Olvia carefully transcribed the ancient writing and illustrations left on the ruin walls.
There were many different scripts in this world — some even older than the text of the Great Kingdom.
The technological level of ancient civilizations had varied wildly.
The most advanced had apparently pursued immortality and had very nearly achieved it, while the least advanced were barely distinguishable from savages.
Olvia, however, had little interest in ancient technology. Her sole concern was the history of the Void Century.
What exactly had happened during those one hundred years that the World Government had erased?
The truth of history tugged at the curiosity of scholars like a cat batting at a dangling thread.
It drove them to continue their research in secret, even knowing full well that it was strictly forbidden.
For Olvia, though, it wasn't just about satisfying her own curiosity. She was also trying to fulfill her late husband's dying wish.
The World Government, however, seemed to be catching on.
Word from Ohara was that they had been issued warnings in recent years. But neither Olvia nor Professor Clover nor any of the others could bring themselves to simply abandon their work.
"Poneglyphs are so hard to find..."
If she could make it to the New World, she might find new leads.
But an expedition team of their caliber had no hope of navigating those waters. Besides, the political landscape of the New World had grown far more complicated than ever.
At this rate, who knew how long it would take to complete this "great undertaking" and return home.
"Robin is six years old this year. I've been a terrible mother." Olvia sighed, but her hands never stopped moving.
At that moment, the expedition captain walked over to her.
"Olvia."
"Captain?"
Olvia snapped out of her thoughts and turned to face the man she had spent a considerable amount of time working alongside.
"There's quite a lot of useful information recorded on these walls. If we continue west from this island, there should be another ancient ruin..."
"Wait, Olvia..."
The captain cut her off.
"Let that island be. Leave it alone."
"Leave it? What do you mean?" Olvia asked.
"You know how it is. The Pirate King is dead, and ever since that execution, the number of pirates on the seas has exploded."
"The Grand Line is more dangerous now than it's ever been."
The captain paused.
"I'm calling it quits after this trip. We've made good money these past few years, thanks to you."
He hesitated for a moment, then pulled Olvia aside into a corner, lowering his voice.
"Listen, Olvia. I don't know exactly what you're researching, but I'd strongly advise you not to do anything dangerous."
It seemed that after years of working together, he had formed some guesses about the nature of Olvia's work.
Even if his guesses weren't perfectly accurate, they were close enough in spirit.
He patted her shoulder one more time. "Take care of yourself, all right?"
"Thank you."
Olvia fell silent for a moment before quietly uttering those two words.
Meanwhile, on a ship somewhere on the Grand Line...
"Buggy, are you sure about this?"
Phlegyas stared at the figure standing with one foot planted on the ship's bow, arms crossed, riding the wind and waves, and couldn't help but feel a wave of exasperation.
They had only been at sea for half a month, and already Buggy had attacked one of Big Mom's small islands — and snapped her flagpole in half to boot.
"What's the big deal?"
Buggy hadn't even opened his mouth before Cat Viper jumped in.
"Didn't you see the way those people on that island were acting? They thought they could push us around just because that fat hag was backing them up."
"We went there to spend money, and they tried to rob us!"
"He's right, Phlegyas. We didn't start this."
Enel, rarely one to side against Phlegyas, chimed in.
"That old woman acts like she's the Pirate King or something. We're not scared of her!"
In truth, Enel's confidence wasn't entirely baseless.
Big Mom's crew was massive and powerful, while their little group was a freshly minted rookie crew. The combined bounties of everyone on the ship didn't even add up to two hundred million Berry.
Even if Big Mom was furious, she wouldn't deploy her main forces just to chase them down.
Sending top-tier combatants after small fry like them would be a devastating blow to Totto Land's reputation, no matter how it ended.
So it was entirely possible that Big Mom wouldn't even send family members — she might just dispatch one of her subordinate pirate crews to handle it.
"Regardless, it was still too reckless. Breaking someone's flag is practically a declaration of war..."
Inuarashi still couldn't shake his concern.
"You worry too much, puppy. You know full well what we're capable of."
"As long as the ones who come aren't Big Mom herself or that Katakuri whatever, they're no match for us!" Enel waved his hand dismissively.
He wasn't being arrogant — he genuinely had the strength to back it up.
The six members currently on the ship, with Buggy, Enel, and Phlegyas as their three core fighters, were genuinely formidable.
Even Carrot, Inuarashi, and Kawamatsu weren't far behind.
Buggy and Enel were both fifteen this year. After years of training under Ren, their combat abilities were nothing to sneeze at.
Katakuri might currently be stronger, but only by virtue of being older.
If it were Cracker instead, there was no way he could beat those two working together.
"Heheheh, that old hag — I, the great Buggy, will make her lose face for sure!"
Buggy's body still faced the open sea while his head rotated a full hundred and eighty degrees to look backward.
"Hey, I've got an idea! After we make our round through Paradise and head back, we'll knock that old hag off her throne and build our own power base in the New World."
"Let's make Lord Ren look at us with fresh eyes!"
At those words, the other five on the ship perked right up.
Every last one of them was a devoted follower of Ren.
Phlegyas idolized Jasmine, and Jasmine herself idolized Ren. The idol of your idol is your idol too — so naturally, all of them were thrilled by Buggy's proposal.
Just imagining the day they would return before Ren as great pirates and earn his praise was enough to make their breathing grow heavy.
"Getting promoted to officer, becoming a branch commander — what a feeling, meow!" Cat Viper bounced up with excitement!
"Not bad, let's do it!" Phlegyas pumped her fist. "I'm going to catch up to Lady Jasmine's footsteps!"
"Say, once I make it to a seat, what kind of title do you think would suit me? How about 'Duke'?" Inuarashi was already lost in his own fantasy.
"I hear Shutenmaru is retiring. I'll just casually inherit his position as squad commander." Enel said without a hint of modesty.
Kawamatsu was the more self-effacing type, but even he couldn't help but dream out loud.
"If I could just be selected for the Oniwabanshu, I'd be satisfied."
Buggy, seeing how fired up everyone was, grinned.
His hands flew off and retrieved a wooden barrel, placing it in the center of the group. He then planted one foot on top of it.
"If that's how everyone feels, then let this barrel bear witness to our dreams!"
"From this day forward — it's our era!"
[
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