Luffy

Time flew by and it was already evening.

The banquet was held at Arlong Park.

A bonfire was lit in Cocoyasi Village, illuminating the entire park. Villagers gathered, singing and dancing, with countless food and drinks spread out.

As the great hero, Enel sat by the bonfire, accepting toasts from everyone. His face was almost frozen from smiling all day.

But he couldn't suppress his joy. Compared to fear, genuine respect from the bottom of one's heart was what a God truly desired!

Cifer sat alone in a corner, slowly drinking and eating meat. He enjoyed seeing such lively scenes but didn't particularly like being part of them.

As for the original protagonist group and the others, they naturally blended into the banquet, being quite sociable.

Luffy and Usopp were making funny faces with chopsticks while eating, and bursts of laughter could be heard from the crowd.

Zoro was initially quietly enjoying his drink when Tashigi recognized the Wado Ichimonji at his waist and pressed him about its origin.

When he saw a woman who looked remarkably like Kuina pestering him with questions, he couldn't stand it and disappeared to some unknown corner.

Sanji, meanwhile, was mingling with the chefs, helping to cook while learning the strengths of cooking from different regions.

"Brrr-brrr~ Brrr-brrr~"

The Den Den Mushi in his pocket rang at an inopportune moment. Cifer picked it up and listened.

"Dr. Vegapunk has agreed to your request, but he can't guarantee its success."

Kuma's gentle voice came from the other end.

"It's fine. Things like this aren't that simple to accomplish. All I want is for him to try and make it!"

Things that didn't appear in the original story were rare and unpredictable. No one could guarantee whether this genius scientist could actually research it.

Cifer wouldn't doubt if he would try.

One good thing about this world was that most people of note valued benevolence, righteousness, and integrity. This was something Cifer really liked.

"Bonney seems to have already entered the Grand Line. Please take care of her from now on... and if possible, please don't interfere with her life."

There was a pause before the latter half of the sentence was spoken.

As an incompetent "father," he couldn't be by Bonney's side, but he still hoped that the path Bonney took from now on would be her own choice.

He hoped she would move forward as a strong girl in the direction she desired, without anyone interfering, not even himself.

"..."

Cifer was speechless. After all, his plan was to bring Bonney onto his ship, and now Kuma was asking him not to interfere with her life.

This clearly conflicted with his intentions. Kuma might not know, but Cifer, with his God-like perspective, was well aware that Bonney's departure at sea wasn't for the pursuit of boring treasure.

In a sense, what she was seeking was her own unique One Piece.

Everything Kuma had done had already gone against what Bonney was pursuing. However, Kuma's body research was nearing its end.

With just a few words from himself, he couldn't make this man betray the World Government. The transaction made in exchange for Bonney's life was something he couldn't go back on.

If only I had transmigrated earlier!

Cifer had this thought for the first time. Unfortunately, everything was set in stone. He could only take Kuma with him in the future, while he still had a sliver of memory.

"Your strange Devil Fruit ability should be able to extract your own memories, right!"

It was Kuma's turn to fall silent. He hadn't expected Cifer to think of that. After receiving an affirmative answer, the two made a plan.

Even as he hung up the Den Den Mushi, Cifer hadn't explicitly answered Kuma's question. Perhaps, in his mind, this was already a clear enough answer.

Cifer didn't intend to interfere with her life, provided she knew what had truly happened.

Then, it would be up to her to decide whether to continue playing the pirate make-believe game or to follow him.

"Are all the Shichibukai as powerful as Hawk Eyes?" a figure leaned against Cifer and sat down beside him. The conspicuous green hair identified the newcomer.

"The strength of the seven Shichibukai naturally varies. The injuries on your body must be from Hawk Eyes. I encountered him at sea."

Cifer hadn't expected Zoro, the former pirate hunter, to come and chat with him.

"It was him. I will surpass him one day!"

Zoro gently touched the bandage on his chest. Wounds on his back were a swordsman's shame, while wounds on his front were glory.

"With your current strength, you wouldn't be able to handle even one of the current Shichibukai."

Cifer considered Crocodile's defeat in the original plot as not a true display of strength, although he didn't take Crocodile seriously at all.

"You still need to become much stronger. If you want to reach the level of myself and Hawk Eyes, you should at least wait until your Bounty reaches 3 billion."

This figure stunned Zoro into silence. As far as he knew, none of the Shichibukai had a Bounty that high.

But he didn't believe the "butcher" before him would speak without reason. This meant their strength was far beyond the terrifying level represented by their Bounties before becoming Shichibukai.

"What a long road ahead..."

He downed a pot of hot sake, then fell silent.

The night passed until dawn.

Cifer and his two companions decided to leave, while the Straw Hat Pirates, for some reason, chose to stay one more day.

"What a shame, I still wanted to have a fight with you, Cifer!"

Luffy, laughing heartily, had no idea what kind of monster the person in front of him was. A newborn calf fears no tiger, as the saying goes.

"Monkey D. Luffy! I'll let you off the hook this time. Next time we meet in the Grand Line, I hope your strength is as formidable as your mouth."

"On this sea, small fry like you can't even reach the threshold to meet me. Keep working hard."

Smooth sailing was not a good thing for them. When a confident mouse meets a ferocious tiger, there is only one outcome.

Cifer didn't mind giving them a painful lesson at the end of Paradise after some time.

"Heehee, I'm going to be the Pirate King!" Luffy, without a care in the world, ignored Cifer's warning and kept smiling.

"Strange, why do I always feel like punching this guy?"

Enel looked bewildered. He had never met the other person before, but the moment they met, he felt like the guy's face was just asking for a beating.

"Let's go!"

Cifer patted Enel, who was lost in thought. The three of them boarded the ship, and amidst the grateful gazes of the people of Cocoyasi Village, the Little Ul set sail.

"Those people seem to be pirates too. Mr. Cifer, aren't you going to deal with them?"

D tashigi felt that the Straw Hat Pirates didn't seem like bad people, but she was very curious why Cifer didn't make a move against them.

This man never seemed to show mercy to pirates.

"Haven't you seen a lot on this journey?" Cifer took off his shirt, put on a pair of sunglasses, and lay on a deck chair on the deck, basking in the sun.

"This world is divided into black and white, and there has always been white mixed with black, and black mixed with white."

"If you want to uphold the justice in your heart, this path is still long!"

D tashigi remembered what Captain Nezumi had done. Justice and evil didn't seem to be determined by a simple identity.

Good and evil are in the hands of people.

"Mr. Cifer, please teach me how to become stronger!"

She walked up to Cifer and bowed nearly 90 degrees.

"Huh?"

Cifer, under his sunglasses, was utterly confused.

"If you want to become stronger, find someone in Marineford. I won't teach anyone."

He refused without hesitation.

His own strength was innate; he had no idea how to systematically teach someone to become stronger.

Just Enel still hadn't grasped the knack of Armament Haki was enough to give him a headache, and he was even considering finding someone who truly understood to teach him.

"Besides, I'm a pirate. You, a dignified Marine, want to learn from me?"

Cifer teased. If she hadn't met him, D tashigi's view of pirates would have been that they should all be arrested, let alone ask for his guidance.

"I no longer judge good and evil based on their affiliations!" D tashigi's small face flushed red, but she answered with her head held high.

Seeing that she was no longer lost, he figured she had found the true justice in her heart.

"I'm hungry, go make food."

"Yes!"