Lightning crackled softly as Luffy sat cross-legged on the thundercloud, looking down at the two bound agents like an irritated teacher watching misbehaving students. The jungle around them was unnaturally quiet, as if Little Garden itself were holding its breath.
"So," Luffy said at last, resting his chin on his palm, "Mr. 3 is the brain behind this."
Ms. Valentine nodded rapidly, the electric bindings biting into her limbs whenever she moved too much. "Y-yes! He's the strategist type. Always thinking five steps ahead. He hates brute force unless it's guaranteed to work."
"That figures," Luffy replied flatly. "Cowards love planning."
Mr. 5 groaned but forced himself to speak. "He set everything up… the drinks, the timing, the explosives. The giants were never the target. The bounty was."
Luffy's eyes narrowed, thunder rumbling faintly above. "Two warriors who've fought honorably for a hundred years reduced to targets in your little office game."
Neither agent dared reply.
Luffy leaned back slightly, gaze drifting toward the distant battlefield where Brogy still stood, massive silhouette rigid against the sky. Dorry lay motionless where he had fallen. Even from here, Luffy could feel it—the weight of Elbaf's pride pressing against the island like a buried volcano.
"You people don't understand something fundamental," Luffy said quietly. "In the New World, strength isn't just about power. It's about resolve. About the things you refuse to betray."
His eyes snapped back to the agents.
"And you betrayed everything."
Ms. Valentine swallowed hard. "P-please… we didn't know he'd go that far."
"That's a lie," Luffy replied calmly. "You knew exactly how far he'd go. You just assumed no one would stop him."
He stood up from the cloud, lightning dispersing beneath his feet as he stepped onto the ground. The air grew heavier, charged—not with electricity this time, but with pressure. Even without visible Haki, the sheer force of Luffy's presence made the ground beneath them creak.
"Colour Trap," Luffy muttered, glancing aside. "Paint that manipulates emotion without Devil Fruit powers."
Ms. Valentine stiffened. "You… you already knew?"
"I didn't," Luffy said. "But now I do."
He turned his head slightly, eyes unfocused, attention shifting inward. Observation Haki spread like a net across the island. He felt it—an artificial calm near the river, streaked with intent too sharp for nature.
Mr. 3.
And a second presence beside him. Small. Controlled. Focused.
Ms. Goldenweek.
"A kid playing with emotions," Luffy said under his breath. "That's dangerous in the wrong hands."
He looked back down at the agents. "Here's what's going to happen next."
Both of them tensed.
"I'm going to deal with Mr. 3," Luffy continued. "After that, I'll decide whether you two walk off this island… or never leave it."
Ms. Valentine nodded frantically. "We'll cooperate! Anything you want!"
Luffy smiled faintly—but there was no warmth in it. "You already gave me what I wanted."
He turned away from them, lightning crawling briefly along his shoulders as he took a step toward the forest.
"Oh," he added without looking back, "one more thing."
The electric bindings tightened just enough to make both agents cry out.
"If either of you tries to escape," Luffy said, voice utterly flat, "the lightning will stop restraining you—and start judging you."
The jungle swallowed him moments later, thunder muttering overhead as he moved.
Far away, unseen by Luffy for the moment, wax began to drip slowly from a man's gloved hands as he smiled to himself.
Little Garden's long-frozen history had started moving again.