Barn had never imagined that a grown man like York would cry alone at night. He suddenly remembered something Brook had once told him:
"The person closest to Sako on this ship is Captain York!"
Barn climbed down from the lookout and jumped onto the deck. Fitz woke with a start and flew down too.
The man and the bird headed straight for the Captain's Quarters. At the door, Barn hesitated for a moment, but knocked anyway.
Hearing the knock, York hurriedly wiped his eyes with his sleeve and opened the door.
"Oh, it's you, Barn. Come in."
York sat on a barrel, the gauze Mondo had applied still stuck to his face. He said nothing, waiting for Barn to speak.
Barn hung his head low while Fitz pecked at the back of it.
After a while, York spoke. "Barn..."
Almost at the same instant, Barn raised his head, tears streaming from his pale, ruined eyes.
"Captain York, I was wrong."
"Do you know where you went wrong?" Barn's words caught York off guard, but he quickly recovered and asked in a gentle voice.
"I'll live on as a free pirate-for Sako's share as well as my own!"
Barn's words brought fresh tears to York's already reddened eyes. He stepped forward, pulled Barn into his arms, and began to sob loudly.
Barn cried even harder. The two grown men held each other and wept.
The sobs of two grown men rang out in the dead of night, and the lights came on in the crew's quarters beside the Captain's Quarters. Brook came out, glanced toward the Captain's Quarters, and nodded. "All right, all right. Back to bed, everyone!"
From inside the Captain's Quarters, sobs still drifted out from time to time...
The next morning, it wasn't Brook's irritating, strange cries that woke everyone, but Barn and Fitz.
Barn had huge dark circles under his eyes that day, but he was full of energy as he enthusiastically woke everyone up.
Everyone got up and headed for breakfast. Breakfast aboard the Flat Tide had always been Sako's responsibility, but now he was gone. The thought left them all feeling a little forlorn.
Yet when they reached the dining room, they found a whole table laden with a lavish breakfast.
York emerged from the kitchen. Like Barn, he had huge dark circles under his eyes, but he looked just as energetic.
The pirates exchanged knowing smiles and took their seats.
Bullong called out in his trademark booming voice, "Breakfast looks great today! Captain, who knew you had it in you?"
York was drinking milk. Hearing Bullong's words, he set down his glass and replied.
"Ha! Of course! Captain York has plenty of talents!"
"Then we'll leave breakfast to our multitalented captain from now on! Yohohohoho!"
That laugh could only belong to Brook. Barn shook his head when he heard it. The guy was putting the captain on the spot again.
"Haha! We're counting on you, Captain!"
The other pirates joined in the teasing.
"Ha! No problem!" To their surprise, York readily agreed.
After breakfast, the familiar Pirate Song rang through the dining room once more.
"Yohohoho!"
Barn listened to their singing and joined in for a few lines, while Fitz hopped around on his head with great enthusiasm. But Barn's thoughts turned to the disease that would one day destroy this happy pirate crew.
"How much longer will days like these last?" Barn murmured. At the thought, he suddenly lost interest, slung his fishing rod over his back, and headed for the stern.
Fitz stopped dancing on Barn's head too and hopped onto his shoulder, tilting its head to look at its owner. It didn't know why his mood had changed so suddenly, but it was still happy to see him going fishing, because it would get to eat its favorite bait again.
The sea breeze blew gently. The weather was lovely that day. In the words of Mabu, the Rumbar Pirates' navigator, it was perfect weather for sailing.
Barn sat at the stern fishing, still using the bait Fitz loved to eat. As a result, he hadn't caught a single fish.
Meanwhile, Mabu had just bought the latest newspaper from a delivery bird for 15 Beli and was shouting for everyone to come take a look.
Bullong, who had been working out, was the first to walk over. His naturally booming voice made him the center of attention once again.
"Whoa! Captain! Your price went up again! Hey, Mabu, what does this say?"
Bullong couldn't actually read. He could only make out the numbers on the wanted posters. He pointed at York's name, and when Mabu looked, it turned out the Marines had added an epithet in front of it.
"Spotted Biao Yankee, York. 58 million Beli," Mabu read aloud.
Barn never joined the crowd for things like this. He couldn't see, so hearing them was enough.
"Hmm, I like that nickname. Sounds pretty imposing. Haha!"
At some point, York had emerged from the Captain's Quarters. He pinched his chin with his right hand, offering his assessment with an air of great seriousness.
Mabu and the others jumped.
"Captain, could you stop appearing out of nowhere like that?"
York grinned. "Haha, don't sweat the small stuff! Hahaha! Look! Brook's in here too!"
Mabu looked where York was pointing. Sure enough, there was Brook's sleazy-looking face. If he were here, he would surely let out that trademark weird laugh of his.
"Yohohohohoho!" Speak of Brook and he appeared. Brook, what had you done with the proverbial devil? This time, even Captain York jumped.
"Hey! Brook, could you stop appearing out of nowhere like that?"
As York spoke, he rubbed his chest, showing just how badly he'd been startled.
A huge bead of sweat rolled down Mabu's forehead. Mabu glanced sideways at York with a look that more or less said, "You're one to talk."
"Three Verse Humming, Brook. 33 million Beli! Yohohoho!"
Even Barn came over this time, with Fitz standing proudly atop his head. Bullong's booming voice rang out again.
"Mabu! See if I'm in there! I kicked quite a few guys' asses in that fight with Planck! Hmm, my nickname should be 'Butt Crusher' Bullong! Haha!"
Bullong struck a thoughtful pose while saying something so ridiculous that no one knew whether to laugh or cry.
"Haha!" The crew roared with laughter. Even Barn laughed at the nickname Bullong had chosen for himself, while Fitz took wing in delight.
"Haha, let me see if there's a picture of our Mr. 'Butt Crusher' Bullong! Haha!" Laughing too, Mabu turned to the next page of the newspaper.
"Haha!" Everyone burst into another round of laughter. But a moment later, their smiles froze, because something even more unexpected than "Butt Crusher" had appeared in the newspaper.
Hearing their laughter cut off abruptly, Barn asked, "What's wrong?"