This One Is Real

Where is the truth?

Lin Qi didn't look at the Death Page; his gaze fell on the Unanswered sentence.

The Black Line went around the corner of the paper, and it was written again.

[Records show it truly exists]

Nami pressed the paper under the map, leaving only the thinner layer of black paper showing.

"Existence does not equate to correctness. You've just learned to speak; first, distinguish between these two meanings."

Unanswered, it moved closer to the edge of the table.

I got off it.

"You came out of the Black Gate."

[First in paper]

Zero propped himself up on the edge of the stretcher and sat up, and the medical staff from Kuja immediately pressed down on his shoulders.

"Don't move, the residual tubes on your body haven't been completely removed yet."

"Let it write."

Boa Hancock spoke from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"If I find any records of children's activities, I will throw you back into the sea."

Zero withdrew his hand and looked at the black paper.

"When the Death Page was delivered to the Old Ship, there was indeed an unfinished record on the back, which I initially thought was just a stain."

Lin Qi asked, "When was it delivered?"

"Nine days before the shipwreck."

"Twenty-two years ago?"

"Right."

Nami pressed the map down an inch.

"Lin Qi hadn't even arrived here twenty-two years ago, so how did this piece of paper end up on the ship?"

Mo'er sat on the edge of the deck, and A Hui was re-bandaging his back injury.

"The Total Echo will send back the sounds of the future, and paper may also leave a record along the Echo."

Can you send a complete sheet of paper?

"No, at most you can leave a trace."

Vegapunk took the projection of the Death Page and superimposed the black paper on the White Ship's name wall.

"The paper dates back twenty-two years, but the ink marks are from two different periods: the four characters for 'death' were written earlier, and the two characters for 'Lin Qi' were written later."

Lin Qi tapped the corner of the table.

"Is it finished?"

"Latest."

"After I opened the Black File?"

"It still needs to be verified."

The Throne Page emerges from the back of the paper.

[The source of the death record has been confirmed]

[Please have existing Lin Qi records the original world's manner of death.]

Nami took the pen from Lin Qi's hand.

"It's asking for details again."

Garp's voice squeezed in.

"Let that piece of paper tell the story itself. Why should the deceased have to specify the manner of death? Whose rule is that?"

Akainu flipped through the Navy's old files.

"The World Government's records of remains also require a cause of death; if it cannot be verified, it should be left blank."

You guys used to take plenty of supplements.

"Buggy, you want to talk about the Impel Down archives forgery?"

"I'm just giving you a heads-up, don't come after me."

Lin Qi looked at the person Unanswered.

"When you got off this piece of paper, what did you write?"

The Black Line was not drawn.

Write as much as you can; no one will fill in the gaps for you.

Unanswered, he retreated from the table to the Death Page, the thread brushing against the back of the black paper.

A line of words, previously covered in ink, emerged.

Would you be willing to answer for them?

Mo'er looked up.

"The first takeover question in the Black File."

I remember the sound, but I didn't see the question.

After Lin Qi finished speaking, the words on the black paper became even brighter.

Nami immediately reminded her.

"Don't continue reminiscing."

"I only confirmed what I saw; I didn't answer for it."

The Unanswered was written below the question.

[No]

Only half of the word appeared before the thread slid off the paper.

Lin Qi reached out and held the Blank page beside him without touching it.

"You didn't finish writing it back then?"

[He didn't finish writing]

"Who?"

The Unanswered pointed to Lin Qi.

The voices from the deck communications decreased.

Makino picked up the old ledger from the Tavern and turned to the first day Lin Qi arrived in Foosha Village.

Do you remember what happened after you opened the file?

"I heard a lot of people talking, and I couldn't turn off the computer. Later, I woke up on the road behind the Tavern."

What about in the middle?

"I don't remember."

"You mentioned earlier that the glass you used to have a chipped piece; do you remember that?"

"Only a few details of the room remain; the middle section is missing."

Vegapunk turned the Death Page into the light.

"The Unanswered might be due to Lin Qi's inability to complete his expression at the time; the Black File removed the beginning of his response."

Nami asked, "Why did the word 'no' become a separate record?"

"It's been left between the takeover page and the Death Page, and for twenty-two years, every time the Throne removes a fourth option, it's been receiving the rejected one."

Unanswered, he drew a long line along the desktop.

The line splits into many short gaps, with erased words remaining next to each gap.

[No handover]

[Refuse to Receipt]

[No answer provided]

[No takeover]

Lin Qi looked at it for a moment.

You say this one is real because you remember starting from here.

[Right]

"Then can you prove I'm dead?"

The Unanswered is placed next to the words "completed".

It's finished.

"What was accomplished?"

[Take it]

"Take me away?"

[Take the answer]

Zero pointed to the edge of the black paper.

"When the Old Ship received this record, the 'completed' status hadn't appeared yet; those three words were added later by the takeover system."

When was it repaired?

"Black Gate just pulled the mixed memories back to when Lin Qi was..."

Nami immediately folded the map to cover up what was already done.

"Then it completed the handover just now."

"The timing doesn't match."

Robin separated the two layers of ink.

"The record status doesn't specify the completion target. The Throne can record 'the answer was taken' as 'death completion,' or it can record the previous identity transfer."

Lin Qi took a new sheet of paper.

[Can the "completed" status in the death record prove that Lin Qi's life ended?]

The Throne offers three answers.

[A: Yes, records can be higher than the current situation]

[B: Yes, time travel is considered a continuation of death]

[C: Yes, it will take effect after the existing Lin Qi records the cause of death.]

Buggy cursed into the Den Den Mushi.

"Why do all three options lead to his death?"

That's why there's a fourth line.

Lin Qi added the content at the bottom.

[D: No, the existence of a record only proves that the record was created; the fact of death needs to be independently verified. Any silence or incomplete expression cannot be converted into consent.]

Unanswered, a dot of black ink was placed on the fourth line.

Makino then chose D.

With confirmations of Dragon and Akainu appearing one after another, Buggy stamped his pirate witness seal before Garp could seize the Navy Seat.

The "completed" section on the Death Page has begun to fade.

The Throne issued another prompt.

[If the death is denied, the undelivered response will be returned to the original sender.]

Unanswered, he left the paper and walked around to Lin Qi's feet.

Nami blocked it.

What will happen after it's returned?

I will be gone.

Lin Qi placed the Blank name page between the two of them.

Do you want to go back?

[No]

"I've finished writing this."

The Unanswered "no" remained on the paper and was not removed from the black page.

A new column appears below the death record.

[The undelivered expression has become an independent entity]

[No forced refunds allowed]

Unanswered, rolled up his Blank name page, and retreated to the corner of the table.

The Death Page did not disappear.

After the words "completed" faded away, an earlier record was revealed below.

[Life End Time: Seven minutes after the black file is opened]

Nami took out the old watch that Lin Qi had worn when he first arrived in Foosha Village.

"You woke up by the roadside seven minutes before the Black File was opened."