Chapter 302: A Hint Toward Laugh Tale

Karl wasn’t surprised at all by Roger’s question.

Right now, Roger was desperate to learn the location of Laugh Tale.

Just look at the original story—when he found out that the Red Poneglyphs were road signs and that Kozuki Oden could read them, he even kneeled before Newgate, begging to take Oden aboard his ship.

Back then, Roger didn’t care about pride or dignity.

His dream was worth giving up everything.

“Have you ever seen a Poneglyph before?”

“Do you know what the Poneglyphs are actually about?”

“Aren’t you even a little curious why the Poneglyphs exist?”

Karl tossed out these questions like he was making small talk—just a gentle reminder to push Roger’s focus onto finding the Poneglyphs.

At this point in time, Roger likely had seen a Poneglyph or two, but just didn’t know how to translate them.

Though it’s unclear exactly when he found out, eventually he must have learned that the route to Laugh Tale was hidden in the Poneglyphs.

But now that Oden was no longer in Wano, and with what happened before, a rift had formed between Karl and Oden—a gap that couldn’t be crossed.

He wasn’t about to lead Roger straight to Ohara, was he?

After all, the Navy hadn’t noticed what was happening on Ohara yet. Dragging Roger there would only endanger innocent people. It wasn’t the right move.

Karl would never forget the Navy’s atrocity against Ohara. He refused to become the spark for another massacre.

He’d already witnessed enough bloodshed, especially after what happened on Blue Star. Such slaughters defied all reason and morality.

Suddenly, Roger seemed to catch on. He smacked his right fist into his left palm and exclaimed, “Are you trying to tell me—”

“The location of Laugh Tale is recorded on the Poneglyphs, isn’t it?”

“No wonder, whenever I got close to a Poneglyph, it felt like something was calling out to me. Maybe the times really are calling, too.”

“But with so many Poneglyphs out there, which one actually hides the route?”

Over the years, Roger had traveled almost everywhere except the heart of the New World. He’d seen plenty of Poneglyphs—at least a dozen—and he hadn’t made many copies since he couldn’t read the script.

He realized that to get anywhere, he’d have to retrace his steps and collect all the Poneglyphs.

But since Karl was already divulging the secret about Laugh Tale, he wasn’t about to let Roger run around blindly guessing.

This was Karl’s experiment—to see if he could change the timeline, and whether this so-called “world correction force” actually existed.

Whatever happened next could have huge consequences for Karl’s plans.

“The route to Laugh Tale is recorded on the Poneglyphs,” Karl said, “but only on some special ones.”

“Scattered across the sea, there are four Red Poneglyphs. The text on them outlines the path to the final island—Laugh Tale.”

At that, Roger remembered—back on God Valley, they’d made a copy of one Red Poneglyph.

So that meant they still needed to find the other three Red Poneglyphs to pinpoint Laugh Tale’s location.

Roger unsheathed Ace and made some noise, just so those outside thought he and Karl were still fighting. No need to make either side suspicious.

“So, Karl, do you know where the other three Red Poneglyphs are?”

“And what information is written on the other Poneglyphs?”

Now that Roger knew the Red Poneglyphs were the key, his restless heart had finally calmed. What he really wanted to know now was something else.

Unlike in the original story, here the locations of the Red Poneglyphs hadn’t been described much.

Karl could only draw on the manga and what he knew about how Roger acquired the Poneglyphs in the end.

Other than the ones already found, many Poneglyphs were probably still exactly where they were left.

He knew there was one on Zou, one in Wano, one in Fishman Island. He wasn’t sure if the one from God Valley had been moved to Charlotte Linlin’s territory.

If that was the case, then the locations of all four had already been laid out right before Karl.

But just reaching Laugh Tale wasn’t enough for Karl. If you didn’t have the strength once you got there, it wouldn’t do you any good anyway.

From what he guessed, Luffy would probably need to unite dozens of races before anyone could overthrow the Celestial Dragons.

Karl didn’t just stand by—he swung his Halberd, making loud clangs with Roger.

The ‘clang, clang, clang’ rang through the air, occasionally knocking down more than a few branches and leaves.

At the same time, Karl told Roger the whereabouts of the other three Poneglyphs.

Watching Roger’s face light up in excitement, Karl had to break his train of thought.

“Even if you gather all four Red Poneglyphs and find someone who can translate them,”

“you still might not get what you want at Laugh Tale.”

“The time just isn’t right. You arrived too soon.”

Those were words Roger actually said, even in the original story.

After seeing Laugh Tale, Roger must have discovered something: maybe the missing century of history, maybe a fair share of treasure.

Piecing together the clues from everything he read and deduced…

He realized he’d arrived decades too early, which was why he wanted to pass the title of Joy Boy to his own son.

If Luffy hadn’t eaten that fruit, Shanks probably would’ve given it to Ace.

Seeing that Roger had something more to say but was hesitating, Karl quickly cut him off. “Don’t expect me to find you someone who can translate the Poneglyphs. That’s something you’ll have to do on your own.”

The ones who could read the Poneglyphs were usually families from Wano, but most had been wiped out by Charlotte Linlin. Only Oden and a few of his retainers were still wandering the seas.

But in true protagonist fashion, when Roger needed a translator, Oden would probably show up.

As for Kozuki Momonosuke, you were as good as finished.

Thinking of the things Momonosuke had done, Karl’s eyes flashed with envy, quickly replaced by a ruthless glare.

Brats like him deserved to vanish from this world.

Otherwise, the only other place to break the Poneglyph code would be Ohara in West Blue.

“That’s all for your questions. Now, let me explain my plan.”

“Here’s what I have in mind…”

After that, the two of them sat atop the treetops, deep in conversation.

They hammered out plenty of plans for what to do next—though it all hinged on Roger finally understanding he couldn’t make anything happen yet.

Karl was sure Roger would eventually make a clear choice.

They talked for a long time, right up until Karl tossed Roger a handful of golden rings—then, at last, their discussion drew to a close.

Down below, Charlotte Linlin, sensing that Karl and Roger were at a stalemate and no longer fighting, quietly withdrew from the battlefield.

Looked like some sort of agreement had been reached, which was just as well—it’d be good for training up her crew.

“Old man, have you ever been kicked by light?”