Author's Note:
This time, a crossover character from a certain game makes an appearance. Whether they'll show up again or become a regular is uncertain, though... You probably won't have any issues even if you don't know the source. With that said, please enjoy.
---
"That about wraps up my report."
"Good work. I appreciate it... for recovering and treating the Marines, too."
It had been a little while since returning to the ship.
Figuring I should at least get a report in, I'd had them connect me to Fleet Admiral Kuzan on a secure line, and had just finished giving a brief summary of what happened on Sekan Island.
That I'd met and fought Zephyr-san, or rather, the man now calling himself "Z."
That he'd planted Dyna Stones at various points across the island to destroy it, and that the resulting explosions had set off the island's existing volcano, causing the entire island to blow apart and cease to exist.
And also, the mysterious girl who had barged in during the middle of our fight.
"I only managed to save some of them, though. ...By the way, there were various things I couldn't ask about earlier, and I'd like to hear about them if possible."
"Ahh... sorry, that's still not gonna work."
Yeah, figured as much.
"Again? I understand there are circumstances, but at the very least you need to share information with me... If you take the secrecy too far, you'll lose fights you could have won."
"Well... there really is a lot going on over here too. Believe me, I'd love nothing more than to tell you everything and get your cooperation."
Kuzan-san said this with a tone that oozed apology.
He seemed self-aware that saying 'I won't give you information but please keep cooperating' was a pretty selfish ask. As I thought, at his core this man is genuinely a good person. Probably.
And besides... truth be told, I already knew most of the details without having to ask.
Including the matter of the End Points, since Iris and Snow had told me.
Well, if I said that, it would turn into 'How do you know that?', so in front of Fleet Admiral Kuzan and the other Marine personnel, I'd keep up the act of not knowing anything beyond what I'd been told.
But still, for the things I genuinely didn't know... might as well ask on the off chance.
"Then setting aside Zephyr-san for now... what about the intruder I mentioned earlier?"
"A kid with Pacifista-like characteristics, you said? Honestly, regarding that... at least as far as the information I have goes, there's nothing. I genuinely don't know, so there's nothing I can tell you. Well... I'll make an inquiry to 'SSG' from our end, but... they're pretty secretive themselves by nature. If any information comes in that I can share, I'll let you know... but don't get your hopes up."
"...Please, I'm counting on you."
No luck, I thought, deflating as I hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Well, I hadn't expected much, but... the information from the Marines was essentially zero. That last "Mystery Child," though, his tone really did sound like he genuinely didn't know...
...Well then. Report's done. Time to move on to the real deal: the internal discussion with my own people.
Everyone should already be gathered in the meeting room.
☆☆☆
"The above concludes the damage report from the recent naval engagement."
"The losses from the engagement with the Marines remained within expected parameters, but the subsequent damage from the Pirate Literary Master's forces was quite significant. Since it was an unplanned engagement, that's to be expected, I suppose..."
Shifting scenes now to the Neo Marines' ship.
Having escaped Sekan Island, Z and his people were reviewing the damage from the previous battle while discussing their next moves.
Naturally, the topic of Sue and her group came up as well. As Ain, one of the Executives, had just reported, the battle against the Pirate Literary Master and her Crew had inflicted far greater damage than the preceding fight with the Marines, owing to the enemy's small but elite composition.
Even so, the losses weren't severe enough to make continued operations impossible.
And these were people who had already steeled their resolve to walk alongside Z. Stopping was never a consideration. The very thought of halting their advance simply did not exist in their minds.
"However, we cannot afford to be careless. The Marines go without saying, but judging from today, the Pirate Literary Master will also likely move to obstruct our future operations. The Pirate Literary Master... or rather, the Golden Lion Pirates have been rapidly expanding their forces as of late, and the depth of talent gained by absorbing numerous pirate crews is another threat."
"Indeed, in today's battle alone, in addition to the Pirate Literary Master herself who fought Sensei, we confirmed the presence of Executives including the Ghost of the Foggy Sea, the Chef of the Winter Sky, Muddy Torrent, Myriad Colors, and Iron Lion... plus several unidentified combatants. Several among them appear to be some kind of Ability Users..."
"Hmph... they certainly went all out for us."
Even as he listened to report after report of decidedly unwelcome news, Z showed not a hint of weakness, flashing a fearless grin instead.
Like his subordinates, he too had taken the name "Z" with the resolve to never stop moving forward. No matter who the enemy was, no matter how great the forces arrayed against him, his bearing said he couldn't care less.
"There are no changes to the plan. As scheduled, once we finish resupplying and completing other preparations, we head for our final destination: Pirio Island. There... we end this rotten era. All hands, give your utmost effort!"
"""Yes, sir!!!"""
The road ahead was fraught with hardship, yet the Neo Marines' morale remained high as ever.
For the future they sought and the Justice they believed in, without doubt or hesitation, they pressed ever onward.
Even if what awaited them was a world too terrible to call even hell, even knowing that, having found "Justice" in that path, they would charge forward heedless of their own destruction.
...However,
Not a single one of them knew yet that an event which would force even them to halt in their tracks was a mere ten-odd minutes away.
☆☆☆
First things first, before the discussion: a situation check.
While I'd been fighting Zephyr-san, the others who came along had each been fighting their own battles.
Their opponents were the Neo Marines', well, not to be rude, but the rank-and-file members. There were apparently some Executives mixed in too, but they hadn't posed much of a threat.
That was because Kuzan-san had given us information on the Executives, apparently just barely within what he was allowed to share.
There were two main Executives.
Ain, the Reversal Human, user of the Return-Return Fruit, whose touch could rewind the time of anything by twelve years.
Binz, the Plant Manipulator, user of the Mosa-Mosa Fruit, who could freely control surrounding plant life.
Both were former students of Zephyr-san's, and had left the Marines to follow him, ending up as members of the Neo Marines.
He didn't tell us what triggered their defection, though. ...What exactly are the criteria for this information control? I really wish they'd give us just a little more...
'Well, I suppose the Fleet Admiral of the Marines is basically a middle manager caught between the World Government's upper echelons and the Marines... I wonder if Fleet Admiral Kuzan, or for that matter Sakazuki in the Canon timeline, had similar headaches.'
Anyway, these two Executives had apparently come to Sekan Island with Zephyr-san. Alice and the others who went ashore said they'd fought them.
They were apparently fairly strong, but since we had information on their abilities beforehand, there wasn't any real struggle to speak of.
Alice took on Ain. The moment she laid eyes on her, she apparently blurted out "I call dibs on that one! Suzu, you take the other one!" and went flying off. Honestly, that girl.
Well, she seems to have fought seriously at least, so I'll let it slide. The Return-Return ability could be blocked by guarding with sufficient Haki, and as long as you avoided getting close in the first place, you wouldn't get hit. Alice, who had the highest Haki Mastery among the three girls, was the best match for it in terms of compatibility too. In hindsight.
Suzu took on Binz, who used plants for restraints and attacks while moving with ninja-like speed himself (and indeed, his costume, aside from its garish colors, was basically that of a ninja), and was also skilled with a blade.
But when it came to swordsmanship, Suzu had been honing hers through training with accomplished swordsmen including Zoro, and she could counter the waves of plant attacks with mud, matching volume with volume. This was a good matchup too, it seemed.
With our two daughters pinning down, and frankly overpowering, the two Executives, Snow and Iris swept through the rank-and-file, scattering them left and right, giving our side a decisive advantage.
Of course, partway through the fighting, the Dyna Stone detonations started, forcing a draw and mutual retreat.
And there was one more front: our ship had also become a battlefield. It seemed they'd been ordered to eliminate without exception any vessel approaching the operation area, so after we departed, a large fleet of Neo Marines ships came swarming in.
But waiting for them were Leona, plus the aide duo of Blume and Beauty, and on top of that, the Homies that Iris had left behind. If anything, it was even more one-sided than what Alice's group experienced.
Initially, when Iris proposed using Homies for ship defense, I'd been reluctant.
Having attended Big Mom's Tea Party several times, I knew what the Homies created by the Soul-Soul Fruit's ability looked like. They were quite distinctive in appearance.
How to put it... they looked like inhabitants of a fairy-tale world. Mysterious creatures, really. Honestly, anyone who knew would take one look and go "Those are from the Soul-Soul Fruit...!"
If Homies were spotted somewhere Big Mom couldn't possibly be, it would cause a commotion.
In the worst case, word might reach the Big Mom Pirates themselves, and they'd start investigating. I wanted to avoid that, so at first I tried to decline.
But right after that, when Iris explained why her Homies would be fine... I had no choice but to accept.
After all, her Homies were...
"Hey Master, sounds like you had way tougher opponents over there. I woulda rather gone with you, y'know."
"Stop complaining, Ifijar. Ship defense is perfectly respectable work. Besides, you were clearly having a blast torching everything in sight."
"But Pneuma, I was holding back a lot so the frustration was building up, y'know? Had to keep my firepower in check since we were on the ship and all..."
"That was you holding back? Your control is way too sloppy for that. I had to stop the ship from catching fire several times, you know?"
Arguing like that were two beauties, one with pink hair, the other with blue.
The two calling each other Ifijar and Pneuma were both wearing outfits with generous amounts of exposed skin, flashy and ornate like stage costumes.
Different styles, though. Ifijar's look incorporated armor and warrior-type design elements, while Pneuma's was more like a sorceress, or the serene garments you'd see on a goddess statue.
These two hadn't been on the ship during our outbound voyage, yet here they were now.
I'll just cut to the chase. These two were, in fact, Iris's Homies.
Frankly, they were nothing like the Homies Big Mom creates.
Where Big Mom's were fairy-tale-esque mysterious creatures, these were... beautiful-girl personifications. Moreover, their gorgeous visuals were the kind that would send any twenty-first-century Japanese otaku into rapturous euphoria.
"When I make Homies, they come out looking like pretty girls for some reason."
"...No, seriously, why?"
"The details are unknown. But if I had to venture a guess... it would be the ability user's personal tastes."
"I personally prefer this sort of thing over the fairy-tale look, so maybe my aesthetic sensibilities are influencing it. Well, they look gorgeous so they're fun to watch, and nobody's losing out, so what's the problem? Both of them are super strong, too!"
...That's definitely the influence of Alice's future self...
This girl had prior offenses of similar thought contamination: changing Leona's Beast Form from a humanoid lion into a cat-eared beautiful girl, and more recently doing the same to Lupus and Nabe, turning their forms into beautiful girls in animal costumes. So I was sure of it.
Altering a Devil Fruit's transformation without even using a Rumble Ball. The sheer force of this girl's worldly desires had me mildly horrified.
If you looked closely, you could see flames flickering from Ifijar's body, and the tips of Pneuma's long hair were turning into liquid, so you could tell they weren't human.
But to an uninformed third party, the reaction would probably be 'An Ability User!?'
In reality, they were essentially a wildfire and a flood that could move and talk, so neither Seastone nor Haki worked on them. Yet they could shift their bodies into fire or water and flow like a Logia, deflecting attacks, and they could manipulate flames and water to attack like the Mera-Mera or Toro-Toro.
The trade-off was that they were genuinely vulnerable to the natural weaknesses of their respective phenomena, like water and dryness.
Either way, nobody who saw them would think "Homies," so I gratefully accepted Iris's kind offer.
I'd already heard from Leona and the others about how those two had run wild. They were every bit as strong as advertised.
So, that wraps up the discussion about Iris's two Homies. Time to get to the main topic.
"So, Iris, Snow. About what Zephyr-san was saying..."
"...Indeed, from what you've described, this era's Z also speaks as if he knows about the 'future' world, or at least its history. It's difficult to dismiss as mere coincidence or misunderstanding..."
"And that 'Mystery Child' is concerning too. Actually, based on what you've told us, Mom... that's probably a Seraphim."
"Huh? What's that?"
"A Human Weapon developed by the World Government... specifically, by Dr. Vegapunk. It's an improved version of the Pacifista, but... its combat capabilities are absurdly powerful. They were deployed as the Government's vanguard on battlefields and reportedly annihilated numerous pirates and other hostile forces. ...Though, since this is from our Ruined Future, their targets were mostly surviving anti-government resistance fighters and raiders."
"That said, we never actually saw them ourselves... we only know of their existence through secondhand accounts. We do possess a general body of information about them as knowledge, so we can explain."
--- During the explanation... ---
I see... that really is something else.
A Human Weapon created using the genes, or rather the Lineage Factor, of the legendary Lunarian Tribe combined with the Lineage Factor of the Shichibukai, then further equipped with cutting-edge weaponry and artificially replicated Devil Fruit abilities. Yeah, that would certainly qualify as the Government's trump card.
At the same time, it was a weapon that kicked bioethics in every possible direction. Cloned humans with genetic modification, cyborg augmentation, and the fact that they were children raised questions about child soldiers... didn't it?
Well, if you just thought of them as 'beings created for that express purpose from the start,' maybe that was that, but... the nerve of the Government and the Marines to publicly deploy such a morally black weapon. ...No, that's nothing new at this point.
"So, assuming what you encountered this time was one of these Seraphim, Mom... the fact that it looked just like you means..."
"A clone created using Mother's Lineage Factor, then..."
That would be the logical conclusion.
Before the Summit War, I'd spent time imprisoned in Impel Down, so they could have collected my genetic material all they wanted.
Every waking and sleeping moment was filled with torture, so I'd shed blood, sweat, tears, and even, let's be honest, urine during that time. If they'd collected all of that... they'd have had no shortage of material.
But what concerned me was...
"That Seraphim modeled after me (probably) was using Seastone weapons... and its movements suggested they were stored internally. Like Zephyr-san's Battle Smasher, they're probably armaments designed for fighting Ability Users, but..."
"If it can use Devil Fruit abilities, even artificial ones, then Seastone should be its weakness... meaning the Seraphim modeled after Sue is not an Ability User."
"That doesn't match what Iris and the others described... and to begin with, even if the Government had created a Seraphim based on Sue, what reason would they have to target both Zephyr-san and Sue at the same time? Sue's been doing honest work as a Shichibukai, at least officially. There's no benefit to eliminating her at this point."
Exactly. That had been bugging me too.
Even if it was a Government weapon, why sic it on me now, at this particular moment? As Beauty had pointed out, at least for now, I should still be useful to the Government.
Even if they considered me dangerous as an Instigator, coming for my life at this specific juncture had no upside. Only downsides. ...Or so it should be.
Of course, there was always the possibility of motives beyond our understanding, but if that were the case, there'd be no point in speculating...
Also... it was pretty far-fetched, but there was one prediction, of sorts, that I could make.
"A prediction... like what?"
Leona tilted her head, looking eager to hear.
Everyone else had roughly the same expression, so I made sure to preface that this was purely my personal speculation with no particular basis before continuing.
"Remember how we were just talking about Zephyr-san seeming to know about the future? That means someone told him about the future, which means that person also knows the future, right? In short, there's a high probability that person also came from the future. A Future Person other than Iris and Snow."
"...Could it be that... the Seraphim is also...?"
"Yeah. Judging from Zephyr-san's reaction, I don't think that Seraphim was Zephyr-san's Source. But the Seraphim itself could have come from the future through a separate route from that Source. If it's a product of the future, it would explain why it doesn't match the Seraphim in Iris and the others' knowledge."
Like a Terminator, of sorts.
Sent from the future, an android that came to the past to assassinate key figures and change history. Well, this one was more clone-times-cyborg.
...Actually, this was plausible. From the future world, for reasons unknown, that child might have been sent targeting me and Zephyr-san, among possibly others.
Given that Iris and the others were right here with us, the possibility of someone or something traveling back from the future to this era was already established.
And if that really was the case, this was less like the Terminator and more like... something I'd reflexively thought when Iris and Snow first arrived. This was looking more and more like the Android Arc...
"But if that's the case, isn't it a bit strange that Iris and the others' knowledge from the same future doesn't match the functions of the Seraphim Mom fought? I mean, maybe there were just types of Seraphim that Iris and the others didn't know about, but still."
"...Or perhaps, it may not be from the 'same future' at all."
In response to Alice's question, Blume spoke with a solemn expression.
Ah, right... this was just like Dragon Ball in that regard too.
"It appeared in several of Sue's own writings as well, but the concept of so-called Parallel Worlds... is a possibility we must consider. A different future born from a divergent timeline... another future separate from the Ruined Future that Iris and the others came from may exist, and the Seraphim in question may have come from there."
"So... there are two future worlds, 'Iris's future' and 'the Seraphim's future,' and they each came to this era separately from their respective futures... is what you're saying."
"Actually, it's also possible that... the Source who told Zephyr-san something came from yet another different future."
"Then that'd be three futures... ugh, this is getting really complicated..."
Leona was right. Let's organize this.
The key players in this situation, those who might have 'come from the future,' speculation included, numbered two, setting aside Iris and Snow who were properly cooperating with our faction.
One was that Seraphim apparently modeled after me.
The other was whoever had conveyed something to Zephyr-san. Come to think of it, we still didn't even know what that "something" was. The mysterious Source.
Next, their objectives.
Since they'd crossed time itself to come to this era, they must have had some extremely important purpose.
Iris and Snow's objective was to prevent the Grand Reboot that Zephyr-san would cause, and to avert the world's destruction along with the tragic fate of the Golden Lion Pirates, myself included.
In terms of role, they were like Future Trunks from Dragon Ball.
The objective of that Future Seraphim (presumed) was to kill me and Zephyr-san.
The reason was unknown, but we were clearly an obstacle. Killing Zephyr-san might be aimed at stopping the Grand Reboot, but why me...? Was I somehow in the way in the future world?
In terms of role, it was like Cell from Dragon Ball, or alternatively, a Terminator.
And the objective of the mysterious Source was... unclear, but since they seemed to be cooperating with Zephyr-san, perhaps it was to help him.
And all three of these parties may have come from different futures.
"But seriously, why would people from three different futures all converge on this era at the same time...? Isn't that too much to be a coincidence?"
"That's probably because it isn't a coincidence."
"What dost thou mean?"
"The reason Future People from two or three Parallel Worlds gathered in this era, the same one Iris and Snow came to... is probably because all of those parallel worlds are connected, with this era as their turning point. That's why everyone's converging here, each trying to do something for their own purposes."
So went Alice's theory.
Our youngest daughter, who was rarely in serious mode but was apparently cranking her brain into gear, seemed to be imagining the same hypothesis I was.
"For example... suppose Iris and Snow came and history changed. In the future beyond that... well, their objective is achieved, the Grand Reboot is prevented, Mom and Grandpa don't die, the world doesn't end, and history continues on."
But, she continued.
"If that was inconvenient for someone else... or if, in that further future, something inconvenient happened because of Mom or Zephyr-san, or both..."
"They came to this era to change the past and deal with it? And by killing Mother and Zephyr-dono, they attempt to change history yet again..."
"And then someone else found that inconvenient, came to this era, and became the Source...?"
"...So this incomprehensible situation with multiple futures tangled together is... because of us?"
"You're saying there is a high probability that our arrival in this era and the resulting changes to history are what caused this?"
"It's just one possibility."
That said, given how many figures from Parallel Worlds had assembled across time and space... I was fairly certain this theory was on the mark.
A game of endless retaliation, where changes to history spawned parallel worlds from which people came to change history further. That was most likely what was happening right now, in this era.
Which meant going forward, as we moved to prevent the Grand Reboot, others might emerge trying to stop us, Zephyr-san might adapt his movements accordingly, and that Seraphim would try to obstruct both sides while attempting to eliminate me and Zephyr-san...
The "knowledge of the future" that Iris and Snow provided might not only prove useless, but could even become a liability through preconceived notions. Things were going to get considerably more difficult to handle from here on out.
...Just as I was thinking all of this.
The meeting room door was knocked on rather roughly, and one of our subordinate pirates, a woman, entered.
"Apologies for interrupting the meeting, Miss! A report has come in from the intelligence division! On a certain island in the New World... a large-scale explosion has been confirmed, and the island itself has apparently collapsed!"
"""...!!!"""
Every single one of us froze.
Whether we wanted to or not, the possibility of the worst-case future was thrust before our eyes.
Praying that my guess was wrong, I asked, trembling.
"...Which island? It's not... the one called Pirio Island, right?"
If I was right about this... the end of the world would...
"Huh? Oh, no, it's not that name... It's a completely different island."
Oh. Well, that was a relief.
No, but when you come in with news like that at a time like this! Nearly gave me a heart attack! Talk about misleading...
As we all let out a collective sigh of relief, the soldier looked puzzled but continued her report.
"Um, it's not Pirio Island, but... according to our information, that island appears to be located quite close to our current position... It's not the island we'd been monitoring, but I thought I should report it just in case."
"I see, yeah... thanks."
Well, sure... we'd just had Sekan Island blow up and vanish, after all.
If similar information came in one right after another, of course it would catch your attention, and of course you'd think it should be reported...
...But the timing really was too perfect. A coincidence? ...Probably not.
To be continued...