During the two-plus years Beltz had been away, nothing major had happened in the Sorbet Kingdom. Kuma and Ginny lived a simple, peaceful life.
In fact, Beltz had left with peace of mind precisely because he knew things would remain stable during this period. In his memory, the Sorbet Kingdom would eventually face trouble, but that was a matter for over a decade in the future.
"So you actually went to Wano..."
Kuma and Ginny marveled as they listened to Beltz recount his tales of the sea. "I've heard it's a land of Samurai and extremely xenophobic. Weren't you rejected or cast out, Lord Beltz?"
"Not really," Beltz thought for a moment and added, "If anyone is doing the rejecting, it would be us rejecting them."
Shiki had no intention of dominating Wano's internal affairs, which had initially surprised Beltz. It seemed that even among pirates, not everyone was as utterly depraved as Kaido.
Kaido truly believed that by squeezing the labor of Wano to produce weapons, he could confront the World Government. Being a villain who believed only in the survival of the fittest, he constantly oppressed the people of Wano, turning the nation into a factory to create a world where the strong thrive and the weak perish.
But Shiki had the Ancient Weapon Pluton in his hands. With that power, no matter how many weapons the people of Wano forged, they couldn't compare. Furthermore, Shiki's ideology wasn't as extreme as Kaido's. Like Rocks, he wanted to be the ruler and dominator of the world. If one intends to rule the world, they naturally cannot exploit their subordinate nations as ruthlessly as Kaido did.
He occupied Wano but treated it as a vassal state. As long as they paid their tribute on time, Shiki didn't interfere in their internal politics. Especially now, with Shiki in the rising phase of his career, competing for territory across the seas, Wano was just one of his many subordinates.
"I really want to go out and see the ocean," Ginny said, her face filled with longing and aspiration.
"There will be a chance," Kuma said.
Kuma also harbored a desire to go to sea, but they were still young. The ocean was full of danger, and they didn't yet possess the strength to protect themselves or others. Moreover, they couldn't easily abandon the younger ones like Shamrock and Shanks, or the elderly in the village.
As they spoke, they arrived at the village.
This year, Shanks and Shamrock were four years old. The two toddlers were running through the village, playing and frolicking with the other children. Although they were born Celestial Dragons, the environment in which one is raised is the foundation that determines who they become. Furthermore, the two currently had no idea of their noble lineage.
"Shamrock! Shanks!" Kuma waved from a distance.
"It's Kuma!" Shanks turned his head and saw Kuma, raising both hands with a smile. "It's not dinner time yet!"
"Mr. Beltz has come to see you!"
"Mr. Beltz?" Shanks and Shamrock both froze.
In the past two years, as they began to form memories, they had heard plenty about Beltz from Kuma and Ginny. They knew Beltz had saved them from a disaster, but by the time they were old enough to understand, he had already gone to sea. They no longer remembered what he looked like, so hearing that he had arrived filled them with intense curiosity.
Looking at them now, Beltz wondered if he should take them out to sea. Growing up in a greenhouse provides a warm childhood, but in a world like this, warmth is often a ticket to hell. This was a world where living was sometimes worse than dying; while you indulge in happiness, disaster strikes, and you find yourself without the power to resist. These two brothers were destined for greatness; they shouldn't be buried here in the Sorbet Kingdom.
Though only four, it was time they saw the reality of the world. Beltz gradually made up his mind.
The two ran over, looking at Beltz with curiosity mixed with a bit of restraint.
"Mr. Beltz, I'm Shamrock."
"I'm Shanks!"
"I can tell," Beltz said, squatting down to look at them.
"Liar!" Shanks, appearing the more lively of the two, said, "Even Sister Ginny can't tell which of us is which!"
The two brothers truly looked too much alike, or rather, identical. When Beltz first found them at God Valley, he couldn't distinguish them either, and only knew because their names were written on their collars. But Beltz only needed to memorize them once. Now, he didn't need to look at physical appearances; he looked at the unique soul vibrations of each person. Especially for children like Shanks and Shamrock who didn't know how to hide their presence, it was impossible for Beltz to be mistaken.
"Then how about you two swap and see if I can still recognize you?" Beltz suggested.
The two glanced at each other and quickly ran into a small alley, disappearing from sight.
"Their names are on their collars," Ginny whispered, trying to help Beltz cheat.
"That's cheating! Sister Ginny, you can't do that!" Shanks' voice suddenly rang out from the alley.
"These little brats have sharp ears," Ginny scratched her head.
"Haha, I said I could tell, so I don't need those markers."
Beltz watched as the red-haired brothers ran back out. One of them asked, "Can you tell who I am?"
"Shanks."
!
Shanks' pupils dilated. He looked down at his collar—it wasn't exposed. He couldn't help but ask, "How did you find me out?"
Shamrock was equally curious.
"Want to learn? I'll teach you," Beltz chuckled. "You two, are you interested in coming to sea with me?"
?!
As soon as these words were uttered, not only were the red-haired brothers stunned, but even Kuma and Ginny were shocked.
"Mr. Beltz, they are only four. Isn't it... a bit too young?" Ginny couldn't help but say. Although she usually acted as their older sister, she had come to view them as her own. What mother could watch her four-year-old child leave her to go to sea?
Even Kuma felt it was inappropriate. "It is indeed a bit young."
When Ivankov went to sea, he was already thirteen. How dangerous would the ocean be for four-year-olds?
"We want to go!"
But the red-haired brothers were overjoyed. Their eyes sparkled with excitement. "Mr. Beltz, can you really take us out to sea?!"
Almost everyone with talent in this world yearned for the ocean. Although Roger had not yet sparked the Great Pirate Era, news of the Rocks Pirates' remnants fighting for territory over the last few years was always a headline. It's better to say that from the era of Rocks until now, pirate activity had become increasingly rampant, and the newspapers were mostly filled with their exploits. Such reports made most people loathe pirates, but they also made a portion of the population long for the sea.
Even a gentle and kind soul like Kuma longed for the sea, so it went without saying for the red-haired brothers.
"Of course I can," Beltz said softly. "But there will be many dangers on the sea. If you truly encounter a life-threatening situation, I might not even be able to save you. Even so, do you still want to come with me?"
"We aren't afraid to die!" Shanks put his arm around Shamrock's shoulder, and the two leaned together. "Don't look at us like we're small—we're very strong!"
"Fine." Beltz then turned to Ginny and Kuma. "Let me take them. They aren't children who should stay here."
Kuma and Ginny understood the weight of his words. It wasn't just about Beltz's desire to make them stronger; it was about evading the World Government. Beltz had already told Kuma and Ginny about their origins. They knew these two red-haired boys were descendants of the Celestial Dragons. Their mother had been killed by their father, a "Knight of God" of high status among the Celestial Dragons.
If the brothers stayed in the Sorbet Kingdom, it was inevitable they would be discovered. Since the kingdom was a member of the World Government, if a Celestial Dragon ever visited and recognized them, it would be a total catastrophe for the nation. Celestial Dragons were a pack of unreasonable dogs.
Kuma and Ginny realized this. Though reluctant, they knew that once the boys started to grow, they had to leave. Only on the sea was there a frontier beyond the jurisdiction of the Celestial Dragons.
Seeing that even Ginny had agreed after Beltz spoke, a look of adoration appeared in the brothers' eyes. Usually, Ginny was the one in charge of them, and they were somewhat afraid of her. Seeing Ginny so compliant before Beltz proved that there was always a bigger fish.
"So, when do we set sail?"
"I just got back. I need to stay for at least a few days," Beltz said, stuck between laughter and tears. "Are you really that eager to go?"
"Yes! Because only when you go to sea are you a real man!"
"Who taught you that?" Beltz ruffled their hair and said, "Go on, follow Ginny back for now. I have some things to handle."
He looked at Ginny. She understood immediately and asked, "You want that tape, right?"
That was Liltotto's memory. She knew Beltz had returned for it. Beltz nodded but didn't take it immediately. "I'll come collect it in a bit."
He then returned directly to the world of Bleach.
"!!! He vanished!" The red-haired brothers were shocked by Beltz's sudden disappearance, but Ginny and Kuma were already used to it.
Upon returning to the Soul Reaper world, Beltz appeared in Hueco Mundo. He had to go back to the Wandenreich first. Naturally, he couldn't return empty-handed, so he brought a specialty from One Piece: a large chunk of Seastone!
He kept it stored within his shadow, wrapped in layers of cloth. This Seastone was indeed a harvest he could use to report his mission. Wano was rich in Seastone and possessed the technology to process it. After having the Wano craftsmen work it slightly, he preserved it to bring to the Soul Reaper world.
In One Piece, Seastone can suppress Devil Fruit powers. Upon reaching the Soul Reaper world, this attribute was also recorded. However, its effect on other powers wasn't as severe; it wouldn't make a Quincy or Soul Reaper go limp upon contact like a Fruit user, but it would cause a certain level of weakness.
Beltz passed through the Gate of the Sun and returned to the Wandenreich. Stepping onto the Empire's soil, he took a deep breath. Having been away for over two years, he didn't exactly miss the place, but he had to come back. Even with a mission, one couldn't stay away forever.
His first stop was to report to Haschwalth. Haschwalth was a bit surprised to see him. "Have you returned because you found some leads?"
The Quincies had been monitoring the Seireitei, and the Soul Reapers had indeed sent a large force to find traces of the "World Government," but they had found nothing. The scouts the Empire sent out had similarly turned up empty. Now that Beltz was back, did he have a clue?
"I found this stone in Hueco Mundo." Beltz offered the Seastone with both hands.
"?" Haschwalth looked at the cloth-wrapped stone and asked suspiciously, "What is this? Why is it wrapped in cloth?"
"This stone possesses the ability to make one weak," Beltz said softly. "And it is extremely hard. I tried, and even a Heilig Bogen cannot destroy it. Also, while it is small, it has four words carved on it."
"Four words?"
Haschwalth walked over and unwrapped the cloth. Sure enough, he saw a plain, unadorned stone. It wasn't large, but it wasn't small either, and its edges were jagged, as if it had broken off from a larger piece. He looked at the stone and saw four characters carved into it:
"Man of the Half-Moon"
Man of the Half-Moon? Haschwalth frowned. What did that mean? He reached out and touched it, finding that just as Beltz said, touching the stone caused a sensation of weakness. Although the impact wasn't massive, the fact that even he was affected was very strange.
"Where did you find this stone?"
"Hueco Mundo," Beltz said solemnly. "But I can't give a specific location. Hueco Mundo is vast, and most of it looks the same. This stone was buried deep under the Reishi sand; I only noticed it during a battle with a Hollow."
Haschwalth pondered for a moment and said, "You have done well. I will report this to His Majesty and see that you are rewarded!"