The moment York stepped out of the Mirror World and back into his administrative office, he let out a long breath of relief.
After quickly clearing the backlog of government affairs that had accumulated over his two-day absence, York stretched luxuriously.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
'It's about time.'
Any transmigrator who crossed over to this world—especially one who had successfully conquered Sky Island—would never miss out on that specific Devil Fruit.
The Logia: Rumble-Rumble Fruit (Goro Goro no Mi).
Nico Robin would later call it one of the "Invincible" abilities. With the power of lightning, it had almost no natural predators, save for a certain rubber boy. If York hadn't needed to distort reality to obtain his Holy Light abilities for survival, he would have done everything in his power to eat the Rumble-Rumble Fruit himself.
He didn't need it anymore, but acquiring it to train a future Admiral-level subordinate was a necessity. It was infinitely better than leaving it on Birka for Enel to find, only to have to deal with a rogue "God" years later.
Acting immediately, York summoned the former God of Skypiea and asked him for the coordinates to Birka Island.
The former God had never been there, but as the ruler of the skies, he knew the navigational routes. Using him as a guide, York called for Kaido. The three of them set off at once.
One day later.
Riding on Kaido's Azure Dragon form, they arrived at Birka Island.
From the air, the island was smaller than York had expected, boasting a population of only a few hundred residents. The most striking architecture was an ancient, sprawling temple located in the dead center of the island.
When they landed, the local Birkan warriors immediately moved to obstruct them.
York and Kaido didn't negotiate. They fought their way straight into the inner sanctum of the temple. There, resting quietly in the open palm of a massive stone statue, was the prize.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
As York reached out and took the fruit, the Birkan High Priest jumped up from the altar in frantic agitation.
"Outsiders! You cannot touch the power of God! That is our sacred treasure!!"
York chuckled. He didn't draw a weapon. He simply raised his hand, releasing a single, glowing tentacle of Holy Light that whipped forward and wrapped around the priest.
"Ugh—!"
The priest instantly collapsed to the stone floor. His body curled inward like a shrimp, and a foolish, ecstatic grin stretched across his face.
But York didn't stop the flow of energy. He pushed the pleasure multiplier past the human limit.
The silly grin was quickly replaced by expressions of agonizing overstimulation. The priest's entire body convulsed violently. Blood and yellowish fluids seeped from his orifices as his nervous system completely short-circuited. He died on the spot, a victim of lethal euphoria.
Walking out of the temple, York stepped over the corpses of the Birkan guards Kaido had slaughtered.
He ignored the bodies, his attention drawn to a dilapidated, pigpen-like structure near the temple grounds.
York ripped the iron door off its hinges. Inside, dozens of filthy, emaciated humans flinched away from the light.
York's gaze swept over them. None of them had the wings characteristic of sky-dwellers. They all wore heavy shackles, and the skin of their shoulders bore the burned tattoos of slavery. Beneath the grime, their tattered clothes still showed the faded emblems of various Blue Sea pirate crews.
These were Blue Sea pirates who had managed to ride the Knock Up Stream, only to be captured and enslaved by the Birkans instead of finding a city of gold.
Kaido grunted, resting his kanabo on his shoulder. "No wonder you started killing the moment we landed. They're slavers."
York looked down at the anxious, trembling prisoners.
"I came for a Devil Fruit," York said, his voice echoing in the damp cell. "Finding you was just a coincidence."
"You have two choices."
"One: Stay here and rot as slaves. Two: Come with me. But if you come with me, you obey my every command."
The slaves didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. They threw themselves to their knees, pressing their foreheads against the dirt.
"We'll go with you! We'll obey you! Just get us out of here!!"
When Kaido transformed back into his Azure Dragon form and took to the sky, dozens of ragged but fiercely hopeful survivors clung to his Flame Clouds.
Upon returning to Skypiea, York placed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit inside the Mirror World for safekeeping, alongside the remaining fruits from God Valley.
Gloriosa and Shakky, true to form, prioritized their ability to bathe and swim over the temptation of ultimate destructive power. York didn't press the issue. He already had a candidate in mind.
Among the slaves he had liberated from Birka, York spotted a toddler. A two-year-old half-breed boy. Unlike the Skypieans or Birkans, the child only had a single, stunted wing on his back.
During the flight back, York had casually asked the boy's exhausted mother for his name.
"His name is Enel," she had whispered.
'Perfect,' York thought. 'The fruit won't lack an owner.'
The key was to cultivate Enel's absolute loyalty from a young age. Fortunately, at two years old, he was a blank slate—just like three-year-old Teach.
York hired Enel's mother as a well-paid nanny for the royal estate. Her only job was to look after Teach and let the two toddlers become playmates.
They needed children their own age. Kuma (10), Ginny (14), and Ivankov (16) were getting older. Ginny, in particular, had blossomed. After a year of proper nutrition and care under York's roof, the once-malnourished girl had grown like a force-fed sapling, rapidly developing into a healthy, capable teenager.
After settling the refugees, life on Skypiea returned to a comfortable rhythm.
During the day, York managed the country, trained with Kaido, and occasionally tutored Ivankov and the older kids. At night, he retreated to the Mirror World, spending his evenings intimately with Stussy, Gloriosa, and Shakky.
Days passed peacefully.
Until one evening, the rhythm was broken.
Stussy's personal Den Den Mushi—a secure line from the Underworld—began to ring.
She took the call in private. Half an hour later, she rushed into the bedroom, her face flushed with excitement.
"York! Good news!!"
York paused, his hands freezing mid-caress over Stussy's waist. He sat up, his expression turning serious.
"Good news? What is it?"
Stussy practically vibrated with excitement. "A young genius I knew from back before I joined the Rocks Pirates... he's grown up. He's made incredible breakthroughs and gathered a few equally brilliant partners."
"He just secured massive financial backing from Du Feld, the Loan Shark King of the Underworld. He's preparing to establish an independent, illegal research institute, and he wants to invite me to manage their logistics and intelligence!"
York's eyes widened. A jolt of electricity shot down his spine.
"The MADS Research Institute?!"
Stussy stopped, staring at him in utter shock. "How... how do you know that name?!"
"That doesn't matter right now!" York grabbed her shoulders, leaning in intensely. "This genius boy you know... is his name Vegapunk?"
"...Yes," Stussy whispered, completely bewildered. 'How does a pirate from the West Blue know the name of an obscure scientist from Karakuri Island?'
"HAHAHAHAHA!!"
York ignored her confusion. He pulled Stussy into a crushing hug and kissed her fiercely on the cheek.
"Stussy! You truly are my lucky star! HAHAHAHA!"
'MADS... the gathering of the world's greatest minds: Vegapunk, Judge, Queen, Caesar. And my woman is the one managing them. This changes everything.'
Stussy smiled, the warmth of his reaction melting away her doubts.
What if York had secrets? Who didn't have a few mysteries in the Grand Line? All that mattered was that he was thrilled.
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