-Real World-
Edward Newgate's weathered face broke into a genuine smile as he raised his sake bowl toward the Sky Screen, his eyes bright with the first real joy he'd felt in years. The revelation that Kozuki Momonosuke lived brought warmth to the old Yonko's heart that no amount of medical treatment could provide.
"Just like his father Oden—cut from the same cloth!" Whitebeard declared with obvious pride, though his voice carried undertones of complex emotion. The boy might share his father's... appetites, but he was alive, and that was what mattered most.
Marco perched nearby, his keen analytical mind immediately spotting the chronological inconsistency that others might miss. "Pops, something doesn't add up about the timeline. Momonosuke should be fully grown by now—he was born on our ship twenty-eight years ago."
The Phoenix had vivid memories of the infant Momonosuke during his brief time aboard the Moby Dick. Yet the Sky Screen showed someone who appeared barely out of his teenage years, suggesting supernatural interference with the normal flow of time.
As Whitebeard aged, his thoughts increasingly drifted toward the past—particularly his encounters with the legendary samurai Kozuki Oden. The man had challenged him to single combat and lost, but had earned such respect that Whitebeard recruited him but instead of Oden being his son, Oden was the only one in the Whitebeard pirate crew that wasn't a son but instead a brother. Later, Oden had been temporarily recruited by Gol D. Roger for the final journey to Raftel, the island at the world's end.
After completing that historic voyage, Kozuki Oden had returned to his homeland of Wano with his wife and children, disappearing behind that nation's isolationist barriers. The next news to reach the outside world had been a death announcement that no one in the Whitebeard Pirates could accept at face value.
When Whitebeard had confronted Kaido directly about the circumstances of Oden's demise, the Beast King had claimed betrayal by a subordinate named Kurozumi Orochi. Such convenient scapegoating had only deepened the World's Strongest Man's suspicions, but with Wano's natural defenses and the potential casualties involved in a full assault, he had been forced to abandon thoughts of vengeance.
"Oden's wife came from mysterious origins," Marco observed thoughtfully, his mind working through the temporal puzzle. "If Momonosuke appeared outside Wano looking this young, that woman might hold the key to understanding how."
The Whitebeard Pirates' informal war council continued their analysis, but their adoptive father's attention had shifted to another detail that sparked his curiosity.
"I remember that brat Kaido eating the Uo Uo no Mi (Fish-Fish Fruit) that Linlin gave him—the Azure Dragon model," Whitebeard mused, stroking his magnificent mustache. "Now we see Momonosuke with what appears to be the same fruit's variant. Two Uo Uo no Mi mythical zoan fruits existing simultaneously... this world never ceases to amaze."
A part of him felt genuine regret that no one seemed to have inherited Kozuki Oden's legendary swordsmanship along with his other traits. The boy possessed tremendous potential, but potential meant nothing without proper training and guidance.
"Sons!" Whitebeard suddenly roared, his voice carrying across the entire ship with infectious enthusiasm. "Tonight we celebrate! For Kozuki Oden's memory and his son's survival—let's drink until dawn!"
The crew's response was immediate and overwhelming—hundreds of voices raised in cheers as preparations began for the kind of legendary party that only the Whitebeard Pirates could throw. When life presented reasons to celebrate, they seized them with both hands.
Meanwhile, in the present timeline, Kin'emon wore an expression of absolute misery as he watched his lord's behavior unfold. The leader of the Nine Red Scabbards had spent years searching for the missing eight-year-old Momonosuke after Kanjuro's capture in Dressrosa, never imagining he would find him in such... developed circumstances.
"Sky Screen, please reveal more information about Lord Momonosuke's location," he pleaded silently, his heart heavy with worry and embarrassment. "I must know where to find him in the present day."
The retainer understood that the footage showed events 5 years in the future, but the psychological toll of witnessing his lord's moral degradation was becoming unbearable. How had the innocent child he'd sworn to protect become... this?
Somewhere in the present day, the actual eight-year-old Kozuki Momonosuke remained hidden in circumstances too dangerous and unpleasant to contemplate—a frightened child lost in a world that had already taken everything else from him.
-Broadcast-
Back in the Sky Screen's vision of the future, Kin'emon bowed deeply to Nami and Sanji, his face burning with shame. "I apologize profusely for my lord's conduct. There is no excuse for such behavior."
Kozuki Momonosuke's... particular weakness was well-known to his retainers, and the aftermath of his romantic pursuits inevitably fell to Kin'emon to resolve. The young lord possessed many admirable qualities, but self-control around women was not among them.
"I understand your position," Nami replied with barely controlled disgust, her tone making it clear that the apology was accepted but not forgotten. "Sanji, let's get out of here. This whole encounter has ruined my shopping mood. Make me something sweet when we get back to the Sunny—I need to forget this happened."
The transformed cook nodded emphatically, his own revulsion at the display obvious. "Disgusting behavior like that makes me sick. Let's go before I lose my temper completely."
The moment those words left Sanji's lips, the very air around them seemed to crystallize with sudden menace. What had been a merely unpleasant encounter transformed into something genuinely threatening as Kozuki Momonosuke's entire demeanor underwent a chilling metamorphosis.
Gone was the lecherous young man with wandering hands—in his place stood someone whose presence radiated danger like heat from a forge. His expression became cold and calculating, while his casual posture shifted into something that spoke of lethal competence. The women clinging to him suddenly found themselves embracing not a playboy, but a predator.
"You mentioned returning to the Sunny," he said, each word delivered with precise, measured authority. "Also known as the Thousand Sunny. What exactly is your relationship with Straw Hat Luffy? I expect complete honesty."
The transformation was so complete that even the air itself seemed to recoil from his presence. Red and black lightning began crackling around his form—the unmistakable manifestation of Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki), a power possessed by perhaps one person in a million.
The oppressive aura expanded outward like a supernatural plague, washing over every living soul within several city blocks. Ordinary citizens who had been going about their daily business suddenly found their legs giving out beneath them, their consciousness fleeing in the face of overwhelming psychic pressure.
Across Dressrosa's main thoroughfare, tens of thousands of people collapsed simultaneously—men, women, children, and elderly all falling victim to the indiscriminate assault on their minds. Foam bubbled from their mouths as their nervous systems simply shut down, unable to process the sheer force of will being projected at them.
The Sky Screen's footage captured the horrifying scope of destruction: an entire district's population rendered unconscious or worse by a single moment of released killing intent. For those watching around the world, it served as a stark reminder that appearances could be devastatingly misleading—this seemingly immature young man wielded power that could level cities.
The revelation that someone so morally compromised could possess such overwhelming Conqueror's Haki sent shock waves through the viewing audience. Raw strength meant nothing without the character to use it wisely, and Kozuki Momonosuke had just demonstrated both tremendous power and questionable judgment in equal measure.
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