Hiyori fell sick.
It wasn't a small fever either—she was burning up, barely able to stay conscious. The little squirrel stayed by her side, treating her and watching over her the whole time.
White Ghost heard the report and said nothing.
He didn't go to check on her either.
If a Mythical Zoan gets "sick to death," that would be the biggest joke in the world, he thought.
Instead, he kept his focus on Kuina's sword training—correcting her timing, where to apply force, where to release, and how to let the blade breathe.
Still, the mood on the ship was heavy.
Everyone could feel it.
Their captain was truly angry this time. Normally he joked and bantered with the crew—he'd never let the air turn this cold for this long.
Kuina continued training under restraint as White Ghost supervised.
Then Elena came over.
White Ghost waved once, had Kuina strap on Seastone to keep practicing fundamentals, and then turned to Elena.
Elena sat beside him, watching Kuina's swings for a while before quietly asking, "Would you ever treat me like that?"
White Ghost glanced at her. "Like what?"
"Like how you treated Hiyori," Elena said, voice tight.
White Ghost tapped her forehead lightly. "Don't overthink it."
"I'm not abandoning my crew."
Elena frowned. "But you pushed her away."
White Ghost's gaze sharpened—not cruel, just firm. "I never promised her anything like that."
Uta walked up just then and heard the tail end of the conversation. She sat down nearby, listening.
Elena leaned forward. "Then tell us. Why were you so furious?"
White Ghost was silent for a moment.
Then he asked Uta, "Do you remember that group on Sabaody who tried to take you?"
Uta's expression turned serious. "I remember."
Back then, most of the crew had been away. If Brook and the others hadn't fought like their lives depended on it—and if Gion hadn't arrived in time—the outcome could've been ugly.
Uta's eyes widened. "White Brother… you mean—"
White Ghost shook his head. "Hiyori isn't their accomplice."
Uta let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.
"But…" White Ghost continued, "she did make contact with them later."
Uta jolted. "When? She was always with me!"
"You wouldn't have noticed," White Ghost said calmly. "The person who approached her—I caught him."
"I confirmed the truth."
Then his tone flattened again, colder around the edges.
"After that, I warned their side."
Uta swallowed. "Then why didn't you… deal with it immediately?"
White Ghost understood what she meant, even if she didn't say it out loud.
"Because I was naïve," he admitted. "I thought she'd come to me and tell me the truth on her own."
"She didn't."
"And later, in Loguetown, there was another approach. That time, I was right next to her—just in the other room."
White Ghost exhaled smoke slowly, eyes half-lidded.
"They offered her a deal: help restore Wano."
"In exchange, they wanted information—whatever mattered. And they wanted her to help place people close to me."
Uta's hands clenched. "Did she accept?"
"No," White Ghost said.
Uta nearly collapsed back into her seat with relief… but her voice still shook. "Then why are you this angry?"
"She didn't accept," White Ghost repeated. "But she said she'd 'think about it.'"
Uta stared down at the deck, pale. "Why…? We never treated her badly."
White Ghost's voice turned hard again. "I told you before—people's hearts can be filthy."
Uta looked up. "Did she send anything out? Any messages?"
"No."
White Ghost shook his head. "I kept my eyes on her. She didn't move."
"Not until after she ate that Mythical Zoan."
Elena's brows knitted. "If you knew all of this… why did you still give her that fruit?"
White Ghost didn't dodge the question.
"Because even then, she never sold us out."
"And after the fruit… her eyes changed. Like she finally chose something."
Elena still didn't fully understand. "Then why punish her now?"
White Ghost's answer was blunt.
"Because hiding it from me was the betrayal."
"Contacting them twice was already too much. But the real problem was this: she stayed silent."
He leaned back, gaze distant.
"If she walks away, I'm not worried she'll spill everything. She still has a conscience."
"But," White Ghost said quietly, "trust isn't something you get to fracture twice."
Elena stared at him for a long moment, then finally exhaled, some of the tension leaving her shoulders.
White Ghost looked at both of them.
"Don't twist yourselves into knots over it," he said. "Stay focused. Train. Live. Let the ship move forward."
Elena nodded and rested her head back against the chair, exhausted.
Uta hugged her knees lightly and murmured, "Where you go, I go."
White Ghost gave a short hum of acknowledgment, then closed his eyes for a brief rest.
Not far away, Kuina stopped mid-swing, looked over, and sighed.
Then she returned to training.
That night, White Ghost took over the watch at the figurehead, sending Senior Pink off to rest.
When he was in a bad mood—or when something weighed on him—he liked to lie there alone and drink.
Everyone knew that habit by now.
He drank.
And kept drinking.
He could've sobered up instantly with his ability, but he didn't.
To him, forcing alcohol out of his system like that felt like wasting it.
At some point, his senses caught someone approaching from behind.
Before he could even turn—
A small body leaned into him, clinging tightly.
White Ghost blinked, surprised.
"You're supposed to be sick," he muttered.
Hiyori didn't answer. She just held on, face pressed against his chest, shoulders trembling as silent tears soaked into his shirt.
White Ghost was about to pry her off—
When her voice finally broke.
"I didn't give them anything," she choked out. "Not a single secret. I never betrayed you."
"They wanted me to feed them information… to push you toward war with the World Government."
"They offered to help me reclaim Wano."
"I didn't accept. I never accepted. I didn't betray you… and I won't."
She lifted her head. Her eyes were swollen and red.
"White Brother… I don't have family anymore. My home is gone."
"Grandfather said it himself—there is no 'Kozuki Hiyori' in this world anymore."
Her voice cracked.
"Bai Hezi has nowhere to go."
"In this world… only you and the crew are left."
"Please… don't send me away."
White Ghost didn't respond right away.
He simply rubbed her head, slowly, like quiet weather passing.
Hiyori's body was still weak. Between fever and exhaustion, she soon slipped asleep in his arms, still holding on as if afraid the moment she loosened her grip, she'd be abandoned.
Even asleep, she kept whispering the same words over and over:
"I was wrong… don't leave me… I only have you all…"
White Ghost pulled out a blanket and covered her.
He kept drinking, eyes on the moonlit sea, thoughts heavy.
Maybe you really did let go of the past.
But if trust breaks once, it can break twice.
He looked down at her sleeping face.
Your next choices will decide everything.
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