Force Yourself To Not Look Back I

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Chapter 168: Force Yourself To Not Look Back I

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Thus the only way to retrieve whatever Joy Boy left behind was to find Poseidon and again control the Sea God... So Poseidon killed herself.

The Sea God was sealed, but the One Piece was sealed with it, the listeners understood.

Even Yovan wasn't certain how that happened, but he has some speculations waiting to be verified.

"So Ymir is waiting for the new holder of the Hito Hito no Mi? That would be Monkey D. Luffy?" Kalifa curiously asked.

"It depends on if he can succeed." Yovan nodded.

"Then..." Viola seemed hesitant as she asked, "What role do you or will you play in all of this?"

That was the most important question to the Strangers, and those listening from the Pantheon.

Yovan is... A monster, a force to behold, able to fight off against three admirals and the Fleet Admiral at the same time, and they were certain that he would only continue to become stronger.

On which side will Yovan stand? They were curious. They know he isn't on the World Government's side, but he isn't exactly on the pirates' side either.

So will he stands on the pirates' side, or will he create a new side? Is world domination his end goal? They don't think so, but they weren't sure either.

Only Dragon and Zeus know which side Yovan stands with, but even they weren't entirely certain about his thought process.

"I?" Yovan stroked his chin, looking thoughtful, "I'm on my side... But I'm hesitating. What do you think I should do?"

The Strangers were thoughtful as this is one of the few times Yovan consulted them about his unknown plans, so they took his question seriously.

"I still don't understand what you mean by saying you're on your own side, but I guess you should do what's best for you," Viola was the first to answer.

"I agree," Kalifa nodded, "As long as you survive, then you can do whatever you want, and don't make yourself too uncomfortable."

"Exactly! I will even prepare the best and biggest cake in the world to celebrate when we succeed!" Pudding also nodded.

Capone Bege remained silent with narrow eyes and didn't answer, just like Kaku and the rest. There really wasn't much more to be said.

Only Laffitte seemed very thoughtful much to Bege's surprise as he expected him to utter the word Chaos instantly, but he seemed to be contemplating Yovan's question seriously.

"I know what you should do," He finally said after a while, attracting everyone's attention, "You'll just have to force yourself to not look back, force yourself to have to do what should be done."

His answer surprised the group as they realized that he focus on a specific part of Yovan's words, the word hesitant.

"Huh... You're right," Yovan let out a strange smile as he glanced at Laffitte before standing up and he pointed down at the Treasure Tree Adam, slowly condensing a tiny sun on his finger.

Then he let it go, allowing it to fall through the tree like a knife cutting through butter. The tiny sun very slowly went through the tree, creating a tiny hole through it, and it continued to go down without setting the tree on fire.

The Strangers were confused about his actions, but he wasn't interested in giving an answer as he pointed at the starry sky, releasing another sun.

This one, however, was different as it quickly flew high in the sky before exploding into thousands of pieces, like fireworks, "Let's celebrate!"

The mythical history being told was indeed an occasion worthy of a celebration, so they did just that under the starry sky and the seemingly endless golden fireworks.

They didn't sleep until dawn, just having some fun. It wasn't until noon that everyone woke up, finding Laffitte already awake, staring at the horizon as if he had lost his mind.

"Cap... Why did my bounty change?" He asked as he eyed Yovan with his dead eyes.

The Strangers raised their brows in surprise. It happened way faster than they expected.

Yovan looked at the morning newspaper with a smile, "It must be for old memories' sake? The Marines must've decided to remind you of the good old days."

"Oh?" Laffitte nodded with an expressionless face, "It must be your doing, right? So much love... I don't know how to repay it, so how about a hug?"

Even Yovan felt chills at those words, feeling like Laffitte was up to no good, so he jumped off the tree, leaving behind a few words, "Nope!"

Before Laffitte can react, several more "Nope!" resounded as everyone jumped off the tree, leaving him stunned, "Come back you bitches!! AGHH!!! Just Wait!!!!!"

Even Reiju who fears heights jumped because there is nothing scarier than Laffitte's 'love'.

"Bwahahahaha, it's a hundred thousand Beli again! Bwahahaha!!" Bege was having a laugh of his own, sharing giggles with the rest.

It took a while for them to fall on the foot of the Treasure Tree Adam, Yovan's feathers helping those who can not fly land safely.

"Sir Night, mind following me? My Father would like to see you." They found someone already waiting for them, none other than Prince Loki with two guards standing not far behind him.

"Hm? Sure," Yovan eyed Loki strangely before saying, "Strangers, go back to the Ship and wait for me. There isn't much left for us to do here."

He then obediently followed after Loki as the latter led him to the Palace, "Come to think of it, how old are you?" Yovan suddenly asked much to the prince's surprise.

"I am 62 years old," Loki didn't mind answering though. Yovan's first question to him just surprised him a little bit.

"As far as I know, you're the first and only prince of Elbaf, and King Ymir has been on the throne for hundreds of years... When will he pass on the throne?" Yovan bluntly asked.

The guards following behind wanted to say something as they looked at Yovan with a frown, but Loki stopped them with a handwave.

Yovan's words were obviously disrespectful, but Loki remained calm and composure as he answered with a gentle smile, "I am unfortunately not ready for the throne, so when I'm ready, Father will pass me the throne."

He was humble for everyone knows that he's, in fact, ready. He's the one running the Kingdom, and it's thriving under his hands, all the while, Ymir was in slumber.

However, his humbleness is what ignited the admiration of the guards, increasing their respect for him, and decreasing their respect for the absent King.

"Makes sense," Yovan nodded, making Loki's face slightly twitch, but his next words made Loki's expression change, "Not every child wants to kill their own Father after all."

"If you know what I am about to do, then why are you still following after me?" Loki asked calmly, and strangely, the two Giant guards didn't react to the two's words as if they didn't hear anything.

"To each their own, and I have a plan of my own, so I will go along with your manipulation." Yovan casually responded.

They entered the palace, the King's palace, and they indeed sought audience with the King, finding him eyeing them with a frown, specifically, eyeing Loki, "Speak."

"On this very day, amidst the Strangers' visit to Elbaf, they messed with our people's minds to create chaos, almost completely destroyed the grand library, and even sought our precious treasury.

The King of Giants Ymir, Prince Loki, and Elbaf's special giants' unit sought to bring down the Stranger, but they, unfortunately, underestimated him, resulting in both Prince Loki and King Ymir being heavily injured.

At this point, the other Strangers joined the battle after overcoming the guards, and almost dealt a fatal blow to Prince Loki... Almost, King Ymir took the blow in his stead, and died with honor."

Prince Loki's manner of speech was eloquent and calm despite the horror of the words coming out of his mouth.

While Yovan watched all of this with amusement, King Ymir let out a sigh, perhaps of regret, "I don't know if I should be disappointed or proud, but I'm regretful."

"You shouldn't be, father," Prince Loki shook his head, "This is my pursuit, the purpose I set for myself, all while your purpose is inherited from someone else. You have your way, and I have mine, but unfortunately, our way interlock."