Namjoon, Hoseok and Jimin had seen Seokjin being attacked by the hateful crowd of Hagi residents and kidnapped by Kaïto's samurais. As they had agreed, neither of them attempted to rescue him, as the outcome would inevitably have been their death or capture.

They were content to observe the scene from afar, aware of the fact that the best way to help the admiral was to go back and warn Jungkook. Thus, they could see that Kaïto's men suddenly worked more quickly than before to unload but also now to load goods. Namjoon understood that the ship, for some obscure reason, was already going to leave.

"We must return as quickly as possible and prepare the Princess," he declared to the other two.

He had no doubt that it would be Jungkook's decision as soon as he learned what happened to the admiral.

As they wondered which way to return, the longest one they had taken but which they still thought was safe, or the shortest, the seafront path which would take them directly to the fishing port where the Red Princess was.

They were excused from choosing when a small group of men from their own crew, the Japanese lookouts from the Hagi port of which Makoto was a member, hurriedly left Hagi, presumably to join the rest of the crew and warn Jungkook of the Emperor's movements.

At first wary after what they discovered in the Ryujin sanctuary and which they blamed on Makoto in addition to being certain that Makoto had let the admiral Kim throw himself into the dragon's mouth, Namjoon told himself that he could not allow himself at this moment to be wary of everyone and he made signals the Jimin and Hoseok to run with him to join the group.

The Japanese men were surprised to see them because the three of them should not have had permission to leave the Usagi domain. Namjoon told them the story of the latest events, the admiral's flight and their captain's orders, then they in turn explained to them that they had sent Makoto to warn the captain of Kaïto's return and that now, faced with the strange actions of the Emperor, they had news to convey to him.

Unsure if they were in cahoots with Makoto in his questionable actions, Namjoon, Jimin and Hoseok choose to remain on their guard during their return journey with them but were able to travel with them without incident.

While they thought they would have to go back to the house, Namjoon was pleasantly surprised to see when they arrived at the small port that the crew was busy loading the Princess, already almost ready to set sail.

Jungkook looked serious as he greeted them with a curt nod. Next to him was Makoto who was in deep discussion with him. Namjoon wondered what he had told the captain but obviously that didn't stop the latter from preparing the ship.

Makoto didn't seem happy and Namjoon realized that he still didn't know the nature of the bond that united the captain to the admiral: he must have thought that his report would be enough to permanently turn the captain away from their prisoner and must not understand his stubbornness.

While Hoseok and Jimin went to help the other men load the ship, Namjoon remained, designated reporter of the failure of their mission.

"I'm sorry, we didn't make it in time," he said to his captain, glancing at Makoto whose face expressed all his annoyance.

"I suspected it," Jungkook replied without blaming him. "Who could have predicted that the damn dragon would come back already?"

"It is indeed strangely early for a return," Namjoon said, thoughtful, before realizing that there was more urgent. "The admiral was caught by Kaïto's men and taken to their ship. He's probably still alive but I don't know for how long. It's strange but even if it just arrived, the Emperor is already preparing to set sail again, I don't know if we will arrive in time to stop them from leaving."

"I don't want to stop them from leaving," Jungkook replied, pointing to the load. Jimin and Hoseok had already mingled with the other men of the crew, the Usagi servants and the fishermen who were helping with loading, in order to go even faster. Fortunately, the craftsmen had already finished repairing the storm damage that the Princess had suffered. "I want to attack him in the open sea."

"We are going to attack Kaïto?!" Namjoon exclaimed, stunned, better understanding Makoto's annoyance.

"Did you think I was going to negotiate?"

"Yes," the Joseon peddler replied honestly.

"Do you think I would be able to negotiate with him?" Jungkook asked in a disillusioned tone.

Namjoon knew he was right. Given his rage when Jungkook had wanted to find out what his own men had done to the admiral, Namjoon could only imagine the confrontation that would take place if the Usagi father and tried to have a conversation. It had been years since the two had last met, and even more years since they had spoken to each other.

"That's the only reason he took Seokjin. He wants me to follow him. He will keep him alive until then, I have no doubt."

Surprised, Namjoon was about to ask him how his father knew the nature of his connection with the fugitive, but Makoto interjected:

"I'm trying to convince the captain that this guy isn't worth going to face the dragon. You are a wise man, Namjoon, help me convince him. You and the others took the path to Ryujin sanctuary, isn't it? Did you see what the admiral did there?"

Jungkook turned to Namjoon to confirm Makoto's report.

"Yes, we saw the priests being massacred, but-" Namjoon started.

"He was the one who did that," Makoto cut him. "The admiral. He was going to leave the sanctuary after killing everyone but the ronins appeared at that moment and I was the one who helped him survive. I wanted to bring him back here, but he threatened me. He only left me alive to pay his debt to me. The Usagi family must appease the spirits of Ryujin's servants by letting their murderer die. You don't need to take care of it captain," he added, "your father will take care of killing the admiral and give Ryujin his sacrifice."

A brief flash of rage crossed Jungkook's gaze, but he remained calm.

"What do you think Namjoon?" he asked.

Namjoon wasn't fooled. He understood very well that what Jungkook was asking of him was to expose Makoto's machinations. So, he had seen through Makoto's game.

"The massacre we saw was not the way of fighting of the little admiral that I saw in action from his capture to his training with Taehyung," Namjoon said. "Hoseok agrees with me and deep down, Jimin does too. I know he would never have done such a thing."

"You're saying that because he's a Joseon like you, right?" Makoto growled. "Are you protecting him?!"

"I'm just defending the honor of an innocent man, I don't care if he's a Joseon," Namjoon replied. He portrayed himself as a man of the world rather than a Joseon and he wasn't one to judge people by their territorial origins, but rather by their attitude. And currently, the Japanese man's attitude displeased him. He smiled. "But tell me, Makoto, it was you who said to the captain that the admiral had been captured by Kaïto, weren't you?"

"Yeah, and?" Makoto replied, irritated.

"Well, I find it strange: how could you accurately know that he was captured and not killed since you separated at Ryujin sanctuary? It's almost as if you knowingly delivered it to Kaïto."

Makoto suddenly turned pale, glancing at Jungkook who was following the exchange attentively.

"N-no, I just assumed he was captured-"

"And besides," Namjoon continued, implacable, "how could Kaïto know that the admiral meant so much to the captain, to the point of having him searched for and captured? After all, he never met him!"

Namjoon looked at Jungkook with a questioning look.

"It's very simple Namjoon," Jungkook replied, staring at Makoto. "It's because Makoto told him."

There was a second between Makoto's eyes widening and Jungkook drawing his katana and stabbing it up to the hilt in Makoto's stomach. Around them, tension rose and the men near them froze, stunned.

Makoto groaned in pain, spitting blood. Jungkook had not aimed at any vital point and the man was suffering without being able to die.

"Did you really think you could reveal information to my enemy with impunity?" Jungkook asked. "What am I in your eyes? A weak and pathetic man?"

"N-no... C-captain..." Makoto, stammered.

Next to them, Namjoon, whose face had been splattered with Makoto's blood, took a few steps back. After the macabre scene he had seen in the sanctuary and the way he had wanted to blame it on the admiral, he did not feel sorry for Makoto and did not try to stop his captain.

Makoto cast desperate glances at the other crewmen, but no one came to his aid because the menacing aura of their captain pinned them in place.

"Please..."Makoto begged in desperation.

"I have no pity for traitors," Jungkook replied in an icy voice as he withdrew his sword and brought it down again across Makoto's abdomen, who collapsed on the ground, lifeless. He added, addressing the dead face of Makoto: "There you go, Ryujin got his sacrifice."

He shook his katana before sheathing it and ordered servants to come and collect the pirate's corpse.

"Captain," Namjoon called out to him.

"What?"

With a movement of the chin, Namjoon pointed to the men who had watched the scene in shock and the tension that reigned gave the impression of an imminent explosion. It was the first time their captain had killed one of them. Something had just broken in the relationship between the crew and their captain. But Jungkook didn't care right now, he shouted in an icy voice:

"Is there anyone else who has ambitions to betray me?"

He looked at each of his crew members in turn. A mixture of fear and distrust crept into their eyes as the silence grew deeper.

"What did Makoto do to make you kill him?" one of them finally asked, defying the fierce look of their captain.

Jungkook slowly turned towards him.

"If the reason I give you does not satisfy you, what will you do, Jiro?" he asked.

The other frowned, aware of his captain's threatening tone. Afraid that Jungkook would explode again and massacre his entire crew this time, Namjoon interjected:

"Makoto killed the priests of Ryujin sanctuary and accused the admiral so that we don't try to save him. And before that, he shared information about the captain with Kaïto. He delivered the Joseon Admiral to him to use him as bait."

"A bait? How could he be used as bait since he is only a prisoner?" Jiro asked, and his question seemed to interest everyone. "If he was captured, it doesn't concern us, Kaïto will gut him, which we should have done a long time ago. We're not going to risk our lives to get him back, are we?" he asked Jungkook, suspicious.

Horrified, Namjoon told himself that the man had just sealed his grave, but Jungkook didn't draw his katana again. Yet, a dark glint crossed his eyes.

"You know, Jiro, Kaïto is not the only one who knows how to gut someone's insides," he said, and Jiro's eyes widened because his captain's threats were full of sincerity. "Are you claiming that you won't obey my orders if they don't suit you?"

The pirate stammered:

"I- I didn't say that, I'm just saying that I don't understand why you killed Makoto for the Joseon prisoner and now, you want to save that same prisoner. And I'm not the only one to ask myself this question, we all ask it!"

He gestured broadly to the pirates around him. There were a few discreet nods of agreement.

"Oh? So, you are thinking of betraying me too?"

The nods faded immediately and suddenly feeling that he was in danger, Jiro backed away. At that moment, Jungkook suddenly looked like his father, the dragon, with his icy gaze, and it was terrifying.

"N-no," he stammered. "I will obviously follow you, captain, whatever your decisions! I simply told myself that if we are going to face Kaïto, I prefer to tell myself that it is to clear your honor and not to save the Joseon prisoner."

Out of breath with panic, Jiro wondered worriedly if his captain would accept his corrections and let his behavior pass. Makoto's freshly taken corpse didn't give him much hope; their captain was no longer the same as before, he could not expect leniency from him at this moment. Yet, against all odds, Jungkook didn't attack him.

"You want to know why you're going to fight Kaïto, uh? You're going because I order you to, you don't need to know anything else. Isn't that enough?"

"Y-Yeah, very enough," Jiro said quickly, so relieved to have a way out.

Jungkook turned away from him and announced to all his men:

"From this day forward, you will no longer consider the admiral as the Joseon prisoner. He is admiral Kim Seokjin, a man who matters to me. And we are going to help him get home for that simple reason. Now, if any of you don't agree with that, I'll give you a chance to leave this crew for good. After that, if you persist in wanting to challenge me, I will kill you without any hesitation, you have been warned."

Stunned, no one moved but a confused murmur ran through the ranks of the crew. Namjoon himself was surprised that Jungkook admitted to his men his attachment to the admiral.

"Anyone?" Jungkook insisted, looking at them with a burning, icy gaze.

Silence returned and each man looked at his neighbor to make sure he wasn't leaving. Finally, as no one spoke or moved Jungkook concluded:

"Now get back to work, we'll leave as soon as the wind picks up."

Without waiting, he grabbed a heavy wooden crate and began carrying it onto the ship. Namjoon hurried to help him, even if the other one obviously didn't need it.

"Wakaï-" he began.

"Don't call me that."

The voice was sharp, meaning that his anger had not yet subsided, and that Namjoon might have to experience it again in full force.

"Will you give me time to get used to it?" Namjoon sighed. "Jungkook, I know you want to fight your father but take the time to think, our crew is weakened without Yoongi and Taehyung and-"

"I had them transported to the Princess, they're coming with us," Jungkook cut him as he climbed onto the gangplank that led to the deck of the ship.

Astonishment appeared on Namjoon's face.

"They're coming with us?! But they are badly injured and must take the time to heal themselves!"

"They are being treated, Zijing is staying with them. He made them ingest his Ming decoctions which make them sleep and heal at the same time. They will soon be back on their feet."

Namjoon sighed, remembering who he was dealing with.

"I'm sure they're excited to come. Come to think of it, they wouldn't have agreed to stay behind."

Jungkook nodded.

"I didn't have to ask them, they said they were coming."

"Taehyung will be happy to know that we collected his weapons in front of the sanctuary. Hoseok has them. The admiral probably left them and took the weapons of one of the slain ronins."

"I knew he liked Taehyung," Jungkook muttered as he placed the heavy crate on the deck of the ship, before pretending to go back down to load another one.

However, Namjoon held him by the arm.

"Jungkook, wait. I know you want to go save the little admiral but listen to me: even if we are optimistic and consider that Taehyung and Yoongi will be able to fight when we catch up with the Emperor, that will not be enough. The crew is disunited, you have seen how many are angry with you for the feelings you show for the admiral even though you had no hesitation in killing Makoto."

"Didn't Makoto deserve it?" Jungkook retorted.

"Of course he did, but the justice they always knew at your side never put their enemy before themselves," Namjoon argued. "Plus, they must remember that you forbade anyone to kill him despite what he did during the Shogun's attack. At that moment, he deserved it in their eyes too, but you protected him."

Jungkook gave him an angry look and Namjoon thought he was going to hit him but instead, he kicked the box violently and it emptied its contents, dozens of katanas which fell with a smashing metal. Some men on deck with them at the time looked at him with concern, but he ignored them.

"I protected him?" he repeated, staring at Namjoon. "I let them slash his back and scare his flesh!"

"I know, but they wanted to kill him, and I don't think they lost that desire. Even if they follow your decisions, they risk not putting enough vigor into their fight against Kaïto's samurai and that makes our side much weaker than his. In other words, if we go on the attack now, we are the ones who will lose for sure. Even if we consider that your father will not kill you, it is likely that he will massacre your entire crew to make you pay for your rebellion."

Jungkook glared at him.

"Namjoon, who do you take me for? Don't you trust me?"

Namjoon raised his eyebrows.

"Of course I do, I didn't say that," he defended himself.

"You heavily implied that I make my decisions without thinking."

"That's not what I implied," Namjoon replied.

"Then what?" Jungkook said sharply. "Oh, I think I see: you think my plan is to send you all to your death in order to save Seokjin, is that so?"

"I have to admit that I believed it," Namjoon said, nervously scratching his chin. "Especially since I think I understand how close you and him were, not only through your earlier actions, but also through the admiral's words."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, a few weeks ago, while we were bathing in the onsen, the admiral told me the story of a little boy, his childhood friend, killed by wakos. Neither he nor I knew he was talking about you, but when he did, there was only tenderness in his voice. Now, I know for sure it was you."

"He really told you that?" Jungkook asked with interest, his anger suddenly subsiding.

"Yes," Namjoon agreed, "but he also said that he swore to become an admiral and pursue his friend to cut off his head if he became a pirate."

A smile appeared on Jungkook's previously dark face.

"Yes, that's the kind of thing he said back then."

"Do you realize he warned you what to expect?" Namjoon mocked.

"Yes, it's true. But that's not why he ultimately became an admiral," Jungkook said, losing his smile.

"Exactly: he became an admiral to avenge your death, not to kill you," Namjoon said, placing a hand on Jungkook's shoulder. "And for fifteen years, it was you he thought of while acting as he did, tirelessly cutting off the heads of the wakos of these seas. When I think about it, a bond as strong as this cannot suddenly disappear. I don't think he'll hate you forever, and even less that he will be the man who will kill you."

Jungkook felt a feeling of lightness come over him. Part of his pain seemed to have gone away: it was true, Seokjin had loved him for so long so things could work out between them. Even though it was true that people changed, it was impossible for him to believe that Seokjin had changed that much. The days he had spent with his crew had proven that to Jungkook. Seokjin was still a cheerful person who made him happy despite himself. He hated wakos, sure, but Jungkook wasn't just a wako. He was his childhood friend, someone he had loved and sworn to avenge by eradicating the wakos from the seas.

And for his part, he never stopped blaming himself for letting Seokjin die. Now that he had found him, he refused to lose him again. For now, he had to focus on saving Seokjin but then, he would make sure to reform their bond, or spend the rest of his life trying.

He told Namjoon:

"In the past, I told him that I would protect him but I failed, resulting in this situation. Today, I will keep my promise, I will not fail again. I'm going to save him."

He was so determined that Namjoon realized with relief:

"You have a plan."

"Obviously. But I'm going to need your negotiating skills for this and you're going to have to stand alone for this mission. Are you ready to see Joseon again?"

Namjoon's gaze shone with an intelligent glint. The peddler in him had awakened.

"I'm listening."

When the Princess finally moved away from the coast of Honshu, Namjoon was not on board. It was Jungkook who held the helm, determined to sail without detour, towards the north of the Sea of ​​Japan, where the admirals of Joseon were more numerous than in the south but died regularly, victims of the many attacks of the wakos who swarmed there. It was the Red Emperor's favorite hunting ground.

At the top of the main mast, in the crow's nest, Jimin and Hoseok were watching the horizon in Yoongi's place. Each of them looked to one side, one to port, the other to starboard, constantly arguing over one thing or another.

The first day, they didn't find what they were looking for, only a wako ship that Jungkook ignored royally, where normally, he would have provoked confrontation.

The second day, Jungkook, who had had a sleepless night, got angry at the helm but refused his men's offer to take his place at the helm so that he could rest and Jimin had to fight a fierce battle to force him to eat something. Even though Jungkook said nothing, it was obvious that worry about his friend's fate was eating away at him. The more the days passed, the more Seokjin risked suffering from his captivity, even though he was convinced that his father would not kill Seokjin before using him against him.

On the third day, Taehyung finally left his cabin, limping but finally standing on his legs. As he was the only one Jungkook trusted enough, the latter agreed to hand over the helm to him by monitoring him carefully and constantly giving him instructions until which he finally shuts up. Turning around, Taehyung saw that he had fallen asleep against the mizzen mast, right behind him. No one woke him up and he slept like that until the middle of the night. He would have set Taehyung on fire if the latter, having scrupulously followed his instructions, had not perfectly followed the direction he had chosen.

On the fourth day, Hoseok let out an excited exclamation and upon seeing what he had seen, Jimin quickly clamped a hand over his mouth before he could shout from the crow's nest to alert the entire ship.

"Have you forgotten what the captain asked us?" he reproached him. "We have to warn him discreetly, otherwise the men will panic."

"Ah yeah, that's true," Hoseok said, sheepish, but still happy with his find.

He hurried back down, leaving Jimin alone to monitor the actions of the ship that had appeared in his telescope. Jungkook, almost immobile figure, was holding the helm, Mao sleeping on one of. Behind him, Taehyung flexed his muscles while preserving his strength for the next battle to come.

"Captain," Hoseok said excitedly, waking up the cat with a jump, which gave him a nasty look before moving away to find a quieter place. "I spotted what you were looking for."

"The Emperor?" Taehyung questioned, turning quickly towards the sea, ready to fight.

"No," Jungkook denied, "The Taewang."

Taehyung had a poor grasp of the Joseon language, even though Jungkook had tried his best to teach him since they met. He took the time to translate the word in his head, from Joseon's language to his own language.

"The Great King?" he asked, perplexed.

"Yes," Jungkook agreed, "this is the ship of admiral Kim the Elder."

"You mean the one you were looking for all this time wasn't your father but..." Taehyung began slowly.

A glimmer of excitement lit up in Jungkook's eyes.

"Yeah," he said, "I was looking for Seokjin's father."

________

A/N :  an unexpected confrontation is looming on the horizon!