Mihawk's words left Hancock and Jinbe both stunned.
He continued calmly, "This time, Creed is in serious trouble."
Jinbe nodded. He had come to the same conclusion.
"By forming an alliance with Big Mom and Shiki, Creed's become the strongest force in the New World. He's now the greatest threat to the World Government. They won't let him go easily."
"What should we do…?"
Hancock's expression turned anxious.
Creed—who had stormed the Holy Land Mary Geoise and was rumored to have cut down more than a few Celestial Dragons—was, in her heart, the brightest hero of this age, the one she faintly admired. Of course she didn't want to see him hunted and erased by the World Government of this era.
"Hey now, you're not taking us Marines seriously at all, are you?"
A dissatisfied voice came from the sofa nearby.
Mihawk and the others turned to look and found Tokikake and Momousagi there, the two admiral candidates sipping tea and nibbling on pastries.
They had been sitting within earshot the whole time, listening to Creed being discussed right in front of them—and worse, these three sounded almost like they were on Creed's side. No wonder the two Marine officers were unhappy.
"Vice Admirals, you misunderstand. We were only talking."
Not wanting trouble, Jinbe quickly laughed it off.
Hancock, however, was different. She curled her lip in disdain.
"You Marines are the ones who begged us to come this time, not the other way around. You'd better watch your tone when you speak."
Hancock was the most beautiful woman in the world. Even when she wore that cold, scornful expression, it only turned into another kind of extreme allure no one could resist.
Tokikake's eyes instantly turned into red hearts.
"Pirate Empress… you're absolutely right…"
He didn't even finish before Momousagi cracked him on the head with a fist, making him yelp and grab his skull.
Right after, the gazes of the two peerless beauties clashed in the air.
Invisible sparks flew between them, and for a moment it felt as if a violent wind had swept through the hall, throwing the whole place into chaos.
Many of the waiters hurriedly backed off to a safe distance.
No matter which one of those two they offended, they'd be dead either way.
"Pirate Empress… Creed would never fall for someone like you," Momousagi said, her aura pushing back against Hancock's.
"Then you think he'd fall for you?" Hancock replied, equally disdainful. "Your looks are nothing compared to this empress."
"All right, all right, that's enough. I'm the one treating everyone today—let's all have a drink instead of fighting."
Garp walked in from the entrance, saw what was going on, and quickly rushed over to break it up.
"Okay, Grandpa!"
Hancock didn't object at all. Instead, she ran up to him like a child greeting a beloved elder, clinging to him with open affection, leaving Momousagi completely ignored and off to the side.
In her eyes, Creed's grandfather was more or less the same as her own grandfather. Naturally, she had to listen to what he said.
"Shameless. The way you call him 'Grandpa'… People who don't know better would think you're Garp's granddaughter-in-law."
Momousagi secretly ground her teeth and cursed under her breath.
Tokikake rubbed his head and muttered, "Aren't you the one who always calls Garp 'Grandpa' too…?"
Thud.
"Ah!"
Tokikake clutched his head again, howling in pain.
…
Whale Island, aboard the Moby Dick.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, a figure wreathed in flames smashed through the guardrail of the ship and plunged into the sea with a loud splash.
Watching from the deck, a few pirates muttered under their breath.
"It's that guy again. How many times has it been now?"
"Not less than a hundred. Pops should've just killed him already."
"He's stubborn, I'll give him that. But he's an idiot too. Pops is the strongest man in the world—how's he supposed to take him down?"
"He's a Devil Fruit user. Get down there and pull him out."
"What's the point? Even if we save him, he'll just try to stab Pops again."
"You lot… So Pops' orders don't mean anything to you anymore, is that it?"
"R-right! I'll jump down now!"
…
"Cough… cough…"
Fished up from the sea, Ace lay slumped against the guardrail, surrounded by hostile glares from all over the ship.
"Shouldn't you all be working instead of standing around?"
Marco appeared with a bowl of steaming hot meat soup, scolding the others and dispersing them. Then he set the bowl down in front of Ace.
"You haven't eaten since yesterday, have you? Drink some hot soup."
Ace sat with his head buried against his knees, giving no response.
Marco set the bowl down and turned to leave, but Ace lifted his head slightly.
"Tell me… Why do you all call him Pops?"
Ace still couldn't understand it.
Marco, Vista, and the others were no weaker than him in terms of strength, yet they were willing to call Whitebeard "Pops" and become his sons.
In Ace's eyes, admitting yourself as someone else's son wasn't something to be proud of. It felt like self-degradation—a kind of humiliation.
"Because he calls us his sons."
Marco's voice was gentle.
"We're all people this world has rejected. Just that one sentence from him… is enough to make us happy. Really, truly happy."
The words struck straight through Ace's defenses.
Born with a sin on his shoulders, he had always believed, ever since learning who he really was, that he had no place in this world—that he was someone abandoned by everyone.
In his heart, for the father he had never met, there was nothing but deep hatred and resentment.
"You're one of those people too, aren't you? One of those hated by this world," Marco said quietly, seeing Ace suddenly breaking down, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
Ace had the Spade Pirates, of course. But after watching them for so long, Marco could tell that the relationship between Ace and his own crew wasn't as open or sincere as it seemed. There was always a certain distance between them.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp…"
Tears spilling from his eyes, Ace grabbed the bowl of soup and began to drink it in big mouthfuls.
"It's delicious… I've never had meat soup this good in my life. It's… really moving. Marco, you're a great cook."
He drank and cried at the same time, trying to cover it up with clumsy excuses, which made Marco smile in quiet relief.
"You barely escaped with your life. Why not just let it go?" Marco said. "You can leave here and live your own life. Don't cling to this anymore. Pops is the strongest man in the New World. Even if you tried to kill him a thousand more times, you still wouldn't succeed."
Ace drained the last of the soup, then slammed the empty bowl down on the deck.
"No," he said, his voice ringing out. "I'm not leaving. I want to join you—because I'm someone this world hates too!"
Marco didn't object to that declaration at all.
"Mm. I'll take you to see Pops."
He walked ahead, leading the way, and spoke as they went.
"Actually, Pops saw it the first time he laid eyes on you. He knew you were just like us…"
Ace said nothing, quietly following behind him.
They entered Whitebeard's room. Marco closed the door and slipped away, leaving them alone.
Whitebeard sat in a large chair, seemingly staring at a world map.
"Is it really okay… for someone like me?"
Ace stepped forward and asked, his voice uncertain and slightly lost.
(End of Chapter)
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