The fifth year after the end of the war.
The boundary region between the two universes has developed to a considerable scale and has been officially named the " Sea of Balance ". There is no seawater in the traditional sense, but it is composed of sparse nebular matter and regular energy. Ships can sail in it and can see the magnificent Xinghai landscape.
The New Thousand Sunny is sailing through this Xinghai.
"30 degrees to port! Abnormal energy fluctuation detected!" Nami suddenly stood up from the navigator's position, her new Clima-Tact —now it should be called a " Astrolabe "—vibrating violently.
Luffy sprang up from his nap. "Something's wrong? Is it an enemy?"
"It doesn't seem like..." Nami frowned, "The fluctuations are very gentle, even... there's a sense of invitation."
Zoro had already gripped the hilt of his sword. "A gentle trap is more dangerous."
Sanji exhaled a smoke ring. "But since we're already here, it wouldn't be like us not to go and check it out."
Chopper, hiding behind Usopp, said, "I... I think we should be careful..."
" Franky, turn around!" Luffy had made his decision.
"SUPER--Understood!"
The New Thousand Sunny adjusted its course and headed towards the source of the energy fluctuations.
Half an hour later, a strange scene appeared before everyone's eyes.
It was not a planet, not an island, not even any known celestial body.
Instead, it was a frozen wave.
Countless enormous waves are frozen at the moment they reach their highest point, like sculptures Time Stop. The waves are completely transparent, and you can see slowly flowing patterns of light inside, which form intricate geometric designs.
"This is..." Robin's eyes widened, "A 'memory sculpture' from an ancient civilization! I've seen descriptions of it in the forbidden library of Ohara —some advanced civilizations use this method to preserve important knowledge or heritage!"
Brook's soul flew out of his body and approached to observe. "Yo ho ho ho, there's music in these waves!"
Indeed, as Brook's soul approached, the light patterns within the waves began to shimmer, emitting an ethereal and ancient melody.
"They're inviting us," Jinbe sensed the rhythm of the ocean currents. "Not hostility, but... waiting."
Luffy couldn't wait any longer. "Let's go in and take a look!"
He leaped directly into the nearest frozen wave—
Then, they passed through.
It's not physical passage, but dimensional passage.
Luffy found himself standing in a pure white space, with soft clouds beneath his feet and countless glowing scrolls floating around him.
"Here it is..."
" The Corridor of Knowledge." A gentle voice rang out.
Luffy turned around and saw a humanoid figure made of light. The figure had no facial features, but Luffy could sense that "he" was smiling.
" Monkey D. Luffy, captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, member of the D. Clan, and successor to Joy Boy," the Light Man said slowly. "You have passed the initial screening."
"Filtering? What filtering?"
"The selection process to receive the gifts of the ' Sea of Opportunity '." The Lightman opened his arms wide. "This is the last legacy left by the ' Weavers Civilization' —not Sparks like a Spark, but a complete knowledge base and training ground."
Luffy tilts his head. "Training ground?"
"Yes. The Weavers Civilization foresaw the birth of new Balancer, but Balancer need time to grow. And time is often the enemy's most abundant resource." The Lightman pointed into the distance, "So, they left behind this—the ' Sea of Opportunity,' a dimensional space where time flows differently from the outside world."
"A year here is like only one day outside."
Luffy's eyes widened. "Really?!"
"Really. But entry requires qualifications: pure will, an open mind, and... the destiny of being 'chosen by history.'" Hikaru paused. "Your entire pirate crew meets the requirements. But only one person can receive the greatest reward."
"Who?"
"The one who's maintaining the bridge."
The luminous figure waved, and Allen's image appeared in the air—he was weaving with his eyes closed on the rule platform, the gray-gold light steady and gentle.
" The Balancer is already very strong, but his growth rate is still too slow. The Eternal Council is approaching, and at the current pace, by the time the enemy arrives, the Balancer may have only just completed the full guidance of the Chaos Consciousness Side."
"Therefore, you must make a choice: give the core of the ' Sea of Opportunity' —the ' Hourglass of Time' —to the Balancer. This will grant him a hundredfold increase in growth time, but it also means you will lose the opportunity to explore this place."
Without hesitation, Luffy said, "Give it to Allen."
The Light Being seemed taken aback for a moment. "Are you sure? The knowledge here includes all the technology, history, and understanding of the rules of the Weavers Civilization, even methods to fight against the Eternal Council. If you acquire this yourselves, you can become incredibly powerful."
"But Allen needs him more now," Luffy grinned. "Besides, the stronger he gets, the sooner he can finish his mission and come back to adventure with us, right?"
Guangren was silent for a moment, then let out a gentle laugh:
"As expected... Joy Boy's choice was right."
"Then, please accept this gift."
The light-man transformed into a stream of light and merged into Luffy's body.
Luffy felt a massive influx of information flood his mind, but he didn't try to understand it—the knowledge would settle automatically and surface when needed.
Meanwhile, outside...
The frozen waves began to melt.
It's not a collapse, it's a transformation.
The waves transformed into countless points of light, flying towards the New Thousand Sunny and merging into the ship's hull. The gray-gold totems on the ship's hull became even brighter, the ship's speed increased threefold, and its defense increased fivefold.
The largest ball of light condensed into a small hourglass.
Inside the hourglass, white sand is flowing slowly.
"This is..." Nami caught the hourglass.
Luffy's voice came from the waves, seemingly from a great distance. "Send it to Allen! Quickly!"
Sea of Balance, a platform of rules.
Allen is experimenting with a new weaving technique—creating "miniature universe models" using Sparks to simulate various possible interactions between Chaos and order.
Suddenly, he sensed a familiar presence approaching.
I opened my eyes and saw the New Thousand Sunny approaching at an astonishing speed.
Before the ship had even come to a complete stop, Nami had already used Geppo to rush onto the platform. " Allen! This is for you!"
She placed the hourglass into Allen's hand.
Allen was stunned. "This is..."
"The core of the Sea of Opportunity!" Nami quickly explained, "Time flows 365 times slower here than outside! A year of training here is only a day outside!"
Allen's hands trembled.
He knew all too well what this meant.
" Luffy..."
"They told me to tell you: Don't dawdle, get stronger quickly, and come back soon," Nami said with a smile, but her eyes were filled with tears. "Also, they said they'll continue their adventures and become even stronger, so don't be scared when you come back."
Allen gripped the hourglass tightly.
The hourglass began to glow, and the white sand grains flowed faster.
A pure white space unfolded around him—the very " Knowledge Corridor " that Luffy had entered earlier.
The flow of time has changed.
In this space, time becomes viscous and slow, with each second stretched to its limit.
"Thank you..." Allen said softly, his voice reaching Nami's ears outside, "Tell them... I won't keep them waiting too long."
Nami nodded and flew back to the ship.
The New Thousand Sunny and sailed into the depths of the Xinghai.
Meanwhile, Allen began his true training within the space of time expansion.
First year.
Allen systematically studied all the knowledge of the Weavers Civilization.
This is not just simple reading, but a transmission at the level of the soul.
The Lightman—now known to be the remnant consciousness of the last "Grand Master" of the Weavers Civilization —personally taught:
" The Power of Balance has three levels."
"The first level, harmony. You are currently at this level—able to build bridges between Chaos and order, preventing them from devouring each other."
"The second level is creation. It not only reconciles existing Chaos and order, but also creates new rules from Void. This requires a deep understanding of 'existence' itself."
"The third level Transcendence. Chaos and order are no longer a binary opposition, but rather two sides of the same truth. Reaching this level, you become the rule itself."
Allen started learning from the very basics.
He learned " Rule Vision "—the ability to directly see the underlying code flow of the universe.
He learned " Existence Weaving "—not by mixing Sparks, but by weaving a new set of rules from scratch.
He learned " Time Rewind "—not actually reversing time, but rather reading the time imprint of a certain area and recreating the past.
But that's not enough.
The Great Master said, "You need your own 'Tao'. The Weavers's knowledge is a tool, but tools need the user to give them meaning."
So Allen began to think.
Why does he need to gain power?
To protect their partners.
In order to allow people in both universes to live freely.
So that people like Ace, Shanks, Rena, and Momonosuke will no longer need to make sacrifices.
This belief became the "core" of his strength.
The fifth year.
Allen completed all the theoretical studies.
He began to put it into practice.
In the space of time dilation, he created countless miniature universe models to simulate various crises:
--Chaos erupts, order stagnates.
--Foreign invasion, rule corruption.
--Internal rebellion, the balance of power collapses.
In each simulation, he was searching for the optimal solution.
Gradually, he became dissatisfied with passive defense.
"Why is the Eternal Council preventing the universe from gaining freedom?" he asked the Grand Master.
"Because freedom means uncontrollability," the Grand Master replied. "What the Eternal Council seeks is for all universes to develop according to their predetermined 'script.' Any possibility of deviating from the script must be eliminated."
"And what about them? Are they free?"
The Grand Master remained silent for a long time. "They are the most pathetic kind of prisoners—they imprison others, and they imprison themselves in the process."
Allen understood.
The confrontation with the Eternal Council is not merely a contest of power.
It's more of a clash of ideologies.
Freedom vs. Control.
Possibility vs. Certainty.
The choice he made was self-evident.
The tenth year.
Allen broke through.
It's not a breakthrough in strength, but a breakthrough in cognition.
He no longer viewed Chaos and order as two forces, but rather as different manifestations of the same existence.
Just like water can be in liquid, solid, or gaseous states.
Chaos is the "possibility of existence," while order is the "realization of that possibility."
The two are originally one.
At that moment, the balance totem within his body underwent a qualitative change.
No longer distinguished between platinum and dark purple, but purely transparent.
Within the transparent light lies all colors and all possibilities.
"Second level achieved," the Grand Master said with satisfaction. "Now you can create the rules."
Allen tried.
He stretched out his hand and made a gesture in the Void.
A brand new rule has been born. "In this area, the intention to harm others will be transformed into the power to heal them."
The rules are in effect.
The aggressive energy that originally existed in the space was completely transformed into gentle healing energy.
"But creating rules comes at a price," the Grand Master cautioned. "You are consuming your own 'source of existence.' Excessive creation will cause you to disappear."
"What if we change the existing rules?" Allen asked.
"The cost is much smaller, but there's still a price to pay," the Grand Master said. "And modifying the rules requires authority—the deeper your understanding of a universe, the higher your authority."
Allen looked into the distance—towards the world of One Piece and the universe of Super Soldier Company.
His understanding of these two universes is deeply ingrained.
Because the person he loves is there.
The twentieth year.
Allen began trying to modify the rules.
It's not a major overhaul, but rather a minor adjustment.
For example, making the oceans of the One Piece world calmer and reducing unnecessary shipwrecks.
For example, it can make the Dark Energy in the Super Soldier Company Universe more stable and reduce the risk of Void pollution.
With each revision, he felt his "existence" being slightly depleted.
But it's worth it.
Because every modification could potentially save countless lives.
The Grand Master warned him, "You can't continue like this. When the Eternal Council arrives, you'll need to maintain a sufficient Power of Existence for battle."
"I know," Allen said, "But before that, I want people in both worlds to have a better life."
He continued to make minor adjustments.
Gradually, the people of the two worlds discovered:
--There are increasing cases of spontaneous remission from terminal illnesses.
--The destructive power of natural disasters has decreased.
Even interpersonal relationships seem to have become more harmonious.
Nobody knows why.
Except for a very few beings with keen senses.
For example, Robin.
In her research on history, she discovered that the "tragedy density" of history is slowly decreasing.
For example Yan.
During her patrol, she noticed that the fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation had become more moderate.
They had a vague idea of who was doing what.
But they don't say it.
I just silently said in my heart: Thank you.
The fiftieth year.
Allen stopped all rule changes.
Because the head tutor said, "Time is almost up."
" The Eternal Council?"
"No. It's not that the ' Sea of Opportunity ' is running out of energy." The Grand Master's figure began to become transparent. "Time expansion requires enormous energy to sustain it. Fifty years of expansion has exhausted the Weavers Civilization's last reserves."
Only then did Allen notice that cracks were beginning to appear in the pure white space around him.
The clouds and mist beneath our feet are dissipating.
How much longer do I have?
"In reality... three months," the Grand Master said. "After the spatial collapse, you will return to the Rule Platform. And the Eternal Council, according to my calculations, will arrive at the edge of your universe in two months."
Allen clenched his fist. "That's enough."
The mastermind gave him one last look:
"My child, you remind me of the pioneers of the Weavers Civilization ' civilization."
"They chose the most difficult path to protect their loved ones."
Remember: Power is for protection, not for domination.
You've already understood that.
"So, I have nothing more to teach you."
The light-man vanished completely.
The pure white space began to collapse.
Allen closed his eyes, feeling the surging power within him.
Fifty years.
In reality, only fifty days had passed in the outside world.
But for him, it was a full half-century.
His combat prowess is beyond quantifiable.
If I had to describe it...
He can create a star.
It is possible to modify the rules of a galaxy.
It is possible to engage in an equal "dialogue" with the Chaos Consciousness Side.
But what he wanted most was to return to his companions and tell them:
"I'm back."
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
The space completely collapsed.
Allen returned to the rules platform.
In his hand, the hourglass had shattered, turning into ordinary shards of glass.
But he doesn't need it anymore.
He raised his head, his grey-gold—now it should be called transparent—eyes gazing into the depths of the starry sky.
He sensed it there.
A distant, vast, and oppressive presence.
Approaching.
The Eternal Council has arrived.
But he felt no fear.
Only peace.
"Bring it on."
"Let me see--"
A transparent light shot up from his body, piercing through two universes:
"--It's because you have stronger control."
"Our freedom is more resilient."
And behind him—
The New Thousand Sunny is approaching at full speed.
At the bow of the ship, Luffy, his Straw Hat pulled down, grinned broadly.
"We made it!"
" Allen--!"
"Let's do it together!"
"Beat them up!!!"
A new war is about to begin.
But this time, they were ready.