Anita felt a hand settle on her shoulder. When she saw who it belonged to, she calmed down a little.
"Tell me what happened. Everything."
Anita set the Den Den Mushi aside, sank to the floor, and hugged her knees.
Werther had said that men weren't allowed to cry, but she was a girl—and still a child. Surely it was all right for her to cry when she was sad.
Tears streamed down her cheeks again.
After Doffy explained, Anita understood the gist of what had happened.
Once she knew the whole story, she actually stopped crying.
"Werther won't die. I believe in him. He was only shot and fell into the sea. We've been through worse than that. How could he die? How could he?"
Anita believed in Werther with all her heart, but her voice grew quieter and quieter. At last, she buried her face in her knees.
Werther might indeed have survived being shot and falling into the sea, but before that, his battle with Kaido had left him utterly exhausted.
"Where did Werther fall into the sea? I'll send people to look for him right now."
Doffy sighed and shook his head.
"It's no use. Werther and Kaido sank the Island. Without the Island's magnetic field to guide us, finding one particular stretch of water in the vast sea is impossible. And after the Island sank, a massive whirlpool appeared."
The Den Den Mushi slipped from Anita's hand. She stared blankly at the floor.
After thinking for a while, Tuski turned and headed outside.
"Tuski, where are you going? Are you going to look for Werther? Let's go together."
Tuski shook his head, then wove two words in front of himself.
"East Blue."
Tuski didn't believe Werther was dead either, but he needed to make a