Sakazuki's Mother?

Sakazuki took a deep breath in the kitchen, then turned to look at the figure sitting in the living room. Beneath his cap, the sharp gaze that had shown no emotion for years gradually softened.

He still couldn't be a hundred percent certain that the old woman before him was the mother who had died in his arms all those years ago. But the feeling of a blood bond between mother and son was growing stronger by the moment.

Even so, he didn't rush to claim her as his mother.

Relying on memories that had nearly faded, he planned to make the old woman a bowl of the food his mother had loved to make.

To be precise, it was the food he liked.

Born in the North Blue, he had grown up in a cold climate and loved eating white rice with chili peppers ever since he could remember. Of course, it wasn't that he liked eating that way; it was simply what circumstances allowed.

He had kept up the habit ever since. Gradually, his subordinates and even colleagues he rarely saw had come to know that his favorite meal was white rice with chili peppers.

But when he remembered that the old woman was hungry, he abandoned the idea of testing her and skillfully made her a bowl of ramen.

Before long, he brought a steaming bowl of ramen to the old woman.

Then he quickly returned to the kitchen, brought out a bowl of rice and a few fresh chili peppers, and sat across from the old woman. He began wolfing them down as if he hadn't eaten in days. Momonga, who was keeping the old woman company, watched with question marks practically popping over his head.

Sakazuki's behavior soon caught the old woman's attention.

After watching him for a while, she seemed to forget that she was hungry and cautiously asked, "Are you a colleague of my grandson's too?"

Sakazuki nodded.

The old woman perked right up. She leaned toward him and tentatively asked, "Could you share some of your white rice and chili peppers with me?"

Sakazuki stared at her for a moment, then set his bowl in front of her.

At this, the old woman seemed afraid he might change his mind. She quickly grabbed the bowl he had handed her along with the chili peppers on the table, hid them underneath the table, and said in a secretive voice, "My son loves white rice and chili peppers most..."

She stopped mid-sentence. Suddenly, her head drooped in dejection, and her voice choked with tears. "But I can't find my son."

Before she had even finished speaking, the old woman turned to Momonga. "Hey, you there... c-can you help me find my son?"

"Of course, of course," Momonga said, nodding repeatedly. "We've been looking for him all these years."

"Oh, right. What's my son's name?" The old woman thought for a moment, then suddenly sprang to her feet in a panic, her face full of worry. "I... I've forgotten who my son is. W-who is my son?"

"Oh, right, the white rice and chili peppers~"

After pacing back and forth twice, the old woman took the rice and chili peppers from under the table and handed them to Momonga. "My son loves white rice and chili peppers. Will you help me find him?"

Momonga took the bowl and the chili peppers and set them down in front of Sakazuki. Then he cautiously asked, "Ma'am, take a look at him. Does he look like your son? His name is Sakazuki, and he's an Admiral at Marine Headquarters!"

"Who's Sakazuki?" The old woman glanced at him and shook her head. "How could he be my son? My son isn't that old. He's only eight..."

Momonga shrugged helplessly and explained to Sakazuki, "Sorry, Admiral Sakazuki. The old woman's dementia has been getting worse. She usually can't even remember Lord Akira. She only knows that Akira is her grandson, but she doesn't know who Akira is..."

Before he finished speaking, a look of surprise suddenly flashed in Momonga's eyes. He stared at Sakazuki in disbelief.

Sakazuki had pulled his cap low, making it impossible for Momonga to see his eyes. But he could see two silent streams of tears sliding down Sakazuki's face.

Sakazuki was overwhelmed with emotion, and his feelings were complicated.

He was certain that the old woman before him was the mother who had "died" in his arms all those years ago, but he didn't dare acknowledge her.

Because back then, he had buried his still-living mother in the yard.

If he had dug her grave deeper, then he would have become the one who truly killed her.

The thought of his mother waking beneath the earth made a stab of pain rise in his heart, and he could barely breathe.

Most importantly, decades had passed. Although his mother had forgotten who he was, she had never forgotten that he loved white rice and chili peppers most.

After a brief silence, Sakazuki suddenly stood up. Ignoring his usual composure, he rose with tears all over his face and quickly came behind the old woman, lifting her clothes.

As her clothes were pulled up, a wound that pierced straight through her back came into view. Even after decades, it was still clearly visible. With his years of experience, he immediately recognized it as a wound made when a blade entered through her chest and pierced through her back.

As he looked at the scar, the image of his mother being run through by a pirate's blade when he was a child flashed before his eyes.

"Y-you, let go of me!"

The old woman was clearly frightened by Sakazuki's actions. She quickly turned around and slapped him across the face, then unsteadily ran behind Momonga and nervously grabbed his arm.

Sakazuki stood where he was after taking the slap. He tilted his head back and took a deep breath, then faced the old woman and dropped to both knees with a thud. His voice trembled as he cried, "Mother..."

Before he had even finished speaking, Sakazuki bowed his head heavily to the floor. His shoulders shook violently as he struggled to control his emotions and keep himself from sobbing aloud.

Smoke filled Marineford, the Marine Headquarters. Though the situation was mostly under control, a small number of Headquarters Officers were still waiting for a chance to rebel.

Unlike the various fortresses of Marineford, where gunshots and the booms of battles periodically rang out across the night sky, the courtyard where Akira was staying was utterly quiet.

Sakazuki had already calmed down. The memories that remained in his mind, along with the innate feeling of closeness he felt, had put an end to his doubts about the old woman's identity. He sat quietly beside her.

The old woman's memory was badly jumbled. Just a moment ago, she had been guarding the white rice and chili peppers fiercely. Now, after seeing Sakazuki's tear-streaked face, she returned them to him.

Sakazuki said nothing and buried his head in his food.

It was only plain white rice and chili peppers, but it was the first time in decades that he had enjoyed a meal so much.

"You like white rice and chili peppers too, huh?"

The old woman didn't touch her chopsticks. She stared at Sakazuki with a kind expression and said, "Just like my son. If you find my son, make sure you don't bully him. He's wanted to join the Marines ever since he was little... Oh, right, what's your name?"

Hearing his mother chatter on, Sakazuki thought of how he had buried her alive in the earth with his own hands. Tears welled up in his eyes once more.

Even so, he answered at once, "Sakazuki."

"Sakazuki?" The old woman blinked, lost in thought. "My son... Oh, right, do you know what my son's name is?"

Sakazuki answered again, "Sakazuki!"