To the end of the sea [One Piece]

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"I'm going to leave early." Eina put down the ring in her hand and looked at Beckman, who had a look of surprise on his calm face.

Just today, she completely broke through the power of the Kong Kong Fruit and could attach the teleportation space to specific objects.

It was rare that Beckman was at a loss for words: "...When are you leaving?"

"the day after tomorrow."

"Did something happen?"

Ena sighed. She put away the ring and walked up to him. She lowered her head and couldn't see her expression clearly: "Before going back to Shampoo, I have somewhere else to go."

Beckman looked at her and didn't speak for a long time.

He suddenly seemed to have vaguely guessed something.

She didn't tell Captain Shanks about leaving the ship, but she showed such a lonely expression in front of him.

The shrewd and keen mate relaxed his brow and looked at the girl he cherished.

In two years, she transformed from a delicate-looking young girl into a pirate who could stand alone. She was able to fight with Yugiri and Griffin without losing, she could face the overlord's domineering force without changing her expression, and she could use complex spatial abilities with ease.

Then why should he not let her go?

Each of them is a child of the sea, destined to rush to freedom.

+ + +

At the banquet the next day, everyone laughed and cried, and drank a lot of wine. Lackey's fat face shed two lines of tears: "Ah, I really can't bear to leave Ena..."

"Ena needs to grow up to become a more powerful pirate, and we will have a party together next time we meet!"

"Absolutely, definitely see you at sea!"

"Yes, yes, I'm a little happy, it's not like I can't see you anymore!"

"Come, come, drink, drink..."

The atmosphere that was originally a little sad soon became joyful again.

Eina also drank a lot, but this time it was orange wine.

It's not that she doesn't dare to drink anymore, it's just that today she wanted to drink with them for a while longer, so she chose fruit wine with long battery life.

How could she like this group of noisy and cute pirates any less?

All drank heavily, but no one could outdo their captain.

Shanks had a smile on his face, but he was pouring down cup after cup. Eina frowned and looked at him: "Would you like to drink more slowly..."

It was impossible to persuade Shanks to drink less. Ena just felt that he would feel uncomfortable if he drank too hard.

Shanks looked at her with a burning light in his eyes. Fragments of starlight fell in his eyes, like a boy staring at his favorite treasure.

The youthfulness of Shanks and Luffy will never be erased no matter how old they are, it is an eternity that transcends time.

Eina stopped talking. She clinked a glass with him, raised her head and drank it in one gulp.

She thought, let this time slow down a little bit.

Let her imprint everything about Redforth in her heart, let her picture these things when she thinks of them.

+ + +

After the banquet was over, Eina helped Shanks back to the room. She suspected that he was really drunk this time.

Shanks held her shoulders tightly and murmured drunkenly: "Ena..."

"I'm here." She put him on the bed and lay down, but he pulled her down into his arms.

"What if..." the man whispered unconsciously, but stopped abruptly at the last moment. He buried his head in her arms and said vaguely: "I..."

Eina frowned sadly and looked at him helplessly: "I know."

Her soft fingers rested on his face that had been buffeted by the sea breeze all year round, and his handsome and well-defined cheeks had the roughness of a mature man. The unruly stubble rubbed against her calloused fingertips, causing a slight itch.

How should I treat you better?

This... the man she relies on the most in the world. The man who brought her back from the brink of death was always as sincere as a boy.

I'll miss you too, Shanks.

As long as you miss someone in your heart, it doesn't matter no matter how far away you are, right?

Let me run to the sea.

Let me...go find my dead heart.

Before that, I had no way of responding to anyone's love.

He didn't make any sound for a long time. Ena gently broke away from his arms and walked towards the door.

In the silence, Shanks moved his lips and said something almost silently.

Her grip on the handle suddenly froze.

The girl who was always known for her knowledge and beauty stayed where she was and didn't move a step for a long time.

Sighing silently, she opened the door and walked out.

--------

When Eina jumped onto the boat, everyone on the Redforth stood on the deck to see her off.

Shanks smiled at her calmly: "Be careful along the way."

The sea breeze blew his red hair, and there was tenderness between his brows and eyes.

Eina winked at him and set sail.

The pirates watched her leave until they sailed a certain distance and her voice suddenly came from afar:

“See you at sea – everyone!!”

They were stunned for a moment, then shouted back to her: "Goodbye - Ena!"

The boat went away, and they could no longer see her shadow.

The pirates gradually dispersed to do their own thing. In a sea where every day is full of dangers and challenges, the time that can be used to miss someone is too short.

However, as long as you remember that person in your heart, the bond will be connected with the waves between heaven and earth.

When we meet again, just smile and hold a banquet.

Beckman walked up to Shanks and smoked a cigarette: "Is it over?"

"No." Shanks rubbed the ring on his middle finger with his thumb and smiled softly.

"It's time to start over."

------------

She sailed on the sea for an unknown amount of time, heading to the place she must go.

But along the way, she met an unexpected person.

Unable to tell whether this was a fateful encounter or not, she saw the bicycle on the sea.

She was stunned, never expecting to meet him again like this.

The other party obviously saw her too, as the bicycle stopped motionless in the middle of the sea.

Eina sighed, sailed the boat over, and said hello to him.

"Mr. Kuzan."

He raised his blindfold, seeming a little surprised by her title.

"I heard that you are no longer a navy, so I changed my words - doesn't it matter?" she asked with a smile.

Qingzhi couldn't react to her attitude towards him for a while.

The last time they met, they were obviously mortal enemies.

Her lover died at the hands of his own camp.

And she was also a pirate after all...she didn't even feel the slightest bit nervous when she saw him.

How far has she grown in the more than a year since she disappeared?

Maybe Ikegawa Ena, who asked his name earlier, would be nervous when she saw him.

But the person in front of him was no longer the Ikegawa Ena he knew.

She was his deputy general who had been with him for many years.

"Want to come up and sit down?" She shrugged, "Don't look surprised. Since it's not the navy anymore, we have no reason to be hostile, right?"

He couldn't find a reason to refute her, so he parked the penguin and the bicycle on the sea, and got on the boat with his long legs.

"Naraku..."

"I remember asking you to remember my name," she said, "Mr. Kuzan."

The former admiral scratched his head and laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, Miss Ena has really changed." He sat down on the chair, "Why, there has been no news from the Straw Hat Pirates for more than a year, where are you going?"

She raised the corners of her mouth, but there was no smile in her eyes.

"So where is Mr. Kuzan going?" she said. "A resigned admiral traveling aimlessly doesn't sound very credible."

"Spare me." Kuzan shrugged, "I also want to relax sometimes."

"You have a lot of time to relax." Ena couldn't hold it back and made a comment that was very inappropriate for her status.

Sure enough, Qing Zhi frowned and looked at her.

She lowered her head and laughed.

"Nothing...sometimes it feels so amazing." She didn't intend to explain anything to him, and he had no intention of pursuing it.

She looked at his prosthetic leg made of ice and sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Kuzan pulled on his blindfold nonchalantly: "Things like that don't matter anymore."

In fact, she still had many, many things she wanted to say to him, but none of them were suitable to be said.

She always felt a sad loneliness when seeing these people who had meant so much to her in their past lives.

They no longer exist in this world and will never come again.

But she didn't feel any regret.

+ + +

"Then I won't delay your trip, Mr. Kuzan." She waved her hand, "I wish you a smooth journey."

Aokiji stood up and said, "Although I am no longer a marine, I have no intention of becoming friends with pirates, right?"

She laughed without saying a word.

"You have never been my friend." The silver-haired girl looked at him standing on the ice and remembered the farewell on the ice.

"Finding inner justice is a difficult thing."

He looked at her intimidatingly, but she didn't feel scared at all.

"Although I'm not a friend, I don't hate you. But if we are an enemy next time we meet, I won't show mercy." She lay on the side of the ship and looked at his face, with something he couldn't understand in her eyes. lonely.

The second before Qing Zhi left, she said something to him that he had never been able to understand, and even harder to let go of.

"I hope Mr. Kuzan can live happily."

When he turned his head, the boat was sailing forward.