"Bring him to me," Kaïto ordered Yusuke as the rest of the crew prepared to defend their ship against an attack from the Princess.

Beomseok wondered if he could take advantage of the confusion to free his men and allow them to mix with Jungkook's men when they boarded the Emperor but behind him, Takeshi, annoyed that the admiral was still alive, drew his blade from its sheath and threatened him :

"I advise you not to try anything, I'm watching you."

The admiral responded with a look full of contempt that made a throbbing vein appear on the sensitive pirate's temple. A wicked grin stretched his lips.

"You know, it was me who shot your son fifteen years ago in Eobu."

This time, Beomseok's contemptuous gaze was tinged with resentment. The pirate with the tattooed skull was around thirty years old, which meant he was a very young man during the Eobu attack and yet he was already a cruel being who had not hesitated to shoot an eleven year old boy and now spoke of it with satisfaction.

"So you have no regrets for attacking the innocent children of Eobu?" he asked, eager to hang this infamous wakos on the spot.

"None," Takeshi replied with a laugh that gave the impression of being dealing with a simpleton whose only ability was to kill people. "And I thought at first I regretted not having finished your son, but after what we did to him here, I changed my mind. It was so nice to see him scream in fear in front of all of us, knowing what was going to happen to him. He begged to be killed rather than let the sea take him, you know? as if we were going to have pity on him!" the wako sneered, observing the features of the grieving father. "I enjoyed every second of this execution, I even delayed getting him out of the water for fear that he would escape, given his luck and the fact that the captain had bet on his survival. And when we finally pulled him out of the water, he wouldn't open anymore his big mouth, he was-"

He didn't have time to say what Seokjin was because Beomseok suddenly stood up and delivered a powerful kick to his jaw. Surprised, the wako backed away cursing then, realizing that he was still in a position of strength against the chained admiral, he advanced with his katana ready to take revenge.

However, Beomseok didn't intend to stop there, he wanted to kill this man, no matter how. He had already imagined the way when the steps of the giant Yusuke approaching him attracted his attention and that of Takeshi, as he was dragging something behind him. No, looking better, it wasn't something: it was someone.

Stunned, it didn't take long for Beomseok to recognize his son, despite the terrible condition he was in. So when Kaito asked Yusuke to "bring him", he wasn't talking about Jungkook but about Seokjin?

"Seokjin!" he called.

But Seokjin didn't respond. His blood-soaked and torn kimono was nothing more than a rag barely covering his emaciated body, while his dirty face was partly obscured by his long, unruly hair, which hadn't been cut in a very long time, both on his head and on his face. Despite this, it was not hard to guess his deathly pallor. His hands were bound in front of him with ropes, but it was impossible to tell whether he was alive or not because he was perfectly still.

There were two explanations for the fact that Seokjin's tied and mutilated body was still on the boat: either Kaito had kept it to display in front of Jungkook, or...

"Is... is he alive?" Beomseok stammered, looking at Yusuke who was still holding him by the collar of his kimono. He was unable to repress the wave of hope that invaded him.

"Barely," Yusuke said, causing Takshi's displeasure. "The captain was saving his last breath for Wakaï, not for his father, but he find this situation is even more interesting, that's why you're still alive and that you might have the chance to say goodbye to him. The captain didn't forbid it." he added, letting go of Seokjin who collapsed like a lifeless weight.

However, an almost imperceptible moan of pain was heard. It was almost nothing, but the relief was instantaneous for the admiral: his son whom he had thought dead a few minutes before was alive.

"Seokjin!" he cried out.

He quickly leaned over him and pushed the hair away from his face to better examine him. None of the pirates stopped him, seeing that they were under Yusuke's surveillance, even Takeshi who walked away angrily.

Beomseok quickly realised that Yusuke was right: Seokjin was so weak that life seemed on the verge of abandoning him. In their current situation, he had no means to provide the care his son needed. Ashamed of his helplessness, he understood that his only hope to save Seokjin was for Jungkook to confront his father, regardless of Kaïto's plans for him.

"Seokjin, you have to hang on, your friend will come and save you," the admiral said, gently caressing his son's cheek.

Strangely, this unexpected tenderness in a place that had been nothing but suffering for Seokjin seemed to rouse his consciousness. He blinked slowly, his gaze taking only a few seconds to meet his father's.

"D-dad?" he whispered in a voice that seemed to come from beyond the grave while his face was distorted by suffering. "Am I f-finally dead? T-then why is the p-pain still there?"

Beomseok's eyes filled with tears. He would have liked to take all the pain away from him and inflict it on himself because the vision of his son in such a state was unbearable for him.

"That's because you're alive," he replied, forcing himself to keep a reassuring voice. "And I've come to take you home."

"Home?" Seokjin repeated dreamily before begging: "y-yes, I want to go home and see mom."

"And you will," his father promised him, his throat tight.

Seokjin seemed relieved to hear this and nodded. But a new wave of pain washed over him and then, a guilty look appeared on his face.

"You know, dad, I should never have become an admiral."

"Don't say that," Beomseok replied immediately.

"Yet, it's the truth, I wasn't strong enough, no matter how hard I tried..." Seokjin murmured in a sobbing voice. "I'm sorry I couldn't live up to your desire for a son who would become a strong admiral."

His father shook his head frantically.

"It's not what I wanted," he contradicted him, squeezing his tied hands between his, "I just wanted you to be happy, and I should never have made you feel like I wasn't satisfied with you. Because that's the opposite of the truth: I am so proud of you, Seokjin, of the person you used to be, the one who knew how to reach out to those who needed him, and of the person you've become, infinitely braver and more than I ever was."

Surprised by his father's words devoid of the reproaches he expected, Seokjin asked:

"Y-you're not disappointed?"

"No, Seokjin, I am not disappointed," Beomseok said, giving him a warm smile despite his teary eyes.

"Then, can you tell mom that I love her and that I'm sorry I chose the path of the sea against her will?"

Beomseok furrowed his brows. He felt like Seokjin wasn't really speaking to him, but rather to a projection of him, as though he couldn't believe that his father was really here, with him, on Kaïto's ship.

"Your mother is also proud of the man you've become, Seokjin, and she will tell you that herself because you're not going to die. Now, open your eyes, really open them: I am right here in front of you!"

He accompanied his words with a gesture to help Seokjin sit up, and this gesture, so real, made Seokjin's eyes widen.

"D-Dad, is it really you?" he asked weakly, lifting his bound hands to touch his father's bloody face. Beomseok didn't turn away when he painfully poked his broken nose.

"Yes, it's really me," he whispered before pulling him into the difficult embrace that their restrained bodies allowed them.

"D-did you really come to g-get me?" Seokjin insisted, desperate at the thought that this might be just a dream, as his ability to distinguish reality from fantasy had become very weak lately.

"Yes, I'm here, I came to get you."

"Then don't let go of me," Seokjin begged, snuggling even deeper into his father's embrace, inhaling his reassuring scent which confirmed to him that his lifelong protector, was indeed there, with him.

They remained like that until a cold voice accompanied by a powerful smell of opium tore them apart, making Seokjin tremble in fear:

"How disgusting, this fragility."

Seokjin didn't dare look up, keeping his eyes fixed on his father, fearing the new horrors that Kaïto had in store for him. Beomseok held him tighter and stared at the wako with a hatred that he did not try to mask anymore.

"You still don't see that your son is a scared child? He's an admiral in name only," Kaïto chuckled. "He has you to thank for this: that's what having a loving father has turned him into. Wakaï, on the other hand, became a strong man thanks to me, and you'll soon have proof of that. Takeshi, Kazuki, separate them," he ordered his two men.

Yusuke said to Beomseok: "I told you to say goodbye, not to have hope."

"He's alive, the admiral is alive!" Hoseok exclaimed, lowering his spyglass.

"Which one?" Jimin asked, annoyed, grabbing the spyglass from him to look for himself.

"Both of them!" Hoseok assured, turning to Jungkook. "The son and the father, the father and the son! They're alive, and they're together!"

"But they're injured, tied up and kneeling in front of Kaïto, so why are you so enthusiastic?" Jimin scolded him, giving him a nudge with his spyglass.

"Because they're alive, and we're going to save them!" the former slave exclaimed. "Aren't we, captain?"

But Jungkook seemed lost in his thoughts and ignored him.

"What's bothering you?" Taehyung asked. He had donned a kimono and a samurai armor designed for close combat, aware that the battle against Kaïto was imminent, despite Hoseok and Jimin's lighthearted attitude.

"My father is waiting for me," Jungkook said. "He will do everything to make me do what he expects of me: killing Seokjin and his father."

"You won't," Taehyung said simply.

"No, but I also don't know what I'll be capable of when I stand in front of him."

Taehyung gave him a pointed look.

"Are you afraid you won't be able to kill him? I can kill him for you, if you order me to."

"No, it's something I have to do. But I don't want to forget that my priority is to save Seokjin and his father. If I forget that, you need to remind me."

Taehyung nodded.

"Of course."

"And today, your priority isn't to protect me. It's to protect Seokjin."

This time, Taehyung vehemently refused.

"That's out of the question."

"Am I not your daymio?" Jungkook replied as an argument of authority.

"It's..." Taehyung began.

"Exact?" Jungkook concluded.

But the samurai replied:

"...very low of you to remind me of that, only to prevent me from ensuring the protection of my lord and captain. Can't you ask Yoongi to deal with Seokjin? After all, he owes him a debt since it was because of him that he threw himself into Kaïto's clutches."

He turned his head towards the Ming soldier who was polishing his sword, slumped at the foot of the mast. Jungkook followed his gaze and replied:

"Yoongi is proud and wants to look like he's ready for battle but he's not recovered enough yet for me to be entrusted with Seokjin's life."

He put a hand on Taehyung's shoulder.

"Taehyung, I know I'm asking you a lot but you're the only one I can ask to risk your life for Seokjin. This is something more important than my own life. All these years, you've been my pillar and you've supported me in my worst moments, for that I will never thank you enough. However, Seokjin was there in my best moments, he is the light in the darkness of my existence. If you don't protect him, then my life will be nothing but darkness again. Do you understand?"

Taehyung seemed to be struggling with something that his honor vehemently rejected. But the sincerity and humility of his lord had touched him to the heart. So ultimately, he spoke, bowing his head:

"If these are your orders, then I will obey. I will protect Seokjin with my life. However, I trust you not to die."

Jungkook gave him a smile and a brief hug, which left Taehyung puzzled as much as other men witness this around them.

"I forgot, but Beomseok reminded me that this is how people in Joseon show affection," Jungkook explained without forgetting that the admiral had deceived him by showing him this affection. For his part, he was sincere towards his samurai.

"Affection?" Taehyung asked, stunned.

"Yes," Jungkook said simply, before stepping away to give his orders to the rest of his men.

As Jungkook predicted, no cannon stopped the Princess as it approached the Emperor, gently colliding with its port side, trapping it in a vice. On the other side lay the Taewang, the Grand King of the Seas of Joseon, now devoid of men, its hold filling with water and slowly dragging it towards the depths.

From Kaïto's ship, the surviving soldiers of the Taewang watched this with sadness, ready to mourn their loss, if only their own lives weren't in immediate danger.

The captain of the Taewang, however, had eyes only for Seokjin, kneeling just a few meters away, threatened by the sword of Kazuki, just as he himself was  threatened by the sword of Takeshi, as if his most priceless treasure was not his prestigious ship, but his son.

He didn't look away until the Red Princess struck them, shaking the ship, and Jungkook jumped aboard the Emperor with much of his crew.

Jungkook, for his part, refused to meet the gaze of the admiral who had betrayed him and who had led to this disastrous situation when their alliance could have taken his father by surprise and assured them victory. He only cared about Seokjin at the moment. What a surprise not to find there the resentment he expected! But when he looked into his eyes, what he found there was no more pleasing.

Indeed, Seokjin was filled with guilt. He had finally understood that his father had put everything on the line for him - his life, his crew and his ship - and that Jungkook was doing the same thing. Previously, he would have done everything to get rid of the pirate who was holding him prisoner and then try to save his father and escape with him without having to rely on Jungkook or anyone. But now he was just a shadow of himself, he felt like there was no force left in his body. So, when he met Jungkook's gaze, and their silent exchange dragged on, he begged him by his desperate look: Save us!

His despair hit Jungkook and like Seokjin, he felt overcome by a powerful wave of guilt, which amplified when he realized by observing him in detail how much his father had made him suffer. For being someone he cared about, his father had treated him like the vermin of Joseon that he considered and it made his blood boil. It wasn't Yoongi's fault that he was in this situation, contrary to what Taehyung had been implied. It was his alone.

He tried to return Seokjin a reassuring look, wanting to assure him that he would do anything to get him out of there, but when he turned back to his father, all warmth had deserted him: all that remained was hatred.

He stepped forward until he stood in front of him and Yusuke, keeping both Seokjin and Beomseok in his line of sight, with Taehyung and Jimin on his heels, the rest of his crew at a distance, ready to fight if necessary, watching Kaïto's men with suspicion.

Despite his protests, Jungkook had not allowed Yoongi to join him on the Emperor, he had stayed with Hoseok and the other shooters and gunners to guard their rear.

"Wakaï," Kaïto said in a voice that attempted to sound sweet, but its warmth immediately froze as if this man was incapable of such a thing even towards his son. "What do I owe the honor of this visit, after all these months when you didn't want to see me?"

"Father," Jungkook replied in a voice equally cold. "I'm here for Seokjin, and you know very well since you kept him alive only to lure me here."

"And unfortunately, you came," Kaïto said, no longer trying to hide his chilling demeanor. "I would have preferred to be wrong, you know. Perhaps I would have even spared him if you had shown nothing but indifference toward him."

Jungkook didn't let himself be fooled.

"I don't care about what you think, I want you to release Seokjin and his father immediately."

"Oh, you've become so imperious with me. Have you forgotten where you come from and the respect due to the father? Have you forgotten your manners, son?"

""I prefer to remember that I come from a land where respect between father and son is mutual," Jungkook replied, rejecting his Japanese roots in favor of those of Joseon. "From now on, don't call me son, I no longer consider you my father."

Kaïto raised an eyebrow and turned to Beomseok who gave him a proud smile.

"Yes, that's what I understood..." the captain of the Emperor said slowly. "Admiral Kim himself boldly declared here that if you had to choose a father between him and me, it would be him you'd choose."

The pirates of the Emperor burst into laughter, while those of the Princess looked uncomfortable.

Seokjin looked at his father in astonishment and Jungkook did the same, fixing his dark eyes on the compassionate gaze of Seokjin's father. The latter nodded to assure him that Kaïto was telling the truth and that he himself was sincere.

This shook Jungkook. He had believed he had betrayed him, refusing to trust a mere wako—had he been wrong? His certainty came when his eyes shifted from Beomseok's kind expression to the cold, loveless one of his own father, Kaïto. It was not difficult to understand that there was only one of the two fathers who loved him, and it wasn't his.

"Well, why not make a choice now, Wakaï?" Kaïto said mockingly.

Jungkook gave him a mirthless smile.

"It's not difficult. I choose him."

The pirates' laughter died down seeing Jungkook reject his father in favor of a Joseon, and Kaïto's eyes narrowed into two unfathomable slits. He was furious. But at the same time, there was something else in his gaze that made Jungkook stay defensive: he understood that his father had planned something more painful for him and he knew he was right when he saw the evil glint in his eyes.

"Oh, my boy," Kaïto said, "it's not that choice I'm talking about. You're going to have to choose between Admiral Kim the father and Admiral Kim the son."

A weight seemed to crush Jungkook's heart in that moment, and the weight grew heavier when his father added with a malicious smile:

"Yes, you'll decide for yourself which one of the two should live and which one should die. And once that's done, you'll carry out the execution of the one you've condemned. It's high time my son repaints my ship in red with the blood of Joseon."