Memory Flaws, Undercurrents Rising

On the Thousand Sunny

"I said, everyone—"

Usopp walked around the deck and clapped his hands. The silence of everyone was completely out of character for the Straw Hat crew.

"Why are you all wearing such long faces? Luffy has become the King of the Pirates, and we are his King of the Pirates now! Everyone, cheer up..."

"Alright, Usopp."

Zoro, leaning against the ship's railing, opened one eye and watched the long-nosed sniper pacing back and forth, trying to liven things up.

"Aren't you the same? You're usually the most pessimistic one, we don't need you to comfort us."

·······

"Seriously, this is a rare and great victory."

Nami rubbed her forehead as she emerged from the cabin, drawing everyone's attention on the deck.

"Nami, are you alright? Why don't you rest a little longer—"

"It doesn't matter,"

Nami, her eyes red, forced herself to stay awake.

"I'm the navigator of this ship, I don't have time for leisurely rest. Otherwise, Luffy might take us to some terrifying place..."

"No, no, no,"

Usopp waved his hand with a 'you're wrong' look on his face, then pointed to the deck behind him.

"Luffy won't cause trouble anymore because:"

"Ugh, so annoying!"

The mighty 'King of the Pirates' was wriggling on the deck like a slug, gnawing at the deck! He had absolutely no 'captain' whatsoever. If other pirate crews saw this, wouldn't their fantasies instantly collapse and they'd go home to farm?

"I don't know why, but ever since we left Laugh Tale, everyone has been lacking in spirit."

Robin, unusually, didn't read the book but instead rested his chin on his hand and pondered carefully.

"While it could be explained by the 'emptiness' that comes after a dream comes true, but..."

It's a bit abnormal for everyone to be like this! Especially Luffy and Nami: Although Nami is forcing herself to steer the ship, it's a far cry from her usual confident and spirited self. As for Luffy...

"Leave me alone~~ I'm a snail~~"

It's like I've been struck by a 'Negativity Ghost'; I feel like I'm about to become useless.

Actually, I've always had a feeling:

Usopp, having failed to lighten the mood, slumped down, feeling inexplicably restless even after leaving Laugh Tale. This wasn't, as Robin suggested, the emptiness that comes with achieving a dream. Rather:

"I feel like I've forgotten something important?"

"You feel that way too?"

Sanji frowned, looking at the plate of cigarette ash piled in front of him. He felt something was missing from this ship—

"A master!"

Zoro's answer was affirmative;

"No, it's a beautiful woman!"

Sanji instantly revealed his true form;

"No, I clearly remember it was a child!"

Usopp frowned, trying hard to remember, "Wearing a raincoat, carrying a tool hammer..."

?!

"You're not talking about 'Ship Spirit', are you?"

On the other side, Franky, who was sitting Pang Lei on the ground, pushed up his sunglasses.

"From your description, isn't that the kid in the raincoat holding the hammer—?!"

Bang!

Franky, who had just stood up, covered his forehead in a cold sweat.

"Oh right, how could I forget 'Sonny'..."

'Everyone!'

?

"Everyone!!"

As Franky finished speaking, a child wearing a red raincoat suddenly appeared on the deck, as if he had always been there...

"I've always been here! You've all forgotten me!!"

Faced with the angry 'Sonny', the crew Satori—

"Sunny~~ Waaaaah!"

Franky, tears streaming down his face, cried like a heartbroken father.

"I actually forgot about you~~ Waaaaah!! It seems the human brain's memory has its limits, I need to get a new chip brain!"

"No, Franky... are you abandoning even the last vestige of being 'human'?"

"Hehehe, it's Sunny! I knew I'd forgotten something—"

Faced with a group of noisy companions who had "reacted," the Ship Spirit, wearing a red raincoat, trembled all over.

"Enough!!!"

?

"What exactly are you doing?"

Amidst the bewildered gazes of the Ship Spirit Straw Hat crew, who were completely dumbfounded by Sunny's outburst, a tearful voice came from beneath the red raincoat.

"Luffy, Franky, Nami... everyone, what exactly happened to you on the island?"

"Merry and I have been trying to get your attention, but you've been ignoring us! And most importantly—"

"Where is Mr. Roman? Why didn't Roman come back with you?"

?!

"Merry... is that the Going Merry? We burned it in Water 7..."

"Who is Roman? I feel like that name is a bit—"

"Etc!!"

Nami quickly untied the book from her waist, knelt down in front of Sunny, and opened the book to its title page:

Only through perseverance can one reach the summit. Roman

"You mean this Roman?"

"Yes,"

The child in the red raincoat nodded.

"This is the Devil Fruit User's Book Mr. Roman gave you; it's practically a token of your love..."

"What? Miss Nami is already married?"

Seeing Sanji's shock, Sunny gave him a strange look.

"Didn't Mr. Sanji also marry Ms. Brulee?"

???

"My... my wedding with Brulee... wasn't arranged by Luffy..."

Now it was Sanji's turn to question his existence!

"So, what exactly did you encounter in Laugh Tale?"

Sonny looked at his familiar companions. It was strange that they had been ignoring him and Merry since their return, and now they had even forgotten about Mr. Roman and Miss Brulee ...

It's fine that Miss Brulee stayed in the Whole Cake Island to help build up their home, but Mr. Roman set off for Laugh Tale with everyone!

What exactly happened?

Although Sonny and Merry gained the ability to appear and talk in front of others after Roman enhanced them with his 'Soul-Soul Fruit ability', Ship Spirit are still Ship Spirit. If others have no 'concept' about them, then they are invisible and inaudible ghosts.

However, precisely because they are not human, they escaped Imu's memory modification!

"Wait! Forgotten—"

Nami suddenly stood up, if...

"If what 'Sunny' says is true," Nami said, rubbing her temples, as the Ship Spirit Sunny retorted, "Of course it's true."

"Then there's only one possibility: our collective memory has been tampered with!"

??!!

"In other words, we should have one more crew member. He is:"

The missing eleventh person,

Roman!

Holy Land Mary Geoise

"Hahaha~~ Roman, you little rascal!"

"Mr. Garp, please watch your words!"

"The Lord God, the soon-to-be-crowned King of the World— "

"You can leave now," Roman waved his hand, dismissing the men in black suits who had stepped forward to reprimand Garp, and rubbed his temples as he looked at the carefree, silver-haired old man in front of him.

"Garp- sensei, you..."

What are your thoughts on Luffy... about to become the King of the Pirates?

When faced with Roman's question, Garp simply waved his hand dismissively.

"I don't care if that brat dies! If it weren't for that bastard Shanks, Luffy would already be one of the two pillars of the Navy alongside you, Roman! I don't expect him to marry Celestial Dragons... cough cough, at least he could compete with you for the next Fleet Admiral."

It seems even Garp's memories... According to Roman's probing, after Imu bluntly stated that he had altered the memories of everyone who had come into contact with him, Roman's real name became 'Neo,' and Roman became his 'alias.'

My two years of training in the Navy have now become legitimate history, and I even got a promotion to Admiral. Congratulations!

Yeah, right!

By the way, Kizaru, that lazy admiral Admiral gloriously retired! He's now officially a 'Admiral's Advisor' and is living a leisurely life at headquarters, reading newspapers and drinking tea every day—though it's basically no different from before.

"Take care, teacher,"

After saying goodbye to Garp, Roman sighed and turned to look towards the Hall of Power. There's an old saying: life is like... well, you can't fight it, so just close your eyes and enjoy it. Anyway:

If Imu really resorts to force, Roman will have no choice but to lie down obediently.

Well, looks like things won't be boring from now on.

While Roman was pondering how to 'restore the husbandly authority':

"Now you've finally given up, haven't you, Garp?"

In a small alley in Mary Geoise, Sengoku's voice made Garp stop in his tracks. Then:

Brush,

In an instant, both figures disappeared from the spot.

"What's wrong with you?!"

When he reappeared, Sengoku had already been grabbed by the shoulder and teleported at high speed by Garp's 'Shave' to a distant courtyard: a place reserved for the Marine Admiral to rest.

"Sengoku, I've met Little Roman."

"He... seems to have resigned himself to his fate."

Just as Zephyr couldn't allow his students to 'rewind' to their youth, these powerful individuals, steeped in domineering Haki throughout their lives, had long since developed an instinctive resistance to any Devil Fruit ability. Even Imu's 'memory modification' couldn't affect top-tier powerhouses like Garp and Sengoku.

Sengoku nodded at Garp's somber expression.

"This is the right choice. After the two of you get married, our navy will be able to cleanse this world with Lord Neo as our backer..."

"The Sengoku!!!"

Garp's growl interrupted his old friend's words.

"You know that's not what I wanted to say! Although I don't know what Roman and Luffy saw on Laugh Tale, but—"

Be careful what you say!

This time, it was Sengoku who covered Garp's mouth.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

Facing the serious-looking Sengoku, Garp simply pried his hand away.

"You didn't notice, did you? Right now, 'that person's' gaze is entirely fixed on little Roman; he won't even glance at us. If this is the 'opportunity' Roger was talking about..."

"Impossible!"

Sengoku decisively shook his head.

Even if... that person is now completely focused on Roman, even if we can... gather enough troops!

Upon hearing this, even Sengoku couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat! This was blatant treachery, but after a long while, no divine punishment descended. So:

"Phew, it seems little Roman's charm is ridiculously strong... If I had known this, I should have tried the 'handsome man strategy'..."

As a former Fleet Admiral and a top-tier powerhouse who sent countless legendary pirates to Impel Down, how could Sengoku not know of Imu's existence, or the truth of history? Otherwise, given the character of these veteran Marines, would they really be dogs for the Celestial Dragons? Absolutely not!

With Garp and Luffy's inherited temperament, Zephyr's "heroic justice," and Sengoku and Tsuru's wisdom, how could they possibly allow that group of trash called "Celestial Dragons" to live in this world?

It's all because of Imu's existence!

Imu's Observation Haki, like Roman's, possesses 'clairvoyance' and 'far-sightedness,' placing the entire Marine Headquarters and Holy Land under her watchful eye. Anyone whose strength reaches a certain level—that of Admiral —will be noticed by Imu, who will also sense their invincible power!

This is the sole reason why so many righteous naval officers failed to conquer the Holy Land, and moreover:

"And if it were anywhere else, we might still have a sliver of a chance to defeat that person..."

Imu is strong, but the top fighters in the Navy are not weak either. If they all attacked at once, it wouldn't be impossible to break the myth of his invincibility. However—

"It's impossible, except in this holy land!"

The Sengoku nipped in the bud in the bud of his old friend's 'suicide' idea in the bud.

"Garp, you should know that with that 'treasure' around, even if the entire Navy's million soldiers worked together, they wouldn't stand a chance."

Imu in the Holy Land is truly invincible!