Night settled over Foosha Village like a soft blanket, but Ravian couldn't sleep.
Not because of nightmares.
Not because of Garp yelling in his dreams.
But because something in the air felt… off.
A pulse beneath the island's usual calm.
A shift he couldn't name.
He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Mira—curled up on a pile of blankets—lifted her head.
"You awake again?" she asked.
"Yeah," Ravian whispered. "Something's weird tonight."
"System weird or normal weird?"
"…Both."
Before Mira could respond, a distant thunk echoed outside. Like wood hitting sand. Ravian moved to the window.
Down at the pier, lanterns flickered. Shadows moved.
A ship.
Small. Rough.
Its sails marked with a black-inked boar.
Ravian's breath caught.
(…The mountain bandit emblem. Higuma?)
But the timeline shouldn't be this early. Not yet. Not now.
Mira walked to his side. "That looks like trouble."
"Yeah," Ravian muttered. "And trouble keeps showing up faster around here."
He didn't like the feeling.
The world wasn't changing—fate was accelerating.
Morning came slow and heavy.
The boys met as usual near the hill, except today the atmosphere was… strange.
Ace was quiet. Sabo kept scanning the village. Luffy yawned loudly but even he seemed fidgety.
Ravian approached them. "You guys feel that?"
"What?" Luffy asked.
"This weird… tension."
Sabo nodded immediately. "Yes. Something's happening in the village. People are talking about a new group arriving last night."
"A group?" Ace narrowed his eyes. "Bandits?"
Luffy perked up. "Oh! Are they fun?"
"No," Ravian, Ace, and Sabo all said at the same time.
Luffy pouted.
Ace stood. "Let's check it out."
Ravian grabbed his arm. "Wait. We shouldn't just walk in blind."
Ace raised a brow. "Something wrong with your Perception thing?"
Ravian flinched. "Don't call it a thing—! And no, it's working fine. That's the problem."
"…Meaning?" Sabo asked.
Ravian looked toward the town.
"Meaning… whatever showed up isn't just random trouble. It feels like something big. Something connected to us."
Luffy blinked. "Connected? How?"
Ravian didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
But the way his instincts were screaming felt way too familiar.
Too close to the way fate twisted whenever Luffy was near danger.
They headed down the dirt path toward the village.
But as soon as they reached the edge—
A familiar voice yelled behind them.
"BRATS! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!"
Garp landed from the trees like a meteor, cracking the ground.
Ace groaned. "Oh come on—"
Luffy laughed. "Gramps!"
Sabo sighed, "Not again…"
Garp crossed his arms like a mountain blocking the road. "You four ain't goin' anywhere without breakfast training!"
Ravian blinked. "Breakfast… training?"
Garp grinned.
That was never a good sign.
"Yep! You run laps around the village while I throw cannonballs! Builds character!"
"That DOES NOT build character—!" Ravian yelled.
But Garp was already pulling cannonballs from a sack like they were apples.
Ace grabbed the others. "Just run!"
Luffy cheered.
Sabo panicked.
Ravian screamed.
Cannonballs flew.
And somewhere amidst the chaos…
Down at the village bar…
A man with a long scar, a black boar emblem, and a calm but cruel stare sat at Makino's counter.
Higuma the Bandit.
Drinking quietly.
Waiting.
Smiling.
Because today wasn't random.
Today was the beginning of something.
And the boys running for their lives under Garp's "training" had no idea the plot they thought they were slowly approaching…
was now walking straight toward them.