Xia Le did not turn his head, but he could still clearly sense the sorrow in the hearts of those around him.
"Our teacher passed away peacefully of old age."
"No illness, no calamity."
"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are things every mortal must experience. No one can escape them."
Kuzan sighed softly.
"It's a funeral celebrating a long life!"
Xia Le nodded.
He felt a little sorrowful. The death of someone close naturally cut deeper, and it made the loneliness in his heart all the stronger.
From this day onward, there was no longer anyone of an older generation in this world who would look after him.
Most people only wanted to spend their lives as children with someone to care for them. Only when their parents and loved ones passed away did they come to understand.
Their loved ones would leave, their parents would go, and in the end, they had to grow up and face this world alone.
Xia Le stood there in a daze for a long time.
The people beside him left in twos and threes, while he recalled everything from their first meeting to all that had happened afterward.
Garp's teachings, the way he had stood by Xia Le without hesitation at Mary Geoise, and how, when Xia Le became Fleet Admiral, he had led the SWROD team away as a retiree.
Before he knew it, tears were streaming down Xia Le's face.
The death of a loved one was not a sudden torrential downpour, but a silent drizzle that seeped into everything. Over the long years, on some night when you were alone, it would penetrate your marrow and your mind, leaving you inexplicably overcome with grief.
"I never thought that fellow Garp would go before me!"
The aged Sengoku sighed as he