Momonosuke took a deep breath, forcing down the fear that surged through him whenever Gern's casual gaze brushed past him. Summoning every ounce of courage he could muster, he tried to adopt the most harmless, obedient posture he could manage.
Taking small steps forward, he spoke in what he believed to be his most endearing childlike voice.
"H-Hello, Uncle Gern… I'm not a pirate. My name is Momonosuke. You can call me… Momo!"
"Momonosuke?"
The corner of Gern Reginald Sigmar's mouth lifted ever so slightly—so faint it was almost impossible to notice. The expression vanished just as quickly.
He turned his head and looked the boy over with deliberate indifference.
"You're not a pirate?"
"Hmm… that might be true. I don't recall ever seeing that face on any Marine bounty poster."
"Yes! Exactly!"
Seeing that Gern responded, Momonosuke's eyes instantly lit up. A ray of hope appeared before him, and he hurriedly emphasized his point.
"I'm still just a child! How could someone like me possibly be a pirate?"
Before he could even finish his sentence—
Gern's hand flashed.
Smack!
The crisp sound echoed across the shoreline.
Momonosuke spun in place from the force of the slap, turning a full circle before staggering and collapsing onto the ground.
"Damn it," Gern muttered, flicking his wrist with a look of irritation.
"If you're not a pirate, what does that make me?"
"I just saw you trying to burrow into Nami's chest like some kind of creep. Is that normal behavior for a kid?"
"For all I know you could be a dwarf! The sea's full of bizarre things—who knows what kind of freaks are out here."
Meanwhile, Momonosuke sat on the ground clutching his cheek, completely stunned.
His mind had gone blank.
"Uncle Gern… he really is a child," Nami quickly stepped in to explain.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Gern nodded slowly in sudden realization.
"Then I misunderstood. I thought he was some kind of dwarf."
"You should've said so earlier."
Then—
His eyes narrowed slightly.
A faint hint of scrutiny appeared in his gaze.
"But…"
"When I was fishing earlier, I think I heard you say something…"
"…about the Minks being your servants?"
As he spoke, Gern deliberately emphasized the word servants, his tone laced with subtle amusement.
Nearby, Law, who had once served at G-10 and had personally witnessed Gern's overly affectionate interactions with Leepo, instantly turned pale.
His eyes widened in alarm.
He began frantically signaling Momonosuke with exaggerated looks.
Don't say it!
But Momonosuke was currently intoxicated by the excitement of "presenting himself."
He didn't notice Law's frantic warning at all.
Instead, he believed this was the perfect chance to demonstrate his noble background.
He puffed out his little chest proudly and spoke with thinly veiled arrogance.
"I am a descendant of the Kozuki Clan!"
"The Kozuki and the Mink Tribe have been close allies for generations. Our connection runs very deep!"
He intentionally emphasized his bloodline, believing that this revelation alone would surely command Gern's respect.
"Kozuki?"
Gern tapped his chin as if thinking.
"You mean the Shogun family that ruled Wano Country before Kaido took control?"
He slowly shifted his gaze back to Momonosuke.
Then looked him up and down with undisguised suspicion.
Suddenly—
As if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke imaginable—
Gern burst out laughing.
"Pfft—!"
"No way."
"You think anyone's going to believe that, kid?"
The laughter instantly froze the pride on Momonosuke's face.
Gern's smile faded.
His eyes sharpened.
"Back then, the Shogun of Wano, Kozuki Sukiyaki, had only one son."
"That son was Kozuki Oden."
"The same Kozuki Oden whom I personally defeated."
Gern paused deliberately.
"As far as I know, Oden did indeed have a son and a daughter."
"But…"
He dragged out the final word slowly.
"…Oden has been dead for years."
"If his children were still alive, they'd be adults by now."
"So how could they possibly still look like some snot-nosed brat like you?"
Gern bent down slightly.
Closing the distance between them.
Those eyes—eyes that seemed capable of seeing through every lie—locked onto Momonosuke's trembling pupils.
Then he asked, slowly and clearly:
"So tell me."
"How could you possibly be a member of the Kozuki Clan?"
The question struck like a hammer.
Momonosuke's small body trembled violently.
His face turned ghostly pale.
He opened his mouth—but the usual excuses he relied on suddenly felt painfully weak against such undeniable logic.
What was he supposed to say?
That his mother used her Devil Fruit to send him twenty years into the future?
He couldn't possibly reveal that.
Meanwhile, Nami, Chopper, Brook, and even the severely wounded Sanji all froze when they heard Gern's reasoning.
Memories surfaced in their minds.
Back on Punk Hazard, Momonosuke had introduced himself as Kin'emon's son, while Kin'emon claimed to be a retainer of the Kozuki family.
At the time, they had been overwhelmed by the shocking revelations—
"Save Wano."
"The Kozuki heir."
Those dramatic pleas had distracted them from examining the details too closely.
But now—
Under the scrutiny of someone like Gern, a man who had personally lived through that era and knew Wano's history firsthand—
The enormous timeline contradiction suddenly became impossible to ignore.
Their gazes toward Momonosuke gradually filled with suspicion.
Even Doflamingo, who had been kneeling on the ground like a man walking on thin ice, quietly shifted his posture.
He relaxed slightly, moving from a rigid kneel into a looser seated position.
Then watched the unfolding "identity drama" with obvious interest.
His expression was that of someone happily eating popcorn during a show.
"I… I…"
Momonosuke's voice trembled under the pressure of everyone's eyes.
It felt as though he were being roasted over an open fire.
His nerves were on the verge of snapping.
"I… I truly am a descendant of the Kozuki Clan!"
"It's absolutely true!"
Clutching desperately at what he believed to be his final lifeline, he pointed frantically toward the distant direction where Kin'emon and the others were.
"My father—no, Kin'emon!"
"And Raizo! And Kanjuro!"
"They're all retainers of Kozuki Oden!"
"They can all testify for me! They know who I really am!"
Of course, Gern knew perfectly well that Momonosuke truly was Oden's son.
But that wasn't the point.
His goal right now was to rip open the seemingly reasonable disguise surrounding the boy.
Gern shook his head thoughtfully, speaking with the cold logic of someone conducting a rational analysis.
"That's hard to say, kid."
"Proof?"
"Throughout history—whether in the long flow of time or among royal families across the seas—it's not uncommon for loyal retainers to find a child of similar age and pass him off as the heir of a fallen house."
"A convenient symbol for restoring their lord's family."
Then his tone shifted.
"And don't forget."
"The man ruling Wano now is 'Beasts' Kaido."
"With Kaido's personality—his habit of eliminating problems at the root—do you really think he would leave Oden's biological children alive?"
"Leaving behind seeds of revenge?"
"Creating future threats for himself?"
Having said that, Gern casually turned his head toward the nearby spectator enjoying the show.
"You agree, don't you, Doflamingo?"
"You should understand your 'business partner' quite well."
"Fufufu…"
Doflamingo immediately played along with a low chuckle.
"That's right."
"Kaido isn't the type to leave loose ends."
"If he were the kind-hearted sort, I wouldn't have had to work so hard maintaining the SMILE supply chain on this island."
Hearing this perfectly timed "assist," Gern suddenly covered his mouth with one hand as if he had just realized something horrifying.
His voice emerged through his fingers in exaggerated shock.
"No way…"
"Don't tell me…"
"Those retainers who once followed Kozuki Oden…"
"When they realized restoring the country was impossible…"
"…found some random child to impersonate the long-dead heir?"
"And now…"
"…they're planning to seize the title of Shogun of Wano using that false identity?"
Gern lowered his hand.
His gaze locked onto Momonosuke's trembling figure.
Then, word by word, he spoke the devastating accusation.
"So that's the plan."
"To inherit a dead man's legacy and steal everything that belongs to him."
Those words struck like a hammer against Momonosuke's fragile psyche.
The Straw Hats watching nearby displayed a mixture of reactions.
Nami frowned slightly.
Chopper looked deeply troubled.
Brook tilted his skull in confusion.
And Sanji—already weakened by severe injuries—tightened his brows as conflicting emotions churned within him.
As for Momonosuke—
The naked accusation shattered the very foundation of his identity.
His mental defenses collapsed instantly.
"WAAAH—!!!"
Unable to maintain any semblance of dignity, he collapsed onto the ground and burst into loud, uncontrollable sobs.