Chapter 173: The Blank Century
"NOT GOOD! NOT GOOD!"
The little monkey from the country's gate came barreling into the town, his tiny limbs flailing, his eyes wide with equal parts terror and exhilaration.
"THE ELEPHANT LORD! IT—IT—!"
Between gasps, the monkey recounted what he had witnessed from his guard post. Jack's five warships, arrayed in attack formation. The relentless bombardment. The elephant's cries of pain shaking the very foundations of Zou. And then—the sudden, impossible shift. The elephant turning. Its trunk rising like a mountain. The sea itself seeming to hold its breath. And in one terrible, magnificent moment—obliteration. Five warships reduced to splinters and memory.
"So Jack... is dead?" Nekomamushi's claws twitched. His voice was thick with an emotion that might have been disappointment. After everything Jack had done to his people—the torture, the poison gas, the severed limbs—the Cat Viper had wanted to deliver the final blow personally.
"The elephant attacked without Momonosuke-sama's command?" Inuarashi's brow furrowed. "Perhaps the Lord possesses its own consciousness after all. Perhaps it made its own decision to defend itself."
"If that's the case, it would be amazing if we could get this giant elephant as our ally!" Luffy's eyes sparkled. The vibrations had stopped. The voice had faded. The crisis, as far as he was concerned, was over. "Anyway, it's dealt with! Shishishi!"
"Meow meow!" The Cat Viper's whiskers twitched with laughter. "If that interruption hadn't happened, we'd still be having our banquet!"
"BANQUET!!" Luffy's eyes lit up like festival lanterns.
"Then what are we waiting for?! LET'S EAT!"
On the other side, Kin'emon was still kneeling beside Momonosuke, his brow creased with concern. "Momonosuke-sama. How are you feeling?"
"It's gone." The boy shook his head. The voice that had pounded through his skull had fallen silent. The visions—Jack's warships, the elephant's eye, the ancient creature's desperate plea—had all vanished. "The pictures in my head just disappeared. I can't see anything anymore."
Robin guided the Black Fire Crow to a gentle landing. She and Nami dismounted and approached Itachi, who stood apart from the celebration.
"Itachi." Robin's voice was soft. "Can you still hear it?"
"No. It's gone." Itachi shook his head. The moment the elephant had received his permission, the connection had severed. The voice. The images. The overwhelming presence that had filled his consciousness. All of it had withdrawn like a tide retreating from the shore.
"This whole situation is so confusing." Nami glanced around nervously, but the earth was still. The elephant had returned to its eternal, patient walk. "I don't understand any of what just happened."
Itachi had considered telling everyone the truth—that the elephant had asked for his permission, that the command had come from him, not from Momonosuke or anyone else. But he held the words back. The crew's focus had already shifted. They were celebrating their survival, not analyzing the mechanism behind it. And something about the exchange felt... private. The elephant had recognized him. Specifically him. The creature's final words—Your servant obeys—echoed in his memory. That recognition was not something he yet understood.
A long time ago, I committed an unforgivable sin.
The elephant's confession. Almost identical to the words spoken by the old man Kozuki Chidō as he pressed the Spirit of the Tree World into Itachi's chest. The same phrasing. The same weight of ancient guilt.
The threads were beginning to connect.
The Kozuki clan and the Mink Tribe—sworn brothers for a thousand years. The sins both Kozuki Chidō and the Elephant Lord claimed to have committed. The flash of century-spanning history that the old man had shown him in Rilke Callander.
Itachi's mind raced through those visions. A vast kingdom. Smaller nations rising around it. Wars—several of them, each one reshaping the political landscape. And then the final war, when that great kingdom suffered a catastrophic blow from the sky. Even as it fell, its armies were still deployed abroad, still fighting in those smaller countries at the vanguard.
"Robin." Itachi turned to her suddenly. "Your home—Ohara. What did the scholars there learn about the Void Century?"
Robin blinked at the unexpected question. "Why do you ask? Did something trigger a memory?"
Itachi glanced toward the crowd. Chopper was deep in discussion with the minks about examining the elephant's injuries. The little reindeer insisted that any animal, no matter how vast, would suffer damage to its bodily functions if wounded severely enough. The minks were preparing to descend the elephant's leg to assess the damage.
"I need to speak with you privately. Come."
Taking Robin's hand, Itachi led her toward the treeline. Robin's cheeks flushed.
"Wait—what are you two—?!" Nami scrambled after them.
Itachi paused. Considered. Extended his other hand toward Nami. "You as well. But this stays between the three of us."
"Is this about treasure?!" Nami's eyes gleamed.
Once they were deep enough into the forest, Itachi motioned for them to sit. Robin's heart was beating faster than she wanted to admit. When Nami hadn't been invited, the atmosphere had felt... different. But now that Nami was here too, the context had clearly shifted toward something more serious. Still, an inexplicable sense of anticipation lingered beneath her scholar's composure.
"I originally thought this information wasn't relevant to everyone's immediate concerns," Itachi began. "I planned to mention it casually after Dressrosa was resolved. But watching you study that Poneglyph, Robin—seeing how much this means to you—I now understand. This is important. More important than I realized."
Robin's posture went rigid. Her breathing shallowed. "Itachi. Are you saying..."
"The Void Century."
"Yes."
Nami, who had been expecting treasure coordinates, clamped both hands over her mouth. After a moment, she lowered them. "This kind of secret... might actually be more interesting than treasure."
"Let me establish something first, Robin. What did Ohara know? What had the scholars discovered before..."
He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to.
Robin's expression darkened. "I was too young. I never learned the full scope of what the doctors had uncovered. I had only just learned to read the script on the Poneglyphs when..." She paused. Swallowed. "When Ohara burned. The doctors. Professor Clover. Everyone. They were all..."
"Robin." Nami moved closer and wrapped her arms around the archaeologist. "You don't have to—"
"It's alright, Nami." Robin shook her head, a sad smile crossing her lips. "That was a long time ago."
"Forgive me." Itachi inclined his head. "I didn't intend to raise painful memories."
"It's fine, Itachi. Truly."
"Then let me tell you what I know."
Itachi settled into a cross-legged position, his voice taking on the measured cadence of someone recounting something vast and difficult to compress into words.
"According to my analysis... what I witnessed concerns the Void Century. Or more precisely—the true history of the Void Century."
The forest went silent. Robin and Nami stared at him, frozen as if a spell had been cast.
"Itachi... what did you say?"
"Robin." Nami's hand found hers and squeezed. "Let's hear what he has to say."
Robin drew a shaky breath and nodded. "Yes. Tell us everything."
(End of Chapter)
✨ If you're enjoying this story, please consider supporting me on Patreon! ✨
Patreon.com/TofuChan