A few days later, in the morning, the Moby Dick, a whale-shaped ship, was at a standstill in a certain part of the sea.
"Stop, Ace!"
"Calm down!"
"Pops said this is a special case! You don't have to chase Teach!"
On the deck of the Moby Dick, a group of people held Ace back.
"Let go of me! That bastard was my subordinate!"
Ace struggled, his voice filled with resentment. "If we just ignore this, how can Thatch rest in peace?!"
"Ace."
Whitebeard spoke up. At once, everyone on the ship, including Ace, looked at him.
"Let it go, just this once. I have a bad feeling about this," Whitebeard said slowly, his eyes open. With the IV tubes attached to him, he looked even more like a frail, old man.
"But that guy killed a crewmate and ran away! He enjoyed your protection for decades, only to disgrace you!" Ace shouted, his voice full of passion. "Most importantly, Pops, your honor has been damaged! How can I just stand by and do nothing?"
With that, Ace turned, put on the hat that was hanging around his neck, and walked towards the edge of the crowd. "I'm going to settle this with him!"
Ace walked to the edge of the deck, picked up a pack from the floor, and jumped off the Moby Dick onto a small, specially made boat.
"Wait! Come back, Ace!" Marco was alarmed and immediately shouted.
But Ace didn't listen. He used his Flame-Flame Fruit powers to propel the small boat forward.
"Ace! Wait!"
On the Moby Dick, the Whitebeard Pirates watched Ace's receding back and shouted, but it was no use. They could only watch as the headstrong Ace slowly vanished from their sight.
....
"The East Blue? What are those hidden rats doing in the East Blue?"
In his luxurious room, Aeridar was lounging on the sofa, a look of confusion on his face.
"We're not sure, but our people found Benson, Mando, and Ryūkawa Jiku, the one who ambushed Oliver, in the Goa Kingdom."
Sitting across from Aeridar, Arlan, dressed in a sharp blue suit, shook his head. "It seems they're tracking the Revolutionary Army, but we don't know the specifics."
"A regional leader of the Revolutionary Army in the East Blue was killed by an unknown person, and their branch was destroyed. It's probably related to this," Mina said, standing nearby.
"Is that so... How interesting!" Aeridar curled his lips into a smile, thoughtfully stroking his chin.
Two years ago, the Elite Strike Team wiped out the entire Flying Shot Pirates, except for Vatis the Beastclaw, and in doing so, acquired intelligence about a mysterious organization. They later destroyed one of the organization's strongholds in Alabasta. As a result, the two sides engaged in a covert war. The Chris Investigation Bureau and the Elite Strike Team, with the help of SS and XT drugs, as well as the quick support of Enel and even Aeridar, had been winning every encounter.
In the past two years, they had destroyed six of the organization's strongholds and killed nearly a dozen of their high-ranking members. The only regret was that they failed to kill Benson, Vatis, and Ryūkawa Jiku. For the past six months, the organization had completely disappeared, as if they were deliberately hiding. It was a surprise that they had suddenly resurfaced and were now tangling with the Revolutionary Army.
"Three difficult opponents. We don't have the strength to take them on in the East Blue," Arlan said, frowning.
"It's no use. With Mando's Swap-Swap Fruit ability, even if we all attacked together, we might not be able to stop them," Mina said, deflating his spirits.
"Come on, I was just saying!" Arlan rolled his eyes. Way to rub it in.
"Interesting," Aeridar said, stroking his chin. Then, he said something shocking. "I'll go myself. It's been a long time since I've been back to the East Blue."
"So, is this... a family visit?" Arlan teased, raising an eyebrow.
....
In the first half of the Grand Line, on a certain sea...
A massive fleet of forty to fifty ships sailed the sea. The main ship was nearly a hundred meters long with a black leopard figurehead. The other ships ranged from forty to eighty meters long, and all of their yellow masts flew black pirate flags with skull designs. It was clear that this was a huge pirate fleet with a large crew.
"Damn this weather! The Grand Line is so dangerous! Gin, what does the navigator say?" A man with light purple hair, a headscarf, black boots, and a large cloak angrily slammed his fist on the railing.
"Captain Krieg, the weather is too terrible. Our navigators are completely useless here. They've never seen such strange weather before!" A man with a scar on his forehead, a red snake pattern on his coat, and matching pants said with a frown.
"Then what use are they?" Captain Krieg roared in anger. "Throw them all in the sea to feed the fish!"
"Captain Krieg, if we get rid of the navigators, we'll be even more doomed!" Gin said helplessly. "Man-Demon" Gin was the Combat Commander for the Krieg Pirates fleet.
This was the seventh day of the Krieg Pirates' journey into the Grand Line, but the weather was far worse than they could have imagined. Even their top navigators could barely keep the fleet afloat.
"Damn it!" Krieg cursed angrily.
"Captain Krieg! A strange small boat has appeared ahead! There's someone on it!" A voice from the lookout suddenly shouted.
"A small boat! With someone on it!" Krieg was stunned. He grabbed his binoculars and looked ahead. Sure enough, a few hundred meters away, there was a small boat shaped like a coffin, with two green flames burning at the front. A man with a metal cross-shaped object on his back was sitting on it.
Krieg was excited. This was the first time he had seen another person since entering the Grand Line. Maybe he could ask them for the location of the nearest island! They'd been sailing in circles for seven days.
"A pirate fleet... I suppose they'll do to pass the time. Yawn..."
On the small boat, Mihawk yawned, then looked up with his hawk-like eyes. He reached behind his back and drew his great black blade—the Supreme Grade sword Yoru!
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