Pairs of scarlet goggles stared fixedly at Robin. Under the undisguised cold gazes surrounding her, she stepped into the center of the Imperial Army's garrison perimeter under the escort of a purple-armored Black Marlin officer.
"You're a scholar? So young?"
A trace of surprise flickered between her brows as Arisa looked in astonishment at the black-haired beauty who had been brought before her.
Robin was tall and slender, her skin fair. Her long black hair was slicked back from her bangs, and a pair of sunglasses rested on her forehead. She wore a deep, glossy blue vest over a pink-orange floral long skirt.
She looked every bit the picture of a summer beach beauty—completely at odds with the image of a learned scholar that Arisa had in mind.
Forgive poor Arisa. Having received Selene's deep and meticulous affection, every scholar and private tutor she had encountered amid her packed schedule had been serious, rigid, middle-aged or elderly figures.
So a cognitive bias was inevitable.
The once free-spirited girl who had loathed tedious formalities—Selene herself—had eventually become just like her adoptive parents. She now accepted that force-fed, "it's for your own good" style of education—and had doubled it when applying it to Arisa.
Want a young and beautiful female teacher? Impossible!
Setting aside the venerable scholars from the Imperial Academy of Culture who taught Arisa her foundational subjects, the lineup for her other courses was equally formidable.
The Chief Chamberlain taught her musical instruments and internal affairs. Budo and Liver, among other frontline military commanders, instructed her in military administration. Dr. Stylish taught natural sciences. Sebas served as the comprehensive academic examiner and etiquette instructor...
In short, whether Arisa could keep up or not, Selene had arranged an all-star teaching roster for her.
This, as they say, is how the dragon slayer eventually becomes the dragon.
"Ah... if Your Highness is looking for an archaeologist, then I truly am the last one left on the seas."
Arisa's confusion caught Robin off guard. She nodded instinctively, speaking in a calm and gentle tone.
Ever since her homeland—the sacred land of archaeology, Ohara—and the Tree of Knowledge had been destroyed by the Navy's Buster Call, she had been branded the "Devil Child," becoming the youngest wanted criminal in history. Who in the world did not know she was a descendant of archaeologists?
Perhaps the World Government had left contingencies and secretly retained some scholars capable of reading the ancient script. But even the Holy Land Mary Geoise had been obliterated by orbital bombardment. Those people were likely gone as well.
For all she knew, she truly might be the only person left on the seas who could read the ancient language.
"Fine then. What's your name? Decode the text on this red square."
As she spoke, Arisa tilted her head slightly. Instantly, two Astartes warriors pushed forward a massive stone tablet.
Gray-blue throughout and square in shape, its deep stone surface was covered in mossy green growth. The walls were rough to the touch, occasionally marked with small, indecipherable patterns.
"It really is a Poneglyph..." Robin murmured.
"Your Highness, my name is Robin. If I'm not mistaken, this should be a Poneglyph. I can only understand it roughly. Due to the World Government's prohibition, much knowledge has been lost."
Robin placed her hand against the stone wall engraved with ancient script. She could feel faint yet rhythmic vibrations.
Vaguely, she sensed waves of genuine and pure emotion rising and falling without end. What flowed through it was hope, passion, promises...
Yet after those sincere promises, everything abruptly stopped. Regret seeped through the stone. What she ultimately felt was a bone-deep, inexpressible apology.
"Joy Boy... the 'Void Century'... is this his repentance...?"
Just as Robin closed her eyes to empathize with the lingering emotions, Arisa's utterly mood-killing and impatient voice rang out.
"What does this stone tablet say?"
"Is there any precious treasure? We can take it along as a gift for the Queen."
"Haa..."
Letting out a soft breath, Robin opened her eyes and steadied herself, forcing down her sentimentality. Her expression grew complicated.
"Your Highness, unfortunately, this Poneglyph does not record any information about treasure. On the contrary, it contains only a letter of apology from someone named Joy Boy..."
"Tch. A letter of apology? How boring."
Arisa visibly wilted. The stray tuft of hair atop her head drooped limply to one side, her disappointment completely undisguised.
Waving her hand, she had no interest in hearing more.
"Men, make preparations. Load the spoils onto the ships. Legion Commander Sanguinius has just sent word—the New World encirclement campaign is basically over. The entire army is to prepare to return to the capital."
"By your command!"
With Arisa's order, the Imperial Army formations standing neatly nearby sprang into action at once.
Some carried treasure. The first batch of beautiful mermaids selected from among the captives were escorted in groups onto transport craft...
Some Astartes companies, lacking decent spoils of their own, even set their sights on the 'land and mountains' of Fish-Man Island—formed from coral, shells, and conches. Large sections were cut away and transported onto the decks of battleships.
It was the very image of bandits sweeping through.
Watching her subordinates busy themselves, Arisa finally shifted her gaze back to Robin and to Neptune and Jinbe, who were still kneeling.
"Continue from what you were saying. Who is this Joy Boy? And why does this Poneglyph exist in the undersea forest? Speak. I'm curious," Arisa emphasized.
The first question was directed at Robin. The latter was aimed at Neptune and Jinbe, leaders of the merfolk and fish-men.
"Joy Boy lived eight hundred years ago, during the 'Void Century.' He once made a promise with the mermaid princess known as Poseidon..."
"But it seems he broke that promise. This stone tablet is a letter of apology. I'm not entirely certain. The information recorded is too sparse. This is only a preliminary inference..."
As she explained, Robin's gaze shifted toward Neptune, who knelt with his tail curled beneath him.
"As for the specifics... I imagine King Neptune would know. As the ruler of the Ryugu Kingdom, whose legacy spans many years, Fish-Man Island should retain some of the information the World Government tried so hard to erase."
Robin was unfamiliar with Fish-Man Island. She had not experienced fighting side by side with Luffy and his crew as in the original timeline. Diverting trouble onto others came quite naturally to her—better a fellow sufferer than oneself.
"..."
With the 'misfortune' shifted onto him, Neptune's bearded, rugged face alternated between green and white. But soon, he resigned himself.
"Your Highness, that place is called the Sea Forest. The Poneglyph was left there by Joy Boy. The massive unfinished ship in Fish-Man District—Noah—is the promise between him and our ancestors."
After a pause, Neptune continued.
"Joy Boy's promise to our ancestors was to allow the merfolk and fish-men to live beneath true sunlight. Humans, merfolk, the long-arm tribe, the long-leg tribe, giants, dwarves... all races living together equally under the sun."
"According to legend, there is a prophecy that one day, Joy Boy will appear again."
"Pfft—!"
At this, Liver—who had been lounging at the side as a composed spectator—could no longer hold it in and burst out laughing.
"That naive?"
Gesturing for the adjutant beside him to refill his teacup, Liver took a light sip and shook his head.
"You actually believe that? Seriously?"
He pointed at the coral ground beneath his feet and gave a soft cough.
"Let me raise a very practical issue. The surface area of this planet is, without question, far more ocean than land."
"I don't know what other alien races you're referring to, but you merfolk and fish-men can live on the seabed. Ordinary humans cannot do that."
"That Joy Boy fellow wanted you sea-dwelling races to move onto land and compete for living space? Generous with what belongs to others. There's no need to think deeply about it—distribution would be unbalanced. It simply couldn't work."
"Your world has no capacity for outward expansion. The known territory is limited. Humans already don't have enough land to divide among themselves, and he wanted other races to carve up human territory as well? No wonder he couldn't fulfill his promise. He was making an enemy of all humanity."
Indeed, some human nobles controlled vast fiefdoms. On the surface, allocating some land to merfolk and fish-men might seem feasible. But the same question remained—why should they?
No farmer complains about having too much land. No capitalist complains about having too much money. No noble complains that his domain is too large.
The world is not heaven. Humans are not angels. Heroes and demons are minorities. The majority are merely ordinary people.
One cannot deny that true altruists exist. But most humans do not possess that level of self-sacrifice. They may not wish to harm others, yet neither do they wish their own interests infringed upon.
Even among the same race, true harmony is impossible. When one side grows strong, it inevitably bullies the weaker—whether in schoolyards or in society at large. Without exception, it happens.
As he spoke, Liver looked toward Arisa, who had fallen into thought.
"The distribution of interests—that is the core issue."
"Between races, between factions, between nations—even between individuals. If that problem is not resolved, then no matter how close the relationship once was, time will tear it apart."
Clearly, these words were not meant for Neptune or Jinbe. They were a lesson for Arisa.
Liver had not forgotten one of his duties—to teach Arisa military strategy and governance.
"Mm... the reasoning makes sense. You're not wrong." After careful thought, Arisa interlocked her fingers and cracked them lightly. "Um, General Liver..."
"Lady Arisa, please speak."
"Then why does it seem like Her Majesty never really bothered with Joy Boy's kind of problems? And none of the ministers below her seem to object either."
"Er..."
Liver choked for a moment.
How could that possibly be the same?
In this day and age, let alone the civil ministers of the Empire—even he and Budo would not dare openly oppose Selene's orders face-to-face.
At most, if they had reservations, they would offer gentle counsel in accordance with her intentions.
"Ahem... Her Majesty is another matter. That's a gap in absolute strength. There's no comparison."
"Oh." Arisa shook her head and nodded.
Joy Boy... who could he be? Would he appear soon—or in the future?
Have the Blood Angels stationed at the orbital fortress order the Imperial forces to monitor everything on this planet in real time. If Joy Boy dares show his face—kill him.
She had no intention of listening further to stories about Joy Boy. Signaling to the red-eyed Shirahoshi family nearby, she indicated they were preparing to depart.
Then her gaze shifted.
"Jinbe, was it? For the fish-men—implement the Decimation personally. You understand what I mean."
"Starting now. Complete it within two days. Afterward, they will be taken from this world to a newly established Forge World, where they will repay their offense to the Empire with a lifetime of labor."
"...As... you command!"
Pressing his head deeply into the coral ground, Jinbe's body trembled. His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging along his neck. Forcing back the weakness and shuddering in his limbs, he gritted his teeth and answered.
Having finished her instructions, Arisa had no intention of lingering. She turned and left at once.
"..."
After serving briefly as Arisa's "translator," Robin had remained silent throughout. Soon, she too was escorted away.
Reentering the landing craft, feeling the vibration as the engines roared to life, Robin came to a realization.
Power is the foundation of everything. Without power, one is nothing. The most beautiful wishes are merely fish on a chopping block—castles in the air that collapse at a touch.
With the arrival of an Empire even stronger than the original Twenty Kings who founded the World Government, Joy Boy's ideal would likely never be realized.
...
The landing craft pierced through the bubble membrane of Fish-Man Island, ascended ten thousand meters of seawater, then soared beyond ten thousand meters of cloud. After an unknown span of time—
Clang!
Robin followed the Astartes warriors down from the craft. Light flooded her eyes once more—but not the vibrant hues of the Sabaody Archipelago. Instead, it was a cold, monotonous palette.
On the vast and empty deck of a colossal battleship, countless Astartes and Imperial Auxilia stood in orderly ranks. The overly bright illumination lamps made her eyes ache.
But soon, a streak of blue drew her attention.
Standing before an arched viewport dozens of meters tall, Robin gazed into the boundless void. There hung a beautiful water-blue planet. A long crimson continent wrapped around it like a ribbon. Countless tiny black specks dotted its surface.
"How breathtaking... and beautiful. So this is what the Imperial forces call our world? That crimson continent—it must be the Red Line."
At that moment—
"Yo, Nico Robin. Long time no see."
That familiar voice—like a shadow from her childhood—needed no second glance.
"Aokiji?! Why are you here?"
Stepping out from the passageway across the deck, hands in his pockets, wearing a white V-neck long-sleeved shirt, black trousers, a dark green coat draped over his shoulders, a brown backpack on his back, black boots, and round-framed sunglasses, Kuzan greeted her with an easy smile.
"Ahh, why can't I be here? Oh, even though I resigned from my post as Admiral, being summoned back by both the old and new Fleet Admirals at the same time left me with little choice. Before I knew it, I was brought here."
Kuzan casually stopped about five steps away from Robin.
"More importantly, why are you here? Don't tell me—you're also heading to the Imperial Capital?"
"Yes." Robin replied with a single, concise nod.