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No one knows how much time passed, but eventually, Bai Ye opened his eyes.
Excitement and joy sparkled in them.
Because just now—he had successfully erased the original owner's imprint on the laws of the rainbow mist.
"Now… time to collect my spoils."
He muttered to himself.
"And while I'm at it, might as well kick a few folks out."
With that, Bai Ye took a single step forward—and vanished into thin air.
At the same time, the rest of the Straw Hat crew were watching the Rainbow Tower explode bit by bit.
Turns out, while Bai Ye was gone, Whedon had used Henzzo's invention to send people into the rainbow mist.
Once they confirmed the route worked both ways, he ordered the Rainbow Tower to be converted into a Rainbow Bridge—connecting Lujaja Island and the mist.
By then, Henzzo had also reunited with the Pumpkin Pirates, and they agreed to team up and find a way out of the rainbow mist.
So, of course, a fight broke out.
After getting thoroughly beat down by the Straw Hats, Whedon and his goons decided to go all in—blowing up the Rainbow Tower to trap Luffy and the others inside the mist for good.
BOOOOOOM!!!
With the tower gone, the only escape route from the rainbow mist was quickly disappearing.
The only option left was to follow the direction of the explosion and escape fast.
But the Pumpkin Pirates' kids were panicking—because the crew on the Going Merry didn't look like they had any plans to leave.
"Hey! Why aren't you guys starting the ship?!"
shouted Labane, the golden-haired leader of the Pumpkin Pirates.
"If you don't leave now, you might be stuck here forever!"
"I'm waiting for my first mate."
Luffy smiled as he replied to the anxious Labane.
"He's not back yet, so the Merry isn't going anywhere."
"It's just one guy! You're seriously gonna risk your whole crew for one person?!"
snapped the purple-haired girl from the Pumpkin crew.
But before anyone could answer, she stopped herself.
Because she suddenly realized—not just Luffy, but every Straw Hat had no intention of leaving.
Waiting for the first mate… it was something they had all silently agreed on.
Seeing this, even Labane—someone who valued loyalty above all—was stunned.
He couldn't help but mutter, "Just who is your first mate?"
"Well, sorry for the late introduction, but…"
Right then, a voice spoke from behind him.
Bai Ye appeared like he had just walked out of nowhere, smiling as he said:
"I'm Bai Ye—the first mate you were asking about."
Labane and the others turned around and saw Bai Ye standing there with a friendly smile.
"You're finally back, Bai Ye."
Nami also smiled and started giving orders:
"Zoro, get the sails ready. Usopp, take the helm—"
But before she could finish, Bai Ye cut her off.
"No need for all that, Nami."
He looked calm and relaxed on the outside—but inside his head:
[Step aside, it's time for this Daoist to flex!]
"I've got a thousand ways to get us out of the rainbow mist."
"Oh, well that's great then!"
Nami immediately relaxed, even pulled out her Clima-Tact and knocked down a few oranges for Bai Ye.
What shocked Labane and the others the most was that no one from the Straw Hat crew questioned Bai Ye's claim.
They all trusted him, just like that.
And this was a place known as the pirate graveyard—a place no one had ever escaped before!
Seeing the looks on their faces, Luffy chuckled and said proudly:
"Bai Ye's amazing, you know. Hehe."
After munching on an orange, Bai Ye turned to the others and said:
"Don't worry—I really can get everyone out of here."
"But I need to ask you something first."
He crouched down slightly, then spoke gently:
"Do you want to come with us… or go back to fifty years ago?"
That question caught not just Labane off guard—but even Henzzo's eyes went wide.
"You… can send them back fifty years?"
Bai Ye nodded. He didn't need to say more—now that he controlled this small world, he had that kind of authority.
But after a few quick tests, he found out he couldn't send Henzzo back as well.
After a little "chat" with the rainbow mist itself, Bai Ye figured it out.
"A time paradox, huh?"
As a Taoist, his grasp of science was… a little shaky. But he managed to piece together the gist of it.
The reason he asked in the first place was because of that paradox.
If he sent all of them to fifty years ago…
Then fifty years later, the Pumpkin Pirates—who were now marines—would never have existed. And the Straw Hats might not have—
Well, you get the idea.
"We want to go back."
While Bai Ye was deep in thought, Labane spoke up again.
He looked Bai Ye straight in the eye and said firmly:
"We want to go back fifty years. We're going to save Lujaja Island ourselves."
Behind him, the other Pumpkin Pirates gave him the same determined look.
"In that case… see you soon, folks."
Bai Ye stood up, said no more, and with a wave of his right hand, sent them away.
"Labane…"
Henzzo was still a bit stunned, but Usopp patted him and said:
"Didn't Bai Ye just say, 'see you soon'? Don't worry."
Hearing that, Bai Ye smiled too.
"That's right—you're about to see them very soon."
With a snap of his fingers, everyone suddenly reappeared at the port of Lujiaja Island.
Right now, there were already four navy ships anchored at the harbor.
Leading them were none other than the blond old man and the purple-haired old lady who had been chasing the Straw Hats before.
"WHAT?! The Navy?!"
Luffy yelped in shock and immediately shouted:
"Nami! Let's get outta here—now!"
Everyone else: …You really didn't get it earlier, did you?
At the port, a few soldiers were handcuffing the Whedon family and escorting them onto a navy ship.
Meanwhile, the Pumpkin Pirates from fifty years ago stood face to face with Henzo.
"Rabani... and everyone..."
Henzo's voice trembled—he looked like he was about to cry.
"We're really sorry, Henzo."
Rabani—or rather, Major Pascua now—spoke with emotion:
"We've spent so much time and effort just to get to this point… just to save this island."
"You've been through so much all these years."
"Even though we're navy now, to you, we'll always be the Pumpkin Pirates."
"We'll always be your crew."
At that moment, the setting sun bathed them in golden light, quietly witnessing this friendship that had endured over fifty years.
Then suddenly, Rabani pointed a finger at Luffy and his crew.
"Straw Hat crew—you're all under arrest!!!"
"WHAT?!?!" x3
The Idiot Trio—who had been happily spectating—reacted the loudest.
Rabani remained calm as she continued:
"We're flying the flag of justice now—we can't just let pirates with bounties roam free, you know?"
"But..."
Suddenly, Rabani clutched her head with both hands, putting on a dramatic, troubled expression:
"Aghh, why now of all times? I have to escort the Whedon family back to HQ. If I do that... the Straw Hats might just get away in the chaos!"
"And we just don't have the manpower to stop them! Even if I call HQ for backup, it'll take them at least two days to get here."
"If they escape, well… what can you do, right?!"
Watching Rabani's over-the-top performance, the Idiot Trio all sighed in relief.
Luffy: "Haha, I knew you were a good guy, old man!"
Usopp: "Damn it! Don't scare us like that!!"
Chopper: "Yeah, seriously!!"
And so, amid laughter and cheer, the Straw Hat crew proudly set sail from Lujiaja Island, ready for their next adventure.
"....."