Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

Bartholomew Bear, after disembarking, went straight to the only tavern on the island, only to find that there weren't many people inside.

Upon seeing Bartholomew Kuma enter, the boss went directly to him, placed a Den Den Mushi in front of him, and then left.

"Hello... Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?" When he picked up the Den Den Mushi, an unfamiliar voice came through.

"Who are you?" Bartholomew Bear asked after thinking for a moment.

“Reina! Benedict D. Reina!” Reina chuckled softly on the other end of the Den Den Mushi and replied.

Upon hearing Reina introduce himself, Bartholomew Xiong, who had remained quite calm, immediately narrowed his eyes.

He had just come out of Marineford and naturally knew about Aokiji and Garp's failed ambush of the Whitebeard Pirates. Although they severely injured Reina and Ace, they failed to capture either of them. Moreover, Magellan was severely injured again, which displeased the big boss in Impel Down.

Most importantly, Reina's level of danger has been reassessed, and his bounty has jumped from 1.5 billion Berries to 2 billion!

Although he didn't know why the World Government and the Navy suddenly felt that Reina was much more dangerous, he knew what the bounty represented.

Reina's 1.5 billion bounty hadn't been touched for a long time. For great pirates like them, the Navy basically wouldn't increase their bounties. 1.5 billion was only at the level of a Yonko's first mate.

However, Reina's bounty has suddenly skyrocketed, which means that Reina's threat level to the World Government is now approaching that of the Four Emperors.

That's a bit scary!

It's important to know that the bounty on the Four Emperors is calculated not only based on their own strength but also on the bonus from their pirate crew. However, the Whitebeard Pirates, to which Reina belonged, did not give him a bonus; instead, the bonus went to Whitebeard, because Whitebeard was the captain.

Therefore, there is a serious problem with Reina's two billion bounty.

At least in Bartholomew Kuma's view, Reina must have done something that made the World Government quite wary of him, which is why this situation has occurred.

"So it's the famous vice-captain of the Whitebeard Pirates... Lord Akame Reyner! May I ask what brings you here?" Bartholomew Kuma straightened his posture and said softly.

"I heard you defeated the Straw Hat crew? Then you should know why I'm here to see you, right?" Reina chuckled and replied.

After the Enies Lobby incident, news of Reina helping the Straw Hat crew evade the Buster Call spread throughout the world, and his relationship with Robin was also basically exposed; anyone with a keen eye could easily find out about their connection.

Therefore, Reina believes that Bartholomew Kuma, as a Revolutionary Army spy, must have known Robin's identity, which is why he said that.

However, he didn't know that Bartholomew Kuma had been assisting Vegapunk's research, so he didn't know much about the outside world. But on Thriller Bark, Robin had already told Bartholomew Kuma about her identity, so Reina's revelation was somewhat accidental.

After a moment of silence, Bartholomew Kuma slowly asked, "Is it for Nico Robin?"

“Now that you know, I won’t waste any more words. Tell me Robin’s whereabouts, and I can pretend this never happened! Otherwise, I don’t mind declaring war on your Revolutionary Army!” Reina said in a deep voice.

When Bartholomew Kuma heard Reiner's words, his expression turned cold. The other man's words were very certain of his identity as a revolutionary. So who leaked it?

Those who know his identity are all high-ranking members of the revolutionary army; ordinary people would never know.

“She’s at the connecting bridge in the East China Sea! Our comrades are there, so don’t worry, she won’t be harmed!” Bartholomew Xiong said after a moment’s hesitation.

“Okay… but you’d better tell your comrades that if Robin suffers any harm while he’s with you, I’ll hold you responsible, so you’d better take good care of him!” Reina said before hanging up the Den Den Mushi.

Now that we're back to the same storyline as the original, Reina doesn't need to worry. As a member of the main group, Robin should be fine.

However, considering the absence of the Marineford War, it's uncertain how their next move will be. But these are not things Reina needs to worry about right now, because the Whitebeard Pirates' annual grand banquet is about to begin, so his focus is now on that.

Meanwhile, Rayleigh of Sabaody Archipelago rescued Luffy, but after many twists and turns, he still brought Luffy to the vicinity of Amazon Lily.

Moreover, Luffy, being naturally curious, also wandered into Amazon Lily. When Rayleigh found Luffy, he had already dealt with Boa Hancock, the queen of Amazon Lily.

"Uncle Rayleigh, why do they all seem to use Haki?" After meeting Rayleigh, Luffy finally asked the question that had been buried in his heart.

He always thought that Haki was a technique only masters could use, but after seeing that all the warriors of Amazon Lily could use it, Luffy realized that they might encounter many such enemies after going to the New World.

They also understood why Reina had told them to master Haki before entering the New World.

"As warriors of the Women's Kingdom, this is an innate ability for them! In the New World, you will find that... Haki is the most basic skill. Without Haki, you can hardly move an inch in the New World!" Rayleigh said with a smile.

Rayleigh's answer further convinced Luffy that it was far too early for them to enter the New World!

"Uncle Rayleigh! Can I learn how to use Haki from you?" Luffy asked earnestly.

“But… this isn’t something you can learn in a short time! Your companions should be trying to get to Sabaody Archipelago right now, right? We can’t stay here for too long! Now your Conqueror’s Haki has fully awakened, achieving our expected goal!” Rayleigh said with a smile.

It turns out that he brought Luffy here because he discovered Luffy's Conqueror's Haki potential and wanted to train him here. Unexpectedly, the trip to Amazon Lily directly awakened Luffy's Conqueror's Haki.

"That's true! If only we could notify them now! That way... I could stay here and train!" Luffy nodded, saying with some regret.

"Who should I notify? Luffy-kun... As the Queen of Amazon Lily, I can certainly help you!" Hancock appeared out of nowhere and said to Luffy.

In her opinion, as long as Luffy can stay here, that's fine.

Upon hearing this, Rayleigh and Luffy exchanged glances and then told Hancock what had happened on Sabaody Archipelago. They had attracted the attention of an admiral because they had attacked a Celestial Dragon, and his crew had all been exposed by Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

"So it was that guy who did it! Hmph~ I'll definitely avenge Luffy next time I see him! But Bartholomew Kuma is no pushover, and he's the only one among the Seven Warlords of the Sea who completely obeys the World Government!" Hancock replied immediately after hearing this, "But if it's just about finding your crewmates... I do have a way!"

"What method?" Luffy asked excitedly as soon as he heard that he could find his crewmates.

"Wait a minute!" Hancock said, turning to her two younger sisters. "Bring me the Den Den Mushi that Reina sent!"

"Hmm? Sister...you mean..." The third sister, Boa Marigold, looked at her eldest sister in surprise and asked, "You want to contact Reina?"

“That’s right. As the world’s number one pirate crew, the Whitebeard Pirates’ intelligence department is more powerful than you can imagine!” Hancock nodded and said.

"Huh? Why do you have Reina's Den Den Mushi?" Rayleigh asked in surprise.

"Because this place... is also considered an intelligence point for the Whitebeard Pirates!" Hancock said directly.

“I see… No wonder you agreed to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea… It turns out that Reina was setting up this scheme beforehand. You’re quite the young man!” Rayleigh immediately understood Reina’s plan. Hancock was his spy among the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

"Hmph, I became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea not for Reina and the Whitebeard Pirates! But because of the needs of the people!" Upon hearing Rayleigh's words, Hancock immediately glanced at Luffy while explaining nervously.

She was afraid Luffy would misunderstand that there was something between her and Reina, so she explained very quickly.

"Ah~ Hancock is really amazing!" Luffy, completely oblivious, simply offered a soulless compliment.

Even so, Hancock secretly vowed to become a successful queen and impress Luffy.

"But with the help of the Whitebeard Pirates, finding Luffy's crew should be easy!" Rayleigh said with a smile.

"The Whitebeard Pirates? Reina? Are you talking about Robin's father?" Luffy asked curiously.

“That’s right! I’d forgotten, Robin is your comrade too! Hahaha… Maybe if you contact him now, he’ll already have found Robin! That guy is really worried about his daughter!” Rayleigh said with a laugh.

Chapter 407 The Truth of History

"So... you and Luffy are currently in Amazon Lily?" Rayleigh explained the situation to Reina after he received Hancock's call.

“That’s right. Luffy feels that it’s not the right time for them to venture into the New World yet, and he wants to train with me. However, his crew has been separated by Bartholomew Kuma! He wanted to ask you if you could pass on a message to his crew: see you in Sabaody Archipelago in two years!” Rayleigh said with a smile.

"Brother...you're treating me like a messenger? I'm a dignified..."

"Alright, just tell me if you can or you can't! When you asked me for help back then, I wasn't this long-winded, was I?" Rayleigh interrupted Reina, saying.

"Alright, alright... You're something else! Now you can even tease me with your words!? Such a simple thing, you just need to cause some trouble with Luffy in the Sabaody Archipelago, and you'll be on the front page, right? Are you worried that the Straw Hat crew won't see it?" Reina said with a smile.

"With your help, why would I need to do anything extra? The world thinks the Straw Hat crew has been defeated, so we can take advantage of this time to disappear from the public eye for a while. So, tell me, will you help or not?" Rayleigh said with a smile.

“Okay, I understand! I was just about to go find Robin anyway. Have Straw Hat Luffy write a few letters, and I’ll send someone to Sabaody Archipelago to pick them up and have them delivered to them!” Reina nodded and said.

"Hahaha... I knew it! You've already found out about Robin, haven't you?" Rayleigh laughed as he replied after hearing this.

"Of course... this is my own flesh and blood, how can I not be nervous? Tell that Straw Hat Boy what he promised me back then? When we meet next time, I'll beat him up!" Reina replied, pursing his lips.

"Hahaha... Now he's officially my disciple, so don't you dare break him!" Rayleigh said with a laugh.

“Rayne…Luffy-kun…but…but…I absolutely will not allow you to touch Luffy-kun! Otherwise, I will never let you off!” Before Rayleigh could finish speaking, Hancock’s anxious voice came from the Den Den Mushi.

Reina was taken aback. Why was Hancock still with Luffy? Was it really fate?

“Hancock…you…could it be…?” Reina asked tentatively.

"Ah~~"

"Don't worry about her. Once you've confirmed what I just said, just leave me a message in the Sabaody Archipelago. I'll be going back there occasionally!"

After Reina finished asking the question, he heard a scream from the Den Den Mushi, followed by Rayleigh's voice.

"Oh! Okay!" Reina nodded, somewhat puzzled, and agreed to Reilly's request.

After Reina's promise, Rayleigh took Luffy to begin training on a small island next to Amazon Lily.

Meanwhile, Reina instructed his subordinates to search for news of the Straw Hat crew and pointed them in the right direction. After all, since Robin's location hadn't changed, the others shouldn't have either.

Meanwhile, Reina also had supplies prepared for the voyage. He planned to personally go to Amazon Lily and then detour to the East China Sea. He would not be at ease until he saw that Robin was safe and sound.

Moreover, he always felt something was off about that so-called connecting bridge.

Through collecting and studying information, he has now made fairly accurate guesses about the blank history from 800 years ago.

However, he wasn't sure until he went to Laugh Tale.

Moreover, Whitebeard didn't seem interested in this, which made Reyna uninterested as well.

He wouldn't have touched that thing if Olvia hadn't wanted to figure out the historical texts.

After learning of Robin's existence, he helped collect some information and learned some more from conversations with Robin. Combined with some of his original guesses, Reina now felt... it was just that, and had little to do with their Whitebeard Pirates.

That vanished, colossal kingdom must have been planning something, which led to opposition from the ancestors of the current Celestial Dragons. Ultimately, they united to defeat the colossal kingdom and established the current World Government.

The reason the World Government is hiding that history is because they are afraid that someone will think that what the Great Kingdoms want to do is right, and that they will inherit their will and actually do it.

So what exactly do the people of that kingdom want? What makes them so terrified?

Based on some evidence and information, Reina deduced that they wanted to link the four great seas and the Grand Line!

Eight hundred years ago, it is very likely that the four great oceans and the Grand Line were completely separated, and there was no communication between islands, and even now many islands are still like this.

Later, that enormous kingdom appeared, and they wanted to change everything, to allow people to travel freely across the oceans, so they created the Upside-Down Mountain!

When Reina first saw Reverse Mountain, he noticed obvious signs of artificial excavation, but he didn't take it seriously at the time. Now, looking back, Reverse Mountain was likely a project they used to connect the four seas and the Grand Line.

Furthermore, the first half and the second half of the Grand Line are not connected. There are only two ways to pass through: one is to request the World Government's permission to go through Mary Geoise and then through the Red Line, which is the safest option.

Another option is to dive to a depth of 10,000 meters and reach Fishman Island, which is located directly beneath the Red Line. From there, you can enter the New World.

Therefore, it was only natural that the Great Kingdom chose this place when it wanted to connect the New World and the first half of the Grand Line.

Reina believed that the apology letter from Fishman Island was from Joy Boy of the Great Kingdom, who had consulted with the Fishmen before taking action. He believed that if they opened up the passage between the New World and the first half of the Grand Line, Fishman Island at the bottom of the Red Line would inevitably be affected.

So they probably promised the people of Fishman Island that they would build Noah's Ark to transfer them away and let them live on land.

However, they were stopped before they could act, so they were unable to keep their promise and left an apology on Fishman Island.

So why did those countries at that time, including Alabasta in the first half of the Grand Line and the Dressrosa Kingdom in the New World, all try to stop them?

Reina speculated that it was very likely that after they created the Upside-Down Mountain, the world's oceans changed, which must have caused many significant negative changes in the world at that time.