South Sea, Angel Island.
Within the dense jungle, a small but agile figure darted swiftly through the trees.
Her target... was a fox desperately fleeing ahead.
"Hmph! Run, run, run! All you know is running! Face me if you dare!"
The girl's voice rang out indignantly before she suddenly accelerated.
It was unmistakably "Soru," one of the Marine's Six Powers.
With the boost from "Soru," the girl successfully caught up to the fiery-red fox, reaching out to grab it by the scruff of its neck.
Then, looking at the trembling fox, she patted its head...
"Don't worry, dizziness is normal."
The next moment, with a quick twist of her small hands, she snapped the fox's neck.
"Hmph, this fox's fur is really nice. I'll make a scarf for Father!"
As the girl muttered to herself, a voice echoed from afar, shaking the entire mountain forest.
"Toki! Come home for dinner!"
Delight flashed in the girl's eyes—she was none other than Toki, the girl Michael had picked up.
Now, a full year had passed since the day the Archangel descended from the heavens.
Toki had grown from a five-year-old girl to a six-year-old "big kid."
Her once frail body had also become agile and swift under Michael's careful nurturing and training.
She had even easily mastered techniques like the Marine's Six Powers, which many adult marines struggled to learn.
Though she had only grasped the basics—true mastery and seamless integration were still far off.
Over this year, Toki's affection for Michael had deepened immensely.
The words "Father" no longer carried undertones of ingratiation or pity but were instead filled with attachment and admiration.
"Coming! I'm coming!" Toki shouted in response, not caring whether Michael could hear her or not.
Then she swiftly hoisted the fox onto her shoulder and dashed back to the home she shared with Michael.
After a year of expansion, what was once just a wooden cabin had long since transformed into a sizable estate.
Within the estate, besides neatly arranged farmland, there were all kinds of poultry and livestock.
"I told you not to wander too far during dinner time!" Michael stood at the doorway, holding a spatula in his right hand and a frying pan in his left.
"Wash your hands and come eat!"
"Father! Look, look! Can I make you a scarf from this fox's fur?"
"...Gasp!"
Michael sucked in a sharp breath.
This child... didn't even consider whether a bright red scarf would suit a grown man like him.
He wasn't one of those nouveau riche who only cared about price tags without considering style!
But faced with Toki's sparkling eyes, Michael could only sigh helplessly in the end...
"As long as you're happy..."
"Yay!"
Toki responded cheerfully, then tossed the fox aside in the room before dashing toward the dining table.
But Michael, who had just put down the frying pan and spatula, was quick to react. He grabbed Toki by the collar of her clothes.
"After playing with the fox, wash your hands before eating!"
Michael sighed.
It seemed he really wasn't cut out for parenting...
The once-timid little girl was practically turning into a wild child under his care.
But... Wild was fine.
At least it was better than that pitiful, timid demeanor she used to have.
"Okay."
Caught red-handed, Toki obediently went to the sink to wash her hands before returning to the table.
Then, like a whirlwind, the father-daughter duo devoured all eight dishes and a soup, leaving nothing behind.
As Toki sat nearby, rubbing her full belly to aid digestion, she suddenly noticed the newspaper lying on the sofa.
"Father, since when did you start reading newspapers?"
"Gotta gather some useful information, right?" Michael replied without turning around as he washed the dishes. "After all, we can't stay on Angel Island forever, can we?"
"Then where are we going?"
"To the center of the world, of course—the so-called Great Kingdom."
Michael's answer plunged Toki into silence.
The Great Kingdom.
For the past year, she had subconsciously pushed the very existence of it out of her mind.
But hearing the term suddenly from Michael's lips left her at a loss for words.
Noticing Toki's abrupt silence, Michael rinsed his hands clean and turned to face her.
He crouched down, looking at the little girl who had grown healthier under his care.
"Don't you want to avenge your birth parents?"
Michael tilted his head slightly and asked softly.
"But that's the Great Kingdom! The Great Kingdom that rules the entire world!" Toki looked up helplessly. "In this world... the Great Kingdom is the absolute truth. Whoever their guards kill... must be guilty."
Seeing the confusion and sorrow in Toki's eyes, Michael exhaled slowly.
"Toki... just because the Great Kingdom rules everything doesn't mean they're absolutely right. Nothing in this world is ever 'absolute.'"
"We must learn to resist. If the Great Kingdom won't let us live in peace... then we'll show them what it means to drown in an ocean of people's war."
"Resist? People's war?" Toki stared at her angelic father in confusion. "I... don't understand."
"That's alright. It's normal not to understand now..." Michael patted her head gently. "I'll teach you everything, bit by bit. You'll be my first disciple!"
"I don't want to be a disciple! I want to be Father's daughter!"
"Ah, its the same."
"It's not the same!" Toki's small hands suddenly pressed against Michael's face, squishing it into a (○｀3′○) expression.
"Father, you must regret adopting me to say such things!"
"You're overthinking this... Alright, alright. We won't make you the head disciple—just my daughter."
Michael picked Toki up and carried her toward her little bed.
Toki clung tightly to Michael's neck, silent for a long moment before speaking again:
"Father... Can I really avenge my parents?"
"Yes, Toki. You will." Michael gently patted her back. "You will have... the grandest revenge."
With that, Michael placed Toki on her bed, tucked her in, and turned to leave.
Stepping outside into the manor grounds, he gazed at the stars in the sky, lost in thought.
A full year had passed, and he still hadn't regained his original Devil Fruit abilities...
But at least his reserves of Holy Light had fully recovered.
Instinctively, he activated his Observation Haki, routinely scanning for anything unusual.
Michael was absolutely certain that even Issho now lagged far behind him in terms of Observation Haki range.
But at this moment... from Angel City at the heart of Angel Island—the city where he had fallen from the sky—he sensed...
Signs of life... vanishing at an alarming rate.
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