"Hmm? Isn't this a little too quiet? A hundred pirates invading, yet not a single sound?"
After stepping ashore, Reiju led her team toward the only town on Murak Island.
Soon, they came upon a scene of corpses strewn across the ground.
"Are these... all pirates?"
"Judging by the mismatched weapons in their hands, they're definitely the pirates who attacked this place," Reiju frowned.
"Seems someone took care of them before we arrived... Did another powerhouse retreating from the New World come to Paradise?"
"Reiju, maybe we shouldn't focus on how these pirates died just yet... Remember, our main mission is to help the civilians," Law reminded her at the right moment.
"You're right. Let's head into town first!"
Reiju stood up, ready to move forward.
But in the next instant, dozens of swift black shadows shot toward them.
"Leave it to me! Gum-Gum Balloon!"
Luffy leaped in front of everyone, inflating himself like a balloon.
The shadows struck his inflated body and bounced off harmlessly.
A closer look revealed they were just ordinary pebbles.
Before they could react, a figure had already slipped into their midst from behind.
Then—
Conqueror's Haki erupted without warning.
The very heavens and earth seemed to tremble.
Even Ace, who also possessed Conqueror's Haki, felt his legs weaken momentarily.
Luffy was instantly deflated by the Conqueror's Haki, spinning once in midair before landing on the ground.
However, whether it was an illusion or not, under the baptism of this Conqueror's Haki, a lock of hair at Luffy's temple seemed to transform into a wisp of white cloud.
But it was only a fleeting moment before everything returned to normal.
Everyone was utterly shocked.
This terrifying Conqueror's Haki surpassed even that of Whitebeard and Charlotte Linlin, whom they had encountered before!
Why would such a terrifying presence appear here!?
Before they could react, a familiar voice reached their ears.
"Hahahaha! You little brats still need more training!"
Hearing this voice, some looked up while others turned around.
Sure enough, a man with platinum-blond hair and sky-blue eyes stood right in their midst.
Most importantly...
Six pure and holy angelic Wings shimmered brilliantly behind him.
"U-Uncle Michael!?"
Reiju, the eldest sister, was the first to react.
With a shriek, she leaped at Michael without a care for her image.
Her long, slender yet powerful arms immediately wrapped around his neck.
Despite having grown into a fine adult woman, Reiju burst into tears like a child.
"Waaahhh! Where have you been, Uncle!? Do you know how worried we were!?"
Her crying triggered an immediate response—everyone, without even greeting Michael, began generating wind through various means.
After a brief pause, Michael hurriedly patted his niece's shoulder.
"Reiju!? Reiju! I know you're excited, but can you calm down first!? Have you forgotten about your constitution!?"
As Germa's "Pink Poison," every part of Reiju's body could release deadly toxins.
Normally, she had perfect control, but in this moment of emotional turmoil, the poison began dispersing into the air along with her tears.
Reiju finally snapped back to her senses and inhaled sharply, instantly drawing the toxins back into her body.
But poor Uncle Michael bore the brunt of it.
Though Reiju had regained control of her emotions, she still clung tightly to his neck.
"Uh, dear Princess Reiju, could you let go of your uncle before we talk?"
"Hmph! An irresponsible uncle like you should just die!"
"Yes, yes, I was irresponsible," Michael said with a wry smile. "But I'm back now..."
Reiju, still mindful of her role as captain, clung to Michael for only five minutes before finally releasing him.
Only then did Michael have a chance to properly take in the familiar faces before him.
They were all dressed in uniforms based on the Marine's design—still pure white, but the word "Justice" on their cloaks had been replaced by a flaming longsword and three pairs of pristine Wings.
On their chests, each wore an angel-wing-shaped pin, identical to the one worn by the lieutenant envoy.
As Michael looked at them, it suddenly struck him—time had truly marched on without mercy.
"You all... really have grown up well."
Michael's words brought a glimmer of tears to everyone's eyes before him.
The youngest, Lami, even threw her head back and burst into tears outright.
"Tsk tsk, Michael, are you here to reminisce or just to bully children?"
Imu emerged from the bushes behind them.
Her extravagant queenly attire was utterly out of place in this setting.
"Who are... you?"
Among everyone, Zoro, the most composed, stepped forward without hesitation, blocking Imu's path.
"Oh my, are you asking me?" Imu smiled shyly. "I'm Michael's fiancée, you know."
...
"Achoo!"
In the New World, on Egghead Island.
Stella, Crocodile, and Gion all sneezed in unison.
"How strange? The weather on Egghead Island has been quite pleasant lately..." Stella frowned. "But for some reason, that sneeze gave me a threatening feeling."
"...I feel the same. It's as if something is about to be snatched away by some shameless, wicked woman." Crocodile's eyes flickered with suspicion.
"If it were just one person sneezing, it might be excusable... but three people sneezing at the same time, and so uniformly... No matter how you look at it, it feels like an omen of something about to happen!"
Gion stood up, gazing at the sun in the sky.
"Speaking of which, Michael has been missing for seven whole years now..." Gion rubbed her wrist.
"To be honest, I've never fully believed Lady Toki's explanation... Time travel through machines or whatever..."
"But no matter how unbelievable it is, we have to believe it." Crocodile sighed. "After all, Kozuki Toki is the queen of Wano. She wouldn't just randomly acknowledge someone younger than her as her father, would she?"
"We can only hope... that what Kozuki Toki said will come true."