Chapter 430: Hidden History – Setting Sail Again

Ringo, Sunflower Town. 

Deep inside an underground passage beneath the *Red Blossom Pavilion*— 

"Commander, stay close to me. This tunnel is like a maze—it's easy to get lost if you're not careful." 

Roman made sure to drop small scraps of paper at every turn as markers. So far, he had placed 362 markers, yet they still hadn't reached their destination... 

This place was a massive underground labyrinth. 

Even for the strongest fighters, destroying this place wouldn't be impossible. 

But finding a specific target inside this maze? That was like searching for a needle in the ocean. 

"We're here." 

Fortunately, with the deputy commander of the *Outlaws* leading the way, getting lost wasn't a concern. 

However— 

"Sea-Prism Stone?" 

Roman wasn't like Luffy. He couldn't just stroll into a room made entirely of Sea-Prism Stone like it was nothing. 

Even if they had fought side by side, he couldn't afford to be careless! 

After all, his title of *Outlaw Commander* had come out of nowhere. 

And the *Outlaws* were clearly hiding something— 

The way they acted around him, the mysterious treasure Kaido had mentioned, and even the ancient weapon *Pluton*— 

Roman had to be cautious. 

"Commander, please wait here. I'll go get it." 

The bandaged deputy seemed to understand why Roman hesitated at the entrance. 

No Devil Fruit user would walk into a Sea-Prism Stone room willingly. 

Losing their powers was worse than a swordsman losing his blade. 

The deputy stepped into the room. 

There was no sudden ambush, no hidden assassins jumping out from behind the door. 

After a few moments, he returned—carrying a small box. 

What could be inside? 

For a brief moment, Roman's mind raced with possibilities— 

A Devil Fruit? Explosives? The blueprints for *Pluton*? A laptop? 

...Or even a photo album of Imu?! 

But when the deputy opened the box— 

Even Roman, who was usually calm, couldn't hide his shock. 

Inside the box lay a book. 

And on its cover, written in large, bold characters— 

*The Book of Deification*?! 

It wasn't strange to see Chinese characters in this world. 

Wano was filled with traditional kanji, so a book like this shouldn't have been surprising. 

But— 

Roman reached out. 

The book floated into his hand on its own. 

In that instant, a surge of life energy flowed from the book into his body— 

Like water naturally rushing to a lower place. 

"This thing..." 

Seeing Roman's complicated expression, the deputy sighed. 

"As expected... It really belongs to you." 

...? 

"How much do you know about this book?" 

Now that he had decided to hand it over, the deputy finally let go of the burden in his heart.

"This is the greatest secret of our group, 'The Outlaws,' and the treasure that has been passed down through generations: This book grants each of us a Devil Fruit ability on every page. While these abilities aren't as flexible or varied as real Devil Fruits, they are enough to keep passing down a team of ability users..." 

"I'm asking about its origins!" 

Hearing Roman's impatient tone, the bandaged second-in-command shrugged. 

"No idea. It's been around for centuries. Our records don't mention where this book came from—only a secret phrase and a prophecy that someone would come for it after 800 years. That person would become our leader, the 'Outlaw Chief'..." 

Without a doubt, that person was Roman. 

"Everyone always thought that was just an old joke. Some leader probably got drunk and made it up as a prank—a kind of initiation test for new chiefs." 

The bandaged second-in-command studied Roman. But now, this man standing before him had fulfilled the prophecy. 

And that face... If he didn't know his Pops was as strict as they came, he would have suspected he had a long-lost brother. 

"I thought this 'prophecy' was nonsense too. Even when the 800-year mark arrived, all I did was tell the patrols to keep an eye out. Then one day, the scout 'Mayfly' reported that someone was mocking our name and fighting style... That's when I had a strange feeling..." 

The prophecy was about to come true. 

That "Mayfly" was the person in the black-and-white robes who had led the way. Clearly, they had some sort of sensing ability. 

"So basically, whether it's the book or the prophecy, you guys... Never mind, I get it." 

Roman shook his head, deciding not to press further. 

If he were in their shoes—if his clan had guarded this so-called treasure for hundreds of years, only for some stranger to show up out of nowhere claiming it was meant for him—his first reaction would have been: 

Screw that! 

Why should we just hand it over? 

But... 

"This power is incredible." 

The book in Roman's hands was, in essence, the same as the "Thief's Secret" manual he had created for Nami. But this book was clearly much more powerful! 

Even after all these years, it still held an enormous amount of life energy. The abilities inside it ranged from ones Roman had collected to others he had never seen before. And even— 

?! "What is this?" 

Roman's fingers stopped on a pitch-black page. 

Something about it felt incredibly dangerous—almost like it could... 

"Oh, that page? That ability is called 'Flying Dragon's Cloud-Grasping Hand.' It's one of the core abilities of our group..." 

The moment he heard the familiar name, Roman instantly realized what this page truly was. 

It was just like Blackbeard Teach's Darkness-Darkness Fruit! 

Sure enough, its function was— 

"Our group has had Devil Fruit users too. When one of them reaches the end of their life, or willingly gives up their power, we use this page to extract and transfer the fruit's ability. My 'Text-Text Fruit' has been passed down in this way for generations." 

"Even the poems I use with my ability—they were inherited along with it." 

So that's how it worked! 

The Outlaws, the 36 Heavenly Stars, the technique names, the poetry—all of it had been carefully planned to attract a certain type of person... 

Only a time traveler would notice these clues! 

Which meant— 

"Sigh, this is ridiculous..." 

Roman held the powerful "Devil Fruit Ability Codex," but he didn't feel happy about it at all. 

"Now that I've put the pieces together, I think I have a good idea of what's going on. But..." 

Can't I just get a break for once? 

He had just finished defeating Kaido, and now Wano had some massive hidden secret waiting for him? 

Give me a damn moment to breathe! 

"Here, take it back." 

?! 

The bandaged second-in-command stood there in shock, clutching the book that Roman had casually tossed back to him. 

Did he even realize what he was holding?! 

This book was the very foundation of the Outlaws! 

A treasure that could instantly create an army of ability users! 

A secret that even Four Emperors Kaido had been after for twenty years! 

He had hesitated for so long before finally deciding to reveal it, and yet... 

Roman barely looked interested, tossing it away like trash?! 

Unbelievable— 

Give me back my inner struggle! Give me back my hard-earned resolve! 

"You guys keep it," Roman said, waving him off. "You've taken care of it for this long, so another few years won't make a difference." 

The bandaged second-in-command opened his mouth to argue, but Roman had already turned away.

"It's not about being sentimental. This thing is definitely connected to me, but what matters most is the information I got from it. The book itself is secondary…" 

"No, Commander." 

Since they had already decided to face the truth, the bandaged vice-captain saw no reason to hide anything else. 

"There's another secret about this book. Beneath Wano Country, there's a hidden warship! This book is its core, and that's why Kaido never used large-scale attacks on us. That warship is incredibly powerful—it's…" 

"It's Pluton, isn't it?" 

 Roman rubbed his temples and cut him off. 

"I knew it. No wonder Pluton hasn't been seen in the past 800 years—it's been hidden beneath Wano Country this whole time…" 

The scholars of Ohara had existed for a long time, and many could read the ancient texts. It was hard to believe that in 800 years, no ambitious people had tried to get their hands on the ancient weapons. But if it remained a mystery even now, that meant— 

Pluton must be somewhere that most people, even the strongest ones, couldn't reach. 

And a place like Wano Country, surrounded by harsh weather, protected by cliffs and waterfalls, and guarded by skilled samurai, was the perfect hiding spot. 

"I have no interest in some ancient relic from 800 years ago." 

As Roman followed his own markings out of the area, he sighed again. No wonder the Poneglyph they got from Kaido contained a formula for fusing alloys using the Munch-Munch Fruit. It even mentioned an untested "Adamant Alloy" at the end… That sounded exactly like Wapometal! 

Putting everything together, Roman had a guess about what Pluton really was. 

Pluton… it might just be a bigger version of the Thousand Sunny. 

"Roman, time to go!" 

As he walked past the battered entrance of Flower Town, Roman saw Nami waving at him in the distance. She had just been chatting with Melody, the archer girl, but turned when she sensed someone coming. 

A moment ago, Roman's face had been serious and tense. But now, his expression softened. 

Ancient secrets, the world's freedom—none of that mattered to him! As long as he could travel happily with Nami, Luffy, and the rest of the Straw Hat Crew, that was enough. 

"I'm coming." 

… "Luffy, you're leaving already?" 

Near the newly established Whitebeard Pirates base, built on the ruins of Onigashima after Roman helped move the debris out to sea, many had gathered for the farewell. 

Ace, the Whitebeard commanders, Yamato, Hiyori, the Akazaya Seven, Hyogoro, the four yakuza bosses, and the warriors from Zou… 

"Hehehe, I'm gonna be the Pirate King! I can't stay here any longer. Besides—" 

"As long as we're on this ocean, we'll meet again someday!" 

Luffy grinned at everyone who had come to see them off, then turned to another group. 

"Carrot, Pedro, aren't you staying on the ship?" 

"No," 

Jaguar Mink, cigarette in mouth, shook his head. 

"Even if the future Pirate King himself invited me, I've decided to stay and help rebuild Wano. It's our duty as part of Zou." 

As for Carrot, she had simply been caught and held back by Wanda, the dog Mink who had just arrived. 

"Waaah, Pudding, I'm gonna miss you!" 

"Waaah, Carrot, I'll miss you too…" 

As the two girls hugged and cried together, Sanji stood nearby with a helpless look on his face. Zoro, on the other hand, just scoffed. 

"Useless cook." 

"What was that, moss-head?!" 

"Everyone, set sail!" 

As Jinbe turned the wheel, the Thousand Sunny slowly drifted away, carrying the crew into the open sea. 

Roman took one last deep look at this land, a country full of hidden secrets, then said, 

"It should be about time for our new bounties to be released."

(End of Chapter) 

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