Sakazuki

North Blue · Unnamed Island

The sea breeze scattered the scorched smell.

On the ruined ground, a young man whose hair had been blasted into an afro lay on his back, his chest heaving violently as wisps of black smoke still rose from his mouth.

"You... cough... you bastard..."

Sakazuki forced out a curse, his voice hoarse yet stubborn as a flame that would rather break than bend.

Though the pain made him suck in cold breaths, he refused to close his eyes no matter what.

—That lightning strike had not only hit his body; it had struck his narrow world as well.

For the first time, he clearly realized that the "strength" he had known was merely an inconspicuous speck in this world.

Rock sat atop a large boulder with one leg crossed over the other, as though watching a child throw a tantrum.

His gaze swept across Sakazuki's battered body, and his eyes trembled slightly.

The next moment, he gently closed his eyes, and his Observation Haki spread out like a tide.

In an instant, the entire island revealed itself in his mind without the slightest concealment.

—Burned trees.

—Split rooftops.

—Soil where the bloodstains had not yet fully dried.

—Children and elderly people cowering timidly in corners.

The air carried the scent of accumulated fear.

Rock sighed softly to himself. No wonder this child's gaze was as hard as stone.

No wonder he was so young, yet seemed like a wild beast ready to bite.

Because this was the North Blue, where pirates ran rampant, and no one could protect them.

Because this child had to be fiercer and tougher than pirates if he wanted to survive.

Rock opened his eyes and looked at the still-smoking Sakazuki, his tone turning casual again. "Hey, kid, I told you already, I'm not a pirate..."

Sakazuki glared fiercely at him, stubborn but weak. "So... cough... what..."

"And you saw it too, didn't you? The gap between us."

He lazily raised a hand and made a casual gesture. "If I were a pirate, would you still be lying there whining? I'd have casually chopped you into charcoal already."

The boy's cheek twitched slightly. He wanted badly to argue, but could not say a single word.

After a long silence, he decided to shut his mouth.

Resting his chin on his hand, Rock asked with great interest, "Sakazuki, what do you think justice—"

"—should be like?"

As the words fell, Sakazuki's entire body trembled almost imperceptibly.

Silence... deeper silence...

Until his fingers clenched around the short blade again, his knuckles turning stiff and white.

At that moment, the air seemed to freeze.

At last, he forced out the words in something close to a growl. "Justice—!!!"

"Should be absolute justice—!!!"

With a roar that tore at his throat, he abruptly pushed himself up, pointing the short blade toward the distant sea.

"Pirates! They should disappear completely from this world!!!"

"Not a single one can be spared—!!!"

It was pain and obsession carved into his bones.

Rock could clearly see that what flashed in those eyes was not merely hatred, but an unbearable grief.

As though his family had been taken from him;

As though the world had once shown him true cruelty;

As though some irretrievable night had collapsed before his eyes.

Rock's heart trembled slightly, and he murmured softly, "Is that so..."

—The next morning

Sunlight shone over the shabby little village, and the air carried the mingled scent of earth and sea breeze.

Early in the morning, Sakazuki went out to work with bandages wrapped all over his body. His movements were as rough and forceful as ever, without a trace of gentleness, as though the land owed him a huge debt.

"Huff... huff..."

Sweat dripped down, soaking through patches of his bandages.

But just over ten meters away, Rock sat in a circle with the elderly and children, like a cloud-traveling storyteller.

"And then, that Cloud Fish jumped too high and slammed right into my nose—bam! It knocked me right off the clouds—haha!"

"Wow—! What did it look like when Brother Rock flew?!"

"Are there really glowing flowers in the sky?"

Rock nodded solemnly. "Of course, little ones. They're lamps specially made to light the way for angels~"

The elderly laughed so hard their wrinkles nearly squeezed together, while the children's eyes gleamed with excitement.

Meanwhile, the veins at Sakazuki's temples began to throb, several more bulging as his breathing grew heavier and heavier.

Finally.

"Bang!!!"

In his fury, he slammed the hoe hard into the ground.

He could not help roaring, "How long are you planning to mooch around here, you bastard?!!!"

Rock slowly turned back, shooting him a sidelong glance with a cheerful tone. "Hey, hey, hey~ I'm only staying here temporarily."

The elderly hurriedly spoke up for Rock. "Don't be mean to young Rock! He helped us repair the well and the houses!"

The children also rushed over. "Brother Rock tells us stories about the sky too!"

Sakazuki roared inwardly, How did you people come to like this suspicious guy?!!

He resentfully picked up the hoe again and shook off a clump of mud.

"Tsk—!!!"

The wound pulled open. He stifled a groan, his body trembling slightly.

Seeing this, Rock held his forehead and sighed. "This stubborn turtle... who are you trying to prove yourself to?"

At noon, Rock dragged a huge lightning-grilled fish out of the sea, along with two wild boars he had casually "electrocuted" and brought back—

The entire village instantly exploded into activity. The children screamed as they ran around, the women bustled about in a frenzy, and the elderly became so excited their eyes reddened.

"This fish... we haven't eaten one this big in three years..."

"Meat... so much meat... the children can finally eat their fill..."

"It's been so long since the village was this lively..."

Those words reached Rock's ears, and the smile on his face slowly became a faint daze.

As he watched the scene before him, an indescribable ache rose in his heart.

A village once ravaged by pirates until only its skeleton remained had regained life because of something he did on a whim.

—They only wanted to live properly.

—Yet in this world, even "living properly" was so difficult.

The sea breeze carried the scent of meat through the village dyed red by the setting sun. Voices rose in a clamor, and the long-lost liveliness made the place seem as though it had finally awakened from a long nightmare.

Leaning against a tree trunk, Rock smiled as he watched everyone eat to their hearts' content, while his gaze gradually drifted toward the most inconspicuous shadow.

—Behind the tree.

There, a boy's silhouette stood rigid as rock.

Sakazuki still gripped his short blade, his back ramrod straight, his eyes fixed on the village entrance and the edges of darkness around them. He would not let a single sound escape his ears.

Though his wounds had not healed, though he was already starving to his limit.

He still... did not take a single step into that laughter.

Children's laughter rang out. The elderly ate while crying, hot soup boiled in the pot... while Sakazuki was like a chunk of iron and stone sunk into shadow.

Rock sighed softly. "Sigh... this kid."

He casually grabbed a grilled meat skewer thicker than a child's arm. Grease dripped onto the ground with a sizzling sound.

Then he strode toward the back of the tree.

"Hey, kid." Rock stopped in front of him.

Sakazuki frowned deeply at the sight of him and said in a low voice, "I'm not hungry."

His stomach: "Grrr—!!!"

The sound shook the leaves three times, and the air fell silent.

Rock raised his brow, his expression saying, Quit messing around. "I'm telling you, eat something. How are you supposed to protect everyone without strength?"

As the words fell, Sakazuki abruptly turned his head away, like a hedgehog whose tail had been stepped on. "I said, I don't—"

Rock directly anticipated him, a faint blue spark of lightning flickering from his fingertips. "If you don't eat, I'll electrocute you."

Sakazuki's whole body gave a "jolt"!

The next instant—

"Give it to me!!!"

Like lightning, he snatched the meat skewer from Rock's hand and began devouring it wildly, so fast that scraps of meat flew everywhere.

His mouth was stuffed full, but his eyes remained fixed on the ground, stubborn to the extreme.

The corners of Rock's lips rose slightly as he silently watched him for a few seconds.

The child's shoulders were rigid as stone, but with every mouthful of meat he swallowed... the tension stretched to its limit finally loosened, bit by bit.

Rock said softly, "Now that's more like a child."

Sakazuki paused, neither looking up nor talking back.

He simply continued eating.

But no longer with the desperate hunger of a wolf.

Even the future Fleet Admiral was, at this moment, only a boy who had finally allowed himself to eat a meal.