Chapter 235: Roger Was a Sinner!
"How could this be…"
Shanks was in shock, his mouth opening involuntarily.
His wrist detached automatically, slapping onto the counter in panic.
His head throbbed—
his memories were changing.
Relying on the powers of the Chop-Chop Fruit, he had trained relentlessly until he could split entire islands apart.
The World Government, fearing his strength, had named him a Yonko.
"No… that's not right!"
Red-Haired Shanks screamed in a panic, feeling his real memories begin to fade and slip away.
"Apologies, but we're not finished yet. Don't worry—I have no intention of altering your current fate."
On the counter,
Fang Yi's index finger moved like a divine tool carving through the River of Time.
He traced a new channel next to the original timeline,
and the altered timeline's waters flowed gently along this new river.
A new branch of time was born.
"Huuh…"
Shanks collapsed against the counter, breathing heavily.
Bit by bit, his real memories returned.
The Devil Fruit had still been eaten by Buggy.
He had still climbed to the top using only Haki and swordsmanship—not because of some lousy Devil Fruit power!
Shanks looked up and murmured,
"To alter history and the future so easily… Are you a god?"
His gaze toward the Game Merchant was filled with awe.
Only a god, in Shanks' eyes, could have the power to explain all this.
"Look—this is a timeline."
Fang Yi pointed at the newly formed River of Time beside them.
"This river can branch from any moment into countless new streams.
Those side channels are newly born timelines."
He gestured to the One Piece world tickets.
"If you want, you can enter one of these branches and replace the version of yourself that exists there."
"Here."
Fang Yi's finger landed on the moment where Luffy punched out the Sea King.
"In this timeline, the Reincarnation Game never appeared.
It will follow the original destiny of the One Piece world."
"So? What do you think?"
His tone was light, gentle, but it decided the fate of a whole world.
It was hard to accept—
but Shanks couldn't deny the power of it.
After a long silence, Shanks asked,
"Is this the real world?"
If it was all an illusion,
then none of these timeline shifts would matter.
Fang Yi gave a courteous smile. "Absolutely real. Didn't you just experience it for yourself?"
Truth be told,
Shanks was tempted.
Here was a way to restart the world… without a massive cost.
He then asked the most important question:
"In that case… will this timeline I'm in now also be altered?"
"No."
Fang Yi shook his head.
"The main river can influence the branches,
but the branches have no power to alter the main river."
"For instance, the Chop-Chop Fruit Shanks I separated from you can't affect you now."
"But that branch's Shanks, because of you, still possesses powerful Haki talent."
Branch timelines were parallel universes.
They depended on the main river to exist.
But if well-developed, they could eventually nurture their own source of power.
At that point,
the Shanks Fang Yi had thrown into a [branch timeline] would become like a Reincarnator of the old world—
each action he took to reshape and patch that branch would earn him reward points.
So if Shanks was willing to enter a parallel timeline, Fang Yi would fully support it.
"So in the end… it's just a form of escape, isn't it?"
Upon hearing that the real world wouldn't be affected, Shanks' smile disappeared.
Fang Yi still smiled as he pointed out sharply,
"Isn't what you're doing now already a form of escape?"
Pinning all hope on an abstract destiny.
Waiting for a vague and uncertain future.
Giving up his arm in the name of Luffy's growth.
"I'm not running away!"
The always carefree Shanks spoke solemnly.
"Captain Roger's prophecy was not wrong…"
But as he said it, his voice grew fainter.
Once, yes. That might've been true.
But now the seas were unrecognizable. The World Government had broken from the Navy. Players now roamed the seas in droves.
"According to the original fate of the One Piece world, Luffy does indeed have the power to unearth the One Piece's secret."
"Really?!"
Shanks was stunned.
This came from the Game Merchant—someone who could peer into the future.
It was as if he had just confirmed the prophecy.
So Luffy really was the warrior of liberation,
the one destined to uncover the One Piece and fulfill Roger's dream?
"Yes,"
Fang Yi nodded slightly,
but didn't seem pleased.
"That was the fate originally destined for the One Piece world.
But that ending is… utterly disappointing. There's nothing joyful about it."
Shanks froze, confused.
"If we succeed… how could it be a bad ending?"
Captain Roger had sacrificed himself to start the Great Pirate Era.
Countless treasure seekers had set sail, shaping the world as it is now.
Then Luffy, as Joy Boy's successor, would bring it all to an end.
Wasn't that how it was supposed to be?
"It was wrong from the beginning. Naturally, the outcome is terrible."
"The beginning? You mean the Great Pirate Era?!"
Even as he stood in front of someone who had shown divine power,
he couldn't accept hearing Roger's plan criticized. It deeply unsettled him.
His voice grew tense.
"To liberate the world, we needed a spark strong enough to challenge the World Government.
The Great Pirate Era lit thousands of those sparks. How can that be wrong?"
"It wasn't just wrong—it was completely wrong."
Fang Yi reached into the River of Time.
A flood of chaotic images rose from it—
The pillaged town of Orange, devastated by Buggy.
Cocoyashi Village under Arlong's tyranny.
Crocodile's coup in Alabasta.
Dressrosa's fall, Zou Island, Wano…
East Blue, West Blue, North, South, Grand Line—Paradise and the New World alike.
In the years since the Great Pirate Era began,
war and bloodshed had never ceased.
Human suffering. Constant.
Fang Yi's face remained calm.
"Are you saying all of this wasn't wrong?"
The brutal truth lay before him.
Shanks had no reply.
The Great Pirate Era had drawn out countless heroes and freedom seekers, yes—
but it also created a perfect storm for evil to flourish.
A world ripe for ambitious tyrants to trample.
"Those vile pirates… weren't the sparks Captain Roger meant to ignite."
Shanks bowed his head in shame.
Roger had dreamed of inspiring hopeful pirates—like the Straw Hat crew,
or at worst, the Whitebeard Pirates.
He never wanted to spawn the brutal murderers and warlords who emerged instead.
Just as the Game Merchant had said—
most who set sail during the Great Pirate Era were criminals.
Killers, looters, destroyers.
That was the downside of Roger's legacy.
"But… does that mean we just let the world continue rotting?"
Shanks clenched his fists.
If there had been no Great Pirate Era,
would they ever have gathered enough strength to sound the Drums of Liberation?
Could it be…
that Roger truly made a mistake?
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