...
Watching his "future self" in the light screen completely reduced to a demon, slaughtering his own crew in a frenzy, Rocks in reality felt an unprecedented surge of complex emotions for the first time.
Anger? Yes.
Furious rage toward Imu and the World Government for their despicable methods of toying with souls and twisting wills.
Fear? Yes.
A bone-deep chill at the possibility of losing himself and becoming that kind of monster in the future.
But more than anything, it was a dull, knife-like pain of… self-blame and sudden realization.
His gaze involuntarily shifted toward the small, still-sniffling figure in Eris' arms.
Davy D. Teach—his son.
In the future not yet shown by the light screen, this child would become the insidious, ambitious, unscrupulous "Blackbeard" Teach—willing to betray and kill even "brothers" without hesitation to achieve his goals.
The world would curse his cruelty and heartlessness.
But at this moment, looking at the infant wailing heartbrokenly because his father had turned into a monster, a blinding flash of insight cut through Rocks' mind.
He seemed to… understand something.
Teach's future ruthlessness, cold-bloodedness, refusal to invest real emotion in anyone, and placing ambition above all else…
Perhaps it wasn't innate?
Perhaps the future Teach, during his growth, heard the tragedy of his father—Rocks—being manipulated because of "weaknesses" like wife, child, and friends, ultimately turned into a demon and forced to slaughter his comrades?
Perhaps he was shaped by that fear and despair, arriving at a brutal conclusion: to reach the pinnacle, to realize his ambitions, to never be controlled by anyone…
He must sever all "weaknesses," become absolutely ruthless, absolutely selfish, absolutely… without anything precious that could be exploited.
That way, he would not repeat his father's mistake.
That way, no one could grasp his handle by threatening someone he cherished.
That way, he could become a true, invulnerable… "monster."
This was merely Rocks' conjecture—a father's anguished speculation about his child's twisted future.
But when he thought about how he himself had been precisely struck at his defenses—because he exposed his cherishing of wife, child, and friends—and ultimately reduced to a puppet by Imu…
This guess suddenly carried crushing weight.
Everything seemed to make sense.
Teach's "evil" might not have been inborn.
It might have been the only "path to survival" a child found for himself amid despair and terror.
This thought brought Rocks a suffocating heartache.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the surging emotions, and walked over to Eris' side.
Eris was still silently shedding tears, her shoulders trembling slightly, yet she still held the crying Teach tightly, trying to offer the child what little comfort she could with her body warmth and gentle pats.
"Eris..."
Rocks' voice was unusually gentle. He reached out and lightly held his wife's shoulders: "Stop crying… look at me."
Eris lifted her tear-blurred face and looked at Rocks—her husband.
"I'm fine right now, aren't I?"
Rocks tried hard to make his tone sound firm: "That was the fixed course of the 'future'—a tragedy calculated by that monster! But now…"
He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the infant in her arms, Harald not far away, and the comrades whose fates were now intertwined despite their various motives. His voice rang with iron resolve: "The light screen has appeared! Everything has changed! Our family, our friends—they're all right here!
The future is in our own hands! There's still time!"
This was not empty comfort. It was a judgment based on reality.
The light screen's intervention had turned the "original future" into an observable, analyzable, and avoidable "possibility."
They now knew Imu's schemes in advance, the terror of Domi · Reversi, and the danger of having "weaknesses" exploited.
So, as long as they stayed vigilant enough and grew strong enough…
The tragedy might not be inevitable.
Hearing her husband's words, a spark reignited in Eris' eyes.
She nodded forcefully, wiped her tears, and gently patted Teach in her arms.
Little Teach's crying gradually quieted. Finally, in his mother's warm embrace and his father's resolute words, he broke into a happy smile—though tear tracks still lingered at the corners of his eyes.
"Terrifying ability…"
Garp crossed his arms, his face so dark it could drip water: "I never imagined… that behind the World Government was a monster like this."
Many Marine soldiers began trembling in their legs, staring at the light screen's contents with fear. They were ordinary people—not invincible powerhouses…
"What the hell is this thing?! Is this still human?!"
Golden Lion Shiki had completely dropped his usual arrogance; his face was filled with shock and lingering dread.
He could accept defeat, accept death—but he could not accept becoming a mindless monster that obeyed orders only.
That was more terrifying than death.
The other powerhouses around them—Whitebeard, Big Mom, Kaido, and the Roger Pirates—remained silent,
but their eyes were filled with deep wariness.
No one wanted to face such a "future."
Just as the atmosphere grew oppressively heavy, a mocking cold laugh rang out.
"Hey! Shiki, you're not actually scared, are you?"
Silver Axe took off his glasses and glanced sideways at Shiki, whose face had turned ugly in the sky. "What are you panicking about? With this weird thing here…"
He pointed at the light screen still hanging high overhead, then jabbed a finger toward the ashen-faced Five Elders in the distance: "I really don't believe that monster would dare rush out right now and turn us all into that state!"
Silver Axe's words struck like thunder, jolting everyone awake.
That's right!
The light screen was still there!
The Five Elders were still here!
If Imu or the Five Elders truly had the power to act immediately, why were they just standing around watching?
Why, after the light screen exposed so many of their secrets, could they only rage impotently?
Silver Axe continued his analysis, his voice carrying clearly across the entire scene: "This light screen is extremely strange—it can show the future and even dares to spill that monster's secrets!
If the Five Elders could shut it down, they would have done it long ago!"
He looked around and raised his volume: "What does this mean? It means either whatever is behind this light screen is even more powerful than that monster!
Or that the monster and the Five Elders currently have no way to directly interfere here! They're afraid! They're wary!"
This deduction was logical and struck at the core.
The pirates—who had earlier been paralyzed by fear, even thinking of fleeing God Valley immediately—gradually had their eyes light up again.
"Silver Axe is right!"
"Brothers! What the hell are we afraid of?! We've got this 'treasure' holding the field!"
"Exactly! The whole world is watching now! All their dirty deeds are exposed! Let's see how they clean this up!"
"Even if we really can't beat them, with so many of us, can't we run if we want to? As long as the green hills remain, there's no worry about firewood!"
The pirates' morale flared up like dry tinder set ablaze! They gripped their weapons anew and glared furiously toward the Five Elders and the God's Knights!
The earlier fear was replaced by anger and a fearless, barefoot bravado.
Some Marine officers who had also been considering retreat now secretly breathed sighs of relief, their eyes regaining firmness.
Against this kind of enemy, fear was useless, and running was useless.
Since they were temporarily safe, they might as well use this opportunity to gather more intelligence and prepare for the true "justice" of the future.
"Gahahahaha! Now that's some spirit!"
Giant Brogy looked down at the pirates below who had regained their fighting spirit and let out a booming laugh: "Now that's more like it!"
"Jeejeejeejeejee!"
Dorry also grinned widely: "In front of this monster and these secrets, I really am too small!
But being small doesn't mean we have to kneel and wait for death! Not being able to win is one thing—whether we dare to fight is another!"
The words of the two Giant Warrior Pirates captains injected another powerful dose of courage into everyone.
Even the long-lived, worldly-wise giants felt their own insignificance, yet they still chose to laugh boldly in the face of it. This boldness infected everyone present.
Giant King Harald said nothing. He simply stood silently beside Rocks, his enormous body like a quiet mountain.
His gaze never left the light screen—nor the Five Elders.
The confusion and wavering in his eyes were gone, replaced only by a slowly chilling, settled determination.
Rocks glanced at the Giant King beside him, then at his comrades whose fighting spirit had reignited, and finally at the mysterious light screen in the sky.
A slight smile tugged at his lips—they hadn't lost yet!
...
(Note: My speculation and evaluation of Rocks regarding Teach is just my personal interpretation. If you have a different understanding, feel free to go with your own view—everyone sees things differently, after all!)