After saying that, Harald slowly closed his eyes and said nothing more.
Tap, tap, tap, tap~~~
Rocks, Ron, Whitebeard, and Linlin walked up to Harald almost side by side.
Harald still had his eyes closed, blood dripping from his chin onto the ground.
He had no fear of death.
Tap, tap, tap~~~
A flurry of faster, heavier footsteps sounded behind Rocks.
Then that figure rushed past Rocks and the others and stopped in front of Harald.
"Rocks!" Loki's voice trembled as though it were tearing apart. The tears seeping from the edges of his bandages had completely soaked the cloth, and snot and tears smeared his face. His voice was hoarse. "Spare my father... please..."
Harald's eyes snapped open, an indescribably complicated emotion churning within those bloodshot eyes.
He roared with almost every ounce of strength he had left, "Go away, Loki! This has nothing to do with you!"
"Rocks!!!" Loki did not turn around. He simply hung his head, bowing deeply toward Rocks.
Rocks did not answer Loki. He turned his head, his gaze falling on Ron beside him, an easy smile on his lips. "What do you think, Ron?"
Ron shrugged, his tone calm. "Don't ask me about this sort of thing, Rocks. I'm not the captain."
Rocks looked away and turned back to Harald. At that moment, the smile slowly faded from his face, like a breeze carrying away the last trace of warmth. Then he said slowly, "Let's leave it at that, Harald. This is the last time I'll set foot on Elbaf. As an old friend, I hope that when you look back on today someday, you'll still have no regrets about your choice."
With that, Rocks turned around and was the first to leave.
Whitebeard followed silently, his glaive resting on his shoulder, his