Luffy voluntarily handing over food was basically the same as Nami giving money away!
Of course, Luffy had shared food before, but that was usually under difficult circumstances—when someone was starving, for example. It was a kind gesture born from special conditions.
But in a perfectly ordinary situation like this, Luffy sharing so naturally and on his own initiative seemed especially strange.
After all, in Cain and Ace's fixed impression of him, Luffy was the type who would never let go once he saw food.
Seeing this, Ace directly jumped down from Yamato's shoulders and rushed in front of Luffy, truly believing something had gone wrong with his head.
He grabbed him and shook him hard.
"Luffy, are you okay? Do you have a fever? Did your brain break? What happened to you?"
"A-Ace… I'm… fine…"
Luffy stammered from being shaken, but Ace did not listen at all.
He turned his head and shouted toward Law, "I REMEMBER, YOU'RE CALLED TORAO, RIGHT? HURRY UP AND TREAT LUFFY—PFFT!"
Hancock directly kicked Ace away and shielded Luffy behind her.
"What exactly are you trying to do to Luffy?"
"No, I just didn't expect him to actually share food," Ace explained, patting the dust off himself.
"Is that weird? Hancock kept staring at the banana in my mouth, so I gave it to her. There's no special reason for it."
As Luffy spoke, he stuffed the banana into Hancock's hand.
Hancock's face flushed bright red.
She had not been staring at the banana at all.
She had clearly been staring at Luffy's mouth…
Cain listened and nodded. Luffy at times like this would never say anything roundabout.
Every word was his first instinctive reaction from the heart.
In other words, sharing food with Hancock had already become something natural to him.
This counted as a small step forward in their relationship.
Though for Hancock, there was clearly still a very long road ahead.
Looking at everyone playing around, Cain could not help feeling a little depressed.
They had clearly agreed on a time to meet, only for him to pass out directly. In the end, he barely got to say anything before Sabo had already left.
Uta saw through Cain's low mood at a glance, so she took something from her pocket.
It was an envelope.
"Sabo left this for you. Since you couldn't get up at the time, I kept it for you."
Cain hurriedly opened it and read it.
It was obvious that the letter had been written in a rush.
...
Cain,
After so many years apart, we finally reunited, yet I had to leave without saying goodbye in person. Please forgive me.
Thank you so much!
At the most crucial moment, you helped me remember everything from my past.
If not for you, I might still be the Sabo who lost his memories, the fool who was unable to reach out and help his brother when Ace was being executed…
Thank you for letting me make it in time.
Ace and Luffy told me so many things about you.
Congratulations as well.
You finally found your own dream and gained the peaceful life that belongs to you.
I believe all of us are working hard toward that same direction, and I'm sure that one day, it will come true—with the ability you entrusted to me.
Because of the matters involving the God's Knights and Kuma and his daughter, we need to bring them back to Revolutionary Army Headquarters as soon as possible, so please forgive me for leaving. But… there are still so many things I want to say to you…
If I tried to write them all in a letter, this letter would probably turn into a book…
Do you remember the Den Den Mushi we used to contact you before?
Although it can't send messages outside at all times, we can still communicate during certain time periods.
When that time comes, we can have a proper talk.
Sabo
...
Cain read the words one by one, then silently put the letter away.
The frustration in his chest from missing their meeting was diluted quite a bit by the sincerity filling the page.
He raised his eyes toward Uta and said softly,
"Thanks."
Uta shook her head, took Cain's hand, and said,
"When Sabo left, he kept saying it was a pity he couldn't say goodbye to you in person."
Cain nodded.
"Mm. I know."
Then he began asking Rayleigh about the two God's Knights. After all, Sabo's letter had also mentioned them.
Only now did Cain remember the point he had neglected earlier.
"They disappeared?" Rayleigh said. "A summoning circle suddenly appeared under their feet, and something summoned them away."
"Their brains?" Cain hurriedly asked.
"They're still here. But Sabo-kun took them away. He said their Revolutionary Army needed to properly study beings like the God's Knights. That thing was useless to us anyway, so we handed them over."
Rayleigh spoke calmly.
"Phew. That's good."
Cain breathed a sigh of relief.
…
At that moment, the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle, was exceptionally quiet.
The lights in the room were off, and the curtains were drawn tight. The atmosphere was extremely heavy.
Because this time, their operation could be considered a complete failure.
"How is it? Are the examination results out?" Saint Topman Warcury asked in a deep voice.
"Mm. Their heads are empty."
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn looked at the report and spoke solemnly.
"That is also why they are behaving so blankly. What a miscalculation! Even an immortal body has had a method of dealing with it found. But who exactly did this?"
"THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION RIGHT NOW IS NOT WHO DID IT, BUT HOW THEY DID IT!"
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro suddenly raised his voice, his tone full of anger.
"Their brains are clearly gone, yet they can still breathe and eat like ordinary people. That is the strangest part."
"Furthermore, even if their brains were dug out, with their immortal bodies, they should have recovered very quickly. But now? There is no movement at all," Saint Marcus Mars added immediately.
A brief silence fell in the darkness.
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter hesitated before speaking.
"Then… are we still continuing the capture of Red-Hair's daughter?"
"CAPTURE?"
Warcury instantly shouted in a stern voice.
"DO YOU THINK THE CASUALTIES AMONG THE GOD'S KNIGHTS ARE NOT HIGH ENOUGH YET? THIS MATTER WAS SOMETHING WE CONDUCTED IN SECRET BEHIND GARLING'S BACK IN THE FIRST PLACE!"
"This absolutely cannot be allowed to reach him, and even more so, it cannot be allowed to reach Lord Imu!"
Nusjuro's voice suddenly lowered, carrying an almost imperceptible trace of panic.
"After all, this was entirely our mistake. If Lord Imu discovers it and lays blame, none of us can bear the consequences."
Warcury remained silent for a moment before making a decision in a low voice.
"Settle the two of them down first and secretly maintain their condition. As long as they are still alive, there will be a way to handle this. If Garling asks, simply say they are carrying out a secret mission."
"Delay for as long as possible, until they can communicate normally again. Saturn, you must also think of every possible way to wake them up. Remember to deal with the personnel who know—"
"I naturally understand such matters. Before I came here, I had already handled them," Saturn replied in a deep voice.
And so, the capture operation concerning Red-Hair's daughter temporarily came to an end.
However, the Five Elders still could not understand what kind of method the enemy had used to turn Somers and Killingham into this state.
Their brains were clearly gone, and outwardly they looked no different from ordinary people, yet they could not even walk steadily, much less communicate normally.
At the same time, they still retained instinctive bodily actions such as breathing and shaking hands.