A New World is Discovered! The Journey of a Lifetime!

The Jouney to the True World
We take up our tale three days into Mercury's adventure. Black has officially been incarcerated for his crimes (though for how long given the justice system is anyone's guess), Pallas's funeral party went off without a hitch, despite Mercury, Vincenzo and Brünnhilde's departure. And speaking of, they themselves are drifting in an old boat (cutely named The Oldie) that belonged to Mercury's father.

"So, do we have any idea where we're going, or....?" asked Brünnhilde.

"Your guess is as good as mine," answered Vincenzo. "try talking to our captain."

"I can hear both of you, you know." Mercury said as he looked down from the crow's nest. He rolled his eyes, and cracked a smile. "And I can't say for sure either, lovey; no one's seen the One Piece in over 50 years, it's a miracle it's still a legend at all.

"Then, what exactly was your plan through all this?" demanded Brünnhilde. "What, you were just gonna sail around and hope to just stumble across it?!"

"Of course not!" retorted Mercury. "I did a bit of research in my teen years on the One Piece, though there's little to go on now. As far as I can tell, Luffy didn't hide it anywhere on the Grand Line."

"How can you tell?" asked Vincenzo.

"Because even Raftel's been checked for it;" Mercury explained. "Not even the World Government's been able to get to where it's hiding, and they found out Ace was Gol D. Roger's father!"

"Then, where exactly do we go?" Brünnhilde asked again.

"Simple, lovey; during my research, I found one place that not even the Marines can reach." Mercury answered.

"Skypeia?" asked Vincenzo.

Mecury shook his head. "No, they managed to colonize there when Luffy found his way to Raftel."

"Then where, then, Captain?!" asked a now over-excited Brünnhilde.

To answer her question, Mercury went into the captain's quarters and showed them a small, black book with a small map inside. He gestured them all to join together in the kitchen cabin, and spoke softly.

"This book was given to my family by the granddaughter of the True History publisher herself, Nico Robin. It's called the True World Beyond: A Journey to Heaven, Hell and Everything in Between." he began. "It speaks of a different side of history that only a few select people in the known world knew about. They were Gol D. Roger, Monkey D. Dragon, Nico Olivia, Nico Robin, and her granddaughter, Nico Lucille."

"Each swore," he went on. "To secrecy, and only shared this info with those they knew could keep the secret long enough to pass it down to the next generation."

"How do you know that?" asked Vincenzo.

"Because their names are etched in black ink at the back of the book, as a sign of who's had it." he explained further. "Anyway, to make a long story short, Nico Lucille trusted my family, knowing that no one would find it in a drunken hot-spot like Orlean Village."

"That's fascinating and all," said Brünnhilde. "But where're you going with all this?"

"Well, Brünnhilde; Vincenzo; today, we have in our hands the map to the closest thing to the One Piece the world may ever get. Strap yourselves in, because as soon as we're able, we're going...To the True World!" Mercury finished excitedly.

A resounding "WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!" came from Brünnhilde. A second later, though, she asked, "Wait, what the hell's the True World?"

"Well, according to this book; it's said that the True World is a place where all life began, where all civilizations first came from, and where our world's history began in earnest." Mercury answered. "And to get there is one hell of a ride! So before we do anything else regarding this voyage, we had better get some help for both the ship, and get a new ship in the process. My dad's ship will do for now, but if I'm reading this right, mates... It won't last long where we're going!"

This realization dawned on the two shipmates, causing Brünnhilde to faint. Vincenzo caught her, though, just before she hit the floor.