Chapter 190: Chapter 190
Chapter 190 Sea Forest
Inside the area covered by a giant bubble, in front of a white building.
Shirahoshi stood with her eyes closed in front of the gravestone, silently pouring out her longing. A few tears slipped from the corners of her eyes.
"She’s been there for so long... Is it really okay?" Nami asked softly.
The group stood at the edge of the forest, quietly watching her.
The ocean current from Fish-Man Island to the Sea Forest ended near the "Ship Graveyard" in front of the mausoleum. This made it convenient for people to come and pay their respects.
Beside the grave grew all kinds of colorful algae and plants — all planted by visitors who came to mourn.
"This is where her mother, Queen Otohime, rests," Jinbe said heavily.
"Ever since Vander Decken began obsessively pursuing Shirahoshi shortly after the Queen’s death... the princess hasn’t even been able to attend her mother’s funeral. She has been forced to live inside the Hard Shell Tower for eight whole years..."
"She must have countless things she wants to say to her mother."
Jinbe’s expression was solemn. He felt deeply ashamed. For so many years, he hadn’t been able to capture Vander Decken despite how strong he had become.
Yet for Rorschach, he had simply sent his pet out for a short while and returned with Vander Decken’s head. This only highlighted his own incompetence and left him feeling disappointed and disheartened.
"Eight years..." Nami murmured. That number stirred up her own memories.
Nojiko walked up and held her hand. Nami responded with a firm gaze.
Eight years ago was when Arlong had taken over Cocoyasi Village — and the year their adoptive mother, Bellemere, was killed by him.
After being forced to join Arlong’s crew, Nami had lived through hell, fighting every single day for that one hundred million berries.
Nami and Nojiko were still luckier. At least they could visit their mother’s grave by the sea.
But Shirahoshi had been imprisoned inside the Hard Shell Tower, unable to take even a single step outside.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sudden sound of footsteps pulled Nami out of her memories.
Shirahoshi opened her eyes. Though tears still clung to her lashes, she was smiling — a soft, happy smile.
[Ding. Recruitable crew member detected] [Shirahoshi] [Strength: D-/C-] [Speed: G/E] [Spirit: E/A] [Skills: None] [Devil Fruit: None] [Talent: Poseidon]
A sudden system notification rang in Rorschach’s mind.
???
It had been a long time since he had heard a recruitment prompt from the system.
Over the past two years, he had recruited quite a few crew members and met many people, but after the initial few, the system had stopped giving recruitment notifications. Because of that, he had only received four recruitment rewards so far.
Although the rewards were random, the four he had gotten had all been extremely useful — Kaya’s Steel Balloon, Kalifa’s Crew Training Room, the Ryūyū (from recruiting Nami), and Robin’s "Hairspray Hand".
The ship they were currently sailing on, the Ryūyū, was also a reward from recruiting Nami.
But the conditions for recruitment had always remained a mystery to him.
Kaya had been extremely weak back then, yet her medical talent alone had triggered the first recruitment prompt and even granted the Steel Balloon talent. Rorschach suspected this had been the system’s beginner’s bonus.
As his strength grew, especially after Alabasta two years ago, the recruitment prompts had completely stopped — even when he met talented people like the CP9 members or even Jinbe.
Yet now, a recruitment prompt had appeared for Shirahoshi.
Was it connected to her visiting her mother’s grave? The prompt hadn’t appeared the first time they met.
Rorschach was genuinely puzzled.
Before he could think further, Robin’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Captain Rorschach, I found it. Just like you said, there really is a Poneglyph here."
While Shirahoshi was paying her respects, Robin had left the group to search for the Poneglyph in the Sea Forest. She had finally found it in a densely forested area. Instead of reading it immediately, she returned to inform everyone.
"Hm? Have you finished deciphering it?" Rorschach asked.
"No," Robin shook her head with a light smile. "I thought it would be more interesting if we read it together. After all, sharing unknown history feels more meaningful that way."
"Well then, let’s wait a little longer," Nami said, spreading her hands. "Eight years of longing isn’t something that can be poured out in just a few minutes."
Everyone nodded and sat down on the grass to wait quietly.
The mermaid girls closed their eyes and clasped their hands in prayer. Queen Otohime’s teachings from their childhood were still vivid in their minds.
Before long, Shirahoshi returned to the group. After one last deep look at the gravestone, she followed Rorschach and the others deeper into the Sea Forest.
In a clearing surrounded by dense underwater trees, a single ray of sunlight pierced through the canopy.
An ancient Poneglyph, covered in algae and moss, stood alone in the center of the only open space.
"Is this what you’ve been looking for? It looks really impressive!" Camie exclaimed in awe.
Although she had visited the Sea Forest before, she had never found the Poneglyph. Its location was quite well hidden.
"It’s just a slightly sturdier stone," Rorschach said casually. "Nothing special. But what’s written on it is part of the history from the ’Void Century’ eight hundred years ago."
"Robin, on the other hand, is completely obsessed with that period."
"Captain Rorschach..."
"Hey, hey~ I’m actually a bit curious about what really happened back then too. I have some guesses, but I don’t know the details."
Rorschach shrugged and replied with a light smile to Robin’s resentful look.
As a transmigrator, he naturally had some ideas about that era.
It was most likely related to how the Celestial Dragons became the rulers of the world — and deeply connected to the mysterious Imu.
Rorschach had even seen fan theories claiming Imu was a Moon Person — specifically one of the lowest-ranking ones who had been exiled to this world, later creating Devil Fruits by absorbing human emotions in an attempt to return to the Moon.
Still, he only treated it as a joke and didn’t take it seriously.
But the "Void Century" was almost certainly tied to the World Government and Imu’s dark history.
If that truth were revealed, the public would likely turn against the Celestial Dragons and Imu — possibly even causing the Marines to revolt.
This was also why the Five Elders and Imu were so wary of anyone who could read the Poneglyphs.
Though their level of caution was... somewhat comical.
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