It had to be said—under the course events were originally meant to follow, Momonosuke had only revealed his true identity as Kozuki Oden's son after reaching the relatively safe sanctuary of Zou, where the unwavering loyalty of the Mink Tribe had shaken him to his core.
Only after witnessing their oath—sworn unto death—had he finally found the courage to declare who he truly was.
But now, everything was different.
At this moment, the future of the grand mission to restore Wano Country remained utterly uncertain. Momonosuke had no way of knowing whether the Straw Hat Pirates truly possessed the strength—
—or the willingness—
to challenge the monstrous power of "Beasts" Kaido, who ruled Wano with an iron fist.
Because of that, revealing the truth now—especially in front of someone as unfathomably dangerous as Gern Reginald Sigmar—was absolutely impossible.
Under no circumstances could he expose the secret that he had traveled through time.
Normally, in moments like this, the ever-loyal Kin'emon would have stepped forward without hesitation. With calm dignity and clear reasoning, he would have shielded Momonosuke from humiliation, protecting the honor of his young lord.
But now—
Kin'emon was not here.
Left completely alone, Momonosuke found himself cornered by Gern's relentless questioning. Each calm word pressed him closer to the edge of collapse.
A suffocating mix of grievance, fear, and helplessness churned violently inside his chest.
He couldn't reveal the truth.
Yet he also couldn't provide any explanation that made sense.
The pressure mounted.
His emotions spiraled out of control.
And then—
The strange power slumbering inside his body—granted by that artificial Devil Fruit—was triggered against his will.
Puff!
A cloud of pink smoke burst into the air.
Before the stunned eyes of everyone present, the crying boy who had been sitting helplessly on the ground vanished.
In his place appeared a creature.
It wasn't very large.
Its body was covered in soft pink scales, giving it an oddly comical appearance.
But the shape—
The long, serpentine body.
The whiskered face.
The curling horns.
There was no mistaking it.
It looked astonishingly similar to a creature spoken of only in legends.
A dragon.
A small, pink dragon.
The moment Donquixote Doflamingo saw it, the amused spectator's grin vanished instantly.
The playful expression of someone enjoying a show was replaced by something far darker—a volatile mixture of shock and fury.
His gaze snapped toward Caesar Clown, as if his eyes themselves were shouting:
"The one Vegapunk spent years perfecting… that so-called ultimate artificial Devil Fruit…
…this brat actually ate it?!"
Standing nearby, Caesar Clown seemed to momentarily forget his own precarious situation.
He slowly nodded.
"Y-yes… ve~ that's the one…"
"The key sample that was supposed to belong to Lord Kaido… the foundation for creating a perfect army of ability users…"
Back then, Vegapunk had used Kaido's lineage factor as the basis for his research.
No one knew how many years he had poured into it.
How much effort.
How many unimaginable sums of money had been burned away in pursuit of success.
But in the end—
He had created a miracle.
An artificial Devil Fruit capable of nearly replicating the mythical Azure Dragon form itself.
It was, without question, Vegapunk's masterpiece.
And for Kaido, it represented the core prototype of his dream—to mass-produce the ultimate army of Devil Fruit users.
Yet now—
That priceless sample…
…had been eaten like candy by this sniveling little brat.
Even Gern couldn't help but knit his brows slightly as he watched the pink dragon flailing awkwardly in midair, clearly confused by its own existence.
He wasn't surprised by the existence of artificial Devil Fruits.
What caught his attention was something else entirely.
After a brief moment of thought, he spoke in a calm, almost confirming tone.
"So that's it…"
"This is Kaido's fruit ability, isn't it?"
The words landed like thunder.
For Nami, Chopper, Brook, Sanji, and even Trafalgar Law, it felt as though lightning had exploded directly beside their ears.
Until now, they had only known one thing:
Momonosuke had accidentally eaten a failed artificial Devil Fruit created by Caesar while starving on Punk Hazard.
As a result, he had gained the ability to transform into a dragon—albeit a very weak one.
But what they had never imagined—
What had never even crossed their minds—
Was the source of that fruit.
The fruit Vegapunk considered his masterpiece.
The sample Kaido regarded as the cornerstone of his dream army.
It had been modeled after the very power of the Four Emperors themselves.
"Beasts" Kaido.
His Azure Dragon form.
Which meant—
Momonosuke had eaten an artificial Devil Fruit containing Kaido's lineage factor.
When Gern casually connected his ability to Kaido himself, Momonosuke panicked so badly that his pink scales nearly stood on end.
The little dragon twisted frantically in the air, his voice trembling with near tears.
"That's not true! You're lying!"
"I—I just accidentally ate a failure! A failed experiment that horrible scientist made!"
"How could it possibly have anything to do with Kaido?!"
"How could it not?" Gern replied calmly.
His expression remained stern—almost like a scholar correcting a mistaken theory.
"Kaido's Azure Dragon form…"
"That unique pressure. That life force belonging only to a Mythical Zoan."
"I've experienced it personally. Fought it face-to-face."
"When you transformed just now, it was faint… distorted…"
"But I definitely caught a trace of Kaido's 'scent' in it."
As he spoke, Gern stroked his chin thoughtfully, his gaze drifting between the pink dragon and the others like a man conducting a careful deduction.
Then his eyes narrowed slightly.
"But if that's the case…"
"Then everything suddenly becomes much more reasonable."
He deliberately dragged out the words.
"Think about it."
"You claim to be a descendant of the Kozuki Clan."
"Kozuki Oden was defeated by Kaido. Wano itself now belongs to Kaido."
"So imagine this…"
"A brat carrying the bloodline of the Kozuki family…"
"…while simultaneously possessing Kaido's own power factor."
Gern suddenly clapped his hands softly, as if struck by a delightful revelation.
"Well now—wouldn't that make the claim that you're 'inheriting' both Kozuki and Kaido's legacies suddenly sound very convincing?"
"After all…"
"Bloodlines and powers can be the most persuasive tools of legitimacy."
The implication was almost naked.
With just a few words, Gern had twisted Momonosuke's very existence into something sinister—
A carefully manufactured conspiracy designed to seize the highest power in Wano Country.
"You're lying! You're slandering me!!"
Momonosuke completely snapped.
Any trace of composure shattered.
The pink dragon tumbled wildly through the air, shouting furiously at Gern.
"Fine! Let's go to Dressrosa!"
"Kin'emon! And—and Father and the others will explain everything to you!"
"They'll prove it!"
"I am a member of the Kozuki Clan!!!"
In his panic, Momonosuke even blurted out the phrase "Father" when referring to Kin'emon—accidentally exposing the deeply unusual relationship between himself and his supposed retainer.
The moment those words left his mouth—
Trafalgar Law nearly blacked out.
Inside his mind, he was screaming so violently it felt like he might cough up three liters of blood.
What the hell are you doing, you idiot?!
At this moment, Law's mental state had completely collapsed.
Right now, he desperately wanted Gern, this walking calamity of a man, to simply stay right here.
Let him keep terrifying Doflamingo.
Let him keep tormenting Momonosuke.
Hell—
Law would happily accept Gern spending the entire day doing nothing but fishing here.
As long as Gern didn't move.
Because if Gern stayed put, Doflamingo wouldn't dare make a single reckless move.
And if Doflamingo couldn't return to Dressrosa—
Then the Straw Hat captain who had already infiltrated the kingdom would have all the time he needed to wreak havoc.
To destroy the factory.
To cut off Doflamingo's greatest leverage and sever his connection with Kaido.
Everything would fall back onto the track Law had meticulously planned.
But now—
This absolute idiot of a kid had just invited Gern to Dressrosa himself.
It was like personally sealing the only escape route—
And then politely inviting the final boss into your own backyard.
Law could practically feel his entire plan being dragged into the abyss by this catastrophic teammate.
He turned to glare at Momonosuke.
The fury in his eyes burned so fiercely it looked as though flames might burst out at any moment.