Oak's eyes narrowed at the child beside Linlin. Only his own blood could give him that feeling. Since eating the Vampire Fruit, he had become acutely sensitive to it. He had known Eagle was his child the moment he first saw him.
But...
Oak was certain he and Linlin had never had a child!
During their time on Hachinosu, he had gone to Linlin's place for dinner more than once, but he had taken precautions every time. She couldn't have gotten pregnant. Besides, he had been gone for thirty-six years, and that child looked to be in his twenties, certainly not yet thirty. He was much younger than Eagle, who had been conceived the year Oak disappeared. The timing alone made it impossible for this child to be his.
So where had this child come from?
It was a question worth thinking about.
Above him, Linlin noticed Oak's gaze. So did Shiki, Newgate, and the others nearby.
Shiki, Newgate, and even Kaido were snickering below. Their laughter reached Oak's ears, and he looked up sharply.
"You knew all along?"
Their reactions told him they had known about Linlin's child for some time, yet none of them had said a word to him.
At his question, Kaido was the first to burst out laughing.
"Hahaha!"
Then came Shiki.
"Jihahaha!"
And finally, Newgate.
"Gurarara!"
"Never thought I'd see the day this happened to you, kid!"
Newgate gave Oak a teasing look. They had indeed known about the child for a long time. They had kept quiet because they wanted to see Oak's reaction. After all, they all knew Linlin had once wanted a child with both her talent and Oak's, only for Oak to refuse her time and again.
On that matter, his old friends had been in perfect agreement. Not one