Leno glanced around at the crowd, all of them staring at him with complicated expressions. He could only give a wry smile and shake his head.
Inside, he was cursing. 'Damn it, I let that slip!'
Cobra couldn't understand the important things, but the old man's brain could spin pretty fast—just in completely the wrong direction.
The people encircling him saw his reaction and assumed he was tacitly confirming it, and their emotions only grew heavier.
Nami and Nojiko were replaying the past—what would have happened to Cocoyasi Village if Leno hadn't been there when the Arlong Pirates invaded?
Kuina was also lost in thought. If Leno hadn't caught her that night…
Robin's tears were already spilling over. She was someone with no future. She had once wondered whether she'd die during another escape, collapsing in some forgotten corner of the world… or end up locked away in Impel Down, living out the rest of her days in despair.
Everything changed when she met Leno.
Hancock broke entirely. She threw herself into Leno's arms and sobbed uncontrollably. She never wanted to return to that hell again…
Yamato, Uta, and the others were each remembering their lives before meeting Leno, and one by one their eyes clouded with tears as they fell silent.
"Wuuuu… Captain Leno, were you sent from the heavens just to save us?"
Chopper had somehow ended up clinging to Leno's leg, bawling loudly, tears and snot smearing all over him.
Leno almost kicked him off out of disgust, but seeing how genuinely moved he was, he held back.
He never expected Cobra's one sentence to be so destructive—it had the whole group sinking into emo sadness on the spot.
"What are you thinking? Sent from the heavens? Why don't you just say I literally came from the sky?"
Leno patted Hancock's back, then looked helplessly at the others.
"Meeting all of you… that's just fate. Nothing mystical about it."
"With the way you're all acting, it makes it seem like I had evil intentions toward you from the start."
"Pfft—"
Nami couldn't help laughing through her tears, glaring at him in annoyance—way to ruin the mood.
"Who knows? With how perverted you are, maybe you did have your eyes on us from the beginning!"
The girls exchanged looks—and honestly, it sounded plausible. His reputation for lust was already deeply ingrained.
As for Leno denying any precognitive abilities, none of them took it seriously anyway. The fewer people who knew about something so outrageous, the better.
Leno glanced at Cobra, who was still lost in his own dramatic misery. Seriously… things hadn't even happened yet.
What was with that expression? He looked like he'd aged ten years in an instant.
"Your Majesty, what are you blaming yourself for? Nothing's even happened yet."
"Besides, I only said if. All you have to do is drop that idea."
Leno's words finally snapped Cobra back. The king blinked around in confusion, then suddenly spoke:
"Lord Leno, please take Vivi away with you!"
"???"
What kind of topic shift was that? Did the shock knock something loose in his head?
"F-Father?!"
Vivi was still processing her supposed tragic fate, and now her father wanted to send her away? She couldn't accept it.
How could she abandon her father at such a time? They should face danger together.
"Vivi, listen."
"If there is anyone in this world who can protect you completely… it is Lord Leno."
Cobra stood and gently wiped the tears from her eyes, studying her beautiful face with a tender smile.
"With him beside you, I can finally be at ease."
He wanted to keep his daughter close. But their conversation just now made him realize—Vivi was safest at Leno's side.
But Leno spoke again, and there was even a hint of teasing in his tone.
"Be at ease? What else are you planning to do? Abandoning your country now?"
"Let me remind you—those Celestial Dragons have destroyed islands and annihilated kingdoms plenty of times. It happens every three years or so."
Cobra's face instantly went pale. Leno felt a little bad, but he hardened his heart.
A man like Cobra wasn't afraid of death. Only threatening what he valued could stop him.
If he weren't worried Vivi would regret it someday, Leno wouldn't bother this much.
"You really don't need to panic. The truth you're chasing—the meaning behind it… it will reveal itself in this era.
As long as you're alive to see it."
"Lord Leno… what does the 'D' truly represent?"
Leno felt a headache. This man really didn't know when to stop.
You're asking me? I'd like to know too.
But Robin's eyes lit up instantly. She turned toward Leno, staring intensely, convinced he knew something.
He rolled his eyes. Did they think he knew everything?
"You're one of the D-clan yourself. Why are you asking me?"
"Nani?!"
Robin stared at Cobra in disbelief. The answer she had been searching for her whole life… was right here?
If Cobra was really a D… why did he seem completely clueless?
Cobra himself was stunned. He knew of his bloodline, but he didn't know what 'D' represented—its meaning, purpose, Will… nothing.
Seeing his bewildered expression, Leno could only sigh. He couldn't start making things up.
"All I know is that the Celestial Dragons have always considered the D-clan their mortal enemies. When they find one, they will be killed."
"So never admit your bloodline in front of a Celestial Dragon. And don't mention Queen Lily either."
After solemnly warning Cobra, Leno's eyes narrowed as he remembered something else.
"Oh, right. Someone carrying the D-clan's Will has already appeared in this era. Though—well—he probably doesn't know his mission either."
"Leno, what do you mean by that?"
Robin grabbed Leno's arm with surprising force, her emotions on the verge of collapse after one bombshell revelation after another.
"It means exactly what I said. Didn't I already tell you?"
"It's the one Little Bonney talked about—the Sun God."
...