Chapter 783: The Inheritance of Generations
Since he only had one hand, when Shanks applauded, he was actually slapping his own scabbard to make the sound (look how clever I am), and this sound naturally snapped everyone out of their daze.
Then... then the scene immediately became a chaotic uproar!
"Wh... what the hell!? Those lofty Celestial Dragons, they're not really nobles at all, are they!?"
"Damn it! I always thought they were really descendants of the creators!"
"Liars! They've deceived all the people of the world!"
"How ridiculous! The entire world has been ruled by a bunch of liars and thieves for eight hundred years!?"
"And the pirates! Bastards! They were pirates themselves originally, but then they transformed, using the name of justice to hunt down us pirates in return!?"
Almost everyone was buzzing with discussion about this matter, all of them visibly agitated.
Especially the members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates, most of whom had once been slaves—they were grinding their teeth so hard they might have shattered them!
"Ridiculous! So the so-called World Nobles aren't any nobler than us, and could even be said to be more despicable! Then what right do they have to enslave and oppress others!?"
Just as everyone's resentment was boiling over, Whitebeard Old Man suddenly stood up and shouted loudly, "Everyone, quiet!!"
Hearing the Old Man's voice, everyone quickly fell silent and looked at Whitebeard. After he sat back down in his imposing manner, he spoke in a deep voice: "I know you're all emotional, but shouting curses here won't solve anything!"
The Old Man glanced at Robin and said, "Since this black-haired young lady has deciphered the Poneglyph here, I'll say a few words too!"
Shanks smiled slightly and extended his right hand in a gesture: Go ahead!
The Old Man snorted at him and said, "You all know that I was friends with Roger back then. Before he died, he once talked to me about the truth of history. I remember him saying that this world is sick! It's deformed! The reason lies with the Celestial Dragons and the World Government they established. They seized power illegitimately, so they've always been uneasy. They go to any lengths to cover up the truth of history, even persecuting everyone who seeks it!"
"But!" Whitebeard suddenly raised his voice, pointing at Robin: "Roger once said that the will of inheritance passed down through generations, the changes of the world, and people's dreams—these are all unstoppable! As long as people pursue the answers to freedom, all of this will never cease! The Celestial Dragons and the World Government could deceive the world for a hundred years, two hundred years, even eight hundred years, but now!? Here and now, those who know the truth of history have grown from the sole survivor of Ohara to tens of thousands of people present here!!"
Robin wore a charming smile, quietly watching Whitebeard Old Man. She no longer cried at the mention of Ohara, recalling the tragedy of that year, because just as the Old Man said, here and now, a new Ohara was born on Whole Cake Island! Back then, her mother Nico Olvia, Marine Vice Admiral Hagwar D. Saul, and Dr. Clover, the library director—their last wishes would be inherited by even more people...
From now on, I will never be alone again! Robin thought to herself...
"After saying all this, I just want to tell you: don't let anger cloud your judgment!" Whitebeard continued. "Roger and I, when we first learned the truth of the blank century, were just as angry as you are now. But we all knew that relying on our individual strength alone, we couldn't overthrow the rule of the Celestial Dragons and the World Government. However..."
At this point, Whitebeard sighed somewhat desolately and said, "But I have to say, that guy Roger was smarter than me! He used his own death to drive people rushing to the sea, pursuing freedom and truth, step by step exposing the lies of the Celestial Dragons and the World Government to the world! Over the past twenty-plus years, the time has gradually matured. What you need to do now is to temporarily suppress this anger and wait for the moment of its eruption! That day will come! Do you understand!?"
"We understand!" The members of the Whitebeard Pirates and the Dragon Hunter Pirates shouted loudly, raising their weapons in response to Whitebeard Old Man's words.
With all the noise, the gathered crowd began to disperse. They knew that the senior officers of the three pirate crews might have more to discuss, and for ordinary members like them, what they had just heard was enough to digest for a while.
After the area quieted down again, Crocodile relit a cigar and snorted, "I've always felt over the years that Roger's death was suspicious. As the Marine's greatest enemy, Roger actually turned himself in... Whitebeard, you old-timers played a good hand!"
"Impudent brat!" Whitebeard snorted, not taking offense.
Enel, standing nearby, gripped his golden staff, his face full of anger, grinding his teeth and saying, "So that means they are also enemies of us Skypieans?"
Urouge sneered beside him, "No wonder the Skypieans have never been able to figure out their origins for so many years. It turns out that from eight hundred years ago, our civilization was severed... This is more than just enmity; it's a blood feud of genocide!"
Looking at it now, the Moon People of that time were likely the race that suffered the worst in the war, even forgetting their own origins.
However, this also explained one thing: why the Skypieans of Shandora were so reverent toward that great serpent also called the Sky Lord. They called that serpent a god and even sacrificed living humans to it—this was probably all due to the shadow cast by the ancient weapon Uranus back then...
Ian thought for a long time before asking Shanks, "Shanks, big brother, you said Robin's interpretation is mostly correct. Does that mean there's still some content that hasn't been deciphered?"
"Yes!" Shanks nodded. "At the very beginning, Roger's talent for hearing the voice of all things—he himself didn't understand what it was. And honestly, his understanding of the Poneglyph was also quite vague. It wasn't until later, when Roger brought Kozuki Oden aboard, that with the Kozuki family's long-passed-down method of reading ancient script, he fully understood the Poneglyph. He believed that his talent was probably a kind of 'guide'! He just didn't know who he was guiding..."
Shanks paused here, then suddenly smiled, saying, "But looking at it now, he was probably 'the guide of the entire world'!"
Everyone was stunned at first, then nodded in agreement. Indeed, Roger used his death to usher in the Great Pirate Era, truly qualifying as the guide of the entire world.
"Based on our interpretation of the Poneglyph, what Miss Robin said is pretty much the entirety of the Poneglyph's content!" Shanks continued. "But the reason I say there's still a part missing is that the final part is at Laugh Tale!"
"Huh!?" Everyone was taken aback.
Robin seemed to realize something and said, "Is it referring to that great ancient kingdom? I remember Dr. Clover once mentioned it, deduced from various ancient texts. Does this kingdom really exist?"
"It really exists!" Shanks nodded affirmatively. "And also, the origins of the D. Clan! These can only be found at Laugh Tale... because the Poneglyph only mentions them as the recorders of history, but never mentions their own origins!"
"Indeed..." Robin agreed. "In all the Poneglyph records I've seen, I haven't found any description of themselves! They seem to have simply recorded history..."
"Is Laugh Tale the ruins of that great kingdom?" Ian pressed. "What was the name of that kingdom? And what exactly are the D. Clan? What is the One Piece?"
Shanks opened his mouth, about to answer, but at that moment, a loud shout came: "Wait a minute!"
Everyone looked toward the source of the voice and found it was Luffy. At this point, Luffy already had a thoroughly displeased pig-like expression on his face!
"Hey hey!" Luffy shouted loudly. "Are you really going to just finish all the historical truths and the One Piece here like this!?"
He pounded the ground in frustration: "If I know everything, how can I become the Pirate King!? This kind of thing has to be pursued personally!"
We forgot about this guy! Ian and Shanks exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of amusement in each other's eyes.
Sometimes, Ian himself admired Luffy's single-mindedness. He said he wanted to be the Pirate King, and he stuck to it unwaveringly, striving toward that goal. It was a very good personality trait. Even now, hearing the truth of the blank century here, he still hadn't lost heart.
"Alright then, let's leave you a mystery for now!" Shanks said with a smile. "This final part of the truth, if Luffy wants to seek it, then go seek it!"
"Yeah!" Ian also smiled. "Then you can tell us the final part when you find it, okay?"
Luffy immediately cheered up and shouted, "No problem! Just you wait and see!"
Nami, who knew his personality well, sighed beside him, "I knew it would come to this..."
Jinbe laughed heartily and said, "That's good too. I don't want to lose the goal of adventure just after joining the crew!"
"Alright, since you guys want to go to Laugh Tale, I can give you a rubbing of the Red Poneglyph I have!" Ian glanced at Zoro and said, "You're getting off easy! But the rest is up to you to collect! For now... let's talk about this tooth!"
Ian pointed at the tooth that Spank Jabba had brought via Shanks and said, "Since we know this is the fang of the Sky Lord Uranus, the question is, what kind of ability is this ancient weapon Uranus? From the intelligence I've gathered, why must one have immense vitality to control it?"
However, Shanks shook his head and said, "I don't know!"
"Don't... don't know!?" Everyone almost stumbled from Shanks' answer.
"That's normal!" Shanks explained. "Uranus is still alive—a dragon that has existed for a thousand years or more. Since he ate that Devil Fruit, he has never died, so naturally, no new Devil Fruit has been reborn. The Devil Fruits that appeared a thousand years ago have never appeared before any living person in the current era. No Devil Fruit encyclopedia could have a record of them! We only know that the ability of this Devil Fruit far exceeds anyone's imagination."
"That's true..." Ian nodded.
But just as everyone was feeling disappointed, Garp, who had been listening without speaking, suddenly chimed in: "No, someone knows! And in this world, probably only he knows!"
"Who?" Everyone turned to look at Garp.
"The Marine's chief scientist, Vegapunk!"