"Welco back, Sue-chan! You made it!"
"It's been a while, Auntie. Have you been well since then?"
This was a certain village inside Shiki's territory—Sky Island.
Or rather, it was the very sa village I happened to visit when I first ca to rveille, the place where I'd heard the news that Shiki ruled these floating islands in the first place.
And here I was now, eting the auntie who'd told everything back then.
The mont she saw , her face lit up—joy and relief blending together as she welcod .
"Yeah, we're fine… No problems, living in peace. Honestly, better than we used to. But you—are you okay, Sue-chan? That Shiki bastard hasn't done anything cruel to you, hasn't worked you to the bone or anything, has he?"
"Ahahaha… It's fine, Auntie. It's really not like that… I do help out here and there, sure, but it's nothing serious. Besides, I'm Shiki's daughter. There's no need to worry about like that."
"I hope so… We've been worried, Sue-chan. Worried sick. Shiki took you to save us, didn't he? And then we heard you joined his pirate crew in exchange for getting the young workers in the village released… When I think you might've sacrificed yourself for us…"
'…Papa, seriously. Honestly…'
Alright, then. I might as well explain what happened after that—and what the village's situation is now.
Like you already know, this village was forced—half against its will—into Shiki's territory, and it suffered under his oppressive rule.
And to begin with, this used to be a normal island in the Blue Sea… until about twenty years ago, when Shiki suddenly turned it into a "Sky Island."
That alone must've been more than just a shock. But then he went further—taking away the village's young n and won in the pri of their lives as laborers, leaving behind only little children and the middle-aged and older islanders.
Even so, everyone worked together sohow, scraping by and living hand to mouth… that was the situation.
Then I showed up, and Shiki took away… but the real issue was what ca after.
After that incident—after I started calling Shiki "Papa."
Papa apparently used the opportunity of reworking so plan he's pushing forward to… change course on how he governed this village, too.
As part of that shift, he released the young n and won he'd kept close and made work.
And he even said, from now on, unless sothing truly drastic happened, he wouldn't harm them. That they should live however they pleased…
By "truly drastic," he ant things like the villagers turning their fangs on him of their own accord—so as long as they lived normally, there was no reason they'd ever brush up against that condition.
But Shiki—the one who'd been tornting them—suddenly helping them, freeing them… of course plenty of people suspected there had to be a catch.
They doubted he'd really return their people. And even after the young workers actually ca back, they still feared so outrageous demand would be shoved down their throats later.
In reality, Papa had simply shifted policies and reorganized personnel. Even as labor, those people had been in an awkward, half-useful position… so he'd cast them out. Like layoffs. There was no hidden agenda at all.
But Papa—of course—just couldn't leave it there. He made up a story so convincing it practically forced the villagers to accept it.
That Sue—the girl he'd taken from this village—was his biological daughter, separated from him long ago.
And that I would return to Shiki's side and cooperate with him, on the condition that from that point onward he would never do anything to make the village suffer again.
He said he accepted those terms. And that as the price of that deal, the villagers were being freed.
In other words…
I had sacrificed myself to save the village.
What an awful story. These people are kind—if you told them sothing like that, they'd be crushed under the weight of guilt.
Sure, it was persuasive enough that they could believe they'd be safe from now on… but it also ant they'd believe their safety ca at the cost of .
'…Well. It's not completely wrong, I guess. In a way. About half.'
I had, in my own vague way, asked Papa to treat the village kindly—told him it was pitiful, that they didn't deserve it… And he probably thought, 'Eh, either way. Might as well let them go.'
But Papa deliberately twisted the balance between "my request" and "the village's freedom" when he explained it, creating sothing that wasn't really the truth.
And the result was the way this auntie was worrying over now.
She's cald down a lot, but when I stopped by briefly before—just to check on things—the entire village greeted in tears. I panicked.
They treated like so "human offering," a girl who'd thrown herself away as a sacrifice. I didn't just get startled—I got put off. And sohow I ended up feeling guilty, too.
Seriously… the people here are so kind. For soone like —basically a stranger they talked to for maybe a few tens of minutes—they're this earnest, this warm.
Well. Leaving all that background aside…
"Anyway… is Leona around? I heard she's been playing around here a lot lately."
"Ah, Lady Leona? At this ti of day, she's probably over in those hills. You'll know it when you see it."
☆☆☆
I went where she told to… and—yep. There she was.
A grassy adow, soft and spring-warm, the kind of weather that makes your eyelids heavy.
Right in the middle of it all were rveille's famous local specialty—rare beasts of every kind, gathered together across species boundaries… sunbathing, or more like napping.
And at the center…
I spotted a girl who looked about middle-school age, sleeping soundly with her head nestled against the belly of a huge lion like it was her bed.
Her fluffy gray hair was distinctive, and her face looked so peaceful it almost made my chest loosen.
But when I walked closer—still about a hundred ters away—she twitched, then sprang up in one smooth motion.
She sniffed the air, like she was tracking a scent, then looked straight at —
"Ah—Mom! It's you! Been forever!"
"It hasn't been forever, Leona. It's only been about a month."
"A month without seeing your own mom is totally 'forever'!"
She grinned so wide it looked like it might split her face, then tore across the hundred ters in a blink and launched herself at .
Whoa—!
Her charge has more power than last ti… and she's a little heavier, too. Not in a bad way. Not weight—growth. Healthy, proper growth.
Leona clung to like a cat, rubbing—no, grinding—her head against over and over.
"There, there… Were you being good? Sorry. This ti I ended up gone a bit longer."
When I stroked her head, she lted into a soft, happy smile.
Honestly, she's still adorable. It's unfair.
It's been months now, since we—aning and my three 'daughters'—formally built our relationship as a family.
If they were going to be my daughters, I thought they needed to et Papa properly and explain it to him. So I brought them to rveille to say hello… and, surprisingly, Papa accepted it without making a fuss.
More than that, he told them they could live here if they wanted, and that he'd have his subordinates look after them.
According to Papa, if they had the physical strength and ntal toughness to keep up with my voyages at that age, and all three were Devil Fruit users who could already handle their abilities pretty well, then they were excellent talent.
I didn't disagree. Even back then, all three of them were already strong.
That said, I made it clear that unlike , I had no intention of making the girls do "Golden Lion Pirates" work. I planned to respect what they wanted.
And Papa's response was, "For now, that's fine."
So Leona and the others were accepted quickly.
Even among the executives who already knew about , the girls ca to be treated as "the young lady's daughters" and "the Grand Boss's granddaughters."
I'd worried they might get underestimated or looked down on like I had… but that worry turned out to be pointless.
If anything, I got the feeling people were muttering, "She picked sothing up again…" or "She's brought in talent before, but adopting kids is a first… I'm honestly shocked."
Like I was so troubleso kid who keeps dragging ho abandoned dogs and cats.
So Leona and the others started living in rveille… though at first, they mostly moved with , so we kept repeating the cycle of leaving and coming back.
But it stopped being the four of us, always together, all the ti.
Sotis my interviews took sowhere it was still too dangerous to bring them. Other tis, for one reason or another, I had to move alone—or with Honey, or with the three fishman sisters as my companions.
When that happened, Leona and the others had to stay behind. Here.
And on top of that, they were curious about this new place they could call "ho," and it didn't seem like they hated staying here.
They were disappointed they couldn't co with , sure… but living here was fun in its own way.
Besides—this place has all kinds of animals, and Papa and his subordinates are around… which makes it a perfect training ground for the three of them.
I ntioned it earlier, but all three are ability users, and for early teens, their strength is outrageous.
Even so, judged by Grand Line standards… I can only say they're still weak.
Against ordinary nobodies, they can dominate. But once you're talking about nad pirates with bounties in the tens of millions, I can't help feeling uneasy.
'…And yeah, I know. Expecting that level of combat power from girls their age is kind of insane.'
But if they want to accompany , they'll need it. No way around it.
Besides, when I was fourteen, I was already bounty hunting and taking down targets worth around forty million.
Anyway—being strong doesn't hurt you, and it doesn't cost you anything. So while they're on this island, the three of them train with intention.
Especially when I'm away and it's just the kids holding down the fort. Apparently Papa even spars with them sotis—partly to cure his own lack of exercise. I've heard they've been improving fast.
Of course, none of them can use Haki yet… but honestly, that's only natural.
Haki is supposed to be drawn out through long-term training, and even among adult pirates, only a handful can use it.
In my case, I was the exception. I'd been forced awake—dragged into it—by nearly dying at sea, so I could already use it back when I was fourteen.
Normally, you build your basics first. Only after you've mastered the fundantals do you reach for Haki.
If I had to guess, Leona and the others won't be able to use it until their late teens at the earliest… and even then, that would still be fast.
Even so, with Papa and the crew acting as instructors, they're growing steadily—so in every sense, I'm looking forward to the future my daughters are heading toward.
After that, I decided to rest and sunbathe with Leona.
When I appeared out of nowhere—an unfamiliar face—the rare beasts around us shifted, wary and guarded. But once Leona told them, "She's my mom," they quieted imdiately.
Leona's good at getting along with animals.
Among the island's rare beasts… the smart, prominent ones are basically all her friends—or maybe it's more like she's sitting on top of them as so kind of boss.
"Haa… Mom's sll… I missed it. It makes feel safe."
"Hey. Don't sniff people. You're not Alice."
"Alice can do it?"
"No. She's just… given up on a lot of things."
"Ah. Okay."
The gentle sunlight felt so good.
I almost wanted to fall asleep like this… but I should move soon.
I'd finally co back, and there were still other 'daughters' I needed to see.
"Hey, Leona. Do you know where Suzu and Alice are?"
"Hmm… Suzu's on the island two over from here. Unlike this one, there are barely any animals… and there's only one house, so you'll know it right away. She's probably there. Alice is… I think she's out right now. She'll be back at night, though."
"I got Suzu, but… out? What do you an?"
'Alice is leaving rveille?'
This is Sky Island. If she's going in and out, she'd need help from soone who can fly—or soone who can make her fly—like Papa or . Otherwise, she shouldn't even be able to co and go.
When I asked, Leona shrugged.
"I don't really know the details, but lately she's been getting permission from Gramps and going around to different places. One of Gramps' trusted subordinates goes with her as a guard, so I think it's fine. If you wait, she'll probably co back by evening or night. It's usually just day trips."
"Is that so…? If you say so."
Then I'll leave Alice for later.
Next… I'll go see Suzu.
If I rember right, it's another Sky Island—the one with only a single house.
…Maybe I'll nap a little more first, then go.
To be continued...
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