Chapter 23: Return

According to Whitebeard's words, they had originally planned to celebrate for several days, but Su Lin was eager to return.

Imu on the Void Throne may already be paying attention to this matter.

The entity behind this pirate world—Su Lin still thought it better to keep his distance.

"You said you wanted a Devil Fruit, but these aren't easy to come by right now—these are all we have in stock." Whitebeard handed over three Devil Fruits with strange patterns, their colors green, red, and purple.

"If you're willing to stay another one or two months, we can easily find you ten." Marco added.

"More than enough, thank you." Su Lin, wearing the same casual clothes he arrived in, took the Devil Fruits, glanced at them, and placed all three into his system space.

Staying longer might have yielded more gains, but Su Lin had only intended to keep a few as collectibles, not to consume them himself—so a handful was sufficient.

All three were fruits not listed in the catalog, so none of Whitebeard's captains had ever considered eating them—what if their abilities were ridiculous? They wouldn't boost combat power, only add a crippling weakness.

"Well then, we'll be taking our leave, Uncle Whitebeard." Luffy waved goodbye: "Ace, you've got to train hard~."

"Shut up."

"Please explain the full story to our counterparts in this era." Jinbe said to Whitebeard.

These past two days, Jinbe and Luffy had been deeply satisfied, filling the void in their hearts.

"Don't worry."

They didn't know whether their past selves in this era would remember these days, so they entrusted Whitebeard with the aftermath.

Red-Haired had already left in a hurry that morning, because Su Lin had mentioned to him the current state of a certain singer the night before.

When Shanks heard it, his face darkened, he gathered everyone, and departed immediately.

Probably went to rescue someone.

"Speaking of which, instead of leaving him to Lei Li's training, let me take him under my wing." Whitebeard grumbled, digging in his ear.

One thing at a time: to thank Whitebeard's crew for the Devil Fruits, Su Lin spent 100 system points to exchange for a medicine—though it couldn't restore Whitebeard's youth, it could heal his hidden injuries and illnesses.

So now Whitebeard had set his sights on the Straw Hat kid from this era.

"You say Kaido's teaching style? I can do that too."

I can just use the flat side of my blade.

Jinbe hurriedly tried to dissuade Whitebeard, pulling out all the stops to convince him to instead send the Straw Hat to the Land of Women and contact Rayleigh.

But his expression was clearly insincere.

Su Lin watched from the side without exposing him—he knew this timeline was already a mess anyway.

He could guess Whitebeard's intentions well enough.

"Catch you later."

The three bid farewell to those in the cabin, then joined Kid and Law, who had been waiting nearby, and all of them activated their pocket watches.

It was just what the other two had done upon returning to this era.

Click—

The hands resumed rotating clockwise.

After the chaos.

Everyone returned to Wano Country, maintaining the same posture and attire as when they had departed.

Meanwhile, in another Parallel World.

Inside Whitebeard's cabin, watching the dazed group awaken, Whitebeard wore an "scheming" smile.

"Sure enough, leaving him to Lei Li was too much of a waste."

"Dad…" Ace covered his face, silently mourning what his brother would soon endure.

"I didn't break my word—I just didn't plan to let Lei Li teach him himself."

Whitebeard grabbed the yelling Luffy with one hand, flung open the cabin door, and hurled him into the sky.

"Kid, training starts now!"

Back in Wano, Luffy stretched out contentedly.

Su Lin's 【Zuo Kete's Linear Pocket Watch】 had not vanished—only shifted into his system space, now appearing damaged.

The item's description had changed.

【Zuo Kete's Linear Pocket Watch (Damaged)】: The beauty created was never truly mine—just a dream, a dream that let me carry my shattered past toward the future. A terrible present, an uncertain future. The past is always full of regret and incompleteness; the future is always endowed with expectations of wholeness and beauty. I have returned to my original path, struggling… stepping toward a future I dare not face… (Unusable)

Su Lin stared at the stopped pocket watch, lost in thought.

This watch, in truth, held immense hidden utility.

Whatever—it's been used. The system points? This time, I've made a killing.

He snapped the watch shut, tucked it into his pocket as a keepsake.

Though marked as damaged, it still functioned as an ordinary pocket watch.

Before use, the hands were motionless; the first use reversed time, and now they rotated clockwise.

The past is done. As the watch said, one must always face the future.

Using this watch to get through the Beginner Stage was worth it.

The system points earned? From Su Lin's perspective, it was an excellent return.

Su Lin had originally planned to return home immediately, but since he'd come this far, he thought: why not eat, drink, and enjoy himself before leaving? After all, the enormous meats in the manga looked genuinely tempting.

But his appetite wasn't nearly as large as Luffy's—everyone in this world seemed to eat like monsters: giant grilled squid larger than half his body, meat from unknown sea kings—they all vanished into their stomachs.

One portion was enough to make him full.

Soon after, Luffy received word he'd become a Yonko, amid Kid's constant grumbling—but Luffy didn't care much, dragging Kid back to the feast.

Seeing the group chat was quiet, Su Lin uploaded a photo.

Su Lin: 【Image】

Under the night sky, in a brightly lit town, tables overflowed with all kinds of fruits and food, and many were celebrating wildly.

Ye Fan: "You came back through time?"

Su Lin: "We've been back for two hours. It feels like entering a special dungeon in a game."

Xiao Yan and Ye Fan naturally understood what a game dungeon was.

Su Lin: "There's a banquet going on here. I've always been interested in the visual effects of these foods ever since I watched anime."

Ye Fan: "True, but I'd rather eat home-style dishes."

After being sent to another planet, I spent every day cultivating, eating only spirit fruits, heavenly treasures, and some exotic beasts.

These foods gave far superior sensations to both body and spirit than ordinary earthly food, but Ye Fan missed the feeling of home.

Especially Xiao Yan—he had lived two lives and was nearly forgotten the taste and scenery of Earth.

Ye Fan: "I want to eat hot pot and xiaolongbao. @Su Lin."

Xiao Yan: "Me too. @Su Lin."

Hmm, judging by these two's tone…

Su Lin: "Do you want takeout, or are you coming over yourselves?"