Somewhere in the East Blue, the night sea was anything but peaceful.
Dark clouds covered the sky as heavy rain crashed against the decks of two ships locked in battle. Waves rose and fell beneath them, slamming against their hulls hard enough to send men stumbling across the soaked wood.
"Pirates!"
"Protect the cargo!"
"They're after the Devil Fruit!"
Gunshots cracked through the storm as Government agents scrambled to hold their positions.
The Red Hair Pirates had attacked.
Amid the chaos, one of the agents hurried toward the room where their most important cargo had been stored. He shoved the door open and immediately looked toward the wooden chest secured at the far end.
"Don't let them reach the chest!" he shouted. "That fruit must not fall into their hands!"
Another agent tightened his grip on his weapon as the ship lurched beneath his feet.
"Why the hell are pirates like them all the way out here in the East Blue?!"
The sounds of fighting outside were already getting closer. Steel clashed somewhere down the corridor, followed by the heavy impact of someone hitting the deck.
Then the fighting stopped.
Footsteps approached through the corridor.
The agent raised his weapon with trembling hands as the footsteps stopped directly outside the room.
A red-haired man stood in the doorway with a sword resting at his waist and a relaxed smile on his face despite the weapons pointed toward him.
The man was Shanks.
His gaze moved past the agents and settled on the wooden chest behind them.
"So that's what you've been protecting."
---
Elsewhere in the East Blue, the sea couldn't have looked more different.
Night had already fallen, but there were no storm clouds above Ling's family. Moonlight shimmered across the calm water while their small boat drifted gently beneath the open sky.
For the past several days, almost every moment had been filled with uncertainty. Kojak's warning, the hurried preparations, abandoning their home, and eventually watching smoke rise from Cozia had left the entire family exhausted.
But all four of them were alive.
Inside the cramped cabin, Alfred sat beside Susi while Selene slept across her mother's lap. One of Susi's hands moved slowly through their daughter's hair as the gentle rocking of the boat finally gave her a chance to rest.
"Luckily, we won't have to worry about finding somewhere to stay," Alfred said quietly. "Kojak already helped arrange something in Loguetown."
Susi rested her head against his shoulder.
"Hmm."
"Starting over there shouldn't be too bad. And once we sell the Devil Fruit, we'll have more than enough money to open another pastry bar."
A faint smile appeared on Susi's face.
"At least we won't have to struggle as much as we did the first time."
Alfred chuckled softly.
"Hopefully."
After a moment, Susi looked toward him.
"Is Kojak going back to Loguetown too?"
Alfred shook his head.
"No. He's heading to Mirror Island. Apparently, that's where the brokers' headquarters is."
"I see."
Their conversation continued quietly while Selene slept, and for the first time since leaving Cozia, the family had a chance to sit together without worrying about what needed to be packed, sold, or left behind.
Then the boat lurched.
Susi immediately lifted her head while Alfred caught the side of the bench before he could slide from his seat.
"What was that?"
Another violent movement rocked the cabin, much stronger than the first.
Alfred quickly stood and hurried outside, gripping the side of the boat to steady himself.
The moment he looked toward the sea, he froze.
The water ahead of them was no longer calm.
A massive wall of water towered over the horizon, rising so high above the sea that Alfred could only stare for several seconds.
The wave had to be nearly a hundred meters tall, and it was coming straight toward them.
Only moments earlier, the sea had been peaceful. There had been no storm, violent wind, or anything else that could explain what was now rushing toward their boat.
Behind the younger Ling's eyes, panic exploded.
'What the fuck?!'
The boy stared at the approaching wall of water, his body tensing with fear.
'This doesn't make any sense!'
Impossible weather wouldn't have surprised Ling on the Grand Line.
But this was the East Blue.
Alfred recovered first.
"Susi!"
She rushed outside with Selene and Ling close behind.
The moment Susi saw the wave, her face went pale. Alfred looked at her once before turning toward the barrels they had brought from Cozia.
"Selene. Ling."
Selene had only just awakened and was still confused by all the shouting, but whatever sleepiness remained disappeared when she saw the wave.
"Ma..."
The younger Ling began crying.
Alfred overturned one barrel and dumped its contents across the deck before doing the same to the second.
"Quick! Both of you, get inside!"
Selene stared at the empty barrels before looking toward her parents.
"N-no..."
Her hands began trembling.
"Pa... Ma..."
"Selene," Alfred said.
She immediately shook her head.
"I don't want to."
The boat rocked again. What had looked distant only moments earlier now dominated the horizon.
"Selene!"
She flinched at Alfred's shout.
He immediately knelt in front of her and placed both hands on her shoulders.
"Listen to me."
"No!"
Selene grabbed the front of his shirt.
"No, Pa! I don't want to lose you!"
Alfred's hands tightened slightly on her shoulders.
Beside them, Susi held Ling against her chest while the boy shook in her arms.
'What is happening?'
For years, Ling had known Cozia would eventually be destroyed. His family had escaped the disaster he remembered, and for a few hours, he had believed they were finally safe.
Then this happened, something that had never appeared anywhere in his memories of One Piece.
"Pa!"
Alfred wrapped both arms around Selene.
"It's going to be okay."
"Liar!"
She struck his chest with both fists.
"You're lying!"
Alfred didn't answer.
Susi moved toward the first barrel while holding Ling. She crouched and carefully lowered him inside.
The younger Ling immediately reached toward her.
"Mom!"
Susi kept hold of his hand for another moment.
Then Alfred suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
He hurried toward the belongings scattered across the deck and found the wooden box they had brought from Cozia.
Ling's attention immediately sharpened.
'The fruit.'
Alfred opened the box, removed the strange Devil Fruit, and placed it inside Ling's barrel.
'Yes!'
Ling focused entirely on the fruit beside the younger boy.
'Ling, eat it!'
The child continued crying.
'Come on! Eat it!'
Nothing happened.
Alfred looked down at his son.
"If you survive..."
His voice caught for a moment before he managed a small smile.
"Maybe this thing can help you someday."
Ling stared up at him through the child's eyes.
For ten years, Alfred had been part of his everyday life. Ling remembered him returning from the bakery covered in flour, giving food and money to people who had less than him, arguing with Susi over ordinary things, laughing with Selene, and raising Ling as though he had always been his son.
"Pa..."
Susi crouched beside the barrel and gently ran a hand through Ling's hair.
"Take care of yourself."
Her lips trembled.
"And if you ever find your sister..."
She tried to smile.
"Take care of each other."
The younger Ling's eyes widened.
"Wait..."
Susi leaned forward and kissed his forehead.
"Mom..."
Alfred placed one hand against the lid.
"Wait!"
The lid began to close.
"Pa!"
The younger Ling reached upward, stretching his fingers toward the narrowing opening.
"Dad!"
"Mom!"
The last thing Ling saw was Alfred and Susi standing beside one another as the opening disappeared.
The lid shut.
THUD.
Darkness swallowed everything.
"MOM!!"
The younger Ling slammed both hands against the inside of the barrel.
"DAD!!"
Outside, Alfred quickly secured the lid while Selene continued struggling against Susi.
"NO!"
"MA!"
"I DON'T WANT TO GO!"
Susi pulled her daughter into one final embrace.
"My beautiful girl..."
Selene buried her face against her.
"Ma..."
"Take care of your little brother."
Selene immediately shook her head.
"You take care of him!"
Her voice broke.
"Please! I'll behave! I won't cause trouble anymore, so please..."
She tightened her arms around her mother.
"Please don't leave us."
Susi kissed her forehead and held her for another moment before Alfred gently took their daughter by the shoulders.
The roar of the wave had grown so loud that they could barely hear one another.
Alfred helped Selene into the second barrel.
"PA! NO!"
She tried climbing back out, but Alfred gently pushed her hands inside.
"Selene."
She stared at him through her tears.
"You're his big sister."
Alfred forced a smile.
"If you two find each other again, protect each other."
"P-Pa..."
His hand rested on the lid as he looked at his daughter one last time.
"Live."
The lid closed.
THUD.
"PA!"
"MA!"
Her muffled screams continued from inside the barrel as the wave rushed toward them.
Alfred and Susi pushed both barrels into the sea.
The current caught them immediately. Ling's barrel was dragged toward one side while Selene's was pulled in another direction, and within seconds, the distance between them had already begun to grow.
Inside his barrel, the younger Ling was thrown from side to side as the water tossed the wooden container across the surface. In the darkness, he could hear only the roar of the sea, the wood creaking around him, and his own terrified breathing.
Back on the boat, Alfred reached for Susi's hand.
She grabbed it immediately.
Wind and spray battered against them as Susi searched the raging water, but the barrels were already disappearing from sight.
"Do you think they'll be alright?"
Alfred kept his eyes on the direction their children had vanished.
"I don't know."
Susi lowered her head.
Alfred squeezed her hand.
"But they're our children."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"They'll survive."
Susi looked toward him and managed a small smile of her own.
The shadow of the wave fell across the boat.
A moment later, the wall of water crashed down and swallowed everything.