One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 30 You is unhappy and wants to memorize.

gone!

gone!

Yu has disappeared!

Cracker never expected that he would leave for a short while and then return to find Yu gone.

How could someone with no sense of direction dare to run off alone? Cracker carried his longsword and circled the coast of Whole Cake Island, then circled Whole Cake Town, but there was no sign of Yu.

Everyone in the world knows Yu, and they know she's someone close to a family executive, so she's safe. But where could she possibly run to?

It can't possibly be in... the Enchanted Forest?!

Cracker just felt a headache coming on. The Homies of the Enchanted Forest didn't know that Yu was bound to suffer a bit as an outsider. If his brother knew that Yu was suffering and being wronged, he'd skin him alive.

But if Yu isn't in the forest, then if his brother finds out he's lost Yu, he'll skin him alive, or maybe even worse.

The thought alone was terrifying, so Cracker dared not delay any longer. He used his ability to create biscuit warriors to search the forest together.

No fruit.

"Brubrub... Brubrub..."

The Den Den Mushi kept ringing, and Cracker's heart was pounding. He couldn't hide it anymore; what was he going to say? Waaaaah, being Katakuri's brother's younger brother is so hard, and being Yu's friend, who has no sense of direction, is even harder!

"Click," the Den Den Mushi answered.

"what's up."

"...Katakuri, Yu is on Whole Cake Island..." Cracker intended to tell the truth and then face Katakuri's wrath, but he only got halfway through his sentence.

"What did you say? You took Yu to Whole Cake Island?" Katakuri never imagined they had gone to Whole Cake Island. "Where is she now?!"

Katakuri forced himself to calm down, realizing he was overthinking things and that it wouldn't happen.

"Yu...she's gone. I left for a while, and when I came back, she was gone. I searched the whole island, except for the cake castle, but...I couldn't find her..."

Say it again.

Katakuri's voice was the same as always, but then came the sound of chess pieces falling to the ground from the Den Den Mushi. Cracker knew he was doomed. His brother had unconsciously activated his Conqueror's Haki.

Cracker: "I'll keep looking now!"

Katakuri remained silent for a moment.

Katakuri: "Go back, don't bother looking anymore."

"Huh? Katakuri-san, do you know where Yu is?"

"Mom took her away."

"!"

Katakuri's prompting made Cracker realize something. No wonder a chess piece had come to him, saying it needed Cracker-sama's help, albeit vaguely. It was a diversionary tactic to lure Yu away.

"Brother? Are you sure you're not angry? Then I'm leaving."

"Ah."

Since Mom took Yu away, nothing bad should happen. Cracker was relieved, and his brother wasn't angry either. Phew~ He survived.

Yu, though residing in Whole Cake Island, isn't considered a resident of the island, nor is he a member of the Big Mom Pirates. Big Mom initially had Yu follow Katakuri to fulfill her requirement of temporarily staying in Whole Cake Island. However, over time, Big Mom would become dissatisfied. Moreover, Yu's frequent appearances with clan executives have attracted attention, and Big Mom would inevitably start gossiping about him.

Katakuri couldn't be sure how his mother would treat Yu, but he had a feeling it wouldn't be good.

Katakuri didn't linger. He contacted Brûlée and asked her to go to the Mirror World to see if she could find her mother and Yu. He wasn't idle either; he took a boat to Whole Cake Island. He wouldn't, and couldn't, rashly enter the Whole Cake Castle, but he also couldn't stay on Wheat Island.

It was already evening when Yu left the Cake Castle. She had asked the residents for directions all the way, wandering around in circles, and by the time she reached the coast, it was already dark. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Was it a mistake to come to Whole Cake Island with Katakuri in the first place...?

Shouldn't I have gone back to find my grandfather from the Warring States period instead of facing something I wasn't even sure about alone...?

"Yu? Why are you sitting alone on the shore? Didn't Katakuri come with you?"

Praline saw a person sitting on the shore with their knees supporting them in the sea. When she poked her head out, she saw that it was Yu.

There was no answer; his head drooped, and he didn't even lift his eyelids.

"What's wrong? You didn't have a fight with Katakuri, and you ran away and got lost, and now you're angry because Katakuri didn't come looking for you?"

Hearing Praline's words, Yu's head clicked, and Praline thought she had guessed right. So the two of them actually argued! Yu could argue with someone as calm as Katakuri! Good heavens! What an astonishing thing!

Sure enough, this is something else. My destined second sister-in-law!

"Waaah—I can't find my way back, I can't go back, I can't go back..." I also can't find the way forward, the road leading to Katakuri.

"It's alright, it's alright. If you can't find your way back, I'll take you back."

You sobbed softly without speaking, her body trembling with each sob.

"Should I go find your brother to come and take you back?"

"I...I'm fine...You...go back now. Don't worry about me."

You wanted to be alone, to be quiet. Praline, helpless, had no choice but to leave You alone.

"Ding ding ding"

The sound of leather boots striking the ground came from afar, growing louder and louder as a person slowly approached. By the moonlight, it could be seen that the person was Katakuri.

"Yu."

A familiar voice. Yu instinctively turned around. It was that familiar person. He had found her; he had come to take her home. "I listened to you... I waited for you where you were... I didn't run off..."

Her voice was a little hoarse. She sniffed and stretched out her arms, gesturing for Katakuri to hug her.

In his red, swollen, and dry eyes, Katakuri's figure drew closer and closer, gradually growing larger. The old woman's words suddenly flooded his mind, and his arm, as if losing its support, fell to the ground.

She shouldn't have asked for that.

The arms that were falling from mid-air were caught by a pair of strong hands. "Hmm, I won't lose you."

Tears welled up in her eyes, which had long since dried, involuntarily overflowing again. Why, why did they have to do this to her? Their meeting was clearly an accident, a mutual exploitation.

This shouldn't be happening...

Yu didn't let Katakuri carry her back. Yu was carried on Katakuri's back, her arms tightly wrapped around his neck, her face buried in the soft scarf.

The two remained silent, their journey quiet. Yu leaned against the strong back, her anxious heart finding solace. Before, it was Rosinante who carried her; now it was Katakuri.

She was very attached to both her brother and Katakuri, and although she had different feelings for each of them, she didn't want to lose either of them.

Now, she has lost her brother Rosinante forever, and she doesn't want her and Katakuri's ending to be the same as her separation from her brother.

After a long while, a gentle sound came from the silent night.

"Kachin, I want to go to sea."

"it is good."