"Ha ha~~~ Ha ha~~~"
His wild, unrestrained laughter rang out, startling seabirds into flight and scaring off the fish as it drifted far into the distance.
It stopped abruptly.
"Why am I not happy? I just can't bring myself to feel anything~" Tears involuntarily welled up from his tear ducts, crystalline droplets spreading across his cheeks before finally falling to the deck and shattering. Bankotsu stopped moving, stiff as a statue. After a long while, he raised a hand to wipe his wet eyes. "I really do hate being alone. I'm not used to being by myself! Jakotsu, everyone..."
"Blood, your blood!"
Chrollo did not understand what Bankotsu's neurotic behavior meant. He only saw blood spurting from Bankotsu's split-open wound, and fearfully reminded him.
"Here!" Bankotsu casually tossed him the bag of food and slowly began bandaging his wound. Once Chrollo had wolfed down some bread, he said, "Bad news, unlucky kid. You just escaped Meteor City, and now you have to go back—my destination is Meteor City."
"Cough, cough, cough~~~ Ugh..."
Chrollo immediately choked, his face flushing bright red.
Handing him a bottle of fresh water, Bankotsu leaned against the railing and gazed at the blue sky and white clouds. "Do you know Wano Country?"
"Cough~ No." Chrollo steadied his breathing, his dry, itchy throat making his voice sound different.
Bankotsu eagerly told Chrollo, "That's my hometown. There are ninjas, samurai..." As though something had occurred to him, his enthusiasm faded as quickly as it came, and he no longer wanted to introduce Wano Country. "Do you know the Phantom Troupe?"
Chrollo shook his head.
"This!" Bankotsu turned around and proudly displayed the spider tattoo on his back. "The symbol of freedom. Pretty good, right?"
Chrollo stared blankly at the spider tattoo. "Freedom?"
"Freedom!" Bankotsu raised a clenched fist