"Hey hey hey ~~~ Are you really me from two years in the future?!"
Two years ago, Yamato shouted up at the sky, her voice brimming with youthful energy and disbelief.
"Of course! A hundred percent! You finally believe me now, right?"
The Yamato from two years in the future smiled brightly.
"But… why? Why would the future me appear here? Did some kind of time power bring you? No, that's not right. Time should only move forward!"
Past Yamato still looked completely stunned, her face full of disbelief as she stared at this strange reality.
"To be honest, I don't really know exactly how we came back to the past either. Anyway, long story short — we beat that bastard old man Kaido, and then…"
Future Yamato tried to explain as simply as she could.
"Traveling through time? Something so crazy actually happened?!"
Past Yamato was utterly dumbfounded, her brain struggling to keep up.
She couldn't even begin to process everything.
"No… according to Miss Robin, maybe it's not that we traveled back to our original past, but instead, we ended up in an alternate timeline from two years ago — a parallel world!"
Future Yamato clarified.
"Parallel… what now? I don't really get that stuff. But wait — is it true? Did we really beat that bastard old man? Did Wano finally open its borders?!"
Past Yamato asked excitedly.
"Yes! We did it!"
Future Yamato nodded firmly.
"Really? That's amazing! But how did we manage it? Even if he was a bastard, Kaido was still the world's strongest creature… and not to mention, the entire Beasts Pirates…"
Past Yamato looked anxious.
"There's no way I could've done it alone. In that battle, all the Red Scabbards came back, thousands of samurai fought, and we had help from other powerful allies too. Most importantly — the Straw Hats! They were the key to defeating the Beasts Pirates!"
Future Yamato explained, her tone filled with passion.
"The Straw Hats?"
That name sounded strangely familiar to Past Yamato.
Suddenly, a memory clicked.
Back then, two years ago…
She had met someone at Onigashima — the first real friend she had made in eighteen years.
Ace.
Before they parted ways, Ace had once told her:
"In the future, my little brother — Luffy — will be the brightest rising star of the new era."
And just like Ace had said…
Even trapped in Onigashima, Yamato had managed to catch news about the Straw Hats through smuggled newspapers. She knew that "Luffy" was indeed Ace's little brother.
"Hey, future me… when you said Straw Hats… you mean Luffy, Ace's little brother?"
Past Yamato grabbed her future self's arm, eyes sparkling.
"That's right! Just like Ace said, his little brother is incredible! That bastard Kaido was finally defeated by him! And the one who unlocked my handcuffs — it was Luffy too!"
Future Yamato proudly raised her now bare wrist.
"Really?!"
Hearing this, Past Yamato was so overwhelmed with emotion, she nearly burst into tears.
"So where's Ace's little brother now? Is Luffy here too? Did he also travel back two years?"
"Yes! Luffy's here too. He should be—wait…"
Future Yamato turned around to introduce him.
But...
There was nothing.
She looked back.
The little Straw Hat kid was gone.
"Where's Straw Hat Luffy?!"
Past Yamato blinked in confusion.
The mood instantly grew awkward.
"Hey hey hey! He was literally right behind me just now! Where did he run off to?!"
Future Yamato was baffled.
Just then...
"I knew it'd be something like this…"
From not far away, Marco appeared, slapping his forehead with a sigh.
"Marco, do you know where Luffy went?!"
Future Yamato ran up, anxious.
"Luffy? Yeah… I think he wandered in over there."
Marco pointed toward the Beasts Pirates' stronghold.
A little while ago, he had seen Luffy looking like he'd been bewitched, drifting toward the side entrance of the skull dome.
Marco assumed Luffy was following Yamato to find her past self.
He was just about to follow too — when he heard Yamato yelling over here.
So he ran this way instead.
Sure enough, Yamato was here… which meant Luffy had definitely gone off on his own.
"Marco, are you saying Luffy went in there?"
Future Yamato's expression twitched.
"I don't know exactly what happened, but… yeah. Sorry, I hesitated and didn't stop him in time."
Marco scratched his head.
"No no no, it's my fault too. I was so focused on meeting my past self that I didn't pay attention to where Luffy went. Either way, we need to find him now! We can't risk him starting some kind of chaos!"
Yamato said urgently.
Marco nodded in agreement.
And right at that moment...
BOOM!
A loud explosion echoed from the city.
Something had happened!
---
Meanwhile, inside the Beast Pirates' Skull Dome — Kitchen.
"Whoaaaa! This is meat heaven! So much meat! I'm going in!"
Luffy charged into the kitchen like a whirlwind, eyes sparkling as he devoured everything in sight.
It was like watching a black hole suck in food, or a hurricane sweeping through a banquet.
He looked like a starving demon reincarnated — like he hadn't eaten in a lifetime.
In just a few minutes, nearly 100 full plates of food had disappeared into his stomach.
His belly ballooned like a drum.
But after just a few deep breaths…
All the food had already been digested.
Luffy's body returned to normal in an instant.
"Is the second round ready yet?! I wanna eat more!"
Luffy shouted, full of energy.
"What the hell?! What's with this kid's body?!"
"He just ate 100 full meals in a flash — and he's still hungry?!"
"Does he have a bottomless pit for a stomach?! No, wait — that's not the point!"
"Hey, kid! Who are you?!"
"I don't remember seeing you in the Beasts Pirates!"
"Where the hell did you come from?!"
The Beast Pirates around him all tensed up, realizing this intruder wasn't one of theirs.
"Enough talk! Your restaurant's open, right? So hurry up and bring me more meat!"
Luffy ordered, totally unfazed.
"Hah?!"
The Beasts Pirates were livid.
This was the first time anyone had dared treat their base like a cafeteria.
This brat was clearly asking for a beating.
"You little bastard!"
Several pirates drew their swords, faces twisted with malice.
"Kid, do you even know the meaning of 'death'? Let me show you!"
"I don't care how you got in, but since you dared to make a scene in our territory…"
"Then go to hell!"
The pirates all rushed Luffy at once, blades flashing like lightning.
BOOM!
BOOM BOOM!