After making sure Imu was completely asleep, Michael picked up his clothes and red fox scarf and left the bedchamber.
"Tsk tsk tsk, aren't you being a bit too much of a gentleman?"
"Rocks?" Michael was startled to see Rocks leaning against the wall outside the bedchamber.
"Seriously? You're standing here late at night, disabled yet determined, just to eavesdrop and mock me?"
"Disabled yet determined... You just had to poke at my sore spot, didn't you?" Rocks' mouth twitched, though his expression remained unchanged as he hobbled over to Michael on his crutches.
"Actually, you should be able to tell that the queen has taken a liking to you, right? You could easily go with the flow... After all, us brave men raised on the sea have never been ones to stand on ceremony."
"You make it sound so simple. Plenty of women have taken a liking to me. Neither of us belongs in this time... We should try not to leave anything too contradictory to history behind... Like a child, for instance." Michael curled his lip and said quietly, "Have you ever considered that if you left a child in the past, they might end up becoming your own ancestor?"
"...That one sentence just made my brain hurt."
"Good! That's why we shouldn't go too far before we return to the future."
"We... can go back!?" Rocks caught the key point in Michael's words. "This kind of thing... is reversible?"
"Of course it's not reversible. But according to the course of history, Little Shi is destined to eat the Time Fruit, and then her powers will go out of control, sending me to some point in the future." Michael shrugged.
"As for you... you'll definitely return to the future too. Otherwise, why do you think I know you?"
"That incredible?" Rocks' jaw dropped in disbelief. "Time... is truly terrifying."
"Exactly. So now you understand why I neither admit nor deny it?" Michael sighed.
"There's really no point."
Of course, there was one thing Michael didn't say aloud...
He couldn't get past his own principles.
While sleeping with the final boss might sound thrilling,
Michael simply wasn't that kind of person—after all, his hands weren't born with eight fingers.
Most importantly... the current Imu clearly wasn't yet that mad ruler of the world.
The current Imu was his friend, his comrade-in-arms.
No matter how carefree he acted... he would never disrespect his own comrade.
"Alright, aren't you going to sleep?" Michael decisively changed the subject. "Starting tomorrow, we'll be entering the phase of selecting the elite."
"You think I can sleep after what you just told me?" Rocks said helplessly.
"Then that depends on your ability to adjust." Michael shrugged. "Through wind and rain, I'll be waiting at the barracks."
...
After Michael brought back the massive haul of Devil Fruits, that night, apart from Imu—who had exhausted herself from earlier excitement and hunger before falling into a deep sleep again after eating her fill—practically everyone else stayed awake all night.
Including Michael.
Of course, for someone like Michael, going without sleep for one night had no effect whatsoever.
To be precise, the strong warriors of this world could go without sleep for short periods without issue.
Otherwise, how could they fight for ten days and nights straight?
Though that was during all-out battles... For Michael, lying awake all night, his mind kept circling back to thoughts about the Devil Fruit user army.
In truth, nearly all the famous Devil Fruits from later eras were included among them.There were even many Devil Fruits that had never been heard of before.
In any case, once this army was established, even if everyone had only a basic grasp of their abilities, it would be enough to tip the balance between the Great Kingdom and the rebel forces.
With Michael leading them personally, they would most likely be able to sweep through everything in their path.
However, history had no record of such a Devil Fruit army... Michael didn't know what kind of impact his actions would bring.
"Father... you're here quite early."
Toki and Lily walked into the military camp, yawning, and saw him standing in the middle of the camp, staring intently at the flags of the Twenty Kings.
Surrounded by the flags of the Twenty Kings was a larger banner.
On it was painted a sun wreathed in white clouds, with three pairs of pure white Wings.
"What's the deal with this flag?"
"Oh, that fox—ahem, Aunt Imu had it made," Lily said with a slight pout. "Even though she's the one managing all the affairs of the rebel forces, the spiritual pillars have always been Joy Boy and you."
"To be honest, the term 'pillar of spirit' just sounds nice," Michael chuckled. "Someone as carefree as me hardly qualifies as any spiritual pillar."
"Speaking of which... the other so-called pillar seems to have left overnight with Doflamingo."
"Hmm? Joy Boy left?"
"Apparently he needed to go to Elbaf... He obtained some blueprints from Water Seven that made him want to build the most powerful warship in history or something..." Lily nodded in response.
"After all, Elbaf has free labor and the best materials available... Adam Wood and such."
Michael froze.
Blueprints from Water Seven?
The most powerful warship in history?
Built with Adam Wood?
No matter how you looked at it, these descriptions perfectly matched one of the legendary Ancient Weapons—the "most evil warship in shipbuilding history," Pluton!
Michael smacked his own forehead.
After spending so much time with that blockhead Joy Boy, he'd subconsciously forgotten that this guy was actually the most terrifying figure in all of history.
According to historical records, as the first man in history to call himself a "pirate," possessing the three great Ancient Weapons—Uranus, Poseidon, and Pluto—he was theoretically invincible.
But right now, Uranus was still the homeland of the Lunarian Race, Poseidon hadn't surfaced yet, and Pluto was only just beginning construction...
More importantly, even without these three Ancient Weapons, they could still defeat the Great Kingdom.
This realization suddenly raised a question in Michael's mind.
The historical records about Joy Boy seemed... inaccurate.
Even now, Joy Boy showed no inclination to call himself a "pirate"...
In fact, when it came to being a slacker, this guy might even outdo Michael himself.
If not for his sense of responsibility toward the title of "Sun God," he'd probably have retired to some remote corner long ago.
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