Time flies, and a full week has passed since Shanks arrived on Jaya and clashed with Gawain.
During this period, the return of Sky Island Golden City and the clash between Gawain and Shanks have become the hottest news in the world!
Meanwhile, near Trilance Island Reverse Mountain, the Spade Pirates also welcomed the arrival of the News Coo.
After taking out the latest newspaper, Deuce, wearing a blue blindfold, threw it to Ace was lying on the bow of the ship sunbathing.
"Ace, look at the latest newspaper! There's been a lot of big news happening at sea lately!"
Red-Haired Shanks, who has only been Four Emperors for a year, has actually clashed with the one from the Whitebeard Dark Bird, just like the veteran Four Emperors!
As he spoke, looking at the motionless Ace, Deuce a helpless shrug.
"Hey, is it really okay to sleep in all day? You're the captain, shouldn't the captain be busy?!"
Snap!
As he spoke, Deuce pressed the unfolded newspaper against Ace's sleeping face!
Suddenly attacked in the face, two balls of fire erupted from Ace's face. Fortunately, he managed to wake up in time and salvage the remaining newspaper before the flames burned it all.
Ace picked up the newspaper with burn marks and glanced at it. Ace then pointed to the striking photo on the newspaper with interest.
In the photo, Gawain is seen holding a girl in his left arm and wielding the Rokumei Kotetsu in his right hand, confronting Shanks' Gryphon!
Of course, in reality, Gawain was sent flying in an instant, and the standoff lasted only a moment.
But that's the magic of photography; under the reporter's control, the image precisely stopped at the moment when Gawain's knife clashed with Gryphon's!
Thus, in the eyes of unsuspecting onlookers like Ace...
Suddenly, Ace let out a gasp of surprise!
"Wow, this guy is amazing! Two of the four strongest Emperors of the Sea on the sea have already gone to challenge him!"
Moreover, the newspapers never published any news of this person's failure!
So, haha...!
This guy must be the real world number one!
At this point, Ace excitedly slammed the newspaper onto the deck.
"Guys, I've made up my mind. The next step is to find this guy who fought both Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks!"
If I defeat him, my strength will surely be recognized by the entire ocean, and then I will be much closer to becoming the Pirate King!
"I'm going to be the Pirate King!!!"
"Why?!!
"Ace...
Upon hearing Ace's words, Deuce was completely dumbfounded, and he rubbed his head in frustration.
"You're probably making some assumptions. We and this person in the newspaper don't seem to be on the same page, do we?"
Besides, this guy is Celestial Dragon. Surely you know the significance of Celestial Dragon, right?
Those are the World Nobles, the kind of people you absolutely cannot mess with!
"Cut!"
Upon hearing Deuce's words, Ace casually waved his hand.
"What's so intimidating about him? Red-Haired Shanks and Whitebeard have both fought him!"
One of them is a pirate Four Emperors, and the other is the strongest man in history!
Since that's the case, then of course I'll have a good fight with this guy named Gawain!
To become the Pirate King, we must gain the recognition of the entire sea. What could be faster than making them acknowledge my strength?
So let's turn around now, we're going to Jaya to track this guy down, and then defeat him in front of the whole world!!!
As soon as he finished speaking, Ace rubbed his hat.
"How about that? Didn't I sound impressive? Haha."
Anyway, that's settled then, let's head to Jaya!
I also wanted to meet the savior that my brother always talks about!
Red-Haired Shanks, Whitebeard Newgate, and Gawain the Dark Bird, who fought against them and held his own!
They will all be defeated by me!!!
"But..."
Beside him, Deuce shook his head helplessly.
"But when we left Reverse Mountain, we took the route to Trilance Island. If we want to go to Jaya, well... let me see."
At this point, Deuce pulled up the sailing route guide that the old doctor Crocus had given them on Twin Capes.
"That old man at Twin Capes claims to have traveled to many islands, and according to the route map he left behind, our current route doesn't pass through the ocean currents around Jaya at all!"
"If we want to go to Jaya, we have to go back to Reverse Mountain and then retrace the Whiskey Peak route, which is really troublesome!"
"Haha, trouble is not a problem at all, after all, there are Gawain the Gawain Dark Bird, Red-Haired Shanks, and Newgate the Whitebeard on that route!"
So let's head back now. I have to see that Red-Haired Shanks no matter what!
I've practiced my greeting countless times over the years just to see him!
At this point, Ace adjusted his hat and looked up at the distant sky.
His childhood memories of the Foosha Village resurfaced in his mind.
Back then, when Makino, the owner of the Partys Bar, was teaching him and Luffy etiquette, he specifically asked Makino for advice on how to greet Red-Haired Shanks!
Now that I've gone to sea, I can use everything I learned back then!
At the same time, Ace also remembered something special.
Aside from the Red-Haired Shanks who saved Luffy, he also had to meet someone even more important.
That was... Dark King Rayleigh, his father's former first mate!
He wanted to have a serious talk with his father's former first mate, firstly to find out what kind of person his father really was.
As for the second...
He wants to talk about why Rayleigh ended up on someone else's ship!!!
While Ace was deep in thought, Deuce, who was standing next to him, widened his eyes and looked towards the sea behind them.
"Hey, Ace, a navy ship is approaching!"
It looks like it belongs to that fierce woman!
Isn't she a lieutenant from the East Blue? Why would she follow me all the way to the Grand Line?!
Ah, this person is like a persistent ghost!!!
As they spoke, Ace's ship turned around at high speed and charged straight towards the navy's ships.
Seeing the oncoming ship, Ace leaped into the air and then suddenly unleashed a massive fireball tens of meters in size.
"Flame Acceleration Mode, activated!"
With a roar, Ace's ship sped past the navy vessel, fueled by the flames gathering at its stern!
Meanwhile, on the bow of a naval vessel, a beautiful female naval officer with flowing orange-red hair angrily berated the Spade Pirates as they passed by.
"Damn it, that guy's running speed is even faster now that he has the Mera Mera no Mi!"
After muttering something, the female marine raised her sword and shouted at Ace.
"Fire Fist, don't run away if you've got the guts, come and take my blade, you bastard!"
"Haha, how could that be? I just fall asleep often, I'm not really an idiot!"
In short, I'm going to switch to the Whiskey Peak route and have a good fight with Dark Bird Gawain!
Goodbye, Isuka, ha ha!!!
Amidst the laughter, Ace's ship vanished in a flash, leaving Isuka standing alone on her ship, her face contorted with rage!
Beside her, the marines under her command moved closer.
"Lieutenant Isuka, it seems that Fire Fist Ace has told us their next target."
So what should we do? Should we keep chasing after them?
"Certainly!"
Iska nodded quickly.
"His decision to go see that Saint Gawain is truly reckless!"
Even without Saint Gawain, who had fought against both Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks, taking action, Gion sister beside Saint Gawain, would have killed him with a single sword strike!
At this point, Iska quickly gave orders to her subordinates.
"Everyone, turn and accelerate! We must reach Jaya before Fire Fist Ace is killed by Vice Admiral Gion!"
"Only I can capture Fire Fist myself; that guy is my nemesis!!!"
At Iska's command, his ship quickly changed direction and then chased after Ace.
Meanwhile, in Alabasta, the capital of Alubarna.
King Cobra, seeing the drought warnings coming from all over the country, was utterly dejected.
"Why!"
With a soft sigh, Cobra put the drought warning aside and then planned to hold his usual meeting with his subjects.
But then, an unexpected newspaper interrupted him.
Looking at the newspaper brought to him by the servant, showing Gawain and Red-Haired Shanks facing off, Cobra swallowed hard!
He'd been receiving so much drought news lately that he'd almost forgotten about another impending problem!
That Saint Gawain said he would visit and inspect Alabasta in the near future!
Therefore, in Alabasta, where there has been no rain nationwide and water shortages have persisted for over six months, to the point that people are almost killing each other for a sip of water...
How could anyone possibly be prepared to welcome the Celestial Dragon!
Thinking of this, Cobra was at a loss. Frustrated, he held his head and remained at his desk for a long time.
Until his daughter burst into his room!
Vivi, with her long blue hair, was only thirteen years old. Holding a large bunch of pudding, she rammed her head into Cobra's door.
"Father, why didn't you attend the morning banquet?"
But it's okay, I brought you pudding, all my favorite flavors!
Father...?
At this point, Vivi couldn't help but notice Cobra's worried expression. She could roughly understand the reason for Cobra's anxiety, so she went to Cobra's side with concern.
Vivi reached out and picked up the briefings and newspapers on the desk, glanced at them, and then grabbed Cobra's sleeve.
"Father, are you still worried about the drought?"
"Yeah, sigh..."
Cobra let out a long breath, then gently rubbed his daughter's head.
"For six whole months, not a drop of rain has fallen in our country except for the capital, Alubarna!"
A severe drought lasting six months has exacerbated desertification around the country.
Water shortages are already occurring across the country, and food shortages are likely to follow.
Most importantly, signs of rebellion have already appeared in some cities, all because of the water supply!
Cobra wasn't afraid to say these things to Vivi, because he had always been raising Vivi according to the standards for grooming an heir.
As his only daughter, Vivi was destined to be the future queen of Alabasta. Therefore, he raised Vivi like a prince, rather than a typical lady.
Hearing Cobra's words, Vivi tilted her head slightly.
She kept thinking about everything she knew.
But no matter how hard she searched, she couldn't find a solution to the water shortage problem using the knowledge she had learned.
After all, Alabasta has never experienced weather like this in its thousands of years of history!
After much deliberation, Vivi could only tentatively speak to Cobra.
"Father, may we ask Mary Geoise for help and request that they provide us with enough fresh water and vegetables?"
"Hmph, don't even think about it!"
As soon as Vivi finished speaking, Cobra spoke seriously to his daughter.
"Remember, Vivi, although we are just like them, we are all descendants of the twenty kings who founded the world!"
But from the moment our ancestors chose to stay in Alabasta, we became completely different from them!
They won't just hand over their fresh water and vegetables to us for nothing!
If I were to make a similar request to the World Government, the amount of Heavenly Tribute we would have to pay this year would be many times greater than the base Heavenly Tribute figure!
The problem is, given our current national situation, we even have a hard time raising enough money for basic Heavenly Tribute!
Therefore, we have absolutely no chance of getting support from the World Government, because we no longer have the money to ask for their assistance!
"Is that so...?"
Upon hearing her father's words, Vivi gently showed the newspaper in her hand to Cobra.
She pointed expectantly to Gawain in the newspaper.
"Father, isn't Saint Gawain going to visit us in Alabasta soon? In that case, we can make the request to him alone when he arrives!"
This Saint Gawain once helped Fish-Man Island realize its dream of landing on land. Just a few days ago, he also cleared the name of Noland, the adventurer who had been misunderstood by the sea for four hundred years!
Look, Saint Gawain, who is willing to help others so much, must be a kind-hearted and good person!
I think if we ask him for help, he'll definitely do his best to help us within Mary Geoise, right?
"This...?!!"
Upon hearing this, even Cobra seemed to Dawu, and he tapped his head thoughtfully.
"Wait, let me think about it. I really didn't think of this problem before!"
I used to think of him only as a nuisance because I saw him as a traditional Celestial Dragon!
Since Saint Gawain has brought assistance to many countries, what if we let him return satisfied with his trip to Alabasta?
He'll surely be willing to arrange some food and water for us as aid!
At this point, Cobra finally got excited and happily ruffled his daughter's hair.
Children do see the world from a different perspective. He always focuses on Saint Gawain's identity as Celestial Dragon first, but what children see are Saint Gawain's actions!
Although it is unknown how much treasure Fish-Man Island paid in exchange for Saint Gawain's help.
But the Nefertari Family has everything that Fish-Man Island has!
As for the Mermaid Princess, Cobra didn't take it to heart. After all, in his opinion, the Mermaid Princess's Gawain was clearly a huge step up for the Merfolk!
If it really requires sacrificing a princess to get Saint Gawain to lend a helping hand, then Cobra would absolutely agree.
After all, Gawain was willing to fight a great pirate like Red-Haired Shanks himself to protect a girl (according to newspapers), and he's also very handsome and a World Nobles who treats women very well!
Although he only has one daughter, if Gawain marries her, then his grandson will be Celestial Dragon!
As for the heir to the nation of Alabasta, they only need to choose one of Gawain and Vivi's children.
Alabasta has existed for thousands of years, and even before the existence of World Government, they were one of the major powers.
There are numerous precedents within Alabasta regarding succession disputes!
Will Vivi face a threat from the Mermaid Princess?
Heh, as a descendant of the same king, how could Cobra not know about the Celestial Dragon's succession?
For Celestial Dragon's child to inherit the Celestial Dragon identity, the child's father must be Celestial Dragon, and the mother must be at least human!
Therefore, even though Saint Gawain already has Merfolk fiancée, he still lacks a true wife who can inherit his Celestial Dragon identity and surname!
In an instant, Cobra made the connection, and the joy on his face made Vivi unconsciously smile as well.
Although she didn't know what her father was thinking, Vivi was genuinely happy because he was happy...
Their joy lasted less than a minute before their door was knocked on again!
Cobra's attendant strode in and then spoke hurriedly to Cobra and Vivi.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, a rebellion has broken out in Yuba!!!"