"So, this is as far as I'll see you off."
On the shore of an island in the New World, Bright set Ace and his crew down by the sea and said this.
He had already removed the shackles from them. That had not been difficult.
Rather than crushing the Seastone with Haki, Bright took advantage of the fact that his flames could now take solid form. He seeped fire into the keyholes, condensed it into shape, and forcibly forged a temporary flame key. After a little trial and error, he unlocked Ace's chains.
"This is more than enough!"
Ace wore a brilliant smile. "We'll set out from here and officially begin our adventure in the New World!"
"Need me to give you some money?"
Bright smiled. "After all, you don't even have a ship anymore, do you?"
"No need."
Under the expectant gazes of his companions, Ace shook his head and grinned. "We're pirates! Pirates should do what pirates do!"
"Oh?"
Bright raised an eyebrow.
"Though I'd feel bad about robbing the residents, if we run into any annoying pirate bastards, I definitely won't go easy on them!" Ace said with a mischievous grin, wiping the tip of his nose.
Only then did Bright remember that this kid had never been particularly well-behaved.
Even when he had been very young, he and Sabo had gone looking for trouble with pirates to save up enough money to set sail.
"Then that's that."
Bright nodded. "It's about time I left too. There should still be matters on Fish-Man Island that need me to handle them."
"Yeah, thank you so much, Bright."
Ace put on a serious expression and solemnly bowed to Bright. "If it hadn't been for you this time, we'd definitely have been finished. And..."
He raised his head, his