"What's the point of studying this? We're doomed."
— These were Nico Robin's words.
Of course, this out-of-context sentence wasn't her own thought, but rather what the patterns etched onto that golden pillar beside them meant to convey.
More accurately, those patterns were the so-called "ancient script," but no one in the Four Seas Alliance understood it, so it had been overlooked.
But… Crocodile couldn't help but be curious.
Others might have ignored these details, but that old guy—Ryan Rowan—with his Conqueror's Haki, wouldn't have missed any details around him.
Why hadn't even Ryan Rowan noticed this ancient script inscribed on the golden pillar?
The curious group gathered around.
Once Crocodile actually saw the so-called "ancient script," his confusion vanished.
No matter how precise Ryan Rowan's Conqueror's Haki perception was, he couldn't "pay attention" to such a "pattern."
No, calling it a "pattern" was too much of a preconception.
If you randomly asked someone, at first glance, the pattern on the golden pillar looked like meaningless scribbles!
To give an analogy, even if a person was incredibly focused, they couldn't notice a random "scratch" on a nearby wall without prior preparation.
The ancient script on that golden pillar was far too sloppy.
Even though everyone didn't recognize the ancient script, just by looking at the strokes, it looked no different from random doodles!
No wonder Ryan Rowan had overlooked it.
With writing this casual, if someone claimed it was carved by the aftermath of Rowan's fight with Enel, not many people would disagree.
Among those present—or rather, on this entire sea—only Nico Robin, the archaeologist who had been studying ancient script since childhood, would notice this text carved on the golden pillar!
And its meaning was equally baffling—
"What's the point of studying this? We're doomed."
This was a very confusing statement, and no one could figure out what the person who wrote it meant.
Crocodile frowned slightly, looking somewhat surprised and said, "Is there such a thing as 'writing styles' in ancient script?"
In fact, Crocodile had seen plenty of ancient script before. Although he didn't understand their meaning at all, the overall handwriting style tended to be neat and regular.
But the ancient script that now appeared on the golden pillar was clearly not like that.
Crocodile couldn't help but wonder if it was a different font?
But Robin shook her head, denying it, "No, it's just very 'sloppy' handwriting."
Robin's fingers gently stroked the golden pillar.
Gold was quite stable and didn't have to worry about weathering like stone, so Robin could touch it with her hand.
This way, Robin gained more useful information.
"The handwriting here… is new."
"New?"
Crocodile raised an eyebrow. "You mean, besides the Four Seas Alliance, someone else has come to Sky Island recently and left ancient script on this golden pillar?"
If that were the case, things would be even more interesting.
But Robin's answer made Crocodile somewhat disappointed.
"No, what I mean by 'new' isn't recently, but 'new' relative to the era the ancient script should have existed in."
Robin slowly said, "This text is from about eight hundred years ago."
"Hehehehe, that's already quite old, about the same time the World Government was established…"
Crocodile paused here.
He turned his head and looked at Rowan, as if he had thought of something.
[Golden Dawn] Ryan Rowan was active about eight hundred years ago!
And the Lost City of Shandora was also active about eight hundred years ago!
This was no longer just a coincidence.
In other words, someone from Rowan's era, or very close to it, had written this message in extremely sloppy ancient script on a golden pillar on Sky Island—or rather, in Shandora—
What's the point of studying this? We're doomed.
Crocodile rubbed his chin, puzzled. "What was the person who wrote this sentence 'studying'?"
Shandora?
No, since it was from eight hundred years ago, it meant the person who wrote this was from the same era as Shandora, and might even have been a member of Shandora!
So, was it the Seastone passage not far away?
It was possible that the Seastone passage wasn't necessarily made by the people of Shandora.
But Ryan Rowan, standing nearby, suddenly interjected, conjecturing, "Is it possible… that it was the 'ancient script' itself that they were writing about?"
"What?"
Both Robin and Crocodile were very surprised by Rowan's conjecture.
According to Rowan, the full meaning of this sentence should be— "What's the point of studying ancient script? We're doomed anyway."
This was indeed a coherent sentence, but what was the reason for it?
Rowan saw the confusion in their eyes and slowly explained:
"The so-called 'ancient script,' even to people from eight hundred years ago, was 'ancient script.'"
"The existence of ancient script predates much further than we imagine."
"Far beyond a mere 'eight hundred years.'"
Rowan's hand gently brushed over the golden pillar in front of him.
"Eight hundred years ago, during that era of warring states, archaeologists were extremely rare because there was no stable environment for research."
"Even if there were archaeologists, they were a group of impoverished scholars with severely lacking research materials."
"And among them, those who understood ancient script were even fewer."
"Being able to write this entire passage in such a sloppy hand indicates that the person who carved it had extremely high attainments in ancient script."
Just as Rowan said.
Writing a foreign language neatly wasn't difficult. With a dictionary and patience, even a child could do it.
But to write a passage sloppily, one had to be proficient in that foreign language!
At this point, Crocodile had a conjecture.
"Hehehehe, so that's how it is…"
Crocodile tapped his cigarette ash and analyzed, "Shandora was destroyed eight hundred years ago, during the era when the various kingdoms were vying for dominance and at war."
"Perhaps the archaeologist of this Shandora realized that the ancient script he had dedicated his life to studying was useless, and could only watch Shandora fall, and that's why he left this sentence?"
Such a conjecture was not unreasonable.
But Rowan shook his head again.
"No, perhaps that wasn't what he meant."
Rowan had lived through that era, and was even one of the most brilliant figures of that time.
Therefore, he was almost certain that the once prosperous Shandora had not "participated" in the wars of that era!
If they had, a Shandora capable of building such a massive city couldn't have been obscure.
There was only one possibility—
The "loss" in this sentence didn't refer to losing a war for dominance!
But rather… some other existence.
And this "existence" was the direct reason why Shandora didn't participate in the wars of the era!
It might even be the fundamental reason for Shandora's complete destruction eight hundred years ago!
Rowan's gaze shifted, looking towards the Seastone passage not far away, and muttered:
"The armory of the North Sea, or the Ancient Weapons, and now Shandora…"
"What were they fighting against?"
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