Tesoro pushed open the dojo doors, waving a freshly printed newspaper in his hand.
"Captain! This is interesting. I think you will definitely want to see this."
Everyone gathered around. Tesoro spread the paper across the table. Splashed across the front page was a photo of the Golden Lion. Corpse Specter ran the shocking headline:
"The Legendary Pirate Golden Lion Escapes Impel Down! The Myth of the World's Strongest Prison Has Been Shattered!"
"Oh?" Reed took the paper and skimmed it quickly. "He actually cut off both his legs to escape. That sounds exactly like him."
Roger leaned in, grinning broadly.
"Hahahaha! Shiki is still as reckless as ever!"
Rouge looked at Reed with concern.
"Will this affect you all?"
Reed shook his head, completely unconcerned.
"No, Sister Rouge, do not worry. But…" His gaze shifted to the three kids nearby. "The balance of the New World might change."
Even so, Reed felt no real anxiety. Judging from the combat strength Golden Lion had shown in the animated records, it was no exaggeration to say that setting aside his theatrics, Shiki had long since fallen out of the ranks of true powerhouses. As for those so-called flying sky pirates?
The conclusion was the same. No matter how many came, they would die. To be blunt, Reed believed Tesoro alone could take on the current Golden Lion and win.
Ace jumped up excitedly.
"The Golden Lion? That is a pirate as famous as my father, right?"
Sabo immediately pulled out his small notebook.
"According to Uncle Reed, he used to be a member of the Rocks Pirates and has the Float-Float Fruit…"
Just then, another line in the article caught Oden's eye.
"Wait… it says that before escaping, the Golden Lion shouted, 'How could Roger be captured by the Navy?'"
The courtyard fell silent.
Roger scratched his head.
"Ah… maybe he is angry at me."
Reed smiled wryly.
"That madman never accepted your surrender. Now that he is free, he will probably cause chaos."
Tesoro adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.
"According to economic intelligence, the remnants of the Sky Pirates have already begun regrouping."
Moria emerged from the shadows, chuckling.
"Heh heh heh. Is a war about to start?"
Enel dug at his ear, bored.
"Tch. Just an old man past his prime."
Tesoro shook his head.
"He was still a major figure aboard Rocks' ship. You should take this seriously."
Reed frowned slightly, tapping the newspaper with his finger.
"Interesting. Douglas Bullet escaped with him."
That should not have happened yet. That was supposed to be around the Summit War, which was still far off. This time, Bullet had escaped by taking advantage of Shiki's breakout? The timeline no longer matched.
Reed could only blame himself. When the world's bullets were aimed at Roger, Roger had been captured and executed. Now the target was Reed. How could Bullet tolerate Reed rampaging freely while he himself rotted in a narrow cell? If he could tolerate that, he would not be Douglas Bullet.
Reed turned to Roger.
"You old bastard. How many 'surprises' did you leave the Navy in Impel Down back then?"
Roger picked at his ear, looking innocent.
"Hahahaha! Who knows? Maybe Magellan has been eating poorly lately and the prisoners are all acting up."
Rouge sighed helplessly.
"You two, please take this seriously…"
At that moment, Tesoro's Den Den Mushi rang urgently. After answering, his expression turned grave.
"Captain, I just received news. Bullet attacked a Marine unit, hijacked a warship, and has gone missing."
Reed narrowed his eyes.
"What is that lunatic planning?"
Moria chuckled from the shadows.
"Heh heh heh. Maybe he wants revenge on the captain?"
"Very possible," Reed said, suddenly thinking of something. He turned to Roger. "I remember that guy named Bullet eventually reached Laugh Tale, right?"
Roger kept smiling casually.
"Yeah. He was even the helmsman. Time really flies."
"Idiot Roger, why are you sighing? You have only been here a few days," Reed said with disdain.
Yet these two pieces of news failed to disturb the atmosphere in the courtyard. The two captains simply did not care. They spoke as if discussing what to eat for dinner, and that calm indifference itself brought a sense of security.
Under the cherry blossom tree in the back courtyard of the dojo, the children sat together. The setting sun bathed them in warm golden light.
Anne, Sabo, and Ace told Kuina, Shizumi, and Hiyori about their voyages with Reed and the things they had seen.
Ace sat cross-legged, waving a stick excitedly.
"You know what? We once ran into a gigantic Sea King! It was bigger than the entire dojo!"
"Really?" Izumi widened her eyes, holding out her hands. "That big?"
"Bigger!" Ace stretched his arms dramatically. "Uncle Reed split it in half with one slash! The blood mist swept across the sea…"
Sabo added with a smile.
"Then Uncle Moria turned its shadow into a zombie. That thing is still guarding our ship."
Kuina had trained in swordsmanship at the dojo since childhood, while Hiyori, as the daughter of a Wano noble, had never gone to sea due to the country's isolation.
Kuina listened intently, gripping her wooden sword.
"That sounds incredible…"
Hiyori blinked, her voice filled with longing.
"So amazing! Is adventure at sea always this exciting? I love it!"
Anne nodded.
"Sailing. Adventure. Freedom."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Ace nodded vigorously. "We even went to Skypiea! That is Uncle Reed's main base. People there have little white wings on their backs, and the clouds are so soft you can sleep on them like beds!"
"You can sleep… on clouds?" Izumi looked utterly unconvinced.
Sabo pushed up his glasses and explained seriously.
"Skypiea clouds are divided into island clouds and ocean clouds. Their density is different from normal clouds."
Kuina suddenly asked,
"Then… did you ever run into other pirates?"
The three exchanged glances, mischievous smiles spreading across their faces.
"Of course!" Ace jumped up and struck a fighting pose. "There was some group called the Iron Barrel Pirates or something like that. We beat them so badly they ran for their lives!"
"Ace handled the frontal assault," Sabo said, pointing at himself. "I cut off their retreat."
Anne silently lifted her greatsword.
"I went boom. I chopped their ship into pieces. Uncle Reed said if even one pirate escapes, we lose the money for buying the next ship."
Hiyori covered her mouth, laughing.
"Anne is amazing!"
Izumi looked at her with pure longing.
"I want to try that too…"
"Anne, are you going to sea again later?" Kuina asked curiously.