Six Years Later
"Oooh! Oooh!" Lerena hooted in a low voice, pointing her finger excitedly toward the ocean beyond the railing.
Marco heard a loud bubbling sound, followed by a splash. A moment later the fish-man Namur climbed onto the deck, holding some strange creature in his webbed hands.
The curious five-year-old peeked over the Phoenix's shoulder, showing not the slightest trace of fear despite the powerful shark-like jaws and the unnatural blue color of Namur's skin.
"What did you catch?" Marco stepped closer and examined the wide, glistening sheet of dark skin in Namur's hands. It suddenly rippled like a living shadow.
Perched on Marco's hip, Lerena stuck a finger into her mouth—ignoring the usual warning that she shouldn't—and stared at the creature with complete fascination.
"It's a stingray," Namur explained. "It got separated from its school. If I hadn't picked it up, it would have—well… it might not have survived."
"What's its name?"
The girl tilted her blonde head slightly to the side and shivered when the small ray moved again.
"It doesn't have one."
"Then Lerry will give it one!"
She clapped her hands happily, immediately deciding that the stingray would stay on the ship.
"You can't keep it here," Marco protested.
The five-year-old responded with an indignant kick of her legs and an offended expression.
The older brother obediently set her down on the deck.
She immediately ran toward the main mast, where her father was sitting.
Her bare feet pattered quickly across the wooden planks. The sound made Edward Newgate lazily open his eyes and look around for the source of the disturbance.
The girl stopped in front of him with her lips pressed tightly together and pointed toward Namur by the railing.
"Lerry wants the stingray."
"A stingray, sweetheart?" Edward's deep voice rumbled across the deck. "And what exactly are you planning to do with it?"
Marco could clearly hear the approval already hidden in the Emperor's tone.
The voice echoed across the ship, vibrating through the air so strongly that every pirate nearby heard it.
"It's going to be my pet," she explained with complete seriousness. "Children on land have puppies, so Lerena wants a stingray."
She presented her argument simply and waited for her father's approval—prepared, if necessary, to force the matter with tears.
Ever since she had learned to speak in full sentences, Lerena referred to herself in the third person. Despite Rida's repeated attempts to correct her, the habit had never disappeared.
Most likely because no one else ever objected.
The Whitebeard Pirates simply didn't have the heart to correct her—especially when she demanded things in such an adorable way.
"Lerry wants a cookie."
Only Rida would narrow her eyes in irritation.
She often predicted that when Edward's youngest child grew up, she would wrap everyone around her little finger—not just the crew, but every Emperor and Admiral in the world.
And one day she would demand the One Piece as a birthday present.
"Namur brought it," Lerena added proudly.
Edward chuckled.
"Well then," he said, waving his hand casually, "if Namur allows it, you can keep the stingray."
A minute later the five-year-old returned to her father, carefully holding the stingray in both hands and staring at it with pure fascination.
Marco followed behind her with a deeply dissatisfied expression.
"You could at least tell her no once in a while," he muttered. "Just for the principle of it, yoi."
"I allowed you plenty of things too, Marco," Newgate replied calmly.
Then he looked at his daughter again.
His expression softened.
"Just look at her. Walking happiness."
"She does whatever she wants, yoi!" Marco protested, suddenly stammering for no clear reason and turning his head away.
"And why shouldn't she?" the captain laughed loudly.
"At the slightest wave of her little finger she commands the most dangerous crew in the world… with an Emperor at its head."
Whitebeard lowered his voice slightly, still watching his daughter laugh.
"You'll see, son. This little creature will have everyone in the palm of her hand. She's got such a tyrant's personality that one day she'll conquer even the Grand Line."
"Mr. Newgate! Lerry will call him Mr. Newgate!"
The girl lifted the stingray toward her father.
A moment later she yawned loudly.
Marco quickly took the stingray from her hands, cutting off any protests with practical reasoning.
"Fossa will build it an aquarium," he said. "We'll put it in your cabin. Now stop complaining and go take a nap. When you wake up, Thatch will make you toast with jam."
"Lerry wants a lot!" she declared sleepily.
She rubbed her eyes and climbed onto her father's outstretched hand.
Edward placed her on his knee and gently wrapped a piece of his cloak around her.
Lerena's attentive honey-colored eyes carefully followed her older brothers as they played happily across the deck of the Moby Dick. But when she failed to spot the familiar blond hair and purple shirt, she grew uneasy.
"Daddy?"
She tilted her head up toward her father's satisfied face. She was sitting comfortably on his knee, and though her quiet voice seemed too soft to rise above the noise on deck, it still caught Whitebeard's attention.
"Where's Marco?"
"Mhm…" Edward replied gently. "He won't be playing with us today, sweetheart. He's feeling sad."
Lerena puckered her lips and thought very hard about this for a moment.
When Edward finally assumed she had stopped worrying about her brother, the girl suddenly jumped down onto the deck and marched straight toward Thatch, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the galley.
"What do you want, little lobster?" Thatch asked lazily. "There's plenty of food on the tables."
"Lerry wants hot water!" she declared.
It was such a strange request that Thatch hesitated—but eventually gave in.
Meanwhile, the captain watched his five-year-old daughter with quiet curiosity.
She ran from the galley to her cabin and back again, clutching something in her hands. A few minutes later Thatch returned to the others, chuckling quietly to himself.
Soon Lerena emerged from the galley, holding a small plush toy in her arms. Determination was written all over her face as she marched toward Marco, who stood alone at the bow.
Jozu started to object, but Edward raised a hand, silencing him. He was curious to see what his daughter intended to do.
"Thatch, if this is you, I swear I'll rip your head off, you son—"
"Daddy says you're not allowed to use bad words around Lerry."
The offended little voice rose from below. The captain of the First Division managed to bite his tongue just in time.
Marco glanced down at his sister apologetically. As a reward, she handed him the plush toy which turned out to be…
"This is Zenny," she introduced proudly. "He's warm, soft, and he helps Lerry when she's sad."
To demonstrate, she hugged the zebra toy tightly. Hidden inside its striped body was a small hot-water bottle.
"Here."
Marco, completely taken by surprise, accepted the toy and crouched down beside her.
As if that weren't enough, Lerena leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.
"I love you, so don't be sad."
She smiled with the pure sincerity of a child who had known nothing but love and kindness—and had no idea how deeply those words would move him.