In the kitchen, Sakazuki drew a deep, steadying breath before turning to gaze at the frail figure seated in the living room. Beneath the shadow of his Marine cap, those eyes—renowned throughout the seas for their merciless intensity—softened with an emotion they hadn't displayed in decades.
Though he couldn't yet be absolutely certain this elderly woman was the mother he had once held as she "died" in his arms, the unmistakable pull of blood between them grew stronger with each passing moment.
Still, he approached the situation with caution.
Drawing on memories that had grown hazy with time, Sakazuki decided to prepare a dish from his childhood—one his mother had made for him, one that had become his own signature preference.
Born in the harsh climate of North Blue, Sakazuki had grown up eating plain white rice with chili peppers. Not from choice, but from necessity—it was all they could afford. This simple meal had remained his comfort food into adulthood, becoming so well-known that even colleagues who rarely interacted with him recognized it as Sakazuki's preference.
Yet seeing the elderly woman's hunger, he set aside his test and skillfully prepared a bowl of steaming ramen instead.
After placing the noodles before her, he returned to the kitchen without a word. He emerged moments later with a bowl of white rice and several fresh chili peppers, then sat across from her. With uncharacteristic abandon, he began eating ravenously—as though he hadn't seen food in days. His behavior drew puzzled glances from Momonga, who stood watchfully by the elderly woman's side.
Sakazuki's peculiar actions quickly caught the elderly woman's attention.
After observing him intently, she seemed to forget her own hunger. With careful hesitation, she asked, "Are you also a colleague of my grandson?"
Sakazuki responded with a silent nod.
The woman's eyes brightened immediately. She leaned forward, asking with childlike timidity, "Could you... perhaps share some of your rice and peppers with me?"
Sakazuki paused mid-bite, then wordlessly slid his bowl toward her.
Seeing this, the elderly woman quickly snatched both the bowl and peppers from the table, as though fearing he might reconsider his generosity. She tucked them partially under the table and whispered conspiratorially, "My son loved white rice with chili peppers so much..."
Her voice suddenly faltered. Her expression crumpled as her shoulders sagged with the weight of forgotten memories. "But I can't find my son anymore," she continued, her voice breaking.
Before anyone could respond, she turned to Momonga, eyes pleading. "You... can you help me find my son?"
"Of course, of course," Momonga replied gently, nodding with reassurance. "We've been searching for him all these years."
"But what was my son's name?" The woman's brow furrowed in concentration before panic overtook her features. She stood abruptly, agitation evident in every movement. "I—I've forgotten who my son is! Who is my son?"
She began pacing in distressed circles, muttering to herself. After a moment, she retrieved the rice and peppers from their hiding place and thrust them toward Momonga. "My son loves white rice and chili peppers. Please, help me find him!"
Momonga accepted the offering, then carefully placed the bowl back before Sakazuki. With gentle caution, he suggested, "Ma'am, look at him. Could this be your son? His name is Sakazuki—he's an Admiral of the Marines."
"Sakazuki?" The woman studied him briefly before shaking her head. "He can't possibly be my son. My son isn't this old... he's only eight."
Momonga sighed, offering Sakazuki an apologetic shrug. "I'm sorry, Admiral. Her condition has been deteriorating steadily. Most days she doesn't even recognize Lord Xayuki. She knows he's her grandson, but his identity beyond that..."
Momonga's explanation trailed off as he noticed something extraordinary. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Sakazuki.
The Admiral had lowered his cap's brim to shadow his face, but there was no mistaking the silent tears tracking down his cheeks.
In that moment, Sakazuki's emotions were a tempest of joy and anguish.
He was certain now—this fragile woman was indeed the mother he had believed dead for decades. Yet acknowledging this truth brought with it a devastating realization.
It was he who had buried her while she still lived.
Had he dug her grave just slightly deeper, he would have become the true instrument of her death.
The thought of her waking beneath the suffocating earth sent a pain so acute through his chest that he nearly couldn't breathe.
Yet despite her fractured mind, despite the decades between them, she had never forgotten his childhood preference for white rice with chili peppers.
After a weighted silence, Sakazuki rose suddenly to his feet. Without regard for his carefully maintained image of stoic authority, he moved behind the elderly woman and lifted the back of her garment.
What he saw stopped his heart.
A deep scar traversed her back—the unmistakable mark of a blade that had pierced completely through her body. Even after decades, the wound remained clearly visible. With his extensive experience of combat injuries, Sakazuki immediately recognized it as the result of a blade that had entered through her chest and exited through her back.
The sight triggered a vivid flashback: his mother, impaled by a pirate's sword, collapsing before his young eyes.
"You—let go of me!"
Startled and frightened by his sudden action, the elderly woman spun around and struck Sakazuki across the face. Trembling violently, she retreated behind Momonga, clutching his arm for protection.
Sakazuki remained motionless, his head tilted slightly from the impact of her slap. After a deep, shuddering breath, he slowly lowered himself to his knees before her. His voice, normally a terrifying instrument of absolute justice, emerged broken and raw:
"Mother... your unworthy son has caused you such suffering."
With those words, he pressed his forehead to the floor in a deep bow of contrition. His broad shoulders shook with the effort of containing his grief.
Throughout Marineford, the sounds of sporadic gunfire and explosions continued to echo. Though the rebellion had largely secured control, pockets of resistance persisted among loyal officers unwilling to surrender.
Unlike the chaos engulfing the fortress, Xayuki's residence remained an island of eerie tranquility.
Sakazuki had composed himself. The combination of childhood memories and the undeniable connection he felt left no doubt about the elderly woman's identity. He sat beside her in reverent silence.
Her memory remained severely fragmented. Moments earlier, she had jealously guarded the rice and peppers; now, moved by Sakazuki's tears, she had returned them to him.
Sakazuki ate without speaking, savoring each mouthful of the simple meal as though it were a feast prepared by the finest chefs in the world.
"You enjoy rice with chili peppers too," she observed, her eyes warm with maternal tenderness. "Just like my son. If you ever find him, please be kind to him. He always dreamed of joining the Marines..." She paused, then added with childlike curiosity, "What did you say your name was?"
Hearing her gentle rambling, Sakazuki was overcome anew by the memory of burying her. Fresh tears spilled silently down his face.
Through the emotion constricting his throat, he managed to answer: "Sakazuki."
"Sakazuki?" She blinked thoughtfully, her mind struggling to grasp something just beyond reach. "My son... wait, do you know my son's name?"
Sakazuki replied once more, his voice steady despite his tears: "Sakazuki."
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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