[TL/N: New Book -
Anime Group Chat in a Doomsday World!]
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"Buzz!"
The light from the Time-Time Fruit enveloped Yamato, causing her to vanish on the spot.
Ace stood silently, watching Yamato disappear, his eyes flickering with a mix of emotions.
The power of the Time-Time Fruit grants its user the ability to traverse time, teleporting themselves or others into the future. However, this ability has a strict limitation: it can only move forward in time, never backward.
Changing the past is beyond the scope of the Time-Time Fruit. From this perspective, its abilities could be considered lackluster.
After all, the fruit provides no significant advantage in combat and lacks the capability to alter history. It merely offers a gamble on the uncertain possibilities of the future.
For most users, this fruit would be almost useless. But in Ace's hands, its potential was entirely different.
"Realm of Comprehension."
Ace's eyes glowed with a strange light as he pushed his Realm of Comprehension to its maximum.
"So, that's the truth... Traveling to the past requires an immense amount of energy," Ace murmured, feeling his energy rapidly draining as he fixed his gaze forward.
The nature of time is unidirectional—it only moves forward. Attempting to traverse back into the past is a forbidden act that could trigger a cascade of chain reactions and immense changes.
The stronger an individual, the greater the energy required for such a feat, as their actions in the past could have monumental, even catastrophic, consequences for the present world.
With his current strength, Ace realized it was impossible for him to teleport himself into the past.
"But that's exactly what I anticipated."
Ace's eyes flashed with an intense red glow. This wasn't ordinary Observation Haki—it was Observation Haki enhanced to its ultimate form, powered by his absorption of Kaido and Linlin's abilities, making it the most potent Observation Haki in the history of the seas.
When combined with the power of the Time-Time Fruit, Ace could already glimpse far into the future.
His goal, however, was not to change the past. He saw no benefit in meddling with history, nor did he see himself as a savior who would expend his strength to aid people in bygone eras.
Ace's true intention was to show Yamato the truth—what was right and how misguided Kozuki Oden's actions had been.
To achieve this, Ace planned to create a parallel world, a construct resembling a past timeline. In this fabricated world, he and Yamato would venture together so Yamato could truly understand what was right.
"Let's begin, Devil Fruit."
Ace's eyes gleamed with a cold glint.
To accomplish this, the Time-Time Fruit alone wasn't sufficient.
"Buzz!"
As Ace extended his Realm of Comprehension, another Devil Fruit emerged, wrapped in the power of Nika, appearing from a spatial rift.
"The Space-Space Fruit."
Ace's lips curved into a sly smile.
The Space-Space Fruit, a superior Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, surpasses both the Door-Door Fruit and the Teleport-Teleport Fruit.
Unlike the Door-Door Fruit, which requires physical portals to access space, the Space-Space Fruit allows its user to seamlessly hide within the spatial dimension without opening doors, offering unmatched speed.
Similarly, it provides teleportation capabilities akin to the Teleport-Teleport Fruit.
However, what truly sets the Space-Space Fruit apart is its ability to disrupt spatial fluctuations.
In the presence of a Space-Space Fruit user, abilities like teleportation from the Teleport-Teleport Fruit or spatial manipulation from the Ope-Ope Fruit become ineffective. Even Door-Door Fruit users find their portals rendered unpredictable due to spatial disturbances.
This is the hallmark of superior Devil Fruits: absolute dominance over lesser ones within the same category.
The Space-Space Fruit's powers give Ace total control over spatial dimensions.
By combining it with the Time-Time Fruit and his Realm of Comprehension, Ace could create a constructed parallel timeline, a world resembling a past that never truly existed.
This fabricated world, isolated from the real one, would allow Ace and Yamato to explore its events without causing any impact on reality.
This separation also greatly reduced the physical strain required to maintain the construct, making it feasible with Ace's current strength.
"Time and space, unite!"
Ace's grin widened as he activated the dual powers of the Time-Time Fruit and the Space-Space Fruit, all wrapped within his Realm of Comprehension.
"Buzz!"
The energies of the two Devil Fruits intertwined, their powers harmonizing under Ace's control as he brought his vision to life.
"Buzz!"
Ace's figure vanished into thin air.
"Hey, Yamato."
Ace reappeared, stepping slowly out of the gap in time and space. He looked at Yamato, who stood frozen in confusion, and a faint smile played at the corners of his mouth.
"What is this place?"
Yamato stared at Ace, her face filled with disbelief and terror.
This was Wanokuni—but not the present-day Wanokuni ravaged by her father Kaido and Orochi. This was the Wanokuni of her memories, untouched and pristine.
"Using the power of the Time-Time Fruit and the Space-Space Fruit, I've brought you back to the past," Ace said, his tone calm yet laced with an air of mystery.
"The past? To Kozuki Oden's time?" Yamato's pupils contracted in shock.
"That's right. He's still alive in this timeline."
Ace's confirmation hit Yamato like a wave.
However, he continued, "But the Kozuki Oden in this time and space is not the same man as the one you knew in the original timeline. You already witnessed how he acted in the face of your father, Kaido, and Orochi's invasion. You also know the fate that befell Wanokuni afterward. There's no need to relive it—I want to show you another possibility."
"Another possibility?" Yamato whispered, almost to herself.
"Buzz!"
Ace said no more. Instead, he pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his coat. The device shimmered as Ace enveloped it in the energy of his Realm of Comprehension.
"Buru buru!"
"Buru buru!"
The Den Den Mushi's signal extended outward, its range amplified by Ace's ability.
During the Flame Emperor Incident, Ace had already used his Realm of Comprehension to broadcast to the entire world. Now, with even greater power, Ace could pinpoint and link the Den Den Mushi signal directly to any recipient he wished.
"Click!"
A deep voice answered.
"Who are you?"
"Gol D. Roger," Ace said faintly, his tone steady.
"!!!"
Yamato's eyes widened in shock, her pupils trembling.
The Pirate King? Gol D. Roger?
Could this really be Wanokuni 28 years in the past?
The sheer impossibility of what was unfolding shattered Yamato's understanding of the world.
Ace had harnessed the powers of two Devil Fruits—neither of which originally belonged to him—and used them to transport them to this era.
No wonder.
No wonder even her father, a man of unmatched strength, had fallen to this man.
This man... he was no ordinary human.
"Hahahaha!" Roger's voice echoed through the Den Den Mushi, brimming with energy and unrestrained laughter.
"I don't even have the right to hang up on someone who can pull off a stunt like this. A man capable of such power is no nobody in this sea. So, what do you want to talk about?"
In this era, Roger was the freest man on the seas, his spirit boundless.
"Kozuki Oden is in trouble. Are you and the Roger Pirates willing to help him?" Ace cut straight to the point, his voice calm and direct.
"Oden? Trouble?" Roger's tone shifted, his laughter fading into seriousness.
Oden's ability to decipher Poneglyphs had been instrumental in the Roger Pirates reaching the Final Island. Without Oden, they wouldn't have been able to uncover the location of Laugh Tale.
Ace didn't waste time. He explained the crisis unfolding in Wanokuni—the dire situation Oden was facing and the desperate plight of the land.
"So, what's your decision? Will you come to Wanokuni?" Ace asked after laying out the details. He waited for the Den Den Mushi to respond, a faint smile on his lips.
"Hahaha! Of course, we'll come! That stubborn fool Oden must've decided to take everything on himself again. What a reckless guy." Roger's laughter returned, loud and unrestrained. "When I take care of Kaido, I'll be sure to give Oden a good smack for not calling for help sooner!"
"Then we'll be waiting for you," Ace said, his smile widening slightly.
"Wait!" Roger's voice suddenly turned urgent.
"Can you tell me your name?" His tone carried a mix of curiosity and something deeper.
"Portgas D. Ace," Ace replied without hesitation, his voice steady.
"D..."
Before Roger could finish his thought, Ace hung up the call with a sharp click.
With his current strength, Ace feared no secrets being revealed about himself.
Only a coward would hesitate.
A true king stands boldly and carries himself with the grace of a sovereign.
However, for Roger in this parallel time-space world created by the combined powers of the Time-Time Fruit and the Space-Space Fruit, Ace had no interest in explaining the fate awaiting him.
"Buru buru!"
"Buru buru!"
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Ace immediately dialed another signal without hesitation.
"Click!"
"Gurararara!"
As soon as the Den Den Mushi connected, Whitebeard's iconic laughter erupted.
At this point in time, Whitebeard was in his prime—his strength rivaled Roger's, and both stood at the pinnacle of the sea, true kings among pirates. In this era, Whitebeard was hailed as the 'strongest man in the world'.
Even after Roger earned the title of Pirate King, many of the strongest figures on the seas believed Whitebeard's power exceeded that of Roger. At his peak, Whitebeard's mastery of Haki combined with the destructive force of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit made him a truly terrifying force.
Of course, from Ace's perspective, Whitebeard and Roger's combined might paled in comparison to his current power. Having absorbed the Haki of both Kaido and Linlin, Ace was confident he could defeat even the two of them working together.
"You've managed to force me to answer the Den Den Mushi—quite the feat. Is there really someone like you in this sea? What do you want to talk about?"
Whitebeard's laughter faded, and his tone turned deep and serious.
Even at his peak, with Observation Haki rivaling the best in the world, Whitebeard felt something unsettling.
Through the Den Den Mushi, he could sense the overwhelming strength of the man on the other end.
The faint traces of Conqueror Haki Ace radiated—even through the den-den mushi—felt oppressive, a level of power beyond anything Whitebeard had ever encountered.
---
"This man's Conqueror Haki... it surpasses Roger's and mine. When did someone like this appear on the seas?"
---
"Whitebeard. Edward Newgate," Ace said, his voice calm, yet tinged with a faint smile.
"From your tone, it seems you know me," Whitebeard said, his frown deepening.
"Yes, I'd say I'm quite familiar," Ace replied, his voice light, yet cryptic.
After all, Ace had known Whitebeard intimately—just not this version of him.
It was the Whitebeard of the original timeline, the one Ace had once called "father."
"I'm calling about Kozuki Oden," Ace said without preamble.
"Oden? What's happened to him?" Whitebeard's expression grew serious.
Unlike his other "sons," Whitebeard saw Kozuki Oden as more than just a crewmate—he was a brother. Oden was family.
Even after Roger had taken Oden away to interpret the Poneglyphs, Whitebeard's brotherly bond with him remained as strong as ever.
Ace proceeded to recount the events in Wanokuni—the invasion, the devastation, and the dire situation that Kozuki Oden now faced.
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"So, will you help him? If you don't, he will die," Ace concluded, his tone steady.
---
"That's nonsense! That idiot! But... he's 'my family!'"
Whitebeard's roar shook the seas. His voice was filled with fury and resolve, his Conqueror Haki resonating across the distance.
Ace's lips curled into a small, enigmatic smile.
"Click!"
Hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Ace turned to Yamato, who looked stunned and overwhelmed.
"Let's wait and see," Ace said, his faint smile unwavering.