Chapter 72: He Won

Xia Mu chattered on, rambling incoherently about his experiences after meeting Gao Wen.

Sanji listened in silence, the cigarette in his mouth slowly burning until a searing pain reached his lips—he snapped back to reality and casually crushed the butt.

He had never truly met Gao Wen.

But merely from Xia Mu’s words, he could clearly understand that this was a good man.

At the very least, he was a captain who genuinely cared for his crew—or rather, his comrades—and that alone already surpassed countless pirates who roamed the seas in this era.

But if Gao Wen truly was such a man, why would he abandon the princess at the moment of greatest peril?

If one thought further along this path, the answer could only be one.

After a moment of silence, Sanji said softly:

“What if he’s lying? Or what if he has no intention of coming to save you at all?”

Xia Mu blinked slightly, a faint smile tugging at his lips:

“If I could choose, I hope our captain doesn’t come. People like us—we die, it’s fine. But he’s different…”

“He can take others farther—through the Grand Line, the New World, even… even the legendary One Piece might not be beyond his reach.”

“What an irredeemable bastard.”

Sanji spoke harsh words, yet his lips had unconsciously curled upward.

It was precisely because of fools like these that one could still see hope for survival in this irredeemable world.

He suddenly remembered his own struggle for survival alongside Zepo.

Especially the scene where that man gave all his food to Sanji, then ate his own foot to stay alive.

Such a shock might never come again.

More than ten minutes later.

All the pirates in the storage room had finished eating their fried rice. Sanji gathered the plates, preparing to leave, when grateful voices rose around him.

“Golden-haired kid, you’re a good man—just like our captain!”

Fatty’s face was smeared with grains of rice, his mouth stretched ear to ear, his fat cheeks trembling.

“Too bad we probably won’t survive—if we did, we’d definitely make you join our crew!”

“Our captain would love you—he’s been muttering for ages about a fascinating young man at the Baratie.”

“This is the best fried rice I’ve ever eaten!”

…

Amid the chorus of voices, Sanji carried the plates and walked away without looking back.

Creak~

As the storage room door was about to close, Sanji’s voice reached their ears.

“By the way.”

“The man called Hawk-Eye just said you’re an interesting bunch—he has no intention of killing you.”

Xia Mu and Fatty froze, then a glimmer of relief—raw, stunned joy—flickered in their eyes.

If they had a choice, they too wanted to live—to stand beneath Gao Wen’s flag, as his subordinates.

…

…

…

At the same time.

Parra Island.

Keluo realized Gao Wen and Zoro were missing only the next morning.

An inexplicable unease stirred in his chest.

Awakening Observation Haki greatly enhances intuition, and intuition is often the most accurate.

“Where the hell did Gao Wen and Greenhair go?”

Keluo frowned tightly.

He gathered the pirates left behind on Parra Island; one by one, they spoke, slowly piecing together the full picture.

“Not just the captain—even Greenhair left too?”

“Come to think of it, since yesterday, the Cat Brothers have vanished. They were supposed to be searching nearby waters for the Baratie, as ordered by the captain.”

“Could these two be connected?”

“Also, one boat is missing from the harbor. It looks like the captain and Greenhair set off in a small boat.”

…

Amid the chatter, Keluo pressed his fingers to his brow.

He said nothing.

If this were only about the Baratie, Gao Wen would never have kept this secret from himself and the crew.

Unless something happened—something tied to Gao Wen’s past—that he didn’t want to tell us?

No, if that were the case, he wouldn’t have taken Greenhair along.

He took Greenhair… but didn’t want to take us…

What’s the difference between that brat who only talks about becoming the world’s greatest swordsman and pushes himself to the brink and the rest of us?

Wait.

The world’s greatest swordsman!

Keluo’s pupils shrank sharply:

“Hawk-Eye—Mihawk?!”

“He captured the Cat Brothers?! If that’s true, then it all makes sense…”

Bang!

Keluo slammed his palm hard on the table; the meeting room fell instantly silent.

Akin glanced at Keluo, unsure what had happened, then heard Keluo erupt:

“Damn it!”

“That damn bastard Gao Wen!”

Realizing the full chain of events, Keluo no longer cared about maintaining his composure—he stood up, agitated:

“You want to shoulder everything alone and play the hero? Did you ask us, your comrades, for permission?!”

Nami’s eyes suddenly filled with panic as she sensed something was wrong:

“Mr. Keluo, what’s happened?!”

Keluo gritted his teeth:

“That bastard Gao Wen—he’s going to die alone!”

The crew froze, then remembered Gao Wen’s near-invincible strength—and their lingering unease vanished completely.

“Hey, come on, are you kidding?”

“With the captain’s strength, even in the Grand Line, there are hardly any who can stand against him.”

“You’re probably overthinking.”

…

“But what if the opponent is a man from the New World? The legendary world’s greatest swordsman?”

“I’ve heard Gao Wen mention him more than once—he never once believed he could win.”

The crew fell utterly silent, staring at Keluo in stunned disbelief—what he said was too shocking.

In their minds, Gao Wen’s strength was unquestionably the strongest—and the only opponent who could make Gao Wen feel utterly hopeless…

Amid the growing unease in their eyes, Keluo continued:

“Only this can explain why Gao Wen took Greenhair with him.”

“Because for that man, facing the man called the world’s greatest swordsman matters more than his own life!”

“And we became his burden—no, he didn’t want us to die with him!”

“They… they’re going to bear it all alone!”

“To rescue the Cat Brothers!”

The words hung in the air—silence swallowed the room.

Akin clenched his lips, hating his own weakness once again.

If… if I were stronger, could I stand beside that man?

At this thought,

Akin quietly tightened his crutches and stood up without a word.

Nami bit her lip tightly:

“Mr. Keluo, what do we do? We can’t just let our captain die!”

“Of course we can’t!”

Keluo gritted his teeth, then turned to the pirates around him, his voice grave:

“This mission has a very high chance of wiping us all out. I won’t force you to follow me to death—the bastard’s nature would never allow it.”

“Anyone who doesn’t want to die—leave now.”

The moment he finished speaking, not a single person moved—not one even stirred to stand.

Keluo looked at their unwavering gazes, and a slow smile curled on his lips:

That guy still wins people’s hearts so easily!

If that’s the case, then come die with me!

But before that, we need to find the location of the Haishangcantingbaladi first—this matter…

(End of Chapter)