Starting with two Kamui, they raised the flag of rebellion in One Piece.

On Li Mingyuan's ship.

Faced with the unexpected arrival of guests, the entire deck fell into an eerie silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Karina was stunned by the astonishing scene before her, her mouth agape in disbelief. As for Li Mingyuan, he looked at the polite young man before him, surprised by how things had unfolded.

To everyone's surprise, the visitor was not a pirate from the movie, but another character from the original work.

—Portcus D. Ace.

He is one of the sworn brothers of Straw Hat Luffy, the protagonist of the original work, and also an extremely important supporting character in One Piece, a key figure in the major event "Marineford War".

Once upon a time, his ending in the original work left an extremely deep impression on Li Mingyuan, and it could even be said that his fondness for him was once even greater than that for Zoro.

However, later on, as netizens and fans continued to review the "Marineford War," including the ending of Ace's story, and criticized some of the more abstract points, Li Mingyuan's opinion of Ace returned to normal.

Even so, Li Mingyuan still has a great fondness for this character.

It can be said that Ace's role in the original work is extremely important. Logically speaking, even if someone like Nami actively sought him out, they might not be able to find him because of his unpredictable whereabouts.

And now, we've unexpectedly met like this.

Although Li Mingyuan had considered that the other party had not yet become famous and might not have sailed too far in the Grand Line, he never expected that Ace was still in the East Blue and had not even left the beginner village.

Li Mingyuan stared at Ace, watching the other party greet him with extremely un-pirate-like politeness, and he was about to say something in response.

However, at that moment...

"No way?!"

A gasp came from below the cabin.

Not long after, the doors connecting the cabin to the deck were flung open.

At that moment, Nami, panting heavily, hurriedly ran out from inside, wielding a combination of sticks.

"It wasn't my imagination, someone really did come!"

"Is this the legendary power of a Devil Fruit?"

Nami was sweating and stared blankly at Ace, who was crouching on the railing of the ship.

She had already aimed her cannons at the pirate ship below, ready to engage in battle, but before the enemy ship could get close enough to be within firing range, a streak of fire suddenly flew towards her deck.

In her confusion, she didn't care about firing the cannon; she could only rush back towards the deck to check the situation.

Looking at Ace, Nami raised her combination batons with a fierce expression.

"Who exactly are you? What do you want on our ship?"

Nami's hands trembled uncontrollably, but her voice remained resolute as she shouted at Ace, "Let me make this clear beforehand: this ship isn't a cargo ship, and we have nothing to give you pirates! If you don't want to get hurt, get off this ship now!!"

Hearing Nami's shout, Karina, who had been standing to the side at a loss, snapped back to her senses.

"Yes, get off this ship quickly!"

Karina pulled a dagger from her waist pouch and looked at Ace with a tense expression. "If you don't get off the ship now, don't blame us for being impolite!"

Even though she wasn't good at fighting, and even though she had wanted to leave the ship just minutes before, Karina still stood united with Nami, standing together against external enemies.

The unspoken understanding between Karina and Nami has long been deeply ingrained in their actions.

Faced with this scene, Ace, who was still squatting on the railing, was not annoyed, but instead smiled.

"Miss over there, you just got back to the deck, so you didn't hear my introduction, did you? But I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

"I didn't come here specifically to plunder anything, I just wanted to say hello."

Ace then leaped from the railing onto the deck in a flash.

He looked around and, after confirming that there were no fishmen on the ship, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Soon, he took off his hat and hung it around his neck.

He completely lost his will to fight and raised his hands.

"It's a real shame I didn't get to see the legendary fish-men. There were people on my ship who kept arguing that they'd seen this ship before, that it was Arlong's pirate ship, and so on. I was a little curious, so I came over to take a look."

"It seems there won't be a chance to see him this time."

Ace smiled and said to Nami, "Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Portgas D. Ace, and I am currently the captain of the Spade Pirates. My dream is to become the world-famous Pirate King. Nice to meet you."

"As expected, they're pirates...!"

If Ace hadn't introduced himself, Nami probably wouldn't have reacted much. But after hearing his self-introduction, Nami was practically gritting her teeth, unable to suppress her hostility any longer.

Nami raised her stick and pointed it at Ace's nose, saying coldly, "Let me tell you straight, just now, I was planning to retaliate against you with cannons, but before I could use them, you came aboard our ship."

"Pirates are not to be trusted at all. Don't think you can pretend to be harmless with sweet talk. Until you leave our ship, any conversation is meaningless!"

Upon hearing this, Ace couldn't help but shake his head slightly. "You're really being picky. I'm very curious about the origins of this ship and I was hoping to ask you guys about its history."

In the original work, the Spade Pirates not only consisted of humans, but also included members of many different races. It wouldn't be surprising if Ace was curious about this aspect during the early stages of his pirate crew's formation. He might even have been thinking of inviting anyone he found appealing to join his crew.

Upon hearing Ace's conversation, Li Mingyuan had this thought in his mind.

Immediately afterward, seeing that Ace seemed to be really about to leave, Li Mingyuan knew it was time for him to take over the situation.

"Wait, before disembarking, I have a few questions I'd like to ask."

A calm voice echoed on the deck, "Since we're on the same shipping route, where is your pirate crew headed?"

Upon hearing this voice, Ace turned around and looked at Li Mingyuan.

"Hmm? You are—"

Ace sized up the man who had spoken.

It was only then that he took a closer look and realized that, unlike the two girls from before, this guy who suddenly spoke was not only calm but also showed no sign of panic.

He also exuded an unusually heavy aura.

Before he spoke, he was almost completely integrated with his surroundings, and you couldn't feel his presence at all.

"not simple."

The thought immediately popped into Ace's mind.

"Unlike that lady from before, she didn't even flinch when she saw how I got to this ship."

After a few seconds of contemplation, he withdrew his scrutinizing gaze, a smile playing on his lips, and said, "Alright, in that case, it's fine to tell you."

If the crew were still around, they would definitely exclaim in surprise what foolish thing the captain has done again.

But Ace, who was all alone beside him, simply shrugged and replied nonchalantly, "Recently, news of the Golden Pirate Unan has been making headlines throughout the East Blue. I also set sail with the goal of becoming the Pirate King, so it's not surprising that a pirate would be eyeing such a target."

"So, you're saying you're on the same flight path as us?"

Ace looked at Li Mingyuan with interest. "That's strange. According to the information I have, there shouldn't be any other islands along this route. Because of this, my ship is having trouble even with supplies."

"Or... are you also heading towards the same destination as us, with the goal of finding treasure?"

Ace narrowed his eyes and stared at Li Mingyuan.

After Ace said those words, although his tone remained relaxed, the atmosphere on the entire deck suddenly became somewhat oppressive.

Nami and Karina couldn't even get a word in edgewise, their breaths catching as they stared at the scene before them.

Despite Ace's probing, Li Mingyuan remained completely unmoved.

On one hand, he does feel a sense of goodwill towards the original characters he encounters, but on the other hand, he is still wary of the "strangers" he is meeting for the first time.

Taking into account both positions and his own possible future moves, Li Mingyuan quickly determined how he should proceed.

"That's right, our destination is that golden island."

"What a coincidence, I didn't expect the two groups to run into each other at this time."

Li Mingyuan replied calmly.

Ace hadn't reacted yet upon hearing this.

Karina, standing to the side, immediately became anxious.

"Captain! What are you saying?!"

"They're vicious pirates! Aren't you afraid they'll turn against us if you say that?"

Karina said anxiously, "It was so easy to just let him disembark obediently, why did we have to deliberately provoke an enemy?!"

Karina was completely puzzled and didn't understand Li Mingyuan's reason for doing this.

Of course, Li Mingyuan would not reveal his hidden thoughts on this matter.

"There's no point in deliberately denying it."

Li Mingyuan simply continued, "After all, as long as we have the same destination, we will continue to sail together, and may even land on the island together. Since we are bound to meet sooner or later, we might as well resolve it now."

"Oh? You're the captain?"

After listening to Li Mingyuan and Karina's conversation, Ace's gaze towards Li Mingyuan became even more intense. "You want to fight me? Knowing that I might be a Devil Fruit user?"

"Even Devil Fruit users will suffer if they think they are invincible."

Li Mingyuan's expression gradually turned cold, and his gaze sharpened as he said, "Besides, even putting aside the reasons mentioned above, I am a bounty hunter. I can't just stand by and watch pirates slip away right under my nose. That would be beneath my dignity."

Ace stared at Li Mingyuan at this moment, and the tension that was about to erupt made him subconsciously tense up all his muscles.

Although he didn't initially intend to fight, he had no reason to refuse if a fight were to break out.

after all--

"That's really confident."

"I'm also very curious about just how much strength someone like you has!"

Ace raised his hand, and his entire arm instantly transformed into lifelike flames.

With a beaming smile, he said, "There's no better reason for a bounty hunter to fight a pirate."

In an instant, the battle was about to break out!

On Arlong's former pirate ship, a wave of heat rushed towards Karina and Nami as the flames roared.

"It's so hot! Flames, there's fire burning on the deck!?"

Karina murmured in shock.

"This is bad!"

Even Nami, who had been extremely assertive just moments before, was now sweating profusely.

"If that ability user really fights on our ship, regardless of who wins or loses, the entire ship will burn, and we'll all become bait to be fed to the fish in the ocean!!"

Upon realizing this, Nami's expression immediately turned panicked.

As a member of the "Cowardly Duo" with Usopp in the original work, even if she hates pirates, she still has to consider the situation. Obviously, the current situation is not the time for fighting at all.

In this situation, even if Li Mingyuan wins the battle, it will be meaningless. As long as that guy named Ace sets the ship on fire and then turns into flames and leaves, they will have no chance of winning.

Even Nami felt a chill run down her spine at the thought of such a scene.

"No! No matter what, we can't let them fight!"

"And the captain! He actually wants to fight a Devil Fruit user?! Unlike Arlong, who's a fish-man, even if he is, this is still incredibly reckless!"

At this moment, Karina and Nami almost simultaneously reached a consensus.

We absolutely cannot let those two continue to cause trouble.

But how will the two of them stop the upcoming battle when faced with those two monster-like creatures?

Nami was drenched in sweat and racked her brains to think.

But before she could come up with an answer...

Just moments ago, Ace was confronting Li Mingyuan, seemingly ready for a passionate battle. But suddenly, he paused, slapped his forehead, and gave a look of utter dismay.

"Oh no, I've gotten carried away with my emotions again."

Ace shuddered and said, "If we go back like this, Deus will definitely scold us again."

"Um?"

Li Mingyuan, who was standing not far from Ace, raised his eyebrows slightly.

"I'm sorry, it seems that this battle won't be able to take place for the time being. Could we postpone it until we reach Golden Island?"

"Before I came here this time, my family's ship doctor specifically instructed me that if I decided to fight before they approached and ended up sinking the ship again, there would really be no one to rescue me this time."

Ace put away the fire in his hand and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Also, I forgot to tell you, if you're a bounty hunter, there's absolutely no benefit in targeting me."

"Because I don't have any bounty money on me right now."