"Do you know how dangerous this is?"
Anna's voice was tight as she looked at him.
"The World Government will never allow anyone to touch these secrets. They will use every means possible to stop you, to hunt you down, and they will keep doing it until you are dead."
"Then let them come."
Bullet's reply was calm, almost indifferent.
"CP0, the God's Knights, Marine Admirals... the more that come, the better. I need strong prey to feed on, and they just happen to be able to provide it."
He turned, then pulled out something else from inside his coat.
It was a sheet of parchment. On it was the outline of a ship, and on its sail was the mark of the Roger Pirates.
"This is a rubbing from Roger's ship," Bullet said. "I made it while I was aboard the Oro Jackson."
"Roger could 'hear' the voices of the Poneglyphs, but he couldn't read the script itself."
"And I... I want to be someone who can both hear them and understand them."
Anna took the parchment from him.
The drawing on it was simple, almost crude, yet the meaning behind it was immense. It was proof that Bullet had truly sailed on Roger's ship and had personally come into contact with the Poneglyphs.
"You... know Gol D. Roger?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
That name was almost taboo in scholarly circles.
"He was my former captain."
Bullet gave a small nod.
"I learned a lot from him."
"Including... the existence of Laugh Tale."
Laugh Tale.
The name exploded in Anna's mind like thunder.
As a scholar of the Oliventa family, she understood far too well what that name meant. The final island. The destination to which all Poneglyphs pointed. The place where the truth of the Void Century lay sleeping.
"Have you been there?"
The question escaped her lips before she could stop it.
"Not yet," Bullet said. "But I know how to get there."
"As long as the four Road Poneglyphs are gathered, it can be found."
He looked straight at Anna, his crimson vertical pupils seeming to burn with a frightening light.
"And I plan to go."
"Not only do I intend to go, I intend to bring someone with me who can read the Poneglyphs."
"I want to know what is truly waiting on Laugh Tale."
Anna's heartbeat quickened violently.
Laugh Tale.
The holy land every historian dreamed of reaching.
That place might hold the answer to every question: the Void Century, the Ancient Weapons, the Will of D, perhaps even the very origin of the World Government itself.
"Why are you telling me all this?" she asked.
"Because you need a goal," Bullet said.
"For the past three years, you and your grandfather have done nothing but stay alive for the sake of surviving."
"But now, I'm giving you something greater."
"Go to Laugh Tale. Find the whole truth."
"In exchange, you will decipher every piece of ancient writing for me, help me grow stronger, and stay with me until I'm strong enough to protect you all the way there."
He paused for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice carried even more force.
"I seek power and the ultimate secret of this world. You need protection and the freedom to pursue the truth."
"Our goals align. That makes us temporary allies."
Temporary allies.
It was an honest description.
Bullet did not hypocritically claim, "We are companions." He laid it bare from the start. This was an exchange of interests, nothing more.
And yet, that very bluntness made him seem far more trustworthy to Anna.
"If I agree..." she said, drawing in a deep breath.
"Can you guarantee my grandfather's safety?"
"His injuries are severe. He needs proper treatment."
"I'll find someone to heal him," Bullet promised. "The South Blue has black market doctors. As long as you have money, they can treat any wound."
"When we reach Crescent Bay, if the base is secure, I'll send people to buy medicine."
"If it isn't safe, then we'll head straight for the nearest medical island."
"And the World Government's pursuit...?"
"Leave that to me."
Bullet's voice carried absolute confidence.
"Whether it's CP0 or the God's Knights, however many they send, I'll devour them all."
"To me, they're nothing but stepping stones for becoming stronger."
Such arrogance should have sounded absurd.
It should have made people laugh.
But Anna could not laugh at all.
Because she had seen with her own eyes how easily this monster dealt with those CP agents.
And she had also heard the rumors. That in the New World, he had faced entire fleets alone. That he had slaughtered pirates with bounties worth hundreds of millions.
Maybe... maybe he really could do it.
"One last question."
Anna clenched her fist tightly.
"If one day our goals come into conflict... then what?"