CHAPTER 9
Standing before the cell, Ren's aura shifted—calm, heavy, unshakable.
His voice was low, but every word carried weight.
"I will ask this only once. And it is the only question I have for you."
His eyes locked onto the shriveled man in chains.
"Do you regret your actions?"
The man slowly lifted his head. His hair was gray, his face gaunt, his presence once monstrous—now faint.
Yet when he laughed, echoes of the past thundered through the cell.
"So you are my son."
A crooked smile formed.
"I knew it the moment I sensed your mother's aura in you. I thought I was hallucinating."
He chuckled—weak but sincere.
"Hahahahaha… You truly carry the blood of the Astro Clan."
Ren's voice sharpened.
"Answer the damn question."
Rust's expression shifted. His tone became colder, truer.
"I don't."
The air trembled.
Stone cracked.
Even Impel Down itself shuddered.
A silhouette of a younger Rust—proud, fierce, unstoppable—rose behind him like a phantom of who he once was.
Tears rolled down Rust's cheek—not of regret, but of remembrance.
"If I were to go back, I would change nothing."
His voice deepened.
"The only thing I regret… is lacking the power to shape the world the way I desired."
BOOOOM!!!
The cell doors burst open as prison guards stormed in.
They froze at the sight of the dead government agent and fallen wardens.
Seeing Ren, they charged—
CRACK!
A bullet pierced the skull of the leading soldier.
Kris stepped forward, gun smoking, Umi at his side with a towering hammer slung across his back.
"If you want him," Kris said, fire in his eyes,
"you go through us."
The soldiers hesitated—fear creeping up their spines.
"We can't lose twice!!" one yelled, rallying the others.
They rushed—
Gunfire roared.
A hammer swung like thunder.
Umi's tail swept bodies aside like they weighed nothing.
The hallway was swallowed in chaos.
Rust exhaled slowly, turning back to Ren.
"You've made good allies, kid."
A small, tired smile formed.
"The burden… it feels lighter now. Seeing how strong you've become."
He beckoned Ren closer.
Ren stepped forward.
Rust placed a trembling hand on his son's head—gentle, almost fatherly.
A faint light flickered between them.
Ren flinched as Rust withdrew his hand.
"…What did you just do to me?"
Rust only smiled.
"You'll understand in time."
He coughed softly.
"Do you have any fruit with you?"
Ren nodded and produced a spoiled pineapple from earlier.
Rust took it—holding it carefully, almost reverently.
He looked up, laughing softly.
"So this is my end… hahahaha… Your mother is definitely going to scold me when I get up there."
His laughter wavered.
"And… watch out for your brother."
Tears streamed down his face.
"I'm… truly sorry. For the pain I caused you."
His body began to crumble—turning into golden dust—while the fruit in his hand twisted and reshaped into a Devil Fruit with a new pattern.
Ren stared speechlessly.
Rust placed the fruit into Ren's hands.
"This is my last gift to you."
His voice faded.
"No apology can fix the life you lived because of me… but remember—your mother and I will be watching."
His final tear fell.
And then—he was gone.
Ren stood alone in the silent cell.
The fruit—warm in his palm—held his father's legacy.
He carefully gathered the remains, placing them into his subspace.
On the floor, he spotted a notebook and Rust's prison clothes—nothing else remained.
He pocketed the notebook and stepped away.
The cell felt emptier than death.