"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Ritter exploded, slamming his fist into the wooden table beside him. The entire table burst into splinters as though struck by a cannon blast. "Dragging someone else's husband and father across the seas, thinking it's some kind of romantic adventure?!"
Rouge rushed in the moment she heard the crash. Seeing the mess, she quickly grabbed Ritter's arm. "What happened? Why are you so angry?"
Ritter inhaled deeply several times, fighting to steady his breathing. "It's nothing, Rouge. It just... disgusts me. Some people really do not deserve to be called fathers."
Yasopp, shaken to the core by Ritter's fury, suddenly dropped to his knees in front of him. "Please... please tell me how my wife and my son are doing. I beg you. If it takes my life to keep them safe, I gladly give it!"
Ritter looked down at him with a coldness that felt like winter steel. "Now you're worried? Too late. Your wife is already..."
"Ritter!" Rouge cut in sharply. "Do not joke like that."
She stepped between them, gently helping Yasopp back onto his feet. "Do not panic. Your wife is alive. Ritter told me about her illness. He is quick-tempered, but he would not lie about something like this. Her condition is serious... but if Ritter brought it up, it means he has a solution. Right, little brother?"
Her eyes pleaded with him in a quiet, steady way that Ritter could never refuse.
Yasopp sobbed, bowing repeatedly. "Everything was my fault. Every mistake. Please... I will give anything, anything at all, just save my wife!"
Shanks stepped forward and lowered his head. "As his captain, I was irresponsible. Ritter, big brother, I beg you too. Help my crew."
He began to kneel, and the moment his knees bent, the entire crew behind him prepared to kneel as well.
But Ritter's blood mist surged like a living storm, lifting every one of them off the ground except Yasopp. Not a single other crewmember managed to touch their knees to the floor.
Yasopp could kneel. He deserved it. He was asking for salvation for his family. But Shanks... Shanks did not need to kneel to him. Ritter was Shanks's elder brother. If the little brother made a mess, the big brother would help clean it up.
Ritter exhaled slowly. "Fine."
Shanks clapped Yasopp lightly on the shoulder. "We go together. Change of plans, everyone. We're heading to Syrup Village first."
Benn Beckman picked up his cigarette from where it had fallen and relit it with a weary sigh. "Should have done that from the start. I really have been slacking as first mate."
Lucky Roo wiped his hands. "I'll get the ship ready."
Just then, Ace burst through the door like a fireball. "I'm going too!"
Sabo and Ann rushed in behind him. Rouge frowned. "Ace, this isn't a game."
"I know!" Ace balled his small fists tightly. "But... but Usopp doesn't have a dad. I know exactly what that feels like. I want to tell him that even without a father, you can still grow up strong."
Both Shanks and Ritter froze.
What Ritter had thrown at them moments ago was sharp. But Ace's simple sincerity cut even deeper. One sentence from him held more weight than anything Ritter had roared.
Sincerity really was the deadliest weapon. Ritter could rant for an entire chapter and still hit softer than Ace saying one honest line. He had to admit it. He was outclassed.
Ritter closed his eyes and sighed. "Fine. Do whatever you want."
He walked over to Shanks, grabbed his head, and aggressively ruffled his red hair. "Learn from this, little Shanks. The pirate flag is important, but it will never be worth more than the smiles of your family."
Shanks nodded hard, eyes blazing with newfound resolve. "I understand, big brother."
At dawn the next day, Yasopp stood at the bow of the ship, staring at the small island that was both familiar and unfamiliar at once.
His legs felt unbearably stiff. Benn Beckman lightly patted his shoulder. "Go."
"I..." Yasopp swallowed, voice shaking. "What am I supposed to say first?"
"Say 'I'm home'." Ace suddenly appeared beside him, hands in his pockets. "My dad... I never met him, but my mom said every time he came home, that was the first thing he said."
Sabo chimed in, "Then you hug them tight."
Yasopp stared at the little cottage in the distance. The closer he walked, the heavier his steps became. Guilt pooled in his stomach like a sinking anchor. He had sailed across the seas all these years, and only now did he truly feel the weight of what he had left behind.
He stood outside the door and lifted his hand to knock.
Before he could touch the wood, he heard his son's voice from inside.
"Mom, can you tell me again what Dad was like?"
Little Usopp.
There was a long silence. Yasopp felt his heart stop entirely. Then he heard his wife's soft, fragile cough and her gentle, trembling voice.
"Your father... was a very kind man."
Yasopp trembled violently and pressed his forehead to the door.
"His aim was perfect, but he never used his gun to hurt innocent people. He loved telling exaggerated stories. Every time he did, he made me laugh."
Usopp's voice sparkled with excitement. "Really? Were they as cool as my stories?"
She chuckled, a thin, weak sound. "More believable than yours, sweetheart. Although my Usopp is amazing too. I remember you once said you would pluck a star from the sky and give it to me. The next day, you made a star-shaped wind chime."
Yasopp squeezed his fist until blood pricked through his skin. He remembered that wind chime. Made from bullet casings and fishing line. Ugly and crooked. His wife had hung it proudly anyway.
"Then... why hasn't Dad come home?" Usopp suddenly whispered.
The question stabbed Yasopp so hard he nearly fell.
His wife inhaled slowly before answering.
"Because sometimes, the winds of the sea... blow a person too far away."
"Your father must have been carried somewhere far. But he is a brave warrior of the sea. He is our family's pride. And one day, he will come home. So you must grow up to be a brave man like your father."
Little Usopp did not understand the metaphor at all. He only heard the parts that mattered.
"Then I want to be the bravest warrior on the sea, just like Dad!"
"Of course you will. My Usopp is amazing."
Yasopp could not hold back anymore. He pushed the door open and stumbled inside.
"Who are you?!" Usopp jumped to his feet, grabbing a slingshot. "Don't worry, Mom! I'll protect you!"
Yasopp did not dodge the tiny stones raining on him. He fell to his knees beside the bed, staring at the frail woman who should never have looked so thin. His throat tightened until he could barely breathe.
She looked at him and smiled, her fingers brushing weakly across his cheek. "Look... the wind has stopped. Usopp, take a good look. This is your father. Your father came home."
Usopp froze, then his face lit up like a sunrise.
"I knew it! Dad is the strongest pirate in the whole world!"
Yasopp pulled both wife and son into his arms, pouring out apology after apology.
Then he remembered Ritter, waiting outside.
He rushed out to kneel again, but this time Ritter stopped him with a hand on the shoulder.
"You do not kneel. Not in front of your son."
Ritter brushed past him and entered the house. He glanced once at Usopp's mother.
Life energy fading. Overworked, exhausted, immune system failing. A small problem for him.
Ritter yawned. "I got it. You all go reunite. I'll handle the rest."