He stared out the window into the darkness, and at the look of uncertainty in his own eyes reflected in the glass.

The light from the bow of the ship had faded, however at a deeper seabed...... Somewhere in this temple, a faint glimmer of light came flooding in, like some ancient calling.

That must be the target of the Dragonbone.

For a moment he felt a little dazzled—he saw a dark figure float out of the bow of the ship, as if it were a ghost detached from the bow of the ship. The shadow was very tall and human...... Or unusually bloated, almost like a swollen corpse, holding a long, thin, stick-like thing in his hand, and holding a rope behind him......

He clung to the glass, trying to see more clearly, a vague uneasiness in his heart. That's kind of like ......

"Let's talk about your father. ”

Behind him, Nine Toes, who appeared again at some point, said indifferently, "Do you know why he often goes to Hongwan Island?"

Ed didn't look back, silent. He instinctively guessed something, and in his anxiety, a rude villain in his heart made an indecent gesture and roared, "It's your business!" ...... His face remained calm.

Nine Toes apparently didn't need a response from him.

"You haven't seen her yet, have you?" he said, "your sister." ”

There was a soft thud, and Ed's forehead hit the glass.

The pretentious demeanor and calmness shattered instantly. Ed looked back in exasperation, turning all the shock, anger, embarrassment, and worry into one sentence: "That's your business again...... What's the matter!"

Nine Toes laughed softly and said to himself, "She's seven years younger than you, just the same age as a flower." She's in love with a Brie, but for your father, his little princess can't marry a fisherman...... Oh, by the way, maybe he forgot to tell you that he intends to set himself up as king. ”

Ed's face turned white.

"What...... "Wang?" he almost bit his tongue, "Isn't he going to build a ship and go to sea?!"

"Don't be nervous. "He didn't intend to snatch the throne from the little king of Lockburg, who never sat under his ass...... On that voyage five years ago, his fleet found an uninhabited island, not very large, but the land was fertile and completely self-sufficient with a little management. He intended to occupy the island and establish his own state...... and no longer be a merchant rich enough for a king to covet or even frame, but forever despised by the ancient aristocracy. He's been secretly planning this for years—guess he told your mother?"

Ed glared at him, not saying a word. He really didn't understand what he was trying to say.

Nine-toed's smile froze.

Throughout, even when he appeared in Ed's form of Is, all of the pirate leader's expressions were hollow and detached, like some kind of monster in human skin, pretending to be a human without much care. But at this moment, the cold and sharp anger in his eyes was real.

"He doesn't deserve your mother at all. He said.

Ed's chest was tight, and he just felt inexplicable—why did it happen to his mother again?!

“...... My mother has passed away. He barely suppressed his anger, "What the hell are you trying to say?!"

"yes...... She has passed away. Nine Toes repeated in a low voice, "She died because of you...... What have you done for her?"

Ed froze. As if stabbed by a sharp blade, the color of blood suddenly spreads in front of your eyes - it never disappears, no matter how time passes, it will never fade.

He threw his fist out without thinking, and at that moment there was no soul that River had been drained from in his mind, no "sister" he had never heard of, and perhaps also in danger, nothing that he should be worried about...... Only the roaring anger burned a blank space.

He knew how much guilt was in that rage. He owes Vala so much—but not enough for an unrelated person to blame him for the most unbearable fault and pain of his life.

"What do you know?!" he growled.

Nine Toes easily dodged that punch, and there was undisguised contempt in his eyes.

"You can't do anything. He said, "You are equally unworthy...... There is such a mother. ”

Ed's movements paused, and another kind of doubt rose in anger - Ninetoe knew Valla?

Kovara spends most of his time in the north, in Visa and Chrysersburg. She had never been to Neo and had only been to Tonbutch for a handful of hours. There's no way she's going to have anything to do with a young pirate who roams the Summer Sea—and even if she did, Ed didn't even want to think about it at the moment.

He gritted his teeth and threw another punch without a sound, even though he knew that even if it hit, it would only fall on him.

Nine Toes stretched out his hand and sneered: "...... There is a weak young master. ”

His voice suddenly changed tone, more high-pitched but muffled, with a certain accent that could not be misunderstood...... It's like a rough-skinned sailor on the docks of Visa City, who always laughs and curses loudly, with a straight tone and fast words, and small talk that looks like an argument.

Ed stopped in a daze.

He'd heard it...... It's not just that familiar accent. He had heard exactly the same words, in the memories of his childhood, which seemed to be forever sunny, that he had almost forgotten.

"A weak young master. ”

With contempt, but with a little subtle, clumsy friendliness.

“...... No...... It's not ......"

His voice trembled, his words incoherent, and his vision was filled with a misty black shadow. He thought of the tall and stout boy, whose not-so-ugly features were slightly deformed by the swollen muscles of his face, and always looked a little fierce and disdainful...... He couldn't match the immature face with the nine toes in front of him, and they weren't even the same hair color......

But they did have the same iron-gray blue eyes.

It's fake.

He told himself in despair. The boy was dead...... Died a long time ago. Nine Toes can pretend to be Is, of course, he can also pretend to be another person, this is fake......

- But who would remember such an unpleasant, rude, insignificant boy?

He panicked, even his fingertips were cold, his mind was in a mess, and he couldn't make any thoughts. His constant vigilance was no match for the barrage of onslaught, and all his armor shattered easily. He could almost hear Oylan whispering the incantation, but he just stood there, unable to resist.

He fell into darkness. The moment all the images in his mind suddenly sank, he realized that all this might have been a premeditated calculation.

But that...... Maybe it's really Lafferty.

.