"Lieutenant Commander Taro, is something the matter?" Vice Admiral Gumir looked over curiously.
"Oh, no, it's nothing." Taro quickly wiped his mouth, his lips still twitching. "I've just never had such delicious coffee before. I got a little excited for a moment."
Hearing Taro's name, Ace recognized this Marine he had met once in Alabasta.
He hadn't expected that in just a few days, Taro would have been promoted from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander, and he was slightly surprised.
Taro and Ace made eye contact, then immediately looked away, pretending not to know each other.
The Marine officers at the fortress base knew very well what their coffee tasted like. Was that stuff even drinkable? So, they looked at Taro with strange expressions.
Taro was startled. Holy crap, am I exposed?
Taro forced a smile, then saw the Marine officers, including "Lieutenant Commander Ace," pick up their coffee cups with skepticism and take a sip.
Pfft!
Pfft!
"..."
Afterward, all the officers in the meeting room spat it out. "Lieutenant Commander Ace" even stuck out his tongue. "This tastes awful!"
Immediately after, the atmosphere shifted as everyone began to complain about how terrible the coffee was.
Taro was stunned. He thought his connection to Ace had been exposed, but he never expected this. Finally feeling a bit relieved, he picked up his cup and took a sip to calm his nerves.
"Pfft, so bitter!"
Taro spat it out immediately. Holy crap, the food in the cafeteria is so delicious, how can this coffee be so bad?
Vice Admiral Gumir was also a bit embarrassed. What was supposed to be a proper war council had turned into a farce and ended abruptly. Fortunately, Ace's identity as a pirate wasn't exposed, and Taro finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After the meeting adjourned, Ace vanished in a flash. Taro, meanwhile, was dragged to the cafe by Vice Admiral Gumir.
Why would Ace appear at G-2 Fortress?
In his past life's anime, Ace didn't appear that often, and there were even fewer detailed depictions. Coupled with his own fading memories, Taro racked his brain but couldn't figure out why he would encounter him here.
Vice Admiral Gumir poured another cup of coffee, took a sip, and pfft, spat it out again. In the cafe, the other Marine Soldiers also spat theirs out, complaining that the coffee was absolutely atrocious.
Taro was speechless. Were all the Marines at this branch so eccentric?
Just then, a Marine Soldier suddenly shouted, "The Top Secret Intelligence Ship is on fire...!"
Vice Admiral Gumir hurriedly ran outside the base, and Taro followed closely behind.
On the sea outside the base, a Marine intelligence ship was engulfed in raging flames. The Marine Soldiers on board were escaping using lifebuoys and lifeboats.
This intelligence ship was a two-masted wooden sailing vessel. It didn't look as sturdy as a Marine warship, but its advantage was its speed.
The most absurd part was that, despite being an intelligence ship, the words "Top Secret" were written in large characters on the sails.
Taro felt his intelligence was being severely insulted. Is this some kind of joke?!
The fire quickly spread across the entire ship. While Vice Admiral Gumir and the other Marines were at a loss, a Navy Lieutenant Commander leaped high into the air and dove into the sea of fire.
Taro recognized that person as Ace and frowned.
Something's not right. This is strange.
Next to him, Vice Admiral Gumir had also gathered information. It was the remnants of a pirate crew they had previously wiped out; they had set the intelligence ship on fire as revenge.
Just as Taro was wondering about Ace's motive, a figure darted out from the roaring flames. Ace had emerged!
Ace was carrying a Marine officer who had been knocked unconscious by the thick smoke on his shoulder. In his left hand, he held a box with the words "Top Secret" on its casing. It was a Marine Intelligence Box!
Taro suddenly snapped out of it. He had been too busy mocking the intelligence ship's design. He now realized Ace's true purpose: Ace wanted to use Marine intelligence to find information on "Blackbeard"!
While Vice Admiral Gumir was surrounded by Marines praising "Lieutenant Commander Ace" for his bravery, a Marine Soldier behind Ace suddenly saw a pirate mark tattoo appearing under Ace's charred and tattered Marine uniform.
The Marine Soldier cried out in alarm and fell to the ground. He raised his arm, pointed a finger at Ace, and shouted in terror, "Wh-Whitebeard! He's a pirate! A pirate from the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Taro's heart skipped a beat. It's over!
Ace seemed very calm about his exposure. He ripped off the tattered Marine uniform, exposing his bare torso, and gave the surrounding Marines a warm smile. "Hello there!"
"H-He's Portgas D. Ace, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Fire Fist Ace!" a base Lieutenant Commander shouted in shock. "Quick, seize him!"
The surrounding Marines also came to their senses, drawing their swords and guns as they closed in.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A volley of gunfire rang out, hitting Ace's body. However, ordinary bullets were completely ineffective against Ace's flame-transformed body. A wave of intense fire rose around him, forcing back the approaching Marines. Then, he turned into a stream of fire and broke through the encirclement.
Vice Admiral Gumir first glanced at the Marine lying on the ground whom Ace had rescued, then looked toward the direction Ace had fled with an unreadable expression, lost in thought.
Unexpectedly, another flash of fire flickered. Ace, who had already escaped, actually appeared once more and walked up to Vice Admiral Gumir in a few steps.
He pulled a letter from his shorts and handed it to Vice Admiral Gumir, a smile appearing on his face again. "Ah, sorry, I almost forgot to give you this letter!"
Another round of gunfire rang out, but Ace had already transformed into flames and escaped again.
Taro watched Ace's series of actions with a look of bewilderment. What is he doing?
He walked over to Vice Admiral Gumir's side. Gumir was also curiously opening the letter.
Inside was a photograph and a letter. The photo showed a little girl holding a jar of milk, standing next to a cow.
The girl in the photo was smiling happily, and the letter read: "Would you like a cup of delicious milk? — Moda."
In the blank space at the bottom right of the letter, there was even a map drawn from the fortress base to the little girl's house.
Taro was stunned. This is actually a freaking advertisement?!
Vice Admiral Gumir's expression shifted for a while. While Taro was wondering, Gumir turned and handed the letter to his adjutant, whispering a few instructions.
Soon, G-2 Fortress took action. However, they weren't pursuing Ace. Instead, a Marine Cafeteria Procurement Ship slowly sailed out from the fortress.
Taro's eyes widened. Holy crap, what is up with this base? Are they going to slack off until the very end?
But on second thought, Taro's cheek twitched again. This really is quite the Aokiji style!
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