“MOM!!” Weevil lay sprawled across the deck, wailing at the top of his lungs despite how weak he sounded.
Tears and snot streamed down his already mangled face, making an ugly sight even worse.
But crying was about all he could do now.
As a Devil Fruit user, once Seastone cuffs and shackles were locked around his wrists and ankles, all the strength drained from his body.
He could only squirm uselessly across the deck like a giant caterpillar.
His mother lay beside him, restrained by Seastone shackles as well.
Unlike Weevil, however, the battered old woman was completely quiet, sleeping peacefully despite having been beaten just as badly.
Just like that, an unexpected crisis had been brought under control.
Nate looked away from the mother and son.
Buckingham Stussy.
Once a major officer of the Rocks Pirates, she had now become such an obscure nobody that even her identity had effectively been taken over by a clone.
Even an old veteran like Instructor Zephyr hadn’t recognized her.
Had Nate not been here, however, these two probably would have shattered Zephyr’s spirit completely.
After losing his wife and child and withdrawing from the front lines, Zephyr really had declined far too much.
At Weevil’s current age, he was at most around the level of an ordinary member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
And Buckingham Stussy was even weaker.
Faith and conviction really weren’t empty words in this world.
Once someone lost the beliefs that drove them forward, becoming weak was almost inevitable.
As the biggest contributor to resolving the crisis, Nate naturally found himself surrounded by the recruits once Weevil and Stussy had been completely restrained.
Praise came from every direction.
Binz, a recruit even taller than Nate with broad shoulders and unusually long arms, slapped him on the shoulder.
“So you really can get things done when you feel like it!
Nate, I’ll admit it—I’m genuinely impressed this time!” Another recruit burst out laughing.
“Binz, Nate’s Illusion-Illusion Fruit is way more useful than those vines of yours!
If he hadn’t been here today, I don’t even want to imagine what would’ve happened.” Binz was a Paramecia-type Grow-Grow Fruit user who could rapidly accelerate and manipulate plant growth.
In battle, he usually relied on tough vines to restrain or attack his opponents.
“Wasn’t that easy enough for anyone with working hands?” Nate leaned lazily against the railing.
His soft hair fell naturally over his forehead, nearly covering his eyebrows and making his drooping eyelids stand out even more.
“What are you guys making such a big deal about?” Everyone froze for a second before erupting into laughter.
“That’s Nate for you!
Still as arrogant as ever!” “Hahaha!
The only time Nate’s humble is when he’s asleep!” Ain glanced back toward Weevil, who was still lying on the deck.
“Good thing that idiot can’t think properly.
If he’d stayed calm, your illusions probably wouldn’t have fooled his Observation Haki so easily.
You should be more careful next time.” “Ain.” Nate tugged lazily at the corner of his mouth.
“Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?” “You…” Ain placed both hands on her slender waist and sighed helplessly.
“As expected of Nate!” Binz immediately gave Nate another enthusiastic thumbs-up.
“Not even our prettiest recruit gets special treatment!” Ain wasn’t just talented in combat.
She was also undeniably beautiful, making her extremely popular among the recruits.
Nate yawned, shifted into a more comfortable position against the railing, and spoke in the same sleepy tone.
“I’m the man who’s going to become Fleet Admiral.
Women would only get in the way.” Ain rolled her eyes.
“Stop saying stupid things.
And Binz, I don’t want anything to do with this guy either.” Nate didn’t move his head or even lift his eyelids.
Only his eyes shifted sideways toward her.
“Ain, the fact that you understand that means you at least have some self-awareness.” “Nate!” Ain’s fist clenched so tightly that a vein visibly twitched on her forehead.
Even if he’d just saved everyone from disaster, Nate was still that same infuriating Nate.
“I thought I heard you talking about becoming Fleet Admiral.” Zephyr approached them.
Usually stern and serious, the old instructor looked unusually relaxed now, even sounding slightly amused.
He had just finished contacting Marine Headquarters to report the unexpected attack.
Nate answered slowly.
“Isn’t there a saying?
An Admiral who doesn’t want to become Fleet Admiral isn’t a good Admiral.” Zephyr laughed and nodded approvingly.
“Exactly.
Truly exceptional people aim for the very top, then keep moving forward until they reach it.” Nate always looked half asleep, and everything he said or did carried an almost ridiculous amount of arrogance.
But Zephyr knew better than anyone that Nate was actually the hardest-working recruit of his class.
His talent was just as exceptional.
During their year of training, Nate had completely mastered all Six Powers and had even become highly proficient in both Armament and Observation Haki.
Kuzan hadn’t even learned Haki yet when he graduated.
The only somewhat disappointing part was Nate’s Devil Fruit.
The Paramecia-type Illusion-Illusion Fruit allowed him to freely create all kinds of visual and auditory illusions, but at least for now, it wasn’t especially effective against people skilled in Observation Haki.
“Also, Nate.” Zephyr raised a hand and patted him firmly on the shoulder.
“Good work.” “Ooh…” Nate dragged the sound out lazily, somehow managing to make even a pleased sigh sound sleepy.
“Now that’s more like it, Instructor Zephyr.
Next time, just praise me properly from the start.” “Hahahaha!” Zephyr couldn’t help laughing.
Nate was definitely not what anyone would call a model student.
He was arrogant, narcissistic, and constantly acted as though the world barely deserved his attention.
And yet, Zephyr couldn’t imagine many teachers disliking him.
Hard work.
Talent.
And the courage to step forward without hesitation when it truly mattered.
This boy would become one of the pillars supporting the Marines in the future.
Zephyr had no doubt about that.
“We’re heading back, kids!” He raised his voice across the deck.
“Your final assessment is officially complete!” “YEAH!!” Cheers immediately exploded across the warship.
That meant they had finally graduated.
“Instructor Zephyr.” Binz glanced toward Weevil and Stussy, who were still lying restrained nearby.
“What are we going to do with those two?” Zephyr answered without hesitation.
“Where else?
They’re going straight to Impel Down.” ‘I knew it.’ A faint gleam of interest flickered through Nate’s half-closed eyes.
‘Now that graduation is over, it’s finally time to start moving.’ ‘First things first.
Let’s give this mother and son a nice dream.’ …
“WHERE THE HELL AM I?!” Buckingham Stussy threw her head back and screamed.
She stood in the middle of an impossibly vast grassland.
A gentle breeze rolled across the plains, causing the green grass to sway softly beneath a clear blue sky filled with drifting white clouds.
It was a scene beautiful enough to belong in a painting.
Stussy, however, had absolutely no interest in admiring it.
She remembered suffering two devastating attacks just moments ago.
Then, in the very next instant, she had appeared here.
Even stranger, her body was completely healed.
There wasn’t a single trace of the injuries she’d suffered.
Her joy lasted only briefly before she realized something was terribly wrong.
She seemed to be trapped.
Nothing physically blocked her path, yet no matter which direction she ran, all she found was endless grassland stretching beyond the horizon.
There was nothing else anywhere she looked.
“Which bastard’s ability is this?!” Stussy furiously stabbed her cane into the ground again and again, leaving hole after hole in the grass.
“Where the hell did you send me?!” Panic gnawed at her.
‘Without me, Weevil is finished!
That boy doesn’t have enough brains to take care of himself!’ Then Stussy suddenly froze.
She had unconsciously looked upward.
And there, high above the sky— No.
Far beyond it.
Perhaps outside this entire world.
Perhaps somewhere in heaven itself.
Two enormous eyes gazed silently down at her like celestial bodies suspended beside the sun and moon.
One shone with brilliant golden light.
The other glimmered with cold silver radiance.
“…!” Stussy stopped breathing.
Her body began trembling while her mind went completely blank.
‘What…
is that?’ ‘God?’ Before she could think any further, both of her eyes suddenly shattered.
Tiny fragments burst outward along with sprays of blood.
“AAAAARGH!!” Stussy covered her ruined eyes and screamed in agony.
Even a hardened pirate veteran like her couldn’t endure pain this intense without crying out.
Only one thought remained in her mind.
‘What the hell is this?
Am I not even allowed to look directly at a god?!’ “Who…
what are you—” Her terrified question had barely left her mouth when her body began collapsing inward.
It wasn’t a metaphor.
Her body was literally caving in on itself.
Every bone felt as if it were being crushed at once.
She curled up uncontrollably while her limbs and torso twisted into unnatural shapes.
Her consciousness gradually dissolved into confusion.
Eventually, she blacked out completely and collapsed.
Then the mass of flesh began reshaping itself.
Buckingham Stussy reappeared on the grass, completely unharmed.
For the first few seconds, she could only sit there blankly.
Then she realized she could see again.
She could feel her body.
She could speak.
“WAAAAAAAH!!” A bloodcurdling scream instantly echoed across the endless sky.
Stussy stumbled backward.
One step.
Two.
On the third, her legs gave out beneath her.
Her knees buckled, and she nearly collapsed onto the ground.
She curled herself into a trembling ball.
Tears streamed down her face as she screamed hysterically.
“Please!
Spare me!” She begged desperately.
“I’ll do anything!
Whatever you want, just don’t do that again!” The terror and helplessness had been unbearable.
Her mind had remained conscious while she was forced to watch her own body being twisted apart, accompanied by pain so overwhelming that death had seemed preferable.
She never wanted to experience it again.
Then Stussy saw a light.
A small sphere of soft white radiance appeared from nowhere and floated silently before her.
Bathed in its glow, Stussy inexplicably felt calm and peaceful.
Her trembling right hand slowly rose.
She grabbed the orb.
Almost immediately, she felt something seeping out of the light and flowing into her body.
She somehow knew that she could resist it.
But she didn’t dare.
Brilliant light engulfed her completely.
In the next instant, before Stussy could even understand what had happened, the world around her abruptly changed.
Her eyes widened in terror.
The beautiful grassland was gone.
She was back inside a dark, damp prison cell.
Heavy shackles restrained her body, and even her injuries had returned.
“Hah…
hah…” Stussy breathed heavily.
‘What the hell happened?’ ‘Was everything just now a dream?’ “Mom!
You’re awake!” Weevil’s weak voice immediately came from the neighboring cell.
“Weevil…” Stussy, who had always doted on her son, immediately turned toward the sound.
There he was, chained tightly to the floor and completely unable to move.
“What happened after—” She wanted to ask whether Weevil knew anything.
But before she could finish—Stussy’s pupils suddenly widened.
‘I can’t move!’ Something she couldn’t understand was flowing into her body through some equally incomprehensible connection.
Her consciousness became hazy.
It felt like being half awake and half asleep, as though something else were squeezing her consciousness out of her own brain.
Then her body sat upright without her permission.
It turned toward Weevil in the neighboring cell.
Stussy heard her own mouth speak.
“Weevil, don’t resist.” “Oh, okay, Mom.” Her obedient son answered without the slightest hesitation.
‘No!
Weevil!!’ Stussy’s eyes nearly split from panic.
It was useless.
In the next instant, Weevil lost consciousness.
Then Stussy’s vision blurred as well.
When she could see again, she had returned to that endless grassland.
“Whoa!
Mom!
Where are we?!” Weevil stood beside her, excitedly looking around.
“…” Stussy couldn’t stop trembling.
She had regained control over her body, and judging from how Weevil had lost consciousness in the real world, this place was probably some kind of mental space.
But that knowledge no longer mattered.
She understood the truth now.
As long as the master of this world wished it, she could be dragged back here at any moment.
Worse, even her body in the real world could be controlled.
An invisible collar had already been fastened around her neck.
There was nowhere to run.
“Mom!
What’s this thing?!” Weevil’s surprised shout made Stussy turn instinctively.
A familiar sphere of light floated quietly in front of her foolish son.
Stussy opened her mouth, then remained silent for several seconds.
‘Do we even have another choice anymore?’ ‘At least I can’t let Weevil suffer through what I did.’ “Weevil.” Her voice came out weakly.
“Grab it.
Don’t resist.” “Okay!” Weevil obeyed his mother without question and grabbed the glowing sphere.
Brilliant light instantly swallowed him.
Neither Weevil, hidden inside the light, nor Stussy, who was watching her son, noticed that two people had actually been standing beside them the entire time.
One of them finally spoke.
“With this, mother and son are now puppets in the palm of your hand as well, Nate-sama.” It was a gentle, calm female voice.
Nate responded lazily.
“They’ll be useful enough, I guess.
How’s your Haki training going?” “My Observation Haki can already be considered proficient.
As for Armament Haki, I still can’t perform Hardening.” Nate lifted an eyelid slightly.
“Tch.
That’s a little slow.
Didn’t we start learning Haki at the same time?” The woman merely lowered her head respectfully.
“Naturally, I could never compare myself to you.” “Whatever.
It’s good enough.” Nate yawned.
“We’ll put the training on hold for now.
If the operation at Impel Down goes smoothly, you’ll come with me to the New World afterward.” He stretched his arms overhead.
“You’re still missing a Devil Fruit.
We need to fix that as soon as possible.” “Yes.” “Good.
That’s settled, then.” Nate yawned again and stretched lazily.
“Seriously…
how am I still this sleepy even inside a dream?” Nate Knight.
Seventeen years old.
Exactly one year since his transmigration.
User of the Paramecia-type Dream-Dream Fruit.