"So this is the powerful figure you betrayed the Shandia for?"
Seeing Luffy appear, Wyper once again mocked Aisa with a sour, bitter tone, like an irrational hater.
"You!!!"
At this moment, Aisa didn't even know what kind of emotions she should use to face Wyper.
In her memories, Wyper had always been a reliable, gentle, and powerful warrior.
They had gone through countless harsh and grueling training sessions together in order to reclaim the Shandia' sacred land, Upper Yard.
And during those long years of training, Aisa had already fallen in love with this most honored warrior of the Shandia tribe.
She loved his strength, loved his perseverance, loved everything about him!
But today…
It was all ruined. Everything was ruined!
The defeated Wyper was like a completely different person—no longer the perfect warrior she had held in her heart.
Thin, snowy tears clung to Aisa's fair cheeks and dripped downward.
Luffy and Koby looked at each other in confusion, as if asking one another:
"What's going on here?"
And as if answering each other:
"I have no idea!"
Aisa and Wyper stared at each other for a long time.
Then Aisa suddenly raised her arm and wiped the tears from her face with her sexy purple sleeve. She turned her head and, with the same smile she had just worn, said to Luffy:
"Luffy-sama, once you pass through this cloud waterfall, you'll see the border entrance to Angel Island."
"I think… we can leave here after that."
"Uh…"
Luffy, who had been absorbed in what felt like an evening prime-time drama, was startled when Aisa suddenly spoke to him.
After a moment, he realized the show was over and, a little disappointed, replied:
"Okay!"
"According to our earlier agreement, you lead us to Angel Island, and I'll let go of what the Shandia did to the Merry!"
With her striking figure, Aisa immediately bowed, performing a standard apologetic gesture, and said to Luffy:
"Thank you very much for your generosity, Luffy-sama."
After that, Aisa quickly turned back, bent down, and began unlocking the alloy chains on her companions one by one.
Since she had been the one who fastened the chains earlier, undoing them now was extremely easy.
Very soon, all the Shandia except Wyper were freed.
Koby also returned their equipment to the Shandia warriors and distributed it back to them one by one.
But when Aisa crouched down to unbind Wyper, another sudden change occurred.
BANG!!!
With both his hands and feet tightly bound, Wyper suddenly slammed his hard head straight into Aisa's.
The powerful impact sent Aisa flying, crashing sideways into the railing of the Merry.
A stream of blood instantly flowed from the wound on her head.
"Aisa!!!"
"Wyper!!!"
The Shandia warriors—who had just regained their freedom and equipment and were ready to go home—immediately shouted in alarm.
Some rushed over to check on the unconscious Aisa, examining her body for other injuries.
Others—those of higher rank—ran straight to Wyper and shouted angrily at him:
"Wyper!!! Don't go too far!!!"
"Wyper, what are you doing!? Everything Aisa did was for our sake!"
"That's right, Wyper! She didn't betray the Shandia!!!"
"She protected the Shandia!!!"
"Wyper, we've gone through so much together! Everything we've done was to reclaim the sacred land, Upper Yard! Even bowing our heads temporarily isn't wrong!!!"
"That's right, Wyper!!! I also think Aisa did nothing wrong!!!"
The Shandia warriors surrounded the warrior they had once admired the most.
Some tried to persuade him, some tried to mediate, and some shouted directly in anger!!!
They were just one step away from throwing their fists at his face.
Yet Wyper, the target of everyone's condemnation, remained cold and indifferent, calmly gazing at his former companions gathered before him.
A cold voice came from his mouth:
"So this… is the reason we've always lost!!!"
Wyper's sudden words instantly silenced the scene.
Every warrior stood frozen in place.
After all, Wyper was acknowledged by the entire tribe as their strongest warrior!
His words carried weight in everyone's hearts—great weight, in fact!
This was also the main reason why, despite his excessive actions toward Aisa, people only scolded and persuaded him, yet no one dared to outright say he was wrong.
If nothing unexpected happened, the next chief of the Shandia would definitely be this dark-skinned warrior, Wyper.
Seeing the silence, Wyper raised his head again and looked at Aisa—who was being supported by the others, her face covered in blood, her eyelids trembling slightly as if she still had some consciousness.
With a calm tone, Wyper spoke again:
"Once. Then again. And again."
"The Shandia, who four hundred years ago would never compromise…"
"Have become people who now habitually compromise!"
"Why has it come to this!?"
"Were we like this from the very beginning?"
"No! We weren't!!!"
"The original Shandia warriors would never have been like this!!!"
"Time has worn away our resolve, worn away our desire to win!"
"From the moment we made our first compromise, the Shandia were no longer the Shandia of old!"
"I don't want to go on like this!"
"I want to reclaim our sacred land! I want to ring the Golden Bell again!"
"Maybe you're all right! Maybe Aisa is right!"
"But I won't accept it!"
"I can't go on like this anymore!!!"
"I'm afraid…"
"I'm truly afraid that in the end, the Shandia will compromise and allow others to occupy our sacred land, to defile our Golden Bell!!!"
"As a descendant of the great Shandia warrior Kalgara!"
"I have my own convictions!"
"You all go!"
"From today onward, the strongest warrior of the Shandia—Wyper—will no longer exist!!!"
"I hereby declare!"
"From this moment on, I withdraw from the Shandia tribe!!!"
"Wyper!!?"
The Shandia stared at him in shock, left speechless by his declaration!
"We're leaving."
At that moment, Aisa suddenly spoke.
"Aisa?"
Everyone turned their confused gazes toward her once again.
But Aisa only shook her head, leapt down from the Merry, and rode her waverider toward the distance.
After hesitating for a moment, the Shandia gradually followed Aisa and left the Merry one by one.
Just as Luffy was about to say something to Wyper, Nami suddenly called out from the bow:
"Luffy, Koby~"
"Come here, quickly!"
Luffy and Koby both glanced at Wyper, then at each other.
In the end, they ran toward Nami's direction.
At this moment, only Wyper remained at the stern.
Who would have thought!
Abandoned by his companions and left completely alone, Wyper suddenly cracked a grin and let out a low, suppressed laugh.
"Finally…"
"I'm alone at last!"