Pedro's face was deathly pale. Although Joy Boy had clearly held back during that final exchange, the punch still inflicted serious damage.
In this timeline, Nekomamushi had already been killed by Lloyd long ago. Because of that, Pedro never infiltrated Whole Cake Island to steal a Road Poneglyph rubbing, nor had Charlotte Linlin taken any years from his lifespan.
Clutching his injured arm, Pedro staggered forward and positioned himself between Joy Boy and the furious Mink warriors.
"Enough," he said heavily. "That was only a spar. I lost because my strength was inferior. No one else is to blame."
As he spoke, he looked toward Carrot, his expression softening slightly.
"Carrot, step back. He's not our enemy."
Carrot pushed herself up from the ground, twitching her small rabbit nose irritably. She shot Joy Boy another glare before returning to Wanda's side.
"Wanda..."
Wanda immediately flicked Carrot's forehead with annoyance.
"Stop acting recklessly. That man defeated Pedro-senpai with a single punch. Did you seriously think you could threaten him by yourself?"
Carrot finally realized how impulsive she had been and lowered her ears slightly before nodding obediently.
Seeing her reaction, Wanda's expression eased somewhat. She gently stroked Carrot's rabbit ears before guiding her behind the others.
Around them, the remaining Mink warriors slowly lowered their weapons, causing the tense atmosphere to relax little by little.
Joy Boy scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Sorry about that. I only recently took control of this body, so I'm still adjusting to the strength."
This time, Pedro chose not to dwell on the strange meaning behind those words.
Instead, he glanced at Joy Boy's relaxed expression and asked directly,
"Are you a pirate?"
Joy Boy nodded.
"Yeah."
"What is your bounty?"
"Hmm... around three billion Berries, I suppose."
"What?!"
The surrounding Minks instantly widened their eyes in shock.
Carrot could not help blurting out,
"You're obviously lying! There are barely any pirates in the world with bounties that high, and I've never seen your face on any wanted poster!"
Pedro narrowed his eyes as he stared at Joy Boy.
"Are you making a fool of us? There isn't any famous pirate named Joy Boy in this era."
Joy Boy blinked twice before suddenly realizing something.
"Oh, right. The name and photo on the wanted poster belong to Monkey D. Luffy."
Pedro's expression shifted.
"You mean Straw Hat Luffy? That rookie pirate who shook the seas recently?"
Joy Boy grinned and tapped the damaged straw hat resting atop his head.
"That's right. This straw hat belongs to him."
Pedro carefully examined Joy Boy's face for a long moment before speaking slowly.
"Now that I look closely, there are similarities."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"So your current appearance is caused by a Devil Fruit ability? A Zoan type?"
Pedro frowned thoughtfully.
"No... not an ordinary Zoan. It should be one of the extremely rare Mythical Zoans."
Joy Boy laughed happily.
"Good eye, Pedro. You guessed correctly."
Pedro remained expressionless.
"That's nothing remarkable. Wano Country isn't far from Zou, and there were several Mythical Zoan users there in the past. In the end, all of them died at the hands of the Celestial Dragons, including Kaido of the Beasts."
As he spoke those words, Pedro observed Joy Boy carefully.
Yet Joy Boy's expression barely changed.
After a brief silence, Pedro continued,
"If what you're saying is true, and you've actually fought the Celestial Dragons multiple times while surviving, then a bounty of three billion Berries is justified."
Joy Boy slowly touched the hole torn through the straw hat.
"I've fought them more than once," he said quietly. "But every battle ended in failure for one reason or another."
At that moment, Carrot suddenly stepped forward again. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted loudly,
"Stop pretending already! You don't even look like Straw Hat Luffy at all!"
Pedro also frowned.
"If possible, can you release your ability and show us your true appearance?"
Joy Boy shook his head.
"I can't."
His tone became unusually serious.
"Because this is my real appearance now."
Pedro's brows furrowed deeper.
"Then explain yourself properly. One moment you call yourself Luffy, the next you call yourself Joy Boy. None of this makes sense."
Joy Boy fell silent for a brief moment before finally speaking.
"I am Joy Boy."
"As for Luffy... he no longer exists."
The atmosphere instantly froze.
Joy Boy continued slowly,
"In order to obtain enough power to defeat the Celestial Dragons, he willingly handed his body over to me."
He lowered his gaze slightly.
"Actually..."
Before he could finish, Carrot's eyes widened in disgust.
"You stole someone else's body?!"
She pointed accusingly at him.
"That's evil! You're obviously not a good person!"
Those words caused Joy Boy's expression to darken immediately.
For the first time since arriving, genuine anger appeared on his face.
"Don't speak nonsense!"
His voice echoed sharply throughout the hall.
"Luffy willingly entrusted his body to me! His friends, his family, everyone important to him died at the hands of the Celestial Dragons!"
Joy Boy clenched his fist tightly.
"If he hadn't done this, he never would have gained the power needed to oppose them. I never forcibly stole his body!"
Carrot still looked unconvinced and instinctively wanted to argue back.
However, Wanda immediately shot her a warning glare.
Carrot shrank slightly before swallowing her words.
Even so, she still muttered quietly under her breath,
"Tch. That's easy for you to say. Who would willingly hand over their own body to someone else? Definitely not a good person..."
Joy Boy slowly turned his head away.
With his hearing, he naturally caught every word she whispered.
This time, however, he did not argue further.
There was no point debating with a child like Carrot. Any further explanation would only make him appear more suspicious.
More importantly...
Deep down, even he understood the truth.
Luffy had indeed agreed to merge with him willingly.
But that agreement came when Luffy's mind was drowning in despair and grief.
Joy Boy had carefully guided him at his weakest moment, persuading him to lower his guard completely. He had even promised that Luffy's consciousness would remain dominant after the fusion.
Yet now, there was no trace of Luffy left within his mind.
No voice.
No will.
Nothing.
In the end, he had taken Luffy's memories, his body, and everything that made him who he was.
No matter how he justified it, this was still a form of possession.
Joy Boy lowered his head slightly, guilt flickering briefly through his eyes.
But only briefly.
He embodied the will of absolute freedom.
The freedom to overturn the world itself.
The freedom to liberate every nation suffering beneath the oppression of the Celestial Dragons.
Before achieving that goal, he could not allow guilt to shake his conviction.
Slowly, Joy Boy closed his eyes and spoke inwardly.
"Luffy... don't resent me."
"Everything is for freedom."