After retiring from the Navy, I became a doting husband.

The cat viper was still unconvinced.

“I heard that Oden Castle was destroyed more than ten years ago and has been abandoned ever since. I only saw this set of footprints in the entire Oden Castle, and the footprints were even left in Gekko Oden’s bedroom. I happen to know that Gekko Oden had two subordinates, a cat and a dog. The fur next to the footprints just happens to be cat fur, so I’m boldly certain that this fur is yours.” Martin explained to Cat Viper like a detective.

"Alright, you dead cat, we admit defeat. I didn't expect you to be so amazing, Martin. You were able to tell that Nekomamushi had been to Wano Country just from a few footprints," Inuarashi said, trying to smooth things over.

“Even if I really sent you to Zou, I can’t go to Laugh Tale with you. Our lord told us to wait for the right person, and we will only follow him to Laugh Tale.” Nekomamushi didn’t know anything, so he could only recite Gekko Oden’s orders again.

“Alright, everything is clear now. Since Dead Cat unintentionally led you here, let’s leave it at that. You can go now! Dead Cat and I will not leave here; we will go with you to Laugh Tale.” Inuarashi also spoke up.

"That's such a pity. I think that apart from me, probably no one else will be able to find Laugh Tale again." Martin shook his head helplessly after hearing what the cat and dog said.

"What do you mean? Why can't others find Laugh Tale?"

Inuarashi and Nekomamushi exchanged a glance, then asked in unison, "Besides protecting the Road Poneglyphs, our greatest wish is to go to Laugh Tale and walk the path our lord once walked."

“No, no, we’ll leave now,” Martin said, waving his hand and starting to move away from the two of them.

"Hmph! You can wait for your destined one! I don't think that destined one will ever appear. All the Road Poneglyphs and historical texts are with our captain. In the future, it's up to our captain who decides who wants to go to Laugh Tale." Smoothie walked up to Inuarashi and Nekomamushi and said rudely.

“That’s impossible. We have a historical record of the road sign right here. How could your captain possibly have all of it?”

"Hmph! You think my captain went into the tree hollow and came out empty-handed? The Poneglyphs were already taken by our captain long ago," Smoothie said with a laugh.

"not good!"

"not good!"

Inuarashi and Nekomamushi then realized that Devil Fruit abilities existed in the world, and they had forgotten about it.

"Martin, leave the Road Poneglyphs behind; they belong to our lord." Inuarashi and Nekomamushi hurriedly chased after Martin.

Chapter 232 The Final Land of Laugh Tale

The cats and dogs on the Harem ship lay helplessly on the ship's railing. They were no match for Martin in terms of strength and wanted to wait for the destined one, Gekko Oden. The Road Poneglyphs were all in Martin's hands, and the only way to reach Laugh Tale in this lifetime was to follow Martin.

Martin stood in the warehouse, looking at the three original road sign texts in front of him, and a photocopy of the original road sign text, which he had already told Robin about.

To reach Laugh Tale, you must find all four historical road signs to identify which four islands they refer to, and then determine Laugh Tale's location based on the islands' positions.

"So that's how it is!"

After deciphering the four Road Poneglyphs together, Martin learned which four islands were the key to Laugh Tale's location. Each Road Poneglyph only contained part of the island's name, and only by collecting all four Poneglyphs could Martin know which four islands they were. Furthermore, reaching the final island required a specific route, unlike the legend that Laugh Tale was located at the intersection of the four islands.

Just as Martin was meticulously preparing to attack Laugh Tale, news of his collection of Road Poneglyphs spread like wildfire, causing a global sensation. Everyone eagerly awaited to see what Laugh Tale was like.

The World Government, the Navy, and the pirates all fell silent, as if the whole world had suddenly stopped. No one knew whether this was true tranquility or a sign of the approaching storm.

Mary Geoise

"Laugh Bud! Ha! Let him go! If he can find it, that's his skill, but he's destined to be disappointed!"

One of the Five Elders wiped his longsword.

"If we calculate the time, there are still many years to go. If it were so easy to get into Raphdru, no one would have succeeded until today!"

"Since that battle, the entire magnetic field has changed, and it's not so easy to get in now."

"Have you forgotten Roger? The pirate king who surrendered himself, whether he ever went inside is still a mystery. We don't know if he ever got there."

"If Roger had really been to that place, he wouldn't have died in silence and instead used this method to send people to the sea to find Laugh Tale. I reckon he didn't find it himself and just placed his hopes on others."

The five old men fell silent. While others were eagerly awaiting the result, they seemed in no hurry, as if they already knew the outcome.

Marineford.

Sengoku sat in his office waiting for something. He couldn't believe that Martin would find all the Road Poneglyphs so quickly after entering the New World and head straight for the final island, Laugh Tale. What puzzled him even more was that the Five Elders hadn't given any instructions.

When the Five Elders learned that Roger wanted to find Laugh Tale, they sent a large number of people to intercept and stop him from going there.

Sakazuki, Kuzan, Borsalino, Garp, Zephyr, Tsuru, and a group of others sat around, seemingly awaiting Sengoku's orders. Everyone knew that Laugh Tale was related to the Void Century, and the Void Century was something the World Government explicitly forbade anyone to know. Anyone who wanted to know what happened in those hundred years was guilty.

"Hu! Hu! Hu!"

Just as everyone was waiting quietly, strange noises came from all around. When they turned around, they saw that Vice Admiral Garp was fast asleep, his arms outstretched on the stool. Large bubbles on his nostrils indicated that he was sleeping soundly.

"Disperse, everyone disperse. I'll let you know if there's a mission!" Sengoku waved his hand helplessly, indicating that everyone could leave.

Sakazuki, Kuzan, and the others stood up and left Sengoku's office. They were all somewhat numb; this was the fifth time in the past few days that a meeting had ended like this. It seemed as if Sengoku was bored and had gathered everyone together for tea and snacks.

In fact, everyone knew that the Warring States period was waiting for orders, but the orders were delayed.

"Snapped!"

The bubble on Garp's nose suddenly burst, and the sound of it bursting was like an alarm clock, waking Garp from his deep sleep.

Garp looked around and found that everyone had left, leaving only himself and Sengoku.

"Sengoku, you're really not being fair. You didn't even call me when the meeting was over?" Garp stood up, straightened his clothes, and strode towards Sengoku.

"Give it out! Where did you hide the rice crackers?"

Sengoku looked at Garp's outstretched arms, as if all his strength had left him. He took a large bag of senbei from the drawer of his desk and threw it away.

"Garp, did Roger talk to you about Laugh Tale back then?"

Sengoku couldn't help but ask, "Do all the high-ranking naval officers know that Garp was chasing Roger back then? In the end, they developed feelings for each other while fighting, and Roger even surrendered to Garp in the end?"

“No, what does he want with me in Laugh Tale? Am I interested in that place?” Garp paused for a moment, then asked seriously.

"I see! I understand." Sengoku fell into deep thought again, seemingly pondering something.

"Sengoku, I'm going back to the East Blue. That kid's been acting a bit rebellious lately, so I have to go home and keep an eye on him." Garp left in a hurry without waiting for Sengoku's reply.

The Whitebeard Pirates were busy holding a banquet, and Whitebeard didn't seem to be in any hurry for Martin to find Laugh Tale. Although Whitebeard wasn't in a rush, his sons kept urging him to go and see, but Whitebeard refused, and instead held a banquet at home while watching over his sons.

The Red-Haired Pirates were the same; after returning from the East Blue, they stayed in one place. When Beckman told Shanks that Martin had gone to Laugh Tale, he just laughed a few times.

The Beasts Pirates' Fire and Plague were watching Kaido, believing this was the best opportunity to get revenge on Martin. They thought they could not only kill Martin but also seize all the Road Poneglyphs. If Martin became the new Pirate King, his power would surely increase greatly, making revenge against Martin increasingly difficult. However, Kaido ignored them, as there were some secrets they could not know.

.........

Morgans was extremely excited. Years ago, he lost Roger, and this time he risked being discovered to keep up the chase, hiding near the Harem, hoping to get an exclusive, a world-shaking exclusive.

After a busy day of drawing, Martin and Smoothie on the Harem completed a nautical chart leading to Laugh Tale. All that remained was for the navigation school to follow the chart.

Martin completely disregarded the instructions in the historical text, believing that the Harem was sturdy enough and that his crew was strong enough.

"Target: Rafdru, advance!"

Martin gave a loud and spirited command, and the crew members were all eager to get started. This time they were going to the final island, and they were about to complete an incredible voyage.

After sailing along a specific route for some time, the sea became turbulent, with waves crashing violently against the Harem, thunder raging across the sea, and occasionally leaving behind some incredible things.

The most dangerous moment was when a mountain suddenly fell from the sky, nearly crashing onto the Harem, but was eventually destroyed by everyone working together. Towards the end of the voyage, the high-performance Harem was completely adrift, out of control, and all the ship's instruments malfunctioned and became utterly paralyzed.

Martin and his crew tried to see with their naked eyes, but all they could see was a vast expanse of white seawater. Their visibility was only a few meters; beyond that, they couldn't see anything at all. Their Observation Haki was also useless. The area outside the Harem was in complete chaos, and they couldn't sense anything.

After an unknown amount of time, the swaying of the Harem ship gradually stabilized, and finally seemed to calm down. The outside also became brighter, and through the window, one could see the calm sea.

"We've arrived! We've reached Laugh Tale!"

Martin and the others on the ship shouted excitedly, thinking they had arrived at the legendary island. They ran out of the cabin and onto the deck.

But looking at the azure sea, Martin, Enel, and the others were bewildered. All around them was the sea, and there were no islands or reefs at all.

“This is impossible! We were following the directions written in the historical road signs, so why didn’t we reach Laugh Tale?” Martin exclaimed in disappointment.

Enel and the others, like defeated roosters, slumped dejectedly on the deck, looking at Martin, wondering how the captain would handle the situation.

"Just as I thought. Even if you have enough strength, you still can't find Laugh Tale if you don't have enough time and even if you have Road Poneglyphs. My lord was right."

Inuarashi also sighed, saying that although he was disappointed not to have reached Laugh Tale, they calmly accepted the result, remembering what Gekko Oden had said.

Martin also heard Inuarashi's words at this moment. Could it really be that the time is not yet up? He thought of the things that had happened on Earth before, like the Qiantang River tidal bore, where the tide is only particularly high at specific times, and some islands only emerge from the water at low tide.

"Wait for the low tide. Could it be that Laugh Tale is at the bottom of the sea and only surfaces at specific times? That must be it. Otherwise, how could no one have ever seen Laugh Tale in such a big world?" Martin became excited again at this thought.

“Captain, I am a merman, I’ll go down and take a look too,” said one of the merman warriors who followed Martin.

"Go! See if there's anything strange, like any unusual buildings."

Martin nodded, and then plunged into the water himself.

Morgans was also very disappointed. He never expected that he would risk his life to follow Martin to this place. Many times he almost couldn't hold on and was almost swept away by the raging wind and waves. In the end, he survived by clinging to the Harem and becoming one with it.

Morgans looked at the calm sea and thought they had reached the doldrums. Just then, heads emerged from the water, but they found nothing underwater.

"Captain, have you found anything?" Enel asked, leaning on the gunwale.

Martin shook his head and jumped out of the water. He saw nothing on the seabed; it was just like any other place, with nothing unusual about it.

Was it really a matter of bad timing, or were we swept away by the ocean currents and ended up somewhere else instead of reaching Laugh Tale?

“Martin, you don’t need to worry. Our lord is coming. No one can find Laugh Tale before the time is right. I don’t think our lord would lie to us.”

Inuarashi saw that Martin was in low spirits and comforted him.

Martin looked up at Inuarashi. He believed Inuarashi's words, after all, the Poneglyphs, Road Poneglyphs, and Poneglyphs were created by the Gekko family.

Often, to prevent their secrets from falling into enemy hands, they would keep something in reserve. Could it be that the Moonlight family also kept something in reserve, having figured out all the other information but not writing down the time?

"and many more."

Martin then thought of something else: Gecko Oden was originally a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, but Roger personally went to the Whitebeard Pirates and managed to recruit Gecko Oden into his own crew.

Finally, the Roger Pirates returned to the East Blue and retraced the Grand Line. Were they also waiting for time to come?

Martin thought about it more and more and it seemed very possible that many years later, the future second-generation Pirate King would also encounter a member of the Moonlight Family, that lecherous Momonosuke, as if everything was arranged by fate.

"wrong!"

Martin felt increasingly uneasy, as if Luffy's future path had already been planned out, and that the boy was simply foolishly believing he was adventuring on his own.

Martin gasped at the thought. His own idea was terrifying. Who was orchestrating all of this? Could it be Roger, the man who started the Age of Exploration? Or was he not dead at all? There were so many strange Devil Fruit abilities in the world. Perhaps some of them could bring someone back to life. The more Martin thought about it, the more horrified he became.

"Captain, what's wrong? Speak up and tell me what happened?" Enel asked quickly when he saw Martin's expression.

“Nothing much, Enel, I just feel a little regretful that I couldn’t reach Laugh Tale,” Martin replied.

"If we can't find the captain, so be it. Anyway, I don't think Laugh Tale is of any use," Monet comforted her.

“That won’t do. The more unattainable it is, the more I want to go in and see it, even if Laugh Tale is just a floating island.” Martin’s stubbornness kicked in, and the more this happened, the more excited he became.

Martin sat down and began to circulate his domineering energy to recover. He was fine when he didn't circulate his energy underwater, but when he did, he found that the energy that was abundant in the New World was completely gone here. He couldn't absorb any of that energy even when he circulated his energy.

"How is this going?"