A Decent Man, More or Less

One day.

Two days.

Two days had passed since Luffy woke up.

The grave where Luffy had originally been buried had become Brook's grave.

Beside it were the graves of Vivi, Usopp, and Chopper.

During that time,

Luffy had stood there, staring at the four graves without eating or drinking.

Zoro, Sanji, Robin, and Nami had stayed with him, their eyes swollen and red from all the crying.

Zoro had grown even quieter.

After all, the ones lying there forever weren't just his crewmates. His teacher was there, too—the man who had saved his life at the cost of his own.

Everyone was dispirited.

They had lost all their former confidence and their hopes for the future.

The blow had cut deep into everyone's soul, leaving them in unbearable pain. The despair of watching someone they cared about fall before their eyes while they could do nothing was worse than death.

"Have they been like this the whole time?"

Dusk fell.

The sun was about to set.

A breeze swept past as Dragon looked at Luffy and the others, who seemed like living corpses.

"Yes."

Sabo still held the food, though it had long since gone cold.

These past two days had worn Sabo down, too.

But no matter what he tried, he couldn't lift Luffy's spirits.

"If you keep this up, they'll never rest in peace."

"Instead of blaming yourselves, you should live on with their dreams and see them through."

"Don't dwell on what you've lost. Think about what you still have."

"Luffy, you're a terrible captain. I'm disappointed!"

"As members of the Straw Hat Pirates, the rest of you need to keep your heads clearer than your captain. Now isn't the time to blame yourselves and grieve. You should be thinking about how to pick yourselves up