Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

Furthermore, both Reina and Marco believed that Teach should still be in the New World, in the first half of the Grand Line. He was probably just using this as a cover to lure Reina away.

Because right now, apart from Whitebeard himself who rarely fights, Reina is the strongest member of the Whitebeard Pirates!

Although Reyna has rarely made a move in recent years, given Teach's understanding of Reyna, he will definitely prioritize transferring Reyna away.

Therefore, when Reina suggested that Marco follow behind the Moby Dick, Marco agreed without hesitation.

"Then I'll leave the rest to you! Be vigilant during this time, including those pirate crews under your command. There's a possibility that Teach could turn them against you. It's not that I'm suspicious of them, but you need to be prepared for that, so that you won't be caught off guard!" After buying a small boat on the nearest island, Reina said to Marco.

Marco nodded, indicating that he understood.

In order to save time, Reina didn't say much. After preparing the supplies for the voyage, he also hired a few sailors, otherwise it would be troublesome to sail such a ship alone.

He originally wanted Liuliu to take him to find Ace, but Liuliu could only ride for a short time. For long journeys like this, a hard-shell car was the most convenient.

"Tch~ Really... How many years has it been? It's been so long since I've ridden in a small boat like this. Really... With the Whitebeard Pirates' flag flying, people probably think it's a scam, right?" On the way, Reina looked at his vehicle and said with a wry smile.

With Dr. Assie around, Reina could have built his own custom vehicle, but he usually uses a hard-shell car for transportation and there's no need for him to use such a thing.

Only Ace, being a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, received a small boat designed and built by Dr. Assie that was powered by flames.

"When we get back, we still need to get the doctor to design a vehicle for each captain, so they won't take up my hard shell!" Reina stroked his chin, thinking about how to tell Dr. Asie when he got back.

After all, building ships isn't something he enjoys, and this time he wants to build more than a dozen at once... Under normal circumstances, the Doctor probably wouldn't agree!

"Looks like we'll have to try and find a solution with Olga then!"

Just as Reina was heading towards the first half of the Grand Line, Luffy in the East Blue had already defeated the captain of the Black Cat Pirates, Kuro, and successfully invited the sniper Usopp to join his crew.

Furthermore, they obtained the "Golden Merry" from Miss Kaya, which was personally designed by the butler Merry. Although it was an old-fashioned triangular sailing ship, it solved their biggest problem at the moment—they did not have a pirate ship.

Meanwhile, Ace, who was still a guest in the Thriller Bark, also took his leave after a day of rest.

Actually, Ace didn't want to stay here, but after Gecko Moria, as an ally of the Whitebeard Pirates, personally invited and entertained him, Ace felt embarrassed to refuse. After all, in his opinion, he was representing his father's face and absolutely could not be impolite.

So even though he didn't like the environment, Ace reluctantly agreed to rest for the night.

The next morning, after having breakfast, Ace said goodbye. This time, Moria did not try to stop him, but let Ace leave.

After leaving the Devil's Triangle, Ace rushed to Alabasta, but on the way, he heard a familiar name.

“Blackbeard… Marshall D. Teach? Teach? That guy who betrayed my father?” Ace didn’t even realize it immediately when he heard Teach’s name in the tavern.

After all, Teach had already betrayed and left before he joined the pirate crew.

"Brother Hansen's injury... must have been caused by that guy, right? I didn't expect to run into him here!" Ace had heard from the old man on the ship that Hansen, the current captain of the guard, was once a powerful swordsman who was no less than Vista.

However, he was injured during Teach's betrayal, which weakened his strength, and now he rarely leaves Xuan Yue Island.

Ace really liked that kind-hearted uncle. Even when the crew members made jokes, he would just smile and rarely argue or get angry.

So after finding out where Teach was last seen, Ace chased after him all the way there.

As for the things Reina had told him before, he no longer cared about them.

The Whitebeard Pirates had been tracking this wanted criminal for so many years, and now that he had encountered him, he felt it was necessary to get to know him better. Moreover, he had heard that Teach used to be a member of the Second Division, and as the current captain of the Second Division, it was only natural for him to capture him.

However, by the time Ace arrived at the island where Teach had been, there was no trace of him left.

Left with no other choice, he could only continue to inquire while heading towards Alabasta. He had not forgotten his mission: to deliver a message to Reina's daughter in Alabasta.

But just as he was setting off for Alabasta, he kept hearing news about Blackbeard Teach without realizing it, but when he got there, he couldn't find any clues.

After a few times, Ace began to realize that the other party was deliberately guiding him.

At this moment, Ace also remembered Reina's warning, telling him to be careful of Blackbeard Teach and not to act rashly if he got any information about him.

"No wonder even Mr. Reina found him troublesome. It seems he knew my identity and deliberately lured the monster over there!" After Ace realized what was going on, he also understood the other party's plan.

If it weren't for Reina, Ace would have already chased after them by now, given his personality. He's not the kind of person who would care about traps or anything like that.

But now, with Reina's warning, and especially after three years of hellish sparring, Ace has to think carefully. Otherwise, when he returns, he will inevitably receive special guidance from Reina.

The thought sent a chill down Ace's spine. That kind of guidance was simply terrifying. So he decided to ignore Blackbeard Teach's messages for now and go directly to Alabasta. He would meet up with Mr. Reiner's daughter first and then deal with the rest.

Chapter 279: The Gathering Begins

"Vice Admiral Garp, Fleet Admiral Sengoku has issued an order!"

"Huh? I'm on vacation! Why are you assigning me a mission? I'm not going!" Garp said to the messenger officer with a disgruntled expression.

"Sir, the mission location is in the East China Sea... and... you should take a look first!" The adjutant, Pocato, handed a document to Garp and said with a helpless expression.

"Huh? What? That little bastard Luffy... actually dared to go to sea on his own? And became a pirate?" Garp was so surprised after reading the document that his mouth almost fell to the ground.

“So…it would be better if you went to handle this matter yourself!” Pocato nodded and said.

“Alright, I understand! Let’s head to the 153rd Marine Division then!” Garp nodded and said.

While Garp was heading to the Marine 153rd Division, Luffy, along with the newly joined cook Sanji, was already heading towards Cocoyasi Village where Nami was. Usopp, along with Joseph, Johnny, and the injured Zoro, had already gone there ahead of them.

Speaking of Zoro's injury, it was after he failed to challenge Mihawk and was slashed by Mihawk.

As for why Hawkeye, a guy who has long been hanging around in the New World, would go to the East Blue, we have to mention his way of entertaining himself.

Dracule Mihawk, known as Hawkeye, is the world's greatest swordsman. In pure swordsmanship, he has defeated Vista and fought against Shanks, managing to fight him to a draw with his black sword "Night".

He usually lives on the island of Klaigana in the New World, where he likes to grow things and occasionally travels around in his unique coffin boat.

Why is he here this time? It's mainly because Hawkeye heard the news that Blackbeard Teach was appearing in the first half of the Grand Line. He became interested in this guy who betrayed Whitebeard but is still alive and well, so he wandered all the way to the first half of the Grand Line.

As a result, Teach didn't find them, but instead encountered the Krieg Pirates who had just entered the Grand Line from the East Blue. Well, encountering them is nothing, he had encountered countless pirate crews along the way, and he didn't attack them on sight.

However, the Krieg Pirates didn't recognize Mihawk at all, nor did they know what his iconic coffin ship represented. So when the crew saw Mihawk using a large sword as an oar and rowing a coffin ship on the sea all by himself, they couldn't help but laugh at him.

As we all know, the rest of the story unfolded as follows: Hawkeye Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the world's greatest swordsman, naturally wouldn't tolerate these lowly pirates. He quickly taught them a lesson with his black sword "Night," which he had just used as a paddle.

After Hawkeye killed one of his men with a single slash, Krieg fled back to the East Blue with his last remaining pirate ship. Mihawk, who had nothing else to do, followed him and happened to run into Zoro, who was on his way to becoming the world's greatest swordsman.

So Zoro naturally challenged Mihawk, and the result was obvious: if Mihawk hadn't shown mercy, Zoro would probably have been killed on the spot.

Having had his fun, Mihawk returned feeling refreshed and didn't bother with the small fry from the East China Sea. Little did he know what kind of incident he would be drawn into next.

At this time, Luffy, after reuniting with Zoro and the others who had arrived earlier, unexpectedly learned of Usopp's death. Fortunately, Usopp appeared in time and solved the mystery.

Furthermore, they also learned about Nami's situation from her older sister, Nojiko.

When Nojiko returned home, he learned that Nami's hard-earned 100 million Berries had been taken by the Marines who were colluding with Arlong, and everyone, including Bellemere, erupted in anger.

"Jian, I can't wait any longer... I can't stand watching those bastards treat Nami like this! I'm going to kill those fishmen!" Bellemere said to Jian, who had come to visit her, with a cigarette in her mouth.

She was injured by the Navy while protecting Nami's property and is currently receiving treatment at the town's doctor's.

“Bellmeal…” Ah Jian took a deep breath and said, “We’ve long been prepared to die, let’s go together!”

However, Bellemere shook her head and said, "You don't need to go, I'll go by myself this time!"

"Go by yourself? Do you want to go and die?" Ah Jian was taken aback and immediately objected.

“What’s the difference between me going alone or with everyone else?” Bellemere grinned and said, “We… are no match for those fishmen… After I die, let Nami leave here and go to the Grand Line! If she can meet Reina, then there’s still a chance for her to avenge me!”

"You want to use your death to provoke Rayner with Ah Long and the others? No, I don't agree! This kind of thing... this kind of thing..." Ah Jian shook his head and refused.

“Then tell me… is there any better way?” Bellemere asked softly.

When faced with Bellemere's question, A-Jian had no answer at all.

"You're dead... what am I supposed to do?" After a moment of silence, Ah Jian suddenly asked.

“As for you… you have more important things to do! As for Nami… she went to sea with those pirates, and I can tell they truly consider her a comrade! But Nojiko can’t be left unattended, so Ken… I’m entrusting Nojiko to you!” Bellemere said with a light laugh.

“No, compared to me… Nojiko would prefer you to continue taking care of her, right? So… I can’t agree to this!” Ken shook his head and refused.

"Clang..." Just as Bellemere was about to say something more, the door of the clinic was suddenly opened, and Nojiko, the doctor, and the villagers walked in.

"Bellmere, A-Jian! Rather than living such a wretched life... let's go find those fishmen and fight them to the death! If we're going to die... let's die together!" Nojiko said with tears in her eyes.

She and Bellemere knew how hard Nami had worked all these years, all for that 100 million Berries. Now all her hopes were dashed, and she couldn't imagine how Nami would cope.

So... the only thing she could do was risk her life to seek justice from those mermen.

She had overheard Bellemere's words outside the door and thought it was indeed a method, but it was better for her to go than Bellemere, because Reina had clearly valued her and Nami more back then.

Actually, it doesn't really matter whether she goes or Bellemere goes. She believes that as long as they find Reina, even if no one dies, Reina will help them.

The problem is how to find Reina...

“Belmer…you think…our entire village was slaughtered by the fishmen, will that make the news?” the mayor said with a light laugh as he walked in.

“Mayor…you mean…” Bellemere was taken aback and looked at the mayor in surprise.

"That's right... After being taken care of by Nami for so many years, how could I just stand by and watch those guys bully our Nami like this...? I will never agree to this! Even if it costs all of our lives, we must make those bastards pay the price... Let them know... that our Nami... is not so easy to bully!" The mayor roared through gritted teeth.

"Hoo~~" Bellemere exhaled a puff of smoke, a slight smile playing on her lips, and said, "Everyone... although I don't know if doing this will get Reina's attention to our little village, it should be able to get Nami to leave here completely! So... let's move out!"

"Oh, it's time for those murlocs to pay the price!"

"How dare they bully our Nami... Let those fishmen taste our power!"

Upon hearing Bellemere's words, everyone, including A-Jian and Nokigo, shouted loudly at the same time.

At this moment, Nami had just emerged from Arlong's territory. She was certain that Arlong was the culprit who had conspired with the Navy to take all her treasure.

But what she's more worried about now is the villagers who know about this, fearing they might do something foolish.

"Everyone..." Sure enough, when Nami arrived at the village entrance, she saw Ken, Bellemere, Nojiko, the mayor, and others, leading villagers who were armed.

"Hey everyone... what are you all doing? You're not going to go find Arlong and the others, are you? Don't be ridiculous! You know how powerful they are, right?" Nami suppressed her sadness and said to everyone with a smile.

"Nami... that's enough!" Bellemere, with a cigarette dangling from her lips, stepped forward, pulled Nami into her arms, and whispered.

Just those two words were enough to make Nami's tears flow uncontrollably, like a burst dam.

"Alright, Nami! Leave the rest to us! Don't worry, we have a perfect plan... We'll definitely defeat those fishmen this time!" A-Jian walked up to Nami with a grin and said to her as she cried.

"Bellmere... Gen... No! Everyone, please don't go! You'll die... you'll really die! Please wait a little longer, okay? I've learned from experience this time. It's only 100 million Berries, I can save up that much quickly!" Nami took a few steps back, blocking everyone's path, and shouted.

"It's no use... We've made up our minds! You should know that you can't fight those guys by yourself! Thank you for your efforts over the past eight years, you've worked hard! We all know that joining that group must have been more painful for you than anything else, right? But... now it's all over! After we get there, you can leave this island!"

Ah Jian stepped forward and, mimicking Bellemere's earlier actions, embraced Nami and said...

"Hey... you brat over there! Remember to take Nami with you later, okay?" A-Jian released Nami and then said to Luffy, who was lying on the side.

"Why...why?" Nami looked at everyone in confusion and asked.

"Is that even a question? You have wisdom and dreams! You shouldn't be bound here. Go pursue your dreams!" Nojiko said with a smile.