บท 193: Chapter 193
I slowly opened my eyes, and I could see myself slowly drifting towards the ocean floor as my vision started becoming darker and darker. I couldn't use a speck of Haki or even move my body.
'So this is it, this is how I die….'
My eyes slowly closed back up as the darkness swallowed me.
---
A week later, in the Jiyū Kingdom's palace, a woman was tending to a man who was lying in a bed. He is completely covered with bandages. The woman was slowly taking off his old bandages and putting on new ones after cleaning his wounds. She was about to take off the bandages on his head when she suddenly noticed something. His eyes twitched and started slowly opening. He looked at the woman, and she looked back at him, both not saying anything.
"I'm sorry, Celine," said Ken.
"I'm going to get you something to eat." She ignored his apology and immediately left the room.
Ken sighed and slowly sat up while holding onto his left side, which still seemed to hurt.
'I survived after all. I must have the goddess of luck backing me up.'
A little bit later, Celine came back with a tray filled with food and immediately started leaving after handing it to him.
"Can you please tell them to come here?" asked Ken, but Celine didn't say anything and left the room. Ken sighed again and started eating. After he finished his food, he heard a knock on the door. He placed the empty food tray on his nightstand and told them to come in. The ones who entered his room were Sabo and Ace.
"You look like shit," said Ace.
"Thank you for your concern."
"You're welcome, idiot brother of mine."
Ken just smiled at him.
"So you want to hear what happened, right?" asked Sabo.
Ken nodded.
"Well, when you got shot into the sea by Kaido's breath attack, he came after us. But Robert managed to get us out of there on time and sent us to Laffitte and the rest. However, after like 10 minutes, Robert came back, telling me to quickly come and save you. When I arrived back there, all I could see was a ginormous hole that connected to the ocean. But before I could do anything, Mura already came out of the water while holding onto your unconscious body."
'Close enough to a goddess,' thought Ken.
"I see; I should thank her later. And what happened afterward?"
"I checked if Kaido was still alive, but I couldn't find a trace of him. So he is either dead or somehow managed to escape, but from what I heard from Robert, it's highly unlikely that he is still alive. We had Chopper check you out while the rest of us, who could still fight, took care of the remaining Beast Pirates. And Momonosuke, the brat who you sent flying, is going to become the Daimyo of Wano. Also, no one on our side died, so you don't need to worry about that."
"Of course no one died. They got trained by me after all."
"Still being cocky even after you were on the brink of death."
"I'm not dead, so what I say is still valid. But what about our objective?"
"Robert has already snatched it and gave it to Robin. She has already translated it, so we only need one more," said Sabo.
"That's good news."
"Oh yeah, we got new bounties," said Ace.
"Did I surpass your dear father?"
"Shut up. You can go and find out for yourself. Oh, and here, Chopper asked me to hand this letter to you." Ace handed him a letter, and Ken grabbed it.
"Have you read it?"
"Nah, he said that it's for your eyes only. It's probably just him saying that you have an incurable disease or something."
"Don't jinx me."
"Hahaha, do you really believe bullshit like that?"
"I need to rest, so fuck off."
"Wha-" Ace was about to start arguing with him when Sabo suddenly grabbed him and started pulling him out of the room.
"Don't worry about anything. I've got everything under control, so just take as much rest as you need," said Sabo.
"Thank you. I'll be counting on both of you then," said Ken with a smile as he looked at them.
"Tsk, fine, but don't make us wait too long," said Ace as he and Sabo left the room, leaving Ken alone.
He opened the letter in his hand and started reading its contents. After reading it, the only thing he could say was, "Thanks a lot, Ace."
---
The sun had already set, and it was almost dinner time. Far away from the Jiyū Island, Ken was standing on a tiny island with no other humans or animals on it. Ken was swinging his sword towards the sea and sending sword slashes that cut right through the ocean. But even with this display of power, Ken looked to be disappointed.
"You really had to do me like this, huh, body. And when I was so close to accomplishing my dream… DAMIT!"
Ken suddenly punched the ground under him with all his might, completely destroying the tiny island and making him fall into the sea. However, he didn't seem to have any intention of getting out.
'Is it really worth living if I know that my dream has become impossible? The dream that I have worked years for to accomplish. The dream that I have sacrificed part of my humanity for, which I will never get back. The dream that I was willing to go through hell for. And the dream that has allowed me to meet the people who I would end up calling family. Were my struggles really all for nothing?'
Ken started sinking further and further into the depths of the ocean.
"Ken!"
'Celine!'
Ken immediately got a hold of himself and disappeared from the ocean. He appeared above it with Geppo.
'Damn it! What was I thinking of doing! How can I be so weak! The previous me was able to smile without having anything or anyone except for his little brother, but the current me, who has almost everything, is so weak that a little setback pushes him so far. This life might have made me stronger in a lot of ways, but it has also made me much weaker. Even if my dream is unattainable, that doesn't mean I should give up.'
Ken looked in the direction of Jiyū Island.
'The last thing I'll do is to make sure my family will be safe even after I'm gone. And thank you, Celine. Thank you for pulling me back.'
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Anime Quotes:
"Even if things are painful and tough, people should appreciate what it means to be alive."
- Yato (Noragami)
"People with talent often have the wrong impression that things will go as they think."
- Karma Akabane (Assassination Classroom)
"Don't be so quick to throw away your life. No matter how disgraceful or embarrassing it may be, you need to keep struggling to find your way out until the very end."
- Clare (Claymore)
"There is no way to train your heart to be invulnerable."
- Lubbock (Akame Ga Kill)
"Hard work betrays none, dreams betray many."
- Hikkigaya Hachiman (My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected)
"It's not bad to dream. But you also have to consider what is realistic."
- All Might (Boku no Hero Academia)
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