Jake's words struck Tesoro like a thunderbolt.
The moment he heard them, Tesoro froze completely.
He looked at Jake and instinctively let out a "Huh?" sound.
The next moment, as if realizing the meaning behind those words, Tesoro leaped up from the sofa.
Trembling uncontrollably, he stared at Jake and asked.
"Jake-sama, what do you mean by saying these words were just told to you personally by Stella?! Is Stella still alive? Is she... is she here with us right now?! That's impossible! I buried Stella's body with my own hands! I buried her myself! Are you joking with me?!"
"If this is a joke, then I beg you to stop it immediately, because—"
Before Tesoro could finish, Jake gazed at him with golden-glowing eyes and said softly.
"I'm not the kind of despicable bastard who jokes about someone's sincere emotions, Tesoro. Those words were indeed told to me by Stella. And I can tell you with absolute certainty—Stella is right beside you now. She's a beautiful woman with soft blond hair and blue eyes. A very gentle soul, isn't she?"
Hearing this, Tesoro stood dumbfounded.
He knew for certain that Jake could never have met Stella before, yet now he was describing her appearance with perfect accuracy—the unforgettable image forever etched in Tesoro's heart.
Could it be... could Stella truly be here with him?!
But... why couldn't he see her?!
"Stella... Stella is really here with me?! Jake-sama! Why can you see her but I can't?! Please, can you let me see her? Just once! Even just once is enough! I'm begging you, please let me see her! No—even if you could just tell me what she's saying! Please!"
As Tesoro spoke, he started to kneel, but Jake stopped him, holding his arm while explaining gently.
"Tesoro, how much do you know about me?"
Hearing this, Tesoro paused, then answered after some thought.
"The future pillar of the Marines... the new generation leader of the Marines... chief director of the Great Cleansing Movement... the youngest Commodore in Marine Headquarters history..."
Jake shook his head and continued.
"None of that matters. Let me ask you—do you know what Devil Fruit I've eaten?"
At this, Tesoro suddenly raised his head, his voice trembling.
"It's... it's the Mythical Zoan-type Seraphim Fruit! The legendary Angel Fruit! You... you can really see Stella's soul like the angels in legends? Has Stella... has she really never left, staying by my side all this time?"
Hearing this, Jake smiled and said softly to Tesoro.
"If the woman I see following you is indeed Stella, then I should be able to see her. But honestly, this is the first time I've encountered such a thing. I've never seen someone else's soul before, yet Miss Stella's spirit appears incredibly clear to my eyes right now."
With that, Jake looked up and softly addressed the empty space beside Tesoro.
"Would you like to meet Tesoro?"
After a brief pause, Jake smiled slowly at Tesoro's expression, which had twisted with excitement.
"Miss Stella has asked me to tell you she wants to meet you. Would you like to see her?"
Hearing this, Tesoro dropped to his knees with such speed that even Jake couldn't react in time.
His forehead pressed firmly against the ground as he nearly sobbed to Jake.
"Yes! Yes! For years, I've longed to see Stella again! If you can truly grant this request, then from this day forward, my life, my life, will forever belong to you, Jake-sama! Whatever you command, I will not hesitate for even a moment!"
At this, Jake chuckled.
Grasping Tesoro's shoulder, he said calmly.
"Not 'whatever.' I doubt Miss Stella would want to see you doing evil deeds. Anyway, I've never done something like this before, so I'm not entirely sure it'll work. Let's just see how it goes."
"Please don't feel any pressure! Even if you could just relay some of Stella's words to me, that would be more than enough. If meeting her might cause her any harm, I'd rather not see her at all!"
Jake gave a light laugh before telling Tesoro.
"That's not up to you. Miss Stella says she wants to see you, to speak with you directly, and to... give you a hug."
As Tesoro's face flushed crimson, Jake's expression turned peculiar as he noticed his suddenly illuminated resurrection skill.
Truth be told, he'd only recently reached level 40.
After learning the [Light of Revival] skill, Jake had specifically visited a graveyard, only to find the ability completely inactive.
At the time, he recalled that in the game, this skill only revived teammates who had died within 10 seconds, so he didn't dwell on it too much.
After all, he couldn't just kill someone to test whether the ability worked, could he?
But in subsequent experiments, Jake discovered he couldn't revive people who had clearly died very recently either.
Enemies or allies alike—none could be revived.
After so many failed attempts, Jake had nearly written off the ability as useless.
Yet just moments ago, shortly after Tesoro entered, he noticed the [Light of Revival] skill had suddenly activated!
Before Jake could process what was happening, he felt Holy Light Energy surging uncontrollably toward his eyes.
Then, to his astonishment, he saw the long-deceased Stella standing beside Tesoro.
When their eyes met, both were startled.
And when Stella instinctively spoke those words to Tesoro, Jake's act of repeating them aloud made her spirit jump in fright.
After confirming that he could indeed see Stella's soul, Jake decided to use [Light of Revival] to see if it was possible to resurrect her.
But truth be told, Jake himself didn't hold much hope.
After all, resurrection was something far too extraordinary and unheard of.
Still, giving it a try probably wouldn't hurt.
It was a buff skill anyway—nothing could possibly go wrong!
With that thought, Jake activated the skill.
The next moment, his entire body went weak.
*****
Resurrection : Resurrects nearby dead allies with holy power.
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