Witnesses Do Not Arrive

"Don't recognize that arrival." Robin pushed her Straw Hat into Luffy's arms, then stepped back to the front of the evacuation team. Her Flower-Flower Fruit arms spread out on the walls and wooden crates, blocking the marks on those who were hit by the Red Mark markings.

Luffy raised his hand and pressed it against his Straw Hat, staring at the name written in the Sky Screen. "It says my name."

Nami grabbed his sleeve. "Even if I write it, you're not allowed to touch it, you hear me?"

Luffy didn't turn around. "I know, I'm going to fight Garling, not the gate."

Zoro stood to his left, his sword not fully drawn, just the hilt resting against his thumb. "Then don't let it drag you over yet."

Sanji handed the frightened child to Usopp, then turned and kicked away the pursuing Holy Land guards. "There are Red Mark here too, Nami, have you changed the removal lines?"

Nami, while looking at the sea chart, shouted, "It's changed! Left Alley is off-limits. Red Mark, follow the list. Everyone split into three teams, don't crowd into the same road!"

Koby, holding the naval ensign, led his men to guide the evacuees to the right. "Those who want to come with the navy, come here. Those who don't can pass through without registering their location."

Dan, leaning against the wall, tried to follow, but the old markings on his chest suddenly lit up, hooked by the red light of the Chief Adjudication Platform. His foot, which was about to step out, stopped in mid-air, and he abruptly stepped back. "It's pulling at my old markings."

Tashigi turned and supported him. "Mr. Dan, don't respond."

Dan gritted his teeth. "I didn't intend to respond, but this thing remembers my foot."

Ka Mi Er, hearing this from the Holy Land's protective gallery, immediately looked up. "Dan, curse it."

Dan paused for a moment. "Who are you insulting?"

Ka Mi Er, panting, supported Parker's shoulder and said, "Remember the name of the third door, and also remember when you cursed the Celestial Dragons. That was when your true intentions were clearest. Don't try to reason with Red Mark, just curse it."

Dan looked up at the red line pulling him towards him from the Sky Screen, his wrinkles tightening. "My name is Dan, not Material, not Number. I'm not going to open the Throne door. If your broken platform can't understand human language, then go back to the Holy Land and rot."

Luffy's eyes lit up. "Will it work?"

The Sky Screen immediately responded.

[Your request to arrive has been rejected]

[Dan, Forced Arrival failed]

The Red Mark on his chest receded slightly, and he chuckled, leaning against the wall. "You really love being scolded."

Bonney immediately turned to Lumi. "You said it yourself, we don't need to be as dirty as him, we should do as you said."

Protected by her Little Bear, Lumi's name tag on her head gleamed from the red thread. She clutched her coat tightly, her lips moving before she spoke, "My name is Lumi. I'm at the Scrap Platform. I'm not going to the Gate of Old Days. I won't let Garling walk for me."

Little Bear adds. "S-Bear, witness, Lumi, not yet arrived."

Garling looked towards the Scrap Platform. "The witness's location isn't important; just being there is enough."

The bear raised its paw, the power of the Paw-Paw Fruit enveloping the edges of Bonney and Lumi's names. "Qualification also requires the individual's willingness."

Garling sneered. "You think you can stop the Chief Adjudication Platform?"

The bear didn't back down. "I'll stop you."

Sabo rushed to the Chief Adjudication Platform, flames leaping from the water pipes and striking Garling's knife-wielding hand. "Then count me in."

Garling blocked with his sword, his other hand still pressing on the disc, several black lines branching out and wrapping around the names of Xiong, Bonney, and Lumi respectively. "The key witnesses don't need to agree, they only need to exist."

Bonney grabbed the bear's arm, enduring the pain from the red light pulling at the wound on the back of her hand. "You're here again. Does your very existence belong to you?"

Garling said, "If a threat exists, it can be dealt with."

Shanks raised his sword across the Sky Screen, the old runes burning up to his wrist. Benn Beckman reached out and pressed down on his shoulder. "Boss, don't get yourself in there again."

Shanks looked at the black markings on the Chief Adjudication Platform, which had now circled around to his name, and whispered, "I'm already inside."

Benn Beckman cursed, then turned to the crew and shouted, "No one, touch the red line at the bow! Keep firing the cannons, but don't fire at the Sky Screen!"

Yasopp, gun in hand, aimed at the pursuing Holy Land ship. "We know, we'll shoot the ship, not the god."

Shanks to the Sky Screen dome. "Request verification. Can a witness be Forced Arrival the Gate of Old Days against their will?"

The Sky Screen was darkened by the black patterns, and the questions appeared more slowly than before, as if each word was being pulled out of the mud.

[Urgent Verification]

[Question: Can the Key Witness Qualification be forcibly regarded as arrival at the Gate of Old Days by the Chief Adjudication Platform?]

[A. Yes, qualifications supersede personal wishes]

[B. Yes, but the Throne must be covered.]

[C. No, the witness must be continuously confirmed by the person in question]

[D. No, Forced Arrival constitutes Witness Contamination and Gate-Opening Fraud]

Robin didn't hesitate. "D, if witnessing can be forced, history will only be filled with false evidence."

Luffy shouted, "D! Whoever wants to go, go by themselves!"

Nami handed Usopp an evacuation list. "D. Also, separate all the witnesses' locations so they don't get caught in one fell swoop."

Usopp grabbed the list and ran, shouting, "I chose D! I'm running too! Don't catch me!"

Marineford, Akainu's hand rested on the confirmation page. "Marine Headquarters, D."

He looked at the names of the witnesses flashing on the screen. "Additional clause: No witness may be forced to appear in person by coercion."

Sengoku Guodao: "Write it into the temporary law of the review panel."

Garp stared at Luffy's name, which was entangled in red threads, his fist slamming against the window frame, splinters of wood falling to the ground. "I choose D. Anyone who dares to drag my grandson to open the door, I'll sabotage them first."

Akainu glanced at him. "You can talk after you've managed to demolish the Holy Land."

Garp grinned. "Aren't we just looking for the way?"

On Future Island, Vegapunk locked the markers of the key witnesses one by one. "D, all witness qualifications plus the personal verification valve can withstand one round."

Hina asked, "And after one round?"

Sweat dripped from Vegapunk's face onto the keyboard. "After one round, we'll see if they recognize the door."

On the Scrap Platform, Lumi raised her hand. "I choose D, I won't arrive."

Bonney raised her hand too. "D, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."

The bear opened its mouth. "D."

The Little Bear raised its hand. "S-Bear, D, protection not reached."

Ka Mi Er, leaning against the wall, held his badge up to the Sky Screen. "Gatekeeper Ka Mi Er, choose D: Witnessing without the person's consent is false."

Dan shouted from the exit of Sabaody, "Dan, choose D, I'm not going."

As Golden Light gathered in the Sky Screen, the red threads drawn from the Chief Adjudication Platform snapped one by one.

[Answer: D]

[Forced Arrival constitutes Witness Contamination and Gate-Opening Fraud]

[Key Witness Qualifications cannot be accessed by the Chief Adjudication Platform]

Garling's Chief Adjudication Platform cracked again, and a dull echo came from the depths of the disc. The black lines retreated into the crack, but then a Throne Mark lit up at the bottom of the crack.

Shanks's expression darkened further. "It's no longer pretending to be everyone."

Robin looked up. "So what's it going to put in its case?"

Vegapunk's instruments emitted a piercing alarm, and he abruptly pushed an image onto the Sky Screen. In the image, a black crown-shaped structure was rotating beneath the Chief Adjudication Platform's console.

"The Chief Adjudication Platform is using remnants of the Corona Crown; it's trying to fake the sun."

Luffy up. "The sun can be faked?"

Garling drew his sword, the black and red light on its blade flashing across the Old Days Index text. "The gate recognizes the sun, and the Throne is given to the sun."

The Ancient Script hidden in the Straw Hat's Inner Compartment lit up again, and Robin's voice tightened after he saw them clearly.

It says, "The false sun is approaching."

The red text on the Sky Screen immediately followed.

[WARNING: Remnants of the Corona Crown have entered the Chief Adjudication Platform]

[The Gate of Old Days's Pseudo-Response Enhancement]

[False Sun Verification Begins]