Chapter 189: Ace: Lufia is Getting Married?
"Wh-what... what is that...?"
Nami stared blankly at the two halves of the ship slowly sinking into the sea, her voice trembling slightly.
It wasn't just her—everyone aboard the Going Merry was stunned by what they had just witnessed.
Or rather, they were awestruck by the longsword form Munch-Munch had transformed into, and the sheer power that allowed it to cut a ship in half with a single, effortless swing.
"One strike..."
Zoro's grip on his sword tightened unconsciously, his eyes fixed intently on the "Gluttony" in Ralph's hand.
"Just a single strike..."
Only he among the Straw Hat Crew understood that Ralph's earlier slash had been casual, almost offhand.
"So cool!"
Lufia's scream shattered the silence, "Munch-Munch is so cool! Ralph is so cool too!"
Usopp and Chopper joined in the cheers:
"That's amazing! He cut down a ship with just one slash!"
Just as everyone was processing Ralph's feat of cutting a ship in half with a single strike, a voice came from the side of the ship:
"Hey, Lufia."
Everyone turned in unison.
A man wearing an orange cowboy hat and bare-chested was crouched on the railing of the Going Merry.
What drew even more attention was the Whitebeard Pirates skull tattoo on his back.
"Looks like you've run into some trouble?"
The man said with a smile.
"Ace!"
Lufia exclaimed in delight,
"You caught up!"
Ace?
The name left everyone else on the ship momentarily stunned.
"Lufia's... brother?"
Nami blinked.
"She never mentioned him before!"
Usopp muttered under his breath.
Zoro's gaze fell on the tattoo on Ace's back, his pupils contracting slightly:
"The Whitebeard Pirates..."
Ace's eyes swept over the crew on the ship, finally settling on Lufia.
"Are these your companions?"
He asked.
"Yeah!"
Lufia nodded, then began introducing them,
"This is Zoro, this is Nami, this is Usopp, this is Sanji, this is Chopper, this is Vivi, and this is..."
She pointed toward Ralph on the sea,
"That's Ralph. You saw him earlier."
Ace followed her finger to look at Ralph, a meaningful smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Seems like you've run into a bit of trouble."
He turned to face the remaining enemy ships on the sea, "I'll help you deal with these guys first, then we can chat properly."
With that, he leaped back onto his single-person boat.
It was a strangely shaped vessel, resembling a surfboard.
The small boat carved an arc across the sea, coming to a steady stop between the Going Merry and the enemy ships.
Ace stood on the boat, his back to the Going Merry, facing the enemy fleet.
He raised his right hand, then threw a punch.
Boom——!
Crimson flames erupted from Ace's fist, instantly swelling into a fiery wave dozens of meters wide, surging toward the fleet ahead.
The sight was as if the entire sea had been set ablaze.
Nineteen ships, before the wave of flames, were as fragile as paper boats.
Wherever the flames passed, planks carbonized, sails burned, and masts snapped.
In just a few seconds, the once-menacing fleet was reduced to a scattering of burning wreckage floating on the sea.
On the Going Merry, dead silence fell.
Everyone's mouths hung open, their eyes wide with shock.
Even the usually composed Zoro couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
"..."
Usopp's voice trembled,
"Lufia's brother?"
"The Whitebeard Pirates!"
Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke, his expression grave. "...Truly living up to their reputation."
Ralph slicing a ship in half with one sword strike was already terrifying enough, but now Ace had incinerated nineteen ships with a single punch...
Lufia, however, was thrilled:
"Ace! So amazing!"
But amid her excitement, she suddenly remembered something:
"Wait, where's Ralph?"
Only then did everyone realize that Ralph, who had been standing on the enemy ship just moments ago, had now vanished without a trace.
Upon closer inspection, they discovered that Ralph had somehow already taken to the air.
Using Geppo, he hovered dozens of meters high, looking down helplessly at the sea of flames below.
"Almost turned into a barbecue..."
Ralph muttered quietly.
He had just tested his sword on the first ship and was about to board the second to continue when Ace's fire fist came hurtling toward him.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly, using Geppo to escape into the air immediately. Otherwise, even with Armament Haki protecting him, he would have been half-roasted.
Both were Logia users.
Ralph could guarantee a complete victory over Smoker because the nature of the Moku Moku no Mi was countered by his abilities.
No matter how thick the smoke, his Armament Haki attacks would either strike pure smoke or hit the physical body.
And he had sufficient Observation Haki to distinguish between the two.
But he couldn't guarantee a victory over Ace.
Because dealing with Ace required more than just Armament Haki.
Armament Haki could grasp a physical body, but it couldn't block temperature.
Facing Ace's flames meant confronting thousands of degrees of real, scorching heat.
"In the end, my strength still isn't enough."
Ralph sighed inwardly as he watched the flames below gradually die down.
"If I were strong enough, it wouldn't matter if it was raging fire or freezing ice—one sword strike would make it all vanish."
But that required a higher realm—whether in Haki or swordsmanship.
If he really wanted to fight Ace, he could probably achieve a complete victory in his Red-Eyed State.
But there was no need.
This was a test from Lufia's brother, not a life-or-death struggle.
Ralph descended from the air, landing steadily on the deck of the Going Merry.
The "Gluttony" in his hand had already reverted to its small dinosaur form and was now yawning lazily on his shoulder.
It seemed that the earlier sword strike had drained quite a bit of its stamina.
Ace also returned to the Going Merry. He looked at Ralph, and the two exchanged a glance, both smiling.
The overconfident pursuers had been swept away, and the Going Merry could finally sail peacefully upstream along the Sandora River.
The atmosphere on the ship grew relaxed.
Although they now had a "big shot" on board, since he was Lufia's brother, he wasn't an outsider.
Through brief conversation, everyone learned that Ace was indeed a member of the famous Whitebeard Pirates and, moreover, the captain of the Second Division.
"Whitebeard..."
Zoro crossed his arms.
"The strongest man in the world."
Hearing someone speak his father's name, Ace's eyes filled with respect.
After chatting for a while, Ace suddenly turned to Lufia:
"Lufia, why don't you come join us?"
He said earnestly, "Father's pirate crew is the strongest in the world. If you come, we siblings can adventure together!"
The deck fell silent for a moment.
Everyone looked at Lufia.
Without a second thought, Lufia shook her head:
"No."
Lufia cut him off, her eyes sparkling, "I'm going to become the Pirate King!"
Ace was taken aback for a moment, then laughed.
He laughed heartily.
"Is that so?"
He said, "Then there's nothing to be done. In the future, we might be rivals."
"I've already decided to help Pops become the Pirate King."
"Then you're bound to lose!"
Lufia clenched her fists, "The one who will become the Pirate King is definitely me!!"
"Then let's give it a try."
Ace smiled until his eyes narrowed.
He wasn't annoyed that his little sister had rejected his proposal; instead, he was happy to see her vibrant and hopeful smile.
It seemed his sister had found a good group of companions and was steadily moving forward toward her dreams.
She even had a suitor now.
As for strength... well... it was passable.
Ace glanced at Ralph, making a mental assessment.
But just thinking about how the little kid who used to follow him around had suddenly grown up, and now even had a suitor, possibly getting married in the future...
A strange feeling stirred in Ace's heart.
It felt particularly unreal!