By the time Chopper and a group of frantic medical staff dragged Luffy back from the Gates of Hell for the third time, dusk had already fallen. Luffy jolted awake as if from a nightmare, then saw Dragon sitting opposite the bed, a terrifying black aura seeping from his body, and immediately dove under the blanket.
"Y-You… calm down!"
"I'm a patient!"
"Shut up!"
Dragon shot him a hostile glare that could wither crops, then took a deep breath, visibly trying to control himself.
"The numbers you mentioned were they *9\degree17'19'', 147\degree23'14''*?"
Besides the father and son, there was one more person in the room: Nami.
She hadn't understood why Dragon wanted her to stay, but now she did.
"That sounds… like coordinates?"
Nami asked hesitantly, her navigator instincts tingling.
"Correct. They're the coordinates indicated by a Red Stone that you will never be able to find through conventional means."
'So it really was coordinates! And what's more… the location pointed to by a Road Poneglyph!'
"Hey, Dragon, you…"
"Let me finish!"
Before Luffy could continue, Dragon cut him off with a look that dared him to speak, then said, "This Road Poneglyph has been stored in the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, ever since eight hundred years. Before his death, Rocks told Roger. Before Roger died, he told Shanks… If it weren't done this way, this world would be no different from the centuries before Roger; no one would ever be able to find Laugh Tale."
"Tch, it's just the Holy Land, right? We can just snatch it!"
Luffy said boldly, then turned his head, genuinely confused. "Where's the Holy Land again? Sounds kinda familiar."
Nami: "..."
"At the top of the Red Line, the very core of the World Government!"
Nami took a deep breath, forcing a bitter smile. "The Soryu (Azure Dragon), Rowen, is there right now."
"Azure… Dragon…"
Luffy stiffened visibly and fell silent.
'So the kid does have something he's afraid of?' Dragon watched the scene with mild, detached amazement.
"I asked Nico Robin, she's memorized the Poneglyph on Zou. Add this one, and that makes two. Next, you just need to find the one in Kaido's possession and the one that disappeared from Big Mom, and you'll be able to reach Laugh Tale."
"I see. Then I really have to thank Shanks… When I recover, I'll definitely defeat him next time!"
'...Your way of thanking someone is really something else', Dragon thought, his mouth twitching as he shook his head.
"I'm afraid you won't get that chance."
"Huh?" Luffy stared at him blankly.
At that moment, Nami lowered her head, her voice soft with grief.
"A few days ago, Shanks disbanded the Red Hair Pirates and chose to surrender himself to the World Government… There are rumors outside that he did it to protect his companions' lives, sacrificing himself."
The Marines hadn't launched a large-scale purge of the remaining Red Hair Pirates, which was completely different from how the Roger Pirates were treated. That only made the rumors of a deal seem more credible.
Especially the fact that Shanks had surrendered voluntarily, avoiding unnecessary losses for the World Government.
Bang!
A mental thunderclap exploded in Luffy's mind.
He recalled what Dragon had just said: "Before Rocks died, he told Roger. Before Roger died, he told Shanks…"
And now, Shanks had told him.
"That's impossible! Shanks wouldn't…!"
Luffy leapt out of bed, clenching his fists, his expression ferocious and wild, not at all like someone with over a dozen broken bones.
"His hat is still with me! We promised!"
"When Roger gave his hat to Shanks, they also promised they'd meet again." Dragon ruthlessly delivered the hard truth. "From the day he gave that straw hat to you, he had already prepared himself for death."
"I don't believe it!" Luffy's eyes were bloodshot as he jumped down from the bed.
Thud!
He stumbled and fell to his knees, but quickly stood back up, limping desperately toward the door. Nami tried to stop him, grabbing his arm, but couldn't overpower his desperate strength.
Kacha…
As the door opened, two formidable figures blocked his path.
"Calm down, Captain!"
"Luffy, now's not the time to throw a tantrum!"
Seeing Sanji and Zoro in front of him, Luffy clenched his teeth until they cracked.
"Move."
"I order you, as your Captain, move!"
Luffy rarely used a commanding tone with them. In his eyes, they were companions, not subordinates.
Sanji and Zoro's eyes reddened as well. They gritted their teeth, but didn't move an inch.
"You…!"
"He surrendered of his own will, Luffy!" Before Luffy could say something even harsher, Dragon sighed, his voice echoing in the tense silence.
"You should understand what that means."
"But…!" Luffy turned back, tears streaming down his face, biting his lower lip as he shouted, "That's Shanks!"
No one spoke.
Seizing the moment, Nami dragged Luffy back into the room and shut the door with a loud thud.
"This must be very painful for you… But his final wish was simply to protect his companions. Don't let him die in vain, Luffy!"
From the Paramount War, Dragon had come to understand one thing: his son wasn't like him. Luffy didn't have so many concerns or calculations; once he set his mind on something, he would see it through, even if he knew it meant death.
That was why he had appeared on that dangerous battlefield.
If the Soryu (Azure Dragon) hadn't thought of Garp, there had been countless chances to kill him long before Teach ever showed up.
But this time was different.
This time, Shanks had chosen to surrender himself.
Going to rescue him now would not only fail, it would make Shanks' sacrifice completely meaningless. The Marines were already itching for this; they were just waiting for Rowen to give the word!
And Admiral Akainu… Shanks knew that man far too well.
"What you need to do now is find Laugh Tale and fulfill Shanks' will!"
At those words, Luffy gradually calmed down, his shoulders slumping.
"I get it! I'll definitely find Laugh Tale, find ONE PIECE, and become the Pirate King!"
'...Yeah, still not calm at all', Dragon conceded mentally.
But it didn't matter.
After giving Luffy a moment to absorb the shock, Dragon continued, "However, before that, there's one more thing you need to do."
"What is it?"
"The Poseidon."
Under Luffy's confused gaze, Dragon explained, "In fact, Laugh Tale isn't a secret to the World Government. They've always known its location. And the Poseidon escaped from there! You might not know this yet, but because of the Poseidon's rampage, the number of innocent people who've died across the seas has already exceeded 100,000!"
One hundred thousand lives, this was no exaggeration.
The Poseidon commanded the colossal Sea King–type creatures she summoned, but as a being driven purely by vengeance, how could she possibly order them to spare civilians?
Just in the battle at the Red Line last month alone, nearly every island along the Poseidons' path of advance was destroyed, with massive casualties.
Kill the Poseidon first!
This aligned not only with Imu's interests, but with everyone's.
That terrifying number made Luffy recall the chaos in Alabasta, another disaster where deaths easily reached into the tens of thousands.
Hearing this, Luffy nodded gravely.
"What do I need to do?"
"The current Poseidon is not truly the Poseidon. Her true body belongs to the mermaid race, Princess Shirahoshi. Someone has replaced her body, while the real Princess Shirahoshi is currently sealed in Laugh Tale."
"You possess the ability to hear the Voice of All Things, Luffy. Only you can find Princess Shirahoshi and resolve this crisis."
'Forgive me, Luffy.'
'At the very least, this plan won't harm you.'
"So… once I find Laugh Tale, I first find Princess Shirahoshi and resolve the crisis. That's it, right?"
"That's right!"
Dragon looked at him in surprise. 'Since when had he become this sharp? He'd thought he'd need to explain much more complex steps.'
"Actually, I've been hearing her voice for a long time," Luffy said, scratching his messy hair.
"The sea's been crying, saying 'sorry, sorry' over and over…"
Under Dragon's stunned gaze, Luffy continued, "I got annoyed and asked her what she was apologizing for. She said her power was being used to do bad things, and she felt really sorry."
"At first I thought I was hallucinating, but Chopper said I was perfectly healthy. So… she was Princess Shirahoshi!"
'So this is the Voice of All Things…?!'
Dragon was deeply shaken.
Even something that gave the Soryu (Azure Dragon) such a headache, Luffy had known about it all along.
Wait. If Luffy could directly hear Princess Shirahoshi's voice…
Dragon couldn't help but ask, "Can you tell which direction it's coming from?"
"Yeah, that way."
Luffy pointed out the small window toward the vast, featureless ocean.
"The voice is coming from over there."
Hiss…!
The Voice of All Things was terrifying to this extent?!
Dragon sucked in a sharp breath.
This couldn't be a coincidence. In the New World's chaotic ocean, where there was no clear sense of north or south, being able to accurately point toward the depths of the New World was already unbelievable. And yet the direction Luffy indicated was almost identical to the intelligence Dragon had gathered.
"Then we can skip collecting the Red Stone in Kaido's possession and head straight to Laugh Tale!"
And conveniently skip the rubbing in my possession as well. (After Big Mom's fall, the Road Poneglyph she held had long since ended up in the government's hands.)
Seeing Luffy's troubled expression and thinking he was still hesitating, Dragon urged him quickly, "Lives are at stake, Luffy! The World Government won't act, only you can stop this catastrophe!"
"But…"
Luffy felt deeply conflicted.
"If I go there… wouldn't I just become the Pirate King right away?"
"That's not how I imagined it!"
Dragon: "..."
(End of Chapter)
This novel is finished, and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395