One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 23 Yu's Concern

"Sister Yu... Sister?" Pudding followed Brulee to Yu's place with great enthusiasm, but who knew that as soon as she entered, she saw the terrible state of the kitchen, and... a pale-faced person in front of her who she couldn't tell if it was Yu.

"Cough...cough cough," the pale-faced man waved his hand to pat the powder off his face and barely opened his eyes. "Little Pudding? You're here! I've missed you so much."

"Idiot, don't come near me!" The sudden look of disgust made Yu stop in her tracks, while Pudding belatedly realized what was happening, "Ahhh~ Yu-neechan, I...I..."

Brulee was used to Brulee's personality switching, but since it was in front of Yu, she didn't know what to do for a moment.

"Little Pudding...you actually yelled at me..." Yu felt so wronged. "I thought of you the moment I arrived in Tavern World, and you still complained about me. I'm so sad~"

"Sister Yu, I...I didn't mean to." Pudding looked at Yu, who seemed even younger than herself, and panicked, completely at a loss. In her desperation, she could only...

"Are you an idiot? Stop crying!"

"Just kidding, little Pudding~" Yu burst into laughter through her tears; she had only meant to tease Pudding.

"You bastard, how dare you lie to me! Unforgivable!" Hearing Yu's words, Pudding's second personality took over, but she quickly felt ashamed of her actions. "Um... Yu-neechan, I'm glad you're not angry..."

"You're so cute, how could I bear to get angry? But you still need to control your temper." Yu brushed the flour off her hands and patted Pudding's head.

"I didn't realize you were so good to Brin." Relieved that no major conflict had occurred, Brin breathed a sigh of relief.

"There are many things you can't tell," Yu said with a smug look, glancing at Brulee.

The afternoon sun streamed into the kitchen, warm and inviting. Under Yu's guidance, the three of them worked together seamlessly to make desserts. Yu had to admit that although Pudding was young, her chocolate-making skills were simply amazing; this time, the chocolate dessert far surpassed anything Yu usually made.

On the other hand, let's look at Brulee... Brulee and Pudding definitely don't have the same mother. But Brulee and Katakuri definitely do share the same mother. Why? Because they both love donuts.

Kakashi likes donuts, but he's quite restrained when he sees them. However, his craving for crème brûlée is very obvious; he's drooling non-stop.

Ugh...

"Sister You, will you stay here forever?"

The three sat in the living room, chatting and laughing, with various chocolate desserts and donuts drizzled with chocolate sauce in front of them.

Pudding's words left You silent. How should she respond? Joining BIGMOM was only temporary; she would definitely leave, it was just a matter of time.

But... it seems there's already something to hold onto here.

"Little Pudding, I..."

"Puren likes her very much?"

Just as You was thinking of giving a vague answer to Brin, someone spoke up first.

"Katakuri-nii, Pudding likes Yu-neechan!" Pudding was still as innocent as ever, a little girl who saw her brother find someone to rely on, and ran towards Katakuri who had just entered the room. "Katakuri-nii, can Yu-neechan stay here forever? That way, Pudding can come and see Yu-neechan every day."

"Ah."

"Great!" Pudding, having heard the answer she wanted, excitedly ran to Yu. "Sister Yu, I'll come to see you every day from now on, okay?"

“No, I definitely have to go to sea with your brother on missions.” Yu poked Pudding’s little face. “But you can come find me when we’re in Tales of Universe.”

"Can I go out to sea with you?"

"No, Pudding! You're too young, it's dangerous outside!" Pudding interrupted.

"Then Pudding must grow up quickly so she can go to sea with you!" Pudding longed to be with Yu.

Hurry up and grow up... I probably won't live to see Pudding grow up.

Ugh, so annoying. I don't want to think about it anymore. I'll just take it one step at a time.

Meanwhile, Law went to the neighboring town of Swallow Island in tears. However, due to his own lead poisoning and the horrific memory of his parents being murdered, Law was afraid to contact strangers. So he went to a nearby cave to rest. In order to solve the lead poisoning that was causing him pain, Law showed his Op-Op Fruit ability for the first time and successfully removed the lead attached to his liver without anesthesia. However, he fainted due to the pain of the operation.

Wolf, who had left Joytown, arrived here and saw Luo unconscious in the cave.

"I hope you can treat everyone in the world with kindness in the future."

As the words of Yu came to mind, Wolf rescued Luo and took him in on the condition that he would work for him in exchange for food and lodging. Every morning, Luo would clean, farm, and make machinery for him. The days were simple but he felt happy.

One day, Law found two naughty kids, Peggy and Shaki, bullying a talking polar bear named Pepo in the woods. Law rescued the bear. To repay Law's kindness, Pepo volunteered to become his underling.

Shortly afterward, an explosion was heard from the nearby woods. Luo and Peibo rushed to the scene and found Pekin and Shaki seriously injured. It turned out that they had been attacked by a wild boar in the woods. In order to save Shaki, who had been pierced by the boar's tusks, Pekin took out a stolen bomb to attack the boar, but the bomb detonated in his hand.

Law took them back to Wolf's house to perform surgery, successfully saving them from the brink of death after a whole night. Afterwards, when asked about their background, they revealed that their parents had died in a previous tsunami, leaving them orphans who had been living with Shaki's uncle. Unable to endure their uncle's family using them as tools for crime, they decided to run away. Law, moved by their plight, took them and Bepo into his crew, and the Heart Pirates were formed that day.

Yu saves Wolf, and Wolf saves Law. In some mysterious way, the connection between Yu and Law continues, and perhaps one day in the future, they will finally meet again.

Law's decision to become a pirate was something Yuu had never imagined, but she didn't object. Since it was Law's choice, she supported him. Whether it was revenge or sailing the seas in search of the One Piece, as long as Law lived the life he wanted, Yuu chose to accompany and support him.