Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

When Zoro caught up with Luffy, they had arrived at a town occupied by Buggy the Clown, where they encountered Nami stealing Buggy's treasure map.

Because she made a deal with Arlong to buy Cocoyasi Village for 100 million Berries, she has been going to sea all these years to find pirates and steal from them, and she has become quite famous in the East Blue.

"Buggy! Hand over the Grand Line chart!" Luffy said to Buggy after Zoro defeated the Buggy Pirates' executives.

"So that's how it is, you guys are pirates too! But what do you need the Grand Line charts for? Are you going on a group tour?" Buggy chuckled and said.

"I want to be the Pirate King!" Luffy replied calmly and seriously.

"Huh? What did you just say? One Piece? Are you kidding me? You stupid idiot!" Somewhat surprised, Buggy was somewhat mocking Luffy for overestimating himself, but he was mostly angry.

"Enough with the nonsense... Let's begin! If I defeat you, the sea chart is mine!" Luffy was ready for battle.

"Speaking of that hat on your head... it brings back very bad memories! Every time I see it, I think of that man from my younger days... that arrogant, haughty red-haired man!" Buggy stared at Luffy's straw hat and muttered to himself.

"Red hair?" Luffy was taken aback by Buggy's words and asked, "Is it Shanks?"

"So it really is that bastard?" Buggy was also stunned when he heard Luffy's words. He didn't expect that the other party was really talking about the same person.

The fight between the two wasn't too intense. Buggy's strength was no match for Luffy's; he relied entirely on his Devil Fruit ability. This illustrates the difference in talent between people.

Shanks, who was once an apprentice on Roger's ship, has now grown into a Yonko (Emperor of the Sea), while Buggy can't even beat Luffy when he first started out and can only hide in the East Blue and act arrogantly.

No fruit's power is perfect. Every fruit has its own weakness, and once that weakness is found, it becomes very easy to exploit.

This is why many top-tier powerhouses are unwilling to eat Devil Fruits.

Meanwhile, Ace, who was heading towards the Sabaody Archipelago, had just arrived when Shakky told him that Rayleigh was not there; he had gone out, and when he would return depended on his mood.

Left with no other choice, Ace continued his journey to the Devil's Triangle.

Rayleigh only came out from behind after Ace left.

“Why didn’t you see him… He came with Reina’s letter. If you offend that petty guy, be careful he doesn’t come knocking on your door later!” Shakky said to Rayleigh as he came out.

"That brat is always causing me trouble. I can only live a peaceful life if I stay away from him!" Rayleigh replied with a smile, completely unconcerned.

"Fine, whatever you want. If it really doesn't work out, we can just move!" Shakky laughed as she tossed the letter Ace had given her to Rayleigh, then turned and went to work.

When Rayleigh opened and read the letter, his smile froze on his face.

"What's wrong?" Xia Qi asked in surprise when she saw her husband's expression.

"What was that kid's name?" Rayleigh asked in a deep voice.

"Fire Fist Ace! The second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, I heard he's a pretty strong guy!" Shakky answered Rayleigh's question, though she was a little confused.

“Portgas D. Ace! Is that his name?” Rayleigh said with a sigh as he held the letter.

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Do you know his father's name?" Reilly put down the letter in his hand and asked.

"I don't know, there doesn't seem to be anyone named Portgas, right?" Shakky replied after thinking carefully.

“No, his father’s surname isn’t Portgas, it’s Gol D. Roger!” Ridley said, leaning back on the sofa with a complicated expression.

"Clang..." Shakky dropped the cup in her hand to the ground, looked at Rayleigh in disbelief, and asked, "He's Roger's child?"

“Take a look for yourself!” Rayleigh picked up the letter from the table and handed it to Shakky.

Upon hearing this, Shakky quickened her pace, took the letter from Rayleigh's hand, and began to peruse it rapidly.

“I see… This child has been cared for by Garp since he was little. I didn’t expect Roger to entrust the child to Garp… He probably didn’t want to disturb your life!” Shakky said softly after a moment of silence.

"Hmm!" Rayleigh took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and said, "When did he say he'd come again?"

“Rena sent him to Alabasta. You know, Robin is there, so we’ll have to wait until he comes back from Alabasta!”

"Phew~ I'll have to meet him sometime!"

Rayleigh put his glasses back on and said softly.

A few days later, Ace finally arrived at the Devil's Triangle, but finding the Thriller Bark was not easy. He inquired on a nearby island and learned that many ships had disappeared in the Devil's Triangle.

But he had been wandering around here all day and had not seen the terror dart.

It wasn't until he found a "Sea God's Treasure" that he attracted the terrifying triangular sailboat.

"Is this the terrifying triangular sailboat Mr. Reina mentioned? It is indeed as big as a small island, but where are the zombies? Why haven't I seen any?" Ace walked towards the central area, and apart from some corpses with stitched-up marks, he did not see any of the moving zombies.

But just as he was about to reach the center area, he suddenly heard what sounded like fighting coming from ahead.

"Huh...? What's this? Skeletons and zombies are fighting?" When Ace arrived at the scene of the fight, he doubted his eyes.

He saw a zombie dressed in samurai clothes fighting a skeleton wielding a cane and sword, with many other zombies lying on the ground around them.

"Hehehe... Another intruder? Today is quite lively!" The zombie warrior looked at Ace and said with a light laugh.

The skull with the afro glanced at Ace's feet and, noticing that Ace still had a shadow, immediately shouted, "Hey~ Run! It's dangerous here!"

Ace ignored them and frowned, asking, "What's going on? Why are you fighting? And... where's your boss? I'm here to deliver a message to him! Call Moria out here, this place is really awful!"

"Oh? You know Lord Moria?" The zombie samurai looked at Ace and asked with some surprise.

"What? Isn't this the Thriller Bark? Did I come to the wrong place?" Ace asked.

“No…you’ve come to the right place, but…there are still some things to take care of. I’ll take you to see Lord Moria after I’ve dealt with this intruder!” the zombie warrior said softly.

"Ah~ So you're the enemy! Then hurry up... I don't like waiting!" Ace said, sitting down to the side without any intention of intervening.

"I never expected...it would turn out like this! I thought they were innocent intruders, but it turns out they were accomplices!" The frizzy-haired skull sighed and said.

Soon, the two clashed again.

However, Ace discovered that the two were using the exact same moves, but the zombie warrior was not afraid of getting hurt and was obviously stronger, so he quickly defeated the skeleton.

“Well then… guest, please follow me!” The zombie warrior sheathed his sword and said to Ace.

"What about him? Is he just going to leave it like this?" Ace asked, pointing to the skeleton lying on the ground.

"Don't worry about it... Let's go back first!" The zombie warrior waved his hand and said.

So Ace shrugged and followed the zombie warrior toward the central castle.

On the way, Ace felt like something was watching him, but when he looked closely, he couldn't find anything.

"Hmm? A ghost... is it Princess Perona?" Finally, when Ace discovered the hidden ghost, he remembered someone Reina had told him about: Princess Perona.

"Haraharahara..." Upon hearing Ace's words, the hidden ghosts slowly flew out and surrounded Ace.

"So you really do know us!" the zombie warrior in front suddenly said.

“This pointless probing can stop now. Reina sent me to deliver a message to Moria!” Ace said, pursing his lips.

After this test, when the zombie warrior brought Ace to the castle, Moria was already there with his subordinates waiting.

"Hehehehe... So it's Captain Fire Fist Ace of the Second Division!" Gecko Moria said with a loud laugh as Ace entered.

"You must be Gecko Moria, right? This is a letter Reina asked me to give you!" Ace nodded and handed the letter directly to Gecko Moria!

"Hehehe... It's really nostalgic! It's been so long since I've seen him. How is that guy doing?" Moria asked with a nostalgic smile.

“Of course, Mr. Reina has always been very kind!” Ace nodded in reply.

Ace always felt that Gecko Moria was somewhat eerie, and the atmosphere and environment of Thriller Bark made him dislike him even more.

"Hehehe... So... what brings you here this time?" Moria asked as he opened the letter.

“Aside from delivering the message, there’s nothing else! Oh, by the way, Mr. Reina asked me to pass on a message to Miss Perona…” Ace stood up from the sofa and said, “If Mr. Moria is finished… he wouldn’t mind if Miss Perona came to him!”

"You bastard... what nonsense are you spouting? Lord Moria isn't finished yet!" Upon hearing Ace's words, a transparent ghost appeared in front of Ace and said.

"Is that so? I see... I understand!" Moonlight Moria stopped Perona at this moment, put away the letter he had just finished reading, and said, "Then tell Reina! I'm not someone who's so easily defeated! Just tell him to take care of himself! Hehehehe..."

Chapter 278 News about Blackbeard

After leaving Zephyr's warship, Reina finally caught up with the Moby Dick.

But before he could even board the boat, Marco jumped right over.

"What's wrong?" Reina asked in surprise when he saw Marco.

"Let's go, Dad wants us to go to the first half of the Grand Line!" Marco said solemnly.

"Huh? What are we going there for?" Reina asked, puzzled.

“There’s been news of Teach showing up over there recently!” Marco replied directly.

"Is the information reliable?" Reina asked, his smile fading.

“I don’t know, so Dad sent us over. Didn’t Ace go to Alabasta too? Dad said he’s been a bit restless lately!” Marco shook his head and said.

“Alright… I’ll go, you stay here! Maybe it was Teach who deliberately spread the word! Ace’s identity isn’t exactly a secret, but only captains on our side know it. Teach couldn’t possibly know Ace’s identity!” Reina said after thinking for a moment.

“But Dad wants me to go with you!” Marco said, somewhat embarrassed.

“Let’s go upstairs first, I’ll talk to my brother myself!” Reina immediately stood up and said.

When Reyna brought Marco to Whitebeard, before he could even speak, Whitebeard said directly, "Reyna, don't be careless, take Marco with you!"

“Brother, Teach’s future has changed, so I can no longer see anything related to him! But one thing I’m sure of is that he’s definitely hiding in the shadows watching you! Your Tremor-Tremor Fruit is his target!” Reina shook his head and said.

"Don't worry, if he dares to come... I won't hold back!" the white-bearded man said with a smile.

“No, if he dares to appear in front of you, then he must have made thorough preparations, otherwise he would never dare to appear so openly!” Reina shook his head and said, “So it’s more appropriate for Marco to stay! I’ll catch up and bring Ace with me, and even Teach won’t dare to do anything reckless!”

“Dad, I think Reina is right. Ace’s strength is not bad either. Even if Teach wanted to attack him, it wouldn’t be easy for him to succeed. On the contrary, if something goes wrong here… it would be terrible!” Marco nodded and said.

It wasn't that Marco lacked confidence in Whitebeard. Currently, there were ten captains-level fighters remaining on the ship, including himself, which was more than enough to handle most problems. However, he was afraid that the other side would use this tactic of luring the captains away, which would put Whitebeard in danger.

“No, Reina… take Marco with you. I have a particularly ominous feeling this time! Don’t worry about me… I’ve been sailing the seas for so many years, do you think I’d be outmaneuvered by him?” Whitebeard shook his head and said to Reina.

Reina and Marco exchanged a glance, then nodded without saying anything more.

Whitebeard was a great hero who had roamed the seas for many years. Although Reina and the others meant well for Whitebeard, continuing the conversation would be hurtful.

After leaving the Moby Dick, Reina said to Marco, "I'll leave the hard shell to you. You ride in the hard shell and follow behind the Moby Dick. Teach is no pushover. I'll take care of Ace! Make sure nothing happens to Big Brother!"

“Well… why don’t you just take the hard-shell one? After all, it’s faster. I’ll find a small island and get a boat!” Marco hesitated for a moment before saying.

“No, ordinary small boats simply can’t keep up with the Moby Dick! If something happens, you won’t have time to rescue it!” Reina shook his head and said.

"Alright! Then you need to be careful over there too!" Marco said without saying anything more.

After all, the Moby Dick has undergone several modifications, and its current speed is quite fast. If it weren't for its large size, with the modifications made to the Moby Dick, it might be even faster than naval warships.