The maritime region of Totto Land could be clearly divided into four large concentric rings.
Most of the islands were distributed across the first, second, and third rings, forming a kind of inhabited and heavily guarded belt. At the absolute center of it all… lay the main island.
The fourth ring, however, was completely different.
There were only two or three islands scattered there, almost like isolated points in the void… but in contrast, the level of surveillance was absurdly high.
Sensors were spread across the seabed.
Small reconnaissance ships constantly patrolled the surface.
And any suspicious movement was immediately recorded.
BIG MOM had transformed her territory into an almost airtight fortress—a defensive system comparable to iron rails: closed, continuous, and nearly impossible to cross without being detected.
Unless someone carried out an aerial invasion…
…any vessel would be discovered the moment it entered the fourth ring.
And now, that was exactly what was happening to the Neo Marine warships.
The moment the first reconnaissance vessel detected the intruders, dozens of similar ships appeared almost instantly, surrounding them in a tight formation.
These boats had a peculiar shape, resembling small oval tarts.
They were unmanned.
Each one possessed only a simple cannon and a surveillance Den Den Mushi attached to it.
The images they captured were being transmitted in real time to Whole Cake Island.
While being observed by all those cameras, Garp simply smiled.
Without any warning, he released his Conqueror's Haki, unleashing an invisible explosion of overwhelming pressure that swept across the sea like a colossal wave.
It was an announcement of his arrival—
as if he were telling the world: "I'm here."
—
On the top floor of the castle on Whole Cake Island…
Linlin and Dragon felt that presence at the same time.
"Who is this…? Who possesses such powerful Conqueror's Haki?" Linlin muttered, narrowing her eyes.
Dragon remained silent for a moment.
It's my father…
He recognized it immediately.
And yet… something felt off.
Garp was already over seventy years old.
And even so… not only had his Conqueror's Haki not weakened, it seemed even stronger than before.
At that moment, Smoothie received an urgent communication.
As soon as she answered, her expression changed.
"Mother… it's Garp of the Neo Marines. And Zephyr as well. They have wedding invitations…"
For a few seconds, Linlin simply remained silent.
Then she scoffed.
"Another guest invited by that brat Straw Hat…"
She waved her hand impatiently.
"Send someone to escort them."
"Yes, Mother."
—
At the same time, in the skies above Totto Land, on the deck of the Thousand Sunny, Luffy was busy… doing something completely out of place given the rising tension.
He was calmly refreshing the adventure shop.
His goal was simple.
Empty Fruits.
Since the journey to Water Seven and the return to Elegia with Garp and the others, he had been buying these fruits nonstop.
And today was no different.
[Adventure Shop]:
Haki Fruit ×31
Empty Fruit ×23
Purification Fruit ×1
Healing Fruit ×1
He had just purchased another full batch.
"Should be enough…?"
Luffy murmured thoughtfully.
War… would inevitably bring death.
And death meant Devil Fruits returning to the world.
To him, that wasn't just power—it was an extremely valuable resource.
Even if he didn't need to use all of them… it was still worth recycling them and keeping them for himself.
In his original plan, after defeating the World Government, he intended to gather all Devil Fruits scattered across the world.
Now, he was simply beginning that process.
"Maybe it's still not enough… but better safe than sorry."
He closed the shop and looked around.
On the deck, Yamato was glued to Vivi, listening attentively to her adventure stories.
Nami was chatting with Shirahoshi.
Perona was eating sweets alone, clearly happy—even if it was only the "taste" perceived by her spiritual body.
And only Robin remained fully focused, translating… a Poneglyph.
Luffy approached, curious.
"You're taking quite a while this time… what does it say?"
Robin raised her eyes, a faint smile on her lips.
"A fragment of history… About 900 years ago, there was a massive kingdom in Mariejois. A nation with extremely advanced technology…"
She paused briefly.
"And back then… the Grand Line as we know it… didn't exist."
Luffy blinked.
"What do you mean…?"
"Exactly what I said," Robin replied, satisfied. "This sea… may not have existed in the form it does today."
Luffy frowned.
"So… the Grand Line emerged between 900 and 800 years ago? Was it artificially created… or did it evolve naturally?"
"It doesn't say."
Robin sighed softly.
"It's like reading half a book… without the ending."
She then looked at Luffy expectantly.
"This is only one of the nine informational Poneglyphs. If we want answers… we need to find the others."
A smile appeared on her face.
"Where do you think they are, Luffy…?"
Luffy shrugged, an arrogant look on his face.
"If I knew, I'd have already gone and gotten them, Robin."
—
Suddenly—
"LUFFY!"
Nami's voice echoed.
"The Log Pose is pointing straight down! We've reached Whole Cake Island!"
"I know."
Luffy nodded.
Immediately, the six ships of the fleet began descending.
From thousands of meters in the air—in a controlled fall.
Only Onigashima remained in the sky.
As they broke through the clouds, Whole Cake Island appeared.
And rapidly grew in their field of vision.
At the same time, the people below noticed.
"Ships… falling from the sky?!"
"It's Straw Hat's ship!"
"Sunny… Merry… wait—"
"Whitebeard's Moby Dick?!"
The commotion spread quickly.
"Why are you panicking?! Whitebeard is already dead!" Perospero shouted irritably.
Even so, when he looked at the Moby Dick, he recognized familiar figures.
Linlin raised her head and shouted upon noticing their arrival:
"Straw Hat… you've finally arrived?!"
Luffy stood at the bow of the Sunny.
But as he looked down, his expression shifted slightly.
Beside Linlin stood someone unexpected.
His father.
In an instant, Dragon disappeared—and in the next moment, he was already on the deck.
"Luffy."
Luffy turned.
Observing the man up close.
Dark green coat.
Red tattoo on his face.
A fierce gaze… yet a restrained smile.
Before any words could be spoken—
Nami and Vivi tensed.
Luffy's father… it was the first time they were seeing him…
How should they address him?
The two exchanged glances.
In the end…
Nami lost.
"Father-in-law…" she murmured, almost inaudible.
Dragon heard it—and for a moment, he froze.
Then… he smiled.
"So you're Nami? There's no need to be nervous."
"Yes!" Nami replied quickly, bowing. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Seeing that, Vivi quickly followed her example.
Dragon blinked.
Confused.
Another one as well…?
"The daughter of the Nefertari family…"
He looked at Vivi, slightly surprised.
"My apologies… I didn't prepare any proper reception."
"No, no! The pleasure is ours!" Vivi replied hastily.
Then the two of them looked at Luffy at the same time.
(End of Chapter)