Aboard a large ship shaped like a cake.
Su Xiao sat at the ship's railing. The reason he had mentioned Portgas D. Ace to Red Hair was simply that he wanted to buy himself some "insurance." Every Contractor knew about Ace's situation, but most Contractors didn't dare reveal the information to characters from the plot. The risks were too great, and without a certain status, the characters from the plot wouldn't believe them.
Su Xiao happened to meet all those conditions. Killing Cracker alone had greatly boosted his reputation among pirates. Combined with his identity as a former researcher for the World Government, the information he provided would at least not be ignored, even if Red Hair didn't fully believe it.
The Red Force quickly sailed away. After the ship had traveled more than a hundred meters, a small boat was lowered into the water, and Red Hair jumped aboard. Benn Beckman seemed to want to go with him, but Red Hair stopped him.
From how quickly the Red Force sailed away, it was clear that Red Hair cherished the ship dearly. If the Red Force sank, perhaps Red Hair would sink into the sea with it.
"Kid, you've got some skill."
Big Mom sat on the deck, her gaze occasionally drifting toward the small boat at sea.
"There's something called old ties. Never mind. You probably can't understand that."
Su Xiao smiled. Red Hair had stayed behind because of the situation in the New World? No. He wanted to know about Portgas D. Ace's situation.
Portgas D. Ace was one of Whitebeard's crew. Red Hair couldn't go rescue him—that was a rule among pirates. But Ace was the biological son of Gol D. Roger, and as Roger's former crew member, Red Hair naturally paid closer attention to Ace.
Moreover,