.: I have a confession to make. I was a little sleep deprived when finishing the last chapter because I wanted to get it done, and I somehow forgot that I split up the minks during the battle and therefore left one half unaccounted for. So when I read back a little, I confused myself and then realized. Oops. Although I do have to admit, it didn't ruin anything. It just made things more interesting. I guess you could call it a happy accident. If you are someone who doesn't read these things, I bet you'll think it was my plan all along! It fits in quite smoothly actually. :.

The Girl with A Half-Soul

Chapter 49:

The Wolf Woman: Together

They could not afford to relax just yet. The Lun'aecho people were still on high alert as the day winded down. Scouts watched the remnants of the battle be left behind or dragged away. Once the giants were gone, the rest just looked like a graveyard. Many bodies clad in white uniforms littered the prairie. They expected the outsiders to collect their dead, so they waited for signs of people returning. If there was another threat of invasion, Kiyaya was to be fetched so she could drive them away.

A guard was set up outside of a teepee. Cherokee was out cold and would probably stay that way for a full day. The tribe could function normally without her direct authority. Still, some were worried about her. A healer checked on her periodically just in case.

Lakota saw a mound inside when the entrance was opened and closed. She was peacefully sleeping, and she earned the right to wake up in her own time. The only thing he was unsure about was what he was going to do until then.

Luckily, there was somebody else who could help him figure it out. His view was suddenly bombarded by white fur as Kiyaya rested her chin on the ground. She was back to her normal size and did not waste time reuniting with him. He was just as glad to see her as she was to see him. So, he leaned against her and buried the side of his face into the fluff. Nobody around them batted an eye. Kiyaya was welcome to be in the middle of everything.

She opened her eyes at the feeling. He was against physical touch a few hours ago. What was this development? Regardless, she relaxed and stroked fingers down his back. He did not pull away or ask her to stop. They dozed off together.

Later, not as any people were around when they stirred from their nap. It was quieter. The sunlight had changed into a more orange hue. "You awake?" he asked.

"Mmhm," she murmured groggily, reaching all of her limbs as far as they would go to stretch them. Then she pulled her arms close to cross them under her head.

Lakota found himself squished closer against her in an affectionate way. He exaggerated a wheeze despite no air being forced from his lungs. "Don't go back to sleep. We gotta find something to eat," he prompted.

"Mm I forgot about dinner."

"There might be a feast."

"You-teia are making me hungry."

"Good. Because you get to join."

"Really?"

"Of course you do. You're basically one of us now."

She smiled. The Lun'aecho way of accepting an outsider like her was still a mystery to her. They did not share clothing like she was used to doing. But even if there was no formal way of converting her, she was still happy to know she had a place to stay. The battle today solidified the fact that she was no longer a part of the Mokomo Dukedom. She would never see Zou again. There was nothing she could do to change that. Instead of grieving the loss, she decided to focus on the new chapter of her life, and that was being a protector of this land.

"I like to bathe before such a meal," she shared. "What about you-teia?"

"Not all the time, but you said I smelled earlier."

"That's true! I forgot." She quickly shifted to her knees and lifted him to bring him with her. "Looks like we're sharing."

He immediately blushed as she began to jog toward the river. "W-What?!"

"What? You-teia bathe alone?"

"Most of the time!"

"Then who washes your back?"

"N-Nobody."

"Then let me. Please? You-teia already need some help. I don't mind."

Everything from the neck-up felt insanely heated, and the red tint of his flesh only made it more obvious. It was not that he was so much against help, but it was just the idea that she would be nude with him that made him embarrassed. It would have been bad enough if she was a human woman, but this was a wolf woman who had a far greater body mass than he did. It would be impossible for him to avert his gaze from anything.

"Can't we take turns?" he debated.

"I mean, we could–" She stopped herself. "Ohhh. You-teia don't want to see me naked. Is that what this is about?"

Kill me now, he internally blighted.

"You've never seen a naked woman before? That surprises me."

"W-Why?"

"Because you-teia and Cherokee are close. I assumed you were at least betrothed to her."

The moment she kissed him in the cave surfaced for him. A whisper of something tipped off her lips right before she collapsed into his lap. He was unsure what to think of it because she had never done something like that before. Her physical affection for him did not go beyond small kisses on his face or hugs.

Relaxing in her hand, he bunched his cheek against her finger. "I love her like a sister," he articulated.

"Oh?"

"I grew up with her."

"I see. Well, then I'll give you-teia some advice: A woman isn't that much different from a man. We just have different proportions."

His eyebrows cocked. Body proportions were only part of the differences. But before he could contest her "advice," they arrived at the water's edge.

Smooth, round stones in all kinds of sizes completely covered the bottom. The water was so clear that they could see the varying depths. Depending on the location, there was a deep pocket where fish liked to congregate. The best ones had a rocky bluff that acted like a platform for those who wanted to run and jump, particularly for children and teenagers.

But what was big for Lakota was small for Kiyaya. They found one that would be good for her to sit in. Her hand opened and he felt the tips of her claws grab the back of his shirt to slip it off. He tensed up at the feeling of being stripped against his will. "Ah! Wait!"

"Relax. I've already done this once before. Don't be embarrassed."

"Easier said than done!"

She giggled. "This is the first proper bath you-teia have had in a while. Being a prude should be the last thing on your mind." She tugged his arms and head out from it without hurting him and turned him over to unwrap his bandages. When she did this part before, she had to be careful since his skin was still healing. Now it did not feel like she was peeling it off. The deep red marks were made of a thin layer of epithelial tissue that could easily be pierced with the slightest knick, but it was looking better. And he could submerge now.

Her pleased smile quickly dropped when she saw how her claws could easily retrace the path they took across his body. His abdomen also appeared misshapen from how deeply his injuries impacted him. A weird feeling settled in her gut about it.

He glanced up at her as his blush faltered. She looked solemn as she pulled off the bandage on his arm to see the dent running perpendicular to his bones. When he tried to flex his fingers, it felt like nothing could latch on for the action to occur.

"Would you-teia like to try standing?"

She moved him over a grassy area and angled her hand in a way that would let him slip off if he wanted to. With his good hand keeping him steady, he nudged off to press his toes against the ground. Once his entire sole flattened, he could feel his atrophied muscles burn. Supporting all his weight was a hefty task he did not remember having.

Kiyaya stayed close in case he wobbled or lost his balance. Other than that, she was satisfied that he could stand at all. "How does it feel?"

"Painful," he answered with a breath. He tried to take a step but could only barely slide his foot an inch forward. His core felt completely ossified. Who knew that not having a core meant that mobility was nonexistent? Nevertheless, he still tried to take just a single step. The most he could manage was starting to lean off kilter and did not have the ability to catch himself.

She gently caught him and scooped him up. "That was good!" she cheerily encouraged.

"I don't think I'll be walking for a long time," he self-depreciated.

"That's okay. I'll keep being your legs for as long as it takes." She turned him around as he laid on his stomach in her palm. Then without warning, she tugged his pants off.

"AH!" he yelped in surprise from the sudden air hitting his nethers.

The event left him sitting in the river with steam emitting from his forehead. Everything below his nose was underwater as he sat with arms crossed. She saw everything about him. Now he was simmering in mortification.

Behind him on the bank, she was undressing and hanging her clothes on tree branches. Her hands grabbed opposite sides of her tank top to slip it off in one smooth motion. Then she stepped out of her shorts one leg at a time. She dipped a toe into the water to find it cold, but that did not stop her from jumping into the deep area for a big splash.

He turned his head away as a wave topped him and passed by. The shockwave pushed against him, making him anchor himself to stay steady. She quickly stood up straight and emerged with everything about her soaking wet. Hands brushed hair out of her face and behind her shoulders. The humidity fluffing her fur was gone in an instant. She sighed with relief at being cooled down for once. "Lakota~" she harmonized.

He refused to look at her out of fear that being unable to handle what he would see. The grace of a woman was something he heard stories of men being intoxicated by. Well, this Lun'aecho warrior was a naïve virgin. He had no clue about the opposite gender when it came to anatomy. Maybe if he was not an orphan for most of his conscious life, it would have been different. This was not the ideal way to learn. "What?" he replied, tilting his head back so that his mouth could be above the surface.

"Are you-teia mad at me?"

"No."

"You seem mad."

"I'm not mad."

She leaned against the edge of the pool and crossed her arms to be comfortable. "I'm sorry for stripping you for your bath."

He hesitated before replying again. Yes, he was unhappy about her doing it, but he was too lame to do it himself. The reliance he had for the wolf woman was too intertwined at this point. There was no excuse to be mad at her for helping him. If he was being honest with himself, he just did not enjoy being useless. But what choice did he have? Not enough time had passed for him to regain independence.

He finally rolled his neck to release tension. She meant well. He was just not as carefree about privacy as she was. "It's okay," he assured her, turning around to finally face her.

The sight of her made him pause for a second. Sunlight lightened the brown in his irises as he gawped. Her elbows pressed into the stones with her knuckles supporting the side of her triangular jaw. With her hair weighted down from dampness, her pointed ears appeared more prominent. The usual bounce in her voluminous white fur was now dangling. She kind of looked like she had a beard as a result, but it did not make her off-putting. Kiyaya's unique beauty was radiating for him for the first time. He had never seen anything like her before.

"Hm?" she hummed, noticing him staring.

He immediately cringed and blushed even harder when he realized what he was doing.

"You-teia will catch bugs with your mouth open like that."

"Sh-Shut up!" he demanded.

She giggled and pulled her hair over her shoulder to start combing through tangles. "You really haven't seen a naked woman before."

He whined as he continued to shield himself, but as long as he kept his gaze fixed above her shoulders, he was sure things would be relatively fine.

"Want a closer look?"

Suddenly, he darted his gaze and accidentally found part of her anatomy that he lacked. It was like the air punched him in the face in retaliation because a big spurt of blood flew from his nostrils as his head reared back.

She was unaware of what he just did. Her hands reached to scoop him back up. "Here. Have a front row seat."

"Wait, wait, wait!" he cried out with a strain in his tone.

She pulled him into her chest and wrapped her arms completely around him. With the addition of lowering her chin over him, he was hidden from the rest of the world. Now her snow-white fur was stained with his nosebleed. And he realized that trying to shield his manhood was a pointless endeavor. Everything about him felt burning hot as he realized she could feel it all instead…especially how extra blood flow changed his physical state.

His raging insecurities never crossed her mind. She was just quite happy to have this moment with him. Reflecting earlier during the battle when he did not answer her, that same anxiety blanketed her again. She thought that she had lost him. There was a chance she could be attending his burial instead of having these interactions with him. It offput her emotions.

Amid his stress, he felt her familiar snuggle that had her rubbing the side of her jaw and face against him. Usually, he requested her not to baby him like that. Something about the way she was doing it now made him refrain. The playfulness had sapped away. He heard her sniffle like she was getting upset.

"Kiyaya?"

She sniffled again. "Sorry."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

He stayed still to wait for her to calm down. Whatever it was, she was hanging on. Real tears dripped from her eyes. The revelation of him almost losing his life to the minks hurt her. She was here to keep that from happening, yet they managed to slip by. It was a miracle that nobody was hurt. She still did not understand how that came to be.

Listening to her suppressed sobs, Lakota started to feel worried. Everything went from innocent fun to gloomy so fast. He did not know how to properly respond. While transitioning away from his embarrassment, he knew he had to do or say something. All he could think to do if it was Cherokee who needed consolation was physical touch. The problem with doing that was she was so big that any attempt with physical touch would barely be acknowledged.

Well, it was better than nothing. He lifted his arms slightly to "hug" her even though it was just him expanding his field of touch. "It's okay," he said calmly.

She tried to inhale smoothly but it came in as a gasp for air. Her diaphragm convulsed with involuntary spasms. But she opened her eyes and blinked to clear away what excess pooled. She felt the way his hands grazed her damp fur. The water exacerbated the bacteria living in it, making it stink until she properly washed to clean it out. Yet Lakota was seemingly unbothered.

"Why go from happy-go-lucky to crying all of a sudden? That's not the Kiyaya I know."

She sniffled again as she felt herself start to relax. "I thought you died back there," she revealed. After a moment, she lifted her head and sunk deeper into the water.

"When?"

"When you-teia stopped answering me."

At first, he did not know what she meant, but then he remembered getting the message to her about getting advanced on by the minks. Her voice projected through the curse on his back. If she had continued to, then trying to hide would have been in vain.

"That was my fault. I'm sorry," he admitted. "We were going to hide and hearing you would have drawn too much attention to us. I had to cut communication and didn't think to warn you."

Considering he was unharmed, it made sense for the curse to be dispelled by his own hand rather than someone else's. Understanding now, she tenderly ran a fingertip over his head and leaned back against the submerged rock wall. "I wanna know what happened," she insisted as she got comfortable.

"Not much did," he disclosed.

The warriors assisting him arrived at the cave mouth and got him inside safely. Others such as young children, pregnant women, and the crippled joined as quickly as they could. Silence fell over them all as they heard the ambush commence.

The minks burst into the forest and were met with resistance. First, the arrows whizzed through the air. Their Observation Haki allowed them to dodge. Vencent and Fangle both leapt high enough to join warriors in the trees, plucking them out without difficulty. Next came the bison riders armed with spears. Rodencia grabbed the leading spearhead and stood with a firm enough foundation to switch the attack. Her feet broke into the soil. The warrior lifted from the bison's back and arched over her head to crash into the ground. The other warriors were electrocuted to be stopped. All other warriors who emerged from the brush were quickly disarmed and detained as the bison continued to run away without their riders.

"Do not kill any of them," Rodencia commanded. Then she looked at the defeated warriors as they angrily glared. "Consider yourselves lucky."

Suddenly, one of the nursing mothers sharing the cave tried comforting her baby when it started to cry out. Carlos' ears pricked. When he located the hidden entrance, he motioned the other minks over to it. Their night vision caught many pairs of eyes inside as their pupils reflected light. "They've cornered themselves!" Stew deduced.

"We have company," Fish announced. He was standing behind them all with his attention focused on the way they came.

"Put the rest inside," Rodencia told them as she slipped through to get an idea of what they were dealing with. Her electro sizzled in her palm as a warning for anyone who tried to attack her. The savages were crowded as far back as they could. She identified the crying infant and held her palm closer to the mother. "I'll be borrowing that."

"No!" she refused, turning her back to the rat mink.

She pressed a single finger to her back to send a shock through her muscles. When she locked up, Rodencia was able to nab the infant from her and push her away. "It wasn't a request."

The mother screamed and tried to catch her ankle despite the pain, but the others pulled her back.

Rodencia squeezed back out in between the minks putting the rest of the savages inside the cave. When the sunlight hit her, she looked down at the infant in her grasp. Its innocence made her pause in her stride. It was only a few days old and had accumulation of tears moistening the skin around its eyes. Despite the difference in race, that maternal tug was all too familiar. Not too long ago, she held her own son when he was this young. Remembering how sad he was when she left for this expedition brought forth sentimental feelings.

But then she turned around to see the woman with the devil fruit power had come alone.

Kiyaya had mixed feelings about the account. The minks fought back but did not hurt to kill anyone. When she fell on top of the forest with Cherokee's help, she did see Rodencia with a baby before being forcibly unhanded. That was when she grabbed them all to throw them out.

"I wish I hadn't done that in hindsight," Lakota gambled. "Our cover got blown anyway."

"Wait."

He paused and stayed still.

She lifted her hands and started counting, whispering names with them. "Rodencia, Carlos, Fish, Monika, Fangle, Stew…Vencent…"

He waited as he lifted to slightly turn and look.

"Did you see more than seven minks?" she asked him.

"N-No? Some came in the cave, but I could only tell the rat mink apart since she came so close."

"I didn't see five of them," she whispered. Not when she grabbed them or threw them. Just seven. They came as a group of thirteen. When she switched sides, there were twelve. Five were unaccounted for.

She suddenly stood up, sending waves in all directions. Five were unaccounted for! This was really bad! They should not be bathing or napping. They had to find the other five.

Lakota held on for dear life. Her hand supported his bottom half as she hurried out and shook her fur. "Forget the bath. We have to find them," she urged, picking up his clothes by the fingertips to start dressing him once more.

He complied with her and tried to make things go fast. Once he was together, she gave her whole body another proper shake like a wet animal would. Her fur suddenly puffed out. Clothes were thrown back on, and they were both running on the move. The Lun'aecho people who almost finished off once today. Kiyaya would be damned if she let the minks have a second chance at it.

As the sun disappeared below the horizon, the ships anchored on the island coast swayed with the undulating current. Illuminating the foaming tide and gentle waves was the moon as it took up a lot of the night sky. More tents than usual were pitched on the shore with lanterns showing moving silhouettes inside. There were now more injured Marines than there were uninjured ones. Doctors and field medics had been on their toes since they started returning a couple of hours ago, and they were not going to get a break until late into the evening.

From the deck of a battleship, Rodencia leaned against the half wall with her gaze fixed on the growing line of wrapped bodies on the beach. Some had been wrapped on the battlefield and were brought back. Others were carried out of tents. Sometimes an agonized scream rang out from a soldier being operated on without the help of anesthesia. She wondered when it quieted abruptly if that meant a limb was being removed and they blacked out from the pain.

It made her queasy, but she could not go below deck with the others either. Her mind was moving too fast for her to catch up. Sleep was not coming to her easily tonight, if at all. What was most strange about it was that she did not see or experience something traumatic today. It was more of the outcome that was irritating her the most. The Commander's battleplan was concrete but picked apart within minutes.

All because of that damn woman.

The giants were meant to escort them straight into the mountains. The minks were meant to apprehend all savages. The Marines were meant to set up posts to fully take over the territory. Yes, Kiyaya was a challenge they had to overcome, but their options were severely limited after she was made to be a giant. Now it was clear that Kiyaya was the least of their worries. To move forward required for that woman to be taken down first and foremost. Rodencia had a feeling she was the only one capable of it since she knew how to neutralize devil fruit powers.

She was so immersed in her own thoughts that she did not realize Fish came to join her on the deck. His orange furry hand offered a cannister of water, which pressed against her arm. She took it and tipped her head back for a drink.

"Any sign of Mogul and Gomer?" he asked as a breeze made his ears twitch.

"No."

Marines already made a trip back for anyone left behind or MIA. No minks returned with them, dead or alive.

"You-gara don't think they're–"

"I highly doubt it," she interrupted. "And it doesn't make sense for them to be captured. No shackle could hold them."

"That's true. So, is there a chance they're taking matters into their own hands?"

"Yes, there is."

"Then we should go confirm it."

She did not reply right away. Instead, she set the cannister on the half wall and continued to relax. Fish glanced at her to see some kind of somberness in her posture and attitude. Considering she was usually motivated and focused on the task at hand, he knew something was up. Rodencia was a superb leader. She was very good at putting her personal feelings for the sake of others depending on her. When the duke appointed her to the mercenary group, nobody was surprised. The only thing that had the possibility of keeping her from leaving Zou was her family.

One of the Three Musketeers, a squirrel mink named Thalor, married Rodencia a few years back. They welcomed a son not too long ago. For the first time, the Mink Tribe wondered if Rodencia would give up warrior duties to devote herself fully to motherhood. It was like she found a new part of herself that she enjoyed plenty. But she managed to balance both parts of her life enough to make it work. With that being said, when this mercenary expedition came up, and she was appointed, she had to take time to think about it. Thalor was not one to keep her from doing things, thus she decided to take up the offer.

It had been three months since she last saw them. Fish wondered if this was the homesickness he was seeing. Maybe it was also her mask slipping. One could only suppress their sorrow for so long. Maybe she hoped they could swoop in, get the job done in under a week, and be headed back to Zou in no time. It took so long to get here. By the time they returned, it would be half a year they were gone. Rodencia's son was young enough that half a year of absence from his life was a jump in his milestones and development. Who knew how much he had grown by now. If Fish was a parent, too, he would share her troubles.

"I don't know how you-gara do it," Fish complimented.

"Do what?"

"Sacrifice time with your family to be here instead. What convinced you-gara?"

She smiled a little and tipped her head forward a little bit with amusement. "Thalor did."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He said this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to see the world and make a name for myself. He has to guard the Whale Forest, so he couldn't leave for anything like this. Maybe it could even teach me things."

"If there's one thing I've learned from this expedition, it's that the world is more complicated than I expected it to be."

"You-teia can say that again."

"Even I have to admit that the Marines sugarcoated the situation going on here. They made it sound like we were helping them against a rival group who wanted the land as much as they did."

Rodencia had to agree. They did not specify that the rival group had already claimed this island who knew how long ago. Kiyaya was still a young, impressionable girl by heart. It made sense that their story pulled at her heartstrings. It was just so crazy that she did not take more time to consider her actions before jumping ship. She abandoned everything she knew and came from for their cause. Even if they forced her back to Zou, she was unsure if she would fit back in. Perhaps she would struggle to look at the Mink Tribe the same way.

"Do you-teia want to know what Kiyaya said to me back there?" Rodencia asked him.

"I've been wondering."

"She said, 'Have you-teia not stopped to think about why the Marines are doing this? The Lun'aecho only want to be left alone, but they're pushed to fight for that peace. That's all the Marines want to do: Take anything and everything in the name of justice. You know just as well as I do that if the Marines marched into Zou, we would be defending ourselves just like these lesser minks are."

Fish stayed silent. Kiyaya's betrayal was starting to push three weeks now. She must have been told so many things by the savages about the war. One thing he could not fault her for was her sympathy for their cause. But if it was one advantage she had over the rest of them, it was she had experienced both sides of the conflict. They traveled across the Grand Line with the Navy. Then she witnessed how coldhearted they could be to those on the opposing side. He was unsure how the savages treated her. Maybe they welcomed her with open arms. Maybe they gave her the cold shoulder. Either way, she fought without qualms about her position in the matter.

"What if she's right?" Rodencia finally verbalized. "I don't know. Something about holding that baby at knifepoint just to get a surrender didn't feel right."

He recognized how weird it was to say the next sentence to her. "You-gara were doing what you had to."

"I had to threaten the life of a child?" She stifled disgust in exchange for a curling bottom lip. "What if that was Roderic instead?"

The thought of a lesser-mink infant being traded for her own son when he was that same age had her go through an array of emotions. Fish watched her fingers clench the edge tight enough to creak the wood. All she could think about was Thalor's face when he entered the room. His black eyes locked on her as she lay in a bed on her side with their newborn rat mink bundled next to her. She went from admiring the life she brought into the world to spotting her partner who helped create that life. His joy was expressed by kneeling next to them and greeting them both with a garchu and head rub.

She could not imagine his reaction to finding out she threatened a similar life. Being a warrior of the Mink Tribe did not mean she had to push her morals aside in a situation like that. It was out of character for her. She felt like she was becoming someone else from this conflict. It was teaching her a lesson that she could not comprehend yet.

Fish placed a hand on her shoulder as she started to lose control. "It wasn't Roderic. And you-gara weren't going to hurt the child anyway."

"I still took it from its mother," she whimpered as a tear dripped off her face. "And scared it." She slammed a fist down, making it sound like a mallet pounding against a nail. "We really are fighting on the wrong side, aren't we?"

He stood frozen, getting a familiar feeling of nostalgia. Rodencia was having a breakthrough just like Kiyaya was. Scared to answer, he pulled his hand away. "We can get this mission done and head back home quickly. You'll see Thalor and Roderic again quicker if we abide by the contract."

She suddenly faced him, making him step back apprehensively. "How can I ever face them again with this kind of blood on my hands?"

He once again said nothing as his lips parted. His leader had hit the point of no return. She hopped over the side of the ship to land on the dock below. Marines jerked their attention to her due to the loud crash she made. But all they saw next was her guileful gaze peek out from under the brim of her hat. A great shockwave radiated from her psyche. Every single person on the beach felt it and stopped. A breeze was pushed and then suddenly, there was nothing. Some kind of invisible cloak covered them all. It emptied their minds enough for them to lose consciousness.

When Fish saw every Marine hit the ground one after the other, he instantly knew what she did. In a panic he hurried below deck to get the others. Meanwhile, Rodencia did not hesitate to fly through the dock and pick up a lantern along the way. She smashed it at the entrance of a tent to catch the fabric on fire, then picked up a wooden stake to also light it. She proceeded to spread the flames to every tent, wagon, and ship. Anything that was flammable. By the time the rest of the minks ran onto the deck, they saw she had cleaned house. It suddenly did not seem like it was past dusk anymore from the amount of light she brewed.

"You-teia are either with me or against me!" she called out.

They all looked above them at the tallest mast. The sails were quickly catching fire from the tip of the stake pressing into them as they stayed rolled up. She dropped down to the deck and walked past them to leave.

"You-teia did all this?!" Monika questioned with alarm.

Rodencia walked back down, not waiting for them. That mast would fall and cover the rest of the battleship with fire She found a Marine that was starting to regain consciousness and stopped. Her hand lifted his chin toward her. "Call your headquarters and tell them there is no longer a contract," she told him.

He barely registered the order and went limp when she let him go. After that, she started the long walk back to the mountains.

Except her Observation Haki alerted her that she was not alone. She stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"What's the plan now?" Stew asked.

"I don't care what you-teia do," she told him plainly.

"Well, we can't just leave you-gara," Carlos argued. "Besides. We can't sail back to Zou without a ship."

"I'm going to the mountains," Rodencia shared. "This is me defecting to the other side. And I'm going to find Gomer and Mogul's group. They're probably infiltrating as I speak, but I won't let them."

Fangle glanced at Vencent, sighing in defeat. "So much for going home."

"Might as well get comfortable," he replied. "We're going to be here for a while."

"Does that mean you-teia are with me?" Rodencia interrogated.

"Yes," they all responded.

She turned her attention back to the road ahead. "Then consider yourselves enemies of the World Government."