Chapter 8 – Snow White Kiss and Orange Shadows
MC POV (Sunny)
"Oi, Ego. System. Quick question."
{Ego}: Correction: That's not quick. Every time you start with that line, it takes an hour of pointless babbling.
"Rude. I was just wondering—how old am I now?"
{Ego}: Precise timestamp: Nine years, six months, three days, twelve hours, and twenty-seven seconds old. Congratulations, you are still a brat.
[System]: Master Sunny's current biological age is nine years, six months, three days, twelve hours, twenty-seven minutes, and thirteen seconds. Height: 144.3 cm. Weight: 34.6 kg. Hair slightly messy from lack of brushing. Underwear: striped, blue-and-white pattern with tiny anchors. Cuteness rating: S-tier.
"…Seriously?"
{Ego}: I told you. Creepy stalker energy.
[System]: Correction: I am devoted. Unlike certain sarcastic parasites, I appreciate every detail about Master.
And just like that, they were off again. Argument number… what, two-hundred-something this week? Honestly, I stopped counting.
"Forget it." I sighed, massaging my temple. "How efficient is my training so far?"
{Ego}: Efficiency rating: 110%. That's already overkill for your malnourished nine-year-old body. If you keep grinding like this, you'll collapse. Suggestion: Meditate. Expand your Observation Haki calmly, instead of breaking your joints.
[System]: Unacceptable. Master, you can push further. Cover the entire island with Armament Haki. Saturation training will exponentially refine quality and reserves. Efficiency: immeasurable. Risk: irrelevant. Your body is divine; it will obey.
"…Yeah, okay." I clapped my hands once, standing up. "Let's put that on the maybe pile."
Both: NO, LISTEN TO ME!
I tuned them out. Their bickering was basically background music now—like an annoying podcast nobody asked for.
Peaceful Morning That Isn't Peaceful
"Why is it so quiet today?" I muttered, stretching. Usually Aqua was loud enough to wake the dead. But the entire morning? Silent.
Weird.
I spread Observation Haki across the island, but… nothing. No Aqua.
{Ego}: Correction: She's not hiding within the island's perimeter.
[System]: Observation overlay activated. Scanning at maximum range.
Still nothing.
That's when a cackling laugh popped into my head. Oh, great. RBG.
"Sunny! O-ho-ho-ho! Let me tell you a story."
"…Oh no."
"There was once a cute blue-haired little girl. She found a blue mushroom—"
"Please don't."
"—and she didn't want to share it with her dear friend. So! She snuck onto a tiny boat to hide. After eating the mushroom, the little girl fell into a deep sleep! And the boat? Swept into the endless sea."
"…You're joking."
"The only way to wake her up? A kiss on the lips! Classic Snow White style. Not the new live-action movie though, that was garbage. Trash. Zero out of ten."
I rubbed my face. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Oh, but wait! Here's her location. Have fun, loverboy~"
The voice vanished. I didn't even hesitate. I sprinted to the coast, focused, and forced Haki into my soles.
Step.
The water rippled beneath me.
Step.
I wasn't sinking. Holy crap, it worked. I was running on the ocean.
Running on Water, Freaking Out Internally
"Master, your vitals are spiking!" [System] panicked. Sweat production: 32% increase! Breathing erratic! Possibility of drowning: UNACCEPTABLE.
{Ego}: Correction: Probability of dying at sea: 72%. And honestly, I'd laugh.
"Shut up!" I yelled, splashing forward. "Just keep tracking her!"
One day later....
Salt spray hit my face as the horizon finally revealed a tiny boat drifting lazily.
And there she was.
Aqua, curled up like a doll, sleeping soundly. Blue hair shimmering in the sun. Her chest rising and falling gently.
My steps faltered.
"…Holy…"
She was… beautiful. Too beautiful.
Both skills noticed instantly.
{Ego}: Correction: Stop gawking. Your face is red. Pathetic.
[System]: Unforgivable. Master's reaction exceeds baseline admiration. Jealousy module: ACTIVATED.
"Shut. Up."
I hopped onto the boat, kneeling beside her. RBG's dumb Snow White story echoed in my head. I swallowed.
"This is so stupid."
Leaning down, I pressed my lips softly against hers.
Aqua's eyes snapped open.
And then her arms shot around my neck, pulling me down.
"Wha—?!"
She kissed me back. Hard. Tongue included.
My brain short-circuited.
Two. Whole. Minutes.
I finally shoved myself back, gasping for air. My face was on fire.
Aqua, meanwhile, was blushing but smirking.
"Sunny… my cute Sunny… how dare you sneak attack me in my sleep with a kiss? Can't you resist my goddess charm even for a moment?"
"That's—! You—! I didn't—!"
Words failed me. She giggled, leaning closer with a wicked little sparkle in her eyes.
Yeah, I was doomed.
A New Island, A Familiar Face
I was still trying to process the fact that I'd just been French-kissed by Aqua when I noticed something strange.
The boat had drifted to a shore.
Observation Haki spread outward instinctively. Fields. Small houses. The faint scent of tangerines.
And there.
A little girl about my age, with bright orange hair tied in a side ponytail, carefully picking oranges from a garden.
I froze.
No. Way.
Nami.
This was Cocoyasi Village. Conomi Islands.
And over there, not far from her, I could sense Belle-mère—tough, warm-hearted, already worrying about how to feed two adopted daughters.
My throat tightened.
Because I knew what was coming in a year.
And I had no idea if I could just sit back and let history play out.