I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 320 Xiaqi Bar

That afternoon.

The Sabaody Archipelago.

Although Hikaru Uchiha had seen this place many times in the manga, this was the first time he had actually come to see it in real life.

Just as it's depicted in the comics.

The entire island is built on a mangrove forest, with the ground formed by the mangrove roots. The largest of these mangroves, known as the "Yarqiman Mangrove," can be faintly seen from tens of kilometers away. In addition, numerous bubbles are scattered across the island, shaped into various forms, creating a spectacular sight.

"According to the map, this should be the place."

Uchiha Hikaru stood in the captain's cabin, compared the footage from the monitor with the map hanging on the wall, and made a confirmation.

The map she now possesses is no longer the one she brought from Onigashima. It is a completely new map created by combining the maps given to her by Kaido, Shanks, and Whitebeard.

Although the pirate world is vast, and even behemoths like the Whitebeard Pirates haven't been able to fully explore it, the combined journeys of the three Yonko have essentially reconstructed a large portion of this sea. The Sabaody Archipelago, adjacent to Marine Headquarters, is a particularly important location that all three marked in detail on their maps.

"Let's find a place to land, Bulma."

"Um."

After using radar to survey the surroundings, Bulma piloted the massive "Blue Planet" to land in the nearest available spot.

Then press the button to shrink the destroyer and temporarily store it in the universal capsule.

"...Huh?!"

Of the people present, only Uchiha Hikaru already knew about this function of the "Blue Planet".

The remaining few all showed expressions of astonishment. Naruto, the youngest, grabbed Uchiha Hikari's arm and shouted "Hikari-neechan" while pointing at Bulma, clearly so frightened that he was incoherent.

"puff--"

Uchiha Hikaru couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Alright, Naruto. Don't be so surprised, it's just a little bit of technology."

"Xiao Ai, you too, calm down."

"..."

Esdeath glanced at her, concealing the slight surprise on her face, and said calmly, "The technology to shrink a hundred-meter-long ship to this extent is quite interesting... But won't this affect the facilities on the ship, especially that 'gravity training room'?"

"Of course not! I've done numerous tests on this; it's absolutely foolproof!"

Bulma spoke with great confidence.

Esdeath remained noncommittal.

……

We have arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.

Next, Uchiha Hikaru planned to find a vice-captain of the Roger Pirates to confirm the current timeline.

That's right.

That's Silbaz Reilly.

This guy has been living in anonymity in the Sabaody Archipelago since the Roger Pirates disbanded many years ago, working as a coating master. Apart from a few old acquaintances, most people would have difficulty connecting him with the Pirate King. However, for Uchiha Hikaru and his group, who know the plot, finding him is not difficult.

All he needs to do is find his old flame, Xia Qi.

After some investigation...

Uchiha Hikaru and his group eventually arrived at "Shakky's Bamboo Bar" on Island 13, where they met the former Empress of Amazon Lily, who appeared young but had actually lived for more than half a century.

"You must be Miss Xia Qi?"

Uchiha Hikaru chose to get straight to the point: "It's a pleasure to meet you. We are friends of Shanks and members of the 'Dimensional Pirates.' We learned from him that you and Mr. Rayleigh are living in seclusion here, so we came to pay our respects."

This statement isn't entirely a lie, because Hikaru Uchiha did ask Shanks for information about Rayleigh, but he did so along with the rest of Roger's crew.

Given Shanks' personality, even if he knew about this, he wouldn't come specifically to correct Shanks on this point.

"……oh?"

Shakky stood behind the counter, seemingly vaguely remembering something: "'Dimensional Pirates'? I think I've heard of your name before."

"You are a rising force that suddenly appeared on this sea some time ago, right?"

"You defeated Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, and his subordinates 'Wildfire' and 'Drought' as soon as you appeared. Not long ago, you encountered the Whitebeard Pirates and had a small-scale sparring match. Afterwards, the two sides shook hands and made peace... But I really haven't heard that you have any connection with Shanks."

"Could it be that she made this up to trick me into giving her information about my partner?"

Upon hearing this...

Before Uchiha Hikaru could say anything, Bulma couldn't help but interject, "Miss Shakky actually knows what we did before? We've become that famous?"

"...No, these are just pieces of information I personally gathered."

Shakky denied it, then narrowed her eyes slightly and scrutinized them with a critical gaze: "To be honest, I only recently learned of your existence, and I even doubted the authenticity of this information... because among you, apart from one who is confirmed to be Kaido's daughter, the backgrounds of the others are uncertain, as if they popped out of a rock."

It's quite unbelievable that such a group of people could face two of the Four Emperors in such a short period of time.

So… can you tell me where you're from? Is it really that isolated, closed-off country of Wano?

I guess so.

Hikaru Uchiha smiled and gave an ambiguous answer.

It seemed he could tell she wasn't going to be honest.

Shakky didn't press further, instead moving on to the next topic: "Alright, I'll assume you're friends of Whitebeard and Shanks. So, what's your purpose in seeking out Rayleigh? He, like me, hasn't been a pirate for many years, has he?"

"Well..."

"You should know Ace, right?"

"One of our crew members, a very good friend of his, learned by chance that he was in danger, so he begged us to help rescue him. By seniority, he should be Rayleigh's nephew, and I think Mr. Rayleigh wouldn't want to see him die at the hands of the Navy, would he?"

Uchiha Hikaru paused for a moment, then continued, "Also, I'd like to ask you about something... Has Ace's younger brother, Monkey D. Luffy, visited you recently?"

A brief silence.

Shakky pulled two sheets of paper from the drawer and slapped them on the counter: "Two pieces of intelligence, ten thousand Berries each."

"Can."

Uchiha Hikaru casually laid out two strings of coins, then took the letter and glanced at it:

"Fire Fist Ace was arrested by the Navy yesterday."

The Straw Hat Pirates defeat Gecko Moria

(End of this chapter)