"Toki... the daughter of the Amatsuki couple who were killed by the Great Kingdom's guard not long ago?" The beautiful young city official looked at the little girl nestled in Michael's arms, wiping her tears, and felt her heart melt.
"Sigh... these days, if you're killed by the Great Kingdom's guard, there's nothing you can do but accept your bad luck... In these chaotic times, things like this happen far too often. If you're willing, you could send her to the city's shelter."
At the mention of the word "shelter," Toki instinctively tightened her grip on Michael's clothes.
The motion caused Michael's already partially exposed chest muscles to reveal even more, making the city official's head spin with desire.
After all, in the world of One Piece, bizarre-looking individuals made up the vast majority, which only made a handsome and normal man like Michael all the more alluring.
Feeling the scorching gaze from the other side that seemed intent on devouring him whole, Michael wiped his face and flashed a composed smile.
If he really sent Toki to the shelter, never mind what would happen to the little one...
When he eventually returned to his original timeline and met Toki again he'd probably face complaints from his own daughter, who was older than him now.
So, Michael nodded at the city official.
"That's easy enough... My wife and child passed away many years ago. Since I found her, I might as well adopt her."
Michael said this, casually crafting the image of a young widower...
At least with that kind of backstory, adopting a child would seem much more plausible.
"Are... you sure?" The city official sighed, the desire in her eyes fading as a grave expression took over. "If this child stays in the city's orphanage, at least she won't attract the Great Kingdom's guard coming to silence her..."
"You don't need to worry about that." Michael raised a hand and flicked his finger—a flying finger pistol wrapped in Armament Haki sliced straight through the nearby stone wall.
"I have more than enough ability to protect myself."
The city official stared at the scene before finally exhaling deeply.
Then, her expression turned cold.
"In that case, I'll process the adoption paperwork for you... May I have your name?"
"Michael. Angel D. Michael."
"D..."
The city official glanced up at Michael with slight surprise but said nothing more.
The paperwork was processed remarkably fast.
Although that young female city official had shown a bit of flirtatious behavior earlier, she was fundamentally a good person.
"One last piece of advice... living in a relatively remote area away from the city with this child will allow you both to live longer."
"Oh, thank you." Michael nodded. "By the way, could I trouble you for a map of the surrounding area? I have a terrible sense of direction."
"That's no problem at all." The city official nodded and produced a folded map. "I'm happy to help... a man of the D. clan."
...
After obtaining the map and completing the formalities, Michael took Toki outside the city.
Just as the city official had suggested, staying away from urban areas was indeed the right move.
His immediate priority was figuring out their current location.
But soon, he looked up with complete bewilderment.
The thoughtful city official had marked their current position with a red symbol on the map.
And this location...
No matter how he looked at it, this was Angel Island where he had lived briefly during his childhood.
Except that the Angel Island of eight hundred years later would only be a small corner of this current massive Angel Island.
Though its elevation was significantly higher than other areas...
Michael suddenly had an epiphany.
This meant that after the fall of the Great Kingdom, when global sea levels rose two hundred meters within a short period, this enormous Angel Island would become the small island where he grew up.
"Fate truly works in mysterious ways." Michael glanced at Toki who had already fallen asleep against his shoulder. "It seems our father-daughter bond was truly destined..."
Though Toki belonged to the Amatsuki family of Wano Country, she had never set foot in Wano until adulthood.
Instead, she lived on Angel Island in the South Blue...
What a twist of fate spanning eight centuries.
Gently adjusting Toki's position, the little girl smacked her lips and curled into an even smaller ball.
Michael frowned slightly - she was alarmingly underweight, and her clothes clearly hadn't been washed in ages... she must have been living on the streets for quite some time.
On her exposed neck, arms, and legs, Michael could see numerous scars.
He sighed deeply.
Who would have thought that the dignified wife of the shogun, Kozuki Toki, could have had such a pitiful childhood...
"Alright then, even if just for the sake of the future Kozuki Toki, I'll have to raise the current you into a healthy, well-fed young lady." A trace of tenderness flashed across Michael's brow. "Though many have called me father before, it's only at this moment that I truly feel like one..."
In the warmth of his embrace, Toki seemed to hear Michael's murmurs. The tight line of her lips gradually softened.
Thus, across eight centuries of time, father and daughter forged an eternal bond in this moment.
...
Michael brought Toki to a place both familiar and strange.
This land that would later be known as Angel Island was currently just an uninhabited forest, spared from settlement due to its unusually high elevation.
Here, Michael quickly built a temporary wooden hut against the cliffside.
He had no money on him for the time being, so everything was sourced from the forest.
However, having once endured a period of hardship in the past, he...
Found it all quite effortless.
Looking at the pile of goats and wild boars on the ground, then at the bed and blankets made from animal hides and wool,
Michael silently gave himself a pat on the back in his heart.
After all these years, his wilderness survival skills hadn't rusted a bit.
"F-Father, I can help too."
Toki, who had been placed on the finished bed by Michael, had been awake for a while now.
Watching Michael's back, Toki instinctively spoke up.
There was a faint hint of ingratiation in her tone.
"Toki, since I've adopted you, I am your father," Michael turned around. "A father is someone who shelters you while you're still young, so you can live freely without needing to ingratiate yourself with others."
Toki froze.
When Michael rambled on like this, he sounded exactly like her birth father.
Tears welled up in an instant.
Toki suddenly threw her arms around Michael's neck.
"Father... you won't leave me, right?"
"Of course not, Toki."
Michael slowly unfurled his full six wings, enveloping Toki within them.
"Your father is the Archangel of the End, after all."
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