By the time Roger snapped out of it, everyone was already discussing where they'd go to enjoy themselves after disbanding.
"As the center of the world's economy, culture, and even politics, Mary Geoise has specialties from every sea. It warmly welcomes wealthy newcomers with strong spending power to settle there," Valthior said with a serious expression. "Each of you take 200 kilograms of gold—I'll invite you all to live in Mary Geoise long-term."
"Two hundred kilograms? That's nowhere near enough! That's not even five billion Berries. How long would that last in Mary Geoise?" Rayleigh said boldly. "Listen to me—I'm the vice-captain. We'll go into the forest later and build a few more ships. One ship per person!"
"One ship per person? Anyone hearing that would think the Roger Pirates can't build ships," Gaban scoffed. "Listen to me—ten ships per person!"
At that moment, Roger suddenly slapped his thigh and wailed, "I have never regretted not inviting Shiki to join the Roger Pirates as much as I do right now!!!"
The moment he said that, everyone fell silent.
Yeah… if Shiki had been a trustworthy companion, today would've been the most insane treasure-haul in pirate history.
With the power of his Float-Float Fruit, they could've just carried off the entire City of Gold!
"Alright, alright, that's enough daydreaming," Valthior clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "You're not seriously thinking of disbanding, are you?"
Everyone laughed.
The wealth here was indeed shocking, enough to make them lose composure for a moment—but not enough to actually make them break up.
It was just them joking around for fun.
"As pirates, seeing this much treasure and not being able to take it all… it's painful," Rayleigh smacked his lips. "When we leave, we're definitely taking as much as we can."
No one objected, and they soon continued toward the Poneglyph.
As he walked through the City of Gold, Valthior stroked his chin, thinking.
After uncovering the Void Century, the next step would be figuring out how to overthrow Imu. Fighting alone would never work—most likely, he'd still need to rely on the Roger Pirates.
Honestly, disbanding the crew while everyone was still in their prime was a complete waste.
What did they mean, "we came too early"?
Coming early was a good thing—it meant more time to prepare.
How could they just disband like that?
At the same time, the Roger Pirates alone wouldn't be enough. Valthior hadn't fully worked out the plan yet, but he would definitely need to build a force capable of opposing the World Government.
And unlike others, Valthior carried the bloodline of the Twenty Kings—he had inherent legitimacy in this world.
Once the truth was uncovered, and if he could seize control of public opinion, he could brand Imu as a traitor who betrayed the Twenty Kings and usurped power!
Then, as their descendant, he could raise a banner, gather heroes, and go straight to war with Imu!
At that point, it'd be a full-on brawl in Mary Geoise—whoever wins would be the rightful authority!
To achieve all that, massive funding would be essential. Without money, who would risk their lives for him?
The immense wealth of the City of Gold—Shandora—would be best used as a reserve fund to build a force against the World Government.
"What are you thinking about, Valthior?" Roger, walking ahead, glanced back and asked when he noticed Valthior zoning out.
"Thinking about how to usurp your position as captain," Valthior grinned.
"Hahaha! You really don't hide it at all," Roger laughed, completely unbothered.
"Enough nonsense," Rayleigh waved his hand after reaching the Poneglyph and blasting away the dust. "Come on, translate it—what does it say?"
Soon, Valthior stood before the Poneglyph and began reading.
Rayleigh, already experienced, quickly took out paper and pen to record the translation.
Meanwhile, Gaban and Roger prepared tools to make a rubbing of the Poneglyph.
"In this world, there exist countless intelligent races with extraordinary talents—Giants, Lunarians, the Three-Eyed Tribe, the Tontatta, and more. I gathered companions from these races and formed deep friendships with them. But among them, the one that left the deepest impression on me was the Mermaid Tribe from the deep sea.
They live in the depths of the ocean, in a place called Fish-Man Island. It possesses a unique culture and traditions entirely different from those of the surface world. It is the merfolk and fish-men together who built this beautiful underwater civilization.
The Neptune Family has long been the royal lineage of this civilization, passed down through generations. They hold an extremely high status among merfolk and fish-men and are deeply respected.
I had the fortune to meet the Mermaid Princess of this generation. She was the most beautiful princess I had ever seen. She told me that her people of the deep sea all long for life on the surface.
So she has a dream—that one day, everyone can live under the same sunlight, with all races coexisting happily and harmoniously.
I was deeply moved by her dream and promised to help her achieve it.
She said she would wait for that day. Fish-Man Island would wait as well. They would build a great ship, carrying all their hopes, and sail to the surface.
Only much later did I learn why the Neptune Family has been revered as kings of Fish-Man Island for generations.
It turns out that within their bloodline lies a power capable of shaking the entire ocean—a power that could destroy the world!
Many years ago, I once 'heard' the Sea Kings speaking of their king, though at the time I did not understand what it meant.
It was only after witnessing the Mermaid Princess's power that I realized—she possesses the innate authority to command all Sea Kings in the world.
We call it... the Ancient Weapon, Poseidon!"
"Poseidon… one of the three Ancient Weapons, huh? Definitely something extraordinary. Back when he called Poseidon his 'dear friend,' I already felt something was off," Roger said, clicking his tongue after hearing the translation.
"If the sequence is correct," Rayleigh put away his pen and said softly, "then back then, in order to oppose Uranus—controlled by that 'Davy'—they created Pluton. Later, for various reasons, they had no choice but to awaken Poseidon. These three 'weapons' all possess the power to influence top-tier wars—and even destroy the world."
"In the end, Uranus disappeared—most likely in Imu's hands, though its core was probably damaged, leaving it without sufficient energy. Pluton was supposed to be destroyed, but Joy Boy chose to hide it in Wano. As for Poseidon—the current one was killed, but that power will continue to pass down through the Neptune royal bloodline…"
"When the Sea King awakens, the sun shall cast its light. When the blazing sun shines upon the seal, laughter will become the key, unlocking the seal between me and him. That will be the moment the world raises the flag of dawn…" Valthior murmured softly.
Those were the contents of Princess Lily's letter.
"Looks like we need to make a trip to Fish-Man Island as soon as possible," Roger said thoughtfully.
In the original timeline, Roger's crew hadn't paid much attention to Fish-Man Island until they reached Laugh Tale and realized they had arrived too early.
But now, with Valthior's interference, they had obtained Queen Lily's letter in Alabasta, giving them a very different understanding.
"If I remember correctly, the king of Fish-Man Island is an old man, right? Nearly eighty?" Rayleigh suddenly asked. "At that age… can he still have a daughter?"
"Who knows?" Gaban said seriously. "By the way, are merfolk and humans even the same reproductively? Maybe they lay eggs? If so, then it's possible, right?"
From the look on his face, Valthior could already tell—once they got to Fish-Man Island, Gaban was definitely going to research this "great question of life."
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