Across from him, Woop Slap quietly watched Ling over the edge of his newspaper. After giving the boy a little more time, he finally lowered it.
"Ling, where are you from? And how did you end up at sea?"
At the sink, Makino continued washing the dishes, though her movements slowed.
Ling remained quiet for several seconds before answering.
"I'm from Cozia Kingdom. I lived there with my family."
Makino glanced over her shoulder.
"Cozia?"
Ling nodded.
"We had to leave because my family found out someone was going to attack the kingdom. Our plan was to go to Loguetown. My parents wanted to start over there."
His fingers curled slightly against his knees as he looked down at the wooden table.
Makino turned off the water.
"Ling..."
He looked toward her.
"You don't have to tell us everything right now."
Woop Slap nodded.
"We can ask another time."
Ling hesitated, then shook his head.
"No. I want to tell you."
Makino dried her hands while Woop Slap waited quietly.
"While we were sailing toward Loguetown, the sea was completely calm. Then an enormous wave suddenly appeared."
Woop Slap frowned.
"How enormous?"
"Maybe close to a hundred meters."
Makino stared at him.
"A hundred meters?"
"Yeah."
Ling could still remember how small their boat had looked beneath that impossible wall of water.
"My dad knew we couldn't escape it, so he emptied two barrels. My sister went inside one, and they put me inside the other. They thought the barrels might give us a chance."
His throat tightened.
"That was the last time I saw them."
The house fell quiet.
Ling rubbed beneath one eye with the back of his hand before continuing.
"After that, I drifted at sea for a while. I don't know exactly how long."
What he remembered most clearly was the hunger. With nothing else inside the barrel, the younger Ling had eventually eaten the strange Devil Fruit Alfred had given him.
Even remembering the taste made his expression twitch.
'So that wasn't exaggerated. Devil Fruits really do taste horrible.'
He pushed the thought aside.
"Eventually, I passed out. The next thing I remember is waking up at sea again. Everything was calm by then, and I guess the current eventually brought me here."
Makino and Woop Slap exchanged a look.
Ling frowned.
"What?"
Woop Slap placed his newspaper flat on the table.
"Ling, are you sure that's how everything happened?"
"Of course."
Everything before he lost consciousness remained clear. It was only the time between the barrel and waking at sea that was missing.
Woop Slap adjusted his glasses.
"Then there's something that doesn't make sense."
"What?"
The mayor looked directly at him.
"Cozia Kingdom was destroyed about a year ago."
Ling stared at him.
"...What?"
Makino nodded.
"It was in the newspaper last year."
For several seconds, Ling said nothing.
"A year ago?"
"That's right."
His thoughts immediately returned to the gap in his memory.
He couldn't have spent an entire year drifting inside a barrel. There had been no food left after the fruit, almost no water, and when he woke again, it had felt as though little time had passed.
Then the answer hit him.
'Toki Toki no Mi... the Time-Time Fruit.'
Ling lowered his gaze toward the table as the final moments inside the barrel returned to him. He had been exhausted, starving, terrified, and desperate for the violent journey to end.
Then everything had gone dark.
When he woke again, the sea was calm.
'So that's what happened.'
If the fruit had activated while he was barely conscious, it could have sent him an entire year forward in time.
"Ling?"
Makino's voice pulled his attention back.
He looked up.
"I think I know what happened."
Woop Slap leaned forward slightly.
"What?"
Ling hesitated.
Normally, revealing something this important would have been a terrible idea. But Makino and Woop Slap had taken care of him for two days without knowing anything about him, and neither had given him a reason to distrust them.
"My Devil Fruit."
Woop Slap's expression changed.
"You ate one?"
Ling nodded.
"I think its ability has something to do with time."
Makino stepped away from the sink.
"Time?"
"It can send someone forward into the future."
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
Ling looked down at his hands.
"I think it activated when I passed out. If Cozia was destroyed a year ago, then I must have skipped that year completely."
Woop Slap's brows drew together.
"So you weren't drifting at sea all that time."
"No."
Ling met his gaze.
"For me, almost no time passed."
Woop Slap remained quiet for a moment before his expression turned serious.
"Ling, don't tell anyone else about this."
Ling wasn't surprised.
"Most people around here have only heard stories about Devil Fruits," Woop Slap continued. "Some probably don't even believe they're real. An ability like yours would attract attention you don't want."
Makino nodded.
"Especially if the wrong person hears about it."
"I know."
Woop Slap studied him.
"Then don't use it where people can see you either. Not until you understand what you're doing."
Ling nodded.
"I won't."
Makino looked at him.
"But you told us."
Ling met her eyes.
"I trust you."
Makino blinked before a small smile appeared on her face.
"Thank you."
Woop Slap gave a quiet grunt and reached for his newspaper again.
"Just don't let that trust make you careless."
"It won't."
Makino returned to the sink, and the house gradually settled back into its earlier calm.
Ling remained seated at the table as his thoughts returned to Alfred, Susi, and Selene. He still had no idea what had happened to any of them after the barrels were swept apart.
Then the sound of running water stopped.
"...Wait."
Ling looked toward Makino.
She stood motionless beside the sink with a plate still in her hands.
"Ling... did you say your sister was placed inside another barrel?"
Ling immediately straightened.
"Yeah. Why?"
Makino didn't answer right away.
Beside him, Woop Slap slowly lowered his newspaper.
Ling's heartbeat quickened.
"What?"
Makino set the plate down.
"Late last year, there was a girl traveling with the Red Hair Pirates."
Ling froze.
"...What?"
"It was around the time they first started coming to Foosha Village," Woop Slap said. "There were two girls with them."
Makino nodded.
"One was younger, with red-and-white hair."
'Uta?'
Ling's attention sharpened.
"The other was older," Makino continued. "Around your sister's age. She had auburn hair."
Ling stopped moving.
"She was very thin when we first met her," Makino said. "The Red Hair Pirates had apparently picked her up after she was separated from her family."
Ling's fingers tightened around the edge of the table.
"Where was she from?"
Makino held his gaze.
"Cozia Kingdom."
His breath caught.
Woop Slap leaned forward slightly.
"She told us her family had been heading for Loguetown before they were separated."
Ling pushed himself upright before remembering his injured leg. Pain shot through it, forcing one hand against the table for support.
Makino immediately moved toward him.
"Careful!"
"Where is she now?"
"The last we heard, she was still with the Red Hair Pirates," Makino said. "They were planning to take her toward Loguetown."
Ling stared at Makino as his heartbeat pounded against his chest.
"...Selene?"