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Metal rubbed against leather with a faint hiss, like an omen of something poised to strike.
He did not care what awaited him ahead. Battle itself was the answer.
Nami rolled up the nautical chart, the paper giving a crisp snap as it closed. "Thank you for teaching us all these years."
She raised her eyes. A sea breeze slipped through the porthole's gap and lifted the stray hairs at her temples. "At least let us stand behind you."
The cigarette Sanji had lit flickered in the dim light.
Smoke spiraled upward, tracing the outline of his tightly pressed lips. "I hate bloodshed."
He exhaled a gray-white smoke ring. "But I hate standing by and doing nothing even more."
Luffy was already grinning, his teeth dazzlingly white in the shadows.
His smile was as innocent as if he were heading to a summer festival, yet the air in the cabin was heavy enough to wring water from.
Everyone knew their destination was no paradise-the center of a storm that could stir that man would only be an arena where the strong fought to the death.
Only those standing at the world's pinnacle were qualified to enter Dressrosa now.
"I understand how you feel."
Rossi paused briefly, the waves outside filling the silence. "Then let's go together."
Several pairs of eyes widened at once.
The objections they had expected never came. Instead, he readily agreed.
But their surprise lasted only a moment-Luffy rubbed his nose hard, the corners of Zoro's mouth lifted, Nami tightened her grip on her pen, and Sanji flicked off the ash that had grown too long.
Chopper quietly edged toward Robin, who was running her fingertips along the edges of her book's pages. The paper rustled softly, like silkworms eating mulberry leaves.
They had all