Hearing Smoker's words, Tashigi was incredibly surprised and exclaimed,
"Marineford?!"
"You want to call for reinforcements from Marineford?"
"But Straw Hat is just a pirate with a 60 million Berries bounty. Will Marineford send reinforcements?"
Smoker suddenly stopped upon hearing this, then abruptly turned to look at Tashigi.
Just one glance at Smoker's eyes made Tashigi tremble with fear, unable to meet his gaze.
Then, she heard Smoker, incredibly angry, say in a roaring voice,
"Listen carefully, Tashigi!"
"That Straw Hat… is definitely not at the 60 million Berries level!"
"I already reported this to Marineford last time."
"But those bastards said that because the bounty poster had just been released, they couldn't immediately make changes, so he has remained at a 60 million Berries bounty."
"That Straw Hat… he's definitely a great pirate worth over 100 million Berries!"
Smoker's furious roar and shout scared Tashigi to the point of tears.
The Marines behind him were also trembling, having never seen Captain Smoker in such a frenzied state.
After explaining the seriousness of the situation to Tashigi, Smoker turned around again and walked quickly towards the coast.
...
Inside the restaurant!
Luffy was eating and chatting casually with Ace.
"Speaking of which, Luffy. You're quite famous now!"
"The Worst Generation?!"
"You're even more impressive than when I first set sail!"
Ace looked at Luffy with a smile, his eyes full of fighting spirit.
Luffy, still eating non-stop, said indistinctly with a matter-of-fact expression, "Isn't that obvious! I'm much stronger than you!"
Hearing Luffy say this, Ace immediately got annoyed and said defiantly, "You…!"
"You were stronger than me back then, but I set sail three years before you, and I've had much more training than you."
"Now, you definitely aren't my opponent."
Luffy smiled when he saw Ace's fighting spirit and said, "What? You want to try?"
Ace's lips curved upwards, his fingers crackling as he clenched them, his eyes overflowing with battle intent.
He had sparred with Luffy so many times and never won; how could he not want to win once?
Just then, Ace's expression suddenly turned serious, and he said, "Hey! Luffy! Don't you think it's much quieter outside?"
The street had been very noisy, but now it was strangely silent.
Luffy, however, smiled at the remark and said, "I've been waiting for them for a long time."
With that, Luffy stuffed the last piece of meat into his mouth.
Then he patted his stomach, slowly got up, and took his Straw Hat from a nearby table to put it on.
Turning back, he saw that the street outside was surrounded by a group of burly men, armed with swords and guns, who clearly looked like vicious criminals, completely blocking off the restaurant.
Ace, hearing Luffy's words, couldn't help but ask, "Are those guys looking for you?"
Luffy smiled slightly, shook his head, and said, "I… am looking for those people!"
...
The three of them came out of the restaurant.
The street, rooftops, and every conceivable standing place were packed with these thugs.
At a glance, Luffy roughly estimated there were at least five hundred people.
Vivi's gaze swept over these people, and she quickly recognized their identities, saying, "They are the Billion Members and Millionaires, high-ranking agents of Baroque Works."
"The Millionaires are no weaker than the bounty hunters on Whiskey Peak."
"The Billion Members are even stronger than those lower-ranking officers."
In fact, Luffy didn't care at all about Vivi's introduction of these small fry.
To him, they were all trash.
His gaze kept wandering among these people, searching for something.
Suddenly, when Luffy saw two people standing on a rooftop, his eyes immediately lit up as if he had discovered a new continent.
On that rooftop stood a man with the number "3" on his head.
Beside him stood a young woman with pigtails.
Mr. 3 and Ms. Goldenweek!
Luffy knew without thinking that those small fry definitely didn't know the specific battle plan.
So his initial target was the officers of Baroque Works.
And now, seeing these two, his eyes brightened.
On the rooftop.
Mr. 3 and Ms. Goldenweek stood together, looking down at the battle below.
"Hmph hahahaha…"
"A combination of 500 Billion Members and Millionaires."
"Every one of them is a top assassin, growing stronger by fighting."
"Especially the Billion Members, some of them are even stronger than officers ranked 6 and below."
"Even if Straw Hat is a pirate with a bounty of 60 million Berries, he won't be able to defeat them easily."
Mr. 3 looked at the overwhelming numerical advantage and laughed heartily, his eyes filled with confidence.
Ms. Goldenweek remained silent, her gaze fixed intently on Ace, a piece of paper still in her hand.
Seeing that Ms. Goldenweek didn't respond, Mr. 3 turned to look at her and asked curiously, "What are you spacing out for, Ms. Goldenweek?"
Noticing the paper in Ms. Goldenweek's hand, Mr. 3 asked curiously, "Why are you still holding that paper? Haven't we already found Straw Hat and Princess Vivi?"
Ms. Goldenweek's tone was flat as she calmly said, "This isn't the previous report; this is the latest report the Billion Members just submitted to me."
"It says that the man standing next to Straw Hat, shirtless, is Fire Fist Ace, the commander of the 2nd Division of the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"…"
The air fell silent for a moment.
The next second…
"Why didn't you say so sooner?!"
Mr. 3 bared his teeth and roared in terror, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat.
The Whitebeard Pirates, how could he not know them?
Fire Fist Ace's name, how could he not have heard of it?
That was a monster of the sea!
Even Crocodile might not be his match here.
At this moment, Mr. 3 panicked.
He already had plans to escape.
...
After discovering Mr. 3 and Ms. Goldenweek, Luffy suddenly spoke to Ace, "Ace, aren't you going to spar with me?"
"Then let's use these people as our target, and decide the winner by who eliminates more, how about it?"
"Of course, no Haoshoku!"
It was a simple spar; using Haoshoku would defeat the purpose of the competition.
Ace gave a mischievous smile when he heard this and said, "Hmph hmph… Luffy!"
"You don't know yet, do you?"
"After I set sail, I also ate a Devil Fruit."
"I ate the Flare-Flare Fruit, which allows me to control flames."
"One Fire Fist can take out a large group, so you'll definitely lose to me."
Luffy, however, was noncommittal and laughed, "Let's try it!"
Since Luffy said so, Ace naturally wouldn't decline further.
Immediately, his lips curled up, he clenched his fists, and his gaze locked onto the people around them.
The next second, both of them exerted their strength simultaneously, their figures flashing as they charged into the crowd.
Where the two fought, raging flames soared in one area, while dense fists rained down in another.
And the Billion Members and Millionaires surrounding them were handled as easily as chopping vegetables, their wails endless.
The five-hundred-strong force was completely cleared out in less than a minute.
On the rooftop, Mr. 3 was already scared silly.
How could a pirate with a 60 million Berries bounty do something like this?
That Straw Hat clearly looked as strong as Fire Fist Ace!
Both of them handled these Billion Members and Millionaires with ease.
Although Ms. Goldenweek was also scared, her expression remained impassive, so her appearance didn't show much change.
"Run!"
Mr. 3 blurted out, then pulled Ms. Goldenweek, ready to flee.
However, when he reached the edge of the rooftop, preparing to jump down, he saw a man standing on the ground, wearing a Straw Hat and smiling.
Mr. 3's heart immediately tightened, and he stood there like a statue, sweating profusely, his eyes filled with terror.
...
Inside a narrow, dark alley.
Luffy clapped his hands and walked out, looking satisfied.
Just then, Ace suddenly ran over, looking triumphant, and said, "Hey! Luffy! I just counted, I eliminated 250 people, and you only eliminated 249."
"I won this spar!"
"I finally won against you once!"
"Wahahahaha…"
Ace laughed heartily, feeling incredibly refreshed at winning against Luffy for the first time.
Just then, Luffy chuckled softly and said, "Who said I lost?"
Saying that, Luffy turned his body, clearing the view.
Immediately, the scene behind him was revealed.
In the alley behind them, Mr. 3 was beaten to a pulp, no longer recognizable.
Ms. Goldenweek, on the other hand, looked startled, with tear stains on her face, and had fainted.
"249 plus these 2, 251, I win!"
Luffy's lips curved upwards, a look of triumph in his eyes.
Afterward, he took Vivi and left the area.
Only Ace was left there, fuming and shouting indignantly.
"Damn it! Just a little bit more!"
...
Nanohana Port, a secluded coast.
Luffy returned with Vivi, with Ace still behind them, brooding over his loss to Luffy.
Everyone else had also returned, each having purchased some necessities, such as the video den den mushi and projection den den mushi that Luffy had asked them to prepare, which were now being distributed on the deck.
Before they even boarded the ship, Vivi's excited voice reached the deck.
"Everyone, we're back!"
"We found some information!"
Hearing Vivi's voice, everyone came to the ship's side, excitedly saying,
"That's great, we didn't get any useful information!"
"No one from Baroque Works came looking for us; their target must be Vivi!"
"Thanks to you two! Now we can start preparing to implement the plan."
Suddenly, Sanji noticed an unfamiliar man with Luffy and asked curiously,
"Huh? Luffy! Who is he?"
Hearing Sanji's question, everyone looked over.
Before Luffy could introduce him, Ace shook off his previous brooding state, returning to his usual confident and proud demeanor, and smiled slightly.
"Hello everyone! I am Portgas D. Ace."
"Thank you for taking care of my younger brother!"
In front of Luffy, he was the Ace who could never win.
But in front of others, he was the Fire Fist, famous across the Grand Line!
So, at this moment, he adopted a confident and polite demeanor.
Upon hearing Ace's introduction, everyone was stunned.
"Brother?! You are… Luffy's older brother?"
"I didn't expect Luffy to have an older brother!"
"But how could Luffy's brother be on the Grand Line?"
Luffy smiled and said,
"Ace is the commander of the 2nd Division of the Whitebeard Pirates, and like us, he's also a pirate."
Hearing Luffy's words, everyone on the ship was startled.
"Whitebeard Pirates?! The commander on the ship of the man hailed as the strongest in the world..."
"He's such an incredible person!"
"They're truly brothers; both of them are like monsters."
While everyone was exclaiming, Ace's gaze swept around, and he suddenly asked Luffy in confusion,
"Luffy, where's Uta? Is she not here?"
Luffy also suddenly realized that Uta wouldn't be able to meet Ace, and said with some regret,
"Oh! I sent Uta on a secret mission."
"Do you want to stay with us for a few more days? Then you'll be able to see Uta."
Ace shook his head.
"I don't have that much time."
"In fact, I'm pursuing a man who calls himself Blackbeard."
"That guy used to be my subordinate, but he killed a comrade and escaped from my ship."
"As a commander, I must resolve this matter and give an explanation to my deceased 247 subordinates!"
Luffy, hearing Ace's words, was speechless for a moment.
He knew that with Ace's personality, persuasion would definitely be futile.
So he chose not to speak.
At this moment, Ace suddenly handed Luffy a piece of paper.
"Take this."
Luffy took the paper and recognized it as Ace's Vivre Card.
Ace continued, saying,
"This paper will allow us to meet again next time."
"You must… always keep this paper!"
Luffy looked at Ace's concerned smiling face, smiled back, and nodded.
After handing Luffy the Vivre Card, Ace suddenly spoke.
"Alright, the main reason I came to find you this time was to see you and give you this thing."
"It's a bit of a shame I didn't get to see Uta."
"But… I should go now!"
Hearing that Ace was leaving so soon, everyone on the ship spoke up.
"Huh? Leaving so soon?"
"Luffy's older brother, won't you come up for a cup of tea?"
"Stay a little longer!"
Ace smiled and waved his hand.
"I'll continue to entrust my younger brother to you all."
Then, Ace looked at Luffy, his eyes filled with excitement and anticipation.
"Luffy, next time we meet, I hope we're at the peak of piracy!"
Luffy nodded and only said one sentence.
"Take care!"
The next time they met, it was indeed at the peak of piracy, but it was not Ace's peak.
Luffy watched Ace's receding figure, silently making a resolution in his heart.
"Ace, I will definitely save you!"
...
After Ace left, Luffy called everyone together, planning to explain the details of the plan.
"We've thoroughly investigated Crocodile's plan."
"They will begin their operation tomorrow morning at seven o'clock."
"That means, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Rebel Army will begin their march on Alubarna shortly after that time."
"So we need to arrive near Alubarna in advance."
"When the Rebel Army breaks through the King's Army's defenses and invades the capital, we will appear at that moment, go to expose Crocodile's conspiracy, and deal with the people of Baroque Works."
After explaining the general course of action to everyone, Luffy told them the detailed plan.
The final conclusion of the overall discussion was...
To have Nojiko stay in Nanohana and, tomorrow, broadcast the videos recorded by others from Crocodile and the executives to the city using a projection den den mushi, while also protecting the broadcast from being disrupted by Baroque Works.
Then, everyone else would sail upstream along the Saint Dora River overnight.
The Saint Dora River almost traverses most of Alabasta, separating several major cities of Alabasta in the middle.
Furthermore, the upstream area is close to Alubarna, has no port, and is sparsely populated, making it the best hiding place.
Tomorrow, they can secretly depart from here to expose this conspiracy.
Once the action plan was confirmed, everyone immediately began to act.
The final battle is about to begin!
....