“This stone tablet is a priceless treasure.
It records the true history of the past thousand years.”
Robin gazed admiringly at the enormous Poneglyph, her eyes fixed upon the ancient inscriptions carved into its surface.
Beside her, Nami yawned.
She couldn’t care less about Poneglyphs or ancient history.
As far as she was concerned, it was just a worthless-looking stone.
There was nothing about it that could possibly interest Nami.
Lucas was somewhat interested, but he couldn’t understand a single word written on it.
So he didn’t give it much thought and simply sat cross-legged to the side, recovering his strength.
Although Robin was busy recording the information on the Poneglyph, half of her attention was actually focused on Lucas.
At this moment, his mysterious nature had begun to fascinate her.
He possessed the confidence to the point of wanting to control everything, seemed to know almost everything, possessed tremendous strength…
And he was also a lecher.
Thinking of that, Robin almost burst out laughing and quickly covered her little mouth.
Nami noticed and glanced at her.
“What are you so happy about?
I can’t understand any of this.
Is there some kind of joke written on it?”
“Uh… no.”
“Then why are you laughing?”
“It’s nothing.”
Hearing Robin’s perfunctory answer, Nami shook her head and spat out two words.
“Boring!”
…
By now, the surface had already descended into complete chaos.
The King of Alabasta had discovered Crocodile lying unconscious outside the royal palace and immediately summoned doctors to treat him.
At this point, Crocodile had only just begun putting his plan into motion.
The king had no idea that the man he was trying to save was actually plotting to overthrow his kingdom.
As far as the king knew, Crocodile was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea under the World Government.
He absolutely could not allow a Warlord to die on Alabasta’s soil.
Otherwise, it would be extremely difficult to explain, and the consequences could be disastrous.
As for the other members of Baroque Works, they had no idea that Crocodile was actually their President.
They continued carrying out the plan Crocodile had assigned to them.
Crocodile’s secrecy had to be acknowledged.
In the original story, if Robin hadn’t deliberately allowed Princess Vivi to infiltrate Baroque Works, the true identity of the organization’s leader would have remained a mystery.
…
At last, after finishing her transcription of the information on the Poneglyph, Robin left the Burial Hall with Lucas, completely satisfied.
The chaos continued until dawn.
Apart from Crocodile and Mr.
1, who had been defeated by Lucas, no one knew what had actually happened.
Of course, everything became clear once Crocodile regained consciousness.
Lucas immediately entered the sights of Marine high command, becoming yet another troublesome figure for Sengoku to deal with.
“Damn it!
How did two powerful pirates suddenly emerge from the East Blue one after another?”
Sengoku pressed a hand against his forehead, his face darkening as he pointed angrily at Garp beside him.
“You damn old fool!
Hurry up and bring Ace back to me.
One of them is already enough to give me a headache, and now you’ve given me two!”
Garp was lazily sprawled across the sofa, eating sweets.
He helplessly spread his hands.
“I retired from handling these matters a long time ago.
Do whatever you want.
I’m not getting involved anymore!
I’ve still got to go back and train my grandson, Luffy!”
“Get the hell out of here!”
Sengoku’s face was covered in dark lines as he slammed his palm onto the desk.
“And make sure that grandson of yours doesn’t become someone like Ace.
Otherwise, don’t ever show your face again!”
Garp looked completely unconcerned.
Deep down, however, he secretly made up his mind.
He absolutely had to train Luffy properly.
There was no way he could allow his grandson to become a pirate.
Less than half an hour after Garp left, another report was delivered to Sengoku.
Sengoku picked it up and read it.
His face instantly twisted with fury.
BANG!
He slammed his palm down, smashing the desk in front of him to pieces.
“Damn it!
Who the hell is this Teach?!
How dare he destroy a Marine branch?!”
Sengoku’s roar shook the entire Marine Headquarters.
…
Three months later.
It was now the seventeenth year of the Great Pirate Era, with less than three years remaining before Luffy would set out to sea.
Lucas and the Holy Sword, his ship, had arrived at Mock Town, the town beneath the mysterious Sky Island.
Actually, calling it the town beneath Sky Island wasn’t quite accurate.
After all, the entire world existed beneath the Sky Island.
It would be more accurate to say that they had arrived at one of the gateways to Sky Island—
Mock Town!
“Lucas, are you really sure there’s an island floating above us?”
Nami looked up at the sky in astonishment as Lucas described the existence of Sky Island.
Although she trusted Lucas without question, this was simply too absurd!
An entire island floating above their heads?
Who could possibly believe that?
Robin looked at Lucas with a faint smile.
“You really do seem to know everything.
I’ve heard a little about Sky Island from historical accounts myself.”
“But the fact that you’re so certain it exists, and even know how to get there…”
“You really are a fascinating man.”
“Hey, Robin!
I’m not just some ‘man.’ I’m your captain!”
Lucas frowned and protested.
Robin immediately broke into a soft giggle.
Seeing her adorable expression, Lucas couldn’t resist reaching out to touch her cheek.
Robin easily dodged his hand.
Lucas sighed and looked toward the sky, his thoughts drifting.
It seemed that Sky Island was technically optional.
But for Lucas, it was an important part of his plans.
After leaving Sky Island, he would obtain the blueprints for Pluton.
And building Pluton would require an enormous amount of money.
That was the first reason.
The second was because the sword in Lucas’s possession had told him that there was at least one Kitetsu blade on Sky Island.
He didn’t know whether it was the Nidai Kitetsu or the Sandai Kitetsu.
Nor did he know exactly how many Kitetsu blades were there.
But Lucas still had to go.
The third reason was that he had already gained a slight understanding of Observation Haki.
The priests of Sky Island used an ability known as Mantra, which was actually Observation Haki.
If he could learn it ahead of time, his strength would receive another considerable boost.
As for Armament Haki, he hadn’t even properly entered its first stage—what he understood as the invisible and intangible level.
He could only barely touch its threshold.
After all, he didn’t know the proper method of cultivating Haki.
He had merely gained a tiny bit of insight by observing Smoker.
These three reasons meant that he had to go to Sky Island.
“Hehehe.”
Robin’s beautiful eyes flashed with amusement.
“Since you’ve already decided, then let’s hurry up and act.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t be good if the Marines came after us again.”
After news of Lucas defeating Crocodile had spread, the World Government had finally begun taking him seriously.
His bounty had finally appeared for the first time.
And when it did, it was already an astonishing amount.
120 million Berries!
A pirate’s bounty represented both their strength and the level of threat they posed to the World Government.
Lucas had never directly harmed the Marines, yet his bounty had still reached 120 million Berries.
This demonstrated just how powerful the World Government believed him to be—and how closely they were watching him.
Looking at the two beautiful women beside him, Lucas felt a sense of happiness.
But the next moment, that happiness was overwhelmed by a sense of danger.
His expression gradually became serious.
He looked at Nami tenderly and spoke softly.
“Your strength is a little too weak.
I’m worried about you.”
“I’m afraid that one day I won’t be able to protect you.”
“So, I want to get a Devil Fruit for you.”
Lucas looked at Nami affectionately and gently kissed her cheek.
Then he leaned toward her ear and whispered,
“What kind of Logia Devil Fruit would you like?”
“Ah!”
Nami’s face flushed crimson.
After all, Robin was right beside them, watching with great interest.
Flustered, Nami answered,
“A thing like that isn’t something you can just find whenever you want.
It’s better not to force it…”
“No.”
Lucas’s voice was firm.
“Nami, if there’s a Devil Fruit you want, then even if it’s one of the three Devil Fruits possessed by the Marine Admirals, I’ll get it for you.”
An enormous wave of happiness surged through Nami.
All the jealousy she had felt over Lucas pursuing Robin during the past few months instantly vanished.
“Mm… Whatever you want.”
“All right.”
Lucas answered softly, gently stroking Nami’s hair with an affectionate smile.
Just then, a strange voice drifted over from the distance, instantly shattering the harmonious atmosphere.
“Zehahaha!
Isn’t that Ghost Sword Lucas, the pirate with a bounty of 120 million Berries?”
“What a pleasure to meet you!”
Lucas’s eyes snapped open.
He turned toward the source of the voice, his gaze becoming razor-sharp.
“The future Blackbeard…”
“Teach!”