Kuke stepped out of the smoke, visible to all.
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
"It's Kuke! It really is him!"
"Kuke is alive… but how? Why is he still alive?"
"Is he human or ghost?"
"Could Kuke have some kind of resurrection ability?"
"Impossible. No one's ever heard of a Devil Fruit that grants resurrection."
"Then maybe the Navy lied—they didn't actually kill him after all."
"No, that can't be. If they hadn't killed him, the Navy wouldn't dare lie about it. They'd look ridiculous once exposed."
No one could make sense of it. No matter how much they thought it over, Kuke's survival defied all logic.
Seeing it with their own eyes… there was no denying it.
"There is a Devil Fruit that grants resurrection," Whitebeard mused aloud, convinced by his knowledge. With all the Devil Fruit abilities he'd seen in his life, he was confident in his knowledge.
"But, Pops, isn't Kuke rumored to have an invincible defensive ability? How could it be resurrection too? What kind of fruit is this?" Whitebeard's sons looked at him, their curiosity piqued.
Their minds reeled from this unprecedented twist.
"No, Kuke's no Devil Fruit user. Remember, he came from the sea just now."
Even Whitebeard was baffled.
"I've been alive a long time, but I've never seen anything this strange. What's really going on?"
Seeing Whitebeard's confusion only made his crew even more puzzled as they looked back at Kuke on the screen.
"Maybe the Navy just made a mistake. They didn't kill him after all."
"Would the Navy be that foolish?"
Whitebeard shook his head. For centuries, the Navy hadn't made such an error. With someone as powerful as Kuke, they wouldn't make any announcement unless they were absolutely certain.
Conversations like these were taking place all over.
Once more, Shanks turned to his first mate, Ben Beckman, with a look of pleading.
"Can you explain? What's going on here?"
Under Shanks' gaze, Ben Beckman's face turned green. "Do you think I'm a god? I have no clue either! I was as lost as you were just a moment ago!"
Everyone pulled back, disappointed.
"Kuke is a true enigma. He's practically a living miracle. I can't make any sense of it," Shanks shook his head, feeling that Kuke was even more extraordinary than Captain Roger.
"Captain, whether or not Kuke is amazing, it doesn't change the fact that you're in trouble." Yasopp and the others looked at Shanks with a strange sympathy.
Shanks blinked in confusion, question marks in his eyes. "Why am I in trouble?"
"Captain, did you forget what you announced to the world?" Lucky Roo smirked with a bit of schadenfreude.
Shanks' face twisted as he remembered, pained as though he'd eaten something rotten.
"Quick! Quick, I need to take back everything I said!"
Everyone watched Shanks without reacting.
It's been almost a hundred days. No taking it back now.
Kuke must've spent the past three months hidden away, planning how to make life difficult for their captain.
"This…," Shanks muttered, feeling numb.
He looked at his crew, pleadingly. "When it comes to it, you'll back me up, right? You wouldn't just stand by and watch me get beaten up, right? For the sake of appearances, let's forget any pirate code of honor and all go in together."
"Heh…" They only chuckled in response.
"Shanks, even if we wanted to help, we might not be able to," Ben Beckman said seriously, pointing at the screen. "Though it was brief, we've just seen that the Sun and Moon Pirates have grown to unimaginable strength."
Shanks recalled the scene from moments ago, his jaw dropping.
He was at a loss for words.
…
The news of Kuke's survival spread across the seas, shocking all.
The entire Grand Line fell silent.
And nowhere was quieter than the New World, where Akainu and Kizaru were enjoying a drink together.
Then, everything changed.
The two sat, frozen in place, staring at the screen.
"No, this can't be!" Akainu shot up, flipping over the table, unable to accept it. "I killed him myself, watched him die in front of me, melting in magma. You saw it too, didn't you, Borsalino?"
Akainu looked to Kizaru, almost pleading.
Tell me this isn't real.
That this is just a trick.
Kizaru wanted to reassure him, but the truth was staring them in the face. His face wrinkled with disbelief, he couldn't hide the shock as he replied with a wry smile:
"Yes, I can confirm, Kuke died right in front of us. But… Sakazuki, he's standing there now, as alive as ever. Are we seeing things?"
"Yes… seeing things," Akainu muttered, clutching his head.
This had to be some kind of ghostly vision.
The man he'd killed was back among the living, leaving Akainu's decades-old sense of reality shaken.
In his entire life, he'd never experienced anything like this.
"If Kuke's alive, then everything we've done…"
Kizaru shuddered, a chill running down his spine. His expression darkened.
"It's over." Kizaru collapsed back into his chair, drained.
All the spirit seemed to drain from him.
Kuke's survival meant the four of them, who'd participated in the mission, couldn't escape responsibility. Failing to kill him was one thing, but this… this was falsifying a report.
Kizaru didn't even want to return to Navy headquarters, dreading what the Gorosei's reaction would be.
Kizaru's worry struck a chord with Akainu, who slumped down onto the deck. "Borsalino, what's the point of worrying about that now? We need to think about Sengoku's safety. We have to return and help him immediately."
…
Akainu suddenly leaped up, bellowing, "Full speed to Sabaody Archipelago! If we could kill him once, we can kill him again. I refuse to believe he's truly immortal. If he can't die, then let's just hand him the world!"
"Is it even possible? We're in the New World—it'll take us at least two days at full speed."
Kizaru remained limp in his chair, resigned. "Forget it. It doesn't matter anymore."
Facing an opponent like this, he'd accepted his fate.
Kizaru had no desire to go and even tried to dissuade Akainu. "Sakazuki, my advice is to stay as far away from Kuke as you can. If you hear his voice, run a thousand miles."
Akainu's eyes narrowed, glaring at Kizaru. Was he scared already?
Was he really spooked by this strange revival? Had he started seeing Kuke as some kind of god?
Not a chance. Akainu wouldn't—
"Sakazuki, think it over," Kizaru continued, trying to reason with him. "Whenever you've crossed paths with Kuke, have things ever gone well for you? The first time, you were so confident, but when you met his mysterious invincible defense, you could only watch as he left with the Mythical Zoan Phoenix."
"The second time, we had four Admirals together. Even if Roger himself had returned, we could have taken him down. But Kuke? He's there now, standing proudly on what we thought was his grave."
"Next time… who knows what new mystery he'll bring?"
Akainu opened his mouth, wanting to argue against Kizaru's discouraging words.
But no words came.
Glancing back at Kuke on the screen, he felt a chill rise along his spine—an unfamiliar sense of dread blossoming within him.
________________________________
P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 144+ at patreon.com/Emik01.
_________________________