Dusk gradually settled in, the setting sun set the clouds ablaze, and the rosy light cast a touch of sorrow over the silent battlefield.
Passing through the ruins of shattered walls dappled with light and shadow, Hawkeye emerged from the woods behind the castle, covered in injuries.
The moment he came out, he ran into Sanji, who had just finished a nearby battle and was rushing into the forest.
"Hawkeye Mihawk?!"
Seeing Hawkeye emerge from the woods, Sanji's eyes trembled as he shouted at him in alarm,
"Hey! Where's Marimo? How's that bastard doing?!"
"You mean Roronoa?"
Hawkeye's expression remained indifferent as he slightly turned his head to glance deeper into the woods.
Seeing this, Sanji's heart seemed to sink into an ice cellar, and panic gradually spread across his face.
Only one person had come out of the woods. Could Marimo already have...
"He probably got lost."
Hawkeye said flatly, then turned back and walked straight past Sanji.
"He won."
Those weightless words reached his ears, and Sanji froze for a moment.
"He... he won?"
After processing it, Sanji slowly let out a breath. The heart he had been holding in his throat finally settled. He shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"I worried for nothing. I knew that idiot was too stubborn to die."
Thud.
Sanji dropped onto the ground, pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips, then took an exquisitely crafted lighter from his pocket.
Click~
The flip-top opened with a crisp sound. The flint sparked a small flame that lit the cigarette. Sanji took a drag, slowly exhaled a trail of smoke, and looked up at the sunset sky, a slight smile tugging at his lips.
"Idiot Marimo, congratulations."
Golden evening light fell upon the stone ground before the castle ruins, its age-worn