From the time they set sail again, the Roger Pirates’ latest voyage had already lasted roughly three years.
Over these three years, Roger still had not found the location of the final island, but that did not mean he had gained nothing.
By now, Roger had already discovered what was needed to reach the final island.
When the information recorded on the four Road Poneglyphs was put together, it would reveal the location of the final island.
A year ago, the Roger Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates happened to encounter each other in the New World. After a battle, Roger discovered that Kozuki Oden had the ability to read Poneglyphs, so he borrowed Kozuki Oden from them.
If things had followed the original timeline, Charlotte Linlin’s Poneglyph would already have been copied by Roger once, but this time, there had been a slight change.
Not long ago, the Roger Pirates had only just infiltrated Whole Cake Island and made a rubbing of Charlotte Linlin’s Poneglyph. That was also the reason for Charlotte Linlin’s anger.
Although she had suffered no direct loss, another pirate crew had broken into her treasure vault and escaped unscathed with that thing. In Charlotte Linlin’s eyes, that was already a tremendous humiliation.
Yet, as it happened, she could do nothing to Roger.
Across the whole of Whole Cake Island, only she herself could fight the strong members of the Roger Pirates.
Even though many things had happened to the Roger Pirates during this period, such as Bullet leaving the crew after learning that Roger was ill and having his heart shaken, the Roger Pirates’ strength had not been affected much.
Roger’s body prevented him from fighting high-intensity battles for long periods, but Charlotte Linlin herself was still somewhat inferior to Roger.
Gaban and Rayleigh were both powerful figures capable of holding their own. In contrast, on the Big Mom Pirates’ side, only Katakuri could barely stand in the high-level battles of the New World.
Compared with people of Rayleigh, Gaban, and Kozuki Oden’s level, he was far behind. Right now, it would not even be easy for him to hold off even one of them.
Realistically speaking, Roger had merely copied the text, which was already the option that minimized conflict.
In the original timeline, Charlotte Linlin had no real way to deal with it, so she could only endure the matter. Her methods of revenge were completely meaningless against Roger.
But now, Charlotte Linlin had a new choice.
Because of their many differences, as well as the dispute over Nanamo’s affiliation, Charlotte Linlin did not want to communicate with Nereus. Otherwise, she would not have made the name “Nanamo” a forbidden topic on Whole Cake Island.
What she could not obtain, she would rather destroy. Children who could not be controlled and who defied her were not permitted to exist in Charlotte Linlin’s eyes. Some of her children would even make her develop killing intent.
For example, Lola. In Charlotte Linlin’s eyes, that child had long since lost any blood kinship with her and was a sinner who had delayed her grand plan.
However, considering Charlotte Linlin’s obsession, Loki’s talent and combat strength, and the fact that Charlotte Linlin had been even more extreme at the time, it was not completely incomprehensible that she would develop such feelings.
As for Nanamo…
Deep down, Charlotte Linlin did not feel any desire to destroy her. It was merely another kind of resistance born from wanting something she could not have.
But now, Charlotte Linlin had similarly entered a state where both paths were blocked.
For her, whether contacting Nereus or ignoring Roger, neither was a good choice. There was only one relatively less bad choice.
After thinking it over again and again, she finally called Nanamo.
As for the contact method, of course she had gotten it from Katakuri. She knew that Nanamo and Katakuri were on good terms.
Although she had explicitly forbidden many things, Katakuri was the only one among her remaining children who could still partly hold his own, so he still had certain privileges. Charlotte Linlin herself selectively ignored some matters.
“Terms? The price I want is one you can’t afford.”
“Nereus?”
“What, is it strange for a father to be beside his daughter? I heard Roger broke into Whole Cake Island recently. Is this about that?”
“That b*stard just snuck into my treasure vault while I wasn’t there! Are you really going to ignore this?!”
Charlotte Linlin had no intention of elaborating on what exactly had happened at the time. She also selectively ignored the overall strength gap between the Big Mom Pirates and the Roger Pirates, instead questioning Nereus in a resentful tone.
“Didn’t I already say it? You can’t afford that price.”
Nereus was not afraid of Roger. Even with the many strong fighters aboard Roger’s ship, Nereus still had ways to deal with them, but the disadvantages outweighed the benefits.
People at that level could no longer be measured with Berries alone. In a world where individual martial strength could change the course of wars, the value of money would decline even further.
As the fuse that would ignite an era, the beginning of the Great Pirate Era represented the arrival of an even more chaotic turning point. It was also a slash aimed at the roots of the rotten tree known as the World Government.
Launching a surprise attack on Roger’s crew in the deep sea and sending Shanks back to Mariejois would indeed earn him a wave of prestige with the World Government. If the current king of Fishman Island were Harald instead of Nereus, he would most likely agree to such a plan.
However, this would bring no benefit to Nereus. Without Roger, Charlotte Linlin would not ignite an era, nor would she gamble everything and risk her life to clash with the World Government.
Compared to the Big Mom Pirates, who only had Charlotte Linlin, Roger’s crew actually offered much more room for maneuvering.
What answered Nereus was the busy tone of a Den Den Mushi. Charlotte Linlin had already hung up.
After Nereus refused her, she was not going to continue humbling herself and pleading with him.
Very few people knew about the brief communication between Charlotte Linlin and Nereus. On the Big Mom Pirates’ side, only Katakuri knew, and he would absolutely never mention it to outsiders.
He did not know what the two had discussed. He only knew that after that short exchange, Charlotte Linlin’s resentment seemed to grow even stronger.
Meanwhile, aboard the Oro Jackson sailing across the waters of the Grand Line, Kozuki Oden was translating three sets of copied ancient script in the ship’s cabin.
“The information still isn’t complete. Looks like we’ll need to find the last one before we can draw the complete sea chart. But the fourth one… where exactly is it?”
The Poneglyphs from Wano Country and Zou had already been translated. Since Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were not traveling with Oden, finding Zou Island had taken them a considerable amount of time, though compared to locating the fourth stone, that issue was insignificant.
“I think… I know where it is.”
【Do you want me to tell you how to get there?】
【You’ll come back to find me again.】
Roger adjusted his captain’s hat as Nereus’s words from years ago resurfaced in his mind, and he finally arrived at an answer…
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