"So, Captain… are you saying the Red Line was actually created by some race, possibly the Creator or even gods?"
Tiger spoke with a meaningful tone.
Den-san immediately shook his head after hearing this.
"That's impossible. According to the history of Fish-Man Island, it already existed thousands of years ago during the ancient era. That means the Red Line and the Sunlight Tree Eve must have already existed back then…"
"Why would that be impossible?"
At this point, the rest of the Sky Pirates could no longer keep up with the discussion.
"I actually have another piece of evidence. I know that in the New World there is a type of whale that can grow as large as an island."
As soon as he said this, Tiger and Den-san both seemed to remember something.
"Captain, are you talking about Island Whales?"
Yemu scratched his head.
"I don't remember the exact name. But I do remember that this creature has a seasonal migration habit. They used to circle the entire Grand Line during their migration."
"But it seems the existence of the Red Line changed that pattern. Even so, they still try to migrate every year."
"And to do that, they slam their bodies into the Red Line."
"If this world had always looked the way it does now, then why would those whales have developed such a migration instinct?"
Den-san suddenly understood. His eyes filled with memories as he spoke in shock.
"Could that really be true? I've seen it before. Island Whales crashing violently into the Red Line."
"At the time, I thought those whales had simply gone mad."
"Could it be that the Red Line really was created by some race…"
Den-san felt as if his entire worldview had just been overturned.
Looking up at the pitch-black world above, the massive Red Line no longer seemed like simple land.
Instead, it looked more like a gigantic collar wrapped around the world itself.
"If that's the case… then maybe both the Red Line and the Grand Line were created by some race…"
Tiger's mind spun rapidly as he recalled the countless scenes from their journey across the seas.
There were indeed far too many strange coincidences in this world.
"But why? What would they gain by splitting the world in two with the Red Line? And if they were dividing it, why leave a place like this?"
At that moment, Yemu suddenly seemed to think of something.
"Tiger, do you remember that small island we passed on the Grand Line?"
"Captain, which one?"
"Long Ring Long Land."
Tiger recalled it, but he still didn't quite understand what Yemu was getting at.
Seeing that, Yemu turned to Flare, who was still standing there in a daze.
"Flare, lend me your bracelet."
"Oh… oh…"
Flare absentmindedly removed her bracelet and handed it to Yemu.
Yemu placed the bracelet in front of everyone before speaking.
"This is just a guess of mine. Just listen to it as a possibility."
"Long Ring Long Land is an island in the Grand Line. It's a very interesting place. On the surface, it looks like separate islands, just like the beads on this bracelet."
"But beneath the sea, they're actually connected underground, just like these beads are connected by the string."
"In other words, those islands are actually one single island."
"So I came up with a very crazy idea."
"Maybe the world we live in was not originally made of scattered islands, nor was it a world drowned by the ocean."
"Maybe it was originally made of vast continents."
"Then one day, some unknown race created the Red Line in the middle of the ocean."
"How large is the Red Line?"
"From what we currently know, the part that extends below the sea reaches ten thousand meters."
"And above the surface, if we use the Sky Islands floating at ten thousand meters as a reference, then the Red Line's highest points reach nearly twenty thousand meters."
"We don't know its width yet. But if something this massive suddenly appeared in the ocean…"
"It would absolutely trigger an enormous tsunami."
"The sea level would rise and flood the entire world."
"And that might be how the world we see today was formed."
Another idea so massive it felt like it could shake the world.
Everyone on deck listened as if they were hearing some ancient myth.
But this time, Tiger didn't ask any more questions.
He simply said.
"Captain, do you have any other ideas? Please tell us!"
"I see. Then the last one is purely my own speculation. Just listen to it."
As he spoke, Yemu handed the bracelet back to Flare and looked up at the pitch-black world above.
"Maybe in the ancient era, the continent above us wasn't completely connected."
"In other words, although the creators built the Red Line, their intention might not have been to split the entire world in two."
"Above us at the Holy Land Mary Geoise, and at Laugh Tale at the end of the Grand Line, there may once have been enormous gaps that allowed people from all over the world to travel freely."
"But at some point, the rulers of that race might have developed different opinions about how this world should be governed."
"One faction believed the world should be completely divided, leaving only entrances on land. That way, it would be much easier to rule the entire world."
"But the other faction believed that was wrong. They believed the gap should remain and that the world should be given freedom."
"So the two sides fought endlessly."
"In the end, the side that wanted to completely divide the world won."
"But the other side didn't lose entirely."
"They left behind this enormous Sunlight Tree Eve. Using the power of Eve's roots, they created an opening in the deep sea for the world, and brought light to Fish-Man Island."
"Maybe they are still waiting for the people of the future to use the power they left behind to break these chains and bring freedom back to this world!"
At that moment, even the Sunlight Tree Eve seemed insignificant.
Everyone's thoughts were completely shaken by Yemu's astonishing words.
They had countless things they wanted to say, yet none of them could find the words. Everything felt stuck in their throats.
Seeing their expressions, Yemu smiled lightly.
"You don't have to take it too seriously. It's just my speculation."
"Maybe when the time comes, everything will reveal itself."
"For now, let's go see what the Sunlight Tree Eve really looks like."
"Alright."
Everyone nodded, but judging by their furrowed brows, they were still deeply absorbed in Yemu's earlier words.
As the ship slowly rose upward, the Twin Goddess gradually approached the massive roots of the Sunlight Tree Eve.
But the others no longer seemed interested in the tree. They stood there silently, lost in thought.
Seeing that, Yemu could only walk over himself, curiosity written across his face.
What he said earlier had simply been speculation.
But if his guess was correct...
Then perhaps that rubber fruit wasn't really a rubber fruit at all, but something connected to this enormous tree.
Thinking about that, Yemu stretched his hand out of the bubble and placed it against the thick trunk of the Sunlight Tree Eve.
In the next instant, before Yemu could even react, a warm aura enveloped his entire body.
When the others finally came back to their senses and looked over, they saw Yemu standing within the brilliant light emitted by the Sunlight Tree Eve.
Bathed in that radiant glow, he looked majestic and imposing, like a sun god.