Simultaneous Time Travel: What Villain? I'm the Protagonist!

Mary Geoise no longer exists.

All that remains are charred ruins and a gap that runs across the red earth continent.

Eight people stood on a piece of basalt at the edge of the fracture.

The Five Elders, Shamrock, and Somaz stood behind, bowing slightly. In front of them, a person stood with their back to them, facing the impenetrable gap.

The wind whipped his robes, making them flutter, and his hands hung at his sides. Having observed the world for eight hundred years, he had thought of Joy Boy reappearing in the mortal world, and of Davy Jones making a comeback, but he never imagined that a mere researcher could reduce the holy city he had built to nothing overnight.

Im couldn't understand it.

Venus knelt on the cold rock, his head bowed deeply, his forehead almost touching the stone, his voice trembling:

"Lord Im, it is our dereliction of duty."

Im did not turn around.

The wind was still blowing, the robes were still rustling. He simply repeated those two words softly, his voice as light as a feather falling on snow, yet everyone present held their breath:

"Neglect? Eight hundred years, eight hundred years!" he said. "The holy land I built with my own hands has been bombed into ruins, and you think you can just admit to negligence?"

Jin Xing didn't dare to reply, pressing her forehead even closer to the ground.

Im finally turned around.

Those eyes were like two abysses that could swallow the entire world. Wherever his gaze swept, even the air seemed to freeze, and a chill seemed to seep out from between one's bones.

His gaze fell on Venus.

"Have you found the person?" The voice was still very soft, but it pierced Venus's eardrums like an ice pick.

Venus lowered her head even further, and her voice trembled even more violently:

"No...no. After the explosion, we searched repeatedly but found nothing. With his strength, it's impossible that he left no trace. He...he might still be alive."

Im didn't speak.

He took a step forward.

The hard basalt beneath their feet cracked open, and a dark, serpentine object darted forward like a venomous snake until it reached the edge of the breach. Gravel fell in a cascade of stones, disappearing into the rushing sea without a sound.

"Ten billion," Im said.

Jin Xing was stunned for a moment and didn't react.

"A bounty is offered worldwide," Im's voice remained completely flat, "I want to see him alive or dead, a bounty of 10 billion Berries."

Jin Xing snapped back to reality, slamming his forehead against the rock: "Yes! I'll do it immediately!"

Im took another step forward, now only half a step from the edge of the cliff. The wind blew his white robes clinging to his body, revealing his thin frame.

"Furthermore," he said, "starting today, capture all Devil Fruit users worldwide."

Jin Xing looked up abruptly, her face turning pale instantly: "Lord Im! This will incite all ability users to rebel! Even the member states will have objections—"

He froze before he could finish speaking.

Im glanced at him.

With just one glance, showing no emotion, Jin Xing felt as if someone had grabbed her by the neck, swallowing back all the words she was about to say, her teeth chattering.

"He has a furnace." Im's gaze drifted to the gap, as if looking at something that didn't exist. "One or two Devil Fruits might not mean much, but a hundred? A thousand?"

He turned back to look at Venus: "If he wants fuel, we'll seize all the fuel in the world and wait for him to come looking for it, then he'll walk right into our trap."

"Go and do it."

Venus's forehead struck the rock once more, her voice filled with awe: "Yes! Lord Im!"

The wind is still blowing, and the waves are still crashing.

Im turned back to face the gap, like a stone statue standing on the edge of a cliff. The people behind him didn't dare to breathe; they could only hear the sound of the wind and the waves.

A long time passed, long enough for Venus's blood to accumulate in a small patch at his feet, when Im suddenly spoke: "Immediately recall Garin."

"Yes," Saturn said, taking a half-step forward and bowing slightly, his voice strained.

"We need to see Sheng Ren, alive or dead!"

"yes!"

"Eight hundred years," Im's voice was soft, yet it struck everyone's heart like a stone, "and this is the first time someone has dared to burn my things."

He didn't turn around; every word drifted on the wind, chillingly cold: "Find him. I want to see him, bone and soul, burned to ashes."

The sun rose as usual the next day.

The gaping wound that stretches across the Red Line still emits smoke. Looking from the Sabaody Archipelago, that scar lies across the horizon, even the clouds appearing charcoal-colored.

At the docks of the Sabaody Archipelago, the morning mist had not yet dissipated. Early-rising fishermen were pulling in their nets, the wet ropes laden with shimmering silver fish.

A teenager came running frantically from the end of the dock, clutching a wanted poster and yelling at the top of his lungs, "New wanted poster! The latest wanted poster!"

The people on the dock surrounded him, making it impossible for him to get through.

The paper was slapped onto the wooden barrel with a "thud." It was a red-and-gold-edged wanted poster, the highest-ranking wanted poster issued by the World Government. The person in the photo was young, with a pale face, as if deprived of sunlight for years, and expressionless.

Below the photo is a line of large, gold-embossed characters: Sheng Ren, Bounty: 10 billion Berries, dead or alive!

The entire dock fell into a deathly silence. Even the sound of the waves crashing on the shore seemed to have vanished.

Three seconds later, the entire dock exploded.

"Ten billion?! You're fucking talking to me about ten billion?!"

"This is insane! The World Government has gone mad! Roger only cost 5.5 billion! He's doubled that!"

"It was him! He must have blown up Mary Geoise!"

"My God, 10 billion Berry! I've never even seen a million in my entire life..."

Someone reached out and tremblingly touched the wanted poster:

"He's really gone too far!"

On the distant horizon, smoke still rises from the gap in the red earth continent.

The New World, Moby Dick.

Edward Newgate leaned against the headboard, clutching the newspaper in his hand. The front page featured a striking photo of the gaping hole in the Red Earth, and below it was the billion-dollar bounty.

Bista stood by the table, his face grave.

"Ten billion," the white-bearded man suddenly spoke, his wine glass swirling slightly in his hand. "These old bastards are really desperate."

Vista nodded, his voice low: "There's one more thing. The World Government issued a top-level directive early this morning, ordering the capture of all Devil Fruit users worldwide, starting today. Seventeen have already been arrested this morning at Enies Lobby."

The white-bearded man paused slightly in the hand holding the newspaper.

He looked up at Vista, a sharp glint in his eyes: "What do you mean?"

"It's not clear yet," Vista shook his head, "but it's definitely related to this kid named Sheng Ren."

The white-bearded man remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he laughed again, this time with an air of domineering arrogance.

"That kid," he said, "is causing a huge commotion, much bigger than Rocks, much bigger than Roger."

He placed the newspaper on the table, looked up at the window, and saw the surging sea of ​​the new world outside.

"Find him," he said. "Tell Marco to hurry. The Five Elders have made a move, and those guys definitely won't sit still either."

In the banquet hall of the World of Warcraft Island, on Cake Island.

Charlotte Linlin pressed the wanted poster firmly against the frosted table, staring at the young face in the photograph, her scarlet lips repeatedly murmuring:

"Ten billion...ten billion Pele..."

She suddenly looked up at Katakuri, who was standing in the shadows.

"Katakuri."

"Mother," the Supreme Dessert General stepped out of the shadows and bowed slightly.

"Hurry up," the old woman's voice carried an undeniable command, "The Five Elders have started arresting ability users. If this kid gets caught, we won't get anything!"

Katakuri nodded: "Yes, Mother."

"And another thing," the woman paused, "tell Owen not to get into a fight with Whitebeard's men. At this point, only the World Government will benefit, understand?"

Wano Country, Oni Island.

In the main hall on the top floor, Kaido slammed his gourd of wine onto the ground, spilling wine everywhere. He stared at the wanted poster on the table, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

Jin stood behind him, bowing slightly, his voice low:

"Sir, the World Government has issued a global arrest warrant, targeting all Devil Fruit users. Since early morning, the Marine Headquarters has deployed seventeen fleets, and all branches in the New World have been mobilized."

Kaido remained silent.

He stood up and walked to the huge French windows. Outside the windows was the surging sea of ​​clouds of Wano Country, and in the distance, a column of smoke from the Red Line looked like a black sword piercing straight into the sky.

"That kid has..." Kaido suddenly spoke, his voice rolling across the hall like muffled thunder, "...treasure."

"Yes," Jin nodded. "The intelligence says he took something with him when he escaped from Egghead Island."

"Tell me, what could that be?" Kaido's voice was full of greed.

King didn't answer; he knew Kaido wasn't asking him.

Kaido turned around abruptly, knowing that the world war he had been waiting for was about to begin.

"Find him!" he roared. "I want that thing! Anyone who gets in my way, I'll kill them!"

Revolutionary Army Headquarters, Baltigue.

In the bunker's conference room, the wind blew in through the vents, carrying sand and dust from the Gobi Desert, stirring the newspapers on the table. Monkey D. Long sat in the shadows, the lines on his face elongated by the light, staring at the wanted poster with eyes as deep as the sea.

Sabo stood opposite him, his fingers gripping the edge of the newspaper tightly.

"Ten billion," Sabo's voice was filled with disbelief, "Has the World Government gone mad?"

Long shook his head and said, "They're not crazy, they're just scared."

Sabo suddenly looked at him.

"That machine called the Furnace," the dragon paused, "can extract the power from a Devil Fruit and inject it into another. One won't cause a stir. But what about a hundred? A thousand?"

Sabo fell silent. He finally understood what the World Government was afraid of.

"If he really has accumulated the power of a thousand Devil Fruits," Sabo's voice was somewhat hoarse, "then he..."

"Then he is the most dangerous person in the world," the dragon interrupted him, his voice carrying a hint of imperceptible gravity, "more dangerous than Rocks, more dangerous than Roger, more dangerous than anyone else in the last eight hundred years."

He picked up the wanted poster and glanced again at the young face in the photo:

"Find him," he said. "We must find him before the World Government."

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

In the marshal's office, Sengoku slammed the Den Den Mushi he was holding back onto its base.

There was a mountain of documents on the table, all of which were instructions sent from the Holy Land in the early hours of this morning, all about capturing Devil Fruit users.

He rubbed his throbbing temples, feeling utterly exhausted.

Kong was seriously injured and is still in the intensive care unit. The Five Elders' orders came one after another, like death knells, crashing down on the Navy Headquarters.

He pushed the last document aside and picked up the bounty poster that was on top.

Red background with gold trim, 10 billion peggs.

He had lived for nearly eighty years, rising from a marine to a naval admiral. He had seen countless vicious pirates, including the Pirate King Roger and the maritime overlord Rocks, but he had never seen such a high bounty.

The Den Den Mushi on the table rang again.

He took a deep breath and answered the call.

The voice on the other end was empty: "Sengoku! Do you have enough manpower at Impel Down? The Five Elders said that starting next week, all branches in the New World will have to cooperate! You'd better keep a close eye on it, there can't be any mistakes. This document may be small, but it's bigger than my head!"

Sengoku was silent for two seconds, his voice a little hoarse: "Brother Kong."

"Um?"

"What exactly does this Shengren want?"

Silence followed on the other end of the phone. After a long while, Kong's voice finally came through, tinged with a deep sense of helplessness: "I don't know. But I know that whatever he wants to do, as long as he's alive, he'll show up sooner or later."

The phone hangs up.

Zhan Guo placed the bounty on the table, stood up, and walked to the huge French windows.

Outside the window, Marineford's training grounds stretched out, where hundreds of marines stood in formation, their battle cries deafening. In the distance, on the sea, warships adorned with naval insignia sounded their horns and sailed towards the New World.

He suddenly remembered that sunny day in Rogge Town more than twenty years ago.

That day, on the execution platform, Pirate King Roger uttered those words, ushering in the Great Pirate Era. That day, the plaza was packed with people. Everyone thought that the man who died smiling would be the final chapter of an era, the most earth-shattering thing they had ever witnessed.

Now he realized that it was just the prelude.

The real storm has only just begun.

In the afternoon in the Sabaody Archipelago, sunlight filters through the coated bubbles, casting dappled shadows on the floor of the tavern.

On the wall, there was a brand-new wanted poster. Red background, gold border, the number 10 billion gleaming in the sunlight, almost painful to the eyes.

The tavern was packed with people, more than twice as many as usual.

Some people stood by the wall, bowls of wine in hand, staring intently at the wanted poster, muttering to themselves. Others crowded around the table, scrambling for today's newspaper, their chatter nearly lifting the roof off. Still others squatted by the door, shouting at everyone who came in, "Ten billion! Did you see that? Ten billion Pele!"

Behind the bar, an elderly man with gray hair was slowly wiping glasses with a chamois. He glanced at the wanted poster on the wall, but said nothing and continued wiping the glasses.

But his hand paused for a moment.

The wind blew in from outside the door, causing the wanted posters on the wall to rustle loudly.

"Roger, this era is about to go berserk!"

Fishman Island, Coral Hill.

Jinbe stood in front of the statue of Queen Otohime, staring at the wanted poster.

A hundred billion, a young face, with little expression.

The merfolk nearby chattered, "He blew up Mary Geoise!"

"One person bombing Mary Geoise?"

Jinbe didn't say anything, and turned to walk towards the Sea Forest.

"Where did Big Brother go?"

He didn't turn around.

Beihai, an unnamed town.

The man with a scar on his face slammed the newspaper onto the bar counter.

"My wife," he said, "was killed on the spot by a Celestial Dragon when he passed by fifteen years ago because she didn't kneel down."

He picked up the wine bowl.

"This bowl is for him."

After finishing his drink, he put down the bowl, pushed open the door, and went out.

A new world, an unnamed island.

The old man sat on the reef, gazing at the column of smoke on the horizon.

“I was a slave there when I was young,” he said. “I ran away after ten years. Dogs live more comfortably than people do there.”

He packed up his fishing rod and walked ashore.

"Well done!"

Calm zone.

Robin was too exhausted to row and leaned against the stern, panting.

She glanced back at the cabin, where Sheng Ren lay weakly.

She knelt down and brushed aside the strand of sweaty hair on his forehead.

"Ten billion," she said softly, "you really know how to cause me trouble."

Sheng Ren slightly raised his eyelids and smiled:

"How about it? Isn't 30 billion too low?"