"Tch!" Enel hoisted the Golden Staff back onto his shoulder, his gaze following Luffy as he walked away.
For once, he offered neither a mocking remark nor a cold snort. Instead, he fell silent for a moment, then gave an almost objective assessment.
"That rubber bastard whose thoughts I can't hear... he's got a strange kind of 'charm.'"
It wasn't strength or speed, but something that made people choose to follow him even in the most desperate circumstances.
An indescribable quality that made him stay true to himself even after being betrayed and trampled on.
Gern's gaze followed Luffy as well. Hearing Enel's assessment, the smile on his face deepened, becoming a little more complicated.
Then he nodded lightly and murmured, "Yeah."
The Straw Hat Boy before him brought many things to mind.
Back when he had watched Luffy finally awaken his Nika form through a "screen," that absolute freedom and laughter had struck him as somewhat absurd and overly idealistic.
But now that he stood in this era himself, Gern felt he was beginning to understand.
Perhaps it was precisely this almost "foolish" purity, this childlike heart that never lost its spark,
This conviction that placed "freedom" and "friends" above everything else,
That could ultimately make the impossible possible, allowing everyone to laugh from the bottom of their hearts at the end of that fated journey.
At least, Gern himself believed there wasn't another soul on these seas as... outrageously pure as Luffy.
His purity moved even an "adult" like Gern, so accustomed to calculation and weighing his options, and stirred... a faint trace of envy.
Just then, Gern raised his head and looked toward the bright sun above Dressrosa. The "sunlight" was a little blinding.
That's right!
The "sunlight" was blinding.
*The timeline would always correct itself, and