Night had fallen.
Within the stone fortress atop the high plateau, the air was rich with the scent of roasted meat, an assortment of pastries, and rare vegetables.
The few remaining survivors of the Canaan Kingdom had, in just two days, experienced two celebrations, a rare outpouring of joy in their long, harsh lives.
The delight of the evening slowly dispelled years of accumulated fear, until the taste of the sumptuous food touched their tongues.
Only when their taste buds brimmed with happiness did they realize that the past few days had not been a beautiful dream.
Yet Louis paid little attention to the festivities.
His focus remained fixed on Red-Haired Shanks, who sat beside him, his thoughts lost in reflection.
Next to Louis sat a young man, a toothpick perpetually between his lips, his medium-length black hair tied into a ponytail. Nearby, a little girl in a yellow dress with dual-colored hair observed quietly.
They were, in time, to become the Devil Fruit user "Uta" and the young singer who would pull 70% of the world's population into a fantastical world.
As Louis pondered, he noticed a pair of curious eyes fixated on the wings sprouting from his back.
He turned to meet a gaze of vivid purple.
Realizing his secret had been discovered, the red-haired singer stepped forward boldly, pointing at the snow-white wings.
"Louis, are those wings just decoration?"
"Where did you get them? Do they come in black and white too?"
Louis raised an eyebrow, then, under Uta's attentive gaze, unfurled one of his wings. The firelight glinted off the neat, full feathers.
"They're real?" Uta's eyes sparkled with a new light, undiminished by the sight before her.
She wanted to reach out, tempted to touch them, but impeccable manners restrained her impulse.
Beside him, Beckman studied Louis's wings with a thoughtful expression.
Shanks noticed the unfolding scene and smiled. Then, he patted Louis on the shoulder, cheerful: "Little Louis, how's Akainu doing?"
Louis paused. Shanks clearly knew about his lineage, and he had roughly deduced their connection.
With a sigh, Louis nodded: "He's doing well. He's already the strongest in the tribe."
Hearing this, Shanks's smile deepened, pleased to hear news of his friend.
Louis then took out a life card with names written on it, turning it toward Shanks: "Was it you who visited Bal all those years ago?"
Shanks froze at the sight of the card, then broke into a radiant smile.
"Mora's Wivfka…"
The image of the uncle now bearing the captain's responsibility, Roger, surfaced in Shanks's mind.
He looked up at Louis, laughing: "That's right. I went to Bal with the captain. Back then, Roger and his crew had contact with you, and we made quite a few friends."
Louis felt a wave of disbelief. His people had never mentioned Roger's name over all these years.
When Louis had received the life card, he had assumed a powerful unknown figure had visited Bal.
Who the hell knew Mr. Morora was… Roger!
In fan-made stories Louis had read, no one mentioned that name. He had no idea he had been associated with Roger's crew.
"You're wings, your hair, your skin… at first, I didn't recognize you because there was no flame on your back," Shanks said, pointing at Louis's clothes.
"But soon, I noticed your toga. That's the preferred attire of the Skypieans from Bal Island."
The Bal branch of the Skypieans was remote, even other Skypieans barely knew of them. Their clothing style was unique, unmatched by any other.
Louis fell silent.
Shanks's lips curved into a smile: "It's the first time I've seen someone from your tribe wear this kind of clothing."
"My mother is from Bal, so I don't mind this style," Louis replied.
"I see… no wonder you're different! I thought you dyed your hair!" Shanks suddenly realized he had assumed Louis had colored his hair to hide his identity.
Louis gave him a glance, his wariness turning into speechlessness.
Beckman and Uta were equally stunned. They had not expected to encounter two people connected to Shanks during this outing.
"Little Louis, is Akainu as strong as I am now?" Shanks asked, his tone unexpectedly intimate.
Beckman shook his head, thinking Shanks was hopeless for asking a child such a question. How could he possibly understand Shanks's true power?
"You're a bit stronger than me," Louis replied after thinking.
Beckman stayed silent.
Shanks laughed, his face creasing with joy, and Uta rolled her eyes.
Shanks went on to explain that even when he fought alongside another friend in his youth, they could not defeat the person he referred to.
He did not blame the Moon People's flight abilities or their fire for making them unbeatable; he simply admitted defeat.
"He said back then that if I could defeat him, he'd consider joining my crew."
"Beckman, soon we'll have another powerful ally!"
Louis raised an eyebrow at this, the meaning clear: "Is that so? Then you'd better find him quickly."
Although Louis was born on Skypiea, he had already shaped the world in ways only he could finding Skypiea, obtaining Devil Fruits, and more.
Shanks sensed something off at these words and instinctively wanted to question it.
But then, an unexpected event occurred.
A piercing wail echoed suddenly, drawing everyone's attention.
Louis's pupils contracted. His hand shot toward the spear on his back, and his Observation Haki locked onto the source of the anomaly.
His expression turned grave.
The Red-Haired Pirates immediately went on alert. Yelena's face paled, and she instinctively ran toward the source of the disturbance.
Then came a second, a third wail, followed by many more.
Louis narrowed his eyes, faint points of light appearing across his body.
A soft golden glow blossomed, spreading rapidly, enveloping everything around.
Tiny motes descended like snowflakes, merging with the writhing forms on the ground. A warm life force surged, flowing into the abnormal zone Louis sensed: the victims' abdomens.
But soon, his brow furrowed. He whispered: "Poisoned."
It was a deadly toxin. An unknown, lethal poison was afflicting the stomachs of over a dozen people, and Louis's abilities could barely sustain their lives.
After all, he had dropped out of prenatal education and knew nothing of medicine. Beyond external injuries, he could hardly address disease.
Shanks arrived before Yelena but the smile had vanished from his face, replaced by a grim, chilling expression.
Upon hearing Louis's assessment, Shanks did not doubt him. Instead, he urged his companions: "Honggu!!"