The One Piece II

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Chapter 174: The One Piece II

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"There are probably a lot more limitations, but in the right hands, it's certainly deadly." Yovan had to say that Loki is quite scary... He even deemed him as one of the leading toys in the coming War.

The Strangers set out toward the end of the Grand Line, something they didn't really need to do after knowing the location of the One Piece.

However, that's irrelevant to them. Either way is the safest way for the Strangers, so they sailed across New World to reach what's supposedly the last Island in the Grand Line.

The Island was called Lodestar Island, the last island in the New World that can be reached by following the Log Pose, and the second to last island in the Grand Line.

Laffitte was the crew's navigator, but his job was taken over by Yovan, someone whose crows are spread through the World, leading the way for him.

He doesn't even need a Log Pose despite knowing how to use one. He's the greatest assurance of perfect navigation in the entire World.

If the sea became too wavy, Yovan would control Seizon No Hono to fly. If the sky and the ocean are too chaotic, he would dive into the depths with the help of Kalifa's bubbles.

Thus they were safely able to reach Lodestar Island. All the different paths on the Grand Line ultimately meet at Lodestar Island, yet very few people were able to reach this Island.

It's even said that the Roger Pirates were the first to reach, showcasing just how difficult it's to arrive there as the closer they got to Lodestar, the more monstrous the sea beasts were.

Sea Kings were a common commodity there, and there were some Sea monsters that may as well be called Sea Emperors due to their unrivaled monstrosity.

Such creatures were so gigantic that they could dwarf the Ships of Giants which are so massive they dwarf most Sea Kings.

"It's said that Roger started suspecting about the existence of a final island after reaching a dead end at Lodestar Island, more than thirty years ago.

There, Roger's Log Pose would start behaving strangely, with the needle going haywire and never recording a destination.

This, as well as countless stories and denials provided by the World Government, would fuel Roger's beliefs that this supposed place existed and held something of immense value." Yovan stated as he leaped off his Ship, the Strangers following after him.

"The Log Pose is behaving strangely," Kalifa nodded, with a Log Pose in her hand, "The New World Log Pose is special as the place requires more elaborate measures, due to the fact that some islands change or even completely hide their magnetic fields at random, which may leave a crew stranded if they rely on a Log Pose with only a single needle.

Thus to safely navigate through the New World, a crew needs to have a Log Pose with three needles.

Each needle records the magnetism of one of three different islands simultaneously, as opposed to the Paradise Log Pose, which only records the magnetic waves of one island at a time. This way, if you lose the magnetism of one island, you still have two backup options."

Kalifa suddenly started explaining out of nowhere, but the Strangers' confusion was quickly solved as she showed them the Log Pose.

"All the needles are moving?" To correct Reiju, all the needles were going haywire, moving erratically with no destination in mind.

Normally, Log Poses take time to record a new destination, but they wouldn't act so strangely.

"Just because of these doubts, he was certain of the existence of another Island which contains a treasure the likes of which never seen before?" Bege was doubtful.

"That's why we're here," Yovan smiled, also sharing Bege's doubts, "Let's relax a bit here and find what he found."

Which is nothing. The Strangers found nothing, none at all despite spending a month there, just out of curiosity as they already know the location of the One Piece.

Yovan had already sent his Crews to Lodestar Island but they found nothing, so he thought coming here personally would be fruitful, alas, there was only futility.

Not that it matters. They were treating the journey and the stay more like a vacation, so they didn't mind.

They realized that whatever clue was left there was likely taken away, either by the World Government or by the Roger Pirates.

And it's not needed anyway. Yovan already knew that the clue likely told about the Poneglyphs, something already known to the World, told by Roger himself before his execution.

Regardless, the Strangers enjoyed their stay in Lodestar, quite the gorgeous place it was.

However, Laffitte's absence really left a clear mark, easily noticed. How could they not notice? The Island was still gorgeous after all. If he was there, it would've been set aflame or turned into a burial land of Sea Emperors.

They left soon enough, setting out to the true end of the Grand Line, the Island called Raftel or Laugh Tale.

It took them another full month before reaching the end of the Grand Line, amidst the messy weather, the endless raging waves, endless rain, thunder, and lightning.

It was as if the World was giving them a warning, trying to stop them from approaching something forbidden.

Strangely, however, the closer they got to the end, the fewer sea creatures there were, leaving only small mostly harmless creatures.

There were fewer and fewer Sea Kings as they approached until there were none by the time they breached through the chaotic part of the end of the Grand Line.

The weather calmed down. The ocean was also calm, rainbows could be seen on the horizon, and most importantly, far on the horizon, there was the Red Line.

The Red Line is a vast ring-like continent which wraps around the entire world. It's where Pirates truly start their journey, and it's where Yovan, Bege, and Laffitte started.

From the west blue, they entered Paradise through the miracle that's Reverse Mountain and traveled through Paradise to reach the other end of the Red Line, where the Mary Geoise lies.

They went beneath the Mary Geoise through the Fishmen Island and surfaced in New World which they also traveled through.

Now what does that mean? It means that part of the Red Line that's before them was none other than Reverse Mountain. They came back to where they started.

It is an extremely tall mountain at one of the points where the four Blues meet, coincidentally forming an X. It is located in the Red Line and is at the opposite side of the world from Mary Geoise.

Yovan always thought this place to be unique in that rivers from the Blues flow up the mountain, meet at the top, and then flow down into the Grand Line.

"It's so interesting, isn't it?" Yovan remarked with an amused smile.

"It really is," Kalifa nodded, also smiling, one of satisfaction.

The strangers' curiosity was satiated, "There is no entrance to be seen which means..." Kalifa added, awaiting confirmation from Yovan.

This is the end of New World, so there wasn't any entrance leading up to the top of Reverse Mountain. Before them was nothing but a gigantic indestructible Red Line.

"Down!" Yovan nodded with a smile.

Kalifa got into action, seeming excited. She spread her hands, forming a strange bubble that enveloped the entire Ship, very similar to the bubbles used by Ships to go under the Mary Geoise but even more advanced.

"Yhahahahaha," Yovan suddenly let out a loud laugh, "Can't wait, huh? Well, you'll have to wait a while longer. It's not time yet."

"Huh? Why?" Most of the Strangers wondered while Kalifa got over her excitement, remembering something.

"The coordinates recorded in the Poneglyph not only state the latitude and the longitude of the One Piece but also time, a point of time where one can get access to Laugh Tale," Viola was the one to explain.

She had read through all the Poneglyphs copies they have, so she was quite knowledgeable about the location of the One Piece, especially with her memory reading powers, which allowed her to learn how to read the secret language in the first place.

"The D," Yovan stated as he looked up at the bright sky, "When the Night comes. When the moon shines bright in the shape of D... The First Quarter. That's the time recorded in the Poneglyphs."