Laugh Tale.
This fabled island sat at the precise intersection of the four coordinates provided by the Road Poneglyphs. It was the rumored end of the Grand Line, the sanctuary holding the truth of the hundred-year gap in history.
Currently, the scholars of Ohara were gathered upon its shores. Since their resurrection via the Edo Tensei, Dr. Clover and his colleagues had dedicated every waking moment to locating the scattered Poneglyphs.
With the assistance of the Shinobi Alliance's elite—and after securing the rubrics held by the Yonko Kaido and Charlotte Linlin—all twenty-nine Poneglyphs had finally been assembled. The final piece of the puzzle had been recovered just days ago right here on Laugh Tale.
Now, the complete record of the world's lost history sat in a clearing on the island. Every scholar from Ohara, including Nico Robin, was hunched over the ancient stones, their eyes scanning the weathered scripts with feverish intensity.
Deciphering the Poneglyphs was no simple feat. Each stone contained a unique passage written in an archaic tongue. The scholars had to do more than just translate the words; they had to weave the fragmented information into a cohesive narrative, peeling back the layers of a truth the world had tried to bury.
Reading the text was the easy part for these masters of linguistics. The true challenge lay in the synthesis of information. The intel they had previously sent to Lin Xuan was merely the tip of the iceberg—the result of weeks of grueling labor.
The scholars felt a profound sense of gratitude toward Lin Xuan. It was he who had granted them a second life and a second chance to pursue the ultimate truth. They were well aware of the New Era Alliance's assault on the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. Though they were of little use on a physical battlefield, they were determined not to fail the Guild Leader's expectations in the theater of knowledge.
Their efforts had already yielded fruit. They had discovered the records of the Devil Tree and realized its main body was hidden deep within the Red Line. However, the stones still held deeper, darker secrets.
As the scholars worked in a tense, rhythmic silence, one researcher suddenly gasped. "Dr. Clover! Everyone, come look at this!"
Dr. Clover hurried over, his brow furrowed. "What is it? What did you find?"
Nico Robin and her mother, Nico Olvia, followed close behind.
"Look here," the scholar pointed at a specific section of the ancient script. "These are additional records regarding the Devil Tree... but the nature of it is different than we thought!"
As Dr. Clover read the passage, his face paled. His eyes widened, and his hands began to tremble so violently that he could barely keep his composure. Olvia and Robin shared his shock, their expressions turning to masks of pure disbelief.
Konan, standing nearby, watched them with a sense of detached confusion. She couldn't read a single character of the ancient language, but seeing the scholars react even more strongly than they had to the discovery of the tree's location told her everything she needed to know. This was monumental.
She braced herself, ready to transmit this information to Lin Xuan at a moment's notice.
Finally, Dr. Clover let out a long, shaky breath. "No wonder... No wonder the World Government went to such lengths to erase those hundred years. So that's what happened."
Seeing the other scholars gathering around and noticing Konan's expectant gaze, Clover decided to speak the truth aloud.
"This Poneglyph records the absolute truth behind the Devil Fruits," he began, his voice heavy. "The Devil Tree has been rooted in this world for thousands of years. Its origin is unknown; some legends claim it came from the heavens—from beyond our world—though that remains unverified."
He gestured to the stone. "The tree was once gargantuan, its branches reaching into the clouds and its canopy casting a shadow over the entire world. It produced 'miracle fruits.' If an ordinary person ate one, they gained power comparable to a god. Those were the original Devil Fruits."
"Centuries ago, several powerful nations discovered this. They began a relentless war to seize the fruits and, eventually, to claim the Mother Tree itself, hoping to use its power to rule the globe. This was the era known as the Dark Age."
Dr. Clover paused, his voice dropping an octave. "But that is not the shocking part. The truly terrifying revelation is what happened next."
"According to these records, the war raged for years, escalating in scale. But one day, every Devil Fruit user in the world suddenly acted in unison. In a matter of mere days, they systematically annihilated almost every nation on the planet."
"What?" someone cried out. The clearing fell into a stunned silence.
"Doctor, how is that possible?" another scholar asked. "Why would they all turn at once?"
Clover sighed, a look of grim realization in his eyes. "The ancestors who carved these stones had a theory. They believed the name 'Devil Fruit' wasn't just a metaphor. They believed that within every fruit, there truly resides... a living Devil."
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T/N:
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