"Of course I do. I know of the Heart Pirates, and I know you are Trafalgar Law." Vladimir spoke thoughtfully.
"I didn't expect you to have grown so tall already... What year is it currently in the Sea Circle Calendar?"
'Grown so tall already'?
Law looked at him in shock. Did I meet this person when I was a child?
"You don't even know what year it is?"
"Answer me."
There was a natural, commanding majesty in Vladimir's tone. Just two words were enough to shake Law to his core. He felt that if he refused to answer, death would strike him down instantly.
"It is currently the year 1520 of the Sea Circle Calendar."
"1520?!"
Vladimir was stunned. Although he had already guessed as much upon seeing Law, hearing it confirmed still shocked him deeply.
In the blink of an eye... he had traveled nine years into the future.
Before the jump, it had been the year 1511. Yet for him, only a few minutes had passed.
Suddenly, Vladimir felt a wave of weariness and age wash over him.
He sighed, thinking helplessly to himself: I'll have to be more careful next time... I never expected the River of Time to possess such immense power...
He quickly composed himself and asked again, "Where is this place?"
"This is the Grand Line," one of the crew members replied.
"Obviously, I know that," Vladimir said impatiently. "What I am asking is: which sea within the Grand Line is this?"
"Which sea?" The man paused, confused. "I don't know. We only just entered the Grand Line. You must be a veteran, right? Are you one of the great pirates of the Grand Line?"
Hearing this, Vladimir froze again.
Just entered...? Meaning... this is the entrance?!
"This is incredible," Vladimir muttered inwardly, exasperated. "Not only did I travel through time, but I also crossed from one end of the planet to the other in the process?"
He had been near the Sabaody Archipelago before, yet now he was in the waters surrounding Reverse Mountain at the entrance — practically two opposite ends of the world.
Shaking his head, he decided to ignore that problem for the moment and asked: "Who rules the world right now?"
"Rules the world?" Law didn't understand what he meant.
"I mean... how are the Marines doing? Is the World Government still ruling everything?" Vladimir felt a sudden weariness at having to explain everything.
"The World Government is still the strongest force, of course," Law replied gravely, while wondering just who this stranger was.
"However... there are rumors of a Revolutionary Army. They have formed a Revolutionary Liberation Alliance and have gathered more than fifty member nations under their banner. They have become a powerful force capable of standing against the World Government."
Vladimir nodded, feeling slightly dissatisfied with the Revolutionary Army's progress.
Nine years had passed, and they had only managed to win over fifty nations? Far too slow.
"Never mind that," Vladimir said with a shake of his head.
"Who are the current Pirate Emperors? How many are there? And who are the current Seven Warlords of the Sea? What about the Admirals? Has that old man Sengoku retired yet?"
Hearing this, Trafalgar Law was completely dumbfounded.
Who exactly is this guy? He talks about the Four Emperors, the Seven Warlords, and the Admirals as if they are nothing... and he calls the Fleet Admiral 'old man Sengoku'?!
"Just... who are you?"
Vladimir raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk on his face. "Who am I? When I was dominating this entire era... you were still a snot-nosed little kid."
Traveling nine years in an instant left Vladimir feeling somewhat weary.
It wasn't so much that everything had changed, but rather the headache of realizing that nine years had passed and who knew what the state of the world was now.
"Never mind who I am — you don't need to know," Vladimir said. "Just answer my previous questions."
His eyes narrowed, and in an instant, a massive spiritual pressure descended, enveloping the entire sea.
BOOM!!
The ocean surface surged violently, waves crashing high. The weather, which had been clear and cloudless moments ago, suddenly shifted, darkening as if a terrible storm was about to break.
The small pirate ship seemed incredibly fragile in the face of this immense aura — like a tiny leaf drifting in the vast ocean, battered by waves and threatening to capsize and sink at any moment.
The dozen or so members of the Heart Pirates turned pale. Captain Law, being the closest, bore the brunt of the pressure.
Standing before Vladimir, he felt no different from an infant standing before an ancient, terrifying beast.
"Senior... I will answer your questions," Law forced out through gritted teeth. "The Pirate Emperors you speak of... are the Four Emperors who rule over the second half of the Grand Line."
"There are still four of them?" Vladimir asked. He paused, then continued, "Whitebeard, Red-Hair... and who else?"
He had spared the Big Mom Pirates before, but they had suffered heavy losses. It should have been nearly impossible for them to return to the position of Emperor.
And Kaido... he had been smashed into the ocean floor with a single strike.
No matter how incredible his resilience was, it should have been impossible for him to survive and return to the surface.
Though, Vladimir couldn't be entirely sure — after all, Kaido was known as the strongest creature whom no one could kill.
"Aside from Whitebeard and Red-Hair Shanks, the other two are Big Mom and the 'Beast King'," Law replied.
Hearing this, Vladimir was stunned. "That woman Charlotte was actually able to climb back up to the position of Emperor? Impressive... she really is tenacious. But never mind her... who is the Beast King? Is it Kaido?"
"'Beast King' is his title. The captain of the Beast King Pirates is named 'Lane'."
"Interesting. So he was the one who took over Kaido's position..."
Vladimir raised an eyebrow, finding this development intriguing. "And the Marines?"
"As for the Marines, the current Fleet Admiral is Sengoku. The three Admirals are Akainu, Kizaru, and Fujitora."
"Wait..." Vladimir rubbed his forehead. "What about Aokiji?"
"You mean the former Admiral Kuzan?" Law answered uncertainly.
"It is said that Aokiji resigned from the Marines about a year ago due to certain circumstances. It's only a rumor, though. The Marines have sealed off all information regarding the incident, so no one knows exactly why he left."
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