"Oh, right! Shirogai, you just mentioned that the Grand Line wasn't always an ocean route, right?"
Usopp lay sprawled on the ground, his swollen belly wobbling as he spoke with curiosity.
"Does that mean the current sea used to be land?"
Shirogai gave a slight nod.
"Strictly speaking, the original Grand Line consisted of vast natural environments, multiple large continents, and the seas that separated them."
His tone remained steady, yet his words carried weight.
"However, after a catastrophic war, the sea level rose by two to three hundred meters. Entire landmasses were swallowed. What was once a fertile world was reduced to scattered islands formed from the peaks of submerged mountains."
Silence followed.
Usopp's mouth hung open, his lips trembling as he struggled to process it.
"A war… this… this…"
After a long pause, he suddenly shrieked, clutching his head in panic.
"Ahhh! Wait, sorry, Shirogai! I just developed a fatal illness, if I learn too much, I'll start bleeding from all seven orifices and die instantly! I can't hear any more!"
The thought alone terrified him.
Knowledge from before the Void Century was forbidden. Anyone who dug too deep risked being hunted by the World Government.
His heart pounded wildly, and his bloated stomach visibly shrank as if fear itself was digesting his meal.
Yasopp rolled his eyes and smacked Usopp's belly without hesitation, sending ripples through it.
"I say, you cowardly brat, who did you inherit this from? Your mother and I weren't this timid."
Usopp scooted away, pressing closer to Shirogai while glaring at his father.
"Yeah, yeah, I grew up with Mom and not with you, so I ended up like this. Sorry for not meeting your expectations."
"…."
Yasopp fell silent, guilt flickering across his face.
Usopp ignored him, still lost in thought.
"So the world used to have endless land… hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of times larger than now…"
He suddenly grabbed his face, his expression twisting into exaggerated horror.
"Then if that kind of world existed… would pirates even exist?"
"Pirates are a product of the era," Shirogai replied.
"If the sea were reduced, fewer people would take to piracy. But that isn't the important part."
He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping across them.
"I have a question."
His voice softened, yet it carried a strange gravity.
"How exactly were Devil Fruits born?"
…
Far out at sea, near the homeland of the Whitebeard Pirates, the atmosphere was thick with tension, laughter, and malice.
On the Blackbeard Pirates' flagship, the Saber of Xebec, a chaotic celebration was underway.
"Cheers! Hahahaha!"
"What Whitebeard Pirates? Without Whitebeard, they're nothing but scattered trash!"
They roared with laughter, celebrating yet another victory.
At the center of the cabin, a battered figure lay pinned to the ground.
Blamenco, captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' 6th Division, was covered in blood, his body trembling under the weight of a foot pressing him down.
"Damn you… Pops will never forgive this…"
Crack!
The foot pressed harder, slamming his face back into the deck.
"Still struggling?" Blackbeard Teach grinned, his laughter echoing darkly. "Captain Blamenco, you've already lost. The strong devour the weak. The winner takes everything. Pops taught us that, didn't he?"
He leaned closer, his voice dripping with mockery.
"You're our prisoner now. Best behave, unless you want my crew to lose control. Things could get very unpleasant."
Blamenco struggled, forcing his head up just enough to spit out his words.
"Teach… you traitor… Pops will kill you for this!"
"Pops?" Teach laughed louder.
He grabbed Blamenco by the collar and yanked him up, their faces inches apart.
"You really are pathetic. Haven't you realized? Whitebeard died at Marineford."
Blamenco's eyes burned with defiance.
"Lies! You're afraid of him! You think saying that will save you? You'll be crushed by his power!"
"Crushed?"
Teach threw him back down, darkness spilling from his hands and swallowing the light around them.
"Soon, all of you will witness it. I will take the power that remains within his corpse."
The darkness pulsed, alive and suffocating.
"You'll watch helplessly as I wield that power… and rise…"
Light returned as he spread his arms, laughing wildly.
"To become an Emperor!"
…
On a Marine warship cutting through the sea, another conversation unfolded.
"Oh my… if Devil Fruits never existed, the world might be much simpler."
Admiral Kizaru sat casually, light flickering lazily from his fingers.
"Only Haki and technology. No strange powers beyond human understanding."
His tone remained relaxed, yet his words carried curiosity.
"Where did such power come from? Even Admirals aren't allowed to know everything. It's… unsettling."
Akainu stood at the bow, arms crossed, his expression rigid.
"The information you have is the same as mine," he said coldly.
"The rest is classified at the highest level. Even I don't have access."
…
Back in Elbaf, Usopp blinked in confusion.
"How are Devil Fruits born? Don't they just grow on trees?"
Shirogai placed the final tray of pastries on the table and turned toward him with a faint smile.
"That would be the logical assumption."
He tilted his head slightly.
"But has anyone ever seen a Devil Fruit tree?"
His words hung in the air.
"So many explorers have traveled this world. Countless Devil Fruits have been found."
His eyes sharpened slightly.
"Yet no one has ever discovered where they truly come from."