"Vegapunk..."
Ace blinked his eyes.
Clearly, his knowledge of this name was limited to "having heard it before."
"Who is that?"
"Is he good at fighting?"
Deuce covered his face in pain.
His Captain's lack of common sense was simply despair-inducing.
"Captain!"
"It's not a matter of whether he can fight or not!"
"That is the world's smartest brain!"
"In this world, his status in the scientific community is equivalent to Whitebeard among pirates!"
Deuce hysterically shared this knowledge.
Trying to make his Captain understand the weight of that name.
Ace suddenly realized.
"Oh!"
"So he's the Whitebeard of the scientific world!"
"That is indeed very impressive!"
Ace's gaze toward Banner instantly became respectful.
Although he didn't understand science...
but he knew how strong Whitebeard was.
To be friends with the "Whitebeard of the scientific world" and have the other party specifically come looking for him...
this seemingly frail Dr. Banner.
Sure enough, he's also a monster!
"Since that's the case..."
Ace pressed down his hat.
Hiding the regret in his eyes.
But the smile on his face was still as bright as ever.
"Then I won't force you."
"After all, making a friend come all this way for nothing isn't what a man should do."
Ace stood up.
He extended his right hand toward Banner.
"Although we can't sail together."
"But just like I said before."
"After drinking my wine, we are brothers!"
"If there's trouble in the future, feel free to mention my name, Portgas D. Ace, anytime!"
Banner looked at the calloused hand in front of him.
A warm current welled up in his heart.
He reached out and shook it firmly.
"Thank you, Captain Ace."
"I wish you all... a smooth voyage."
"And I also hope the Famous Ancient Chinese Physician can find those few legendary medicinal ingredients soon."
Banner turned his head.
He exchanged a glance with the "Famous Ancient Chinese Physician" standing aside.
Although the two had no verbal communication.
In the eyes of outsiders.
This was a mutual appreciation between two top-tier experts.
"Alright! Boys!"
Ace turned abruptly, the coat over his shoulders fluttering in the wind.
"Since the goal is set!"
"Then don't dawdle!"
"Set sail! Weigh anchor!"
"We're heading for Sabaody!"
"Whoo!!!"
The pirates erupted in a cheer.
Although the ship was still tattered.
Since the Captain said it's time to go, they must go!
That was the style of the Spade Pirates!
Accompanied by the heavy clanking of the anchor chain.
The tattered Spade struggled to turn its bow.
Under that giant full moon.
It slowly sailed away from the port of Calebari Island.
Banner stood on a reef by the shore.
The sea breeze ruffled his greying hair.
Behind him.
The tall "T-800" still stood like an iron tower, its red electronic eyes flickering with a cold light in the night.
"Goodbye, interesting pirates."
Banner murmured softly to himself.
Watching the pirate ship gradually disappear into the distance.
A meaningful curve hooked at the corner of his mouth.
Of course.
This curve was quickly suppressed.
Replaced by the melancholy and depth belonging to Bruce Banner.
The night was as dark as ink, and the sea breeze carried a salty, fishy smell.
At the port of Calebari Island, only a dim yellow streetlamp swayed in the wind.
The tattered Spade, like a drunkard who had just finished a fight, wobbled away from the shore.
On the deck.
Ace sat cross-legged next to the large hole smashed by the Hulk.
Holding a roasted chicken leg from somewhere, he ate with grease all over his mouth.
"That guy Banner is really an oddball."
Ace mumbled indistinctly while chewing the meat.
"Clearly scared to death, yet he insists on waiting for that... Vegapunk?"
The "Famous Ancient Chinese Physician," sitting opposite him, was organizing the bottles and jars in his medicine chest by the moonlight.
Hearing this, his movements paused slightly.
A meaningful curve hooked at the corner of his mouth.
"A healer has a benevolent heart, a scholar has a dedicated heart."
"Everyone has something they must stick to."
"Just like you, Captain Ace, aren't you also determined to challenge that strongest position?"
These words were spoken calmly, yet they were full of gravitas.
Ace only half-understood.
But that didn't stop him from thinking his new ship doctor's words were truly sophisticated.
"Hahahaha! Well said!"
"Come! Famous Ancient Chinese Physician! For your Elixir of Immortality, and for my ambition!"
"Cheers!"
Ace raised the wine cup in his hand.
However.
Just as the two cups were about to clink together.
A suffocating sense of pressure suddenly swept in from the horizon.
The originally calm sea surface suddenly began to churn violently.
Splash—
Huge waves slapped against the fragile hull of the Spade, making a tooth-aching creaking sound.
"What's going on?!"
"Is a storm coming?"
The pirates who were repairing the ship looked up in panic.
The next second.
Everyone's pupils shrank violently at this moment.
They saw, under the reflection of the moonlight.
A giant ship, so massive it induced despair, was breaking through the huge waves like a moving black mountain, crushing toward them.
That ship was truly too big.
The Spade was like a tiny kitten at the feet of a lion in front of it.
And on the bow of that giant ship.
It was none other than a huge, hideous mammoth skull figurehead!
Two curved tusks pierced straight into the sky, emitting a fierce aura from ancient times.
A pitch-black pirate flag fluttered at the top of the mast.
Behind the skull, it wasn't two bones.
But a purple "eight"-shaped totem!
"That is..."
Vice-Captain Deuce's face turned pale instantly, and the hammer in his hand fell onto the deck with a clang.
"Beasts Pirates..."
"The fleet under Kaido, one of the Four Emperors of the New World?!"
Hearing the words "Four Emperors,"
the pirates, who were still relatively calm, instantly turned into a mess.
For rookies who had just set out to sea.
The Four Emperors.
They were gods hanging over their heads!
An insurmountable chasm!
"Damn it! Why would a monster of this level appear here?!"
"Turn the rudder! Get out of the way!"
"We'll be smashed to pieces!"
Chaos broke out on the Spade.
However.
The giant mammoth showed no intention of slowing down.
It was like a stampeding beast, overbearingly occupying the entire waterway.
On the bow deck of the giant ship.
Stood a man as burly as an iron tower.
He was shirtless, his muscles bulging like granite.
A metal jaw guard was fastened to his chin, and two golden braids hung behind his head.
He wore a heavy feather coat.
His whole being emitted a suffocating, tyrannical aura.
The Beasts Pirates' "Lead Performer."
One of the Three Disasters.
"Drought" Jack!
At this time, Jack had a grim face, staring fixedly at Calebari Island getting closer and closer ahead.