Newbie's Skill

Forty-Four

I slowly opened my eyes. It was a little dark, but I felt the sunlight flood into the room. I still could barely move. A woman beside me screeched in excitement, causing me to wince at the sound. Men immediately barged into the building to see what the commotion was.

"Ash!" Luffy cheered, jumping to embrace me, but a white-haired older guy grabbed the back of his shirt, tugging him back. Luffy fell back on his ass. I chuckled a little.

"It's good to see you awake, Black Cap Ashlo," the old guy smiled at me. "We were worried about you."

"What happened after I passed out?" I shot at them instantly. I had to know what was going on.

"Law brought us to this island while he treated us on his ship. Apparently the war is over," Luffy explained, but his face was serious. Ace's death must have really gotten to him badly. I mean...they were raised side-by-side for seven years until Ace went out to sea three years before Luffy. Losing a brother feels horrible. I was upset over losing Ace, too, but for slightly different reasons. I wasn't with him nearly the length of time Luffy was. Nonetheless, Ace was still like family to me. I managed to crawl out of the bed, much to everyone's argues and displeasure.

"Thanks for saving me, but I have to go back to Pops. He's probably worried sick about me," I told them. They were all silent, and they all avoided eye contact, including Luffy. All, however, except the old guy. His voice matched the one called Rayleigh that I picked up on while I was in my coma state. I observed each of their expressions. Luffy bit his lip, the Law guy hid his eyes behind his hat, and Jinbe closed his eyes with a heartbroken expression. What was up with them? Rayleigh looked me dead in the eye, and he was serious.

"Whitebeard is gone." My heart immediately sank to the pit of my stomach. I laughed awkwardly.

"You're kidding, right? Pops is the strongest man in the world. C'mon. Don't kid around. It's not funny."

"He died in battle," Jinbe confirmed. His eyes finally looked at me with that disheartening look. "Him and Ace are both dead." My eyes darted to Luffy as if on instinct.

"Luffy, tell them to stop joking around. This isn't funny anymore. Where's Pops?" I begged. Luffy reached out to me, but I took a step back with wide eyes. "It can't be true."

"They're not coming back, Ashlo," Luffy mumbled. He dropped his arm back to his side. I lifted the bed I almost died on and threw it to the other side of the room, almost accidentally hitting Hancock. I was breathing like a bull. I couldn't control the sudden rage that took over me.

They all just silently watched as I threw a punch at the wall with my weak armament haki. The haki didn't do much protection since I was still weak, so my fist was instantly bloodied by making the wall crumble. I simply ran from the tension and out into the forest.