"Whoa, Ace, did you hear that? This woman just called herself Uncle Michael's fiancée!"
"Luffy, I heard it. My ears are still functioning perfectly fine... You don't need to lean in and repeat it! And your voice is loud enough for everyone to hear anyway, so why bother?!" Ace twitched his lips and pushed Luffy away as he crowded closer.
"Uncle Michael is old enough—having a fiancée isn't strange at all. He could even have a few kids by now!"
"Michael, I like this freckled kid. He speaks much more pleasantly than the others... But why does he like going shirtless? Is he too hot?" Imu pointed curiously at Ace.
"It's a bit indecent, you know."
"Don't mind them, Imu. Their brains are usually offline... But wait, you've got some issues too, don't you? Since when were you my fiancée?"
"You promised to take responsibility not long ago! And now you're just going to pretend it never happened?! You hypocritical scumbag!"
Seeing this, Imu bared her claws and lunged at Michael again...
Only to be effortlessly subdued by him.
One hand pressed down on Imu's head while the other gently brushed off the red fox fur scarf around his neck.
"Alright, everyone, I know you have a lot to say to me... but this doesn't seem like the right place for a conversation, does it?" Michael said, gesturing to the battlefield around them.
"Oh, right! The civilians are still waiting for us!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed, slapping his forehead before darting toward the town.
"Are you stupid? If Uncle Michael is here, that means everything's already been handled!" Sabo grabbed Luffy mid-leap before he could charge into the town.
"And how many times do I have to tell you? Make a normal entrance! If you drop from the sky like that, the townspeople will think it's another invasion! You'll scare them half to death!"
ε=(′ο｀*)))
"Sigh, oh yeah."
Michael watched the three brothers—Luffy, Sabo, and Ace.
They were as energetic as ever.
Under the careful guidance of Zephyr and Garp, along with the entire Marine high command, the trio had inherited Garp's usual eccentricity, but their strength was undeniably formidable.
This was something that surprised Michael.
Based on the original timeline, this should have been around the time Luffy left Amazon Lily and headed to Sabaody Archipelago to reunite with his crew.
But the Luffy before him was clearly far stronger than his counterpart from the original timeline.
His physique was on another level—expected, given Garp's hellish training and Zephyr's rigorous foundation-building.
His Armament Haki and Observation Haki, both in quantity and application, were also significantly stronger.
The moment Michael had unleashed his Conqueror's Haki earlier, he had observed Luffy instantly coating his arms with flowing Ryuo.
As for Conqueror's Haki... it was hard to gauge, since no one's could surpass Michael's anyway.
In essence, this Luffy had already reached the level he'd been at in Wano before awakening Nika.
And with his current foundation, awakening Nika would only make him even stronger than in the original timeline.
But...
Evaluating the kids' strength could wait.
"As much as I'm happy to see you all, what I need most right now is to catch up on everything that's happened over the past seven years... So, shouldn't we head back to Marineford first?"
"Of course!" Rouge nodded eagerly. "Uncle, we can fill you in on everything during the trip."
"Oh, wait—one more thing."
Michael suddenly remembered something and raised a hand toward the sky.
The next moment, pale blue Judgment Flame erupted like scattered fireworks.
Guided by Michael's will, the flames avoided everyone else, spreading evenly over the pirate corpses littering the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the battlefield was spotless.
"Never forget to clean up after a battle."
...
After boarding the Seraphim Ship with Imu, Michael looked up at the absurdly abstract flag fluttering overhead...
"Alright, whose idea was this?"
"Ahem..." Everyone averted their eyes awkwardly.
Only Luffy was excited as he declared, "Of course, this was a decision we all made together! We wanted a symbol that Uncle Michael would instantly recognize as his own people!"
"Isn't it possible that I already know the Seraphim Ship?" Michael rolled his eyes—these kids really were impulsive.
"Alright, Nami, set sail!"
"Aye!" Nami nodded eagerly before cheerfully rushing into the helm.
Michael then glanced around.
The three brothers? No point counting on them.
Kuina, Tashigi, and Zoro's swordsman group? Oh, they were already preparing to lift weights while he got up to speed… Pass.
Nojiko tended to the orange trees transplanted onto the Seraphim Ship's deck, while Sanji hovered around her, showering her with attention.
Law would have been an excellent storyteller, but he and Lami seemed more interested in discussing other matters with Michael.
So… despite the crowd…
There was really only one option left.
"Reiju, I'll leave this to you," Michael said, patting her head just like he used to when they were younger.
"Now, tell me what's changed over the years."
"It's my duty, Uncle."
Reiju felt the familiar touch on her head and smiled with childlike innocence.
The sight sent chills down the spines of the crew.
"Boss Reiju acts like a fresh recruit around Michael."
"Zoro! Don't think I didn't hear that!"
Amidst the reunion with old friends, the Seraphim Ship set sail once more.
This time, however, the flag bearing Michael's photo was taken down.
Safe to say, that flag wouldn't see the light of day again in their lifetimes.
On the deck, Reiju steadied her excited heart, took a deep breath, and began calmly:
"Since you've already met the envoy from the Angel Alliance, you must know that the Angel Alliance is the merger of the Marine, the Revolutionary Army, and other allies from Michael's faction, correct?"
"Right…"
"Then let's start from the year 1517 of the Sea Calendar—your disappearance and the formation of the Angel Alliance."
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