"Sister?"
"That's right, sister." Michael stared into those blue eyes nearly identical to his own and smiled.
"I used to live on Angel Island, and my surname... is also Angel."
As he spoke, Michael recalled his not-so-fond childhood memories.
As someone who had transmigrated into this world, he had heard his parents mention a daughter who left home at the age of nine.
A year later, Michael was born.
Then, when he was three, his parents in this world passed away in a shipwreck.
At the time, though Michael possessed unparalleled physical talent for his age, it was still limited by his size and youth.
While he had the strength to take down a few ordinary adult men, his small frame made things inconvenient.
And as a transmigrator, he knew all too well what the "D" in his surname represented.
So from then on, he abandoned his surname, calling himself simply "Michael."
Even Sengoku, who was like a foster father to him, didn't know this.
"So, you're... my brother?"
Sora's eyes widened in disbelief.
She never imagined the man who had helped her so much was her... younger brother?
"Obviously. If I remember correctly, Angel Island only had one family with the surname Angel—and a troublesome 'D' in the middle of their names, right?"
Michael shrugged.
No wonder he had felt an inexplicable familiarity the moment he saw Sora's face and those eyes.
The blurred memory of his birth mother's face gradually sharpened in his mind, outlined by Sora's features.
At least eighty percent of Michael's striking looks were inherited from his mother.
Sora remained silent, staring intently at Michael's face.
After all these years away from home, she never expected to meet her younger brother by sheer coincidence.
Her throat moved as she struggled to voice the question weighing on her heart.
"If you're here now, then... our father and mother..."
"Dead." Michael answered without hesitation. "They died in a shipwreck when I was three. If I recall correctly, according to our parents, you would've been thirteen at the time."
"...I see." Sora shook her head, as if she had already anticipated this answer.
"No wonder I could never find any trace of them, no matter how many times I sent people to Angel Island and the surrounding seas... And you've been hiding your surname all this time. Seems like it's a troublesome one?"
"As a member of the 'D' clan, you should at least be aware of your circumstances, right, sis?"
Michael called her "sis" without the slightest hesitation.
Though there wasn't much familial affection between them yet, the truth was undeniable.
Just like how, as a transmigrator, he didn't have deep feelings for his long-deceased parents, yet the connection from blood ties couldn't be denied.
"I see... You've really had it hard all these years, Michael," Sora said, extending her hands to gently rest them on Michael's hand.
At first, her expression remained composed.
But the thought of Michael drifting across the seas since the age of three made Sora's heart clench violently, as guilt and heartache surged from deep within like a tide.
Her expression gradually crumbled, and even those eyes—identical to Michael's—instantly welled up with tears.
This woman didnt cry, when she take potent drugs at the cost of her own life to preserve her son's emotions.
This woman didnt cry, when she had staged a coup and killed her husband for the sake of all her children and the entire nation.
Yet for Michael, she shed two streams of hot tears.
"Uh, don't cry," Michael flustered momentarily, not expecting what he thought would be a faint connection to be so intense.
"The early years were tough, but after I turned six, I was strong enough that unless I did something reckless, I was usually the one bullying others. So don't blame yourself. I've never resented you, and neither have our parents. They just... missed you."
After Michael finished speaking, the tears in Sora's eyes became unstoppable.
Her silent weeping turned into outright sobbing.
"Mom! What's wrong?"
"You bad Marine! Did you make Mom cry?"
Following Sora's cries, Reiju and Sanji burst through the door in a flurry, rushing inside.
They were met with the sight of a speechless Michael and Sora clutching his hand while sobbing uncontrollably.
The two kids were dumbfounded.
"Uh, what's going on here?" Sanji tilted his head at Michael, his tone full of innocence.
"Why is Mom holding your hand and crying? Did you steal something from her?"
"Mother, even though you're the queen now, surely you wouldn't cry like this just to pursue a man..."
Michael's lips twitched.
With a wave of his hand, two hands made of Holy light materialized out of thin air, winding up before flicking the two kids on their foreheads.
Though the flicks weren't light, they didn't cause harm—just a playful knock.
"Ow!"
"What was that for—"
"...Sister, sometimes, kids knowing too much isn't a good thing."
Looking at the siblings clutching their foreheads in unison, Michael sighed.
Only then could he take a proper look at his two nephews.
Reiju's eyes were identical to Sora's and Michael's—the same sapphire blue, like an inverted sea.
Sanji's eyes, however, took more after his father's side, a deep blue-black.
But remembering these two were his nephews, Michael couldn't help but step forward and pat their heads.
The Boa sisters, the Nojiko-Nami sisters, and now the Vinsmoke siblings...
His side job might be revolution, but his main occupation was practically running a kindergarten and preschool!
The one thing his household wasn't short of was kids!
"Reiju, Sanji, don't speak nonsense." Sora finally managed to control her tears.
"Rear Admiral Michael is Mom's long-lost younger brother, my biological brother, which means..."
"He's your real uncle."
"...WHAT?" Reiju's face twisted into an indescribable expression, "So my real uncle killed my biological father... Our family is really messed up."
After shrugging, Reiju didn't seem to be bothered.
Now that she looked closely, with this marine standing beside their mother, anyone with eyes could see they were siblings.
"Wow, congratulations on the family reunion." A swirl of sand passed by as Crocodile suddenly appeared by the bed, leaning against the window, her long legs awkwardly positioned.
"But you haven't forgotten your purpose, have you?"
"The Revolutionary Army forces have arrived."
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