As Allen's words faded, the only response he received was Kid springing up in a furious rage, grabbing his dagger, and lunging at Allen!
"Are you kidding me?! Go to hell!!"
*Crash!*
Still seated, Allen raised a foot and viciously kicked him back. Kid's body smashed through the hospital bed, sending wood splinters flying, before the back of his head slammed heavily against the wall.
"Very wild. Unfortunately, you're still too weak."
Ignoring Kid's glare full of rage, Allen turned his head to Killer.
"You said earlier that you would pay with your life for his, right? In that case, you're coming with me."
"Me...?!"
Killer looked astonished. These words clearly shocked everyone present.
"That's right. Wasn't this the condition you proposed yourself? Now that I've agreed, don't tell me you're going to refuse," Allen said in a deep voice. Standing up from the sofa, he looked at Kid again.
"If you want him back, then keep challenging me. I'll only give you one chance. Win, and I'll return him to you. Lose, and your entire pirate crew is mine. Of course, whether you accept or not is up to you."
"If you think losing a single crewmate won't stop you from moving forward, then don't ever show your face in front of me again for the rest of your life."
His words cut into Kid's pride like a carving knife. After speaking, Allen turned and walked straight out, saying to Killer without looking back:
"Pack your things and meet me at the port. We're setting sail for Gourmet Town soon, so I don't have much time to let you say your goodbyes."
"Wait a minute, you bastard! I never agreed to let him go with you! Get back— *Cough! Cough!*"
Kid shouted furiously, trying to stand up and rush over to stop Allen. However, his heavily injured body completely refused to obey. Aggravating his wounds, he collapsed painfully on the floor, coughing up blood.
He looked up at Allen's back, his eyes full of hatred, but he could only clench his fists and watch in despair as the man walked away.
"Killer... who told you to make decisions on your own, you bastard... If you dare leave, I'll never forgive you!"
Kid gritted his teeth, glaring fiercely at Killer as he squeezed out angry words through his teeth.
"Even if I have to die here...! I will never let you leave!"
"I know, Kid. But I'm sorry, no matter what, I won't let you die here."
Killer's tone was unusually calm, even carrying a hint of relief as he chuckled softly.
"If you die, you can't become the Pirate King."
"Are you kidding me, you bastard?! What's the point of becoming the Pirate King at the cost of losing a crewmate?! I don't give a damn about something like that!!"
Kid practically roared, grabbing wood splinters from the floor and throwing them hard at Killer.
Seeing him like this, Killer couldn't help but clench his fists, yet his tone remained completely unwavering as he said deeply:
"Do you remember when we first set sail? You said the world was so vast, and you didn't want to be trapped on that tiny island. Because of those words, everyone followed you out to sea without hesitation."
"Our journey has been very smooth so far. I even had the illusion that as long as we kept sailing like this, you would eventually become the Pirate King. But reality has proven that we simply haven't seen enough of the world."
"Did you know, Kid? The Blackbeard Pirates who showed up while you were unconscious—their strength was also far greater than ours. And before today, I hadn't even heard their name."
Killer's voice echoed in the cramped room, low and tinged with a faint sense of loss.
Heat and the others lowered their heads with gloomy expressions, looking somewhat sorrowful in the glow of the setting sun.
Killer gazed at Kid and continued:
"You're different from us, Kid. Nothing can crush you. I'm certain that you are special."
"Even after experiencing such a defeat, my belief in that hasn't wavered. Now that we've witnessed the vastness of the world, the only one who can overcome this setback and lead everyone forward is you."
"Today's failure isn't a bad thing. It's also a form of growth. So, don't stop moving forward, Kid."
With that, Killer turned to leave. With his back to Kid, he said his final words:
"I believe in you. Whether it takes one year or two, I'll wait for you to come pick me up..."
"Killer!"
Wire hurriedly raised a hand and called out, but it didn't halt Killer's steps. They could only watch as his back disappeared down the corridor.
Then, the group turned back to look at Kid, who was slumped in the corner with his back against the wall.
To their surprise, this time, Kid didn't yell or throw a tantrum to vent his frustration. He just silently lowered his head, burying his face in the shadows cast by the evening light.
"What do we do, Kid? Killer is..."
"Should we attack them? As long as you give the order, we'll fight to the bitter end."
"Even if it costs us our lives, we have to bring him back!"
Heat and the others spoke up one after another, their gazes resolute, already prepared to die.
Faced with their determination, Kid kept his head down. He remained silent for a long time before finally speaking in a weak voice:
"Pack up and get ready to set sail. It doesn't matter if we don't have a Log Pose. Anywhere is fine, as long as we're moving forward."
"Kid..."
"Are we really just going to let Killer...!"
Heat, Wire, and the others all showed unwilling expressions. This time, however, it was Kid who calmed down. He raised his head and cursed at them in a low voice:
"What kind of stupid nonsense are you spouting, you idiots? Of course we're going to bring Killer back. But if we go over there now, can we win? We'd just be throwing our lives away. All of you, calm down."
"I..."
Heat couldn't help but choke on his words.
*'Calm down'*—hearing such words from Kid's mouth was simply unbelievable to them.
"Enough. That's the end of it. Get ready to set sail. I already understand what Killer meant."
With a single sentence, Kid put an end to his crew's thoughts of risking their lives.
In the past, he could make all sorts of decisions recklessly. Whenever he had a hot-headed idea, Killer would always step up to stop him in the end.
Now that Killer wasn't here, it was time for him, as the captain, to mature a little.
A look of absolute resolve appeared in Kid's eyes.
Get stronger, get even stronger, keep getting stronger!
Then defeat Allen and win Killer back. That was the only thing he needed to do right now!
...
Meanwhile, at the south port of the City of the Spring Queen.
The Freewill was quietly moored at the shore. Two ladders were set up below, leading to the ship's side storage, as the crew members continuously carried boxes of supplies aboard.
On the deck, Sanji was calculating the ingredients and daily necessities, while Gin took inventory of the replenished weapons and ammunition.
Inside the captain's cabin, Nami's eyes sparkled with golden light as she lay blissfully amidst stacks of Berries.
This was all cash exchanged at the island's gold exchange using the gold they had harvested from Sky Island.
Even after spending a massive sum plus a large chunk of gold in their transaction with Vegapunk, the cash here still amounted to a staggering 15 billion Berries. In addition to that, there was still a large piece of gold worth 5 billion Berries left on the ship.
Unfortunately, the island's gold exchange had been completely cleaned out, so they could only wait until they reached another place to exchange the rest.
"Money... so much money..."
Nami was so intoxicated by the allure of wealth that she couldn't extricate herself, her eyes gradually becoming glazed over.
Returning to the ship, Allen made his way to the captain's cabin. The moment he opened the door and walked in, he saw her lying in a mountain of Berries, looking incredibly high-spirited.
Allen stared blankly. "???"
"No, wait, what weird things are you doing with my money?"
"Eh? You're back. What weird things?"
Nami flipped over and sprang up into a sitting position, looking at Allen with a bewildered expression.
"Uh... never mind, it's nothing."
Allen waved his hand and walked over to sit on the sofa.
Nami got up and walked over, asking in confusion:
"You came back alone? Didn't you say you were going to recruit that red-haired spiky guy? Did it not work out?"
"No, that idiot is too stubborn. But I managed to get his right-hand man to come over. Next time we run into them, it should be about time," Allen said with a shrug.
He hadn't been very confident to begin with. After all, Kid was definitely the ultimate stubborn mule; making him submit was incredibly difficult.
But it wasn't completely hopeless.
Bringing Killer over first was a spur-of-the-moment decision. One extra mouth to feed wouldn't cost much, and Kid's potential made it worth a try.
When it came to being stubborn, Ace didn't lose to Kid in the slightest. He had also aimed to become the Pirate King, but look at him now.
Ace's goal was to make Whitebeard the Pirate King.
How should he put it? It was pretty damn ridiculous.