In the blink of an eye, several years passed, and it was now the year 1510 of the Sea Calendar.
Ye Shi, Luffy, and Ace had grown into young children, spending their days exploring the mountains and forests and building a secret base.
"Sigh." Sitting on a tree branch, Ye Shi's expression was slightly melancholy.
"Ye Shi, why are you sighing again?"
Luffy looked up at the sighing Ye Shi and asked in confusion.
"A little brat your age wouldn't understand my troubles."
"Don't mind her. She's been like this since she was little, talking as if she's so old when she's clearly the youngest sister."
Ace replied irritably from the side.
"She's the strongest among us thanks to her Devil Fruit, yet she's always gloomy. I have no idea what she's thinking," Sabo whispered to Ace and Luffy.
Up in the tree, Ye Shi overheard them: "You three, are you badmouthing me again? Just wait until I get down there and send you flying!"
Luffy quickly shouted, "Run! The Demoness is about to show her power!"
Ye Shi flipped down from the tree: "If you've got the guts, don't run! I can beat all three of you even without Zafkiel!"
"Tch, who wants you to hold back? Catch us if you can!" Luffy didn't forget to look back and taunt her as he ran.
"Fine, you said it. Don't blame me for being ruthless once I catch you."
Hearing Luffy's words, Sabo roared at him, "Luffy, you idiot! Her bullets can accelerate her own time! If you want to get beaten, don't drag us into it!"
"It's too late to cut ties with Luffy now. Zafkiel!"
As Ye Shi called out, a massive golden clock face appeared behind her. The mechanical gears visible within looked exquisite and mysterious, and the clock face bore twelve ancient Roman numerals symbolizing time.
For some reason, only the '1' in the upper right corner glowed; the other eleven numbers were as dim as if they were sealed.
She was even clad in a spirit dress identical to Kurumi's, albeit a child's version. Two antique rifles, one long and one short, representing the Hour Hand and minute hand, appeared in her hands.
As she grew over the years, Ye Shi realized that the girl she thought she was saving back then was no ordinary person; it was quite possible she hadn't saved a girl at all, but had been hit by a truck.
Zafkiel had suddenly appeared while Garp was training her. At the time, Garp and the others were shocked by the sudden appearance of the dress, clock, and rifles.
However, Ye Shi simply claimed she had eaten a strange fruit that tasted terrible, and Garp didn't press further.
After all, there were too many strange abilities on this sea. Garp simply assumed Ye Shi had eaten a unique Devil Fruit.
However, after discovering Ye Shi's ability, Garp's frequency of training the four of them increased. Perhaps in his eyes, he didn't see four children, but the future Four Admirals of the Marine.
"Zafkiel, First Bullet!" The glowing '1' on the clock flashed. Ye Shi raised a gun to her own head. Seeing this, the three fleeing boys weren't shocked; instead, they ran even faster.
After a gunshot, Ye Shi's figure suddenly vanished. With a flicker, she appeared behind Luffy. "So you're the brat who just called me a Demoness, huh?"
Thud! With a loud sound, Luffy's head collided hard with Ye Shi's fist, and a large bump swelled up.
Luffy clutched his head and wailed, "Damned Demoness! It's bad enough you have a weird ability, but your punches hurt so much!"
"This is the Fist of Love, so it's supposed to hurt. Don't worry, the other two will be joining you shortly."
Along with Ye Shi's voice came two gunshots and two screams.
Ye Shi held Ace in one hand and Sabo in the other, throwing them both next to Luffy. She then spoke provocatively:
"You two are clearly older than me yet so weak. I can't feel at ease letting you go out to sea alone like this."
Ace and Sabo also clutched the bumps on their heads, looking at Luffy with resentful eyes. If he hadn't said it was okay for her to use her ability, they wouldn't have been caught so easily.
Ace replied, "Tch, when old man Garp comes back, I'm definitely going to learn that ability of his to predict your position. Also, your Devil Fruit is too ridiculous. Is that teleportation?"
Ye Shi smiled and explained, "That's not teleportation. I'm just so fast that you can't keep up."
Hearing Ace's words, Sabo said irritably, "That's Observation Haki, Ace, you idiot! That's not something we should be worrying about at our age."
Ace argued back defiantly, "Then I'll find a powerful Devil Fruit when I go out to sea!"
Hearing this, Ye Shi suddenly thought of Ace's performance in the original story. Although there were many debates among fans about his true strength—some saying he was Commander level, others saying he was Flying Six level at most—
Everyone generally agreed that he relied too much on the Mera Mera no Mi and neglected his Haki training. As Roger's child, his talent for Haki never truly manifested. Thus, she spoke to Ace with a solemn expression:
"Ace, my fruit is related to time, so I sometimes see glimpses of the future. Even if you get a Devil Fruit, don't rely on its power too much.
For the truly strong on the sea, only Haki can transcend everything. If you don't value Haki, in the future I've seen, you will become the cause of a great war."
Seeing Ye Shi's serious lecturing, Ace also became serious: "I get it. With that huge clock behind you, anyone can tell your fruit is time-related. I'll remember what you said today."
Seeing that Ace had taken it to heart, Ye Shi felt a bit more relieved. But then, thinking of Blackbeard's strength—being able to scar Red Hair's eye—she thought to herself:
"Well, there's still plenty of time. I'll just have to find a way to save Ace when the time comes."
Sabo heard Ye Shi's words and added, "I think I heard the adults talking about it back home too. Pirate King Roger didn't have a fruit ability; he became a powerhouse of the sea relying solely on his Haki."
Luffy chimed in, "Then Grandpa Garp's punches hurt so much, is that also a Devil Fruit?"
Ye Shi raised her fist again: "Idiot, that's the Fist of Love. He doesn't need a Devil Fruit to make it hurt."
Ye Shi continued, "But then again, if you really encounter a good Devil Fruit, you should still eat it. Didn't Grandpa Garp say last time that the current Three Admirals are all Logia users?"
Time passed quickly amidst their happy bickering, and in a flash, it was already night.
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