"We have committed an unforgivable mistake."
Kai slowly read the opening line of the letter.
Just this sentence made Robin hold her breath.
What mistake could a queen call unforgivable?
Robin sensed this might be closely related to the great war Kai mentioned.
Kai continued reading. "That person deceived us and betrayed our cause. And our former companions were blinded by endless desire."
"They intended to erase all history and ideas that didn't suit them, establishing eternal and absolute rule—this deviated from our original intentions."
"This world may sink into darkness because of this."
"However, a spark of hope still exists."
"Those stone tablets that record the true history—I will scatter them across the world, entrusting that spark of hope to the future."
"I entrust our beloved homeland—Alabasta—to you. Please, along with our future descendants, protect this land and the conscience and courage flowing in the Nefertari D. family bloodline."
"Do not seek my whereabouts, nor attempt to avenge me."
"Please wait quietly. This may be a long time, but please believe—the destined day will eventually come."
"Someone will surely bear this heavy past, inherit the Will of D, and restart that unfinished war, raising the flag of dawn for this world!"
"Your sister who will always love you, Nefertari D. Lily, written on the eve of my departure."
Kai finished the last word.
"That's it?" Robin eagerly leaned closer, her eyes rapidly scanning every line. After confirming there was nothing more, visible disappointment crossed her face.
She'd thought she could learn about the Void Century from this letter.
"That's it."
Kai shook his head, feeling both disappointed and resigned. This was merely a farewell letter after all—Lily couldn't leave too many explicit clues.
She had even cautiously used "that person" to refer to Imu, obviously fearing her brother or descendants might accidentally reveal it and invite disaster.
This also confirmed Lily knew Imu had obtained eternal life.
However, knowing so little about Imu disappointed him.
At least write something about that person's Devil Fruit ability!
"The Will of D?"
Robin blinked, suddenly remembering something and turning toward Ace. "Speaking of which, Ace, isn't your full name Portgas D. Ace? Do you know what the will represented by 'D' actually is?"
Ace froze, shaking his head with rare confusion. "No one ever told me about this."
He paused, worry appearing between his brows. "Kai, will everyone with D in their name be drawn into that war?"
He thought of his brother Luffy and Grandpa Garp—they all had D in their names. Even Sabo—he and Luffy once added a D to his name as kids. Surely that wouldn't count too?
If what the letter said was true, that so-called unfinished war must be enormous. He didn't want to see his family and friends placed in such danger.
Kai shook his head. "I don't know, but very likely. According to the World Government, the D Clan is called God's natural enemy."
The so-called Will of D—though Oda never stated it explicitly—mostly connects with dreams, persistence, and freedom. People with D in their names have an extremely high probability of being drawn into that war.
Their personalities practically guarantee it. However, the current World Government doesn't deliberately hunt everyone with "D" in their names—perhaps because too many people exist who know nothing about what their names truly mean.
That's why Garp, as part of the D Clan, could hold high positions in the Marines.
"God's natural enemy?"
Cobra swallowed hard.
He finally understood why his family had dropped the D. from their surname.
"So did Queen Lily ever return?" Violet asked softly.
"No."
Cobra said, "Even in all historical records after that, everything about her—even fragmentary mentions—completely disappeared. All that proves she once existed is this secret letter and our Nefertari family kings passing down her story orally through the generations."
"Like that Void Century, completely erased from history?"
Robin pondered thoughtfully, her fingertip lightly touching her chin. "It seems Queen Lily's actions back then truly struck a nerve with the rulers, making them feel fear and fury."
Kai had his own theories about this.
Based on what he knew, the Poneglyphs' dispersal might initially have been viewed as Lily's "mistake." But later, Imu certainly figured it out—otherwise Imu wouldn't have said this was Lily's deliberate act, let alone angrily erased all traces of her existence.
Queen Lily herself most likely also died by Imu's hand.
At this moment, Cobra seemed to make up his mind, turning toward Kai and gathering his courage to ask, "Lord Kai, does our Nefertari family blood flow in you?"
This was the most reasonable explanation he could imagine. Otherwise, how did this powerful pirate know these absolute secrets that even many royal family members couldn't access?
Hearing this, Vivi also widened her curious eyes, carefully studying Kai.
Was this handsome man actually her relative?
"Me?"
Kai laughed. "Of course not."
He then made a tiny gap between his index finger and thumb, his face showing an inscrutable smile. "I just happen to know 'a little bit' more than ordinary people."
Robin looked at him strangely.
That wasn't just a little bit.
"So what exactly happened back then?"
Kozuki Hiyori was completely confused. Others' eyes also showed traces of curiosity.
As they encountered more and more historical fragments, they couldn't help but develop intense curiosity about the buried truth.
"I think, combining what we know, we can make an inference."
Robin took over, calmly analyzing. "During that Void Century, two opposing forces likely existed: one side was the twenty kings who later formed the World Government and their followers; the other side was the allied forces led by Joy Boy, uniting various races."
She continued organizing her thoughts. "Those twenty kings might initially have believed they were fighting for some 'justice,' but were actually deceived and manipulated."
"Among them, Queen Lily saw through the deception first and resolutely withdrew. As for the remaining nineteen kings—some were conspiracy masterminds, some chose to keep going despite knowing better, while some stayed completely in the dark. They all ultimately enjoyed the spoils of victory with a clear conscience."
"To maintain their rule's legitimacy and prevent truth-enraged citizens from rebelling, they simply used their power to completely erase that century's history from the world."
Robin made her final inference.
"Clever."
Kai gave a thumbs up appreciatively. From what he knew, history's general outline was indeed as Robin speculated.
What remained were just more specific details—for example, the "Great Kingdom" forces Joy Boy represented were likely connected to a moon-originated ancient high-tech civilization.
"Here, return this to you."
Kai casually handed that eight-hundred-year-old letter back to the nervous Cobra.
While this letter held extraordinary significance for others, for someone like Kai who knew the true history, its value was quite limited. As a historical artifact, the letter itself was more valuable than the information it contained.
Cobra carefully received it with both hands as if holding a live grenade. He solemnly returned the letter to the small chest, locked it, and restored everything to its original state.
After finishing, Cobra bit his lip and asked, "Lord Kai, that unfinished war—is it about to restart?"
This pirate who knew so many secrets suddenly appearing was perhaps an omen.
Kai looked at him deeply, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "Perhaps."
According to prophecies from Roger, Lily, and even Joy Boy, those who will truly ignite the final battle should be people with the D. in their names—like Luffy.
If Kai wanted to be the one firing the opening shot of the war toppling the World Government, perhaps he should rename himself Kai D. En?
Of course, that was impossible. As long as he had sufficient power and could win final victory, who would care whether his name had that "D"?
Kai stated confidently, "Next, take us to see that Poneglyph secretly preserved in your royal tomb."
Cobra's eyes widened in shock. Kai even knew the Poneglyph's specific storage location?!
But after a moment of shock, his tense body actually relaxed slightly. The more Kai knew, the less value he could provide, actually proving Kai had principles.
Otherwise, Kai could have completely bypassed him and forcibly viewed the Poneglyph.
"Please follow me."
Cobra said no more, leading Kai's group quietly from the palace and heading straight to the royal tomb.
Their movements didn't escape all watchful eyes. A seemingly ordinary maid caught sight of their direction from a corner. After hastily confirming where they were going, she immediately turned and disappeared silently into the palace shadows.
Rainbase
Alabasta's city of dreams and location of the kingdom's largest casino, "Rain Dinners."
On the casino's upper floor, a transparent glass walkway crossed the sky. Crocodile stood there expressionlessly, overlooking the rare river in Alabasta below. There, a giant crocodile with banana-shaped protrusions on its head and tail was fighting a huge Sandora catfish.
The two large carnivores' battle was naturally bloody and cruel. Amid flying flesh and blood, Crocodile's mouth curved slightly upward, quite satisfied.
"Boss~ agents sent urgent news! Natural Disaster Kai's group made moves—they're being personally led by Cobra toward the royal tomb!"
Bon Clay hurriedly arrived to report.
"Royal tomb?"
Hearing this, Crocodile's pupils contracted as realization struck him like lightning!
Right—I searched the palace from top to bottom. How did I overlook the royal tomb?
He knew Cobra wasn't leading Kai's group to rob his own family tomb. The only explanation was that place hid what he desperately sought!
The treasure pursued for over a decade finally had clues.
Even the usually composed Crocodile now struggled to suppress his inner excitement. He immediately ordered, "Summon all senior agents immediately! Follow me!"
In the royal tomb, Cobra activated some hidden mechanism. A secret passage leading deep underground opened.
Everyone followed him inside. At the tunnel's end, a tremendously massive stone firmly captured everyone's attention.
The stone was densely carved with strange, incomprehensible ancient text.
"According to information passed down through the royal family, this Poneglyph records the location of something critically important..."
Cobra introduced.
Kai nodded.
Isn't it just Pluton?
He naturally knew. He also knew Pluton slumbered in Wano Country, waiting for Zunesha to open the sea so someone could retrieve it.
But saying this Poneglyph provided nothing new wasn't quite accurate either. Based on Robin and Hiyori's cross-reference interpretation, Kai confirmed Pluton's position—in Wano Country's inland sea.
In the future, Wano Country's Fish-Men and Merfolk would probably need to relocate.
It also recorded one piece of bad news. After that ancient war, Pluton's energy was nearly depleted. Eight hundred years later today, whether it could even boot up was questionable.
He just didn't know whether Pluton and the weapon in the Celestial Dragons' hands used the same energy source.
If compatible, operational space was huge. He could find the right timing to take World Government resources and research results.
But if incompatible, trouble was big. He'd need to act early, rescue Vegapunk, and have him specifically research and solve Pluton's energy problem.
However, careful deliberation suggested compatibility was more likely. After all, when the Mother Flame was created, Pluton still lay buried in Wano Country.
Vegapunk couldn't have researched and manufactured Pluton's energy source from scratch. In that case, by the time research succeeded, the war would have long been over.
Fortunately, verifying this wasn't difficult. Pluton's blueprints were currently in Iceburg's hands at Water 7. One look would reveal the truth.
Surely the blueprints wouldn't lack energy information.
Robin, who finished interpreting the Poneglyph, was somewhat puzzled. "Kai, is Pluton really that powerful? One shot sufficient to destroy a small island?"
Though the Poneglyph stated this, she couldn't quite believe it. Joy Boy possessed such powerful weapons yet still lost the war—what kind of tremendously powerful force did those twenty kings control?
"Probably more terrifying than you imagine."
Kai shrugged. He didn't know Pluton's exact power, but the suspected Uranus weapon had actual combat records.
One strike completely erased Lulusia Kingdom from the map, leaving a bottomless pit at the original location that even seawater couldn't immediately fill. The entire world's sea level rose one meter.
This power was simply absurd. Many people in the world could destroy an island with one strike, but reaching this degree—Kai could definitively say not one person could.