...
"Garp, looks like even in the future, you old guy's reputation can still serve as a protective charm for your grandson, huh!"
Shiki's teasing remark, laced with a bit of schadenfreude, made Garp's face darken even further, but deep down he couldn't help letting out a quiet sigh of relief.
In the scene on the light screen, when the future Zephyr heard the surname "Monkey D.," that momentary wavering and his final decision to fling Luffy away instead of crushing him…
It truly proved he had experienced a flicker of hesitation.
Just as Shiki had pointed out, if Zephyr had truly been dead set on taking Luffy's life, with Luffy powerless and restrained by the Seastone crusher, there would have been absolutely no chance of survival.
"But… this is still an utterly terrible future."
Tsuru's voice carried a rare heaviness and sorrow. She gazed at Zephyr's straight yet rigidly stiff back beside her.
"What exactly happened… to push you to this point? Zephyr."
As comrades and classmates for many years, she knew the old Zephyr all too well—his near-stubborn adherence to justice, his loyalty to the Marines, his care for his juniors, his unwavering commitment to the "no-kill" principle…
Unless he had endured unimaginable tragedy and betrayal, he never would have become the man in the scene, filled with such profound disappointment toward the Marines.
"The jumps and contradictions between scenes are also quite significant."
Sengoku pushed up his glasses, his sharp, doubtful gaze fixed behind the lenses: "The Straw Hat crew had clearly stated they were heading to Fish-Man Island. By the normal route, Sabaody Archipelago coating is an unavoidable step.
Yet in this light screen, they directly appeared in the New World seas and encountered Zephyr… What does the skipped time and the disjointed adventure in between signify?"
Sengoku wasn't the only one who noticed this. Roger, Rocks, Rayleigh, and even some of the more meticulous powerhouses had detected the breaks in the light screen's narrative logic.
This kind of jumping didn't feel like natural passage of time; it was more like selectively displaying certain key "fragments."
"Perhaps…"
Roger stroked his chin thoughtfully as he looked at the light screen: "What this light screen is showing us isn't a continuous timeline, but… fragments of certain important nodes?
Like… the forks in the road of fate being forcibly laid out before us?"
Roger still had his sharp mind when it counted. This speculation sent a chill through many hearts.
If that were truly the case, then the light screen's intentions became even more unfathomable.
It wasn't playing a documentary; it was displaying "slices" of various possible futures, and they—the viewers—might be invisibly influenced by this information.
Perhaps even… shaping the course of certain futures?
"Gurgle gurgle"
"Waaah!"
At that moment, a loud rumbling stomach growl followed by crying broke the heavy, contemplative atmosphere on the scene.
Everyone turned toward the sound and saw little Shanks—temporarily left in the care of Gloriosa by Roger—pouting miserably, tears streaming down his face.
Ever since being carried at high speed by Dragon, he had long been starving, his stomach practically stuck to his back.
Even the future Yonko was, at this moment, just an ordinary child who needed his belly filled.
In comparison, his older brother Shamrock was much quieter, staying obediently in Shakky's arms. His big eyes curiously observed the terrifyingly powerful figures around him and the mysterious light screen in the sky, without crying or fussing.
Meanwhile, little Teach—held in Eris's arms—was also babbling and pointing at his own belly, expressing his desire to eat.
These three children had just witnessed the demonic forms of the Five Elders descending and the earth-shaking great battle, yet none of them had cried out…
This courage far beyond ordinary children had already caused many pirates and Marines to secretly sigh in their hearts: As expected of the bloodline of the strong.
Even adults had trembled in fear at the sight of the Five Elders' ghastly appearances—imagine how shocking that scene must have been!
"Oh oh oh, good boy, don't cry, don't cry—food's coming right up!"
Gloriosa flailed about in a panic trying to comfort little Shanks, her pleading gaze repeatedly darting toward Roger.
Though she was beautiful and had an extraordinary presence, she was still just an unmarried young woman with virtually no experience in childcare.
"Coming, coming! I'll look right now!"
Roger quickly responded, his expression showing rare panic and urgency.
His concern for little Shanks had long surpassed that for a mere "picked-up child."
In a way, he was channeling the guilt and belated fatherly love he felt for his yet-to-be-met son "Ace" onto this red-haired boy.
It was a complex mix of emotion and self-redemption.
"Everyone! Quick! Search around nearby for anything edible!" Roger shouted to his crew.
"Yes, Captain!"
The Roger Pirates immediately sprang into action, rummaging through the surrounding battlefield wreckage and ruins.
However, after successive great battles, God Valley was already scorched earth everywhere—corpses, rubble—where could any normal food possibly be found?
After searching for a while, everyone came up empty-handed, their faces showing difficulty.
"Waaah!"
As if in a chain reaction, little Teach also began crying even louder. Eris anxiously looked toward Rocks.
Rocks, just like Roger, was anxiously pacing in place.
This ambitious overlord of the seas, who intended to overthrow the world, was equally helpless in the face of his young son's empty stomach—just like any ordinary father in the world.
Two men standing at the pinnacle of the world were simultaneously stumped by the simplest problem: "food."
In this moment of slight absurdity mixed with a touch of warmth and chaos, no one noticed…
At the edge of the battlefield, in a dense forest not yet fully destroyed, three pairs of tiny eyes were nervously and curiously watching from between the gaps in the branches and leaves.
...