Grand Line (now the Global Sea Route).
G-8 Branch, Harbor.
The port was bustling with activity. Compared to the somewhat empty atmosphere of other bases, this place remained lively. Before the final battle, many of the petrified soldiers had been restored, greatly replenishing their manpower.
With his leave over, Onigumo had arrived early to handle the transfer. As time passed, a warship appeared on the horizon.
Only after the vessel entered the harbor and Onigumo boarded it did Lando finally let out a sigh of relief. For once, even a trace of fatigue could be seen on his usually expressionless face, making it easy to imagine how difficult the mission of escorting soldiers back to their hometowns had been
After a brief greeting, Lando pulled out a list. His voice was slightly hoarse as he gave Onigumo his instructions.
"This soldier attempted suicide three times. His condition has improved considerably.
"These soldiers each attempted suicide once. They need further observation.
"The soldiers from Adres Island attempted suicide...
"These few...
"This one...
"...
"...
"And this soldier from Kergashi Island. At the moment, he appears completely normal. He talks, laughs, has never attempted suicide, and even helps other soldiers. But this situation has happened more than once before.
"When the repatriation process first started, many soldiers were like this. It's actually the most serious case. When they finally attempt suicide, there are no warning signs at all. People don't even have time to react. A lot of men died because of that.
"You must keep a close eye on him."
Onigumo's expression grew serious as he nodded. "I understand. Don't worry. Nothing will go wrong."
Lando softly grunted in acknowledgment and let out a quiet sigh. "I'm going to get some rest."
Even a veteran elite vice admiral couldn't endure a mission like this forever.
Onigumo silently memorized the list. He first greeted the soldiers aboard the warship, learning every face and every name. Gradually, he became familiar with them all.
By evening, the warship slowly departed the harbor.
* * *
Onigumo officially began the mission of escorting the soldiers home. Only those who had personally carried out this duty could understand how difficult it truly was.
He constantly maintained Observation Haki over an area the size of the entire warship. He barely dared to sleep, afraid that the moment he closed his eyes he would wake to news that another soldier had taken his own life…
Every few days, there would be one suicide. Sometimes several. His nerves remained stretched tight the entire time. In some ways, it was even more exhausting than fighting for his life on the battlefield.
Fortunately, as more soldiers returned to their hometowns, let go of the fear buried in their hearts, and safely reached home, the number of people aboard the ship gradually decreased.
* * *
The night before the warship arrived at Kergashi Island.
Onigumo appeared outside a soldier's cabin window without making a sound and blended into the shadows.
According to the information Lando had provided, this soldier, the most severe case among them all, had never shown any sign of suicidal intent. If there was ever going to be an attempt, it would be today. The analysis wouldn't be wrong.
So Onigumo stood silently within the shadows and waited. And waited. Until dawn.
The outline of Kergashi Island gradually appeared in the distance as a dark shape on the horizon. The ship's bugle sounded, and still half asleep, the soldiers began getting out of bed.
Inside the room that Onigumo had been watching, a baby-faced soldier opened his sleepy eyes and reached toward the alarm clock on the table. He fumbled for it twice but couldn't reach it. As he stretched out his hand again, his fingers touched a nail.
Boom!
The cabin wall exploded apart as Onigumo smashed through it. His adrenaline surged as his large hand clamped tightly around the baby-faced soldier's wrist. Even he felt a wave of lingering fear.
The nail the soldier had accidentally grabbed had already pierced the skin above his heart, and a thin line of blood slowly trickled out.
The soldier, who usually greeted everyone with a gentle smile, now wore a twisted expression. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared madly at Onigumo.
"Let go of me!!! Damn it!!!"
He had fought in several great wars, but there was no way he could break free from an elite vice admiral like Onigumo. Pinned firmly to the floor, he could only roar and curse in madness.
One struggled frantically while the other remained silent and unmoving.
So it continued until the warship drew close to the harbor. Through the shattered cabin wall, the sounds of the port gradually drifted in.
The crazed soldier seemed to sense something terrifying approaching, and his voice broke as he cried out, "Let me go!!! Let me die, Vice Admiral Onigumo!!! I don't want to go back. I don't want to see them. I don't want to... Please let me go! Just let me die!!!"
Holding him down, Onigumo said in a low voice, "Then why did you submit a request to return home?"
The baby-faced soldier froze as if struck by lightning, his voice trembling. "Because... I... I..."
I miss home...
Yet those three simple words refused to leave his mouth.
I miss home. I miss my mother, whom I've thought about day and night. I miss the lover I've been separated from for so long. I miss every flower and tree on that island...
I miss the hometown that appears in my dreams again and again. I think about my mother waiting until her hair turned white. I've woken up crying from those dreams countless times...
That's why I filled out that application to return home… but... I regret it…
I'm the only one who came back alive from the war… I don't dare imagine what it'll be like when I return home...
I'm afraid they'll ask me... Ask me... Ask me... Why... Why did you come back alive? What about them...?
I'm scared... I'm really scared... Please... let me die...
Listening to the increasingly loud sounds from the harbor, the baby-faced soldier howled weakly like a wounded beast.
But he received no response. Only those large hands, relentlessly holding him down.
Not until the warship finally docked did Onigumo release his restraint and haul the soldier to his feet. Though the soldier twisted and struggled desperately, it was useless. He was dragged onto the deck all the same. Keeping his eyes tightly shut, he looked like a corpse being carried to its resting place.
Then Onigumo set him down on the deck.
"Stand up straight! Your mother is waiting for you on the shore! Stand tall!!! You are Kergashi Island's hero!
"You will carry the final wishes of the people of Kergashi Island who were slaughtered by pirates, along with the will of the heroes who fell in the New World, and witness the future of this world! You will witness the beauty of this world!
"And one day in the future, stand tall and proudly tell them! Tell them what that world looks like under the light of justice! Tell them whether their sacrifice was worth it!!!
"You are a hero, Petty Officer Blaze! Stand tall!!!"
After shouting those words, Onigumo released his grip on the baby-faced soldier.
The vice admiral's thunderous voice echoed through Blaze's mind. His brain could no longer process anything else. Almost instinctively, he straightened his back and lifted his chest.
Then he began walking toward the gangway step by step…
* * *
Standing on the stairs, Blaze looked toward Kergashi Island's harbor.
The port was packed with people as far as the eye could see.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Fireworks exploded across the sky as if they cost nothing. Even in the morning sunlight, their brilliance could still be seen.
Every person was crying, cheering, shouting, and welcoming their hero home.
More than three thousand people had enlisted, and only one had returned, but this was Kergashi Island's hero!
The madness faded from Blaze's bloodshot eyes. At some point, tears had already begun streaming down his face, and the fear that had consumed his heart was gone without a trace.
Among the crowded harbor, he saw a figure pushing desperately against the flow of people and running toward him. It felt just like a scene from a dream.
When he had left, her hair had been black. Now it was completely white. She had aged so much. She was so small.
The same woman who, in his memories, struggled just to carry a bundle of firewood on her back now seemed filled with endless strength as she pushed through countless people and rushed toward him.
Blaze could no longer hold back the emotions surging inside him. He leaped from the warship.
"Mom!!!"
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Fireworks blossomed across the sky, celebrating the return of a hero.
The mother and son embracing each other were the very reason those Marine vice admirals worked day and night without rest. The very reason they endured.
Amid the jubilant harbor, the docked warship quietly departed at some unknown moment, sailing toward the next island…
**
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