I'm Not Interested in Devil Fruits

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Chapter Title: Serialized Big News 22 - Why Are Powerful People All Pirates?

East Blue, Oikett Kingdom. The pirates wreak havoc, leaving destruction in their wake. A three-year-old girl with blue hair, Nojiko, wanders with vacant eyes when she suddenly hears a depressed crying sound. Following the sound, she finds a swaddled baby covered by newspapers. The moment the baby sees her, she stops crying and bursts into a silly laugh. Nojiko picks up the newspaper and cradles the swaddled infant, tears streaming down her face…

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"What is this stone?"

Hancock is utterly astonished to discover that one side of this large stone is carved with numerous inscriptions, resembling the ancient text she saw on Rusukaina Island and the page that just fell out of the book!

What does it say?

Snake Princess looks at the Poneglyph stone with a smile and says, "What does it say? I don't think anyone can know… In the logs left by those who overcame difficulties to establish this nation on this island, they call this stone 'Poneglyph.' It is something absolutely dangerous that the World Government must not know about..."

"If it's so dangerous, why tell me?" Hancock asks curiously.

Snake Princess smiles and replies, "We are originally a pirate nation! We are dangerous ourselves."

Hancock agrees, "That's true."

Snake Princess leans down to touch Hancock's cheek and says, "Moreover… I believe Hancock will be the next Kuja Emperor! Letting you know about its existence in advance is no big deal."

Hancock raises an eyebrow and huffs, "I'll give you credit for your insight."

...

The memory on the wall screen continues to play until Hancock follows Snake Princess away from the Poneglyph's location and returns to the palace for dinner, at which point the footage rewinds, settling on Hancock's perspective, focusing on the side of the Poneglyph inscribed with ancient texts.

......

At Stand City Fortress, in the training ground, a square stone rises from the ground, and one side of it instantaneously carves out a plethora of ancient inscriptions like flowing water. Robin deciphers these complex characters that are difficult for ordinary people to understand.

Liam holds an iron rod, and the dark battle armor opposite him mirrors his actions, also wielding a rod, confronting his body. The two anticipate each other's next move simultaneously with Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki).

Swish! Swish!

Liam and B.I.B. simultaneously disappear from their original spots, their Soru speed faster than ever! At this speed, if he were to fight Laffitte to the death, even if Laffitte could catch a glimpse of Liam or B.I.B.'s killing intent, he probably wouldn't have time to react.

Bang!

When Liam and B.I.B.'s figures suddenly reappear, the two collide elbow to elbow, grappling in mid-air. As they prepare to land, they simultaneously stomp down to burst the air beneath them, using Geppo to shoot upwards.

While walking in the air, Liam and B.I.B. continuously exchange blows, their iron rods clashing and sparking.

...

"So, what does it say?" Liam wipes his sweat, opens a bottle of water, and takes a few gulps. He lets B.I.B. practice Haki on his own and walks over to the Poneglyph stone recreated from Shiro Shiro no Mi (Castle-Castle Fruit) where Robin has been focusing intently on the inscriptions. 

He casually asks, "Did you find the answers you were looking for?"

Robin, unwilling to give up, glances at it twice and shakes her head helplessly. "No… It's just a commemorative stone."

"Commemorative?" Liam asks in surprise. "Commemorative of what?"

Robin smiles and explains, "Didn't you say before that this place, Calm Belt, seems like it was artificially created…? This Poneglyph records that very matter."

Her tone carries an awe that hasn't faded. Liam, however, finds it amusing and replies, "Hmm… 'Warm congratulations and commemoration of the successful completion of the Calm Belt project'?"

What strange wording… Robin gives him a helpless glance but nods. "That's about the gist of it… According to the records above, a person called 'Poseidon' commanded the Sea Kings to swim along the present Calm Belt area, counteracting all ocean currents and allowing them to bring abundant special coral plants to spread across the seabed of the Calm Belt sea… The mineral particles formed by these special corals accumulated on the seabed, creating a special magnetic field that eventually led to the 'windless climate' we see today in the Calm Belt..."

Indeed, this was the doing of Poseidon… Liam nods, acknowledging that besides the Humanoid weapon, the Mermaid Princess, it would be hard for anyone else to accomplish such a world-altering feat.

"But, what's the point?" Liam scratches his chin. "Did they just create the Calm Belt to isolate the Grand Line from the Four Seas?"

Robin explains, "The rich seabed coral resources of the Calm Belt make the sea nutrient-rich… The Sea Kings living in this sea, influenced by the mineral particles, gradually evolved into the giant-scale Sea Kings we see today over time..."

Liam suddenly realizes, "So, Poseidon treated the Calm Belt like a breeding ground for Sea Kings!" As for how coral mineral particles could make Sea Kings grow larger… that wasn't an isolated case. 

The skyrocketing Sea Current had pushed half of Jayaisland to the height of Skypiea, feeding on the mineral particles in the cloud sea of Skypiea for over 400 years. Every tree and even the flying beasts on Jayaisland had become giant-scale.

Poseidon went through great lengths to establish a giant-scale breeding ground for Sea Kings; what could her intentions be? To raise an army of giant-scale Sea Kings for a cataclysmic flood to destroy the world? Or… simply to cultivate a couple of nuclear warheads to secure a bargaining chip for the Fish-Man race's survival?

Regardless of the reason… it was all past history! Liam shakes his head; in any case, the current "Poseidon," the Mermaid Princess, seems to be a suspected new generation of Joy Boy and a little fangirl of the future pirate king, Monkey D. Luffy, which makes it nearly impossible for her to lead all the giant-scale Sea Kings to annihilate the world.

Shattering the Red Line and destroying Mariejois is more likely…

"And don't be disheartened. There will always be opportunities to find other stones in the future." Seeing Robin looking a bit downcast, Liam smiles and says, "But before that, you need to at least have the strength to protect yourself, right?"

"You…" Robin looks up, blinking. "What are you planning?"

Liam chuckles, "I told you before, right? You also need to learn Haki!"

"I've tried…" Robin reveals a troubled expression. "I'm not Hancock; I don't have a talent for Haki..."

Liam shakes his finger seriously. "You don't actually believe that all the women on Kuja Island are Haki prodigies, do you?"

Robin looks puzzled, waiting for Liam to elaborate.

"Those with talent can indeed practice Haki faster and easier, but I don't believe that every woman on Kuja island across generations has so many with Haki talent." Liam raises his hand, and a layer of black Haki entwines it. "Since Haki is something everyone can learn, that means everyone can possess it. The reason there are so many Haki Ability users on Kuja island is that they have inherited Haki practice methods for generations and… they don't lack Haki Ability users as training partners! With real Haki accessible, the chances of learning Haki in such an advantageous environment far exceed those of most people from outside the sea..."

"No matter how much of a newbie you are, Robin," Liam stands at the entrance of Stand City Fortress, looking back at Robin and smiling slightly. "Under the condition of already mastering Haki and using it regularly, the likelihood of adapting to learn Haki on your own will surely increase by 80 to 90 percent, right?"

......

Two enormous serpents drag the red ship away from the Calm Belt sea. As soon as they cross the boundary line, a gust of wind sweeps across the deck, tousling the hair of all the girls from Kujaisland. They smile as they watch a beautiful girl with long black hair open her arms, close her eyes in the wind, and murmur ecstatically, "So this is the wind... It's even more comfortable than what the book described..."

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(End Of Chapter)