I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

Contracts are a small, peripheral element in the world of One Piece.

It has appeared twice in the original One Piece manga: once as Moria, the user of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, and once as Sugar, the user of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit.

Both of these ability users can create derivative creatures attached to their abilities, such as shadow zombies or toy soldiers.

Beside Hogback, Moria's subordinate and a genius surgeon, is a zombie dancer named Cindy.

Cindy's body is that of a dancer, but her shadow comes from a grumpy maid who likes to smash plates.

When the zombie Cindy was first born, Moria did not use his ability to erase the shadow master's memory through a contract. Therefore, the zombie Cindy was essentially a reincarnation of the original shadow master, a violent, plate-smashing maid.

After learning his lesson, Moria would sign contracts when creating shadow zombies. From then on, the new shadow zombies were empty shells with no memories, only instincts.

The power of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit is a different kind of contract; its shadow is not the memory of the person it touches, but rather the memories of the world about the person it touches.

A husband can forget his wife, a mother can forget her children... This is a contract that fundamentally erases the sense of existence.

"The user of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit can sign a forgetting contract with the person affected, and everything about the person affected will be forgotten by the world."

The panda continued to explain:

"But after becoming a toy, the newborn toy can be said to have started a second life. It can still communicate with people normally and live as a toy. People's memories of the toy after that will not be erased."

"But after awakening, the permanent contract is different."

"This contract will continue to take effect, which means that people will continue to forget those who have been turned into toys. The contract will take effect countless times, not just once."

The panda's gaze was deep and profound.

"Even if the world notices my existence for a time, their memories will be erased again soon afterward."

"Once I become a permanent toy, I will be constantly forgotten by the world, essentially becoming a person who does not exist in society."

When does a person die?

When the heart stops beating, it is biological death.

When a society is forgotten by the world, it is a form of social death.

From a biological perspective, the panda people have gained eternal life.

From a societal perspective, the Pandaman is long dead, and no one will remember him.

Upon hearing this, Sieg felt a sudden sense of clarity.

Sigurd once asked Sugar if he could use the Hobby-Hobby Fruit to create an adult-sized panda toy—this was certainly not because Sigurd suddenly became a beast and awakened his Fury fetish.

The real reason was that he guessed the forgetting ability of the Childlike Fruit was somewhat similar to that of the best extra, Pandaman.

"That makes sense."

In Dressrosa, Sugar turned Zephyr into a toy, and Zephyr was subsequently forgotten by everyone, including Fujitora.

But Sieg did not.

At the time, he simply didn't know that Zephyr had been turned into a toy, and he didn't think about it in that way. The memories of Zephyr in his mind had not been erased... He only discovered this abnormality afterward.

Imagine Breaker is immune to invisible buffs or debuffs from supernatural forces, so he hadn't forgotten Zephyr at the time.

Therefore, when Sieg activated [Life Possession] to disable Imagine Breaker, the Pandaren's abilities were constantly influencing him.

He was unaware of the presence of the panda people around him; these panda people were affected by the Childlike Fruit and had their presence erased.

Don't even mention the panda being a nobody extra in a crowd...

He could be dressed as a bunny girl and dancing the Golden Wheel of Muscles in a crowd and nothing would happen to him, because he would be socially dead long ago and the world would eventually forget him.

Using this passive ability, Pandaman can openly drink and chat loudly with other pirates on Shanks' ship, but the latter will not remember Pandaman.

Sig has witnessed the presence of Pandaren several times, most recently on Zulu-Zou Island.

After witnessing the Pandaren, Sieg immediately searched the entire island, but found no trace of them.

At the time, he thought that the Pandaman had left Zou Island before he could capture him, using an ability similar to the Door-Door Fruit.

Looking back now, he didn't need to do that at all.

Even if a Pandaren is noticed by Sig, he only needs to stand still, and Sig or others will treat him as if he doesn't exist and automatically ignore his presence.

“What a terrifying and bizarre ability,” Sieg exclaimed.

Amazed, he pressed his right hand; this time, Imagine Breaker had done a great job.

"It's not truly an unsolvable ability." The panda shook its head.

"No Devil Fruit power is invincible or unbeatable."

“Some powerful individuals with keen senses might notice my presence, and getting close to them carries a certain risk.”

"At the same time, the aftermath of battles on the battlefield, such as artillery fire and bullets, doesn't discriminate."

For example, Whitebeard could sense Ace's sneak attack and smash him to pieces even while he was asleep.

The Pandaren's ability is to be forgotten; his presence is very low, but he is unwilling to take the huge risk of interacting closely with these powerful beings.

Of course, it's fine to just watch from afar and silently witness each other's journey.

The panda turned its head and gazed at the ruins of the ancient kingdom's capital.

"The great kingdoms of today are not the same as the great kingdoms of my time."

"At that time, the wise men in the kingdom worried that an overly powerful and vast kingdom without restraint would go down the path of self-destruction. So they devised the [Time Historian] plan, which was to create a historian to learn from history and, if necessary, assist those in power in restoring order."

"The second stage of the Time Historian is to socially erase me as an immortal being."

"When the historian of time is forgotten by the world, he will become an absolutely neutral figure, independent of the vast kingdom, not dependent on any powerful figures, and not influenced by the outside world—this was the original intention of the person who devised the plan."

"After becoming a true historian of time, I have been fulfilling my responsibilities as a historian. I travel all over the world, following the protagonists of each era, recording the biographies of historical figures, and witnessing the rise and fall of legends..."

"But the result..." The panda looked at the ruins before him and sighed softly.

Now, he witnessed the demise of his homeland, though it was no longer the homeland he remembered.

He was an ancient person from hundreds of years ago who witnessed the ancient kingdom gradually descend into madness and, under the influence of the experimental subjects who escaped from the laboratory, faced a great disaster and eventual demise. He felt a bit of emotion in his heart.

The Time Historian Project has failed.

The Pandaren, who are being forgotten by the world, seem to have a discrepancy with the ancient kingdom, which is why the ancient kingdom has not corrected its ways.

The experimental subjects, Heart and Lyca, raised the banner of rebellion against the ancient kingdom and ultimately destroyed this powerful nation.

On the other hand, the Time Historian Project was also a success.

The vast kingdom truly created an immortal ghost, possessing eternal life yet long since devoid of presence, a historical bystander who will never leave a mark on history.

According to Vegapunk's future narrative, the immortal Pandaren not only lived 800 years into the present day, but even 500 years into the future.

He was born hundreds of years ago in this era, which means he may have lived for nearly two thousand years and may continue to live in the future.

He is an immortal ghost.

"Why are you telling me so much?" Sig didn't entirely believe it; it certainly sounded unbelievable.

“I am a historian, not a warrior.” The pandaren glanced at the towering walls around him.

Sig used unknown methods to disable the Pandaren's forgetfulness effect. Since he didn't have outstanding individual combat abilities, he couldn't do anything about Sig either.

"Besides, I don't like playing those roundabout games, so I'll just say it straight."

“Over the years, I have indeed observed you, and I have also observed important figures including Xin and Laika,” the Pandaren said.

"I have lived through too long a period of time. I have been with countless outstanding people and silently witnessed their rise and fall."

“I am very experienced, so I realized their extraordinary qualities very early on, and I have been observing them for a long time.”

“And you are even more special than them.” At this point, the panda’s expression suddenly turned a little strange, and he made a gesture of putting on a mask.

Clearly, he had already realized that Sieg was impersonating a Pandaren and ruining his reputation.

"And you, among all of you, are the most special one, able to break free from the effects of the Childlike Fruit." The panda looked at Sig earnestly.

As long as Sieg lives and does not forget him, he will no longer be a lonely historian of time.

He has been alone for far too long. His friends and family all died hundreds of years ago, and now even his homeland is gone.

Sieg had no personal relationship with him, yet he remembered him—something he had never encountered before in a century.

If it weren't for the odd art style and the fact that he wasn't some bunny girl or high school girl, he probably would have been tempted to have a deep and casual conversation with Sig.

...........

P.S.: Book recommendation for the weekend.

My Wife is an Immortal Black Serpent

Summary:

About a year after transmigrating to this other world filled with kemonomimi girls, 25-year-old transmigrator Yang Hao was targeted by the immortal black serpent of Ursus because of his special [teleportation] ability!

Of course, it wasn't just the Black Serpent of Ursus. The Grand General of Kazdel, the Imperial Advisor of the Great Yan, the research laboratory of Columbia...

Even Agor's technical governor had his eye on his abilities.

After a difficult year in Kazimierz and an encounter with a noblewoman... this guy, who finally won the heart of a good woman after all his hardships, actually plans to become a gigolo?! And after building a giant corporation?!

How can this be!

Chapter 1266 World Government 6k

The abilities of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit also have limitations.

What he can erase is the memory of the world, or rather, the world's perception of the existence of the Pandaren.

However, if we disregard popular belief, the Pandaren are indeed objectively existing immortals.

For example, on Dressrosa Island, there was the gladiator Kyros, who was once affected by the Hobby-Hobby Fruit and turned into a toy.

All of Cyrus's memories from his lifetime have been forgotten by the world, but the arena still holds a statue of Cyrus and a vague legend of the strongest gladiator.

Information about Cyrus can be engraved on stone, written in notebooks... but no matter how hard people try, they cannot connect the legends of Cyrus with the erased memories of Cyrus.

The same applies to pandas.

More than one person knows of the existence of the Pandaren.

Tengetsu knew, Vegapunk knew, and Sieg knew.