<h4>Chapter 30: Doffy, You Are My Brother!</h4>


    Sea Circle Calendar, mid-1496. It had been five years since the Domingo Homing family caused a stir by trying to return to Mariejois.


    ording to the original course of events, by 1493, Domingo would have grown tired of watching his father, Homing, continuously fail, ming him entirely for their family''s downfall. In his frustration, Domingo would have killed his father in North Blue, severed his head, and brought it back to Mariejois, hoping this act would allow him to reim his ce among the Celestial Dragons.


    But things had yed out differently, thanks to udius''s involvement. Over the past few years, many aspects of the situation had changed.


    For one, udius had secretly sent people to look after Homing and his family. The man had once done him some small favors. udius didn''t want to see him meet such a tragic end, nor did he want his unlucky cousin, Domingo, to be driven to the point of murdering his own father and falling into an irredeemable darkness.


    Thanks to udius''s quiet interventions, the Domingo family managed to live somewhat decently in North Blue. While they weren''t living in luxury, they were at least able to eat meat three times a day.


    In fact, if it weren''t for Homing''s stubborn pride, the family wouldn''t have struggled so much. Celestial Dragons like udius had been helping them in secret, but Homing, being the hardheaded fool he was, refused to fully ept the assistance. udius could only offer them small amounts of money and send people to deal with minor problems from behind the scenes. Beyond that, there wasn''t much he could do.


    Homing, having no real skills to make a living, spent his days doing menial jobs in the local town with his sons, scraping by with the little money they earned.


    Meanwhile, udius had grown. He was now a young man at the age of seventeen, and thest traces of his boyish features had long since faded. His appearance had undergone significant changes over the past five years.


    First, his height had shot up. He was now over 2.5 meters tall, with no signs of slowing down. It wouldn''t be surprising if he reached the "standard Admiral height" of three meters before his twenties.


    His physique had developed well too. His muscles were strong but not bulky well-defined and athletic. He was neither fat nor too lean; his body was well-proportioned. udius had always been a handsome boy, and over time, his features had matured. While he still bore a resemnce to the Domingo ofter years, hecked that sinister, devilish aura. Instead, he radiated a sense of confidence, strength, and warmth.


    As for the person he was currently sparring with on the deck of a luxurious ship flying the World Government''s g, it was none other than the beautiful Stussy, a rising star in CP-0.


    In the past few years, Stussy had aligned herself closely with udius. Though she was already quite capable on her own, being a part of CP-0 and handling several significant missions, her rtionship with udius had elevated her status even further. She had be one of his trusted confidants.


    Originally, udius hadn''t intended to bring Stussy under his wing so quickly, but she seemed to recognize that udius was a different kind of Celestial Dragon one with a future worth betting on. Over time, she''d positioned herself squarely in his camp, and now, she was practically part of his inner circle.


    On the deck, Stussyunched a swift attack, her fingers coated in Haki, brushing past udius''s short blonde hair, narrowly missing his ear. Before she could follow up, udius grabbed her arm with a firm grip, the sound of bones creaking under pressure. Despite the pain, Stussy managed to free herself by kicking udius in the chest, but as shended and tried to regain her footing, she saw udius grinning at her.


    "Toote..." udius said with a smirk.


    In the next moment, Stussy felt an invisible force strike her in the chest, sending her flying off the deck and crashing into the sea below.


    udiusughed, shaking off thebat stance. Not far away, his butler, Nia, rushed forward with a ck mink coat, draping it over his shoulders as she asked with concern, "Your Highness, are you alright? She kicked you pretty hard just now."


    udius chuckled, "I''m fine, just a little sore."


    As if on cue, Stussy climbed back onto the deck, soaked from head to toe, looking like a wet cat. With a pout, sheined, "Your Highness! I''m a woman, you know! Can''t you go easy on me?"


    "Hahaha! I believe in equality, Stussy. No special treatment just because you''re a woman," udius teased, still grinning.


    Stussy red at him as she rolled up her wet sleeves, revealing her arm, which now sported five dark bruises in the shape of udius''s fingers. She winced as she rubbed the sore spot. "Your Armament Haki has gotten seriously strong, Your Highness. Even with Haki and Iron Body, I still got hurt. If I were anyone else, my arm would''ve snapped."


    udius raised his arm, flexing his fingers as ayer of ck Armament Haki coated his skin. He nodded in satisfaction. "I''ve gotten the hang of Armament Haki and Observation Haki, but I''ve heard there''s a higher level to Armament Haki..."


    Stussy nodded, exining, "Yes, Armament Haki has three stages. The first is coating using Haki to enhance your attacks, like when you grabbed me just now, even though you''re a Logia-type Devil Fruit user. The second is hardening, where you cover parts of your body in Haki for enhanced defense and attack. The third is emitting Haki, allowing you to strike from a distance, like what you just did."


    udius already knew most of this, but he smiled and said, "It takes time to fully master Haki. What I used just now wasn''t Armament Haki, though. I''m still not at that level it was one of my abilities."


    "Ah yes, the ''Vitality Bomb,''" Stussy said with a smile.


    udius nodded. Just as he was about to continue the conversation, Nia pointed out, "Your Highness, we''re almost there Cornillo Ind."


    Cornillo Ind, a famous hot spring ind in the New World, was a popr tourist destination. It wasn''t too far from the Red Line, a quick seven- or eight-day sail on a fast ship. But udius hadn''te for a vacation he was here to meet an old friend.


    That friend was none other than Monkey D. Dragon, son of Vice Admiral Garp.


    udius hadn''t seen Dragon since they parted ways in the hospital at Marineford, but they had stayed in touch through phone calls. Over time, they had be genuine friends.


    Earlier that year, a major event had shaken the Naval Headquarters: Dragon, who had been in line for a promotion to Admiral, had suddenly resigned from the Marines, much to the shock of the higher-ups. Despite the efforts of Sengoku and Zephyr to change his mind, Dragon had walked away from it all, and shortly after, he disappeared.


    udius hadn''t heard from him in a while, but about two weeks ago, Dragon had reached out, asking him to meet on Cornillo Ind for an important discussion. udius, intrigued by what Dragon might have to say, had agreed to the meeting, which is why he was now in this part of the New World.


    As they approached the ind, udius smiled. "Finally, after so long at sea, we''re here. I wonder what Dragon wants to talk about this time."


    Before udius could say more, the phone worm on the table rang. Expecting it to be Dragon, he reached over and picked it up. To his surprise, it was Domingo.


    udius grinned and asked, "Doffy? What''s going on? Need some help? You know your cousin''s always here for you."


    There was a pause on the other end. Then Domingo''s voice came through, quieter than usual. "Cousin... I ate a Devil Fruit."


    udius''s smile faded slightly. He sighed, "And?"


    "I''m leaving home. I can''t stand it anymore. I''m done with Father and Rosinante. I need to get away from this life... this isn''t who I am..."


    udius wasn''t surprised. He knew that Domingo''s personality didn''t mesh well with the humble life Homing and Rosinante were content with. He had been waiting for this moment.


    "So, what''s next for you? Need my help?" udius asked gently.


    "You''re really going to support me?" Domingo asked, sounding surprised.


    He had expected his cousin to try to talk him out of it or offer some kind of advice. But udius wasn''t questioning him at all.


    "Doffy, you''re my brother. No matter what you decide, I''ll support you," udius said with a soft smile.