"...That's a joke, right?"
Nami asked in a trembling voice, but Roronoa Zoro couldn't agree with her. He knew better than anyone that Luffy was serious.
As expected, Luffy shook his head cheerfully while still smiling brightly.
"No! I'm serious. Chopper diagnosed me several times. Right?"
When Zoro turned to look at Chopper, tears were already streaming down Chopper's fur, soaking it thoroughly.
"Sniff, Luffy, sob, because of his techniques, sob, his lifespan… has shortened, sniff, with medicine, sob, there's nothing I… sob… can do… boohoohoo!!!"
Chopper, who had been speaking, collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
Nami covered her mouth with her hand and fell to her knees. As her body nearly collapsed, Robin held onto her. However, tears were also streaming down Robin's face like they were on Nami's.
"That's a lie, right?"
Franky, who had been mumbling in disbelief, shed tears like a waterfall.
"How, how could this happen… Luffy…"
Brook, who had been muttering, also had tears and snot streaming from his empty eye sockets and nose.
Usopp, who had been nearly frozen, finally moved his body. Moving stiffly like a wooden puppet, he awkwardly patted Luffy on the back.
"Lu, Luffy! That's a great joke! The Great Usopp almost believed it. Come on, everyone's surprised now… so, sniff. Stop the joke now. Okay? Okay?"
"It's not a joke. And it's not a lie."
Luffy's voice was calm as he spoke to Usopp's tear-streaked face.
"Luffy…"
Jinbe opened and closed his mouth several times as if trying to say something. Thick tears fell and splashed onto the floor.
The cook had turned his head, silently lighting a cigarette held between his lips. It was obvious that his cheeks were wet with tears, even without looking closely.
"..."
Zoro alone didn't cry, keeping his mouth tightly shut and his eyes slightly lowered.
Even in the pain of feeling like his entire body was being slashed and crushed by thousands of blades, tears did not come. Only a swamp-like fatigue accompanied the pain.
'A man without blood or tears.'
Sometimes Nami would scold him with those words, and he thought she might be right.
No matter how miraculous Chopper's medicine was, a doctor's job is to cure diseases, not to extend lifespan itself. Humans, who originally live for at most 100 years, cannot be made to live for 200 or 300 years.
No one knew better than Zoro how much Luffy had pushed himself. He had felt it firsthand once.
The captain's responsibility is heavy. The lives of his comrades and subordinates are in his hands. Even when facing an overwhelmingly powerful enemy he'd like to run away from, the captain must face them head-on.
The crewmates to take on board, the routes to sail, the enemies to fight—all of these decisions in a pirate crew are made by the captain, and thus the greatest responsibility for those choices falls on the captain.
That's why Luffy never spared his own body throughout their adventures. If he did, the next thing they would lose would be the lives and freedom of his comrades.
The enormous damage that accumulates and recovers repeatedly with each battle.
The extreme physical exhaustion of Gear 2 and the shrinking effect of Gear 3, which he overcame after two years.
Gear 5, which rapidly ages him upon use.
...Although Zoro didn't know it, even the hormones he received during the Impel Down and Marineford War.
All of these had shaved off Luffy's lifespan.
In other words, Luffy was now dying of old age. And there's no medicine for natural death.
Knowing that waiting for tears to come was futile, Zoro asked something else.
"What do you want to do?"
Luffy blinked his large eyes. In those jet-black pupils, Zoro read Luffy's answer.
I want to be with you all.
Zoro's face twisted. With Luffy saying he was going to die, where could they possibly go?
"That's a given."
"Is it?"
"Something else."
Well? Luffy tilted his head.
Robin, who had been silent all along, spoke up.
"Luffy, how about looking for a way?"
It's not that immortality is completely non-existent in the world. There's the Immortality Surgery of the Op-Op Fruit.
Of course, the Immortality Surgery takes the life of the Op-Op Fruit user, so Luffy wouldn't want to use that method. But perhaps there's another way to achieve immortality somewhere in the world. That's what Robin was suggesting.
She might have been holding onto some hope.
"..."
If this had been before they learned the truth about the world.
After finding the One Piece, they knew the whole truth about the world.
In this world, the only way to avoid aging is through the Immortality Surgery of the Op-Op Fruit. Even the Age-Age Fruit eaten by Jewelry Bonney couldn't make someone eternally young.
But Luffy would never accept the Immortality Surgery if it meant Trafalgar Law had to give up his life. Of course, Trafalgar Law himself had no reason to give up his life to perform the surgery on his enemy, Luffy.
Nico Robin knew this fact better than anyone else.
Even so.
They couldn't just do nothing.
Luffy grinned and nodded.
"Alright! It's an adventure!"
Everyone, get on the Sunny! Luffy called out to them as he always did, leading them with utmost brightness and happiness, completely unlike someone who had just spoken of his own death.
...
The last voyage, which they thought would be sad and painful, was unexpectedly not like that.
Even as he was dying, Luffy was still Luffy, bringing incidents, accidents, and laughter wherever they went.
Although the sea, having lost its mystery and wonder after the discovery of the One Piece, no longer gave the same sense of adventure, Luffy never lost his smile.
He was always the same, that guy.
Seeing his carefree, silly face, the crew couldn't help but smile.
It was quite a good voyage.
However, separate from that, the Straw Hat Pirates failed in their quest.
The luck that had saved the Straw Hat Pirates from crisis so many times during their journey didn't come to their aid this time.
Despite traveling all over the world, there was no unknown technique for immortality that the Straw Hat Pirates hadn't already discovered.
Thus, on the 40th day of their voyage to find a way to immortality,
"I want to stop now."
Luffy suddenly declared.
It is the captain's authority to decide the route. When Luffy said he didn't want to sail any further, no one could force the ship to move. And Chopper also mentioned that it seemed like there wasn't much time left.
Once again, Zoro asked if there was anything else Luffy wanted to do. Luffy immediately replied,
"I want to go back to Foosha Village."
It's my hometown. There are lots of people I want to meet. Let's gather everyone there too. Luffy said with his usual bright smile.
So the crew headed straight for Foosha Village in the East Blue. They also contacted the other people Luffy wanted to see and called them there.
Foosha Village was a small, warm village. The villagers welcomed Luffy back with a lot of noise and excitement. The village chief grumbled about a pirate king coming from their village, but eventually, he slightly lifted the corners of his mouth when he saw Luffy.
Makino, the owner of the tavern, was so happy and emotional that she even showed tears as she greeted the boy. Dadan, the bandit, also saw Luffy, pretended to be gruff, but eventually burst into tears, surprising everyone.
Luffy seemed a bit surprised by her crying but finally smiled and hugged Dadan.
And then he shouted,
"Makino, today is a feast!"
It's time to pay off all the pirate tabs! Luffy shouted.
In an instant, a sudden feast broke out in the quiet village, even though it was the middle of the night. Luffy had never been one to consider time or place when throwing a feast.
Taking a sip of the bitter drink, Zoro looked at the scene before him.
Brook was playing Bink's Sake on his violin, and Luffy was dancing excitedly with Sabo and Bartolomeo, arms around each other's shoulders. Vivi and Robin clinked glasses together, and from a distance, Bon Clay was changing faces while Trafalgar Law watched in disgust.
It was a good village. Good people.
...Which is why Luffy chose this place as his final stop.
His head spun. Zoro downed all the drink in the large glass in one go.
It was bitter. Extremely so.
Makino hovered around Zoro worriedly.
Even though he was the world's greatest swordsman, the King of Hell, to Makino, Zoro was just Luffy's friend and a young man around Ace's age. He had already downed several bottles of the strongest and most bitter drink in the tavern, so it was natural for her to be concerned.
"How about you stop drinking?"
"No."
He had no intention of stopping. No, he wouldn't have the mental capacity to control his drinking for the next few days.
The end was approaching.
...
The feast continued day and night. Some people had to leave for their own matters, but others came back.
It was the first time in Zoro's life that he drank so much.
The first time he attended such a long feast.
The first time he laughed so much.
...And the first time he felt like crying while drinking.
...
On the 47th day after Luffy spoke of his death, following the longest feast in the Straw Hat Pirates' voyage,
"Starting today, our pirate crew is disbanded."
Luffy declared the disbandment of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Some crew members didn't seem to understand Luffy's declaration. When the captain dies, the pirate crew usually disbands anyway.
Occasionally, the first mate takes over as captain.
'We don't have a first mate in our crew.'
...Zoro truly believed this.
Zoro understood the simple reason behind Luffy declaring the disbandment before his death.
'If he leaves a message before the disbandment, it becomes an order.'
Once the crew disbands, Luffy would no longer be their captain. Whatever he said, if they didn't want to follow it, they didn't have to.
Luffy didn't want his final words and actions to become shackles for the surviving crew members.
It was a choice that was very typical of Luffy.
Zoro looked at Luffy's face intently. It was bright and cheerful, without a trace of illness, much like a few days ago. It was a pure and innocent face, as if unaware of the taint and cold reality of the world.
It was the face of a child.
Zoro calculated how long it was until Luffy's 20th birthday. Today was April 21, so there were exactly two weeks left until Luffy's birthday on May 5.
The age considered to be adulthood varies from island to island, country to country, and culture to culture. It was generally between 16 and 20 years old. In Zoro's home village of Shimotsuki, one was considered an adult at 20.
Luffy tilted his head and looked at Zoro.
"Zoro, what's wrong?"
"...It's nothing."
Would he be able to see Luffy as an adult?
Strangely, he couldn't imagine it.
...
In the end, Zoro never got to see Luffy as an adult.
On the 49th day, at dawn, Luffy's condition suddenly became critical.
Chopper, after barely managing to keep Luffy alive with numerous medicines, said that he wouldn't make it through the day. With a face full of sorrow and frustration, Chopper wept once more, soaking his face with tears.
In a calm tone, Zoro comforted Chopper.
"Chopper. You've done all you could."
"Sniff, sob."
"Let's say our final goodbyes."
Luffy couldn't leave the infirmary, and it was too small for everyone to enter together, so they faced Luffy one by one.
There was no set order, but no two people overlapped in their turns. It was as if everyone knew when it was their turn.
Zoro was the last of all.
"Zoro!"
Luffy lay there, covered in various unfamiliar medical devices. Seeing the bright face of the boy who seemed no different than usual, Zoro felt an inexplicable fear.
"Luffy."
Zoro sat on the chair next to Luffy and looked into his endlessly deep, black eyes.
No words were exchanged. They were never a pair that needed many words. It had been that way since they first met.
A single glance. A lightly tossed word. An odd question. It was enough. In some ways, they were very different, but in others, they were astonishingly alike.
"Zoro."
Luffy softly called his partner's name. As Zoro focused all his attention on him, Luffy spoke each word with effort.
"Live as you want."
In those black eyes, Zoro saw the white flames of Nika flickering. For a moment, Zoro felt enveloped by those flames. Like a god blessing his disciple with all his might, Luffy strongly wished.
Live as you want, that short and seemingly simple request, was given to the comrade who had stayed by his side the longest.
Zoro looked at Luffy for a moment and replied sincerely.
"Okay."
That was all he could say.
A moment later, Zoro stood up. He then helped Luffy up from the bed.
"Let's go out."
You don't like it here, right?
Zoro carried Luffy out of the infirmary. He took him to the bow of the Sunny, where Luffy often sat.
On the horizon of the beach in his hometown, Monkey D. Luffy closed his eyes, watching the rising sun and dawn, and fell into a deep sleep.
And he never woke up again.
...
That day, it rained in Foosha Village.
In the pouring rain that made it hard to keep his eyes open, Zoro looked up at the gray sky.
It was just like the day Kuina died.
...
Monkey D. Luffy's funeral was held quietly.
Mourners were received in small groups over several days, just as it had been during the feast.
Monkey D. Luffy had made many connections, and among them were influential figures who could sway the world.
Having such figures frequently visiting a small village in the East Blue was too suspicious. Moreover, if any civilians who harbored grudges against pirates found out, it would cause trouble. It was, after all, the funeral of the Pirate King.
Zoro watched many people cry in the place where they had held a grand feast a few days earlier.
Zoro thought that maybe someone among the mourners might point a weapon at him.
Especially Sabo, who had entrusted Luffy to him, or Luffy's father, Dragon. Or even someone else. Unless they intended to kill him, he thought he would accept it to some extent. After all, it was true that they had lost their captain.
"..."
But no one blamed Zoro.
Luffy had talked about many things with his crew, but true to his nature, he didn't say a word about his funeral or what should be done afterward.
Where he wanted his grave, what should be placed in front of it, how the funeral should be conducted—he didn't mention any of that.
'Because it wouldn't have mattered to him.'
He knew better than anyone that death is the end. He didn't think about what would happen after death.
'He trusted we'd handle it well.'
Because we were here.
After consulting with his comrades, Zoro decided not to make a grave for Luffy.
Wherever he was buried, there was a high possibility that it would be desecrated by someone with a grudge against pirates. In the worst case, someone might even destroy it as a declaration of war against the former Straw Hat Pirates. No one wanted Luffy's resting place to be used for such conflicts.
And… Luffy always desired freedom.
Being confined to one piece of land didn't suit him.
So they decided to scatter Luffy's ashes across the seas.
From East Blue, through Paradise, the New World, and finally to Raftel. Retracing the Straw Hat Pirates' route, they said their final goodbyes to Luffy amidst tears and wails.
As Zoro scattered the last handful of ashes into the sea in front of Raftel, he realized.
That Roronoa Zoro's adventure had completely ended.
...
[Author's Note]
Vote with your power stones, it motivates me to keep posting chapters.
If you're interested, you can read 20 advance chapters on my Patréon.
patréon.com/fumiaki