Sea Circle Calendar, Year 1511.
This was the year Germa 66 would attack the Cozia Kingdom, and Ling was now ten years old.
Relatively little had happened over the past year that caught his attention. The biggest piece of news had been the breakthrough of the Puffing Tom, marking the completion of the world's first Sea Train.
There was also something much smaller that mattered far more to Ling personally.
The pink-haired woman who used to buy every coconut pie in Alfred's shop had stopped appearing sometime during the previous year. Customers came and went all the time, so her disappearance hadn't meant much by itself.
By now, however, the timing lined up with something Ling remembered clearly.
'Ginny...'
This was around the time in Kuma's past when Ginny had been kidnapped by the Celestial Dragons.
Ling hated thinking about what followed. Law's childhood had already been terrible, but Kuma's story somehow managed to become even worse.
Still, something much closer to home demanded his attention: Germa 66 could arrive at any time.
Ling knew the year of the attack, but the original story had never given an exact day or month. Germa could appear tomorrow, several weeks from now, or near the end of the year, and that uncertainty had been hanging over him ever since his eighth birthday.
For the past two years, he had tried everything he could think of to reach the younger Ling. He shouted inside the child's mind, focused on single words for hours at a time, and tried forcing thoughts or emotions strongly enough that something might get through.
Nothing ever did.
Even now, Ling tried again. He focused entirely on the child's hand and pushed a single thought toward him.
'Move.'
The younger Ling continued what he had been doing without the slightest reaction.
Selene had always handled ordinary problems with considerably more enthusiasm than necessary whenever someone bothered her little brother, but Germa 66 wasn't a group of schoolchildren she could kick around.
---
A few days before the attack, Alfred returned home much earlier than usual.
There was none of the flour that normally covered his clothes after a full day at the bakery, and he hadn't even removed his shoes before calling for Susi.
"What's wrong?"
Alfred glanced toward Selene and the younger Ling before lowering his voice.
"Kojak came to see me."
Susi's expression changed, while Ling's attention immediately sharpened.
Alfred had mentioned Kojak several times over the years. He was an old friend who worked as a broker in Cozia's underworld. He wasn't anyone particularly important, but his work occasionally gave him access to information ordinary civilians would never hear.
Susi stepped closer.
"What did he say?"
Alfred hesitated before releasing a slow breath.
"We need to leave."
The room went quiet.
Susi stared at him.
"What?"
"Cozia is going to be attacked."
Her face lost some of its color.
"By who?"
"Germa 66."
Behind the child's eyes, Ling froze.
He had spent two years waiting for this warning, and it had come before the attack.
Alfred continued explaining what Kojak had told him. The information had reached the broker late, and even he couldn't say exactly when Germa would arrive. They had only a few days, perhaps even less, but they had time to leave.
Susi slowly looked around their home, her gaze passing over the furniture, shelves, and belongings they had accumulated throughout the years.
"How are we supposed to leave?"
"I've already started looking for a boat."
Alfred's expression darkened.
"We're not the only ones who know."
Word of the coming attack hadn't reached most of Cozia, but enough wealthy merchants, nobles, criminal organizations, and people with the right connections had already begun preparing to escape. By the time Alfred started searching, nearly every large vessel available for purchase had been taken.
In the end, he managed to secure only a small boat. It wasn't impressive or particularly comfortable, but it could carry four people along with a few barrels and bags.
Over the next several days, the family packed only what they absolutely needed: food, water, several changes of clothes, and whatever savings they could carry.
Everything else would remain behind.
Familiar rooms gradually emptied as Alfred and Susi moved constantly through the house, speaking in hurried conversations while Selene helped wherever she could. The bakery, Alfred's tools, the furniture, decorations, and countless small belongings gathered over ten years would all remain in Cozia.
The younger Ling became unusually quiet as the day of their departure approached.
Behind his eyes, Ling didn't care about any of it.
They were leaving, and that was enough.
---
On the morning of their departure, the family stepped outside carrying the last of their belongings.
Alfred locked the door out of habit, then remained there for several seconds with his hand resting on the key. Susi and Selene stood quietly nearby until he finally lowered his hand.
"Let's go."
The younger Ling followed his family toward the street, only to stop after a few steps.
Selene, walking beside him, almost continued before noticing.
"Ling?"
The boy wasn't looking at her.
His gaze had shifted toward the palm tree growing in front of their home.
For as long as Ling could remember, that tree had never produced a single coconut, yet now something was hanging beneath its leaves.
The younger Ling stepped closer. The fruit's strange shape became clearer, along with the unmistakable swirling patterns covering its surface.
'A Devil Fruit.'
Alfred noticed where his son was looking and walked over.
"What is it?"
"Dad."
The boy pointed upward.
"Look."
Alfred followed his finger, and his eyes widened as Susi and Selene approached.
"A Devil Fruit?" Susi asked.
"It looks like one," Alfred replied.
The younger Ling stared at the fruit for several seconds before looking toward his parents.
"If we sell it, we won't have to worry about food anymore, right?"
Alfred looked at his son, then back toward the fruit.
He knew roughly how valuable Devil Fruits could be. Kojak had mentioned them more than once during conversations about people becoming rich overnight, and even an unidentified Devil Fruit could supposedly sell for around one hundred million Berries on the black market.
For an ordinary family, that amount could support them for decades if they were careful.
Alfred climbed the tree and retrieved the fruit. Once he was back on the ground, he slowly turned it between his hands, examining the strange patterns covering its surface.
"A hundred million..."
Susi released a quiet breath.
Ling's attention remained fixed on the fruit.
He recognized it immediately.
'No! Don't sell that!'
For the first time in years, the possibility in front of him felt too important to simply watch pass by.
'Just eat it.'
Ling threw everything he had into the thought.
Nothing reached the younger boy.
Alfred carried the fruit back inside. When he returned, it had been placed inside a small wooden box and carefully secured among the belongings they were taking with them.
---
The family reached the shore later that morning.
Their small boat looked even less impressive beside some of the larger vessels already disappearing toward the horizon. Alfred loaded the last bag before helping Susi and the children aboard, and before long, the coastline began slowly drifting away behind them.
Cozia grew smaller with every passing minute. The city that had filled nearly every memory of the younger Ling's life gradually became a distant collection of buildings along the shore.
Selene remained near the back of the boat for a long time, watching the coastline while Susi eventually sat beside her. Alfred kept his attention on the sea ahead, and nobody spoke much.
Hours passed before smoke began rising behind them.
At first, it appeared as little more than a dark mark against the horizon.
Selene noticed it first.
"Dad..."
Alfred turned, and the younger Ling looked back with everyone else.
A thick column of smoke was climbing into the sky where Cozia had been.
Then another appeared beside it.
The attack had begun.
Alfred stopped what he was doing and stared toward the island. Susi pulled both children closer as more smoke spread above the distant coastline.
Their home was still there somewhere, along with the bakery, the school, the markets, and the streets Selene and Ling had walked through almost every day.
For several moments, the only sound around them was water moving against the side of the boat.
Alfred slowly exhaled.
"We made it."
Susi lowered her head while Selene pressed closer to her mother. The younger Ling continued staring toward the distant island as smoke spread above the place they had called home.
---
Back in the Cozia Kingdom, dark smoke hung over the city and covered much of the sky. Buildings that had stood only hours earlier were damaged or collapsed, while shattered carts and broken pieces of wood littered the streets.
Palm trees had been knocked down throughout the city, their broad leaves buried beneath debris. Even the castle standing before the distant mountain range had not been spared.
Near the shore, two children crouched behind a large boulder. One was a young boy with blond hair, while the other was a pink-haired girl several years older than him.
Sanji's shoulders shook as he struggled to keep his sobbing quiet. His sister had tears in her eyes as well, but she kept looking toward a ship preparing to leave the shore.
"Get on that ship."
Sanji stared at her through wet eyes without moving.
"Sanji. Go."
His lips trembled.
She grabbed both of his shoulders.
"Stop crying! You're a boy!"
Her voice began to break, but she continued.
"Listen to me. Once you get on that ship, don't ever come back here."
Sanji's crying grew worse.
"The sea is huge. There are people everywhere. You'll definitely meet kind people someday."
Tears finally slipped down her cheeks, and Sanji broke down completely.
"Waaah!"
His sister immediately pulled him into her arms.
"Shh! Sanji, quiet!"
She held him close while glancing around the side of the boulder. After a few seconds, she forced herself to let go.
"Go!"
Sanji stumbled backward and stared at her.
"Run, Sanji!"
At last, he turned toward the ship.
"Don't look back!"
His small legs carried him as quickly as they could toward the waiting vessel. His crying escaped him again, but he kept running.
Behind him, his sister remained beside the boulder and watched until Sanji was far enough away that she could barely make him out.
Only then did she lower her head.