Chapter 103: The Mysterious Woman
A young maiden suddenly appeared amidst the ruins. She wore a light blue kimono and white wooden clogs, her figure tall and graceful. Her long black hair flowed smoothly down to her waist, like a celestial maiden stepped out of a painting.
"You've come, Luo Han," the girl's crisp voice rang out, as if she knew him well. Her tone carried an odd trace of maturity, as if she had experienced much in her life.
"Who are you?" Luo Han instantly grew alert. With a thought, he activated his Mind Armor Mode. Though the girl seemed sincere, anyone who could avoid his mental detection was certainly not ordinary.
"My name is Amatsuki Toki. You can just call me Toki," the girl — Amatsuki Toki — said softly.
"How did you appear here? And you said you've been waiting for me?" As he spoke, Luo Han's pupils contracted, his gaze turned cold, and a burst of Conqueror's Haki exploded from him. "Was it you who destroyed Ring Tree Island? Are you with the World Government?"
The atmosphere immediately grew tense — a fight could break out at any moment.
"No, no, no! It wasn't me!" Toki waved her hands quickly, denying it in panic. She added urgently, "Everyone's alive!"
Huh? Luo Han withdrew his Haki, eyes locked tightly on Toki. "What did you say?"
Seeing him calm down, Toki patted her chest in relief, then sat down to explain:
"I've already sent everyone thirty years into the future — to Ring Tree Island in that time. That means thirty years from now, they'll reappear here."
"I'm a Time-Time Fruit user. I can send people to specific moments in the future. If you come here thirty years from now, you'll see them. And for them, those thirty years will feel like just a moment."
Whew! After hearing her explanation, Luo Han let out a long breath.
"Thank goodness. Granny Mo and everyone else are safe… Even if I have to wait thirty years."
Finally, the heavy weight in his heart was lifted.
"But how did you know to come here?" Luo Han asked, puzzled by how Toki knew Ring Tree Island's location and arrived in time to save everyone.
"I told you — I'm a Time-Time Fruit user, remember? Hehe!" Toki laughed lightly. Then she added, "My powers don't just let me travel through time — I can also see glimpses of the future."
"I saw a future where Ring Tree Island was in danger. That's how I knew, and I came here ahead of time to send everyone into the future."
At this, Luo Han's brows furrowed. He looked around at the destroyed island, his face darkening.
"So you know who destroyed Ring Tree Island?"
"I do," Toki nodded solemnly. "It happened five days ago. There was an old man with a sword and another with a long white beard, leading a group of masked men in black. They seemed to be searching for something on the island. When they couldn't find it, they destroyed everything and left."
"Masked men in black? Must be CP0… And those two old men? Could they be the Gorosei?" Luo Han's heart sank again. Then his eyes narrowed. "They sent the Gorosei? That serious? Things are going to get rough…"
"But I won't give you another chance. I have thirty years left — let's take our time, Gorosei!"
Having made up his mind, Luo Han looked at Toki seriously. Now that he knew her identity — a Time-Time Fruit user — he also knew she was the mother of a certain infamous pervert who was fated to die in the future. Hmph.
"Alright, tell me. What do you want from me?"
Luo Han knew very well that nothing in this world came for free — especially when it involved knowledge of the future. Helping him save everyone from Ring Tree Island definitely had a price.
"Um… Well, let me give you this first. I almost forgot," Toki said, hesitating a bit before pulling a fruit from behind her back and handing it to Luo Han.
"What is this?" Luo Han took the round golden fruit, its surface patterned like fish scales. "It's the special Scale Fruit from Little Ring of the Divine Tree… It might be a Divine Tree seed."
"Try sensing it with your mind."
Luo Han's eyes narrowed as he glanced at Toki. She shrank back a little, realizing she had said too much.
He turned his gaze away, now wary. "She even knows the mental name I gave it!" Luo Han thought, clearly unsettled. He said nothing further, hating the feeling of being completely seen through.
He then used his mental sense to probe the golden Scale Fruit. "Yes, this is it." A faint smile appeared on Luo Han's lips. He sensed a familiar energy — Little Ring's mental signature. However, it seemed to be asleep, unable to communicate.
"Little Ring is such a dependable companion, Luo Han," Toki said, her gaze full of admiration as she looked at the fruit in Luo Han's hand.
"You probably don't know, but I was only able to rescue everyone because Little Ring led me here."
"What do you mean?" Luo Han turned to Toki.
She looked out to sea at a tree root poking above the waves, and said softly:
"My ability can't send people to different places in the future. Where I go into the future from is where I'll appear. So, I kept trying to get to this location from the past. It wasn't until one month before the island was destroyed that I reached this sea from the past, and then I started searching for Ring Tree Island. But because the present was so different from the past, I couldn't find it."
"Then, ten days ago, my Observation Haki suddenly sensed a voice from the deep sea. It was Little Ring."
"Turns out Little Ring's consciousness could cling to its root system. Six months ago, it heard someone in this sea planning to destroy Ring Tree Island. It wanted to warn you, but you weren't nearby at the time."
"By chance, I arrived in the area then. Realizing I could hear it, Little Ring asked me to find you. After understanding the situation, I told it about my ability, and we agreed to send everyone to the future."
"After that, I traveled to the present-day Ring Tree Island to wait for you."
After hearing all this, Luo Han gave her a glance, deep in thought. Although he didn't quite understand why she chose thirty years, as long as everyone was safe, he didn't dwell on it.
He placed the fruit carefully in his bag and kept it protected with telekinesis. "When I find a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user in the future, I'll help you recover," he whispered to it.
"Now then, after going through all this trouble to help me, what is it that you really want?" Luo Han calmly asked again.
Toki stood up and looked at Luo Han with a serious expression, speaking each word with care: "I hope you never go to Wano Country in the future. Remember — nothing connected to you can."
"Alright. No problem," Luo Han replied.
"Uh… You're not going to ask why?" Toki looked baffled. She had prepared a whole explanation and didn't expect Luo Han to agree so easily.
"Haha! Compared to my loved ones, this is nothing." Luo Han smiled. "I don't know what the future me did in Wano that made you go through all this trouble to help me, but I'll acknowledge the debt."
(END CHAPTER)
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