Journey to One Piece

277. Very bad at lies

"You think too highly of yourself," Ken commented as he came from behind. Ken had woken up and wanted to join in. He knew that Robin had gone to read the Poneglyph and she was back with more questions.

"Who is Joyboy?" Robin asked, not bothering with the formalities. Neptune, who was about to apologize for the misunderstanding, was taken aback. The wine gourd in his hand fell, and his drunkenness vanished instantly. "Who is he apologizing to?"

"How do you know that name?" Neptune was shocked and had to ask.

"I read it in the Poneglyph," Robin replied.

"You can read the Ancient texts. Wait, are you from Ohara? I am sorry. I heard what had happened," Neptune said.

"It was a long time ago. I have made peace with that," Robin replied. She didn't flinch this time. She had come a long way since then.

"Joyboy was someone who lived above ground during the Void Century. The apology was to the Mermaid Princess of that time. I don't know the details of that promise, but someday, somebody will come to fulfill it on behalf of Joyboy. This is the story handed down in our royal family. So we have believed those words and continue to look after Noah for generations. When the day comes, we will fulfill that promise," Neptune said.

"Who is going to steer the big ship? Joyboy?" Robin asked.

"No, the mermaid princess would. She had the power to direct the Sea Kings," Neptune replied. Robin went into deep thought and suddenly it clicked for her. She had heard that when the Queen was on her deathbed, Sea Kings had shown up because of the cries of Shirahoshi. It was rumored that it was her who had called them, though the royal family had always denied it.

"Shirahoshi is the Ancient Weapon, Poseidon. Isn't she?" Robin asked. It was another huge shock for Neptune, as he didn't expect that Robin would grasp that point so easily. The Sky Island had spoken of Poseidon situated in the mermaid island, and having the power to direct the Sea Kings was a significant power in itself.

Thus, the mermaid princess being the Poseidon should be the apt fit here.

"You are able to figure that out by yourself?" Neptune asked, his voice trembling a bit.

"I read the Poneglyph in the Sky Island," Robin said. Neptune sighed upon hearing that and after a moment of reflection.

"It's okay. I trust you all, and you have even saved her. Yes, she is the Poseidon," Neptune said. Ken had been listening to all of this and showed almost no interest. He already knew what the topic of discussion would be. The mention of Joyboy had finally arrived and now only the last island would have an answer to his questions.

Robin and Neptune talked a bit more. Neptune was too drunk by that point and excused himself. Only Robin and Ken were left. Ken was busy sipping a bit of juice and enjoying the scenery around.

"You don't seem to be interested in this Joyboy." Robin asked. 

"Should I be?" Ken asked. 

"No. But I think he was important in the Void Century if his promise was written in Poenglyph. Don't you want to know what kind of person Joyboy was?" Robin asked. 

"I do want to know but speculating it at the moment won't answer my curiosity." Ken replied. 

"So in other words, you know who Joyboy is don't you?" Robin said. It was time for Ken to be taken aback. 

"What?" Ken couldn't believe and thus asked again. 

"Neptune-san said that they are waiting for Joyboy to appear again and fulfil the promise and you seem to know a lot about it. You have showed zero interest in Joyboy which means you already know who he is or maybe you even know when he will be born." 

"Did I give that vibe? You must be wrong." Ken denied. 

"I have been a spy for a long time so I can always see the signs when someone knows something and chose to hide it. Tell me, who is Joyboy?" Robin asked. 

"Sigh! Robin, sometimes you are too intelligent for the Straw Hats." Ken said. 

"Same goes for you. So who is it? Is it you?" Robin asked. 

"No. Of course not. How can I be Joyboy?" Ken refused it directly. 

"So it must be Luffy isn't it?" Robin asked. 

"Can you stop with your predictions." Ken held his hands high and said. 

"So it really is Luffy." Robin said. 

"Fuck!" Ken cursed under his breath. 

"No wonder you have decided to follow him. You always knew that he was the Joyboy." Robin said. A small hiss when came through the mouth of Ken. This woman was really dangerous. No wonder that 78 million was on her head from the beginning. 

"No. It's true that I have my own selfish reason to follow him but even if he wasn't some bigshot, I would have still followed him." Ken said. "He is my brother and that is the most important thing to me."

Robin nodded and didn't dwell on that and asked.

"So what is Joyboy?" Robin asked. 

"I don't know." 

"How is Luffy related to that person in the Void Century?" 

"I don't know." 

"Does Luffy has some special privileges due to that?" 

"I don't know." 

"Do you know anything other than him being Joyboy." 

"Nope." 

Robin looked deeply into Ken and sighed. She could tell that Ken was speaking the truth. 

"Then how do you know that he is Joyboy?" Robin asked. 

"You will get to know soon." Ken said. 

"I will take you up on that." Robin replied and smiled. Ken thanked the gods since this interrogation was over. He only wanted to hear about the promise and nothing more. And then he fell deep in the pit. It seemed like the 'poker face' of Ken needed some upgrade. Staying with his brothers made him like them. 

Very bad at lies.