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"You want to make a deal?"
Harry stares at this strange man, the first to ever find his island, the first capable of reaching the shores of his home.
The man who is slowly making his way into the clutches of Harry's dear friend, his servant and companion.
"If I come three years early, give me three minutes in the future!"
"Only three minutes? Whatever for?"
He's interesting, this man. He's got a kind of charisma that showcases nothing but open honesty.
He's the kind of man Harry might have willingly followed in his mortal life.
"Well…"
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There's no impact.
Ace is braced for it, he's looking his startled little brother in the eye.
But there's no impact.
In fact, everything around them has gone remarkable silent; even Luffy's wide eyes are locked on something over Ace's shoulder.
Why is there no impact?
Ace dares to flick a glance over his shoulder and promptly forgets how to breathe.
He knows that figure only from pictures, from tales and curses and words spat through clenched teeth.
He knows this man, for his shadow has forever sat upon his back, an overbearing weight that Ace determinedly slugged on through life with, forever trying to ignore it. It's why this whole show and dance has happened, after all.
But he still can't understand what he is seeing, his eyes must be lying to him.
Because Gol D. Roger is dead.
Dead.
He cannot possibly be standing right between Ace and Akainu, cannot be holding Akainu's fist in one Haki-coated hand.
That's what his eyes keep telling him though.
That's what the sudden silence, the oppressive air is saying.
"Only three minutes, that's all you bargained for, Roger."
There's a boy, younger than Ace, a boy the same age as Luffy, standing right beside the large form of a deadman, though his eyes look older.
Like Marco, but so much worse.
His words also cement what the are all witnessing as truth, horrible, terrifying truth.
"Enough time to save mine and Rouge's boy!"
Ace chokes.
It feels like the entirety of the Grand Line has been poured down his throat; his lungs are screaming, burning and blistering but he cannot draw breath.
He's drowning, drowning, drowning.
Akainu is punted away, flying back into the mass of marines that are spiralling into mass panic.
Not that Ace can blame them; he's already there himself.
A hand clamps down on his shoulder (he's touching him, touching him, it can't be an delusion if there's physical contact) and Ace's never backed down from a fight before but he can't even find the willpower to truly stand up right now.
"You're a fine young man, Rouge would be so proud!"
Indecipherable rage fills Ace, sets him alight, has him searing and burning hotter than he has ever managed with his Devil Fruit.
"You even found a successor for my title!"
The next thing Ace knows, his body is soaring through the air, Luffy right beside him and then they crash land upon the surface of the Moby Dick.
He lays there's for a moment, even as his brothers on board startle and hurry forwards to surround them, helping Ace stumble to his feet.
But is that, was that-
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"Guahahahaha! I should not be surprised, Roger. But Ace is my precious son now!"
"I'm glad he found a good father! Three minutes, Eddy, let's go!"
It's an unprecedented disaster.
Sengoku had been close enough to hear the words between the two legends (one who was dead, who should not have been there!), but the whole world had seen the aftermath of those three minutes.
The reappearance of Roger had scared far too many, plunged them into shock; they hadn't been able to defend themselves from the sudden onslaught.
In those three minutes, the marines had suffered their greatest loss in recent history.
It just hadn't been possible to stop them.
Whitebeard had defended his fleeing sons successfully, they hadn't been able to touch even one upon the (thankfully temporary) return of the Pirate King.
Sure Roger might have disappeared after those proclaimed 'three minutes' were up, but the damage had been done.
Even with Blackbeard, the dirty traitor, killing the Yonko, they'd still lost.
It was no Marine victory, not in the slightest.
In all honesty he's not sure what's worse; that 90% of the marine forces are now under the impression that attacking Fire Fist will summon the spectre of his father to wreck havoc, or that said spectre had endorsed Monkey D. Luffy.
On a live broadcast to the world.
Strawhat is 'Roger Approved' and Sengoku dreads to think of the repercussions that'll bring on them.
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"Why? Because of who I am, my child will suffer. Even if it is only for three minutes, let me be the father a child deserves!"
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This has been a tumblr only oneshot for a while, but I decided to upload it here for you all, even as short as it is.
Tsume
xxx