The fight was over. Now the townspeople would be free of the effects of his Melting Wave. But I wasn’t going to be moving anytime soon, either. I slumped to the floor and exhaled with relief.
A motion in the corner of my eye drew my attention to Wolf, who was conscious again and coming in my direction. But I realized he wasn’t walking toward me. The old man knelt next to the unconscious Bacca and took a knife out of his pocket. Then he held it up, blade down, over Bacca’s chest.
“Don’t.” I reached out and grabbed his arm before he could follow through.
“Let go, Law,” Wolf growled.
“You’re going to kill him?”
“I am.”
“He’s completely knocked out. There’s no need to go further.”
“This is my responsibility. Both twenty years ago and today, Bacca put the town and its people in danger. I have to pay the price for that. Now let go of me.”
“I won’t.” I held on.
I didn’t know what Wolf was thinking. His guilt, his agony, his pain—I didn’t know the depth of any of them. And yet I couldn’t stop thinking about one thing.
“You’re his family,” I said. I vowed to myself that I would not let go of Wolf’s arm under any circumstances. “No matter how far he’s sunk, how depraved he’s become, Bacca’s still your son. That’s reason enough not to do it. The man who saved my life was killed by his own brother. I don’t want to see family kill family ever again.”
Wolf said nothing, and I didn’t add anything else. Eventually, the knife slid out of his fingers. Wolf put his hands to his face and began to shed quiet tears. It was the first time I’d ever seen him weep.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Law! Wolf!”
Just as the old man’s tears dried up, the other three came stumbling into the room.
“You guys look like hell,” I said.
“Yeah, you’re not so great yourself,” Bepo laughed.
“I wish you could’ve seen me go!” Shachi added.
“I’m so glad we all made it!” Penguin said, beaming. The outcome of their fight was clear.
“We’ve won,” I said, and we all exchanged high fives.
Our meeting was followed by a whirlwind of activity. The townspeople came back to their senses and rushed to the temple. With Rudd’s help, they tied up Bacca and Boakeno in ropes and chains.
“You’ve really saved us,” Rudd said, eyeing me.
“Whatever. It was just a whim,” I explained.
A few hours later, the Navy arrived at the temple and took Bacca and Boakeno away. Then the battle was truly over. But that didn’t mean it was time to launch right into a celebration. First, all five of us were seen at the hospital and had to stay for a full week of recovery. We didn’t get to indulge in any fun or partying—the doctor knew we were likely to start goofing around if we were together, so on his orders, we all had separate rooms. That made it extremely boring.
But it was time well spent for me. I considered a great many things while I was alone in my room. What do I want now? What should I do? Being forced to think for a week helped me come to an important decision.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Woo-hoo! Finally home again!” Penguin gushed.
After a week in the hospital, Rudd escorted us home.
“Things will be back to normal!” Bepo exclaimed.
“Yeah…” I murmured. Then I turned to Wolf. “Hey, old man.”
“What do you want? Are you hungry?”
“No, I just wanted to talk with you for a minute. Do you have time?”
“Yeah, I suppose,” Wolf said.
Wolf and I left the house and walked to a nearby clearing. A light fall of snow was coming down, and the air was bitingly cold.
“Three years,” Wolf said. “First there was you, then three more brats… It’s brought a lot of noise and chaos into my life.”
“Heh. That’s what helping people gets you—more trouble.”
“But I’ve enjoyed our time together,” Wolf reminisced. “It’s been many, many years since I gathered with companions every night for my evening meal.”
“Why are you getting all sappy now?”
“Because you’re about to leave the island, Law,” Wolf said, shocking me into silence. “Listen,” he went on. “I’ve been watching out for you since you were a little pipsqueak. I know what it looks like when you’ve made up your mind, and when you take me outside to have a little talk, I understand well enough that you’ve got something important to discuss.”
“Old man.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m going out to sea,” I told him. “I’m going to be a pirate. And as a pirate, I’ll gain strength and experience, and I’ll make Cora’s wish come true. I won’t be like Bacca. I’m going to be a pirate in a way that stays true to my values. And I won’t disappoint you, either.”
“I see,” the old man said thoughtfully.
“You’re not arguing against it,” I urged him.
“The world of pirates is a scary one,” he finally said. “The seas are wild, the weather is unpredictable, you’ll often lack food and water, you’ll face deadly foes, and you’ll argue with your companions. Many a promising young pirate has lost their way in the face of these challenges…like Bacca. If you’re aware of all these things and you’re set on going through with it anyway, I won’t stand in your way.”
Wolf spoke to me gently, like a bird encouraging a young chick out of the nest.
“I’ve gained so much from your help and care, old man,” I told him. “I’ve made real friends. You taught me the joy of life. But I know that even so I’ve got sorrow inside of me, a dark history. My hatred of Doflamingo and my desire to see Cora’s wish come true are urging me to take action.”
“When you let hatred and sadness into your heart, they don’t just go away. I’ve lived in agony for twenty years, so I would know,” Wolf responded quietly.
“I had a feeling that I couldn’t keep going like this. I had an idea that someday in the future, I would go to Dressrosa. But fighting with Bacca made me realize that I want to know what true freedom is. I need to understand the meaning of freedom that Cora was trying to tell me about. So that’s why I’m leaving for the sea now. I think it’s what I need to do.”
For a while we sat there in the grass and said nothing. I watched the snow fall silently and pile up on the ground.
“When are you going to tell the others?” Wolf asked.
“I’ll do it tonight. I don’t know how they’ll react. But I think I’ll ask if they want to come along.”
“When will you leave?”
“In a week. There’s still some stuff to be done on the island. I need to say my proper goodbyes to the folks in town, like the doctor and Rudd.”
“You won’t miss us?” Wolf asked, turning away. “You like that town. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t feel anything about it. But wallowing in sentimentality will slow me from doing what I need to do with my life.”
“That’s true,” Wolf agreed. “It’s getting cold out. Let’s head back.”
“Hey,” I stopped him.
“Yeah?”
“Do you ever wish…you could be a pirate again?”
“I’m staying here. At the end of the day, I like this island and the town. This life I’ve got of working on my inventions out here and going into town every now and then suits me. I’ll leave the pirating adventures to you kids. Ha ha!”
Wolf walked off with a spring in his step. I picked up my pace to follow him.
It seemed like there was more I should have said. But though I thought about it until our walk ended, I couldn’t find the right words.