"Lady Toki, how are you feeling? Do we need to go back and rest?"
Lady Toki shook her head. "No need. I feel very good. With your life force replenishing me, I think I can take you to any point in the past."
Rhett's eyes lit up at her answer.
"Any point in time?" He repeated softly, barely able to hide his excitement. "That means we could go back even further..."
Lady Toki nodded slightly. Her gaze was gentle but firm. "Yes. As long as you can provide enough life force, we can pinpoint any moment in your memory. And it won't put too much strain on me. You can be completely assured of that, as long as your life force continues, Mr. Rhett."
Rhett was silent for a moment. Then he asked, "And once we're in the past, how long can we stay?"
Lady Toki thought for a moment before answering. "The duration depends on how quickly life force is consumed. In theory, as long as your life force is continuous, we could stay in the past indefinitely."
"But every action, every change we make, accelerates the consumption. Especially if we create a major deviation from the original timeline. The consumption would multiply. So, Mr. Rhett, when you act, try not to change events too much. At the very least, people must subconsciously believe that those events happened, just as I told you before."
Rhett nodded. "No problem, no problem. Don't worry, Lady Toki. I have more than enough life force." Rhett had killed more people than he could count. Even when he was still weak, he had always been a weapon of mass destruction in group battles. Against strong opponents, he couldn't win. But against weak ones, his efficiency was terrifying.
Lady Toki smiled gently. "Exactly. With your ability, supporting a short 'trip' should be more than enough."
Rhett took a deep breath. The blood mist in his palm condensed into a brilliant ball of light. Pure life energy. He looked at Lady Toki, his voice firm and serious. "Then let's begin. I want to go back to the day Shiki wreaked havoc on Marineford."
"As you wish, Mr. Rhett."
---
Rhett arrived at a small island near Marineford. He used his Conqueror's Haki to scan the entire island. There was no danger. Then he surrounded Lady Toki with a thick layer of blood mist to ensure her safety.
"Lady Toki, please rest here. I'll be back soon." With that, Rhett turned and headed toward Marineford.
Whoosh!! Splash!!
Rhett stood on a high cliff on the outskirts of Marineford. His mist covered him, making him invisible.
"Almost time..." He muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping over the Navy fleet at the port, waiting in formation. In his memory, his younger self should be hiding in some corner, waiting for Shiki to cause chaos.
Suddenly, a familiar figure caught his eye. Sixteen-year-old Rhett was crouched on a warehouse roof. The Black Tide Greatsword was slung casually over his shoulder. Blood mist swirled around him. The older Rhett's lips curled up without him realizing it. "There you are."
He had to admit, he did look cool back then. It made him want to slap his younger self a little less.
Down below, Shiki's mad laughter shook the sky. "Jihahaha! Sengoku, Garp! Today, I'll show you what a real pirate looks like!"
Rhett watched Shiki's floating islands crash into Navy Headquarters. The explosions lit up half the sky. The corner of his mouth curled up.
Yes. That's right. That's the feeling.
"Shiki, still so aggressive... When I get the chance, I'll pass along your regards to Captain Roger. Wahahaha." Rhett's voice was unusually light.
The memories in his mind overlapped with the scene before him.
His younger self had once "fought alongside" Shiki, wreaking havoc on Marineford. Back then, he was full of youthful energy. Wherever Black Tide pointed, no one dared to stand in his way. He had pointed Black Tide directly at the three future Admirals, making them tremble. They couldn't take a single step forward. All they could do was watch helplessly as their Fleet Admiral was held up by Shiki. (This account is for reference only. Please refer to the facts.)
Now, he was only a spectator. Quietly waiting for that familiar moment.
The Navy's alarms blared through the sky. Sengoku's roars. Garp's iron fists. Kong's bellowing. Everything was unfolding according to history. Rhett's gaze cut through the smoke and landed on a figure in the distance swinging Black Tide. His younger self was fighting the three Admirals. Blood mist and Haki intertwined. His fighting spirit soared to the heavens.
"How... exciting." Rhett chuckled and shook his head.
Back in the day, I...
Used illusions and swordsmanship to hold them off. Fought against the three Admirals and retreated without a scratch. Coordinated perfectly with Shiki to humiliate Navy Headquarters. And then, in the end, Shiki was captured and thrown in jail. He got away. That was true strength.
Suddenly, a golden beam of light shot through the sky, heading straight for young Rhett's back.
"Kizaru. Still likes to sneak attack." Rhett snorted.
He was waiting. Waiting for his younger self to exchange one final blow. He wanted to leave something on the bodies of the "three Admirals." Because he knew that they were the ones who personally escorted Roger. Garp was there too, but he was on standby. The three Admirals were the closest to Roger. He couldn't let them notice anything strange. He needed to prepare for what came next.
Now, Rhett could put them under illusions without much effort. They were nothing. Leaving something behind was just an extra precaution.
"Freezing Moment!"
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
"Meteor Volcano!"
"Mist God Style: Finality Slash!"
The moment young Rhett's "Mist God Style: Finality Slash" collided with the three Admirals' combined attack, the entire island fell silent for an instant.
"Now."
He flicked his fingers. Three hair-thin strands of blood mist followed the explosion's shockwave and quietly entered the smoke. The mist precisely targeted the three Admirals' wounds.
Sakazuki's left shoulder, still molten, suddenly felt a sharp pain. Blood seeped from a wound that shouldn't have been there. Ice crystals, tinged with red, seeped into the cracks in Kuzan's ice armor. A thin, long gash appeared next to Borsalino's temple for no reason.
"Cough... was it that last slash?" Sakazuki wiped the blood from his face.
Kuzan suddenly touched the back of his neck. "No... I didn't expect that attack to be so powerful!"
"Done." The older Rhett withdrew his fingers.
What came next was what everyone already knew. In the distance, his younger self shouldered Black Tide and shouted threats. "Is that all the three Admirals have? Next time we meet, it won't be so simple!" Then he threw a handful of Seastone powder and escaped.