Tesoro pushed open the door to the dojo, waving a fresh newspaper.
"Captain! There's an interesting piece of news. I think you'll want to see this."
Everyone gathered around. Tesoro spread the newspaper on the table. The front page featured a photo of Shiki the Golden Lion. The headline was shocking: "Legendary Pirate Golden Lion Escapes! Impel Down's Reputation as the World's Strongest Prison Shattered!"
"Oh?" Rhett took the newspaper and quickly scanned the article. "That guy actually cut off his own legs to escape... That's just like him."
Roger leaned over to look and grinned. "Kuhahaha! That Shiki guy is still so reckless!"
Rouge looked at Rhett worriedly. "Will this affect you?"
Rhett shook his head, not concerned at all. "No, no. Don't worry, Rouge. But..." His gaze swept over the three little ones. "The balance of the New World is probably going to change."
Rhett wasn't worried at all. Based on the level of fighting Shiki had shown in the anime, aside from his spirit, he had completely fallen out of the ranks of the strong. His Flying Pirates? They were still the same. As many as came, that many would die. If he was being honest, Rhett felt that even Tesoro could defeat Shiki alone now.
Ace jumped up excitedly. "Shiki? That's the great pirate who was as famous as Father?"
Sabo quickly pulled out his notebook. "According to Uncle Rhett, he was a former crew member of the Rocks Pirates. He ate the Float-Float Fruit..."
Just then, another news item caught Oden's attention. "Wait... it says here that before Shiki escaped, he shouted, 'There's no way Roger was caught by the Navy'..."
The courtyard suddenly fell silent.
Roger scratched his head. "Ah... he's probably angry at me."
Rhett had a comical smile on his face. "That madman never accepted that you turned yourself in. He's probably going to raise hell now."
Tesoro pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. "According to intelligence, the remnants of the Flying Pirates are already gathering."
Moria emerged from his shadow. "Kishishishi~ Are we going to war?"
Enel picked his ear boredly. "Tch. Just some has-been old man..."
Tesoro then shook his head. "He was still a strong fighter from Rocks' ship. And turn the paper over."
Rhett frowned slightly, tapping the newspaper with his finger. "Interesting... Barrett escaped with him."
Wasn't this supposed to happen during the Marineford war? That was still years away. This time, he escaped together with Shiki? The timeline didn't match.
Rhett could only chalk it up to himself. Think about it. Barrett had set his sights on Roger. He was captured. Then Roger died. Now his target was Rhett. How could he accept that Rhett was ruling the seas while he was stuck in a tiny cell? If he could accept that, he wouldn't be Barrett.
He turned to look at Roger. "Old bastard, how many 'surprises' did you leave for the Navy in Impel Down?"
Roger picked his ear, looking innocent. "Kuhahaha! Who knows! Maybe Magellan's cooking has been bad lately and the prisoners are all in a bad mood!"
Rouge sighed helplessly. "Both of you, be serious..."
Just then, Tesoro's Den Den Mushi rang urgently. He answered it, and his expression turned grave.
"Captain, I just received word. Barrett attacked a Marine branch and stole a warship. His current location is unknown."
Rhett narrowed his eyes. "What does that madman want?"
Moria emerged from his shadow. "Kishishishi~ Could he be looking for revenge on the captain?"
"Very possible~" Rhett suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Roger. "I remember that Barrett did reach Laugh Tale, didn't he..."
Roger's carefree smile didn't change. "Yeah, he was our helmsman~ It's been so many years."
"Idiot Roger, what are you getting sentimental about? You only just got here a few days ago!" Rhett looked at Roger with a contemptuous expression.
But the atmosphere in the courtyard didn't grow heavy because of the news. The two captains simply didn't care. They talked about it like they were discussing what they had for breakfast. That was the sense of security the captains brought.
......
The little ones sat under the cherry blossom tree in the back courtyard of the dojo. The last rays of the setting sun fell on them, casting a warm golden glow.
Ann, Sabo, and Ace were telling Kuina, Hizumi, and Hiyori about their adventures at sea with Rhett.
Ace sat cross-legged, waving a tree branch excitedly.
"Did you know? Once, we met this giant Sea King! Bigger than this whole dojo!"
"Really?" Hizumi's eyes went wide. She spread her hands. "That big?"
"Even bigger!" Ace spread his arms wide. "Uncle Rhett cut it in half with one swing! His blood mist went whoosh—"
Sabo added with a smile, "Then Uncle Moria stuffed the Sea King's shadow into a zombie. Now it works as our guard."
Kuina had trained at the dojo since she was little. Hizumi and Hiyori were the daughters of Wano's shogun, and Wano was a closed country. None of them had ever been to sea.
Kuina listened intently, gripping her wooden sword tightly. "Amazing..."
Hiyori blinked, her voice full of longing. "Wow... Is sea adventure always this exciting? I love it!"
Ann nodded. "Sailing. Adventuring. Freedom."
"Yeah, yeah!" Ace nodded vigorously. "We've even been to Skypiea! That's Uncle Rhett's home base. The people there have little white wings on their backs. The clouds are soft and you can sleep on them!"
"Clouds... you can sleep on them?" Hizumi looked at him in disbelief.
Sabo pushed up his glasses and explained seriously. "Skypiea has island clouds and sea clouds. Their density is different from normal clouds."
Kuina suddenly asked, "Have you ever fought other pirates?"
The three little ones looked at each other and smiled mischievously.
"Of course!" Ace jumped up, imitating a fighting stance. "There was this one called the 'Iron Barrel Pirates.' We beat them so badly!"
"Ace handled the front attack," Sabo pointed at himself. "I cut off their escape route."
Ann silently raised her heavy sword. "Me. Boom. Cut their ship in half. Uncle Rhett said every pirate we let escape is money lost for our future ship."
Hiyori covered her mouth and laughed. "Ann is so amazing!"
Hizumi looked longing. "I want to try too..."
"Ann, will all of you sail out to sea together one day?" Kuina asked curiously.