ONE PIECE: FLOW OF FATE

After that duel, Renjiro trudged towards his cabin, the last vestiges of adrenaline draining from his system, leaving him bone-deep weary. The biting winter air, though familiar, now felt sharp against his aching muscles. He pushed open the heavy wooden door; the warmth inside was a welcome embrace, and he collapsed onto his futon, the soft mattress a haven after the grueling fight.

She is a really good swordswoman, he thought, lying there, staring up at the familiar rough-hewn ceiling. Maria's raw power, her relentless drive, and even her quick adaptation during the duel were undeniable. Why didn't we hear of such a swordswoman in the Marines in canon? He chuckled internally, a dry, weary sound. Okay, that might be a stretch, I suppose. Just because you're good doesn't mean you get portrayal in the overarching narrative, especially in a world as vast as One Piece.

But should I continue with the sword? A new, nagging question began to form in his tired mind. He rolled onto his side, propping himself up on an elbow. Now that I can effectively wield a weapon, I think a spear would be more in line with how I truly want to fight – prioritizing reach, defensive versatility, and controlled, piercing strikes. It feels more... pragmatic, more suited to my analytical approach. He closed his eyes, picturing the elegant, deadly dance of a spear in combat. It'll take me years, perhaps decades, to truly get to the level of legends like Shanks with his sword or Mihawk with his formidable blade. But as of now, they are still very young, and I have the same amount of time they do to hone my craft, to surpass them even. Every legend started somewhere. He sighed contentedly; the plans for his future training already beginning to form even as his body screamed for rest. Anyway, let's rest. I'll do more training later.

As he was in deep thought for the upcoming future, the cabin door abruptly burst open with a decisive thud, and Yurie stormed in, her small frame radiating an aggressive energy that instantly shattered Renjiro's calm.

"Renjiro!!" she exclaimed, her voice sharp with accusation, echoing slightly in the quiet room.

Renjiro jolted up in shock, his previous thoughts scattering like startled birds. What did I do now? Can I not even get a moment's rest? He sighed inwardly, feeling a familiar tension begin to coil in his gut.

She came stomping towards him, each heavy step asserting her displeasure. Reaching him, she planted her feet, crossed her arms tightly over her chest, and fixed him with a dramatic, exaggerated pout. "You never have time with me and always train with Maria!" she accused, her voice rising to a childish wail before softening, almost imperceptibly, "Do you hate me now?" The last words were delivered with a sniffle, just subtle enough to tug at his conscience.

Renjiro's face went pale, realizing he was now stuck in a truly hard place. He felt like the real parent in this bizarre arrangement, constantly navigating the turbulent emotional tides of these kids. She gets very mad when I go to Maria. I mean, alright, alright, let's just do her a favor.

"Why do you think I hate you, just because I don't have time with you anymore?" Renjiro tried to placate her, forcing a gentle tone. "Don't be silly, Yurie. Look, I'm free all afternoon."

If she isn't grateful for this, he fumed internally, a tiny vein throbbing at his temple, because I was going to train Haki later, this little... His thought trailed off, swallowed by a wave of frustrated resignation.

Her face immediately brightened, the storm clouds vanishing as quickly as they'd appeared. With a joyful shriek, she jumped up high, practically bouncing on the spot. "Yes! It's been a while since we actually played! Come on, let's go outside!"

But I just came from Drake... why, why? Renjiro groaned, the protest a silent scream in his mind.

He forced a weary smile, appealing to her with his eyes, and slowly got up. He subtly dragged his feet when her attention drifted for a second, then straightened up and moved with feigned enthusiasm whenever her bright, expectant gaze returned to him.

As Renjiro followed, Yurie couldn't help but feel a surge of triumph. I can't believe that worked! she thought to herself, a mischievous grin playing on her lips. Today will be the day I finally get his full attention.

They stepped out into the crisp, snowy clearing, the thick blanket of white muffling their footsteps as they moved a little away from the main cluster of cabins and the distant, smoke-plumed rooftops of the town. The air bit at their exposed skin, but Renjiro, bundled in his heavy jacket, barely registered it, his mind already drifting.

Where the hell is Renzo, anyway? he wondered, realizing he hadn't seen his younger brother all morning.

He then voiced the question aloud, "Where's Renzo, actually?"

Yurie, skipping a few paces ahead, called back, "Oh, Renzo is with Grandpa and Uncle Coal in the capital!"

"Oh, wow," Renjiro said, genuinely astonished. "He never took us to the capital. Why is that?" His eyes widened slightly; the idea of a capital city within this unfamiliar kingdom sparked his meta-curiosity.

I never even heard of this kingdom from Oda at all, he mused internally, a flicker of excitement igniting despite his earlier weariness. It wouldn't hurt if I traveled around it and found out what type of place this is. A capital city could hold so many secrets, so much information about this world...

"He said that Renzo was the youngest and wanted to take him there," she explained simply, continuing to lead him deeper into the snow-covered landscape; her destination still a mystery.

Ah, youngest privilege. Understandable, Renjiro thought with a sigh, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk touching his lips.

Yurie suddenly spun around, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Today, I have a big thing to tell you, but first..." Without another word, she scooped up snow and launched it. Splat! A cold, soft impact hit Renjiro squarely on the face.

What the hell? So abrupt! he thought, wiping snow from his eyes. But a faint smile touched his lips. Alright, I guess a little fun won't hurt. He quickly formed his own snowball.

"Get ready, I won't hold back!" he declared, and launched his perfectly packed snowball. It flew straight, but Yurie shrieked with delight and dodged behind a small snowdrift.

Amateur. She exposed herself. He lined up another shot, but then WHUMP! A cold explosion on the back of his head. He whirled around. Yurie was already sprinting away, laughing hysterically, having circled around him while he was focused on her front.

"That's cheating!" Renjiro yelled, a genuine laugh escaping him, momentarily flustered, gave way to pure, competitive instinct. He abandoned careful packing, scooping huge handfuls of snow and flinging them wildly across the clearing.

Yurie dodged and weaved, her giggles echoing. She threw her own wild shots, some going wide, others disintegrating mid-air, but a surprising number found their mark. One particularly clumsy throw from her, aimed for his chest, instead hit her directly on the leg when she spun. "Eep!" she squeaked, caught off guard by her own errant throw, and then dissolved into peals of laughter, wiping snow from her face.

Seeing her chance, Renjiro charged across the open space, carrying a massive, loose pile of snow. He caught her, spun her around in the snow, and gently, but decisively, dumped the whole heap over her head.

She emerged, sputtering and giggling, completely covered in white. "You brute!" she gasped between laughs.

Renjiro stood over her, breathing heavily, covered in snow himself. A wide, uninhibited grin stretched across his face. "Serves you right for that sneak attack!"

They stood there, panting and covered in snow, the crisp winter air filled with their pure laughter. The initial competitive fire had melted away, leaving behind a warm, light feeling of shared joy. For a moment, all the heavy thoughts of training and future power faded, replaced by the simple, easy connection forged in the frosty clearing.

"Okay, that's enough," Yurie said, her voice now more subdued, though a secret excitement still bubbled beneath the surface. She straightened herself, taking a few deep, normal breaths after their playful exertion. "What I really wanted to show you is something big. It's kind of far from here, is that alright?"

What could it be if it's so far? Renjiro wondered, his mind already sifting through possibilities. "Can I ask what it is?"

She laughed, a light, teasing sound. "It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you, right?" She giggled, turning to lead him further into the snow-covered expanse.

If she's calling it big, Renjiro mused internally, a cynical part of him surfacing, it probably isn't something genuinely renowned. Nevertheless, her enthusiasm is... compelling.

As they continued, the cabins of the town shrunk behind them, eventually disappearing entirely behind the rolling, snow-dusted hills. The only sounds were the soft crunch of their boots on the pristine snow and the crisp whisper of the wind.

Yurie, we've been walking for like five minutes, Renjiro thought, a hint of genuine fatigue beginning to set in. Where could this place even be?

"It's right there!" Yurie suddenly exclaimed, pointing ahead. Her exhaustion from the snowball fight seemed to vanish completely, replaced by pure, unadulterated excitement. "Don't feel tired yet, the surprise is even bigger!"

From afar, a stark, jagged cliff face rose from the otherwise gentle landscape, its dark rock contrasting sharply with the brilliant white snow. Nestled within its base, almost hidden from plain view, was the dark maw of a cave.

I can see something now, from afar... a cave? Renjiro's brows furrowed in confusion, then curiosity. What could be inside a cave that Yurie considers a 'big surprise'?

After approaching the mouth of the cave, Yurie stopped, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Today we made a big find that can make us famous! I haven't told anybody yet, so shhh... okay?" She pressed a finger to her lips, her eyes wide with shared secrecy. Renjiro, intrigued despite himself, simply nodded.

She continued inside, the entrance quickly plunging them into near-total darkness. Renjiro relied on the faint outlines of Yurie's figure ahead. After a few tense moments of navigating the gloom, a soft, ethereal light began to bloom from the cave walls themselves. Tiny, crystalline formations embedded in the rough rock glowed with a gentle luminescence, casting an otherworldly gleam upon the ancient cavern. What they found within, bathed in this soft, mystical glow, could be said to be either a blessing or a curse.

"Great, isn't it?" Yurie whispered, her voice filled with awe, pointing towards the far wall.

Renjiro's eyes became wide enough that they felt as though they would pop out of his head. An expression of utter confusion, mixed with a dawning, profound disbelief, warped his features.

What the hell am I seeing? This can't be!

What he saw was an expansive mural, etched deep into the cavern wall, dictating an image, a message from a time long past. It depicted beings who were a little bigger than the normal human, with light blue skin and strikingly dark, almost black eyes. They were slim but drawn with humanoid features—unmistakably human-like in form, but with unnaturally long arms, wide, distinct ears, and flowing, long hair. The mural showed a thriving village of these unidentified ancient beings, and at their very center, a central figure stood out—a figure unmistakably wearing a straw hat.

And towards the left of the mural, inscribed directly onto the cave wall itself, was a block of text in a very familiar form that Renjiro, from his other life, once knew intimately. This wasn't a Poneglyph, no, not a massive, indestructible stone tablet, but the script was undeniable: the ancient, forbidden language of the Poneglyphs.

His body trembled, not from the cold, but from the sheer, overwhelming weight of the revelation. The straw hat, worn by the central figure among these ancient, blue-skinned beings... This has to be Joy Boy, he realized, a cold dread mixing with a jolt of exhilarating discovery. A figure from the Void Century, linked to an ancient race I don't recognize, and depicted with that specific, iconic hat.

This changes everything, he realized, a cold dread mixing with a jolt of exhilarating discovery. This isn't just a world with One Piece elements; this is far deeper, far more entangled than I ever could have imagined. What does this mural mean about Joy Boy, about these people? And what does this say about the Void Century, or the true history of this world itself, if this knowledge is just... here?

He felt a sudden, dizzying sense of insignificance, then immense purpose. This wasn't just a simple reincarnation anymore; he might have stumbled upon a key, a piece of the grand puzzle that even the characters in the original story fought and died for.

Beside him, Yurie was oblivious to the existential crisis unfolding in his mind. She bounced on the balls of her feet, her gaze fixed on the glowing mural with innocent pride. "Pretty amazing, right? I found it last week when I was chasing a snow rabbit! Do you think we can tell Drake? He'd be so proud!"

Her words barely registered through the roaring in Renjiro's ears. He could only stare at the ancient figures, at the iconic hat worn by Joy Boy, and at the forbidden text on the cave wall.

Renjiro's mind raced, grappling with the sheer impossibility of the mural. If these people had a connection to Joy Boy, why wasn't it ever mentioned in One Piece? Did I die too early to know this? That's probably why, he thought, frantically trying to justify this glaring gap in his meta-knowledge. The very existence of this place twisted his understanding of the world.

He knew instinctively that having any sort of connection to such a discovery wouldn't mean anything good for their quiet town. This kind of ancient secret attracted the worst kind of attention – from desperate pirates to the ruthless World Government. To avoid alarming Yurie, he forced himself to play it cool, a strained smile on his lips.

"Yurie, will you do me a favor?" he asked, trying to keep his voice light and casual, despite the frantic beating of his heart.

"Make this our secret base? I was already thinking about that!" she chirped, her eyes shining with youthful excitement, completely oblivious to the gravity of his internal turmoil.

Renjiro suppressed a sigh. He needed to convince her to keep this place secret, and explaining the intricate geopolitical landscape of the One Piece world was definitely not an option. He simplified it for her, appealing to her deep-seated loyalty.

"You love our family, right? And the whole town?" he asked, bending slightly to meet her gaze.

"Yeah!?" she replied, her brows furrowed in confusion, wondering where this was going.

"Then let's not tell anybody about this place," Renjiro urged, his voice dropping to a serious, confidential tone. "Because I heard Grandpa say that from his Marine days, pirates would kill and pillage places with hidden texts or images, all for treasure. And the Marines would raid those areas too, making sure nobody saw it." He hoped the simplified, slightly embellished version would resonate.

Yurie's face crumpled in confusion, unable to reconcile the image of the Marines she'd been taught to trust with such ruthless actions. "I understand pirates, but the Marines are the people's protectors! Why would they do that?" she asked, her voice tinged with genuine disbelief.

Renjiro walked closer to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. His expression softened, conveying a maturity far beyond his years. "There are bad people on both sides, Yurie, and there are good people on both sides," he explained, his voice calm and steady. "But sometimes, secrets like this are too dangerous. Let's leave and act like we didn't see this place. That's if we want to keep our town safe, okay?"

Despite the complex weight of his words, spoken with a critical thinking that seemed almost out of place for a 5-year-old, his conviction was clear. He was utterly convincing; his forced calm enough to persuade Yurie. She looked at the mural one last time, a flicker of disappointment in her eyes, but then met his gaze and nodded slowly, accepting his reasoning.