Late at night.
On the northern high slope of Asakura Island, in a graveyard by the sea.
Shano casually carried Ariba Itsuki's corpse over one shoulder as he stepped through the cemetery gate. Junichi bit his lip, saying nothing as he followed closely behind.
"Where is it?"
"This way, Boss." Junichi led Shano to an old grave.
The gravestone had Ariba Itsuki's name engraved on it.
They dug up the grave—and sure enough, it was completely empty inside.
A bleak and lonely wind blew through the cemetery. Sakura petals drifted down beside the grave, landing on the frail boy's shoulder.
Junichi squatted down—and suddenly burst into loud sobs.
He wished this was all just a nightmare. That monstrous, maddened thing wasn't really his father. That the real Ariba Itsuki had already closed his eyes peacefully and lay resting here in this grave.
Shano quietly watched from the side.
There was no need to say much at times like this. Just let the other person vent for a while.
He understood Junichi's feelings. The man he had always admired and respected most had turned into a crazed demon. That kind of shock wasn't something everyone could endure.
Glancing back toward the city, Shano seemed deep in thought.
Back at the dojo, after he defeated the true "Carpenter," the puppets that hadn't fully transformed slowly got up and regained consciousness.
Outside, a large group of Navy branch soldiers arrived, along with reporters rushing in to take pictures.
If he didn't leave soon, he'd end up at the center of a media storm. Shano hated that kind of hassle, so he took Ariba Itsuki's body and left with Junichi through the northern exit, arriving at this cemetery.
There were plenty of witnesses and evidence at the scene anyway, so the truth wouldn't be buried.
From now on, the legend of Ariba Itsuki on Asakura Island would probably shift—from the great swordsman who founded the kendo tournament, to a deranged murderer and demon.
Junichi's dream of restoring the Asakura Dojo… might also…
Who knows how much time passed.
Junichi's emotions finally settled.
With Shano's help, he placed the body into the grave, then silently scattered a few wrinkled sakura candies from his pocket over it before covering the soil again.
He kowtowed several times, looked long and hard at the tombstone, and finally followed Shano out the cemetery gate.
The Celestial Dragons. Navy Vice Admiral Stillace… The frail boy's fists quietly clenched tight.
…
After walking for a while—
"Did your family's dojo, or the house, have any kind of secret underground room or passage?" Shano asked suddenly.
Junichi blinked in surprise. "Boss, what brought this up all of a sudden?"
"Found something in your father's body."
Shano pulled out a dark yellow wooden box—shaped like a heart.
"This is his heart. I don't know if it was the Puppet Fruit that turned his heart into a block of wood with no warmth… or if it was that already-cold heart that slowly turned him into a real puppet."
Who could say for sure?
Junichi's expression grew complicated, not knowing how to respond. Then he saw Shano open the box.
Inside was a key with an old-fashioned design.
"A key hidden inside a heart—whatever it unlocks has to be something important." Shano patted him on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's go find it."
…
Half an hour later—
Following Junichi's childhood memories, the two of them found a very well-hidden underground passage beneath the old house of the Ariba Dojo.
At the end of the passage was a plain-looking wooden door.
Shano knocked with his fist and immediately sensed something. "There's a thick steel plate behind this. Without the key, I doubt anyone in the entire East Blue could break through."
No doubt about it—this was Ariba Itsuki's most important and most secret place.
He unlocked the door, and the two stepped inside. When they turned on the lights, they instinctively raised their hands to block their eyes.
Because in the small room, the shelves on all four walls were piled with shining gold, silver, and jewels—so bright it was almost blinding.
"This is… my father's vault?" Junichi stared blankly around. "So the ten-plus billion Beli he made was all hidden here?"
"Doesn't look like that much." Shano estimated briefly, then shook his head—his attention caught by something on the desk.
There were ledgers, letters, and all sorts of maps and documents stacked on it...
He pulled out a chair and sat down, patiently flipping through everything. After a quick overview, a clear and complete revenge plan began to take shape.
"Gotta say, your father's revenge plan… really might've had a shot at working." Shano looked a bit surprised.
The Puppet Fruit's control limit was much higher than Ariba Itsuki had claimed. The effective range was also much farther than Shano had expected—reaching all the way to the Rakyat Kingdom, several hundred sea miles away from Asakura Island.
About three years ago, using the popularity of the kendo tournament, Ariba Itsuki invited some local officials from the Rakyat Kingdom to visit Asakura Island.
Among them, he handpicked a dozen promising ones and implanted puppet threads into them.
Then, using a flood of money and wide networking, he cultivated them into trusted ministers of the Rakyat royal family.
Two of them had even been nominated by the royal family and, just a month ago, passed the World Government's selection process. They were soon to be promoted to work in Mary Geoise as World Government staff.
Given enough time, they would eventually cross paths with those two female Celestial Dragons.
That's why Ariba Itsuki believed the time had come—he was ready to give up his base on Asakura Island and head to Sabaody Archipelago.
That island was the closest one to the Holy Land in the Grand Line—close enough for him to control his puppets who had risen into the World Government.
"He poured six to seven hundred million Beli into this plan over the years, and now it was finally bearing fruit."
Shano tossed the letters back. "The remaining funds total about five hundred million. Around a hundred million is here. The rest, four hundred million Beli, is stored in a bank vault in Loguetown. The vault key and ID card are here too."
"You're a billionaire now, Junichi," Shano said with a smile.
"Stop joking, Boss."
Junichi shook his head firmly. "That money was earned through dirty means. I'm not inheriting it. That man has nothing to do with me anymore! If anything, this money should be yours!"
"Mine?"
Shano blinked.
"Isn't it obvious?"
Junichi said seriously, "That monster who took over my father's body—you're the one who defeated him. You found the key too. Doesn't that make all this your rightful spoils?"
…Well, when you put it that way…
Shano didn't have Junichi's kind of moral purity. But still… wait, seriously? All this money's mine now?
Originally, he just entered the kendo tournament aiming for that five million Beli prize. But all seven dojo masters ended up dead. He had no idea who to even claim the reward from.
Now look at this—the five million multiplied by more than a hundred, turning into six hundred million Beli?
He just became ultra-rich.
"Taking all six hundred million feels a bit wrong."
Shano eventually shook his head, remembering the corpses back in the dojo. "Also, the stuff in this room—cash is easy enough to carry, but the rest is too bulky. We can't haul it all."
"We can leave it here for now and come back later, right?" Junichi blinked. "No one else can get in anyway."
"No. I just want the four hundred million in the bank vault. There's about a million Beli in cash here—I'll take that too. But the rest of this treasure, over a hundred million Beli's worth, should go to the victims' families as compensation."
Shano picked up a pen and paper and started writing quickly.
"Let's clear out anything related to the revenge plan—especially anything involving the Celestial Dragons. As for the remaining treasure…"
He turned to Junichi. "Are there any trustworthy people among the upper ranks on the island?"
"There are." Junichi thought carefully. "There's the honorary president of the Kendo Association—Mr. Az. A lifetime of honesty, very stubborn, and super strong too. He used most of his wealth to help poor kids, so he's respected by everyone. Before my father changed, he looked up to him as a teacher for decades."
"There are a few others too, but none with as much influence…"
"Then let Mr. Az handle the distribution. Also, print more copies at the magazine office—spread word of the treasure vault only to those we can trust. If there's any doubt about someone's character, don't give them anything. Make sure the compensation goes to the families who need it most."
"Alright, that's done. Let's start clearing out the letters."
Shano tucked the letter into his coat and began working with Junichi to clean out the hidden room, ensuring nothing was left behind.
As they worked, Shano suddenly raised an eyebrow—his gaze falling on one of the shelves.
There was a single, ordinary-looking sword sheath sitting there. It looked out of place.
Next to it was a photo, clearly clipped from a newspaper. In the picture, a middle-aged man with a white justice cape smiled at the camera.
"Could this sheath be…"
Shano suddenly had a hunch. After confirming Junichi wasn't looking, he grabbed the sheath and activated Sacrifice.
Just as he expected.
The next moment, the sheath vanished without a trace—and the system panel appeared.
[Sacrificed: Stillace's Sword Sheath]
[Rarity: Epic]
[Value: 600 points]
[Evaluation: One of the 50 Skillful Grade Swords—original sheath of "Winter Rain." Five years ago, it was lost to the sea when a struggling Ariba Itsuki grabbed it as they fell together. Vice Admiral Stillace of the Navy Headquarters still regrets its loss to this day.]