"Kozuki Toki." The name struck a chord, especially with the members of the Mink Tribe, Raizo, and naturally Momonosuke. They had known Lady Toki personally. For them, it hadn't even been long since her death—just a few months ago in their time. Time travel is strange that way.
What makes this situation even more bizarre is that Yuta didn't know about Wano Arc of One Piece. All his intel about the show came from the manga he bought in the JJK world, which was stuck in 2018, the same year when the Wano Arc was just starting. He had no idea what was about to come in Wano.
That almost means that Yuta had no idea about Momonosuke and the others being time travellers.
"No way…" Raizo whispered.
To be sure, Yuta reached into his storage again and pulled out an old photo. It was a picture of his grandmother in her later years. She had aged a lot, her hair had gone white, and her face was marked with wrinkles. But there was still something graceful and warm about her expression.
"This is her. Look." Yuta handed the picture to Momonosuke.
The moment Momonosuke saw the photo, his hands began to tremble. His eyes widened, and tears quickly filled them. "This… this is my mother," he said, voice choked with emotion. "She… she got old, but… I... this is her."
He looked at Yuta, shocked and desperate. "Where is she? Where is my mother now?"
Yuta, on his part, had more things to consider after hearing this was indeed Momonosuke's mother. His granny was hiding something like this. It almost made him wonder how many things had remained hidden behind his back throughout his childhood. More importantly, how was she even able to go to the MHA world?
Is this even possible for people in the One Piece world to do? For once, Yuta had to say that out of all the anime he had seen, the One Piece world was the most mysterious. Anything seems to be happening in this world to the degree that common logic doesn't even apply to this world, period.
The possibility of a Devil Fruit existing which lets one travel to another world doesn't seem that far-fetched now.
'Sigh... now isn't the time to think about this.' He reminded himself, refocusing back on the child looking at him with hopeful eyes. On casual days, this boy, who was a mini Jiraiya in the making, was now looking at him with real childish hope which almost broke his heart.
'I was similar back when I lost her, though...'
Yuta looked down for a moment and sighed deeply. "She passed away years ago. I grew up with her, but she was already an old woman then."
A heavy silence fell over the room.
Everyone was trying to make sense of what they had just heard. Maki, the only person besides Yuta who knew about the entire other-world business, was looking at this with a gaping face. Only one question in mind... "HOW?"
For those who knew Toki Kozuki, they could only think that she somehow had survived the burning of Oden Castle and traveled through time again—this time, perhaps not into the future but back in the past seeing her old image at least indicated that. Was that even possible was a big "if," seeing if that was indeed possible, then why not try to fix all the mess happening in their life? Whatever it was, one thing was certain: the only way they saw her surviving was by using her Devil Fruit. There, in the past, she must have grown old and raised a child. But if Yuta called her "grandmother," that raised a serious question.
"Wait," Brook asked, breaking the silence. "If she was your grandmother, then… who were your parents?"
'Almost forgot the skeleton was also here.' Yuta almost jolted hearing Brook speak up after this long; it almost felt like a dead body came to life.
'Wait a minute, he doesn't have a body...'
Yuta nodded slowly. "I was adopted. I never knew my real parents. Granny Toki raised me on her own, never spoke much about the past. She always said some stories were too painful to remember."
Momonosuke wiped his tears, though he was still clutching onto the photo. Yuta didn't mind. He had multiple copies.
Time passed, and Yuta decided to sit down on the floor beside Momonosuke and Raizo, giving the kid time to adjust before he asked his questions, and he had many of them.
His mind was still spinning from everything he had learned so far. He had come to this world thinking it was just a temporary stay, a strange twist of fate. But now, everything was starting to feel deeply personal.
'Was it even a coincidence that I came here and then in the JJK world?'
'Rika's connection was definitely tied to the JJK world, and then Granny's connection to One Piece. The only other world I have been to was Naruto, but I stayed there only for a few hours, and more than that, it was almost the ending of Naruto's plot, so I doubt I'll be going there anymore,' Yuta muttered to himself in silence, wondering how things are connected to him and the people around him in his travels.
"I need to know," Yuta said seriously, looking at both of them. "What happened in Wano? What exactly is going on there? And what happened to my grandmother... to Toki Kozuki?" He asked. If he wished to help, then he needed information. Currently, these two were the only ones who had that intel.
Momonosuke nodded slowly, wiping his eyes before speaking. "After my father, Oden, was killed by Kaido and Orochi, our family fell apart. My mother, Lady Toki, used her Time-Time Devil Fruit power to send me, Kin'emon, Raizo, Kanjuro, and Kiku twenty years into the future. She believed the world would be ready by then to fight back and free Wano." He said, and this alone sparked many more questions inside Yuta's mind.
He already knew that it was something related to Kaido with the limited recollection he had of the hastily read manga. He had to give it a thorough read soon enough, so he didn't question the kid's father dying. However, what with the Time-Time Fruit and time travel?
So that was really possible?
Yuta's mind started to form countless possibilities with these What If scenarios. Above all, he tried to find how Toki Kozuki would have gone to the MHA world.
Raizo took over from there. "Toki-sama stayed behind. She believed in the prophecy that twenty years later, the nine Red Scabbards would return and help the one who would defeat Kaido. She chose to die with Wano, holding on to her faith."
Yuta clenched his fists. "But… she didn't die. Somehow she ended up in my wo... ended up finding me. She must've used her Devil Fruit again in one way. Did she tell how this time-travelling power of hers works?" Yuta asked, pondering over the idea.
"Not much is known about Lady Toki's powers. However, she did tell us that going back in the past is not possible. She could only travel to the future," Raizo said, making Yuta even more confused.
'Then how was that even possible for her to travel across dimensions? Some space-time fuckery which ODA only knows?'
"She always did tell me that I was meant for something important… I just didn't think it would be this," Yuta muttered. Honestly, he always thought that she was motivating him, more likely consoling, regarding his quirkless status and all the bullying he faced in school.
Raizo leaned forward. "Sir Yuta, Wano is suffering. Kaido has made it a prison. People are starving. Orochi rules with cruelty. We've been gathering allies. We got hunted because of that, but still, we are here at last. I, for one, don't think that this is a mere coincidence.
Lord Ace here is the captain of the same Pirate Group which my late Lord Oden was once a part of. He held the same position. You are here, have a connection with my late Lady Toki. Maybe you don't have Kozuki blood running inside, but Lady Toki took you in, and that much is enough for us to know that you are someone she cherished, and thus we are bounded. If not by blood and duty, then by fate.
Wano needs help. We need help, and I am hesitant to ask you this, but I beg of you. Please help us fight against Kaido's tyranny," Raizo said as he looked directly into Yuta's eyes.
Momonosuke looked Yuta in the eyes. "You are her grandson. You carry her will, even if you didn't know it. I am asking you now, not just as a friend, but as someone of the Kozuki clan—will you help us take back Wano?" He had this hesitant look on his face, but perhaps the image of his mother clutched in his small hands gave him courage enough to ask this.
"Sigh... Conflict no matter what era. I think, sirs, you both could use a Hero..." Yuta said and let out a defeated smile. Was there even an option at his hands at this point?
Main Quest - Freedom Of Wano
Reward - ???