"The treasure lies dormant. Looking from the southern hill, the whale faces east, its tail... ah, why is this treasure map incomplete? Who on earth copied this thing?"
Yamato lay on the Thousand Cosmos Bracelet at the bow of the ship, looking at the so-called treasure map, complaining about the person who copied it.
Pirate culture didn't just appear in Roger's era. During the nearly 800 years since the World Government was established, innumerable pirates have emerged, and many of them have buried their own treasures.
And these pirates often shared the same flaw; without heirs, they left behind treasure maps for others to find, but the maps were never explicit, always leaving phrases like riddles.
Yamato didn't like this kind of puzzle game, especially with such incomplete riddles.
"Maybe the original was like this. But this kind of treasure map is interesting. It might lead to some sort of ancient ruins or something. Robin, what do you think?"
The bow of the Thousand Cosmos Bracelet was Yamato's exclusive seat, so Maria and Robin were only chatting with her from the back of the ship.
"No, ancient treasure maps wouldn't have this kind of script, especially since this style of writing only appeared in recent years."
Many things can indicate history, like the text on a treasure map.
Text can be forged, but if it truly were an ancient treasure map, it wouldn't have modern text on it.
"Is that so? I wonder what's inside the treasure."
"We'll know by tomorrow, anyway we're almost there. Oh, Yamato, do you want to visit the nearby town? It seems like there's a lantern festival here."
Sailing in the East Sea is much easier than the Grand Line. As long as you follow the existing nautical charts, there won't be any problems; no Sea King Types will suddenly jump out, and you won't have to worry about blades falling from the sky.
The navigators and helmsmen of the main ships of the Hundred Beasts pirates are excellent personnel who can navigate dangerous waters outside of Wano Kuni. The likelihood of capsizing here is about as common as a race car driver crashing a bumper car.
The ship docked only to replenish supplies, but there was another tick on Olga's notebook. This time it was for lack of vigilance since she started inquiring about Woonan in town.
It's a slash rather than a tick because at least this time she knew to gather some intelligence first, which was a bit of progress.
"Isn't this Woonan's treasure map? He was a legendary Great Pirate, you know. They say a third of the world's gold was in his hands. If you find it, you'll hit the jackpot, for sure."
In front of a small tempura shop, the shop owner mentioned the rumors he heard.
"But hasn't Woonan disappeared for two or three years? Speaking of which, I kind of miss that time. I had just taken over this shop back then..."
She wasn't interested in the shop owner's reminiscing over his youth. Although she liked stories, she wasn't interested in mundane tales; to her, those were less interesting than eating tempura.
She nearly single-handedly ate up all the shop's food. The small town's shops already didn't prepare much, and her enormous appetite was too much for them.
"That'll be 300 Belly."
"300?!"
"Didn't bring money? Where are your parents?"
"No, here's the money, keep the change."
With that, Yamato handed over a 500 Belly coin, shocked by how low the prices were here since normally, she'd spend at least 50,000 Belly.
However, she didn't notice that a few people drinking at a nearby stall seemed interested. They also left the stall after she and her group moved on.
...
"The Great Pirate Woonan, a third of the world's gold, sounds really impressive."
"No way, that's obviously fake. If a pirate could really gather so much gold, they'd be as renowned as Roger. But neither Mr. Arceus nor Mr. Kaidou ever mentioned this name."
"True, it's probably just an East Sea pirate. Rumors always get exaggerated."
Yamato was intrigued by this Woonan, but Maria and Robin didn't believe such tales. Someone capable of doing that couldn't be just a pirate. Even the Tesoro from the original timeline resolved those issues through connections with the World Government.
If someone could achieve that and not be eradicated, Woonan's fame wouldn't be any less than Rocks'.
The crew on the Origin also confirmed this; none of them had heard of such a person, slightly dampening Yamato's enthusiasm. The treasure of legendary pirates is what holds meaning.
Roger's treasure attracted so many pursuers because he became the unprecedented Pirate King, and everyone believed the Pirate King's treasure must have immense value.
...
The ship moved toward the island described by the treasure map, but behind the Origin, a ship was quietly following.
"Lord Arceus, there's a ship following us. Should we deal with them?"
"Any bounty information?"
"No, there's no record of this person in our database, and they look like ordinary treasure hunters based on their attire. Shall we drive them away?"
"Olga, go test them. If they're strong, deal with them; if they're weak, let them stay."
Treasure hunters are similar to pirate hunters. In the pirate world, hunters, whatever kind, deal in combat. Whether searching for treasures or hunting pirates, using force is very common.
Olga's probing was meant to determine if they were suitable as an interlude in Yamato's treasure hunting adventure.
"Understood, Elizabeth, let's go!"
Elizabeth followed Olga down the ship's side in sync, quickly disappearing from view. Olga's growth in size wasn't too large, so she could still ride on Elizabeth's back, which was very convenient for their daily actions.
Even though the East Sea is called the weakest sea, it has produced many strong individuals, so it's always good to be cautious.
Even though the ship was far behind, visible only by a spot on the mast, Olga still quickly reached it.
The testing method was simple too. She used illusions to conjure a Sea Beast to lure them to attack, observing the attack's effect from the side, and she did this more than once.
After testing several times with illusions, she concluded that these people were weaklings.
Such people wouldn't threaten Yamato, and they weren't even fit as sparring partners.
"That quick?"
"Don't worry, Lord Arceus, I tested them several times. The crew are just ordinary people; even our ship's cook could probably take on ten of them.
The captain has a power, seems to be a sound-based ability, able to emit a Sound Wave Cannon from their mouth with a shout, but it requires charging. Miss Yamato can handle him."