Revival / A New Beginning

Without any debt of gratitude, Mobius saw only the crazed obsession in Tesoro's eyes.

But Mobius did not care. Tesoro's condition was a sickness of the heart. The death of his beloved was something even Mobius could not solve at present.

Having this man work for him and put his commercial talents to use was already enough for Mobius.

He took Tesoro away, cleaned him up properly, changed him into new clothes, and treated him to a lavish meal.

After some conversation, the obsession in Tesoro's eyes receded slightly. At least he could finally see Mobius standing before him.

Mobius then brought Tesoro back to Ryugu Palace, asked Neptune for a room for him, and introduced him along the way.

When Neptune learned that Tesoro was a talent discovered through Shakky's divination, he immediately became solemn and treated him with great courtesy.

Tesoro was slightly dazed. In the first half of his life, aside from his beloved, he had never received any warmth or care.

Seeing this, Mobius patted the former sunny young man on the shoulder and said earnestly:

"We have someone who can divine the future. Tesoro, in the future, you will become the richest man in the world."

"Divining the future!?"

Tesoro murmured those words several times. A brilliant light immediately burst from his eyes. He completely forgot about becoming the richest man in the world and hurriedly asked:

"Then can I have my future divined too?"

Mobius introduced Shyarly, then said, "You'll have to ask Shyarly whether she is willing."

Under Tesoro's anxious gaze, Shyarly still nodded. It was no trouble.

"In the future... can I still meet Stella?"

Tesoro opened his mouth, struggling for a long while to put his thoughts into words before finally asking. Money did not matter at all. Stella was what truly mattered!

"Let me see..."

Shyarly closed her eyes. Only a few seconds passed, yet to Tesoro, it felt like years. Sweat had already formed on his forehead, streamed down his face, and dripped from the tip of his nose.

A wedding photograph appeared before her. It showed Tesoro, somewhat older than he was now, beside a gentle woman with a bright smile.

"I saw it, I saw it! You two can be together. I even saw your marriage certificate~"

Shyarly opened her eyes and stuck out her tongue slightly. They were an annoyingly sweet couple.

"What? What!? What!!!"

Tesoro seemed to have gone mad. Trembling, he repeated the question again and again, his grin nearly splitting to his ears. The sudden ecstasy almost swallowed him whole.

The next second, Tesoro collapsed to the floor with a thud, completely limp.

"How could that be... Stella is already dead. That must be a false future..."

"She's dead?"

This time, Shyarly's eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief.

How was that possible? Could her divination have been wrong?

"Hmm..." Mobius, however, fell into thought. The ability to bring back the dead was not unheard of in this world—the Revive-Revive Fruit.

If Mobius could obtain that Devil Fruit in the future, then combine it with other Fruit abilities, he might truly gain the power of resurrection.

"It isn't entirely impossible, Tesoro. You've heard of the power of Devil Fruits, right? Legend says the Revive-Revive Fruit is a Devil Fruit that can bring the dead back to life after being eaten. There may be other Fruits with similar abilities that can revive the deceased."

"Devil Fruits!?"

Tesoro sprang up like a corpse coming back to life and shot straight in front of Mobius. His eyes bulged as he realized the man before him was not lying, and a crazed smile split across his face.

"Good, good, wonderful!"

"Devil Fruits! I'll definitely find one—a Devil Fruit that can bring people back to life!!!"

Tesoro threw back his head and laughed. He had found it—the creed that would keep him alive.

Stella, wait for me. Wait for me!

"But you'll need to work hard too. On the black market, even the cheapest Devil Fruit costs one hundred million Beli, and they are often out of stock."

Mobius patted Tesoro on the shoulder and spoke earnestly.

"I will!"

Tesoro nodded fiercely. The obsession in his eyes had vanished, replaced by determination. When he looked at Mobius and Shyarly again, his gaze was full of gratitude.

If not for them, Tesoro would likely never have imagined that resurrection was possible.

Seeing this, Mobius was relieved and told Tesoro about the plans for this place.

When Tesoro heard that Fish-Man Island, the Whitebeard Pirates, Kuja Island, and perhaps even the Giant Kingdom might form an alliance, his natural business instincts immediately kicked in.

The kid still lacked experience, though, so Mobius threw him into Fish-Man Island's factories and had Shakky give him some extra lessons.

Thus, over the next few days, Tesoro absorbed business knowledge like a dry sponge.

He went through every street and alley on Fish-Man Island, visiting all its shops and factories, observing their conditions and considering the logic behind their operations.

Shakky was pushed so hard that she had to dig out every trick she had. Only then did she truly witness what a genius was.

Mobius did not interfere much. After hearing Shakky admit that she was inferior, he decisively passed the responsibility of integrating Fish-Man Island's resources to Tesoro.

Tesoro accepted it with immense excitement and swore that he would work hard.

Do not employ those you doubt; do not doubt those you employ.

Mobius trusted Tesoro. All he needed to do was grasp something more important—power!

During this time, Mobius often slipped over to Rayleigh and Whitebeard to ask them about matters related to Haki.

Because of their favorable impression of him, the two legendary pirates taught him without holding back. They even revealed a little about Conqueror's Haki.

It was knowledge that even Uncle Kizaru had never touched upon. Mobius humbly sought guidance and carefully digested it.

He had not awakened it yet, but who could say what the future held?

A few more days passed, and the slaves brought to Fish-Man Island had more or less recovered their health.

Seeing Hancock and her sisters' little faces becoming round again, Shakky decided to take them home for real.

At the same time, Whitebeard felt it was time to avenge Oden and wage war on Kaido. He prepared to return to the New World and gather his fleet.

Rayleigh also temporarily parted ways with Shakky, preparing to head to the Giant Kingdom to find Scopper Gaban.

Naturally, Mobius intended to get a share of the spoils from the trip to Wano Country. There were simply too many powerful or useful Devil Fruits there.

However, Mobius did not board the Moby Dick with Whitebeard first. It would not have been appropriate, considering that he was still a Marine.

Besides, Mobius was curious about the current Giant Kingdom and planned to take a look.

So Mobius found Rayleigh and prepared to travel to the Giant Kingdom with him first.

With Tiger, Jinbe, and Tesoro on Fish-Man Island, Mobius had already given them the methods they needed. They were still integrating their forces, so there was no need for him to keep watch.

"Uncle Rayleigh, give me a lift? I want to see what's going on with the Giant Kingdom too, and meet Scopper Gaban, the Roger Pirates' third-in-command."

Mobius found Rayleigh and got straight to the point.

"Third-in-command..."

Rayleigh quietly repeated the term. The smile on his face immediately blossomed like a chrysanthemum.

"Alright, alright, let's go!"

As they prepared to leave with the giants Harald had left behind, Mobius spotted that familiar captain before departure and went over to greet him.

The captain had not left during this time. Seeing that it was Mobius, he greeted him warmly.

Just as he was about to light a cigarette and walk over to say hello, the captain caught sight of Shyarly following behind Mobius. The cigarette instantly fell from his hand, and he clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Young man, impressive~"

The captain raised a thumb in admiration. Mobius was slightly stunned, then glanced at Shyarly and returned the gesture with an odd expression.

"You flatter me, Captain."

Rayleigh, now properly dressed, immediately understood what was going on and burst out laughing.

"You brat!"