God Valley, then the message he left in Skypiea must have been from before that time, there was no reason for the World Government to erase records from that far back.
But reality was right in front of him.
Every single record about Rocks had been completely erased.
"Is the World Government really that afraid of him?"
Roy frowned and put the files down.
He knew that trying to uncover information through official records would now be extremely difficult.
But that didn't mean he would give up.
"If I can't find it in the records, then I'll start with people who might know."
He murmured to himself.
Coincidentally, after his discovery in Skypiea, one of his clones had already set off.
And now,
"It should have arrived by now."
Sabaody Archipelago.
This archipelago, formed from the roots of the world's largest Yarukiman Mangrove, was one of the most unique places in the entire sea.
It was the convergence point for pirates traveling along the "Paradise" route, the gateway to the New World.
It was also one of the closest locations to Marine Headquarters and the Red Line.
Justice and evil, pirates and Marines, law and lawlessness, everything intersected here.
At this moment, on Grove 13 of the archipelago,
A bar called Shakky's Rip-off Bar stood quietly.
"Hey hey! Boss lady, another drink! And… you really won't drink with me, mmph!"
There was only one table of customers in the bar.
At the table, a heavily tattooed, fierce-looking burly man had been flirting shamelessly with the bar's owner, only to have his mouth immediately covered by his companion.
"Oh my, I'm really sorry~ Even though my man isn't around lately, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to drink with someone else."
Behind the counter stood a sharp-looking woman with short black hair, holding a lady's cigarette between her fingers as she spoke with a smile.
Though she was clearly no longer young, traces of her former beauty were still visible.
"Hehe… Boss Shakky, please don't mind him, he's new here…"
The burly man's companion said apologetically with an awkward grin.
Shakky smiled faintly and exhaled a puff of smoke.
"I'm not unreasonable. Just pay a little extra for the drinks later."
"Naturally, naturally, no problem!"
The burly man's companion nodded hurriedly. "Double! We'll pay double!"
Shakky nodded, then turned around. "Another drink, right…"
She stopped midway through her sentence.
Then,
"...Haa."
She took a drag from her cigarette and said softly, "Customers, please leave."
"Huh?"
The companion froze, not quite processing it.
Shakky looked at them. "I said… forget the bill. Leave the bar. Immediately."
"Y-Yes!"
The companion quickly grabbed the burly man along with the others and rushed out of the bar.
Only after running far away, panting, did they finally let go of him.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!"
The burly man, who had been restrained the whole time, was clearly unhappy.
"What are you scared of? She's just a woman, "
"Idiot!"
Before he could finish, his companion knocked him to the ground with a punch.
"What do you know?" he said coldly. "Do you even know where this is? Around Grove 13 is a lawless zone!"
In the Sabaody Archipelago, Groves 1 through 29 were lawless areas.
Countless criminals, pirates, and bounty hunters operated there. There were human auction houses, arms markets, it was an extremely dangerous place.
But,
"Even in a place like this, that bar has been open for many years, do you understand what that means?"
He glared at the burly man in frustration.
"Let me tell you, two years ago, one of the Supernovas, a 120 million Beli pirate, 'Glutton' Hughes Kara, was taken down instantly in that bar."
He pointed at his own eyes.
"I saw it with my own eyes!"
Even as he spoke, he couldn't help but glance nervously back at the bar.
And what he saw made his expression change.
Outside the bar, a sign reading "Closed" had already been hung up.
And in the reflection on the window,
there seemed to be light flickering.
Meanwhile, inside the bar,
"...Haa. What a rare guest."
Shakky stubbed out her cigarette firmly in the ashtray.
"Want a drink?"
Her gaze fell upon the figure stepping out of the light before her.
Countless shimmering particles gathered, forming a body, and revealing a distinctive rooster-shaped mask atop his head.
"No, I'll pass. I've heard your drinks are pretty expensive."
He replied casually. "Also… is it really okay to just kick your customers out like that?"
"I'll lose some income, but it can't be helped."
Shakky smiled faintly.
"After all, we're retired now. We'd rather not attract the attention of the World Government. If they find out you came here, trouble is inevitable, wouldn't you agree?"
At this point, her tone turned serious.
"But since you're not drinking, let's get straight to the point."
Her words carried weight because they involved a name that had shaken the entire sea.
The one who had seized the Heavenly Tribute just months ago, and announced the existence of the "Twelve Zodiac," stirring the seas into turmoil,
One of its first members.
"The Twelve Zodiac, Youji (Rooster)."
(End of Chapter)
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