The secret room was not large. At the far end stood a wall formed from the roots of the massive tree itself, with the Kozuki Clan crest carved into the surface. Beneath the emblem rested a crimson Poneglyph.
This was the true purpose of their journey, a Road Poneglyph.
"It's exactly like Captain said. Just like the one in Wano, this is a red Road Poneglyph."
Robin slowly approached the stone tablet and gently placed her hand against its surface.
Had she spent all these years pursuing the Poneglyphs because she truly wanted to uncover the Void Century, or was she simply carrying on the dreams of her mother and Dr. Clover?
Perhaps even Robin herself no longer knew the answer.
An obsession that lasted long enough eventually became part of a person's life.
After all, this was the path she had chosen long ago.
Pini, Youki, and the others had little interest in the so called final island or the legendary treasure. Every day, they focused only on becoming stronger than one another, hoping to awaken their Devil Fruit powers before everyone else and finally catch up to Sali.
On the entire Dawn Ship, Nami and Carina were probably the only two who genuinely cared about Laugh Tale.
Carina's interest was simple, she wanted treasure.
Whether the legendary fortune would actually end up in her hands did not matter. As long as she could grab a portion of it, she would already be satisfied.
It was the same every time they returned to Cathay Village. Nami and Carina were always the happiest whenever treasure was involved.
The shine of gold was simply irresistible.
Nami, however, had another reason for caring about Laugh Tale.
She wanted to complete a map of the entire world.
And without the location of Laugh Tale, her world map would never truly be complete.
A few moments later, Robin finished deciphering the Road Poneglyph. She turned toward the group gathered nearby, the boys smoking together in the corner while the girls waited beside her.
"It contains the coordinates of another island. The information matches the Road Poneglyph from Wano. We need all four Road Poneglyphs to locate the point where the four coordinates intersect. That location is the final island, Laugh Tale."
"Then we're already halfway there," Saff said softly with an encouraging smile.
"Good enough. Since we've recorded it, let's leave."
Ash crushed the cigarette in his fingers and walked toward the exit first.
"The cats and dogs outside have been waiting long enough."
The others burst into laughter. Each of them cleaned up the traces of their cigarettes before following behind him.
"Wait a second, where the hell is my lighter again?!"
Kirk suddenly froze and stared at his empty hand.
"Brother Kirk, you know Grandpa doesn't let me smoke yet. I mostly survive on secondhand smoke," Tsuki replied with an innocent grin.
"Kirk, you know me too. I always light mine first, so there's no way I'd still be carrying your lighter," Youki said seriously.
"Kirk, I don't need lighters."
Pini casually snapped his fingers, sparks crackling between them.
"Kirk, you know I never borrow things," Ash added without even turning around.
"Kirk, you know I..." Fidel began.
"I know you too damn well."
Kirk immediately cut him off and grabbed him by the collar, searching his pockets without hesitation. Sure enough, the missing lighter was inside.
Seeing that, Pini and Youki silently shoved their own hands into their pockets protectively.
Laughing and joking, the group walked out of the secret room.
As expected, the ambush came instantly.
The towering Inuarashi and the massive Nekomamushi attacked from both sides at the same time. One swung a longsword while the other thrust forward with a trident.
"Oh? Both the Guardians of Day and Night together, and you're even resorting to sneak attacks?"
To Ash, their attacks looked painfully slow.
He casually sidestepped both strikes while mocking them at the same time.
But Inuarashi and Nekomamushi had no mood for jokes.
Zou had never welcomed outsiders.
The only reason they tolerated powerful visitors was because of the oath the Mink Tribe had protected for generations. Their duty was to await the Kozuki Clan's return and guard the Road Poneglyph hidden within the Whale Forest.
Now that Ash and the others had entered the secret room, the tribe's greatest secret had already been exposed.
There was no room left for compromise.
No matter what, they had to stop these intruders.
Unfortunately for them, they had completely misjudged the strength of Ash's crew.
Even if they entered their Sulong forms right now, the two rulers together still would not be enough to defeat either Pini or Youki alone.
After the failed sneak attack, the two charged again.
But Ash suddenly pulled out a ball of yarn and a giant sea beast bone from his storage ring, tossing them in opposite directions.
The moment they saw the items, both Inuarashi and Nekomamushi froze.
Their eyes lit up instantly.
The two dropped their weapons and lunged toward their favorite objects without hesitation.
At that exact moment, the rest of the crew emerged from the secret room. Seeing the rulers of Zou completely distracted, everyone burst into laughter.
The sound immediately snapped the cat and dog back to reality.
Embarrassed and furious, they quickly grabbed their weapons again and charged once more.
"What's wrong with these two?" Pini asked curiously.
"They're both retainers of Kozuki Oden," Ash explained casually. "Members of the Nine Red Scabbards."
"They also sailed with Whitebeard and later joined Roger's crew alongside Oden."
"So they're pirates too," Pini concluded.
"Exactly."
Tsuki noticed that Ash and the others had no intention of fighting seriously, so he smiled and snapped his fingers.
The grass beneath Inuarashi and Nekomamushi suddenly grew wildly.
In an instant, thick vines and roots wrapped tightly around both rulers, locking them in place before they could react.
The vegetation continued spreading as countless branches emerged from the Whale Forest itself, binding them layer after layer.
Seeing this, Ash immediately turned toward Tsuki.
"You really shouldn't use this move so casually."
"Brother Ash, what should we do with them?" Tsuki asked.
Ash grinned and floated into the air.
"Handle it however you want."
"Got it."
With their mission complete, the crew descended directly from the edge of Zunesha's massive ear where the Whale Forest rested.
Not long afterward, Tsuki caught up after staying behind to deal with the aftermath.
The group returned to the Dawn Ship while Tsuki used the Voice of All Things to bid farewell to Zunesha.
At that moment, the giant elephant slowly opened its eyes.
It glanced toward Tsuki, then lowered its trunk into the sea and sucked up an enormous amount of water before spraying it over its body like a massive fountain.
After washing itself thoroughly, Zunesha calmly continued walking into the distance.
Back aboard the Dawn Ship, Youki raised an eyebrow.
"What was that supposed to mean? We're leaving and it suddenly decides to take a bath?"
Ash looked at him speechlessly.
"You should just go shower and sleep. That elephant has spent thousands of years walking through seawater, storms, and mud. It deserves a bath."
"The old guy is pretty particular too. It washes itself every morning and evening. Today it probably delayed it because we climbed onto its back, and it didn't want to soak us."
Pini laughed loudly.
"That's one classy elephant."