Kain watched Garik''s face as they walked back to the cabin. The old man''s expression had settled into something resolute—a mask he''d clearly worn many times before. Whatever emotions churned beneath, Garik had mastered the art of containment.


    Inside, Ash and Redd waited with poorly disguised impatience. Ash paced by the window while Redd sat at the table, fingers drumming against the worn wood.


    "You''re really leaving today?" Ash blurted as they entered.


    Garik nodded, moving to his chair—the sturdy one by the fireplace that had always been his alone. "My ship leaves with the afternoon tide."


    "But why now?" Redd asked. "After all these years?"


    "Because you''re ready," Garik said simply. "And because I''m needed elsewhere."


    Kain noticed how carefully Garik chose his words. No lies, but not the full truth either. The Revolutionary Army had called him back, but that wasn''t something he could share with all of them.


    "Will you at least tell us what you do?" Ash pressed, frustration edging his voice. "Or how to find you if we need to?"


    Garik''s eyes flickered briefly to Kain and Talon before returning to Ash. "When you''re each stronger and have more knowledge of this world, all it truly has to offer, then I''ll find you and tell you everything."


    The cryptic answer hung in the air. Kain understood its true meaning, but he saw the effect it had on his other brothers. Ash''s jaw tightened, determination flashing in his eyes. Redd straightened in his chair, his usually calm face hardening with resolve.


    "So we have to prove ourselves first?" Redd asked.


    "Not to me," Garik replied. "To yourselves. To the world… Follow your dreams first; then, once you have a better understanding of who you are and what you want to be…"


    He stood then, moving to the chest in the corner of the room. From it, he withdrew four small pouches.


    "I''m not leaving you empty-handed," he said, handing one to each of them. "Enough Berries to get you started on whatever path you choose."


    Kain weighed the pouch in his hand. Not a fortune, but enough to matter.


    "And one more thing." Garik reached into his jacket and pulled out four small objects. Transponder snails, each no bigger than a child''s fist. "For emergencies only. These connect directly to me, no matter where I am."


    "So you do want us to contact you," Ash said, a hint of triumph in his voice.


    "Only if your lives depend on it," Garik warned. "I won''t be able to drop everything and come running for small problems. Try to think of it as a one-time use item… so make it count."


    They each accepted a snail. Kain tucked his carefully into his pocket, knowing its true significance. A direct line to the Revolutionary Army.


    "I''ve taught you everything I can," Garik continued. "The rest, you''ll have to learn yourselves."


    He looked at each of them in turn, his gaze lingering. When his eyes came to Kain and Talon, there was a depth of meaning in his eyes that only they shared.


    "Remember what I''ve taught you about this world. Not all is as it seems. Question everything. Trust your instincts… and more importantly, follow your dreams…"


    Ash nodded sharply. "We''ll become strong enough that next time, you''ll have to tell us everything."


    "I''m counting on it," Garik said, the hint of a smile touching his weathered face.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    After Garik said his goodbyes to each of the four boys individually and then one final time as a group, he grabbed his pack and headed for the door. He paused briefly at the threshold, his weathered hand resting on the doorframe.


    "Take care of each other," he said, voice gruff with emotion. Then he was gone, footsteps crunching on the gravel path outside.


    Kain stood frozen, staring at the empty doorway. Part of him wanted to run after Garik, to ask a hundred more questions that suddenly seemed urgent. But he knew this moment had to come. They''d been preparing for it their whole lives, even if they hadn''t realized it.


    The cabin fell into a heavy silence. Ash slumped against the wall, Redd sank deeper into his chair, and Talon moved to the window, watching Garik''s retreating figure grow smaller down the path.


    Kain felt the weight of Garik''s revelations pressing on him. The Revolutionary Army. The world beyond Ravencall. The trust placed in him and Talon. His mind raced between his two bodies, processing everything twice over.


    The silence stretched until Ash finally broke it with a sharp clap of his hands.


    "Well, we might as well look at the bright side," he said, pushing himself upright with sudden energy. "We can finally do whatever we want."


    Talon turned from the window. "Like what?"


    A grin spread across Ash''s face. "Like finally get off this rock. I''ve been saying it for years—I''m meant to be a pirate hunter. Now there''s nobody to tell me no."


    Kain exchanged a glance with Redd, who was already shaking his head.


    "You can''t be serious," Redd said. "We''re thirteen, Ash."


    "So? Plenty of people start young."


    "Start young, die young," Talon countered.


    Kain stepped forward. "Ash, we''re too green. You know that. We''ve barely left Ravencall, let alone faced real pirates."


    "But—"


    "We''d get slaughtered," Kain continued, his voice firm but not unkind. "We need experience, real training. Not just Garik''s lessons." Being a transmigrater with knowledge of the One Piece world, he knew how dangerous and powerful the outside world could be… and they just weren''t ready.


    They were each still thirteen and growing and neither of the four were monsters like Big Mom with extreme strength from birth. Hell they didn''t even have any type of special bloodline while Kain wasn''t sure if the Clan of D existed in this alternate world he did know that the four brothers had nothing overly special about them.


    They were just four kids with a dream… and all they could do was work hard toward that dream.


    Ash''s shoulders sagged. The excited light in his eyes dimmed, replaced by frustration. "So what, we just stay here? Keep playing pretend in the woods?"


    "No," Redd said, standing up. "But we need to be smart about this. I''m joining the Marines when I turn sixteen. That gives us three years to prepare."


    Kain nodded. "Three years to get stronger, smarter."


    Ash kicked at the floor, disappointment etched across his face. But after a moment, he gave a reluctant nod. "Fine. But I''m not waiting around this island for three years."


    "None of us should," Talon agreed. "Garik left because he knew we were ready for more. If he wanted us to stay on Ravencall and not leave it, he would have said so…"


    The four boys looked at each other, a familiar energy building between them. Kain felt it in both bodies—that spark of adventure, of possibility.


    "So where do we go?" Redd asked.


    Kain walked to the map pinned to their cabin wall. His finger traced the short distance to the neighboring island. "Krevane."


    "The war zone?" Redd''s eyebrows shot up.


    "Think about it," Kain said. "It''s close enough that we could return home if needed, but it offers real experience. They''ve been fighting a civil war for generations."


    "Every citizen there is trained to fight," Talon added, catching Kain''s thought process as he often did.


    Ash''s eyes lit up again. "We could join as mercenaries!"


    "Or medics," Redd suggested, more practically. "We''ve all learned basic field medicine from Garik."


    "Hmph… we''ll see," Ash scoffed at the sound of medic.


    Kain nodded, warming to the idea. "We could learn real combat, strategy, survival—all the things we''d need no matter which path we choose later."


    "And make some money while we''re at it," Ash added, patting the pouch of Berries Garik had given him.


    Redd looked concerned. "It''s dangerous. People die in war."


    "People die everywhere," Talon said quietly. "At least there, we''d learn how not to."


    The four fell silent again, but this time it was different—charged with possibility rather than loss.


    "Krevane," Kain repeated, tasting the word. "We go, we train, we learn. Then, once we''re ready… we can do whatever we want… the skies the limit."


    "We stick together," Redd insisted.


    "Always," Ash agreed immediately.


    Talon nodded. "No matter what."


    Kain looked around at his brothers—the family he and Talon had found in this strange new life. Whatever came next, they would face it together.


    "We''ll need supplies," he said. "And to book passage on the next boat."


    "Which leaves tomorrow morning," Talon finished his thought.


    Ash''s grin returned, wider than before. "Then we''d better start packing."


    As his brothers sprang into action, Kain remained by the map, his finger still resting on Krevane. This wasn''t how he''d imagined their first steps into the wider world, but perhaps it was exactly what they needed. A controlled risk. A chance to prove themselves.


    And maybe, just maybe, a way to honor the trust Garik had placed in them.


    ****


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