Holy Land Mary Geoise. Pangaea Castle.
The Room of Flowers.
A high-pitched, prolonged scream echoed through the empty hall.
It wasn't a scream of pain. It was a scream of overwhelming, uncontrollable ecstasy.
It lasted for several minutes, piercing the silence of the sanctuary. Fortunately, no guards were permitted near the Empty Throne, or rumors would have shattered the World Government's sanctity.
Finally, the silence returned.
A figure shrouded in a long robe slumped onto the floor.
Beneath the robe, a puddle of liquid slowly spread across the pristine stone.
The figure trembled violently. Rage suppressed by shame.
"Atlas D. York...!!!"
The voice that hissed the name was no longer the high-pitched feminine scream from moments before. It was a deep, magnetic, and hateful masculine voice (or perhaps a voice that transcended gender entirely).
"Imu... will remember you!!"
"Imu... will definitely catch you!!"
Several Days Later. West Blue.
A Port in a Non-Affiliated Nation.
A stolen Marine warship, its seagull emblem crossed out with a large red "X", sat quietly in the harbor.
Inside a local tavern, the survivors of God Valley gathered for a final meal.
Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, Streusen, York, Kaido, Gloriosa, Stussy, Shakky, and a confused toddler named Teach.
The weather was perfect. The food was gone. The wine was finished.
Whitebeard picked up his travel bag and gripped Murakumogiri. He was the first to stand.
"It's about time. I'm leaving."
York swirled the last dregs of wine in his glass.
"Won't you reconsider, Newgate? Rocks is gone. My crew will be different."
"Gurararara..." Whitebeard laughed, shaking his head. "Contending for supremacy isn't what I want, York. You know that. All I seek is a family."
York smirked, glancing at Stussy.
"Is that why you rejected Stussy back then? If you want a family, a wife and kids are the easiest way to start, aren't they?"
Stussy's eye twitched. She reached out and pinched the soft flesh of York's waist, twisting it 180 degrees.
"Ow! Ow!" York yelped.
"Why do you always bring that up?!" Stussy hissed.
"Gurararara..." Whitebeard grinned at the scene. "The Rocks Pirates were too dangerous. I wouldn't dare bring a cherished family into that mess. As for Stussy... I truly have no feelings for her. You treat her well, York."
With that, Edward Newgate turned and walked out the door. No looking back. The future "Strongest Man in the World" set off to find his sons.
York rubbed his bruised side. "I thought he'd say he was playing hard to get."
"Hmph!" Stussy crossed her arms, looking at Gloriosa and Shakky.
Strictly speaking, all three women at this table had been "acquired" by York from other situations. If he kept targeting married women or former Empresses, she'd start to worry about his fetishes.
York stood up next.
"Well, instead of waiting for everyone to leave us, we'll make the move. I hand over the right to cry in the empty tavern to you, Linlin."
York grinned.
"Linlin! Streusen! Take care."
Charlotte Linlin stuffed a handful of sweets into her mouth, rolling her eyes.
"Mamamama! Don't be stupid. I wouldn't cry over you!"
"Hahahaha!"
York laughed. He signaled his crew.
Kaido, Gloriosa, Stussy, Shakky, and Teach followed him out.
At the door, York turned back one last time.
"Hey, Linlin! Don't just eat sweets! Eat some meat and vegetables! You don't want to lose your figure when you get old!!"
Linlin froze mid-chew. She sniffled.
But she swallowed the cake and didn't shed a tear.
The future "Big Mom" watched them go. Her era was just beginning too.
…
The warship set sail, lifted by the wind and currents of West Blue.
Since Gloriosa and Stussy stole it, it was now the flagship of the York Pirates.
As they left the harbor, a News Coo landed on the railing.
Stussy walked over and paid for a paper.
"World Economy News Paper?" York asked, surprised.
Stussy nodded. "It's a new agency. They report things others won't. And they use gulls for delivery. I estimate they'll be a giant in a few years."
York nodded. 'Morgans must only be a teenager right now. That bird is industrious.'
"The report on God Valley is out," Stussy said, her tone serious.
"What does it say?"
"'Garp Defeats Rocks Pirates! A New Marine Hero is Born!'"
Stussy handed him the paper.
York scanned the text. It was exactly what he expected. A fabricated story hiding the involvement of Roger, the Celestial Dragons, and the Holy Knights.
But the photo caught his eye.
It was Rocks D. Xebec.
But not the man he knew. In the photo, Rocks had horns, wings, and a tail. He looked like a mindless demon.
York's eyes dimmed.
'So that's how it ended.'
He reconstructed the final battle in his mind:
* York, Whitebeard, and Kaido fled.
* Imu (either the Avatar or the True Body) descended with the remaining Elders.
* They beat Rocks to near-death.
* Imu used the Devil's Contract to forcibly demonize Rocks, turning him into a mindless monster to cover up the truth.
* Garp and Roger were forced to team up to kill the "Demon King."
* The World Government pinned everything on Garp to hide the God Valley Incident's true nature.
'Demonization increases stats but lowers intelligence,' York thought. 'That explains how Garp and Roger could take down a monster who could fight Imu. A mindless beast is easier to kill than a tactical genius.'
He folded the newspaper.
"Nothing else useful."
He handed it to Gloriosa.
As the paper passed hands, several smaller sheets of paper fluttered out from between the pages.
Wanted Posters.
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