After waiting the entire afternoon without a single word of Shirakawa, the hearts of every member of the Silver Pirates grew increasingly restless. The members of the Strong Arm Pirates, who were staying aboard the Silver Pirates' ship, were drowning in guilt.
If they hadn't been captured by the Marines, their captain would never have met with such an accident.
"Salar... you don't think the captain's already been..." Adara didn't finish the sentence, but there wasn't a soul on the ship who didn't understand what she was trying to say.
"Don't talk nonsense. The captain will definitely be fine. Maybe he just ran into someone he knows on the way back."
Salar's voice was sharp, but in his mind, he couldn't help but recall the first time he ever laid eyes on Shirakawa.
That first meeting had left him deeply astonished. He never imagined that someone so thoroughly aristocratic in bearing could actually be a pirate.
And after joining the Silver Pirates, the longer Salar spent at Shirakawa's side, the deeper his respect for the man grew.
Had he never met Shirakawa, he might still be living a life buried under unending hatred. Had Shirakawa not helped him take his revenge, he would never have been able to start a new life.
"Yuristin, what are we supposed to do now?"
Jora turned the question to Yuristin, and in an instant, every crew member's gaze converged on him.
Because Shirakawa had once said that if he was ever away from the ship, everything was to be left in Yuristin's hands.
After all, Yuristin was the sharpest mind aboard their ship — a man with a broad strategic perspective, meticulous and careful in his thinking, and not one to be easily ruled by emotion.
"There's nothing we can do. All we can do is wait." In this situation, even Yuristin was utterly helpless. If they turned back to search for Shirakawa now, there was a very real chance they would never make it back themselves.
"Damn it."
Jora slammed his fist into the ship's bulkhead, leaving two deep indentations in the wood.
"If only I were stronger..." Jora's voice was thick with regret. If he had just been a little more powerful, maybe they would never have ended up in this situation.
The Silver Pirates sank into a heavy, suffocating silence. It was fortunate that no one chose that moment to provoke them — otherwise, they might have been killed without anyone even understanding how they died.
The night passed in the span of a breath. Throughout that entire night, not a single person on board closed their eyes. Every gaze remained fixed on the direction they had come from, desperately hoping to catch sight of Captain Shirakawa's figure.
When morning came and they sat down to Salar's cooking — normally something they found impossibly delicious — no one had the slightest appetite.
Just then, a flock of News Coos flew overhead. Perhaps one of them was carrying too heavy a load, because a single newspaper fluttered down and landed directly on their deck.
Yuristin picked it up. Every pair of eyes locked onto him. They swallowed hard, waiting for Yuristin to read aloud. They hadn't had a single page of news about Shirakawa, and honestly, they had already stopped holding out any real hope.
By now, the only ones who might know what truly happened to Shirakawa were the Marines.
"Yesterday morning, under the command of Admiral Sengoku of Marine Headquarters, a fierce battle unfolded against the Silver Pirates. The battle concluded with victory for the Marines led by Admiral Sengoku. All members of the Silver Pirates fled. Their captain, former member of the Roger Pirates, Adolf K. Shirakawa, was executed on the spot."
As he read out those final two words, the veins bulged along Yuristin's arm as he clutched the newspaper. The one outcome they dreaded most had come to pass.
Yet from that last line, it was clear why the Marines had specifically targeted Shirakawa. It was because he had been a member of the Roger Pirates. A case of killing the chicken to warn the monkeys — and he was the chicken.
"Damn it... this can't be real! This can't be real!"
Jora let out a howl of raw anguish. Kurokam lowered his head in silence, but the sheer killing intent radiating from his body made it impossible to mistake the turmoil raging within him.
Salar and Riddle's eyes went completely hollow. Neither of them could bring themselves to believe that such news could be true.
As for the women aboard, Adara and Lisa buried themselves in Abro's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
It could be said — that single piece of news was a silent, crushing blow to every last member of the Silver Pirates.
And all across the world, everyone who knew Shirakawa or was familiar with the Silver Pirates stared at that same news in utter shock.
At Reverse Mountain, Crocus, who tended the whale Laboon, looked at the newspaper in his hands with a deeply solemn expression. The article about the Silver Pirates was far too conspicuous for him to ignore.
"Is this... really true?"
Though Crocus's heart was full of disbelief, against Admiral Sengoku and two Logia-type Marine Vice Admirals, the chances of Shirakawa escaping truly were vanishingly slim.
"I never imagined... the first one to truly leave us would be him."
Crocus tilted his head upward ever so slightly, as though fighting to keep the tears from spilling from the corners of his eyes.
And Laboon, as if sensing that Crocus's heart was heavy, let out a mournful cry of its own, its voice steeped in sorrow.
"Laboon... I've lost another friend."
At the Sabaody Archipelago, Rayleigh had naturally seen the news as well. To tell the truth, the moment the words hit his eyes, tears began streaming down his face.
It is no exaggeration to say that Shirakawa was one of Rayleigh's very best friends aboard the Roger Pirates' ship.
In the West Blue, the remaining members of the Roger Pirates sailed unbridled across the sea — but from the ship came two violent, heart-wrenching sobs that made it all too clear how much pain was being felt aboard.
The ones weeping openly were Shanks and Buggy. Just a short time ago, they had been gathered together, laughing and talking without a care in the world. Now, they were separated by the boundary between life and death.
Their crying was nothing short of devastating.
Gaban's heart was equally heavy. Had it not been for the sunglasses he wore, you would surely have seen the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes as well.
"Damn it, Shirakawa! I swear I'll avenge you!"
Buggy shouted at the top of his lungs.
"And me! I'll turn the entire Marine organization upside down!"
Shanks made his own impassioned vow.
"Jora... you must be suffering beyond words right now."
On some island along the Grand Line, Jora's master, Ol, sighed deep within his heart. He had never imagined that such a talented young man would meet his end so prematurely.
"But once you push through this trial... you will surely become someone of extraordinary strength."
And Salar's former master, Ryan, held the very same thought within his own heart.
On a certain island in the South Blue, Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, who was resting there temporarily, glanced at the news and let out a dismissive scoff, tossing the newspaper aside without a second thought.
"Nonsense."
In the end, Roger spoke only those two words.
/-\
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