With Shiki guiding us, we headed to the room where an interrogation was supposedly underway. Inside, several pirates were harshly grilling one man—probably a pirate himself—who was bound tightly with rope.
The tied-up man kept repeating things like "I don't know anything" and "This is a misunderstanding," but no one believed him. They pressed him hard, demanding he spit out the truth already.
It looked like they'd already hit him a few times. His face was slightly swollen, and it made my stomach twist just looking at it.
They startled when Shiki and Dr. Indigo walked in, and then, when I followed right behind, a lot of them gave me the same obvious look: Who's she? But explanations could wait.
I had someone give up their seat, then sat down directly in front of the man being interrogated.
"Alright," Shiki said. "Let's see it."
"S-Shiki-sama? Wh-who is this woman…? Um, the interrogation… We're still in the middle of—"
Shiki cut across him. "…Hey. Haven't you seen her somewhere before?"
"Yeah… that's right… the 'Pirate Literary Master'… Why is she here?"
"Did she join Shiki-sama's crew? When—? No, but even then, why is she here?"
Whispers spread in little clusters. Ah. So a few of them actually knew who I was.
And since Shiki apparently hadn't made it public that I was his daughter… it looked like information hadn't reached the lower ranks.
Fine. That didn't matter right now.
"Y-you… you're the new interrogator, right? L-listen, I didn't do anything! A traitor? That's insane—this is a setup! Please, believe me!"
"Sure, sure," I said lightly. "We'll confirm everything properly, so stay still. Don't worry—you don't have to say a single word."
As I spoke, I reached out and tapped his forehead with my finger.
"Heaven's Door…!!"
The moment I invoked it, something unnatural happened.
His face began to peel.
But it wasn't skin tearing away. His face—his whole face—turned into paper, flipping over like the pages of a book.
And it wasn't only his face. Parts of his arms, shoulders, and even his back flipped the same way, clothes and all.
The sight was so bizarre that even I could admit it was unsettling. The pirates watching went rigid, and even Shiki and Dr. Indigo looked momentarily thrown.
But this was what I expected, so I ignored the reactions and got straight to what I needed to do.
"Madoaldo Menark… twenty-five years old this year. A crewman of the Roachop Pirates, a subordinate crew under the Golden Lion Pirates. Assigned role: navigator. Born in the West Blue. This is his sixth year since joining. Hobby: gambling. His go-to weapon is a sword, but he's not much of a fighter, so he usually leaves combat to his crewmates."
"N-n… n…?!"
"S-Shiki-sama! Wh-what is this…?! Is this woman's power?!"
"…You've got to be kidding," Shiki muttered, sounding honestly impressed. "You can do even this? Looks like you turned him into a book… and if what you're reading is true, we really don't need interrogations at all."
This was one of my Paper-Paper Fruit Awakening techniques—Heaven's Door.
It turns a person into a book, and by reading the pages, I can learn what's written inside them.
"Hey," Shiki said to the man's crew. "Anything she's said so far wrong?"
"N-no… not yet. Everything matches."
That was when the room really reacted.
They'd figured it out—what this power meant.
This book contained the man's life in excruciating detail.
And because it was written from his own unfiltered truth, he couldn't lie through it. If he knew something and wanted to hide it, I could literally read it out of him.
Of course, it had drawbacks. Like other abilities, it could be blocked by Haki. And the information was still filtered through the target's perspective—so if something was objectively wrong but the person genuinely believed it, I wouldn't be able to "detect" that as false.
Even so, being able to lay bare everything someone knew—without omissions or fabrication—was still a terrifyingly useful power.
And if someone couldn't block it with Haki, the person turned into a book couldn't even resist properly. They could only lie there and be read. It was like they were numb.
…There. That had to be the key part.
I began reading it aloud, calmly.
"On ○ month × day: after losing heavily at gambling and being left penniless—denied loans by both crewmates and captain—he was approached by a Marine spy while he was spiraling. Deciding it would be better than continuing a dead-end pirate life, he agreed to become an insider in exchange for payment and immunity after cooperation. He received an advance of three million Berry, and from then on began leaking information to the Marines repeatedly."
The moment the truth started spilling out of my mouth, the man's body jolted.
His expression was hard to read with his face literally in pages, but the fear was obvious. Still, he couldn't do anything beyond weakly flailing his limbs.
Shiki snapped, "Hey," and his subordinates immediately pinned him down.
The pirates around us were also staring, stunned—but the second they saw his panicked reaction, anger lit through them. If his face were normal, I'm pretty sure we would've watched all the blood drain from it.
I kept reading, pulling out everything useful, and didn't stop until we had it all.
When one of the crew finished writing down every last detail, Shiki said, "That's enough."
"Good," Shiki said. "Saves us the trouble. Use that intel and tear through everything connected to him. Anyone else mentioned as an insider—round them up immediately. This Sky Island is basically impossible to escape from, but now that the Marines lost and their operation failed, they might try to run without caring what it costs."
"Yes, sir! Understood!"
"Move," Shiki ordered. "But the interrogations continue—get the same kind of information from the others too. …Hey, Sue. I said you're done. Why are you still reading? Did you find something new?"
He'd realized I was still flipping through the man's pages.
"Ah—sorry," I said, eyes still on the book. "I hit a really interesting part…"
"Interesting?"
"Yes. Apparently he's been to an island I've never visited before, during his pirate work… Huh, the West Blue had places like this? I didn't find it last time I went… Oh. The local specialty food sounds amazing. I might detour and go check it out sometime."
"What the hell are you doing, reading it like a travel magazine?!" Shiki barked. "If you're done, let him go! We've got a line! There are still plenty of people waiting!"
"J-just a minute! Just a little longer! It's getting good!"
"Getting good?! Don't get so absorbed you toss the job aside, idiot! You're absolutely the type who finds an old book while cleaning and then sits down and reads it—then gets yelled at by your mom! The cleaning never ends!"
…Why did that hit so close to home?
Memories came rushing back: Mom—Kuu, when she was still alive—and later, Stella too, both snapping at me with the exact same fury. What about the cleaning?!
It wasn't my fault. I liked reading pirate logbooks. I liked absorbing someone's experiences. If I had a chance to read an entire life—of course I wanted every last page.
When I first gained this ability, I'd practically wanted to scream with joy. Honestly, it probably awakened like this because I was exactly the kind of person who would be thrilled by it.
"Please! I'm really almost done! Five minutes—no, ten—no, fifteen—just fifteen minutes…"
"Don't increase it! You don't plan on stopping at all, do you?!"
"Wait, just a little more—five minutes! Five minutes is enough!"
"No one who says 'five minutes' during a snooze or a study break ever finishes in five minutes!"
"That's prejudice, Boss!" I shot back. "There might be someone in the world who does!"
"Even if they exist, you're not one of them! And why am I scolding you like this anyway…? What am I, your mom? No—your dad. Now stop already!"
"Ah—wait, at least let me finish what I'm reading right now—oh, wow. This guy slept with his captain's woman… and he kept paying her off after that, too. And every time he hits a port town, he's doing this kind of—married women?"
"…Hoh?" Shiki leaned in, suddenly interested. "Details."
"Hey, you're getting involved too?!" I yelped. "You're that curious?!"
Dr. Indigo's slap cracked through the air like a judge's gavel.
In the end, the traitor—now exposed as an insider, someone who'd slept with his captain's woman, and apparently a married-women enthusiast—was hauled off to the cells.
I doubted he'd ever see freedom again.
Well. That was on him.
Now then… there were still plenty of people left to read, which meant work wasn't done.
"Also," I said, rubbing my stomach, "this ability is Awakening too, so it drains stamina more than you'd think… Can I get something to eat?"
"Hey," Shiki ordered, "bring her something quick—sandwiches or whatever. A mountain of it. She eats more than she looks."
"Y-yes, sir."
"Thanks."
"Yeah," Shiki said, the edge of amusement softening his voice. "Keep it up."
Some of the subordinates, meanwhile, still seemed confused by Shiki's earlier, casual "dad" line. With him saying things like "bring her food," they were probably thinking, What kind of relationship is this…?
They wouldn't learn the answer for a while yet.
☆☆☆
There were a lot of people, so it took time, but by the end of the day we finished "interrogating" everyone—though calling it an interrogation was generous, since I barely asked anything. I just read.
I read through over a dozen minds. The breakdown: three traitors, and one spy planted from the Marine side.
What happened to them afterward, I left to Shiki. He'd handle it in a way that didn't leave trouble behind.
Now… shifting topics. My future.
Like I'd mentioned before, I was going to stay here at Shiki's hideout for a while—resting, watching for changes in my body, and dealing with various other things.
It wasn't free, of course. In exchange, I'd help with jobs around the place, lend a hand when needed, and occasionally support them with things like weather forecasting as "rent."
That part had been decided quickly: until I recovered and stabilized, I'd stay.
The question was what came after that.
"So," Shiki said, "Sue… 'for now,' you'll be registered with us… with the Golden Lion Pirates. That right?"
"Yes," I said. "Only 'for now.' Like… a trial membership."
"You're treating my Golden Lion Pirate Crew like some refined academy," he grumbled, but there was a strange warmth in it. "Whatever. If someone like you is willing to belong—even temporarily—I'd be stupid not to take it."
He wore a smile that was oddly balanced—half exasperation, half pleased.
At first, I'd refused his invitation outright.
Even if we were family by blood, I never planned on truly sinking into pirate life… and I couldn't say I liked Shiki's style.
If he were like the Straw Hat Pirates or the Red Hair Pirates from the Original Work—outlaws who mostly left ordinary people alone, free-spirited and decent—that would be one thing.
But Shiki was a pirate in the bluntest, ugliest sense. He harmed civilians. He did cruel things. That seemed to be his default.
He even said it himself: "The essence of piracy is domination."
Our values didn't match.
Granted, hiding on this absurdly isolated Sky Island meant civilian harm had been almost nonexistent by circumstance.
Except for the people living in Merveille—those villagers had suffered heavily. And I did have thoughts about that, but later.
Even so… the reason I chose to "provisionally" join Shiki's crew was because I'd read my mother's diary.
Sou's diary.
And inside it—there was a message addressed to me.
Though honestly, from the way it was written, I didn't think she ever meant for me to read it. It felt like a letter she'd written into her diary just to organize her own thoughts.
But it was still a message.
★ ★ ★
To my daughter, whose name I haven't even decided yet.
By the time you read this letter, I'll probably already be gone from this world.
Actually, you probably won't read it at all. (Wait, you won't?!)
★ ★ ★
The stupid jokes scattered in like that were honestly a little irritating… but I kept reading anyway, gritting through it.
What kind of mood had she been in when she wrote this diary?
★ ★ ★
When I was younger, I ended up in a terrible gang-like organization for various reasons. For some reason, they eventually decided they wanted me dead.
Boss Shiki was the one who saved me.
Not because he was trying to rescue me, mind you. He just crushed an annoying organization and, along the way, picked up someone who looked useful.
He said he thought I'd be valuable if he made me work as a subordinate.
He told me the other day he regrets that decision a little now. Sad.
That's how I ended up on Shiki's ship. Honestly, I don't particularly like Shiki. I never adored him, and I wasn't loyal in any heartfelt way.
Not that I ever thought about betraying him, either.
I'm grateful he saved me. I respect his strength and charisma. I don't hate him.
But if you ask whether I "like" him… it feels like something else entirely.
I stayed on Shiki's ship because he picked me up and I simply remained there… and because I could spend as much money and time as I wanted on research and whatever else I pleased.
And also, I think, because I respected Shiki as one strong man living through a dangerous era.
I don't know what your era will be like, but the era I live in now… justice and evil, truth and lies, legal and illegal—everything is decided by the Government's convenience, by their whims and their balance.
In a world like that, there is "freedom," and yet there isn't.
The people who call themselves free—whether arrogant nobles or the poor who accept a small world and feel satisfied—only choose from the options presented to them. And they're content with that. That's how it looks to me.
Maybe the fact that I can't live "normally" is partly my own fault. But even setting that aside, I think this world is cruel.
Even without becoming a pirate or choosing an extreme path… the moment you try to live the way you want, do what you want, learn what you want—if you step even slightly beyond the "allowed" boundary, they twist facts and brand you as "evil."
I've seen it happen to so many people. Organizations. Towns. Countries.
Most people, even if they notice, probably have no choice but to accept it.
But Shiki didn't.
To choose his own path—yes, for him that path is "domination"—he rejects the domination of others, smashes it aside, and keeps pushing forward, free.
I used to watch him argue with Roger during their battles, and I never felt Roger's "freedom" and Shiki's "domination" were as far apart as they sounded.
Of course, what they do—and what they intend to do—differs greatly. But in the sense of living unbound and doing as they please, their paths looked similar to me. The decisive difference was whether that freedom was acquired by standing above others, or whether it meant refusing to be bound by anything at all—even by power that might benefit you.
I don't understand boys' feelings, or pirates' feelings, so I can only imagine things like this… What do you think?
If you crave freedom and resent being bound by authority—if you're anything like me—then maybe you should try doing something "bad" once, just as an experiment.
Of course I'm not saying it's okay to steal from innocent people (Shiki does), but if you ignore the "you mustn't" rules you normally follow, you might discover something new. Kicking the Marines or authority that tries to bind you might even feel… surprisingly good.
I think you'll see "freedom" and "unfreedom" you thought you understood, but didn't.
Even if I never intended you to read this, I can't help wondering what kind of mother writes such an unhinged letter to her own child.
Well. The moment I tried to create a superhuman through modification, that answer was probably obvious.
Still, as your parent… I want you to live doing what you love.
Without narrowing your own path without realizing it. Without holding back. With the resolve to live freer than anyone in this world.
If you think it's necessary, then like I did when I boarded Shiki's ship, you can break what binds you and live a life of infamy without caring about reputation.
You might even board a ship where you can rampage with the intent of breaking this world yourself—a world that never changes, and never becomes kind.
I lived with Shiki on a pirate ship… and I don't know if it was the "right" life.
I probably won't know even at the moment I die.
But I did whatever I wanted, so I have no regrets.
If I have one regret, it's that I couldn't make you my "Masterpiece." Even so… I think I can die cleanly, with no lingering attachments.
…If I come back as a ghost, I'm sorry.
I hope you—who will probably be born soon—can walk a life that belongs to no one else. A life that is yours, for you.
★ ★ ★
…What a diary.
For someone so smart, there were places where the logic wobbled or the flow broke. She probably wrote as she thought, letting it spill out as it came.
But that also meant it was honest.
…A world that feels free but isn't.
Did that include people like me? People who think, I'm a wanted person now, so it can't be helped. People who decide, I'll stay as quiet as possible so I don't get noticed… but I'll still live "freely" where I can.
It did sound like that.
I wanted to live freely. I did want it.
But I'd also understood from the beginning that I never truly could—and I'd already half given up.
…and I hadn't done anything wrong.
The feeling I thought I'd put away long ago shifted again, like a small flame relit in the dark.
If Sou boarded Shiki's ship and found something in that life—some realization, some way of seeing her situation—then maybe something similar might come to me, too.
And over the last few days—through fighting together, through living here—something had grown inside me that wasn't just simple disgust or resistance.
Whether that was a passing illusion or a real kind of "awakening," I didn't know.
But if it wasn't just in my head… then maybe it meant something.
To find out, I decided to use the fact that I was Shiki's daughter.
And to "provisionally" accept his offer.
"I've said this already," I told him, "but I won't take part in looting civilians or anything like that. If my abilities can be useful like they were this time, I'll help within those limits. And this is the most important part—I'm absolutely not going to be your advertisement."
"I know," Shiki said. "I've heard it enough to get sick of it. Don't worry. Even if I wanted to do something like that, I couldn't for at least the next few years. This incident forced me to revise my plan, too… I'm going to take my time and build the next one."
I'd thrown terms at him that were almost insulting—conditions that could've been called disrespectful, coming from someone talking to a pirate boss.
But he accepted them surprisingly easily.
So that was it.
Starting today, I was "officially"—well, provisionally—part of the Golden Lion Pirates.
To be honest, I didn't feel any sense of belonging yet. I might decide pretty quickly, This isn't it, and leave.
But maybe… I might find it unexpectedly comfortable.
Maybe.
It was a workplace where my blood-related father existed, after all. For now, I'd treat it like visiting my dad's job. A tour.
In the Original Work, Ace saw Whitebeard as a target to kill at first. Even after being forced onto the ship, he kept trying to ambush him.
And yet, he eventually opened his heart, became a "son," and even reached the point where people said they wanted to make him Pirate King.
Life was like that. You never knew how it would turn, or how you'd come to feel about someone.
I didn't know how Shiki saw me right now. Maybe I was just useful talent. Maybe he really did see me as his "daughter."
Either way, it was something to watch, and figure out later.
"By the way… what should I call you?" I asked.
"Huh? Whatever you want," Shiki said. "Boss, Shiki-sama, Admiral… whatever. I'll tell the executives you're my daughter, but I don't plan to spread it widely for a while, so… maybe don't go calling me 'Father' in public."
"Well," Dr. Indigo added, "Miss isn't likely to show herself to the rank-and-file often, so while on this island, it wouldn't be a problem even if she did."
"Got it," I said. "So we'll decide what to call you in public based on the situation. And between us… as father and daughter… 'Pops'?"
Shiki's face twisted. "…That reminds me of Newgate. Feels like a cheap imitation. No."
So Pops was out.
Which… honestly, fine. For me, "Dad" was also out.
To me, "Dad" belonged to the man who raised me—Toto Kash.
Other options
"Father" felt too grand and stiff. Not my style.
"Father" in English sounded like mafia nonsense. And I felt like there was someone in the Original Work who got called something like that anyway.
"Dad" didn't feel much different.
…Alright. Then I might as well commit.
"…Then," I said, "Papa."
Shiki blinked.
Then, as if it hit him all at once, he exploded into laughter.
"Jihahahahahaha!! Papa?! Oh, I get it—Papa, for me! Damn it, that caught me off guard… That's hilarious. Fine. Call me that. Starting today, I'm your Papa!"
"Ah," I said, a little awkwardly, "yeah… maybe just for a while, but… nice to meet you, Papa."
To be continued...