"Huh?"
"Ozz? Why are you here?"
Shanks was stunned.
In the span of a blink, a familiar figure had appeared right in the hot spring. Seeing the state he was in, Gaban burst out laughing.
"Well, that is a long story. I have been away from these seas for years."
Using his Devil Fruit to keep the water from touching his wounds, Ozz simply enjoyed the heat. Parting from the Roger Pirates and then running into Shanks and Uncle Gaban felt like a small mercy from the sea.
They dried off, changed, and Ozz wrapped himself in fresh bandages.
"Thanks for the hospitality."
Seated before a custard tart as large as a hill, Ozz ate with both hands. Shanks and Gaban watched, curiosity burning.
Out here, who could hurt Ozz this badly?
"Hey, Ozz, you vanished from the sea for so long. Where did you go?" Shanks craned his neck, unable to hold back.
Gaban had the same question. He eyed the bandages and asked, "Even when you fought that guy Newgate, you were not this banged up. What kind of monster were you trading blows with this time?"
Gulp.
After swallowing a boulder of tart, Ozz began to speak, his body mummified in linen. He skimmed past Gick, and focused on the Roger Pirates and the battle at God Valley.
"Oh, that. This will take a bit. One of my scientists built a machine that could go back in time. I went to the past and had my fun twenty-something years ago."
"Back to the past?"
Shanks and Gaban might not follow the science, but they understood time travel.
"Yeah. I met Captain Roger in his thirties. Met you too, Uncle Gaban."
"At that time, at the port, Uncle Gaban, you and"
Before he could finish, Gaban clapped a hand over Ozz's mouth, terrified Ripley would hear something best left buried.
Luckily, Ozz did not go into details.
"The Roger Pirates of their youth." Hearing that Ozz had really gone back and met Roger left both men dazed. Gaban, especially, believed him because Ozz mentioned things from before Shanks and the others ever joined the crew.
Shanks' face filled with longing.
"Hey, Ozz, the first time you met Captain Roger and Uncle Gaban, it must have been really moving."
"About that."
Ozz scratched his head.
"Not really. We fought first. Uncle Gaban coughed up a lot of blood. Hahaha."
Gaban's mouth twitched. Then he looked Ozz over. Given the state Ozz was in now, it did make a certain sense. He chuckled.
"You brat, do not pick fights with the Roger Pirates of back then just because you are a monster now. We were strong. Seeing you turned into this is what you get."
Gaban had not finished gloating when he noticed Ozz gazing at him with a puzzled look.
Ozz tilted his head.
"These wounds? Fighting the Roger Pirates? Are you kidding me, Uncle Gaban?"
Gaban's face began to stiffen.
"You and Captain Roger both left with bruised faces. I was fine except for running out of stamina."
Thick black lines seemed to drop down Gaban's forehead. Shanks, of course, had stars in his eyes, laughing and thumping Gaban on the shoulder, while even Ripley covered a smile at Ozz's old stories.
Losing face in front of his wife, child, and junior made Gaban bristle. He glared at the calm Ozz and barked, "Then who besides the Roger Pirates could beat you up like this? We were one of the top crews on the sea."
Ozz saw no reason to hide it. He thought for a moment.
"Ah, the wounds. I pushed my spirit to break its limit so I could reach the peak of Conqueror's Haki. I went a little overboard."
He chewed his tart with a slight smile, as if it were nothing, which only made everyone lean in more.
"A little overboard?"
"Yeah. At God Valley I went one against four. Rocks. Garp. Captain Roger. And Shanks' old man, Saint Garlin. In the end Rocks died, so I guess that counts as a win."
Pfft.
Gaban spewed his mouthful of old liquor. Ozz blinked away with a teleport, leaving Shanks to take the splash full in the face.
"Wait. You said you fought who, alone, and won?"
Names that sat at the absolute peak of the world's power came from Ozz's mouth as casually as if he were listing small fry. Gaban stood frozen, words failing him.
Shanks was no better.
When he heard Ozz describe the method he used to secure victory, the man who had vowed all his life to surpass Ozz tasted despair for the first time.
No. He could not imagine any path to winning.
Seeing Shanks dim a little, Ozz laughed and clapped his shoulder.
"Do not get discouraged, Shanks. The new era belongs to you. I am just a remnant of the old age. You are the child of destiny."
At the words old age remnant, Ozz glanced at Gaban.
The gold, silver, and bronze trio had worked together to kick Ozz straight out of the new era and into the old.
Gaban scratched the back of his head, embarrassed, then hurried past the topic and turned to news from the sea.
"Ozz, while you were gone, a lot happened out there."
At the mention of the wider world, Ozz raised his brows and clinked cups with Uncle Gaban, listening as he and Shanks took turns recounting the stories tied to Ozz's name.
"No need for us to say it. You will hear soon anyway. In the past two years a man named Mihawk shook the world. With the sharpest black blade, he lopped off a great many hands that tried to reach where they should not just because you were gone."
"And there is a bird rampaging through the New World that is said to have awakened Conqueror's Haki. People say it is your pet."
Ozz was enjoying the talk when a roar of commotion rose outside the window. Conversation stalled. Everyone blinked.
Only Ozz stayed seated, composed.
He knew. Loki trouble.
"Way to kill a mood."
Shanks started for the door. Ozz stood as well, clearly intending to tag along.
Shanks hesitated, as if there were something hard to explain, but Ozz patted his shoulder.
"Relax. I am not going to butcher Loki."
"Just going to watch the fun."
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The tides are shifting, and secrets linger in the dark... Step into the shadows early on P@treon, where the next chapter awaits before the world sees it.
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