Loki grew more dejected as his thoughts continued. Just then, the cold wind suddenly swirled at the foot of the mountain, whipping up snow until nothing remained between heaven and earth but a surging sea of white.
A little while later, several retreating figures seemed to appear faintly amid the snowstorm at the foot of the mountain.
Loki's breath caught at that moment. He suddenly remembered that day. When Rocks and the others had left Elbaf, their retreating figures had looked just like that.
At that moment, a small patch of the cloth wrapped around Loki's eyes suddenly grew wet. Then the moisture seeped through and slowly slid down his cheek, carrying a trace of warmth.
Yet a smile appeared on Loki's face.
"Rocks..." Loki said quietly. "Whether you come or not... once the time comes, I'll go find you."
Hachinosu, aboard the Saber of Xebec.
The light in the ship's main hall was somewhat dim. Gloriosa was curled up on a soft sofa, with the breakfast Annika had made beside her.
She had just spent a hundred Beli buying the latest newspaper from a News Coo, intending to see whether anything worth paying attention to had happened on the seas lately.
She opened the newspaper, casually scanned the front page, and froze.
The blood drained from her previously relaxed face the moment she read the headline.
Her pupils contracted slightly, and her fingertips unconsciously tightened around the edge of the paper.
[The Navy will launch a strike against the Island of Evil (Amazon Lily) in seven days to uphold world order.]
Gloriosa's eyes quickly moved down the page.
The article listed Amazon Lily's various evil deeds, the actions of the Kuja Pirates, Gloriosa's joining the infamous Rocks Pirates, and a whole series of charges she had never heard