Revelations II

The Vice Admiral stood up and crossed her arms, waiting for him to take action. This action of hers left everyone in the room confused.

"I can certainly fly all of us there, but why would I take all of you? I can handle this Hornigold guy by myself..." The more he considered the variables at play, the more he leaned toward the idea of dealing with everything on his own. 'I know one of the deadliest powers of the Yami Yami no Mi is the ability to cancel devil fruits. None of them would stand a chance against him except for Gion and Primrose.'

"I have other plans for him, and I need him alive. After all, you obtained all this information thanks to me. The least you can do is show some respect for your elders," Tsuru replied, fully aware that if Veyron decided to go, there was little they could do to stop him. Fortunately, she had allies on her side, one way or another.

"I also told you that I want to deal with this man on my own, sweetie. This has become personal."

Facing the Amazon Lily Empress and his 'surrogate' mother, Veyron eventually conceded, realizing he had no other choice.

"There's another piece of information that I haven't disclosed yet, but I have a condition," Robin interjected.

"Hmm? What is it?" Veyron inquired.

"Take me to Skypea..."

Silence fell upon the room, and the others exchanged puzzled looks. Robin didn't believe her request was unreasonable.

"Is she a bit insane?" Marigold and Sandersonia chuckled.

"Why?" Robin asked.

"You're too weak. What exactly are you planning to do up there?"

"I don't intend to fight anyone! There's something I must see, or more accurately, something I'm looking for, and it could be up there. If I miss this opportunity, I may never set foot on a Sky Island again... I have studied Jaya's ancient remains and the answers I'm looking for should be in that island!"

"What are you looking for?" Tsuru inquired.

Robin hesitated before responding, "That... I'd rather not say."

"She's looking for the Poneglyphs," Veyron matter-of-factly revealed.

This revelation stunned the room, and all eyes turned to him in astonishment.

"Nico Robin, aren't you a bit reckless?" Tsuru sighed.

"You're aware of the price on your head. You're attempting to uncover the history of the Void Century, even though you know the risks involved!"

Gion, fueled by anger, lashed out at Robin. She had a bounty on her for a reason, but among the Marines, it was well-known that she had not committed a crime deserving such a bounty.

While Ohara remained shrouded in mystery, Rear Admirals, Vice Admirals, and Admirals all understood that Robin's only 'crime' was seeking forbidden knowledge. Yet, Robin continued to push the boundaries, and this time, it frustrated Gion beyond measure.

"I can't help myself! I'm the only one left who can read the Poneglyphs. If I don't do it, who will?"

A tense standoff ensued, with Robin eventually yielding to the overwhelming pressure exerted by Gion, who was no pushover. Veyron intervened by standing in front of Robin and emitting his Conqueror's Haki. The contrast in power forced Gion to step back, gritting her teeth. She couldn't believe that this young boy possessed such immense strength, and his aura alone was more intimidating than the sword leaning against the wall.

"So, what if she wants to discover the Void Century?" Veyron challenged.

"Dracule Veyron, you're a pain, even for someone so young. You all can do as you please, but don't come running to me later," Tsuru conceded.

With Tsuru's acceptance, Veyron smirked and turned his attention to Robin.

"Robin, what is this information you have? I'll take you with us. Marigold and Sandersonia will protect you."

"Eh? Why us?" the sisters protested.

"Because I adore both of you?" Veyron replied with a teasing tone, leaving them with no choice but to accept.

"We'll have to protect this girl," Marigold reluctantly agreed.

"I suppose we will~" Sandersonia added, the two sisters seemingly under Veyron's influence.

Hancock and Primrose raised their eyebrows in surprise, realizing that Veyron had a unique power of persuasion, even over them.

Robin continued, "There's another piece of information I haven't shared. Peter has allies on that island. I don't know if it was some kind of code, but his crewmates mentioned that Peter was an ally of the 'God of Lightning.'"

"An ally of a God? That sounds like nonsense. There are no gods," Gion dismissed the information, her disappointment evident. The others in the room shared her scepticism, except for one person, the only one who had actual knowledge of events from the manga but remained puzzled.

'Peter Hornigold possesses the Yami Yami no Mi, and he and Enel are both Bilkan allies? Things are making less and less sense,' Veyron mused, his mind filled with questions. 'If this world is a parallel universe, and events don't align with the story, does that mean Blackbeard doesn't exist in this timeline?'

All he could do was speculate.

**

**

Somewhere in the Grand Line, aboard a Yonko's ship, the Moby Dick.

"I'll tell you a story."

"What about?"

"Leave him be; he's already drunk!"

"This story is about a mighty and destructive clash between two Devil Fruits."

"What's this lunatic talking about? Fruits fighting on their own?."

"Sounds like one of those games where you have to slice fruits with your fingers!~"

Nobody was paying attention to this man, undermining his story.

"There was one fruit that represented the night and another that represented the day. These fruits waged a fierce battle for supremacy. They were both incredibly powerful, but ultimately, like in all battles, one had to emerge victorious."

He finished off a bottle of booze and then continued.

"And who won, darkness or light?"

"It has to be light oi!" A blonde man with an afro affirmed. At the end of the ship, a gigantic old man paid attention to the drunkard's stories, deep attention. 

"No, not at all. Naturally, darkness emerged victorious~ but it suffered greatly to defeat the day. In the end, just like the day has three parts, the fruit that represented the night ended up splitting into three parts as well. As for the fruit of the day, Zehaha~ that pesky fruit was exiled for centuries, never to be eaten by anyone again."

"What's the point of this story, Teach?" the old man asked, bringing everyone back into silence. 

"The point is that the Fruit of Darkness split into three parts... and today, those three fruits are the only ones that allow you to eat another Devil Fruit. They long to reunite, but destiny has decreed that the three parts will never meet."

"Get out of here... don't pay attention to him pops. We all know it's impossible to eat two Devil Fruits. The Devil inside them would clash, and the person would explode."

"And we all here know the night could never beat the dawn!".

"YEAHHH!!"

"Zehahahaha! You're right bastards. I was just talking nonsense as always. Let's get back to the feast, and this one's on you, Pops!"

"Cheers!"

"Long live Pops!"

But the 'pops' didn't cheer... his gaze was firmly fixed on this 'son' of his as if he was beginning to notice something that nobody else could.