Deep in the night, Bai Hezi jolted awake from a nightmare, a desperate sentence still stuck in her throat—
Don't leave me…
She sat up, breathing hard.
"This is…?" She looked around.
It was her room.
The door creaked open.
Uta stepped in, saw her awake, and smiled with clear relief. "You're up."
"Uta…" Bai Hezi pressed a hand to her aching head. "How long was I out?"
"Just a day," Uta said, pouring water and handing her the cup. "Not long."
Bai Hezi didn't drink. She stared at Uta instead, voice small.
"Is White Brother… still angry?"
Uta sat beside her and sighed.
"I don't know. He's been holding things in for a long time. Today it felt like… he couldn't keep it down anymore."
"I don't understand all of Wano's mess," Uta continued, "but think about it. Has White Brother ever treated you—or any of us—badly?"
"Has he ever demanded repayment?"
"He taught us how to train. He helped us become stronger. He never asked for anything back."
Uta's fingers brushed lightly over the sheaths beside the bed, grounding herself as she spoke.
"He said it himself: he brought three swords out of Wano. He's already returned two to you."
"And on top of that, he gave up something rare to help you."
"Bai Hezi… you shouldn't have doubted him."
"I don't know who Kanjuro is. But ask yourself this—has White Brother ever lied to us? Even once?"
"No."
"When we need something, he goes and finds it."
Uta's voice grew steadier, more heartfelt.
"Pedro and Wanda needed a way to fight under daylight and still reach their full strength—White Brother made it his problem too. We've already got hope because of it."
"And me… I said my dream was to sing for people who were hurting—so they could feel joy again."
"He promised me."
"And he's kept that promise."
Uta finished, then gently held Bai Hezi's trembling shoulders.
Bai Hezi's tears overflowed.
She couldn't stop them.
"…You're right," she choked out. "He never blamed us. He only helped."
She wiped her face roughly.
"Where is he? I need to talk to him. I need to tell him I was wrong."
Uta hesitated. "He drank a lot. He's probably asleep."
Later that night, White Ghost was indeed trying to settle himself.
The pressure in his chest—the Seven-Star mark's ominous pulse—had been getting harder to ignore since he fused that demonic aura.
He had kept it contained… until today, when it finally spilled out.
Now that the surge had passed, the air around him felt less suffocating, but the problem remained.
White Ghost stared at the faintly glowing mark.
This thing isn't easy to control.
He left the room quietly, careful not to wake anyone.
Tonight, Kuina was sharing a cabin with Ain. Elena was with Nami.
White Ghost headed for Stella's door.
He knocked once, then entered.
A soft barrier shimmered—sound muffling the room, not to hide anything, but simply so no one would be disturbed.
Stella had already been awake. The moment she sensed him, she didn't ask questions—only shifted closer, making space like she understood.
White Ghost sat, exhaled, and let his shoulders drop for the first time in hours.
Stella wrapped a blanket around him, and they stayed like that for a while—quiet, steadying, human.
After some time, White Ghost's Observation Haki caught a familiar presence lingering outside.
He frowned.
Stella noticed the change. "What is it?"
"Hiyori," White Ghost said. "She came looking for me."
Stella's gaze softened. "Then be gentler than you were earlier."
White Ghost nodded once. "I will."
He stepped out.
Bai Hezi stood alone in the corridor, waiting—eyes red, hands clenched so tightly her fingers shook.
White Ghost lit a cigar and walked past her, voice low.
"Come."
They moved to the front of the ship, up to the figurehead.
Enel was on night watch. The moment he sensed them, he shut down his Observation Haki and quietly relocated to the stern, giving them privacy.
White Ghost leaned back in a chair and stared at the moonlit sea, smoking without speaking.
The ocean under moonlight was beautiful—calm enough to make you forget how deep it could be.
Bai Hezi kept her head lowered.
Silence stretched.
Long enough that White Ghost's patience thinned.
Finally, Bai Hezi lifted her face, tears shining, and met his eyes.
"White Brother… in your heart… did you always think of me as just someone you were keeping temporarily?"
White Ghost exhaled smoke slowly.
"You're wrong," he said. "You weren't 'temporary.'"
Then, blunt as a blade:
"You were forced onto me the moment I took your grandfather's deal."
"And if we're being honest…"
He looked at her with a tired, flat expression.
"I got the worse end of it."
The words weren't shouted. That was what made them hurt.
Bai Hezi's tears fell onto the deck, one after another.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered, shaking. "I was wrong."
White Ghost stood, looking down at her.
"No," he said.
"You weren't wrong."
Then his voice turned quieter, heavier.
"I was."
"I told you when I brought you out: if you want to leave, you can leave anytime."
"I don't want repayment. I don't care about it."
"What I took from your grandfather—I've already returned."
"And I even paid extra."
He turned away.
"From now on, we're even."
"If you want to go, go."
"No one will stop you."
White Ghost walked off.
Bai Hezi stayed where she was, eyes empty, body gone slack like the world had stopped holding her up.
Uta emerged from the shadows with a long, helpless sigh.
So he really is angry.
She went to Bai Hezi, held her carefully, and helped her up.
Bai Hezi kept whispering the same words over and over, almost without awareness—
"I was wrong… don't leave me…"
Uta's chest tightened.
She didn't know what else to do.
So she just held her, and carried her back to bed.
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