Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

The current generation of pirates doesn't know that Reina was the pirate who cooperated with Roger. Everyone only knows him as a greedy and weak pirate who tried to find out about the Pirate King's treasure before Roger was executed, which led to Roger's world-shaking words.

The scene of Roger's execution was even made into a comic book and circulated all over the world. In it, Reyner was depicted as a demon with his entire body in black except for a pair of red eyes.

When Reina first saw him, he almost went berserk, and the entire Whitebeard Pirates teased him for a whole month because of it.

"You're the pirate who asked about the One Piece before the Pirate King's execution?" Ace asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Luffy, standing to the side, also looked at Reina with shining eyes.

"You must be Ace? Portgas D. Ace!?" Reina didn't answer Ace's question, but instead asked Ace directly.

“That’s right, I am Portgas D. Ace!” Ignoring Dadan’s obstruction, Ace stepped forward and said to Reina.

"Hahaha... Roger... Is this your plan? It's... it's... so interesting!" Reina laughed until tears almost streamed down his face, then said to Ace, "So, when you grow up, do you want to be a pirate? Or do you want to become a Marine according to Garp's plan?"

Ace remained silent and did not answer Reina's question.

At this point, Ace had not found his own meaning, so he couldn't answer Reina's question at all.

“You know what? Before your father went to Laugh Tale, I told him not to go, that it was too early! But he didn’t think so and still went to Laugh Tale! When he came back, he told me that I was right! He went too early…” Reina said after thinking for a moment.

"You...you know who I am?" Ace asked, somewhat surprised.

“Of course, your father is Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King! That bastard once said that he died too early, but that his son might be the one to surpass him and find the One Piece in the future!” Reina nodded and said.

Reina's words left everyone except Karp speechless with shock!

Luffy, in particular, who aims to become the Pirate King, looked at Ace with adoration.

"The...the...the child of the Pirate King? The Pirate King actually has a son? And he was adopted by the legendary Marine hero Garp? My God! What's wrong with this world?" Perona was also shocked by these news and was somewhat incoherent.

"So... who exactly are you?" Ace seemed to have known about his background all along, staring at Reina as he asked.

“Me? My name is Benedict D. Reina, also known as Akame! I am the vice-captain of the Whitebeard Pirates!” Reina activated his Sharingan and said to Ace.

The three tomoe in the red eye sockets looked unusually eerie, but it was these eyes that stunned Ace and Luffy. In legend, before the Pirate King died, it was a person with red eyes who spoke with Roger, which led to Roger's declaration that caused the world to go crazy and ushered in the Great Pirate Era.

Garp, standing to the side, did not stop Reina and Ace from talking; he simply stood there silently watching them.

“Ace…you may not know much about your father! But…that guy…was a great man! And I guarantee that even if you don’t carry on his legacy, although he might have some regrets, he would definitely approve with a smile! Because…everyone has the right to pursue their own dreams! The sea…is vast!”

Reina looked at Ace, who seemed a little confused, and laughed as he spoke.

"The sea... is very vast?" Ace repeated Reina's words, his eyes slowly regaining their light.

“That’s right, the sea is vast! That brat… I’ll let it go today for Ace’s sake! But if I see you again… you’ll either hand over your hat… or your head! That hat… belongs to Roger!”

Seeing that Ace seemed to have a clear goal, Reina turned to Luffy and spoke.

"Roger? The Pirate King's stuff?" Luffy took off his hat and held it in his hand, speaking softly.

Upon hearing this, Ace instinctively looked at the straw hat in Luffy's hand.

"No! This is the hat Shanks gave me; it's a token of our promise!" Luffy shook his head and said firmly.

"Hmph! This was given to Shanks by Roger because that guy's talent is indeed extraordinary! Although I also coveted this hat, Shanks' talent truly deserves it! So after I defeated Shanks, I made a deal with him: he could keep the hat, but he absolutely could not give it to anyone else, or I would take his head!" Reina sneered.

Reina's words drew everyone's attention to Luffy, and everyone understood why Reina had suddenly become enraged upon seeing the hat in Luffy's hand. Pirates value promises above all else; once a promise is made, it must be kept, even at the cost of one's life.

Therefore, Reina's actions can be considered justifiable.

"In other words, my father thought Shanks was very talented, so he passed the straw hat to him. Now Shanks thinks his talent is also very good, so he passed the straw hat to him! I think there is no problem!" Although Ace and Luffy have not yet met, Luffy is someone brought by Garp, so Ace cannot stand idly by, both morally and logically.

Right now, besides Garp, the only one who can speak directly with Reina is him.

From Reina's tone, he could tell that Reina greatly admired his father, Roger, and therefore had a certain degree of goodwill towards him as well.

"Hahaha... This kid? Even Shanks was defeated by me back then, do you think you have any chance of surpassing me?" Sure enough, Reina said to Luffy after hearing Ace's words.

"Of course, I'm going to become the Pirate King!" Luffy said firmly.

Upon hearing this, not only Reina, but even Ace looked at Luffy in surprise.

"Pfft, hahaha... Kid, do you even know... what the Pirate King is? How many heroes are there on this sea? Do you even know? Even your grandfather Garp probably wouldn't dare say that, right?" Reina suddenly burst into laughter upon hearing Luffy's words and asked.

"So what? I'm going to be... Lelouch..." Luffy stuck out his tongue at Reiner and made a face.

“Interesting…this is really interesting! Garp…what do you think?” Reina asked, clutching his stomach and laughing maniacally.

Garp remained silent with a dark expression throughout.

Normally, if Luffy said something like that, he would have rushed over and punched him, but now that Reina is here, he has to be on guard against Reina at all times.

"Kid, remember this! I am Benedict D. Reyna, the vice-captain of the Whitebeard Pirates! I'll be waiting for you there! Waiting for you to surpass me! To become the Pirate King... it's impossible without defeating me!" Reyna said with a sinister smile.

He wasn't deceiving Luffy. He now has rubbings of the four red road signs, and he can find the final island whenever he wants.

Although Oden wasn't there to help with the translation, Robin was there, and as long as Reina brought out the rubbing, Robin would definitely help him translate it.

In the original story, Luffy obtained two Road Poneglyphs from Charlotte Linlin and the Mink Tribe. The one from Wano Country is in Kaido's hands and will probably not escape Luffy's clutches either. However, the one that was originally on Fishman Island was no longer there when Luffy arrived.

Therefore, the fastest and most convenient way for him to find all four road sign texts is to come to Reina to get rubbings of the road sign texts.

"Hmph! I will definitely defeat you!" Luffy roared at Reiner.

"Hahaha... Then I'll wait and see! Perona, let's go! Ace... Don't be confused! Everyone born into this world... has their own mission and meaning. Although you may not have found it yet, you will find it someday!" After saying these words, Reina took Perona and left the back mountain.

Garp did not stop Reina. This was not a good time to capture Reina. Although Reina no longer had any intention of killing Luffy and Ace, Garp did not want to take any risks.

Chapter 246 Cooperation with Moria

Upon returning to Windmill Village, Reina instructed Perona to forget about the day's events and not to mention them to anyone, including Moonlight Moria!

If someone knows about this but is unable to protect themselves, then this matter is a death sentence, and the Navy will absolutely not let it go unpunished.

Perona was aware of the seriousness of the situation, so she repeatedly assured everyone that she would not tell anyone.

The two returned to Makino's tavern, where many naval soldiers were still drinking. They didn't react in any special way when the two entered.

The battle between Reina and Garp in the back mountains had no impact on this area, so the naval soldiers were unaware that Reina had arrived in Windmill Village.

"Was that guy... really the child of the Pirate King?" Perona couldn't help but ask after the two sat down.

“I told you, you’d better forget what you saw and heard today, or I won’t be responsible for the trouble you and Moonlight Moria get into! At most, I’ll just find another partner!” Reina glanced at Perona and replied.

"I...I understand!" Perona shrank back, replying somewhat fearfully.

She herself knew the seriousness of the matter—the child of the Pirate King! If this got out, the world would probably be shocked.

Moreover, the person who adopted him was a legendary hero of the Navy. If one were to speculate, there would be too many things that could be fabricated.

So even without Reina giving any instructions, Perona knew that this kind of thing couldn't be passed on, otherwise the Navy would definitely not let her off the hook.

The two rested in the windmill village for a day and left early the next morning.

Reina had originally planned to visit Zoro's village, but before he could do so, he received news that the Navy had selected several members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

So they had no choice but to give up and start their return journey with Perona.

"Hooray hooray... I really didn't expect Moria to actually be selected as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Is this thing really useful?" Perona asked happily on the way back.

"You'll find out later whether this title is useful or not!" Reina replied with a slight smile.

"But who are these people? Are they as powerful as Lord Moria?" Perona asked curiously, looking at the message Reina had received.

"Donquixote Doflamingo, Crocodile, Gecko Moria, Boa Hancock!"

This is what Reina received: the World Government has confirmed four members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and there are still three spots to be filled.

"As powerful as Moria? No, I estimate that apart from Crocodile, the other two are not comparable to Moria!" Reina shook his head and said.

"What? Ho ho ho ho... I knew it! Lord Moria is the strongest!" Perona said with a loud laugh.

Reina glanced at her and said, "Because among them... I estimate that he and Crocodile are the weakest! The other two are simply not comparable to them!"

Perona's laughter stopped abruptly, like a duck being choked, her smug look still lingering on her face.

"Damn Reina...you must have done this on purpose!" Perona really wanted to kill Reina, but considering the difference in strength between them, she could only vent her anger.

After crossing the Reverse Mountain again, the two only stopped briefly in Alabasta before heading directly towards the Devil's Triangle.

Reina originally intended to abduct Perona, but she was so devoted to Moria that Reina had no choice but to send her back to Thriller Bark.

"Ah~ the air here is so refreshing!" Perona exclaimed with delight as soon as she stepped onto the terrifying triangular sailboat.

"Hahaha... Princess Mononoke really suits this kind of place!" Reina said with a laugh when he saw Perona's state.

“Of course… Hero hero hero…” Perona said with a smile.

After spending time together, the two got along quite well. Reina originally thought Perona's abilities were very interesting, so he planned to bring her back to the Whitebeard Pirates.

However, he clearly underestimated Perona's feelings for Moria, as she directly rejected Reina's invitation.

"Horo horo horo... Lord Moria~ I'm back!" Perona shouted as she pushed open the castle gate.

Compared to last time, Reina saw many more stitched-up zombies on the Thriller Bark, likely the work of Moria and Hogback.

"Hehehe... Lord Reina, how is it? I have successfully become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!" Upon seeing Moria, the other party proudly boasted to Reina.

Although he was filled with disdain, Reina still smiled and nodded, saying, "In that case, our cooperation can continue! With the status of a Shichibukai, we are now on equal footing. I hope we can exchange any news! What do you say?"

"Of course, but... if I need your Whitebeard Pirates' help... you won't refuse, will you?" Moria asked with a smile, his eyes narrowed.

“Of course! It’s necessary, otherwise why would we cooperate? Whether it’s the intelligence or combat power you need, we can provide it for you, but there’s only one condition! Our cooperative relationship must not be known to anyone, otherwise it would lose its meaning!” Reina nodded and said.

"So what do I need to give in return?" Moria nodded, indicating that he understood.

"Intelligence! Intelligence from the World Government and the Navy! Now that you're a Shichibukai, you need to provide us with any intelligence you receive from the Navy and the World Government! Also, once you're strong enough, we'll cooperate with you to launch an attack on Kaido!" Reina stated directly, "That's the reason and purpose for my cooperation with you!"

"Hehehe... No problem! Then I wish us a pleasant cooperation! I have prepared a banquet for you... This way please!" Moria laughed and gestured for us to proceed.

Reina did not refuse. Although most of the creatures here were zombies, the continuous voyage had left him somewhat exhausted, so he took the opportunity to rest.

After the banquet, Moria secretly approached Perona and asked her what Reina had been doing on the journey.

After pondering for a while, Pero concealed the existence of Robin and Ace before telling Moria.

"Just to go to the East China Sea? That's too strange, isn't it?" Moria said after thinking for a while, puzzled.

“When I heard him talking to others before, it seemed like he was tracking a pirate named Shanks to the East Blue! But he didn’t expect to run into Garp and receive news that Lord Moria had become a Shichibukai, so he returned!” Perona said, tilting her head.

“I see… Is there anything else?” Moria nodded and asked.

He knew Shanks' name; he was a big shot in the New World. Reina was tracking him, so there must be something going on. It was normal that Perona couldn't find out.

"Um... um... he invited me to join his crew!" Perona hesitated for a moment before finally saying it, then quickly added, "But I immediately refused. Compared to the Whitebeard Pirates, I still think Lord Moria is better! I will definitely work hard to make Lord Moria the Pirate King!"