The dying embers of the bonfire flickered with their last faint glimmers in the night wind.
The boisterous banquet had finally come to an end.
Beside the mountain of leftover food, the female warriors of Amazon Lily worked in small groups to clean up the aftermath, occasionally casting curious glances toward the depths of the jungle.
There, the impossibly energetic Straw Hat Kid was surrounded by a group of female warriors, gesturing animatedly as he recounted his adventures, drawing bursts of gasps and laughter from time to time.
He laughed without a care in the world, like a child who would never grow up.
The sea breeze swept past, bringing a trace of chill.
Marco held a cup of wine, yet could not bring himself to take a single sip.
His gaze shifted back and forth between the figure laughing heartily in the distance and the man standing calmly beside him. The confusion and questions in his heart were things he desperately wanted answered.
Why?
At last, Marco could no longer hold it in.
"Chen Ye."
Marco strode up to Chen Ye, his voice suppressing anger that could not be concealed.
"What exactly do you mean by this?"
"Why did you lie to Luffy?"
He stared fixedly at Chen Ye and demanded, word by word, "Ace is his brother! He has the right to know the truth! What gives you the right to make the decision for him and conceal something as enormous as the fate of Ace's life?!"
Standing nearby, Hancock, the Pirate Empress, also put away the bashfulness she showed around Luffy.
Her lovely brows furrowed, and her deep blue eyes were likewise filled with confusion.
Though she wished with all her heart that Luffy would never learn the news that would shatter him, she also could not