"Absolutely not!!"
Guerrero writhed violently, struggling with all her might as she roared:
"Since when does our Forest Follower Tribe—"
"Gag her."
Before she could finish, Dier ordered the sailors to silence her.
Finally encountering someone reasonable, he couldn't let this troublemaker scare them off.
Wearing sunglasses, he walked to the ship's railing and looked toward the beach.
About fifty women stood on the shore—a rather spectacular sight.
But something felt off. Several among them were panting heavily, appearing extremely weak, completely unlike combatants. With such poor physical condition, they'd only be liabilities in a fight.
Ignoring the weaker individuals, Dier focused on the woman at the front—the only one wearing a top.
"You're the leader?"
"Acting Chief, Sally."
Sally dropped her spear and looked up to ask:
"Outsea people, what brings you here?"
"Looking for a stone. One that's indestructible."
Dier sat on the railing and spoke earnestly:
"We won't take it—just make copies of its contents. Once done, the stone remains yours, and these four people aboard will be yours too. You'll lose nothing."
On deck, Robin clenched her small hands nervously.
The Poneglyph she'd longed for was within reach, and she desperately hoped Sally would agree.
"Fine!"
Sally nodded firmly, then added:
"But I have conditions. If you accept them, I'll take you to the stone immediately."
"Mmmph!!!"
Guerrero at the mast began thrashing wildly, her eyes bulging as if trying to leap from their sockets.
A nearby sailor had to use both hands to keep her gagged.
Even among the warriors behind Sally, several grew agitated and stepped forward angrily shouting.
Dier noticed—all the angry ones were the topless ones.
They were outnumbered and physically weaker, quickly subdued by Sally's loyal warriors.
When calm returned, Dier asked:
"Name your terms."
If reasonable, he had no objection.
Within his means, he didn't mind doing some good.
"We need food."
Sally took a deep breath, hesitating before continuing:
"And... take our children away from here."
Guerrero's expression suddenly dimmed. She stopped struggling and tightly shut her eyes.
The requests seemed simple—almost suspiciously so—yet Dier found them unexpectedly difficult.
"Well, the food might take a few days."
After weeks at sea, the ship's provisions were nearly depleted by him.
Though five days' normal rations remained for the return voyage, the fifty-odd warriors plus children would quickly exhaust those supplies.
"Robin, calculate our distance to Colon Island."
Before he finished speaking, Robin had already pulled out nautical charts.
First confirming their position, then measuring the distance to Colon Island, finally factoring in the ship's speed.
Soon, she reported:
"Five days estimated—assuming correct navigation and no unforeseen events."
"Five days. Can you wait that long?"
Dier relayed the answer to Sally, who immediately looked crestfallen.
She shook her head and said:
"Forget about the food then. Just take the children with you."
"Come down. I'll take you to the stone."
No resistance, just two simple conditions—now reduced to one.
Her sincere and straightforward attitude made Dier feel somewhat ashamed. He scratched his head and let out an awkward, embarrassed laugh:
"Well... you'll have to leave some hostages behind, or I won't feel at ease."
Sally: "..."
Should she just fight them instead?
Thinking of the children in the tribe, Sally took a deep breath and ultimately agreed to this unreasonable demand.
The outspoken, unclothed female warriors from earlier were sent aboard the ship, along with twenty others, plus the four already captured—totaling forty-one hostages.
They were gathered in a circle, tied to the two masts. Those who couldn't be tied to the masts had their hands and feet bound with ropes.
Ten sailors remained on the ship, armed with Shredding Hair Guns to guard them.
One of them held a Den Den Mushi that was currently in use.
The other was in Dier's hand, the two Den Den Mushi maintaining communication to ensure orders could be relayed at any time.
Once this was done, Dier set off with Robin, Hina, and the rest of the sailors.
"Keep the noise down later."
Before entering the forest, Sally warned them seriously:
"If you encounter a Long-haired Yak, run immediately."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's just go."
Robin nodded eagerly, practically itching to fly to the Poneglyph's location.
Seeing her like this, Sally said no more and led the group into the woods.
The forest wasn't particularly dense, but each tree was massive, with sprawling canopies.
Layer upon layer of leaves blocked most of the sunlight, casting a chilly gloom over the forest.
Fortunately, despite the eerie atmosphere, the journey went smoothly.
The only issue was that the female warriors didn't seem like jungle natives—they weren't very familiar with the terrain, slowing their progress considerably.
Under Sally's stumbling guidance, the group finally arrived before the Poneglyph.
A square stone tablet stood there openly, its surface covered in ancient script—the Poneglyph.
"This is... the Poneglyph."
Robin's expression was one of excitement as she stepped forward, running her hands over the indestructible stone.
Nearly three years after the Ohara incident, she had finally taken the first step toward her goal.
"Dier, thank you."
She closed her eyes, silently repeating the words in her heart.
Without Dier's companionship, she couldn't imagine how much harder her years of fleeing would have been.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the white-haired Dier gnawing on the stone.
"What are you doing?!"
"Testing if this thing is chewable."
Dier looked slightly embarrassed as he wiped the drool off the Poneglyph with his sleeve.
It was said to be indestructible, but the Flame Devourer's Devil Fruit Ability had strengthened his teeth.
So far, he hadn't encountered anything he couldn't bite.
If the craftsmen of Wano could carve words into it, maybe he could take a bite out of it too.
He had even transformed into his two-meter-tall Beast Form for this.
Unfortunately, the thing really was hard. Aside from covering it in saliva, he couldn't do anything to it.
"Is that something you eat?!"
"Hurry up, get out! Don't interrupt my translation work!"
The unknown white-haired girl was chased out by the doctor and could only watch from the sidelines.
"She can actually understand it?!"
Sally, who was also watching from the side, widened her eyes in shock.
It was said that this stone tablet had been guarded by their Forest Follower Tribe for generations, but no one could decipher what was recorded on it.
Thinking of the recent Divine Punishment that had appeared, she felt this must be the will of heaven.
Just when their tribe was on the verge of extinction, suddenly a little girl who could read the tablet appeared.