"Ethan, come quickly! We've found a Poneglyph!"
Without waiting for his response, Rayleigh immediately dragged Ethan and soared toward the heart of Skypiea.
Within moments, they arrived at the site of the Poneglyph.
Roger had been waiting there for some time. When he saw Ethan finally arrive, he eagerly approached.
"Ethan, hurry and see if you can read this one!" Roger said with urgency. "I have a feeling this one holds something incredibly important."
Ethan untied his headband, opening his vertical third eye and focusing on the golden Poneglyph before him.
Immediately, historical projections began to unfold in front of him.
After several days of training, he could now partially understand some of the Poneglyph's ancient text.
Though still far from fully mastering it, he was able to rely on his knowledge from the original story to roughly decipher the contents of this golden Poneglyph.
After sorting out his thoughts, Ethan looked at Roger, Rayleigh, and the crew, cleared his throat, and announced:
"This Poneglyph records information about one of the Ancient Weapons."
"Which one?" Roger asked, visibly excited. "Is it Uranus? Or Pluton?"
Although Roger couldn't read Poneglyphs himself, he was well aware of the terrifying power behind the three Ancient Weapons forces capable of destroying the world.
"Neither," Ethan replied gravely. "It's about Poseidon."
He proceeded to reveal part of the ancient secret about Poseidon.
After hearing it, Rayleigh furrowed his brow. "You're saying Poseidon can command all Sea Kings to serve them?"
"That's right," Ethan nodded. "That's what makes Poseidon so terrifying."
In this world dominated by vast oceans and scattered islands, all trade and travel rely on the sea. If Poseidon ever turned hostile and commanded Sea Kings to blockade the seas, it would be an unmanageable catastrophe.
"That's all that's recorded on this Poneglyph," Ethan concluded, rubbing his sore third eye before covering it again with his headband. "I've translated it completely."
His mastery of his third eye's awakened ability was still unstable. Overusing it could cause damage, so after each session of reading Poneglyphs, he had to let it rest.
"Now that we know what's written here, there's no need to stay on Skypiea," Roger said, giving orders for the crew to prepare for departure.
Before leaving, Roger approached Ethan, standing before the Poneglyph with a grin. "Can you leave a message here for me?"
…
After helping Roger carve his message onto the stone, Ethan and the crew returned to the Oro Jackson.
"I remember in the original story, after Roger's crew left Skypiea, they had a giant egg on board…" Ethan looked around but saw no trace of the egg, his mind filled with doubt.
"Did I arrive too early? Has the egg not been laid yet?"
In the canon timeline, Roger and Oden went to Skypiea together and brought the giant egg back to the ship.
But Oden hadn't even set out yet he was still living as a wandering samurai in Wano.
Roger and Oden hadn't even met. Ethan's appearance merely allowed Roger to learn about the Poneglyphs a bit earlier.
Everything else remained unchanged.
"Looks like some things are fated. Even if I came early, they won't change."
Ethan mused to himself.
With his task done, he returned to his cabin to continue translating Poneglyphs for Roger.
…
Time flew by, and a year passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Ethan had translated several more Poneglyphs for Roger, revealing even more secrets about the Void Century.
Had he stayed on Roger's ship for another year, he was confident he could have finished translating all the Poneglyphs in Roger's possession.
But Ethan didn't plan to linger any longer.
He had already spent a year aboard the Oro Jackson he needed to start preparing for his own future.
"Even though all this time spent studying Poneglyphs slowed the cultivation of my Spirit Flower and Life Flower…"
Feeling the surge of power within him, Ethan was more than satisfied.
"My strength has still improved tremendously."
He opened his status panel and the following appeared before his eyes:
[Host: Ethan Sugawa][Race: Three-Eyed Tribe, Giant Bloodline, Vampire Bloodline][Devil Fruit: Hito Hito no Mi – Mythical Zoan – Hell-Faced Asura Form][Haki:]
Observation Haki: LV6 (300/800)
Armament Haki: LV6 (400/800)
Conqueror's Haki: LV6 (100/800)
[Special Techniques:]
Great Kingdom LV8 (180/1500)
Soul Power LV5 (280/1000)
Iron Body LV6 (440/800)
Shadowstep LV6 (550/800)
Swordsmanship LV6 (450/800)
Blood Control LV6 (260/800)
Serpent Mastery LV1 (30/100)
Divine Departure LV3 (300/500)
[Passive Traits:]
Legacy of Cao Cao (Gold)
Master Appraiser (Purple)
Dragon's Vigor (Purple)
Innate Sword Bone (Purple)
Child of the Sea (Purple)
[Reputation:]
2600 (Reputation reaches 3000 to unlock additional passive slots)
"My Conqueror's Haki finally reached Level 6."
Although he hadn't yet mastered Conqueror's Haki coating, his intimidation power had significantly increased.
Every one of his attacks now carried an oppressive aura that could subtly erode his opponent's fighting spirit and instill fear mid-battle.
His special techniques had also improved drastically.
At Level 6, his Iron Body could withstand a direct strike from Roger without dying though he would be severely injured and need several days to recover.
After reaching Level 6, Shadowstep now allowed him to chain together ten consecutive 'Shave' steps, boosting his speed to near-lightning levels.
His swordsmanship had also improved he could now control up to one hundred flying swords at once.
However, there were still serious limitations.
Controlling that many swords wasn't yet smooth or precise, and he couldn't control them beyond a hundred-meter radius otherwise, they would lose all connection and simply drop.
Ethan suspected the issue lay with his insufficient mental strength.
"Mental strength is the key to awakening a Zoan-type Devil Fruit. Without a strong will, one risks being consumed by the fruit's innate will, ending up like the mindless Jailers of Impel Down."
Although Ethan's Beast God Soul could protect him from being devoured by his Devil Fruit's will, he still needed to strengthen his mental fortitude.
Ideally, he wanted to awaken his fruit without relying on the Beast God Soul as a crutch.
But the greatest reward from his time aboard Roger's ship wasn't the Haki or the mental breakthroughs it was this:
"With my 'Innate Sword Bone' and my monstrous swordsmanship aptitude, I've managed to push Divine Avoidance to Level 3 in just one year without any external help."