Do not underestimate archaeologists who are willing to serve the World Government. In fact, any civilian official valued and reused by the Government would be a renowned Great Character anywhere on the seas!
Robin may be proficient in ancient script, but she is by no means the only genius archaeologist.
With their help, after spending so long on Laugh Tale, Dante had already pieced together quite a lot, at least regarding the God inside the Sea Kings.
The origin of the Fish-Man race was one such discovery. It was just that, due to the Void Century, the Fish-Men had completely forgotten this past.
"But…" Luffy asked in confusion, "Even if it has to be someone of the same origin, of the same race, to exchange souls, what does that have to do with Jinbe having to die?"
The one who answered him was not Dante, but Jinbe.
"Perhaps… it's because of that bloodline power you mentioned?"
"If just any of our kin dying here could awaken her, then this seal would have no meaning at all. If my guess is correct, the bloodline power within me is the strongest among the remaining people, second only to Princess Shirahoshi."
"Correct!" Dante clapped his hands. "This stone monument will only absorb souls like Princess Shirahoshi's, souls whose so-called 'divine power' has reached a certain threshold. It has no interest whatsoever in other souls."
As for how Dante proved this through practice, opinions would naturally differ.
"To put it simply, you do possess bloodline power, but it is insufficient. After death, your soul will not be absorbed by the stone monument and will instead dissipate naturally… However, at the same time, due to the bloodline connection and that trace amount of power, once you die, Princess Shirahoshi's soul will enter your body."
"Don't forget, the seal of the stone monument is not aimed at Princess Shirahoshi."
"It is aimed at her!"
"That God!"
The Neptune royal household had long since diluted its bloodline through intermarriage, spreading that power into most Fish-Man and Mermaid families. Just the "Great Knight of the Sea," Neptune, alone had three sons and one daughter!
Generations upon generations, endless.
If that massacre had not occurred, then in a few hundred years, it would not have been surprising to see Sea Kings born even among common households.
"In that case, the stone monument leaves room for her. Once she comes here, her soul will never be able to escape again."
Dante smiled coldly, then narrowed his eyes.
"From the beginning, we had two choices. First, while she still possesses a physical body, completely kill Poseeidon. She would not survive, but Princess Shirahoshi would also never be able to return to her own body."
"Second, empty the stone monument, force her to come here, and have her soul devoured by the monument. But this requires someone to willingly sacrifice themselves."
"Straw Hat boy Luffy… 'Sea Hero' Jinbe…" Dante looked at them and bared his teeth in a grin. "The first method is the simplest. But Lord Soryu (Azure Dragon) is kind-hearted, and chose the far more difficult second option."
"This is Lord Soryu (Azure Dragon's) sincerity! Now, it is time for you to make your choice…"
"Sounds nice, but didn't you want Poseidon's power too?" Sanji pouted unhappily and muttered under his breath.
That was an Ancient Weapon, after all!
The Fish-Man race was nearly wiped out, and Princess Shirahoshi carried the purest royal bloodline. The Marines would never willingly let go of her.
But…
So what?
They had, at least, protected Shirahoshi. They had preserved the last sliver of hope in Jinbe's heart, hope not yet consumed by the hatred of genocide.
Even if that hope had to be paid for with an even greater sorrow.
"A hero…" Zoro looked up at the sky and sighed.
He had already foreseen Jinbe's choice. Heroes, it seemed, always ended in tragedy.
Silence enveloped the surroundings. Only the tireless wind swept up sand again and again, slapping against their bodies.
No one knew how much time passed before Jinbe let out a heavy breath, turned to face the stone monument, and knelt on one knee.
"Princess Shirahoshi… please, you must… live well!"
"No!!!"
In a daze, Jinbe, who had not mastered the Voice of All Things, seemed to hear Shirahoshi's familiar voice, crying out in grief.
…
Huff!
A spark suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of a cigar. Rowen looked at it in surprise, then leaned in and lit the cigar.
"You don't seem… surprised?"
A voice without discernible gender, or perhaps the voice of all things, echoed within the black void.
"No fear, no curiosity, no confusion… very good!"
A faint note of praise followed. As the voice faded, the surrounding darkness vanished entirely…
Like a pitch-black room where someone had suddenly flipped on the light.
The stench of blood filled Rowen's nose. He stood in the center of a vast, boundless desert. On the distant horizon, the sun hung low at dusk, and all around him lay mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Broken weapons and shattered armor hung from the bodies. A tattered banner stood atop a hill, held weakly by the lifeless hands of a long-dead soldier, while his body knelt in the yellow sand.
Though the entire world was silent, it fully displayed the brutal cruelty of warfare in the age of cold steel.
The scene suddenly shifted. The yellow-sand battlefield vanished, replaced by familiar concrete high-rises entering his field of vision.
However, it was still a battlefield, still ruined, still mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Even if the era changed and technology advanced, war never stopped.
Then, the images began to turn again…
Scenes of war appeared all around him, wars from different eras, placing Rowen right in the midst of them.
That voice said calmly, "Do you know what this is called?"
"Hmm…"
Rowen pondered for a moment, then said, "If I answer 'war' or 'human nature,' that would be far too cliché."
"So… reincarnation?"
"Close enough." There was no detectable emotion in the voice. "But I prefer to call it… civilization."
Bang… Rumble!
The tremors were unmistakably real. On a fertile plain, a city rose from the ground. People wearing ragged cloth barely covering their bodies drove livestock toward the marketplace. Samurai in gleaming armor patrolled outside the city in neat formations. The streets bustled with people; everything was orderly.
But soon…
The thunder of hooves shattered the tranquility. A group of knights clad in thick leather armor arrived at the city gates. Arrows tore through the air, falling in dense volleys.
The crowd screamed in panic. Before long, flames erupted everywhere.
Shua!
The screen abruptly went dark. When it lit up again, the cavalry, experts in mounted archery, had already occupied the city. They cleared debris, summoned craftsmen, and the entire city visibly renewed itself at astonishing speed.
When the passage of time slowed back to normal, those knights, once stained with blood, sat dozing in front of the barracks gates. Their beards had turned gray, their eyes clouded, bearing no trace of their former brutality.
A group of young knights rode out of the barracks. The old men watched them thunder past, their eyes filled with nostalgia and envy.
"This is civilization… birth, growth, destruction. Gaining rebirth through destruction, and meeting annihilation through destruction."
"Reincarnation merely summarizes the process. Civilization is the origin and essence of everything."
"Indeed…" Rowen sighed with emotion. "What I'm doing right now, isn't it also because this is the true nature of civilization?"
With rulers like Imu, there would naturally be resisters like him.
"But some people don't think so. They believe destruction itself is the root of all calamity—especially when that destruction can be seen and touched."
Shua!
The scene shifted again, but this time, Rowen felt a tangible pressure.
In a dim underground lava cavern, a teenage girl lay bound atop a stone altar in the center of molten magma. Her eyes were filled with terror. She wore only a coarse hemp garment. Surrounding her was a group of ancient people with an otherworldly air, people who wouldn't need makeup even if they went out pretending to be divine mystics.
Then someone cut open her abdomen with a knife.
Strangely, no blood flowed. Instead, a mass of black mist spread out, drifting in the air.
Crimson pupils within the mist locked eyes with Rowen from afar, sending chills racing across his skin.
"Heavenly Demon!"
"We won't let you run amok any longer!"
A middle-aged man drew a wooden sword and slashed out a bolt of lightning, striking the black mist and making it shriek in agony. Taking advantage of its weakened state, an infant was brought in.
"I have a very ominous feeling about this…" Rowen's eyelids twitched.
The man, with his eyes brimming with tears, spoke softly to the infant. Then, with solemn reverence, he placed the baby beside the unconscious, or perhaps already dead, girl. The group began a ritual dance. Wooden swords summoned wind and thunder; magma churned violently.
At the end, two talismans ignited on the Daoist's wooden sword. He thrust it straight into the center of the black mist, stabbing downward with all his strength.
The infant instantly began to cry.
The black mist visibly vanished into the baby's abdomen, leaving behind only a circle of tadpole-like runes symbolic of mysticism.
Those runes quickly faded as well. The baby's belly was smooth and unmarked, its cries loud and clear.
Then, the scene fell into complete darkness.
"Heaven and earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs. Human civilization is the same… neither noble nor base, neither beautiful nor filthy."
"However, such a simple truth is always misunderstood by some. The flaws inherent in civilization determine that they see only what they want to see, ruled by emotion, constrained by perspective, doing only what they believe is right, without ever thinking about the truth behind it."
Bang… Rrumble!
The entire dark space began to tremble, the supersonic roar resounding.
"I was born from destruction, born from civilization. I… am destruction itself!"
Hoo…
Rowen slowly exhaled a long stream of smoke and raised an eyebrow.
"So you're telling me… my real name is Namikaze Rowen, not Uzumaki Rowen?"
"Or are you trying to recruit me into some glorious evolution?"
"Sorry, there are way too many things to complain about. I can't hold it in."
Apparently unprepared for Rowen's response, the surroundings fell silent. The atmosphere stalled for a brief moment. A few seconds later, dozens of versions of himself emerged from the darkness, each holding a ball of flame.
Pa-da!
The cigar fell to the ground.
Rowen immediately bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle. "I'm sorry… please forgive me just this once!"
(End of Chapter)
This novel is finished, and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395