On the vast blue ocean,
the Moby Dick's gigantic white whale bow cut through the waves, sailing steadily.
In the distance ahead, the unique island silhouette of Dressrosa was faintly visible.
"Hey—! Everyone!" a crew member shouted towards the cabin, "Food and freshwater reserves are running low! We need to resupply at the next island!"
"Understood!" the logistics officer responded, "Dressrosa is just ahead! We'll dock there and rest for a few days!"
As the pirate ship slowly approached the port, preparing for its routine resupply operation,
a newspaper seagull swept across the sky, dropping a fresh copy of the World Economic News. A crew member casually caught it, habitually unfolding it, ready to see what new happenings had occurred on the ocean.
However, after just one glance at the headline, his eyes widened abruptly, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg, and he exclaimed in shock:
"Hey!!! Everyone, come look!! Something—something big has happened!!!"
His startled cry immediately drew the attention of his companions.
Everyone gathered around curiously, but when their gaze fell upon the newspaper, everyone's reaction was strikingly similar—they instantly froze, their faces filled with unparalleled shock!
"Pluton... Pluton?! Has it appeared?!"
"One... one strike... annihilated the entire Buster Call fleet?! Five Vice Admirals?! Ten warships?!"
"The ones who did this... are the Straw Hats?! Wait... this leader... Ron?!"
After a brief moment of silence, everyone's gaze swished and focused on Ace, who was dozing against the railing.
The next moment, the entire deck instantly erupted into chaos!
"Ace!!!!"
Diamond Jozu was the first to rush over, his giant hand excitedly slapping the mast next to Ace, making the entire ship's side hum.
"Is what this newspaper says true?! Your brother Ron—! He actually built the legendary Ancient Weapon?!!"
"More than just building it!" Marco quickly scanned the details of the report, his face filled with disbelief, "He even used Pluton to vaporize the Marine's Buster Call fleet with one shot! This kind of achievement... it's too exaggerated!"
"A bounty of two billion Berries!! Directly from zero to two billion!!" Vista held up the wanted poster, his voice changing tone, "'Captain' Ron! Ace! What kind of monster is your brother?! He's terrifying! And so amazing!"
The crew members surrounded Ace, chattering, their faces a mix of extreme shock, excitement, and disbelief.
They vigorously shook the still-dazed Ace, as if wanting confirmation from him, or perhaps just wanting to express the turbulent waves in their hearts.
Ace was shaken back to his senses by his companions. He took the almost crumpled newspaper and wanted poster, looking at his brother's familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar face on it, and the dizzying string of zeros below.
He was stunned for a few seconds, then, a radiant, proud smile, full of shared glory, appeared on his face.
"Haha! That's right! The person in the photo is my big brother Ron!"
The more detailed report in the newspaper and his big brother's two-billion-Berry wanted poster once again heavily impacted him!
Before, he had only heard a general idea; now, reading it carefully, every word was like a heavy hammer striking his heart.
Ace's body, which had been lazily leaning against the railing, suddenly straightened. The newspaper in his hand rustled as he unconsciously gripped it tighter.
Then his pupils trembled slightly, and he suddenly remembered what his big brother had said earlier, that he wasn't coming to the public execution because he was doing something big. Could it be this???
"Wait... wait!"
He suddenly looked up at his companions, who were still excitedly discussing, "I knew big brother Ron had been planning something big... but I thought..."
He paused, seemingly finding it difficult to articulate, but still said, "I thought no matter what, it definitely couldn't be as sensational as the 'Marineford Public Execution' event I caused..."
"But now it seems—!! How is this not comparable?! This is simply too amazing! It's much more amazing than the public execution!!!"
"The public execution at most stirred up a hornet's nest at Marine Headquarters! But my big brother—!"
Ace's voice, filled with excitement and admiration, "He actually built the legendary Ancient Weapon! And he blew away the entire Buster Call with one shot! Directly making the World Government offer a two-billion-Berry bounty!!"
"That's Pluton!! The Pluton that can destroy the world!!"
The surrounding crew members watched their Second Division Commander shout so emotionally and uncharacteristically, but instead of mocking him, they erupted into even more enthusiastic cheers, feeling a sense of shared excitement.
"Hey, hey... Ace,"
Namur couldn't help but wipe the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead, speaking with a complex tone,
"You two brothers... you really don't know how to keep things quiet! One almost overturned Marineford, and the other directly built an Ancient Weapon and sank the Buster Call... This ocean is truly being thrown into chaos by you, with no moment of peace!"
"Hahaha! That's right!" Curiel laughed, slapping his thigh, "I've been in the New World for so many years, and I've never seen brothers who can cause more trouble than you!"
Listening to his companions' teasing and exclamations, Ace suddenly reined in his smile a bit.
He shook his head, held up two fingers, then thought for a moment, and tried to add another, a more radiant and somewhat mischievous smile appearing on his face, and loudly corrected them:
"No, no! You're mistaken! We're not 'two' brothers—"
He looked around at his curious companions, and announced proudly, word by word: "—It's four! Besides me, there's also Luffy, who has always been looked after by big brother Ron! And another younger brother, Sabo, we are sworn four brothers!"
"Four... four?!"
"There's another one?!"
This news was undoubtedly another bomb dropped among the crowd.
People imagined this trouble-making Ace, the Ron who could build Pluton, plus a Luffy who was also said to be heavily looked after... and now a Sabo suddenly appeared?!
"Wait... Sabo? That name sounds a bit familiar..." Marco mused, stroking his chin.
Ace put his hands on his hips, gazing at the distant coastline of Dressrosa, as if he could see the figure of another brother through space, his tone firm and with a hint of anticipation:
"That guy... his life now is probably incredibly exciting too! With brothers like us, it's hard for him to be bored!"