"Kael,
I hope this letter finds you well.
While you've been away, everything in the East Blue has been peaceful as usual.
That child Ace is getting sturdier by the day, but he's wild by nature. Every few days he runs off into the mountains with that little boy named Sabo, and every time he comes back he's covered in injuries. It's giving Ms. Dadan one headache after another.
A few days ago he even brought back a huge tiger, saying it would be dinner. He almost tore Ms. Dadan's house apart.
Sigh. Boys growing up really are hard to manage.
As for the young lady you asked me to look after, the one named Stella, she has already been settled in.
She was very frightened at first, but after I explained things to her, she understood your intentions.
She's a very kind child. Now she helps at the flower shop every day. Her hands are skillful, and she's been taking excellent care of the flower beds.
Sometimes she just stares out at the sea, lost in thought. I think she's waiting for the day she can reunite with Mr. Tesoro.
Please be careful out there.
Rouge."
At the end of the letter, there was a crooked little smiley face drawn in pencil, and beside it two equally crooked characters.
Ace.
A warm smile surfaced on Kael's face.
Ace, Sabo, and then the future Luffy too. With those three little brats together, Mount Colubo would probably never have a quiet day again.
As for Stella…
Kael folded the letter and slid it back into the envelope.
Tesoro, use your gold to pave the most dazzling road possible for your white moonlight's return.
…
After a few months of peaceful days on Sabaody, Kael felt like his bones were starting to rust.
He tossed all the chores to Robin and slipped out of the villa without a sound.
His destination was Baltigo, the "White Soil Island," the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army.
The moment Kael stepped onto that pale land, the entire base went into the highest level of alert.
Patrolling revolutionaries raised their weapons, faces tense, surrounding him from all directions.
The air was so heavy it felt like you could wring water out of it.
"Wave King… Aaron Kael!"
Someone trembled as they shouted the name. A handful of cadres had learned from top-secret intel what it meant.
A monster who had fought five "gods" head-on at Mary Geoise.
A living legend.
A terrifying existence that could rip their entire fortress out by the roots.
Fear spread through the crowd.
Then a gust of wind swept by, and Dragon appeared in front of everyone.
"Stand down," Dragon said calmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. "He's a guest."
The moment those words fell, an even more outrageous figure came charging out from deep inside the base.
With a signature "Vee haw" shriek, Emporio Ivankov's enormous face shoved right up to Kael as he shamelessly squeezed Kael's arm.
"Kael! You finally showed up! I thought you'd rot away in a soft little love nest!"
The Revolutionary Army cadres nearly had their jaws drop.
Ivankov-sama… dared to put his hands all over that man?
"Ew, let go." Kael slapped Ivankov's hand away with visible disgust. "Your hormones are about to get on my face."
He swept his gaze across the still-tense revolutionaries and casually said to Dragon, "No need for such a grand welcome. Formalism is bad for you, hahaha!"
Dragon smiled, then stepped aside, revealing a tall, silent figure behind him.
Bartholomew Kuma.
Kuma walked up to Kael and bowed deeply, awkward but sincere.
"Mr. Kael… thank you for saving Ginny."
That string of exchanges, and the explanations that followed, left the surrounding Revolutionary Army cadres completely stunned.
One of Dragon's key pillars, Ivankov, and Kuma's savior…
This legendary pirate, who looked so lazy and easygoing, had such deep ties to their core leadership?
The tension in the air finally began to ease.
Kael's reason for coming was simple.
He was here for Kuma and Ginny's wedding.
The ceremony was held in a spacious underground cavern on Baltigo. No lavish decorations, only ribbons and paper flowers hung up by their comrades' own hands.
It was simple, but the joy and warmth filling the cavern felt more genuine than any extravagant banquet.
Before the ceremony began, Kuma stood alone in a corner, his broad back looking almost helpless.
Kael walked over with a drink in hand and leaned against the rock wall.
"What, groom, you planning to run?"
Kuma turned around, worry written all over his face. "Mr. Kael… you know. My bloodline… the Buccaneer blood is cursed. I'm afraid… I'll bring disaster to Ginny."
"And?" Kael took a sip. "Because you fear a disaster that might happen someday, you're going to throw away the happiness in front of you right now?"
Kuma's body jolted.
"What happened at Mary Geoise should've taught you this," Kael said, voice flat. "Running won't save you. If you can't escape it, then protect her. Bet your life protecting her. If you don't even have that resolve, then that's the real betrayal."
Kuma fell silent for a long time, gripping the Bible he never let out of his hands. The confusion and fear in his eyes gradually gave way to steel.
He nodded heavily. "I understand."
Dragon personally officiated the wedding.
Bright, radiant Ginny wore a simple white dress, her smile more dazzling than the lights strung along the cavern ceiling.
She reached out first, clasping Kuma's huge, clumsy hand, meeting everyone's gaze without the slightest fear.
With Ginny leading him, the shy Kuma was still so nervous his palms sweated, but he stood straight.
"Bartholomew Kuma," Dragon asked, "do you take Ginny as your wife, and whether the future brings wild winds or brutal storms, war or peace, will you protect her, cherish her, and love her until the end of your life?"
Kuma drew a deep breath. His voice was low, but perfectly clear.
"I do."
"Ginny, do you take Bartholomew Kuma as your husband, and no matter what burdens his past carries, no matter what the future brings, will you fight at his side and never leave him?"
"Of course I do!" Ginny answered without hesitation, full of strength.
Amid the cheers and whistles of their comrades, Kuma bent down awkwardly and gently kissed his bride.
The cavern erupted with thunderous applause and shouts.
Kael stood at the edge of the crowd, watching two lovers who had weathered countless storms finally become one, and his heart felt impossibly heavy and full at the same time.
He remembered that little boy at God Valley, crying as he questioned Saint Saturn.
He remembered the kind priest of the Sorbet Kingdom.
And he remembered the future tyrant who would lose himself and become nothing more than a weapon.
What a shame I couldn't finish Saturn off.
Hm.
Maybe I should leave that one for Kuma to settle personally.
Fate's track had already shifted because of his interference.
Watching the two of them so happy, Kael's face, that of a "middle-aged old bastard," curved into a complicated smile.
So good.
The body is still warm.
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