"Waaah! Wooooh, waaahhh…"
As Kaito Sakamoto tended to Luffy's injuries, the latter was in tears.
Kaito didn't mind. If it were him in Luffy's position, with all those wounds, he wouldn't just be crying; he'd be howling like a banshee.
But Ace was getting annoyed. Having been tricked by Kaito earlier, he was now increasingly irritated by Luffy's sobs.
"Stop crying already!"
Luffy immediately pressed his lips together, silencing his tears, his expression almost comical.
Kaito finished wrapping a bandage around Luffy's arm, tying it off with a butterfly knot.
Luffy sat up and bowed to the three of them, "Thank you for saving me! Thank you, Kaito, Ace, Sabo."
Seeing Luffy like this only fueled Ace's anger. He knew Luffy had been captured because of him. Although Luffy had chosen to follow him, Ace was still frustrated that Luffy hadn't spoken up and ended up taking such a beating.
Was this concern or reproach?
It was the latter.
"Honestly, why didn't you say anything? That's a pirate who kills without blinking!"
"But if I did, we wouldn't be friends anymore," Luffy replied, tears streaming down his face.
"You! Not being friends is better than dying! Why do you want to be friends with me so much?" Ace shouted, his confusion palpable.
"Because you and Kaito are the only ones I can rely on!"
"We really hate mountain bandits, and we can't go back to Windmill Village!"
"So I had to come to you, didn't I?" Luffy shouted back!
These two brothers…
Kaito placed a hand on Luffy's head. Well, I didn't intend to lean on this rude little brat... but fine, you win, Luffy.
Ace paused, recalling how people always spoke ill of "the heir to the Pirate King."
Being so highly regarded made him feel... confused. It was a feeling he'd never experienced before—maybe a little happy, but at the same time, he was still a tsundere.
"Seriously, I still hate you for being such a weak brat!"
Luffy bared his teeth and began to argue back.
Kaito shook his head, ignoring them as he turned to Sabo.
"You've offended 'real' pirates; I doubt you can stay here in this garbage mountain much longer."
"Shall we head to Dadan's place together?"
"I suggest you bury the treasure in the forest; there are always people around this garbage mountain. If someone digs it up one day, it would be hilarious."
Kaito couldn't directly tell Sabo that the uncertain endpoint would likely be burned down, and all their treasures would go up in flames.
At the same time, he pondered that the burning of the uncertain endpoint was inevitable. He couldn't stop the Celestial Dragons from coming, nor could he prevent those corrupt nobles from destroying the uncertain endpoint to curry favor with them.
The world's tumors were not just those pirates who indiscriminately killed the innocent; the biggest ones were those Celestial Dragons—those who didn't see people as human, the so-called noble crowd.
"Why? We've hidden for so many years without issue," Sabo asked.
"After this incident, the Blue Sauce Pirates will surely conduct a thorough search; it's best to be cautious."
Kaito replied.
"Yeah, Kaito has a point."
Ace supported Kaito's suggestion, nodding as he propped Luffy's face up with one hand.
"Okay, let's start moving the treasure now and leave slowly; we don't want the Blue Sauce Pirates to catch up to us."
Sabo agreed, heading up the slope to begin moving the treasure.
.....
When they returned to Dadan's house, she nearly fainted at the sight of another little brat.
"Ace! Kaito! Luffy!"
"What on earth happened to you guys?"
"And who is this little brat?"
Sabo introduced himself, but Kaito didn't have time for pleasantries. He walked straight into the house and headed for the bathroom. He felt like he'd been pulled out of a cesspit and needed a wash before he became too smelly.
"Mmm~ so refreshing~"
After cleaning up, Kaito lay back in the bathtub, feeling his body and mind being rejuvenated.
"I can't prevent the burning of the uncertain endpoint."
"At least I can do something about Sabo; I wonder if preventing him from joining the revolutionaries is good... or bad?"
"Ugh, I'm so tired. If it comes to it, I'll just use all the trump cards of the Red-Haired Pirates! The future can wait!"
Pushing those thoughts aside, he reminded himself that one couldn't be in deep contemplation all the time. Work could be deadly; one needed to rest when it was time and enjoy life when they could.
But just as Kaito closed his eyes, the sound of pounding footsteps echoed through the room. He opened his eyes to see three little brats running toward him, ready to jump into the bathtub.
Kaito immediately stood up, his hand transformed into a long staff, swiftly sending the three of them back!
"You three!"
"If you want to soak in the bathtub, wash yourselves first!"
"And Luffy, with your injuries, you can't get in the water! Are you trying to throw your life away?! Just grab a towel and wipe yourself off!"
"Yes, sir!"
The three of them immediately bowed their heads like "apologizing Bepo."
Sabo and Ace went to rinse off.
Kaito stood up, wrapped a bathrobe around his waist, and took a towel to help Luffy dry his back.
"Thank you, Kaito."
"We're partners, aren't we?"
"Hahaha, yeah, we are partners."
Luffy and Kaito exchanged warm words.
Suddenly, water splashed all over Kaito's back.
That atmosphere was ruined.
"Get away! You might get hurt, Luffy."
"?"
Luffy looked confused.
Kaito turned around, his hand transforming into a water gun Gatling.
"Namu Gatling Bodhisattva, three thousand six hundred turns in a breath!"
"Receive the cleansing light of Buddha, fools!"
That day, Dadan heard the commotion clearly from the hall outside, thinking a fight had broken out in the bathroom.