The conflict at Syrup Village ended with both the Red Hair Pirates and Kuro withdrawing at the same time.
Before leaving, Shanks reluctantly reached a humiliating agreement with Kuro.
Both sides would each take a step back, withdraw from Syrup Village together, and not pursue each other.
Since becoming a pirate, aside from dealing with the World Government, this was the most humiliating ceasefire agreement he had ever signed.
But he had no other choice.
Although those divine eyes above had slowly closed, the invisible pressure still weighed on everyone's hearts.
If they kept fighting, Kuro wouldn't even need to make a move. With a single thought from Rosse, he and his crew would be wiped out without leaving a trace.
When the first rays of dawn fell over Syrup Village, the villagers timidly peeked out through their door cracks and looked toward Kaya's home, which had still been filled with the scent of roses the night before.
All that remained there was a massive scorched crater.
Thin wisps of smoke still rose from the bottom, silently telling the story of the last night's battle.
Usopp cried by the crater for the entire night.
He cried until his voice turned hoarse, until his eyes dried out, until no more tears would come, leaving only hollow sobs.
Holding the bloodstained nightgown in his arms as though it were the last warmth left in the world, he seemed to have lost weight, his eye sockets were caved in, as if he had aged ten years overnight.
Kaya and Banchina sat in the Science Department. Even after everyone else had left, they silently watched Usopp and stayed with him the whole night.
This was all an act, but they could tell Usopp's feelings were real.
If they had truly died, perhaps Usopp would have gone even more insane.
In the end, after Luffy's straightforward persuasion, along with Nami's and Zoro's repeated attempts to talk him through it, Usopp made his decision.
He would join the Straw Hat Pirates.
After all, he had long known that Luffy was the Child of Destiny. He had always been meant to board the Straw Hat ship.
Everything that happened today had simply given him a reason to do so.
And now, that reason had arrived.
By noon the next day, Usopp had hastily packed everything and boarded the Straw Hat Pirates' ship without looking back, setting sail with them.
Luffy didn't think anything was strange. He simply grinned and welcomed his new companion aboard.
But both Nami and Zoro couldn't shake the strange feeling in their hearts.
His wife had just died. He hadn't even held a proper funeral. Crying his heart out could be explained as waiting until he had taken revenge before returning to give her a grand burial.
But that huge family estate, the many butlers and servants, the manor and farmland left behind by Kaya's parents... he abandoned it all without even a single word of instruction?
Only halfway through the journey did Usopp casually mention it.
The family's properties would be managed temporarily by the East Blue Special Administrative Region until he has taken his revenge.
Nami and Zoro exchanged a glance, instantly understanding.
'Oh, the Special Administrative Region?'
'Isn't that just the World Government's office in the East Blue?'
'No wonder.'
'No wonder nothing happened when others called out Lord Rosse's name, yet when you recited that prayer, divine punishment arrived right on cue.'
'So your family also has ties to the World Government.'
Nami instinctively thought of her sister far away in the Holy Land, while Zoro thought of his childhood friend and the Wado Ichimonji she had left behind.
The two opened their mouths, then silently closed them again, saying nothing more.
After all, everyone had done it. No one was in any position to criticize anyone else.
In the end, everyone aboard this ship had willingly stepped into the whirlpool of fate and struggled within it.
"SET SAIL!"
Luffy's excited shout pierced through the morning mist. Going Merry's sails filled with the sea breeze as she rode the tide, cutting through the waves toward Loguetown.
The white wake trailing behind the ship soon left no trace of Syrup Village behind.
———
[Meanwhile, Somewhere in the East Blue, on an Unnamed Deserted Island]
The Red Hair Pirates had set up a temporary camp there.
Simple tents were scattered across the island, while the air was thick with the smell of blood mixed with medicinal herbs.
Ship's doctor Hongo was covered in injuries. His left arm hung in a sling, yet his right hand never stopped moving.
Gritting his teeth, he moved from one fallen companion to another.
Changing bandages, stitching wounds, stopping bleeding, setting bones.
Sweat mixed with blood dripped from his chin, splashing onto the ground in dark spots.
The Red Hair Pirates had originally numbered several dozen.
Now, including the captain and Hongo himself, only nine of them were still breathing.
Nine. The number was like a red-hot iron spike driven into everyone's heart.
For the Red Hair Pirates, this was undoubtedly the worst loss they had suffered since the crew was formed.
But what made it even harder to bear was that this should never have happened.
It should never have had anything to do with them.
"Tch... putting on an act... If it weren't for that bastard, Monster wouldn't have died... Gab wouldn't have died either... None of them would've died..."
Musician Bonk Punch clenched his fists so tightly that the freshly wrapped bandages were already soaked through with blood again, drop by drop falling into the dirt.
His eyes remained fixed on the figure standing at the edge of the island.
Yasopp stood atop a reef with his long rifle resting on his shoulder and one hand behind his back, gazing toward the distant horizon. His coat fluttered loudly in the sea breeze, looking like a tragic warrior whose ambitions had gone unfulfilled, a poet contemplating the sea and freedom.
But in Bonk Punch's eyes, he was nothing more than a beast wearing human skin.
"Punch, say a little less."
Lucky Roux held out a freshly grilled skewer and stuffed it straight into Bonk Punch's mouth, trying to use food to shut up the mouth that was about to breathe fire.
"Maybe Yasopp doesn't feel good about it either..."
His injuries were serious as well. His left leg was wrapped in thick bandages, and every step made his face twitch in pain.
"Heh! He doesn't feel good?"
Navigator Building Snake let out a cold laugh. The look he gave Yasopp was filled with undisguised contempt and hatred.
"He could attack his own son without the slightest hesitation. What are the rest of us companions to him?"
"Snake, enough."
Shanks sat cross-legged on a large rock, his single arm hanging weakly at his side, his voice exhausted beyond measure.
"In Yasopp's heart, we're the most important."
But even as he said it, the words felt hollow.
What Yasopp had done really was beastly.
And the reason they had suffered such devastating losses could all be traced back to Yasopp's stubborn urging.
They had come to Syrup Village this time only because Yasopp insisted that Usopp join the Straw Hat Pirates, so they had come in advance to take a look.
Based on the observations of both him and Beckman, Usopp actually wasn't suited to join the Straw Hat Pirates.
He had already put down roots in Syrup Village. He had a wife who loved him, Kaya, a child about to be born, and a vast family estate to protect.
With such a stable and gentle life, why throw himself into this bloody whirlpool where death without even a whole corpse was always a possibility?
But Yasopp refused to accept it. He insisted on changing Usopp. He insisted on leading his son onto what he believed was the right path.
And what happened? This was the result.
Usopp really had lost his home and family. According to Yasopp's plan, after losing everything, his son should have thrown himself into the sea without hesitation and set out on a journey.
But who could have imagined that in the end, both Usopp and Kuro chose to call upon Rosse's name?
Not only had that exposed Luffy's identity to the World Government, it had also cost the Red Hair Pirates more than half of their brothers.
To be honest, if this had happened under any other captain, Yasopp would probably have been chopped to pieces and fed to the fish long ago.
Only Shanks, remembering their many years together and believing Yasopp's heart wasn't truly bad, had never been able to harden his resolve.
But the crack in his heart had already begun to spread silently.
It could never be repaired.
"Captain."
Snake suddenly stood up and limped over to Shanks. His eyes were bloodshot as he asked, word by word, "Don't tell me you don't resent him at all. I don't believe it."
Shanks said nothing.
Only the hand holding his bottle trembled almost slightly, "If you ask me, that bastard should be killed."
Snake snorted coldly, unable to suppress the anger in his voice.
"A man of the sea? Hah! How is he any different from those scum pirates who burn, loot, rape, and murder?"
"We're pirates too."
Hongo, who had been silently bandaging wounds the whole time, finally spoke.
He had just finished wrapping the last layer of bandages around Limejuice's wounds. As he straightened up, it looked as though all his strength had been drained away, and he let out a long sigh.
"We're pirates, but we don't go around grabbing every woman we see or burning every village we find like those bastards do!", Snake argued stubbornly.
"But..."
Hongo slowly turned around. His usually gentle eyes were now filled with exhaustion and clarity.
"In the eyes of the villagers of Syrup Village... what's the difference between us and those pirates?"
That single sentence was like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone's head.
The camp fell into deathly silence, with only the distant sound of waves crashing against the shore.
Hongo slowly got to his feet and dragged his exhausted body, one step at a time, until he stood before Shanks.
He raised his head, meeting the eyes of the captain he had followed for years without the slightest attempt to avoid them.
"Captain, I want to rest."
"Why?"
Shanks suddenly looked up, his pupils shrinking, "Hongo... are you serious?"
Everyone in the camp froze.
Rest. Within a pirate crew, those two words had never simply meant taking a break. They meant leaving the crew. A permanent farewell.
"I'm serious, Captain."
Hongo's voice was frighteningly calm, as though he had thought this over for a very long time.
"I'm tired. I used to think the Red Hair Pirates were different from other pirate crews. We killed evil pirates instead of bullying defenseless civilians. But looking back now... we're really no different."
He paused, his gaze passing over the bodies of his companions covered by white sheets, his throat moving with difficulty.
"If the freedom you speak of, Captain, is the kind of freedom Yasopp has, the freedom to do whatever he wants and treat human lives like grass..."
"Then I'm sorry."
"I can't accept your definition of freedom."
"I would rather... be ruled by the World Government."
The instant those words fel—
"Hongo, you fucking bastard!"
Yasopp, who had stood motionless on the reef like a statue all this time, suddenly spun around with bloodshot eyes and roared, instinctively raising his rifle.
"Are you even a man anymore? You're actually going to betray the Red Hair Pirates?"
But halfway through raising the dark barrel, his eyes met Hongo's calm gaze.
Yasopp's hand froze.
He remembered.
The shoulder wound that still allowed him to hold a gun today had been stitched up overnight by Hongo.
The bullet in his abdomen that hadn't killed him had been dug out inch by inch from his body by Hongo.
In the end, the gun slowly lowered.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm not a man. Only you, Yasopp, are a real man."
Hongo let out a mocking laugh without even sparing him a proper glance.
"If real men are all like you, then I'd rather never be one for the rest of my life."
"Damn it!"
Yasopp's face twisted as those words pierced him. Without thinking, he shouted, "Did the World Government buy you off? Hongo, out of all of us, you're the one I remember they invited before, aren't you?"
The moment those words came out, no one's eyes turned toward Hongo with suspicion, as Yasopp had hoped.
Instead, every single gaze settled on Yasopp's face as though looking at a ridiculous clown.
It was true. Just as Yasopp had said, Hongo had once received an invitation from the World Government.
Back then, because Hongo's medical skills were renowned throughout the seas, and the World Government had always been eager to recruit top technical talent like him.
As long as Hongo nodded, a residence permit to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise could have been placed in his hands at any time, a glory countless people could never hope to attain in their entire lives.
But back then, Hongo hadn't even hesitated.
For the sake of these rough brothers of his, he had cleanly refused.
Back when he had been penniless, he hadn't cared.
Much less now, after spending so many years together with them.
Yasopp's accusation instead felt like he had slapped himself in the face in public.
It was nothing more than a bad joke.
Not only had he tried to harm his own son and daughter-in-law, now he even suspected a comrade who had gone through life and death with him.
Everything Yasopp had done made everyone present feel a chill rise from deep in their spine.
Even Shanks, as he looked at Yasopp, revealed something in his eyes for the first time.
It wasn't disgust.
It was worse than disgust.
It was disappointment.
Just then, as the suffocating silence was about to be shattered once more, two figures, one tall and one short, silently and suddenly appeared on the deserted island shrouded in grief.
It was as though they had stepped out of empty space, without the slightest warning.
The moment they appeared, Shanks sensed that oppressive presence with his Observation Haki.
He shot to his feet. The bottle in his hand crashed onto the reef with a sharp crack, shattering into pieces.
"Who's there?"
he shouted, his left hand already gripping Griffin at his waist.
The surrounding crew members also struggled to their feet, forming a defensive formation despite their injuries.
"It's been a long time, Shanks."
A gentle, familiar voice that nevertheless sent a chill through everyone's heart slowly drifted over.
Dressed in black, Rosse wore a faint smile at the corners of his lips. One arm rested casually around Makino's waist as he walked over at an unhurried pace.
"It's you! Rosse!"
Shanks stared at the approaching figure, then at the woman held beside him. His pupils suddenly trembled, as though someone had struck him hard in the chest.
'Makino...'
Compared to the last time he had seen her, she now possessed a far more mature charm.
The trace of laziness at the corners of her eyes, the unintentional softness in the sway of her waist, the faint redness at the tips of her ears... as an old pirate who had roamed the seas for decades, Shanks understood all too well.
The youthful innocence Makino once carried had completely disappeared.
At this moment, Shanks truly wished he understood nothing at all.
Makino had become exactly what he had least wanted to see.
She had already been defiled by Rosse.
Just the thought of it made Shanks feel as though an invisible hand had seized his heart and twisted it viciously, the pain nearly stopping it from beating.
Blood silently seeped from between his tightly clenched lips.