The light in that gaze made Salya unable to look directly at it.
He's a seasoned pirate; he could easily crush this little girl or anyone in this town, but compared to her...
I felt like a weakling.
...
The longer he lived with the little girl, the more uneasy he became; he didn't know what was wrong with him.
Perhaps it was the little girl's innocence and her own wickedness, or perhaps her parents had been killed by pirates, or perhaps she herself was a pirate.
Until his unease reached its peak, he finally revealed his identity.
Perhaps he doesn't deserve this warmth and peace.
"Huh? Is Grandpa a pirate? Or a fugitive? It's okay, you've already paid the price for your mistakes. The most important thing is that you know what you did. Hehe, I was right after all."
The little girl gave an embarrassed smile and, under Salia's almost trembling gaze, uttered a sentence.
"Look, even you, Grandpa, can repent. Those pirates can too, right? They have their reasons. If they all become good, then there will be no more fighting in this world."
"When I grow up, I want to do this: if pirates and marines don't fight, the world will be at peace. Wouldn't that count as saving the world? Hmm... I've decided, I want to save the world!"
The light in the girl's eyes made Salya seem to see God.
From that moment on, Salya made up his mind that he would do his best to fulfill the little girl's dream for the rest of his life!
until...
Fire, shouts of battle, and spears...
That day, Salya went to gather herbs because the little girl was very weak and had been suffering from long-term malnutrition, which had prevented her from developing a healthy body.
But to his surprise, while gathering herbs, he found a Devil Fruit. This was a valuable item that might save the little girl's life. Even if it didn't, the fruit would grant her power, allowing her to achieve her dreams as an adult more quickly.
Then, when they returned, the 'god' was gone.
A pirate pierced his 'god' with a spear.
This scene drove Sariyah mad.
By the time he came to his senses, he had already dealt with the pirates, but he couldn't save the little girl no matter what he did.
"grandfather..."
The little girl lay in Salya's arms and smiled, "I made a mistake too. I wanted to persuade those pirates, but I never thought I would die... Is this what death feels like? Did Mom and Dad feel the same way?"
"Can't people really understand each other? Can't people really stop fighting? What a pity, I wanted to save the world..."
"You can do it! You absolutely can! You are my granddaughter, Saliyah. Whatever you want to do, you will achieve!"
No matter how much Salia called out, that angelic figure would never again show that smile.
The being she revered as a 'deity' was gone, but her ideals remained.
As long as I'm alive...
Salia picked up the Devil Fruit she had harvested and took a bite.
The fruit is Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan type, Sin Angel form.
Perhaps it was fate that this fruit was meant to help him atone for his sins.
He directly activated the fruit's ultimate power, merging himself into the little girl's body and bringing her back to 'life'.
Even corpses can be used with this ability, though they will only become puppets.
But that doesn't matter.
"I will show you a world without strife, a world without sin, a peaceful and perfect world, I..."
...
"I will save the world!!!"
The vow made two years ago overlapped with his words now, and a glint appeared in Salia's eyes as he roared throughout the entire icy island.
The platinum spear in his hand shone brightly as he thrust it fiercely at Kuro before him.
BOOM!!!
A burst of light and shockwave rippled outwards from him, causing the entire island to tremble.
An avalanche began on the highest peak, rushing down like a tsunami with waves of snow.
But soon the avalanche stopped, and a large amount of snow rose into the air and remained there.
On the battlefield, Kuro appeared behind Saria, maintaining his sword-wielding stance. Behind him, Saria also maintained his spear-wielding posture, but the platinum spear gradually turned into specks of light and dissipated.
Kuro straightened his back and slowly sheathed his sword. He was about to take a puff of his cigar when he discovered that the cigar he was holding was mostly broken.
"never mind..."
He spat out the end of his cigar, lit another one, slowly exhaled the smoke, and said in a deep voice, "I forgive you."
*Smack*
Salia's body fell heavily to the ground.
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