Whether the situation was winnable or not, he could not let Kiri go. The sideways rain was already soaking his body. He was weak to begin with; wet, he wouldn't even be able to run away.
Flannel desperately pinned Kiri down.
Kiri thrashed, trying to get to the enemy, trying to break free from the cook's arms.
"Let go, Flannel! He... he killed them...!"
"Don't be stupid! He's not an opponent you can handle!"
"I don't care! I'll kill him!!"
"Calm down! If you are our crewmate, then stay cool! Can't you see that's not someone we can beat head-on?!"
While shouting at each other, trying to stop the struggling boy, Brook remained confused, unsure what to do.
Then, Velvet appeared.
He staggered over, blood streaming from his head. He had all his limbs, but something was wrong.
Seeing the state of the man who had engaged the Iron Mask, the three felt a chill run down their spines. Velvet, eyes shining and laughing, was terrifying.
He was a pirate who had made his name using extreme tactics.
An expert in cannons and explosives, using homemade gunpowder to blow up everything, creating chaos with blasts to wipe out enemies. That was how he survived the Grand Line.
But on a rainy day like this, gunpowder was useless. Furthermore, this was his own ship, not land.
The sword in his right hand felt empty. Unable to use his true strength, his crew was being butchered one by one.
Velvet laughed. A face revealing the ferocity he usually kept suppressed.
The three were speechless, frozen like frogs before a snake.
In the background, the screams of their comrades continued, and Velvet's laughter grew louder.
"Kukuku... Can't stop him. An extraordinary user of Armament Haki. The bastard is too hard to cut. If not for the rain, I would have blown him to hell..."
"Velvet, why are you laughing...? Everyone is being killed!"
"Yeah. Everyone dies. No one survives."
At Velvet's calm declaration, the color drained from Kiri's face.
Velvet spoke in an unchanging tone.
It seemed he alone had already made his resolve.
"Well, we live the pirate life—a reckless existence. It's no surprise to die anywhere, anytime. Everyone here was prepared for that."
"B-But..."
"But you are different, Kiri. You are still too much of a brat."
Amidst the echoing screams, Velvet fixed his eyes solely on Kiri.
"I have no intention of taking someone not ready to throw away their life along with me. Brook, take this guy and run."
The shock felt like his heart was being crushed.
Kiri's eyes widened in panic. Even when Flannel let go, he couldn't move, standing stock still before Velvet.
"Wh-What is that?! I'm prepared! I wouldn't regret dying any day!"
"Captain Velvet, that is..."
"You are a guest. No reason for you to risk your life."
"Listen to me! I am a pirate too! I'm one of the Velvet Pirates! Why do I have to run away alone?! I'll fight to the end too!"
"There's a small boat hanging off the stern. Use it."
"Velvet!!"
"Listen, Kiri."
Hearing the calm voice, Kiri snapped back to reality.
In that moment, without even realizing it, tears began to stream down his face.
"It is too early for you to die. You don't know enough of the world to make that choice."
"You're the one who said pirates are free!!"
"I did. But as long as you are a crew member of this ship, the Captain's orders are absolute. Obey my command."
Velvet looked away from the screaming Kiri and looked at Brook.
The voices of the crew were steadily decreasing. There was no time to waste.
Brook stood quietly, looking incredibly sorrowful, swallowing words he couldn't say.
"Just him is enough. For the rest, I'll trust in a miracle."
"Are you sure...? If we do that, even if he survives, he will..."
"Ah well, it'll work out. A miracle is the only thing we have left to rely on."
Saying that, Velvet turned his back.
Hostility, or perhaps killing intent, exploded from him. Aimed at the Iron Mask, it was his raw aggression, unleashed like a beast from a cage, uncontrolled and pure.
"Kukaka. Killing so many of my subordinates. I won't allow us to just run away and leave you be. Don't worry. We'll take you with us."
As he took the first step, Flannel followed silently.
Leaving Kiri behind, as if to say our paths part here.
"It is a journey to death. Too early to burden a kid with that."
"...Understood! In exchange for my life, I will ensure Kiri-san survives!"
"Wait! Velvet!!"
Brook, his resolve set, scooped Kiri up. He dashed toward the stern of the ship. Kiri reached out desperately, but he couldn't stop anyone.
Beside the laughing Velvet, Flannel muttered.
There was not a shred of fear on his face.
"There's a mountain of gunpowder inside the ship."
"Kukakakaka. Burn it."
In this rain, using it outside was impossible.
Flannel nodded, understanding, and walked alone into the ship.
Reaching the stern, Brook found the target boat and quickly tossed Kiri inside.
Soaked by the rain, Kiri's body was limp. His movements were sluggish. With his resistance weakened, Brook could launch him into the sea now. Brook hurriedly worked the mechanism for the suspended boat.
As the boat carrying Kiri moved over the water, Brook remained on the sailing ship.
"Brook! Stop it!? I'm not scared of dying! I'm ready! Let me stay with you guys!"
"No... No! It is Captain Velvet's order! You must live!"
"Why..."
"Listen to me, Kiri-san. Living is a battle!!"
Just before they separated, Brook grabbed Kiri's shoulder hard.
He stared at the boy, whose face was twisted with raw emotion, and tried desperately to convey his words.
"They entrusted everything to you. As long as you live, the Velvet Pirates are not dead. Your survival has great meaning! That is why the Captain chose you!"
"That's... even if I survive alone..."
"Do not worry. I will protect Captain Velvet even if I die. When we meet again, let us be pirates together once more. I, too, have a promise I must keep."
Kiri lowered his eyes for a second, then snapped them open, sensing something wrong in those words.
In that instant, a massive explosion occurred in the center of the ship, rocking the vessel violently.
taking that as his cue, Brook drew the sword concealed in his cane and slashed the ropes. Losing its support, the small boat dropped into the raging sea, and Kiri was instantly swept away.
"Good luck!"
"Brook...?!"
He hit the water. Waves crashed over his head, but miraculously, the boat didn't sink.
Forced to ride the rough waves, the small boat tossed about as if it might capsize at any moment, strangely carried further and further away from the ship, as if letting him escape.
Kiri reached out desperately, but nothing changed.
He called their names, but no answer returned.
The ship exploded again and again. The massive amount of gunpowder inside raged to blow the enemy away along with themselves; repeated giant blasts destroyed the hull in seconds.
He wanted to see what happened to the very end, but the deep fog got in the way, refusing to let him watch.
Carried by the rough waves and gale-force winds, his boat drifted further into the distance.
Kiri screamed. No longer thinking, just acting on instinct.
But even his voice was swallowed by the storm, erased without reaching anyone.
He didn't remember what happened after that.
Overwhelmed by everything, unable to even move, he lay in the small boat.
At the very least, it was a fact that the unremarkable boat survived the fierce storm without capsizing.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
It felt like morning had come, and it felt like night had passed. Accurately speaking, both were true, but he no longer had the energy to understand it, nor the will to live based on that understanding.
Lying in the boat, Kiri turned lifeless eyes toward a sky that was annoyingly blue.
Devoid of emotion, he looked like a doll.
Life with them had been everything. Living as a pirate, dying as a pirate. That was all he wanted; he had no interest in gold, silver, or fame. He was happy just being a pirate.
Suddenly, that was stolen. Without understanding what had happened, unilaterally.
A shock equal to, or perhaps greater than, when he lost his parents.
Not moving an inch, he seemed to have already lost the meaning of life.
The original trigger had been his parents' death.
By chance, he lost his family and became alone.
In desperation, he sneaked onto a pirate ship and left his hometown—that was his first voyage. From there, before he knew it, the sea had stolen his heart, and he came to live admiring Captain Velvet.
This was the second time he had lost everything, but he wasn't used to it. If anything, this time was harder than the last.
He couldn't agree with Velvet's final decision. Why wasn't I allowed to die?
Thinking only of that, his thoughts faded, and he stopped thinking altogether.
Enough. He relaxed his body, ready to end it.
There was nothing he wanted enough to struggle for now. He had already let it go.
They aren't coming back. He closed his eyes.
He probably didn't realize it, but several days had passed without food or water.
He didn't even know if this was still the Florian Triangle.
Perhaps because his paper body had absorbed a massive amount of moisture, strangely, he hadn't died yet. Though physically and mentally wasted, he was still holding onto life.
Unknown to his conscious desire, his body might have been trying to live.
Crushed by despair, how long had it been since Kiri closed his eyes?
Suddenly, there was a moment when he opened them.
Not knowing where he was, judging only that the sky was still blue.
Before he knew it, a man was standing on the small boat.
Looking down at the dying boy, the man seemed to be smiling. Kiri caught the figure in his blurry vision.
"Kill... me..."
Before he could say "Help me," he said those words unconsciously. It likely gave the listener a bit of a surprise. The stranger erased his smile for a brief moment.
Then, lifting the corners of his mouth into a grin, he muttered in a strangely high-spirited mood.
"No."
Kiri immediately closed his eyes.
He thought nothing. He felt nothing. He could only accept the fact that he couldn't die yet.
Consciousness cut out. But a distinctive laughter reached his ears as he faded away.
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