He didn't lose his bearings, but the cave walls distorted the sound, and soon Bill realized that he wouldn't be able to catch up to her unless he started breaking down the walls.
Deciding to stop, he shouted, "Yoko! I don't understand why you're running away from me! You need to tell me so I can understand!"
Hearing that she kept running, Bill sighed and shouted again, "Alright! When you're ready, I'll be here, okay?! Let's meet in the city, I'm glad to see you again!"
In such a situation, he spoke straight from the heart without thinking, even if it sounded a bit silly.
Not hearing a response, he quickly exited the cave system and found himself at the entrance Yoko had shown him two years ago.
First, Bill headed to Ryudo's house to find out what was happening, but he was shocked to see only the charred remains of the foundation where the old house once stood.
Looking around before stepping into the foundation area, Bill found the old burnt remains of where the kitchen and bathroom had been. Green grass and weeds covered the ruins, which had clearly been searched.
Surveying the yard, he couldn't determine whether there had been a struggle. There were no cannon marks or signs that someone with superhuman abilities had devastated the area.
Inside the burnt house, no clues remained either. There were no tables, beds, sofas, or any furniture. The stone foundation remained intact, allowing Bill to navigate the house, but even the floors were gone.
Realizing there was nothing more to learn here, Bill headed to the front of the house and looked at the beautiful view of the natural semicircular harbor.
Jumping high, he saw the ship slowly moving along the island and thought that Rans was being cautious, wary of the coral reefs. Turning his head in the other direction, he noticed the large island windmill and saw that the small river channels he had dug had been improved.
He wanted to take a closer look at this, but first, he decided to meet with Fabre to get some answers.
Kicking off the ground, he swiftly soared into the air and landed at the mayor's house. Along the way, he noticed that the island's vegetation had become more overgrown, but otherwise, everything looked the same.
The mayor of East Blue didn't have a personal office, so Bill knocked on the door and waited after hearing footsteps.
When Fabre opened the door, Bill's first thought was that the man had grown significantly greyer over the past two years.
As for the mayor himself, upon seeing Bill, his eyes widened, and he greeted the young Sailor with a smile, inviting him into his home.
Bill accepted the invitation but, being nine feet tall, had to stoop to enter through the door and continue slightly bent over until they reached the mayor's living room, where there was enough space for him to sit comfortably.
When he sat down, the mayor began, "Nice to see you again. I must admit, I didn't expect this! Are you just passing through... or?"
Bill was not one to be rude without reason, but considering Yoko's reaction and the burnt house, he asked directly, "Fabre, what happened to Captain Ryudo's house? And I saw Yoko, she ran away from me. What's going on here?"
Hearing this, Fabre removed his hat, reached for a large pipe, and said, "The captain was killed during a pirate attack"
As he spoke, he packed his pipe and avoided looking in Bill's direction, continuing, "The attack happened a little more than a year and a half ago..."
Continuing to prepare his pipe, the old mayor explained that the pirates went unnoticed until they were on the island's highest level. While the citizens evacuated to the caves, Ryudo fought the pirates in the open.
"There were too many of them. Ryudo was a strong man... he held them off long enough for us to escape, but in the end..."
"In the end, you left him to die alone," said Bill, interrupting him.
It was a statement, not a question.
The old mayor seemed to understand this, and without denying it, after taking a puff from his pipe, he said, "You're right. We should have formed a militia and trained them. Without that, Ryudo was the only one who knew how to fight on the island... and he paid for our mistake."
As the mayor spoke, Bill heard the sound of small feet entering the house but paid no attention to it. Instead, he looked at the old man and said evenly, "Protecting your home doesn't require training. And you don't need to be taught not to leave a man behind."
Nodding, as if in agreement, Fabre replied, "We lacked the skills, and that made us cowardly... I wish I had a better answer, but if we had known... if I had known... everything would have been different."
Taking another puff, he continued, "Now it's history. Only about a hundred people remain on the island, and only five of them are children. After the captain's death, everyone who could just left. It's too unsafe here... although we haven't seen pirates for about eight months now. It's cruel, but the loss of those young men provided us safety, although it doomed the island to vanish."
Hearing this from the old man, Bill wanted to shout and tell him that if they'd had even a little courage from the start, these problems wouldn't have existed. He wanted to say that the mayor himself was to blame for these attacks. He wanted to say that the cowardly islanders weren't worth the man who died defending them.He didn't lose his bearings, but the cave walls distorted the sound, and soon Bill realized that he wouldn't be able to catch up to her unless he started breaking down the walls.
Deciding to stop, he shouted, "Yoko! I don't understand why you're running away from me! You need to tell me so I can understand!"
Hearing that she kept running, Bill sighed and shouted again, "Alright! When you're ready, I'll be here, okay?! Let's meet in the city, I'm glad to see you again!"
In such a situation, he spoke straight from the heart without thinking, even if it sounded a bit silly.
Not hearing a response, he quickly exited the cave system and found himself at the entrance Yoko had shown him two years ago.
First, Bill headed to Ryudo's house to find out what was happening, but he was shocked to see only the charred remains of the foundation where the old house once stood.
Looking around before stepping into the foundation area, Bill found the old burnt remains of where the kitchen and bathroom had been. Green grass and weeds covered the ruins, which had clearly been searched.
Surveying the yard, he couldn't determine whether there had been a struggle. There were no cannon marks or signs that someone with superhuman abilities had devastated the area.
Inside the burnt house, no clues remained either. There were no tables, beds, sofas, or any furniture. The stone foundation remained intact, allowing Bill to navigate the house, but even the floors were gone.
Realizing there was nothing more to learn here, Bill headed to the front of the house and looked at the beautiful view of the natural semicircular harbor.
Jumping high, he saw the ship slowly moving along the island and thought that Rans was being cautious, wary of the coral reefs. Turning his head in the other direction, he noticed the large island windmill and saw that the small river channels he had dug had been improved.
He wanted to take a closer look at this, but first, he decided to meet with Fabre to get some answers.
Kicking off the ground, he swiftly soared into the air and landed at the mayor's house. Along the way, he noticed that the island's vegetation had become more overgrown, but otherwise, everything looked the same.
The mayor of East Blue didn't have a personal office, so Bill knocked on the door and waited after hearing footsteps.
When Fabre opened the door, Bill's first thought was that the man had grown significantly greyer over the past two years.
As for the mayor himself, upon seeing Bill, his eyes widened, and he greeted the young Sailor with a smile, inviting him into his home.
Bill accepted the invitation but, being nine feet tall, had to stoop to enter through the door and continue slightly bent over until they reached the mayor's living room, where there was enough space for him to sit comfortably.
When he sat down, the mayor began, "Nice to see you again. I must admit, I didn't expect this! Are you just passing through... or?"
Bill was not one to be rude without reason, but considering Yoko's reaction and the burnt house, he asked directly, "Fabre, what happened to Captain Ryudo's house? And I saw Yoko, she ran away from me. What's going on here?"
Hearing this, Fabre removed his hat, reached for a large pipe, and said, "The captain was killed during a pirate attack"
As he spoke, he packed his pipe and avoided looking in Bill's direction, continuing, "The attack happened a little more than a year and a half ago..."
Continuing to prepare his pipe, the old mayor explained that the pirates went unnoticed until they were on the island's highest level. While the citizens evacuated to the caves, Ryudo fought the pirates in the open.
"There were too many of them. Ryudo was a strong man... he held them off long enough for us to escape, but in the end..."
"In the end, you left him to die alone," said Bill, interrupting him.
It was a statement, not a question.
The old mayor seemed to understand this, and without denying it, after taking a puff from his pipe, he said, "You're right. We should have formed a militia and trained them. Without that, Ryudo was the only one who knew how to fight on the island... and he paid for our mistake."
As the mayor spoke, Bill heard the sound of small feet entering the house but paid no attention to it. Instead, he looked at the old man and said evenly, "Protecting your home doesn't require training. And you don't need to be taught not to leave a man behind."
Nodding, as if in agreement, Fabre replied, "We lacked the skills, and that made us cowardly... I wish I had a better answer, but if we had known... if I had known... everything would have been different."
Taking another puff, he continued, "Now it's history. Only about a hundred people remain on the island, and only five of them are children. After the captain's death, everyone who could just left. It's too unsafe here... although we haven't seen pirates for about eight months now. It's cruel, but the loss of those young men provided us safety, although it doomed the island to vanish."
Hearing this from the old man, Bill wanted to shout and tell him that if they'd had even a little courage from the start, these problems wouldn't have existed. He wanted to say that the mayor himself was to blame for these attacks. He wanted to say that the cowardly islanders weren't worth the man who died defending them.