As the new soul continued to convince himself that he had been reincarnated as Shanks, something unexpected appeared in front of his eyes. A faint glow formed into the shape of a letter, floating gently in the air.
The sudden appearance confused him, yet the curiosity it brought pushed him to raise his tiny arms, trying to touch and open it.
Dragon glanced down at the small movements, but he simply assumed it was the usual gestures a baby would make.
His focus remained on escaping the chaos that covered the entire island, so he did not question it any further.
The letter slowly unfolded on its own and revealed a message.
"You might be wondering who you are and where you are right now. Let me, ROB, the one responsible for sending you here, explain the situation. You are currently inside God Valley, and you have been reborn as the older twin brother of Red Hair Shanks. That is correct. You are now in the body of Figarland Shamrock. I have also given you a few advantages. One of them is that I altered fate to ensure that both you and Shanks would eventually end up on the ship of Gol D. Roger. I am aware that you despise the Celestial Dragons, even though you have now become one of them."
The letter continued with its explanation.
"The second gift is something you admired deeply. I granted Shamrock the Essence of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, which will blend with his original potential. This means that the extraordinary power Yoriichi possessed, one that surpassed even the limits of his own universe, will now be part of your abilities. Lastly, the sword that originally belonged to the Shamrock family, the one often called the Cerberus sword, will still end up in your hands even if you never return to the Holy Land. That should be all for now."
The letter finished its message, and the newly reincarnated Shamrock began to understand just how complicated his new life was. Garling, the person who was now his father, was one of the most influential individuals inside the World Government, and someone who stood only below the mysterious Imu and the Five Elders.
Even though Garling had been defeated off screen by Rocks, that defeat did not erase the fact that Garling was a terrifying force. It only emphasized how overwhelmingly strong Rocks truly was.
After Shamrock finished reading the letter, it gradually changed shape.
The paper slowly turned into a vial that contained a red-like substance, in which, it then directly poured itself into the mouth of Shamrock which is something that no one could see, then a light suddenly burst through.
The light drifted toward him and merged with the faint glow already surrounding his infant body.
The moment the two lights connected, something inside him opened, almost like a switch being flipped.
A valve that had been tightly sealed suddenly loosened, and a rush of energy poured through his entire being.
Shamrock felt a powerful current circulate within his tiny body. His senses sharpened instantly, and the benefits of the Essence began to settle into him.
His vision shifted as he instinctively entered something similar to the See Through World.
He could see Dragon's complete facial structure, the flow of the muscles under his skin, and every small movement his body made as he ran forward.
Then, a burn was then felt in his body, in which, he could feel the entire burn being mapped into his skin, but strangely, he does not feel any pain, instead, he only felt comfort as he then noticed the difference in his own physical ability.
He shifted his gaze toward his twin brother. Unlike the earlier sight where everything looked blurry, Shanks now appeared clearly made of flesh and warmth.
The details were admittedly unsettling at first, but Shamrock quickly adjusted. A quiet laugh escaped his mouth, although it came out only as a baby's soft noise.
Dragon heard the sound and felt strangely relieved, thinking the babies were simply reacting normally to the movement.
Dragon's expression softened, even while he pushed himself to run faster. He continued to cling to the hope that saving these two children would give him a chance to atone for the sins he felt responsible for.
----------------
Meanwhile, in other parts of God Valley, countless groups were moving across the chaotic battlefield. Some survivors among the residents were fleeing toward the shore in hopes of finding a way out.
Many pirates, focused entirely on treasure, were fighting one another in scattered groups.
The battles were not limited to the Roger Pirates and the Rocks Pirates, since independent pirate crews had also come after hearing rumors of the Celestial Dragons' valuables.
Each group fought in hopes of making a name for themselves or securing as much loot as they could carry.
There were also the slaves who had been brought to the island. They were working desperately to escape, and among them was a figure loved deeply by the One Piece community.
It was Bartholomew Kuma, who had just awakened the ability of his Devil Fruit earlier that day.
With that new power, he had been saving people continuously, pushing himself beyond exhaustion.
Many of the rescued survivors thanked him every time he appeared, which only motivated him further.
Kuma was not alone. Emporio Ivankov remained on the island as well, unwilling to leave Kuma behind.
Ginny and several others were also moving around, gathering more slaves and residents, guiding them to safer locations and trying their best to increase the number of people they could save.
As the rescue groups continued moving, the central conflict on God Valley grew even more violent. Rocks, Roger, Garp, Whitebeard, Kaido, and the recently arrived Linlin had combined their attacks.
All of them focused on one of the Five Elders who was currently possessed by the secret King of the World.
Even with all their tremendous strength combined, their attacks seemed to have no real effect, since the elder possessing Imu simply regenerated from every wound like nothing had happened.
While the major battles were happening, the Rocks Pirates did what they were known for. Without any unity or trust among themselves, they started fighting each other the moment they learned how valuable the treasure boxes of the Celestial Dragons were. Greed instantly overtook any sense of teamwork.
"Come to me, my babies," Captain John shouted, one of the key members of the Rocks Pirates. He activated his Devil Fruit, the Jiki Jiki no Mi, the Magnet Fruit, which allowed him to pull every metal object within a large area toward himself.
Unfortunately, Dragon was within the range of that pull. The rifle strapped to his back reacted instantly, dragging him upward into the air.
The sudden force lifted him so quickly that he panicked, moving his arms without thinking.
Under normal conditions, the movement would not have mattered, but this time he was carrying two infants. His reflexive flinch caused him to lose his grip on both Shanks and Shamrock.
He watched in horror as the babies fell from a great height. Dragon felt despair in his chest, believing the fall would be fatal for both of them. He tried to reach out, but the magnetic force kept pulling him upward, unable to resist it.
Shamrock, however, did not feel the same panic. He already knew that he and Shanks were destined to survive and eventually board the ship of the Roger Pirates.
He did not understand the exact method behind how this would happen, especially with his existence now mixing into the events, but he trusted that ROB's influence would ensure it.
The fact that he already received Yoriichi's talents was proof enough that ROB was not lying.
The twins hit the ground soon after. The impact instantly knocked Shanks unconscious. Shamrock, on the other hand, felt no serious harm at all.
Thanks to the strange durability of people in the One Piece world and the talent he inherited from the Essence of Yoriichi, he did not even feel pain from the fall.
He quickly turned toward his brother. With the See Through World still active, he could observe every detail.
Shanks was breathing steadily and had no internal damage. The only injury was a small hit on the front of his head, which was not life-threatening as it left no wounds, not even bruises.
Shamrock then made a simple decision. He would stay beside Shanks and wait patiently for his twin brother to wake up, keeping himself alert as the chaos of God Valley continued around them.