Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In a different timeline

Koby’s POV

As far as I can see, as wide as I can see—nothing but charred corpses and broken people.

This was the most successful loop yet. I managed to get rid of Akainu and even made myself Fleet Admiral. I beat that red mutt, and I made sure he stayed dead. For the first time, I thought maybe, just maybe, I had a chance to fix things.

I worked to purge the Marines of corruption, to turn them into what they were meant to be. Justice—not the warped, twisted kind that Akainu spewed, but real, fair justice. And for a while, it worked. The tides were shifting. The Marines were changing.

But the World Government couldn’t have that.

They sent Kong after me—the former Fleet Admiral, the man who ruled before Sengoku. Old, experienced, and just as much of a monster as Akainu ever was. He came down like a hammer, and now… now, all I see is ruin.

I was so close. With a deep breath, I kept a hand on my heart. “Loop” I yelled. 

And as my vision fades, as death claims me yet again, I know what’s coming.

The loop will reset.

And I’ll have to start all over again.

Alvidas Ship - 3 days before Luffy is picked up.

I wake up at the exact place as the last 50 loops. 

Koby’s bedding on Alvida’s ship was crude and uncomfortable, just like everything else about his time here. He slept in the storage area, tucked away in a damp, dimly lit corner near the barrels of supplies. His “bed” consisted of a thin, scratchy burlap sack stuffed with old straw, barely offering any cushion against the hard wooden planks beneath him. The blanket—if it could even be called that—was a tattered, moth-eaten cloth, barely large enough to cover his small frame.

The air was always stale and musty, carrying the mixed scent of sweat, seawater, and rotting wood. The constant creaking of the ship’s hull and the occasional scurry of rats made sleep a restless experience. If he was lucky, he’d be left alone. If not, some of Alvida’s men might kick him awake just for fun.

No matter how many loops he endured, waking up in this miserable spot never got any easier.

Koby blinked the sleep from his eyes, instinctively brushing off the thin layer of dust that always seemed to settle on his scratchy burlap bedding . He sat up, stretching out his sore limbs, expecting the usual damp, musty air of the storage room and the faint creaking of the ship’s hull.

But something was… off .

There was someone else sleeping next to him.

Koby stiffened. In fifty loops, he had never woken up to find another cabin boy beside him. The storage area had always been his alone— a miserable little corner of solitude. But now, lying just a few feet away on an equally pitiful excuse for a bed, was a boy he didn’t recognize.

This isn’t right.

Frowning, Koby flared his Observation Haki , reaching out with his senses to get a better read on this stranger.

Then he felt it— a presence, strong yet controlled.

Koby’s breath hitched. The boy had Haki unlocked. That was impossible . No one on this ship had ever possessed Haki before. None of Alvida’s men, none of the other slaves— no one.

Yet here this boy was, his breathing steady, his body radiating a quiet strength that made Koby’s instincts go on high alert.

Koby’s heart pounded as he slowly leaned closer, studying the boy’s face. He looked young, around Koby’s age , with slightly unkempt hair and a calm expression, as if he had not a single worry in the world.

Who the hell is this guy?

For the first time in fifty loops, something had changed.

Koby’s mind was racing. Who the hell was this guy?

Before he could even process his next move, the boy stirred, rubbing his face against the scratchy burlap like it was the most comfortable bed in the world. With a lazy yawn, he cracked one eye open, looked straight at Koby, and muttered—

“Hi Koby.”

Then he immediately rolled over and went back to sleep.

Koby just sat there, his brain short-circuiting. His jaw dropped as he stared at the boy’s peaceful, unbothered face.

“…Excuse me??”

He flared his Observation Haki again, double-checking to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating from stress. Nope—still there. Still radiating Haki like it was no big deal.

Who is this guy?! Why does he know my name?! WHY IS HE ACTING LIKE THIS IS NORMAL?!

Koby had been through fifty loops. He had fought Admirals, Warlords, even the damn Fleet Commander of the Marines—but this? This was genuinely unsettling.

His eye twitched as he stared at the mysterious cabin boy, who was now softly snoring.

“…Wake up, you bastard.” Koby grabbed the boy’s shoulder and shook him violently.

Koby shook the boy’s shoulder, half expecting him to jump up in alarm, maybe even attack out of reflex. But instead, the kid just grumbled, buried his face deeper into the burlap sack, and muttered—

“Five more minutes…”

Then he promptly went back to sleep.

Koby just stared. His eye twitched so hard he thought he might develop a permanent spasm.

Was this real life? Was he actually losing his mind this loop?

His fingers clenched. His breath came out in a slow, shaky exhale.

“…You’ve got five seconds before I throw you overboard.”

Koby took a deep breath, trying to suppress the rage building inside him. He had no idea who this guy was, why he was here, or why he had Haki, but one thing was clear—this guy was pissing him off.

He shook him again, harder this time.

The boy groaned, cracked open an eye, and glared at Koby.

“Shut up, man. I’m trying to get my beauty sleep.”

Koby’s eye twitched so violently that for a second, he thought he might unlock Conqueror’s Haki out of sheer frustration.

“…Who the hell are you?” Koby gritted out, his patience hanging by a thread.

The boy finally sat up, blinking blearily at Koby like he was the weird one in this situation. Then, without warning, he reached out and placed a hand on Koby’s forehead.

“…You feeling okay, buddy? You got a fever or something?”

Koby’s soul left his body.

Koby smacked the boy’s hand away, his patience at absolute zero.

“Stop that! And answer my question—who the hell are you?!”

The boy yawned, stretched like a lazy cat, and then casually said, “Relax, Koby. I grew up on the same island as you.”

Koby blinked. Once. Twice.

“…I’m sorry, WHAT?!”

The boy just nodded like this was common knowledge. “Yeah, we’re from the same place. How do you not remember that?”

Koby’s brain crashed. He had lived through fifty loops, memorized every single person from his childhood, and never—not once— had this guy been part of the picture.

“You’re lying.” Koby accused, eyes narrowing. “There’s no way I wouldn’t remember someone like you.”

The boy shrugged. “Well, that sounds like a ‘you’ problem.”

Koby’s fists clenched so hard they trembled. For all the things he had faced in these loops—THIS was what was about to break him.

Before Koby could explode, the door slammed open, and one of Alvida’s inner-circle pirates stomped in, looking deeply unimpressed.

“Oi, brats! Shut the hell up and get to work!” he barked, glaring at the both of them. “You think this is some damn sleepover? Move it!”

Koby took a deep breath, forcing down his frustration. He turned to the mystery guy, jabbing a finger at him.

“This isn’t over.” His voice was low, dangerous.

The boy just gave him a thumbs-up. “Cool. Looking forward to it.”

Koby had to physically stop himself from throwing a punch.

With a final glare, he turned and stormed off to the galley, where he was once again sentenced to his eternal loop punishment—peeling potatoes.

Meanwhile, the other guy was off in another part of the ship, scrubbing the deck.

As Koby aggressively skinned yet another potato, he couldn’t stop his mind from racing.

Who the hell was that guy? And more importantly—why was he here, in this loop, when he hadn’t been before?

The day was just as mind-numbingly boring as every other loop.

Koby peeled an ungodly amount of potatoes, scrubbed pans that had no business being that dirty, and even got sent out to fish for dinner. Not that it mattered—cabin boys never got a decent share anyway.

By the time dinner was over, Koby sat down with his usual sad meal—two biscuits and a cup of watered-down juice. Barely enough to sustain an adult, but enough to keep him from starving.

With a tired sigh, he dragged himself back to his sleeping quarters, expecting nothing but another dull night.

Instead, he found the mystery guy sitting there, waiting for him.

Next to him? Two full plates of food.

Koby froze. His brain took a second to process the sight.

The guy looked up, grinning. “Took you long enough. Thought you got lost.”

Koby stared at the food. Then at him. Then back at the food.

“…Where the hell did you get that?”

The guy just shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. Just eat.”

Koby narrowed his eyes. There was only one way a cabin boy could get extra food on this ship—stealing.

And if Alvida found out…

He glanced back at the food. His stomach growled.

…Screw it. If he was looping forever, might as well eat well this time.

Koby hesitated for exactly five seconds before sitting down and grabbing a fork.

The guy had somehow managed to steal potatoes, cook them, and butter them up perfectly. They were golden, crispy, and smelled absolutely divine.

Koby took a bite—and almost cried.

“This is… amazing,” he muttered between bites, barely stopping to breathe.

The guy grinned. “Right? You have no idea how easy it is to swipe stuff when everyone’s busy being useless.”

Koby didn’t even care about the blatant theft at this point. He was too busy enjoying actual food for once.

Then he noticed the guy pouring himself a glass of wine from a stolen bottle.

Koby frowned. “You’re drinking? You do realize we’re both underage, right?”

The guy waved him off. “Pfft. You think pirates care about drinking laws?”

Koby rolled his eyes. “I do.”

Without missing a beat, the guy pushed a cup toward him.

Koby looked down—it was juice.

He blinked. That was… actually kind of thoughtful.

“Huh. Thanks.” He took a sip.

The guy just smirked and took a sip of wine. “No problem, Mr. Lawful Citizen.”

As they finished off the last of the potatoes, Koby leaned back with a satisfied sigh. For once, he actually felt full.

Then, out of nowhere—

“BUUUUURP!”

The guy let out a thunderous burp that shook the very foundation of the room. It echoed off the walls like a battle cry.

Koby’s eyes widened in shock.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then, against all odds… he laughed.

It wasn’t a polite chuckle. It wasn’t a restrained giggle.

No, Koby full-on laughed.

After fifty loops of stress, failure, and crushing defeat, something so simple and stupid actually got to him.

The guy grinned, looking smug. “See? You do have a sense of humor. I was starting to worry.”

Koby shook his head, still chuckling. “That was disgusting.”

“Yeah, but it was impressive. Admit it.”

Koby sighed. “Fine. Maybe a little.”

The guy stretched and kicked back, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

Koby shook his head again, but for the first time in fifty loops… he didn’t feel completely miserable.

Before Koby could say another word, the guy suddenly leaned forward, staring him dead in the eyes.

“You asked me who I was this morning, right?” he said, his tone casual but sharp. “But shouldn’t you introduce yourself first? Because the Koby that went to sleep last night sure as hell didn’t know jack shit about Haki.”

Koby froze.

His breath hitched, and for the first time in fifty loops, a chill ran down his spine.

This guy knew.

Somehow, this guy knew.

Koby locked eyes with the guy, his Observation Haki flaring instinctively.

Dangerous. That was the immediate impression he got.

This wasn’t just some random cabin boy. No—this guy could probably give most Grand Line pirates a run for their money. The way he carried himself, the way his presence just felt sharp—Koby had seen enough powerful people to recognize it.

And yet, here he was, scrubbing floors and stealing potatoes like it was just another Tuesday.

Koby clenched his fist. Right now, he wasn’t strong enough. He had Observation Haki, sure, but Armament Haki was still a pain in the ass. No matter how many loops he went through, he just couldn’t get the hang of it properly. Maybe it was the lack of conditioning at the beginning. 

Koby took a deep breath, straightened his back, and looked the guy dead in the eyes.

“Fleet Admiral Koby.”

Silence.

The guy blinked. Then blinked again.

And then, he burst out laughing.

Not just a chuckle. A full-on, gut-busting laugh. He even had to wipe away a tear.

“Oh man, that’s a good one! Fleet Admiral Koby?!” He clutched his stomach, still wheezing. “Damn, I knew I was sleep-deprived, but this? This is comedy gold!”

Koby’s eye twitched.

“I’m serious.”

The guy finally calmed down, wiping his face. “Yeah, yeah, and I’m King of Dressrosa.”

Koby just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is gonna be a long loop.”

Koby took a deep breath, steadying himself. He knew this was a risk, but it had to be done.

With a steady gaze, he looked the guy in the eyes and said, “Fleet Admiral Koby.”

The guy’s expression immediately shifted—his earlier teasing smile disappeared, and he sat up a bit straighter. “On a serious note, how the hell do you know how to use Observation Haki?”

Koby didn’t hesitate. He maintained eye contact, not backing down. “Like I said, I am the Fleet Admiral of the Marines.”

For a moment, there was silence. The guy just stared at him, his brow furrowing in confusion.

Then, without warning, he laid back, raised an eyebrow, and smirked. “Fleet Admiral, huh? Well, that’s a bold claim. But, sure, let’s go with that for now.”

Koby’s stomach twisted, but he didn’t break his gaze.

For a moment, the guy closed his eyes, and a strange silence settled between them. Koby couldn’t quite place what was going on in his mind, but he could tell something shifted in the guy’s demeanor.

Then, without warning, the guy opened his eyes again, his expression serious now. “Let me properly introduce myself.”

He sat up, his posture suddenly more composed, and with a slight smirk, he spoke. “My name is Plumber D Mario. I was raised on the same island as the illustrious Fleet Admiral Koby. I was actually reincarnated into this world after I went out in a last stand against forces of demons.”

Koby blinked, the words registering slowly. His mind raced. Reincarnated? Last stand against demons?

The guy—no, Mario— seemed perfectly serious as he spoke, and yet…

Koby wasn’t sure if this was the most insane thing he had ever heard or if he had finally lost his mind after the endless loops.

“Demons? Reincarnated?” Koby’s voice was hesitant, almost questioning himself. “What kind of crazy story is that?”

Mario just shrugged, looking unfazed, as if he’d heard the question a hundred times before. ““Believe it or not, but that’s my truth. Anyway, it looks like we’ve both got some pretty interesting backstories.””

A moment of silence settled between them, the weight of Mario’s words hanging in the air. Koby gathered his thoughts, still trying to make sense of it all. The loops, the strange encounters, and now this guy who somehow knew more than he should.

Finally, Koby broke the silence. “So… you believe me?” His voice was careful, almost cautious.

Mario didn’t hesitate. He simply shrugged, a lazy grin tugging at his lips. “Look, matey, I got reincarnated into this horrific world. Time traveling to your younger self isn’t exactly out of the question, is it?”

Koby blinked.

It was the most casual response, yet it seemed to make perfect sense in a world where time loops, Devil Fruits, and reincarnation were becoming the new norm.

Koby rubbed his temples, trying to process everything. “Alright, alright… so you’re telling me reincarnation and time travel are normal now?”

Mario leaned back, his grin widening. “In this universe? Oh yeah. Nothing’s really off the table.”

Koby stared at him, dumbfounded for a moment, before he let out a long, exasperated sigh. “This is insane.”

Mario leaned forward, his curiosity piqued. “So, what’s your story?” he asked, genuinely interested.

Koby sighed heavily, looking a bit weary. “I ate the Loop Loop Devil Fruit,” he began, his voice low. “It’s a strange fruit. One of its abilities is that I can loop myself back in time, starting from a point of my choosing. Every time something goes wrong, or I lose, I can reset.” He paused, trying to find the right words. “This is my 51st loop. And honestly, seeing an extra cabin boy on this ship made me freak out. I wasn’t expecting anyone to show up.”

Mario raised an eyebrow. “So, you’ve been doing this for fifty loops? That’s… a lot.”

Koby gave a tired smile, nodding. “Yeah. And every time, I try something new, something different. This last loop, I fought Fleet Commander Kong—lost everyone. It was a massacre, and I… I didn’t want to go through that again, so I reset.”

There was a brief moment of silence as Mario absorbed the information. Koby’s face showed the weariness of someone stuck in a never-ending cycle, each loop a reminder of his failures. Finally, Mario leaned back in his seat, looking thoughtful.

“That’s heavy, mate.” Mario said, not in a mocking way, but with an understanding tone. “So, you’re stuck in a loop, and no matter what you try, you keep losing and resetting.”

Koby nodded. “Yeah. It’s like no matter how much I try, I’m always one step behind. The World Government, Kong, they always manage to get the upper hand. And I can’t break out of it.”

Mario smirked a bit, his usual confident grin returning. “Well, I can’t say I’m familiar with time loops, but I’ve been in situations where things seemed impossible. Doesn’t mean you stop trying.”

Koby looked at him, surprised by the guy’s lighthearted attitude. “It’s not that simple, Mario.”

Mario shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe not.”

Koby stared at Mario, curiosity creeping back into his expression after hearing about his strange situation. “ Alright, enough about me. What’s your story? ” Koby asked, his voice a little lighter but still filled with that lingering fatigue.

Mario leaned back, putting his hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling for a moment, like he was considering how much to reveal. After a beat, he grinned.

“ Well, I grew up on the same island as you, Koby. ” He said, his tone casual but with an edge of something… mysterious. “ That island was nice, peaceful, before it all went to hell. Guess you could say I had a pretty regular life, if you count growing up in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of other kids… and a constant threat of pirates. ”

Koby blinked. He didn’t remember any other kids from his village, but then again, he had been focused on his dream of joining the marines for as long as he could remember.

Koby hesitated for a moment before asking, his voice uncertain, “What about your previous life?”

Mario, lying back on his bedding with an almost nonchalant grin, began to speak, his words flowing with the ease of someone used to telling an unusual story. “Alright, here we go. In my previous life, I was born into a family of hive workers. Picture this: a massive hive city, home to billions of humans, all packed together like sardines in a can. The whole place was built within a massive, planet-spanning structure, buzzing with activity day in and day out.”

He shifted, getting comfortable, as if recounting some grand adventure. “Then one day, strange things started happening. People started disappearing, the lights flickered, and the air got thick with something off. Turns out, the hive city was about to fall to chaos demons—like, actual demons, crawling out from the cracks. But, of course, I was just a teenager with big dreams and an even bigger ego. So I thought, ‘Why not grab a gun, throw some punches, and take down this cult of maniacs?’”

Koby’s eyes widened. “You… beat demons? By yourself?”

Mario grinned lazily, as if it were no big deal. “Yeah, somehow. Managed to wipe out the chaos cult and secure a spaceship for myself. Not bad for a kid, right?” He raised an eyebrow, clearly enjoying the story. “And after that, I figured, ‘Why not make things even more interesting?’ So, I started a podcast—could be heard across the Imperium net. It was… a good run. Until, well, you know, I got sent here.”

Koby, still processing the insane details of Mario’s previous life, stared at him with a mixture of disbelief and awe. “A spaceship… and a podcast?” he repeated, as if the words themselves didn’t quite make sense together.

Mario just shrugged with a grin. “It’s a weird universe. But hey, I made it work.”

Chapter Text

Koby sat there, staring at Mario like he had just grown a second head. Of all the things he expected to hear, “I took down a chaos cult, stole a spaceship, and started a podcast” was definitely not on the list.

For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. He had looped 50 times, fought some of the strongest people in the world, and even reached the rank of Fleet Admiral—but this? This was on another level of ridiculous.

Finally, after shaking off his initial shock, he cleared his throat and leaned forward. “Can you tell me more? Your life sounds so… adventurous.”

Mario smirked, rolling onto his side and propping his head up with one hand. “Adventurous? Yeah, sure, that’s one way to put it. Another way would be ‘a nonstop hellstorm of insanity where every day was a fresh chance to get shot, mutated, or sacrificed to some cosmic horror.’ But yeah, let’s go with adventurous.”

Koby was hooked. “Okay, so… you really fought demons?”

Mario nodded. “Yep. Big ugly bastards. Some had too many eyes, others had way too many teeth, and all of them wanted to turn me into paste. The cultists were worse in some ways—at least the demons didn’t monologue about their ‘glorious ascension’ before trying to rip your head off.”

Koby’s eyes widened. “And you were just a teenager?”

Mario sighed, stretching. “Yep. I was born in a hive city, remember? Kids don’t really get a childhood there. You’re either working, fighting, or dead. When I figured out what was going on, I grabbed a gun, grabbed a few buddies, and we went full ‘last stand’ against those chaos-loving freaks. We got lucky.”

Koby couldn’t help but ask, “What happened after you won?”

Mario grinned. “Well, I figured, ‘Hey, I just saved a city of billions. Might as well cash in.’ So I found an abandoned spaceship, got it running, and took off. Turns out, having a working ship makes you a hot commodity. Did a few odd jobs, then I thought, ‘You know what this galaxy needs? A guy with a microphone talking about the absolute madness going on.’ So I started a podcast.”

Koby blinked. “And people actually listened?”

Mario laughed. “Oh, buddy. People ate that stuff up. I talked about corruption, alien attacks, rogue AI—you name it. Had a decent following, too. Until, well, I got reincarnated here.”

Koby sat back, trying to wrap his head around it all. He had been through 50 loops, but somehow, this was still one of the most insane things he had ever heard.

“Okay,” he said finally, “you have to tell me more. We have three days until Luffy shows up, and I need to hear everything.”

Mario chuckled. “Alright, alright. Let me tell you about the time I hijacked a noble’s pleasure yacht to escape a death cult…”

Koby listened, fully absorbed, as Mario launched into another wild story.

Koby had heard some crazy things in his loops, but nothing prepared him for the absolute madness Mario was about to drop on him.

It started simple enough—Mario explaining how his world had an all-powerful empire spanning a million planets. That alone was already insane, but then it just kept getting worse.

“So, let me get this straight,” Koby said, rubbing his temples. “Your ‘Imperium of Man’ is ruled by a half-dead emperor who’s been stuck on a life-support throne for ten thousand years, and people literally worship him like a god?”

Mario nodded. “Yep. And every single day, a thousand psychics are sacrificed just to keep him running.”

Koby choked. “A thousand? Every day?”

“Oh yeah. And that’s just the start.”

Mario then explained the Warp, a hell-dimension where reality twisted and time had no meaning. It was full of chaos gods that fed on emotions—one was literally the god of blood and war, and his followers’ whole thing was ripping heads off for fun.

“And this is just normal?” Koby asked, eyes wide.

“Completely.”

It only got worse from there. Mario described how people lived in Hive Cities, massive mega-structures packed with billions of people, where the air was toxic, the water was rationed, and the streets were ruled by gangs. If you weren’t working, you were either fighting, starving, or dead.

“And that’s if you’re lucky enough to live in the Imperium,” Mario added. “The alternatives are way worse.”

“How could it be worse!?”

Mario leaned in. “Oh, buddy. We got aliens. The Eldar—stuck-up space elves who are psychic and think they’re better than everyone. The Orks—giant, green, mushroom-people that live for war and can make their weapons work just by believing they should. The Necrons—immortal, metal skeletons that want to wipe out all life. Oh, and then there’s the Tyranids, which are basically a never-ending swarm of space locusts that eat entire planets.”

Koby looked like he was going to pass out. “How the hell did anyone even survive in that world!?”

Mario just shrugged. “Most don’t.”

Then he got into the Space Marines, the towering, genetically-engineered super soldiers that were worshipped like demigods. He explained how they were taken as children, brainwashed, pumped full of chemicals, given extra organs, and trained to kill anything that wasn’t human.

“And they’re the ‘good guys’?” Koby asked, horrified.

“Ehhh… depends on who you ask. Some are cool. Others will burn an entire planet just to make sure a single demon doesn’t escape.”

By the time Mario finished explaining the Inquisition—who had literal authority to destroy entire planets just on suspicion of heresy—Koby had gone pale.

“And you lived in that!?”

Mario smirked. “Survived in it. There’s a difference.”

Koby took a deep breath. “You know, suddenly, the Grand Line doesn’t seem so bad.”

Koby sat there, his brain overheating from the sheer insanity of what Mario had just told him. The guy had casually dropped a lifetime’s worth of achievements that sounded like they were ripped straight out of the most over-the-top action novel imaginable.

“Hold on, hold on,” Koby waved his hands. “You did what to the Eye of Terror!?”

Mario smirked. “Oh yeah, I kind of… shrunk it. Just a little. Nothing major, but it pissed off a lot of daemons, so I figured why not go inside and throw hands?”

Koby stared at him like he had just grown a second head. “WHY would you ever do that!?”

Mario stretched lazily, like he hadn’t just admitted to jumping into Warhammer Hell for fun. “Eh, it was the last stand, you know? Gotta make it count. Plus, I was already rocking enough alien tech to make the Mechanicus faint. I figured I’d either go out in a blaze of glory or break reality a little. Either way, a win.”

Koby pinched the bridge of his nose. “And then… you killed Angron?”

Mario nodded. “Yeah, poor bastard never got a break. He came at me screaming, like usual, but I had a plan. You see, I got my hands on some Necron tech that—”

“STOP. JUST STOP.” Koby held up a hand. “Then you got your guts spilled by—who was it?”

Mario’s expression darkened. “Fulgrim. That smug, narcissistic, snake-looking, four-armed cunt.”

Koby choked on air. “You—excuse me—did you just call a Primarch a cunt?”

Mario shrugged. “What? He is. Guy backstabbed one of his own brothers, turned into a daemon, and now just slithers around acting like he’s hot shit. He deserved worse than what I gave him.”

Koby couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Mario had fought literal demigods of war, killed one, pissed off another, shrunk a cosmic horror dimension, and somehow ended up reincarnated here.

“So… after all that, you just woke up as a cabin boy on Alvida’s ship?”

Mario let out a dramatic sigh. “Yep. Life’s funny like that.”

Koby was speechless. He had been through 51 loops trying to fix his timeline, and now he had to deal with this absolute lunatic in his 52nd.

“I need a drink.”

Mario leaned back, hands behind his head, and gave Koby a curious look. “Alright, enough about me fighting literal war gods—what about you, Mr. Fleet Admiral Koby? You said this is your 52nd loop? What’s that like?”

Koby let out a deep sigh. “It’s… exhausting.”

Mario raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

Koby crossed his arms. “Imagine grinding the same level in a game over and over again, except every time you get to the final boss, he just changes the rules. First time, I got further than anyone expected. Next time, the Marines started countering me before I even made a move. Then I got strong enough to fight Yonko, only for the World Government to throw Fleet Commander Kong at me.”

Mario whistled. “Damn. They really sent Kong after you?”

Koby nodded. “Yeah. I actually managed to push him back for a bit, but in the end, I lost everyone. My fleet, my friends… my dream.”

Mario watched as Koby’s fists clenched.

“So you hit reset?” Mario asked.

Koby exhaled through his nose. “Yeah. I didn’t see another way out. I just—” He ran a hand through his hair. “I just wish something would stick. Every time I get close, something new happens. It’s like the world itself is fighting me.”

Mario nodded thoughtfully. “Sounds rough. And you’ve been doing this for…?”

Koby closed his eyes. “Fifty-one loops.”

Mario let out a low whistle. “And in none of those loops did I ever show up?”

Koby gave him a flat look. “No. That’s why I freaked out when I saw you.”

Mario grinned. “Well, congrats, matey. Looks like the universe finally threw you a wildcard.”

Koby groaned. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing yet.”

Mario smirked. “Oh, it’s gonna be fun, either way.”