Eight hundred years ago, there existed a vast, prosperous, and wealthy kingdom in the world. At the heart of this kingdom stood a colossal tree that reached the heavens. The capital was built beneath its protective branches, and the tree was revered as the Sacred Tree. On this tree grew countless miraculous fruits—whoever ate them would gain extraordinary powers. Thanks to this divine ancient tree, many powerful warriors emerged within the kingdom, and its strength grew rapidly.
But disaster always strikes without warning.
One day, beings descended from the moon—unexpected invaders wielding technology far beyond anything seen on Earth. Country after country fell under their onslaught. In response, the great kingdom led a united counterattack, rallying the forces of all nations to fight against the lunar invaders. Though their technology was fearsome, the moon people were ultimately defeated through the united efforts of the world.
The mighty kingdom played a pivotal role in the battle, but the cost was devastating—nearly all of its elite warriors suffered fatal injuries, with fewer than one in a hundred surviving intact.
And that was when ambition reared its ugly head.
Twenty schemers joined forces and betrayed their allies. Turning their weapons—originally built to defeat the moon people—against the great kingdom, they launched a surprise assault. They used stolen lunar technology, including the ultimate weapon: Uranus, the Heavenly King, to strike down the defenders. The sacred tree that had long shielded the land was toppled by their warships. The wounded warriors of the great kingdom resisted with all they had—but they were too few, and too broken. In the end, they lost.
From beneath the roots of the fallen Sacred Tree, the leader of the twenty traitors found a terrifying fruit—a fruit that granted him despair-inducing power. With it, they hurled the sacred tree's remains into the sea, destroyed every kingdom that dared oppose them, and founded what is now known as the World Government. They erased all historical records, attempting to bury this shameful and vile truth forever.
But someone survived.
That lone survivor sought out old allies. Together, they carved the truth into indestructible stone tablets known as the Poneglyphs. To hide this forbidden knowledge from the World Government, the last tablet—holding the complete history—was placed on an island that could never be found. Four Road Poneglyphs were then made to serve as guides, in the hope that one day, someone would uncover the truth, reveal it to the world, and overthrow the traitors who had claimed dominion over it.
"That," Roger said gravely, "is the legendary treasure you all seek. That... is the truth of history!!"
The crowd fell into stunned silence as the weight of Roger's words settled over them.
"So you're saying," one pirate muttered, "the current World Government was founded by traitors? And those so-called noble Celestial Dragons—they're just the descendants of those bastards?"
"How ironic," Red the Count sneered, rubbing his chin. "This world has been ruled by a pack of traitors for eight hundred years. That's rich."
"Tch. And here I thought those bastards were some kind of divine bloodline." Golden Lion scoffed. "Gods? More like mongrels. Even among pirates, betrayal is rare. And these clowns are proud of being traitors?"
"When I first learned the truth, I was just as shocked as you," Roger said with a bitter smile. Then his tone turned serious. "Now you know what the Pirate King's treasure really is. So, tell me—what will you do? Will you help destroy this world ruled by traitors and build a new one full of hope and harmony? Or will you go on living as pirates, constantly hunted and afraid?"
Silence followed. And then, voices began to rise.
"Down with the World Government!"
"Kill those traitors!"
"I'll avenge my family! I'll make those bastards pay!"
"The Celestial Dragons' debt is long overdue!"
Roger smiled faintly at the growing fire in the crowd's voices. Things were going well.
Suddenly, someone tapped Roger on the shoulder. He turned to find Whitebeard staring at him, brows furrowed.
"Roger," Whitebeard said seriously, "what exactly is that terrifying Devil Fruit you mentioned?"
Roger's face darkened. "The Time-Time Fruit. A fruit nearly impossible to defeat. I even suspect… the one who ate it might still be alive. He could have used its power to achieve immortality."
"What?!"
The other three pirates on the platform gasped in shock. If what Roger said was true—if someone had lived for 800 years with mastery over time—then they were dealing with a foe beyond comprehension.
"Don't worry," Roger said, trying to ease their alarm. "There's someone who can deal with him."
"Who?" Whitebeard asked with a deep frown.
"A friend of Rimuru's," Roger replied. "Someone named Guy Crimson. He's a Demon Lord too."
Meanwhile, in another world, Rimuru sat cross-legged in a sealed training chamber. The room was built entirely from magisteel, with glowing magic patterns etched into the walls and floor. Overhead, a chandelier made of magical crystals bathed the chamber in radiant light.
The chamber could withstand a nuclear-level blast—and it also prevented any magical energy from leaking into the outside world.
Rimuru opened his guild interface and looked at the remaining number of crystals. A hint of excitement flickered in his eyes.