"Luffy, what's wrong with you?"
Nami and the others looked at him in confusion. Just moments ago, Luffy had been filled with rage, yet now he was crying without any clear reason.
More unsettling than that were his eyes.
They looked hollow, as if something inside him had already died.
"Th that's great… you're not dead."
Nami's words struck straight into Luffy's heart.
His expression collapsed completely as tears poured down his face, turning into uncontrollable sobbing. He threw his arms around Nami, clinging to her desperately as tears and snot soaked her shoulder.
"Get away from me! Your snot is disgusting!"
Nami exploded in anger. She punched Luffy without hesitation, sending him flying. Her face was filled with disgust, and there was even a trace of killing intent in her eyes.
"Luffy, are you alright?"
Robin frowned slightly, genuine concern in her voice.
Luffy was usually unreliable, but just now she had clearly sensed extreme emotions surging from him, joy, sorrow, despair, all tangled together in a way that felt unnatural.
Before Luffy could answer, Chopper suddenly shouted in panic from the side.
On the auction stage, Saint Shalria was holding a pistol, aiming it directly at Kemi inside the fish tank.
Luffy froze.
At first, after regaining consciousness, he had convinced himself that what he experienced was just a dream. But what happened next shattered that illusion completely.
Without warning, an overwhelming and tyrannical will erupted from backstage.
Saint Shalria's eyes went blank instantly. Her body stiffened, then she collapsed to the ground unconscious.
Boom!
The wall exploded outward as an old man stepped through the debris. He had long, curly silver hair, round glasses, a thick beard, and a deep vertical scar running across his right eye.
"This place is really chaotic."
With his appearance, the violent atmosphere inside the auction hall eased slightly.
"Rayleigh."
Luffy's expression became serious the moment he saw him.
Everything matched his memories perfectly, every movement, every word, exactly the same.
Lucien, seated comfortably in Stussy's arms, glanced at Rayleigh before subtly signaling Stussy that it was time to leave.
However, his brows were tightly knit, and his complexion looked off.
An indescribable discomfort spread through his chest.
His heart felt restless, uneasy in a way he had never experienced before.
Stussy followed Lucien's instruction and carried him out of the auction house. As they moved away, she could not help but ask softly, "Master, what's wrong?"
Feeling the soft pressure against the back of his head, Lucien shook his head slightly.
"Let's return first."
"Yes."
Stussy said nothing more and continued walking, gradually distancing them from the chaos.
At that moment, Lucien suddenly opened the Golden Finger interface.
The moment it appeared, his expression changed rapidly.
Shock.
Stiffness.
A sharp intake of breath.
Then, grim darkness.
His face shifted faster than flipping through pages of a book.
"Successfully hunted the Transmigrator Gabriel (Portgas D. Ace), reward: 4 Dice Rolls, VIP Luck +1."
"Wish Contract Book.
Description: Allows the signing of a voluntary contract with a target. After fulfilling the target's specified wish, one of the target's abilities can be selected.
Future Prediction has been redeemed."
"Successfully hunted Main God Space Reincarnator Lv.30 Emma, reward: 4 Dice Rolls, VIP Luck +1.
Law Following Speech Level +1.
Description: Increases Law Following Speech by one level.
Status: Already used."
"Successfully hunted Main God Space Reincarnator Lv.31 Ethan, reward: 4 Dice Rolls, VIP Luck +1."
"Dragon Ball Saiyan Near Death Ability.
Description: Recovering from a battle on the brink of death unlocks latent potential, increasing combat power.
Note: Only activates during genuine near death combat, cannot be artificially triggered.
Effect diminishes after surpassing a certain level.
Status: Already used."
"Tsar Bomba, also known as Da Ivan.
Description: The most powerful bomb ever detonated by humanity, 3864 times stronger than the Little Boy atomic bomb.
Note: Ten second countdown after activation.
Use with extreme caution.
Status: Already used to synthesize luck."
"Successfully hunted minor supporting character Whitebeard.
Reward: 1 Dice Roll.
Status: Currently unusable."
"Successfully hunted important supporting characters of the One Piece world: Nico Robin, Nami, Tony Tony Chopper, Roronoa Zoro, Brook, Franky.
Reward based on circumstances.
Total Dice Rolls obtained: 18.
Luck +6.
Status: Currently unusable."
"Failed to hunt the Son of Destiny, Monkey D. Luffy.
Reason: The world bestowed favor upon the Son of Destiny."
"Special Notice: All above individuals must be killed within five years.
Failure will revoke all Dice Roll rewards.
Killing any listed target will unlock corresponding rewards."
Lucien reread the information more than ten times.
At first, he was completely baffled.
Then his expression darkened further with every line.
At a glance, these messages felt absurd, but after experiencing life in another world from nothing, Lucien immediately reached a terrifying conclusion.
He had killed these people in the future.
And somehow, just like Natsuki Subaru, he had returned to the present.
This time, however, he had no memory of it.
The dream he experienced earlier was not a dream at all, but fragmented memories of the future that had been erased.
Even with the Soul Fruit protecting him, those memories were gone.
Only the Golden Finger remained untouched.
Lucien felt a deep sense of crisis.
He had believed himself powerful enough to control his own fate, powerful enough to stand above others. Somewhere along the way, arrogance had taken root.
Now he understood.
He was still far too inexperienced.
What kind of existence could reverse the future itself?
Another cheat user?
Someone with an ability similar to Natsuki Subaru?
Ace, Emma, and Ethan were ruled out immediately. He had already killed them, and the rewards obtained from them were still valid.
A red glow flashed briefly in Lucien's amethyst eyes.
Future Prediction activated successfully.
Law Following Speech was confirmed at Level 2.
Dragon Ball Saiyan Near Death Ability was intact.
Da Ivan had already been used.
That left one major suspect.
Silver Dragon.
Then, another name surfaced in his mind.
Luffy.
Earlier at the auction house, Luffy's behavior had been strange, unsettling even.
Especially the words, "You're not dead."
Those words made Lucien's spirit tremble.
Could Luffy have been reborn?
This beginning felt more and more like a rebirth scenario.
If that was the case, then Lucien needed to confirm it.
His thoughts, fueled by overwhelming information, spiraled rapidly, forming bold and dangerous conclusions.
And frighteningly, he was almost completely correct.
This world was becoming increasingly interesting.
Even reborn individuals had appeared.
His path to becoming an emperor, standing as an enemy of the world, was clearly not going to be smooth.
Lucien also thought of another figure.
A woman who possessed the Paramecia Time Time Fruit.
But what caught his attention most was the phrase:
"The world bestowed favor upon the Son of Destiny."
Was Luffy's possible rebirth tied to this favor?
The world itself choosing him?
The Son of Destiny truly lived up to his title.
But then again, why did Eren, Tanjiro, Shirou Emiya, or Natsuki Subaru not possess such favor?
Or perhaps they did.
It simply manifested differently.
Suppressing the chaos in his mind, Lucien focused on the one consolation.
The rewards gained from Ace, Emma, and Ethan were still intact.
However, the Dice Rolls from Whitebeard, Nami, and the others remained sealed.
And if he failed to kill them again within five years, everything would disappear.
Future Prediction.
Law Following Speech.
Near Death Ability.
Da Ivan.
All gone.
The solution was simple.
Kill them again.
He had already killed Natsuki Subaru more than one hundred thousand times over five months.
He wanted to see who could last longer.
Before that, he needed to test Luffy.
If Luffy was not reborn, then perhaps he was a transmigrator.
But the likelihood of rebirth was far greater.