Chapter 276: Secrets of the Poneglyphs

“What exactly does the Poneglyph say, Karl? How much do you really know?”

“If you know what happened during the Void Century, could you tell me?” Dr. Clover asked, barely able to hide his urgency.

Watching his animated gestures, it was obvious they’d been dying to unravel the secrets of the Void Century for years. If Karl really had the answers, he couldn’t wait to hear them.

This was a pursuit that had consumed them for a long time. They’d even risked defying the World Government, knowing full well it could cost them their lives.

Just moments ago, hearing Karl speak with such certainty, they began to suspect he truly did know the truth behind that vanished century.

If that was the case, it was the best news they could hope for. It would push their research ahead by leaps and bounds. The tension in the room was thick, everyone worried Karl might drop some devastating news.

Karl sat casually on the bench, giving a nonchalant shrug, his tone relaxed. “Even if I told you, what would it change? You’re not capable of keeping a secret this big.”

“Speaking of Poneglyphs, have you ever heard of the Red Poneglyphs?”

Everyone froze for a moment. Red Poneglyphs? What was he talking about?

Why did it sound like something none of them had ever heard before?

Then realization dawned on Dr. Clover. Somewhere in their research, he’d come across a few references to Red Poneglyphs—but they’d turned up no detailed information on them.

Dr. Clover said, “I know a little. The Red Poneglyphs are supposed to record what really happened during the Void Century.”

“But so far, we’ve only managed to collect one.”

“And even after decoding it, all we’ve gotten are a few fragmented clues.”

Karl shook his head slightly. “The Red Poneglyphs don’t record history. If you don’t even know about them, then tell me—do you know how many Poneglyphs exist in total?”

Hearing that, Dr. Clover could only shake his head. How could he possibly know the answer to that?

Even the one they did possess had taken them years to track down.

Karl decided there was no need to keep them guessing. He spoke plainly, “There are about thirty Poneglyphs in total. Four of them—the Red Poneglyphs—draw the coordinates to Raftel.”

“Nani?!”

“What?!”

“Impossible!”

Karl expected those reactions. There might not be anyone with the Pirate King title yet, but circling the entire sea had long been every pirate’s ultimate dream.

If word got out, the whole ocean would be thrown into chaos. An event like this could shake the world to its core—maybe even trigger a pirate frenzy.

Nobody expected to hear anything about Raftel’s location here of all places.

Dr. Clover looked thoughtful. Clearly, their research on the Poneglyphs was still missing some vital pieces.

“So, that means if you find all four Red Poneglyphs, you could truly circumnavigate the sea.”

Karl nodded. Judge had it right for once. In the original story, Roger traveled around the world and became the so-called Pirate King, kicking off the Great Pirate Era.

“Once you’ve traveled the whole sea, you’ll earn a legendary title: King of the Pirates—or Pirate King.”

“But without the four Red Poneglyphs, you’ll never find Raftel.”

“Becoming Pirate King is nothing but a fantasy without them.”

“And even if you do find them but can’t read them, it’s all wasted effort.”

The three were still reeling when Karl dropped another bombshell. “There are also nine Poneglyphs recording crucial intelligence. The rest are regular Poneglyphs.”

“The intelligence Poneglyphs record how the Great Kingdom was destroyed.”

“The normal Poneglyphs tell the history of that lost kingdom.”

Here, Karl sounded a bit regretful, spreading his hands. “You only have a single Poneglyph—and I bet it’s just a normal one. If you really want to uncover information about the Great Kingdom, you’d never manage it alone.”

“Forget how scattered the Poneglyphs are across the sea for a second—just think about the danger of the Navy discovering you.”

“If the World Government found out you were researching the Poneglyphs, it wouldn’t just be your lives on the line. This entire island would vanish without a trace.”

Dr. Clover fell into deep thought. He had never imagined there could be thirty Poneglyphs—that explained why their own clues were so incomplete.

“Karl, do you know where the Poneglyphs are hidden?”

Having long since accepted the risk of death, Dr. Clover wasn’t about to let fear of the World Government stop him. What mattered most was the whereabouts of the Poneglyphs.

Karl looked into Dr. Clover’s fearless eyes and took a steadying breath. “From what I know, Wano has one. There’s one on God Valley, though I think Roger already copied it. Alabasta has one. Skypiea too. And Zou’s got one as well. As for the rest, I’m not sure.”

With real leads at last, Dr. Clover was so excited he barely said a word before rushing straight out the door.

Watching Dr. Clover practically fall apart with excitement, Karl turned to Vegapunk. “We don’t have much time. Let’s record everything from Ohara’s library as quickly as we can.”

“The longer we stay here, the greater the risk of getting caught.”

“You don’t want the World Government finding out either, do you?”

Vegapunk knew exactly how much Karl was risking by coming to North Blue alone. It’d be one thing if Karl only had to look out for himself, but now he had to take both Vegapunk and Judge Vinsmoke as well.

If the World Government caught them, Vegapunk didn’t want to end up working for them—especially not after learning what a corrupt organization they really were.

A man like him—someone who always used his skills to help the island first—would never bend the knee to the World Government.

“Don’t worry, Karl. Give me three days—that’s all I need.” Vegapunk left at once, determined to cram every book in the Tree of Knowledge straight into his mind.

He wondered if his head would grow even bigger, but it didn’t really matter. He still hadn’t even unlocked one-third of Karl’s bloodline. If he could access all of it, maybe his head wouldn’t get any bigger.

Judge followed right behind him. He wanted to grab every book he could about genetics and biology. He’d just learned during their chat that Ohara had volumes he’d never even seen before.

Judge poured himself into his work—failure just wasn’t an option. If he couldn’t perfect the clone technology, who knows what Karl would do to him.

Until he restored the glory of the Vinsmoke Family, he had no intention of dying before his time.

With nothing else to do, Karl stepped out from the Tree of Knowledge. On Ohara, he focused on training his martial arts and trying out every skill his Liuxing template offered.