"Luffy!"
Shanks trembled, instinctively calling out.
But Roger, standing beside him, gently shook his head.
"No, it's Joy Boy."
Roger's words left everyone surrounding him stunned.
Wasn't Joy Boy the Straw Hat Kid?
What difference could there possibly be?
Seeing the confusion on everyone's faces, Roger didn't explain immediately.
He took a deep breath and walked toward where Caesar and Joy Boy stood.
When Shiki, Kaido, and the others saw Caesar appear alone, they understood the outcome of the previous battle.
Their gazes turned peculiar as they looked at the resurrected Luffy, and they unanimously moved to stand behind Caesar.
Yamato curiously examined 'Luffy.'
The more she looked, the more puzzled she became, her brows slightly furrowing.
Even she could clearly sense that the person before them, who bore Luffy's appearance, possessed an aura as vast as the sun hanging in the sky.
In fact, he seemed far more powerful than both Caesar and Roger standing before him!
The blood flames emanating from Caesar receded as he calmly observed the drastically changed aura of 'Luffy.'
"You claim to be Joy Boy? The one from eight hundred years ago?"
Joy Boy nodded, his face adorned with a gentle smile.
"Yes."
He showed no intention of hiding the truth from those present and proceeded to explain how he had managed to resurrect himself from Luffy's body.
It turns out that after Joy Boy died eight hundred years ago, his soul parasitically inhabited the Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, in a reverse manner.
Using a special method, he added a rubber form to this unique fruit.
But in his great battle with Imu, he suffered severe injuries.
His very soul was nearly annihilated.
Thus, for the past several hundred years, he had been slumbering unconscious within the Rubber Fruit.
Similar to Roger's experiences over the past twenty-plus years.
As generations of Rubber Fruit users went through life, old age, sickness, and death, Joy Boy's soul drifted along with the flow.
All it took was for someone to train the Rubber Fruit to its awakened state, which would unlock the hidden second form within.
At that point, Joy Boy's slumbering soul would be awakened.
However, the Paramecia-type Rubber Fruit ability was rather lackluster.
Over the centuries, many people ate it, but not a single one managed to develop it to the awakened level.
It wasn't until over two months ago, when Luffy successfully awakened it in Wano Country, that Joy Boy's soul sleeping within the Rubber Fruit finally revived.
After hearing Joy Boy's account, everyone was stunned.
Shanks was also dumbfounded.
He knew some things about the Rubber Fruit's second form, and he was aware of some information about Joy Boy.
But he had no idea there were such unheard-of details involved.
"Damn it! And here I thought anyone could become Joy Boy! Turns out Joy Boy is just an old ghost hiding inside the Rubber Fruit."
Back in the day, Kaido firmly believed he was Joy Boy, destined to change the world.
Until he met Straw Hat Luffy.
Later, he thought Caesar might be the so-called Joy Boy.
But what he never expected was that Joy Boy was a real person!
Roger's expression grew somewhat excited.
After all, standing before him was the ancestor of Clan D, the leader revered by all indigenous tribes eight hundred years ago.
"You woke up over two months ago, so why didn't you take over Straw Hat's body then?" Caesar asked curiously.
Joy Boy likely chose to hide within the Rubber Fruit to accumulate strength and confront Imu once more, right?
But he had been asleep for eight hundred years, while Imu had lived for eight hundred years.
The gap between them had probably grown infinitely wider.
Hearing Caesar's question, Joy Boy seemed sorrowful.
"Luffy is an outstanding young man. Perhaps he can accomplish what I failed to do back then. If I had taken over his body at that time, his soul would have been annihilated, and that's not what I wanted."
"Secondly, Luffy wasn't strong enough back then. Once my presence emerged, it would inevitably attract my old rival."
Caesar. "Imu?"
Joy Boy paused, then nodded.
"Yes."
"So, what do you plan to do now that you're awake? Avenge the Straw Hat Kid?" Caesar asked again.
As he spoke these words, the atmosphere instantly grew tense.
Behind him, Kaido, Shiki, and the others held their breath, vigilantly watching Joy Boy.
On Roger's side, weapons were drawn one after another.
The situation grew tense for a moment.
Joy Boy waved his hand. "Everyone, stay calm. That's not my intention."
Caesar had been staring into his eyes and, sensing no deceit, felt slightly surprised.
"You don't want to avenge the Straw Hat Kid?"
"I won't interfere in the grudge between you and Luffy." Joy Boy spoke with complete candor.
As he spoke, he suddenly looked up in a certain direction, as if sensing something, and his expression shifted slightly.
"I woke up too early. If Luffy can defeat you, grow stronger once more, master the power of creation on his own, and then merge with me, there might be a slim hope of facing her arrival."
The words Joy Boy uttered left everyone present utterly bewildered.
Aside from Caesar and Roger, who seemed to grasp some meaning, the others had no idea what he was talking about.
Doflamingo, standing behind Shiki, suddenly stepped forward and asked.
"Joy Boy! Since you are the witness and mastermind of history, can you tell me what exactly happened eight hundred years ago? What is the relationship between the Celestial Dragons, Imu, this world, and you?"
As a former member of the Celestial Dragons, Doflamingo clearly knew many secrets.
But these so-called secrets were completely insignificant compared to Joy Boy, who was directly involved.
He, too, wanted to know the truth about the world.
Doflamingo's question perked everyone up, and they all turned their curious, eager gazes toward Joy Boy.
Joy Boy smiled faintly.
"Since I have awakened from my slumber, I will naturally reveal everything. After all, we share a common enemy."
Meeting their expectant looks, he began to recount the events that transpired eight hundred years ago.
"Imu and I are actually of the same race, originating from a second-tier civilization in the universe—the Celestial Beings."
Joy Boy's first statement left everyone dumbfounded.
Even Caesar and Roger stared wide-eyed at each other, momentarily speechless.
After a long pause, Shiki blurted out, "Wait, aren't you enemies? You and Imu should be mortal foes! How can you be of the same race? And are there really aliens? What does 'second-tier civilization' mean?"