Chapter 57 – Memories Worth Keeping
People can't stay trapped in sorrow forever.
Just as failure is always there behind success, quietly watching over you as you strive.
If you don't give up, failure becomes the force that drives you ever closer to success.
If you don't give up, it pushes you to take one step, then another, toward your goal.
Sadness, too, follows behind laughter, shaking its head again and again.
I hope you will find a better tomorrow—
Not remain in the fading memories of yesterday,
Nor be stuck in the tangled emotions of today, your thoughts circling endlessly in place.
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Bullet took it all in—the sorrow and the joy—and then turned to walk with the crowd toward the central district.
Suddenly, he looked back.
Hina was heading in the opposite direction, away from everyone. She sat down at the edge of the floating island, beside the massive battleship, speaking words that seemed to have no end.
"Here."
Bullet stepped out of the crowd and approached her from behind.
He reached into his coat and took out the battered pocket watch, holding it out to her.
"This… is something of yours. Something worth keeping."
"Thank you," she said softly. "But I don't need it anymore. He can stay with me now, always.
This watch—I'd like you to have it instead.
If you don't want it… please bury it beneath that flower."
She smiled, tears tracing the streaks already dried on her cheeks. Her throat was still tight, and her voice still forced itself into steadiness.
After speaking, she turned her head away.
She fell silent for a moment, thinking, then resumed her quiet conversation with her lost love.
Bullet listened in silence.
These were the same words she'd spoken not long ago, but she repeated them again and again, patiently, as if she had to say them anew each time she started to forget.
He looked down at the cracked watch in his hand, then carefully put it away and turned back toward the others.
This was the third time someone had given him a gift.
He wouldn't forget.
He would keep it safe.
Because this… was something worth holding on to.
Night. After 8 o'clock.
The birthday celebration was held on the training grounds.
The space was vast and open. Long tables and benches had been set out, and almost everyone was there.
Endless platters of delicious food were carried out from the kitchens.
Everyone wore their everyday clothes, setting aside their work for the evening.
They gathered on the quiet grounds, letting themselves relax and chat with friends.
At the center, on the only round table, sat a huge cake shaped like a bomb—specially ordered for the occasion.
Around it gathered all of Mona's closest family:
Her father, mother, aunt, grandfather, second brother, two younger brothers, her little sister—Sakazuki and Bullet, too.
Only two troublemakers hadn't shown up yet, which made Mona a little sad.
She decided she would get her revenge later—she would haunt them as a sad little ghost and teach them a lesson!
Pirates didn't really have birthday songs.
For most people here, a birthday was nothing more than a hearty dinner… maybe a single gift.
Some never had birthdays at all.
Ross hadn't gone out of his way to hire musicians to play.
This was a Nasdaq family celebration—there was no need for anything too formal.
When Mona blew out the candles, everyone began enjoying dinner.
Voices rose and fell, laughter echoing over the training grounds.
Bullet ate the cake—which was almost unbearably sweet to him—and looked around.
For the first time, he was tasting what it felt like when joy gathered everyone together in one place.
Suddenly, he felt something settle onto his shoulder.
Mona, at some point, had climbed up and was sitting comfortably on his broad shoulders.
"Hey, Bullet—today's my birthday, you know!
As my good friend… don't you have a present for me~?"
Her playful, childish voice left Bullet a little at a loss.
A gift? What was that supposed to be?
A birthday? Was it really something that existed?
But as he thought back on every moment he'd shared with Mona, a faint, flustered expression broke through the calm on his face.
His interactions with Mona had never been all that frequent.
Most of the time, they met when she drifted off to explore or was on her way home.
Whenever she spotted him during those moments, she would run over to chat.
Her words were always so many—she spoke with the air of an adult, teaching Bullet all the little things he ought to watch out for, letting her "Joyful Ghost" wash away the lingering sorrow he carried.
Before he knew it, they'd both grown used to this way of being together.
Sometimes, when he took a break, Mona would even climb onto his shoulder and treat him like a little pony, giving him orders with a laugh.
She would bring him along to the residential district to shop, or down to the docks to see if any new curiosities had arrived.
They would look up at the blazing midday sun, watch the evening clouds, and then go home their separate ways.
Miss Mona, who had plenty of money, always insisted on treating.
Inside Bullet's house, many things were neatly kept.
Apart from that stack of Beli, almost everything there had been a gift from Mona.
Yet… it struck him that, to this day, he had never once given her anything worth keeping.
A gift.
Bullet fell silent.
He struggled to recall if he had anything he could give Mona, or even what kinds of things she liked.
But after standing there, stunned for so long, all he could do was lower his head in dejection, unable to look at Mona's adorable, expectant face.
He had nothing—
Nothing but memories and the few precious things he was trying to hold on to.
"Heeheehee—I knew it! That's just how you are."
"It's okay, it's okay! Miss Mona is kind and generous, so I'll let you off this time."
"But next time, you have to be ready in advance, okay?"
"Otherwise, Mona will get reeeally mad!"
Mona swung her legs playfully, then, with a mischievous smile, wiped a streak of cake across Bullet's cheek with her frosting-covered fingertip.
"You owe me a present now!
If it doesn't satisfy me…
Be careful, because I'll—never—speak—to—you—again—"
As Mona's final words stretched into a long, ominous sing-song, Bullet felt something for the first time:
Fear.
He had stared down thirty-meter-long shark-like Sea Kings without blinking—
But this… this terrified him.
He was afraid that Mona would truly never speak to him again.
As if some precious memory would be torn away, leaving a hollow in his heart where that feeling belonged.
"Ah—sorry, sorry!"
"Mona's words were a bit too harsh… Bullet, don't be sad, okay?"
Bullet's feelings were written plainly across his face.
He had no idea how to hide them—every thought, every ache was there for anyone to see.
Naturally, seeing him like this startled Mona, who had only meant to tease her dear friend a little.
She cherished her friends too much to let him stay upset for long, so she quickly tried to comfort him.
Drip.
Even Bullet himself didn't notice when the tear slipped down his cheek, falling to the ground with a soft, clear sound.
He shook his head, trying to reassure her that he was fine.
But Mona didn't believe it—not for a moment.
Bullet was already crying!
His face looked so pitiful, so aggrieved.
And she knew it was her fault.
If only she'd thought to give him a little warning—
He would have done everything he could to prepare a gift for her, even if he had to ask someone else for help.
But because she hadn't, she'd ended up making the dear friend she'd worked so hard to find feel miserable.
As a friend, that was something she couldn't forgive herself for.
Not far away, Ross and Sakazuki stopped their conversation.
They silently watched the two of them:
One trying desperately not to cry, the other flustered and anxious to make amends.
Ross felt a pang in his chest he couldn't explain.
Sakazuki, on the other hand, was smiling with genuine warmth.
He had always regretted not being around to look after sweet little Mona more often.
Seeing someone else step into that place for her—
He was sincerely glad.
Nearby, Mona's birth mother held little Nasdaq Walter in her arms, beaming like an indulgent aunt.
Her two sisters stood beside her, whispering teasing remarks.
The two old men present nodded to each other, gesturing toward Bullet and muttering under their breath—who knew what they were saying?