Vivi Comes to Terms

The New World, aboard the Moby Dick.

"As expected of Ace's little brother! He really has some guts!" Marco the Phoenix exclaimed in sincere admiration.

"Gurararara! I like that kid's personality." Whitebeard took a sip of wine and narrowed his eyes. "Oh, right! Marco, find a moment later to send a bullet comment across the screen and get in touch with Ace. I don't know why, but lately I've had a bad feeling. I keep thinking something's going to happen. I suspect Ace is the one in trouble!"

"I know, Pops. I'll send one when I get the chance," Marco the Phoenix said with a nod.

The East Blue, Goa Kingdom, Foosha Village, inside Makino's bar.

"Well done, Luffy! That's what a real man should do. He's got guts!"

"Yeah! Come on, let's drink to the man with the most guts in the village!"

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Shut up! How is that having guts? That's recklessness, that's ignorance! I've never seen a pirate dare to provoke the World Government so directly," Mayor Woop Slap huffed as he looked at the jubilant villagers around him.

"But, Mayor, Luffy only did it to save his friend. You can hardly blame him for that, and I think he's very brave!" Makino said in Luffy's defense as she wiped a glass.

"Hmph! Brave? There's only ever been a fine line between bravery and recklessness. As if his father provoking them wasn't enough, now his son has followed in his footsteps and provoked them too! It makes me furious! Oh, and Garp too! Who knows what he's thinking? Doesn't he know he should have stopped them? Sigh! There's something wrong with all three generations of that family." The mayor took a sip of the water in front of him at the bar and grumbled, "Being the mayor is just too hard!"

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Shut up!"

The East Blue, Syrup Village, Kaya's house.

"Mr. Usopp really has gotten so strong!" Holding a medical book, Kaya looked out the window at the tree where Usopp used to sit and encouraged herself. "I have to work hard too, so I can become someone who can help treat Mr. Usopp's injuries in the future."

The Grand Line, Alabasta, inside the royal palace.

"So that's what happened! I thought Luffy-san and the others didn't want to acknowledge me as their friend anymore! Th-that's wonderful! Wonderful!" As Vivi spoke, tears flowed unbidden from her eyes.

Although she had acted casual when replying to her father earlier, explaining it away by saying, "Even when I was with Luffy, I often didn't know what he was thinking," deep down, she had still been somewhat bothered by Robin "replacing" her and becoming Luffy and the others' friend.

But now that she understood the whole story, she had completely come to terms with it.

Not only that, she was happy now—happy that Luffy and the others had gained another friend, and happy that she had gained another friend too.

The New World, Wano Country, Onigashima.

"Worororo, now that's more like it! What kind of pirates spend all their time playing that pirate make-believe game?" Kaido said, taking a great swig of wine.

The New World, aboard the Red Force.

"Well done, Luffy! You can't let those guys get too full of themselves!" Lucky Roux clenched his fist and exclaimed excitedly.

"Did you see that? The one who shot through that flag was my son! Impressive, right?" Yasopp boasted to everyone around him.

Voices immediately rang out in agreement aboard the ship. "Impressive, impressive."

"We saw! We saw!"

"..."

"Well done, Luffy," Shanks said, looking pleased.

High in the sky, in the edited video on the screen, Luffy learned from the Den Den Mushi in Nami's hand that Kokoro had told them to jump straight down the waterfall from above and that she would catch them.

Luffy immediately understood what Kokoro meant. He stretched out his arms, gathered the others into his embrace, and jumped from the roof of the courthouse.

His action immediately frightened Nami and the others to tears. Fortunately, just as they fell, the Sea Train driven by Kokoro came rushing out, and the group landed safely on it.

The Sea Train also caught Franky, who had just burned the blueprints for the Ancient Weapon Pluton in the Tower of Justice and jumped down, though he was "caught" head-on by the front of the train.

And so the Sea Train carried the group straight into the Tower of Justice on the other side of the waterfall, smashing a huge hole in it.

Fortunately, not only was no one in the group injured, but everyone got to their feet amid the rubble, full of fighting spirit and shouting that they would rescue Robin.

However, just as they were about to set off to save Robin, a voice called out to them. The newcomer was none other than Fukurou of CP9.

He told Luffy and the others that Robin had already been taken toward the Gate of Justice, and that if they wanted to save her, they would have to go there. He also told them that they would need a key to unlock the handcuffs on Robin's wrists.

Each member of CP9 carried a key, and one of them could unlock Robin's handcuffs. In other words, if they wanted to truly and completely rescue Robin, they had to defeat all of CP9.

The group immediately split up to search for the CP9 members inside the Tower of Justice and take their keys.

First was Luffy. He had no method for finding anyone, simply shouting Robin's name as he ran wildly up and down the tower. In the end, he didn't find a single person and only tired himself half to death.

Next was Franky. Rather than immediately searching for CP9, he first looked for a storeroom. The cola in his body was nearly used up, and he urgently needed a refill. Unfortunately, before he could find any cola, he ran into Fukurou of CP9, whom they had met earlier.

Then there was Nami, whose path was blocked along the way by the long-haired Kumadori of CP9.

Next was Usopp. After pushing open the door to a room, he found Jabra of CP9 "fast asleep." Jabra had placed his key right in front of himself, seemingly waiting for someone to come and take it.

After that was Zoro, who encountered the opponent he had most dreamed of facing, Kaku of CP9.

Last was Sanji, who likewise encountered the opponent he had most dreamed of facing, Kalifa of CP9.

As for Chopper, like Luffy at the beginning, he was still running back and forth inside the Tower of Justice, searching for CP9.