Sustainable Overfishing!

Cold, shivering.

The moment he regained consciousness, Rayleigh realized that the layer of clay covering his body had suddenly disappeared.

Before he even opened his eyes, a conversation reached his ears.

"This is Pluton Rayleigh?"

"This is Pluton Rayleigh!"

"He looks like an ordinary old geezer!"

"Because he is an elderly man!"

"Why is there so much blood on him? And his arm is a bit twisted."

"Of course I did it! Both of his arms were broken! Why are you looking at me like that? At least he's still alive!"

"No matter what, he's just an old man, right? How could you be so rough with him...?"

"I told you your personality is weird! If you want to help him, then go over there! Here! Take this bandage."

"Thank you... I don't feel awkward at all!"

"That's an incredibly awkward thing to say!"

Rayleigh recognized one of them— the White Dragon he had just fought.

But another unfamiliar voice came through, younger than usual, and seemingly quite rude...

Rayleigh opened his eyes and immediately saw two young men standing in front of him.

The one on the left is the White Dragon.

The one on the right is tall, muscular, and has black hair; he looks vaguely familiar.

When Ace saw Rayleigh wake up, he pursed his lips, but ultimately took the roll of bandages and came forward.

Tear--Tear--

With a rustling sound of bandages being wrapped, Rayleigh's arms and the rest of his body were completely bandaged by Ace.

"Thank you, young man."

Rayleigh accepted Ace's offer, but looking at the face so close to his, he asked uncertainly.

"Have we met somewhere before? In the East Blue? Or somewhere else?"

I've never seen you before!

Ace responded coldly.

He wrapped Rayleigh in the "Supreme Great Bandage" and then retreated immediately.

It was as if he had simply wanted to bandage an old man he was meeting for the first time.

"Yeah?"

Rayleigh, now bandaged up, felt much better and nodded to Ace.

"Maybe I'm getting senile... I'm sorry."

Ace remained silent, not even glancing at Rayleigh.

Seeing this, Storm couldn't help but shake his head.

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

In the quiet space, Storm's "tsk-tsk" sound seemed so loud and jarring.

Ace turned around instantly, stared at Storm, and questioned him.

What are you doing!?

"That's Rayleigh! Pluton Rayleigh! The right arm of the Pirate King!"

Storm waved his hand dramatically.

"Don't you have anything else you want to say to him?"

Ace glanced at Rayleigh over there and answered curtly.

"No!"

"OK."

Storm waved his hand, releasing a large mass of clay that enveloped Rayleigh once again.

"Hey! White Dragon! Who exactly is this young man—"

Rayleigh had some questions he wanted to ask, but Storm acted too quickly, and he was immediately engulfed in clay, his voice muffled.

Until Rayleigh's voice was completely cut off.

Then Storm spoke.

"We've seen the person, and the bandages have been applied, so let's go!"

After saying that, Storm turned and left, the surrounding clay instantly clearing a wide passage for him.

Ace glanced at Rayleigh, gritted his teeth, but still chose to follow Storm.

"Are you really going to hand Rayleigh over to the World Government?"

"Hmm! One Pluton sold six Devil Fruits."

"That's really cheap! Um..."

"Speak your mind, don't act like a little girl, all coy and hesitant."

"You're the one who acts like a little girl! Um... what would the World Government do to Rayleigh if they captured him?"

"Public execution! Just like in Pirate King. As for whether it will be World Live Broadcast... we don't know."

"Live stream? What does that mean?"

"It means broadcasting Pluton Rayleigh's execution to the entire world via Den Den Mushi, so that the whole world will realize the World Government's attitude towards pirates!"

"That's what Storm said casually."

"However, I feel that the possibility of this operation is not high..."

"Because Roger's words 'One Piece' directly sparked the Great Pirate Era."

"If Rayleigh were executed live right now, Rayleigh he said, 'One Piece really exists'... wouldn't the World Government go crazy?"

The Great Pirate Era originated with Gol D. Roger.

Countless people choose to set sail and become pirates in search of the Pirate King's treasure.

However, the Great Pirate Era lasted for nearly twenty years after Roger's execution.

But no one has ever found the Pirate King's treasure.

If at this point, the World Government were to broadcast Pluton Rayleigh's execution live again.

Rayleigh, at the cost of his life, once again ignites the second wave of the Great Pirate Era...

The pirates will definitely go crazy!

The World Government and the Marine Headquarters will definitely go crazy!

Ace didn't quite understand what Storm was saying, but he realized something.

If Pluton Rayleigh is truly captured by the World Government, he will absolutely die!

Thinking of this, Ace suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Um?"

Storm noticed the strange behavior of the person next to him, turned his head and glanced at them.

"What's wrong?"

"You..."

Ace gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and squeezed out a sentence through his teeth.

"Can you release Rayleigh?"

"Um?"

Storm became interested and looked at Ace with curiosity.

"Why would you suddenly say that? Didn't you just say you were 'indifferent' about the fate of the Roger Pirates members?"

"Because..."

Ace opened his mouth, but didn't know how to explain, and finally just mumbled something unclear.

"Because I didn't know Pluton Rayleigh before!"

"You mean you just met Pluton Rayleigh?"

Storm continued the conversation, following Ace's lead.

"So now you feel that the other person's life or death is meaningful to you, and you want to save their life, right?"

"No! Pluton Rayleigh lives or dies has nothing to do with me!"

Ace said very stubbornly.

"But he's an old man now, isn't he? The World Government isn't a good guy either! We can't let the World Government execute pirates!"

"What utter nonsense!"

Storm stared speechlessly at Ace was rambling on and on.

"Can't you just be honest and say, 'Because Pluton Rayleigh is your dad's best friend, you don't want him to die'?"

Since Storm intends to bring Ace to see Rayleigh.

He was already mentally prepared to plead for Raleigh.

What he hadn't expected was that this guy's personality was this peculiar...

Ace's true thoughts were exposed by Storm, and his face flushed red instantly, but he still stubbornly insisted on his words.

"I don't even know Pluton Rayleigh! Why should I care whether he lives or dies!"

"Okay, okay, I understand what you mean."

Storm shook his head and said jokingly.

"You bandaged Rayleigh, healed his wounds, and pleaded for him, but you didn't care whether he lived or died."

"How could I have run into such an awkward person like you? And a guy at that!"

Ace flushed red, veins bulging on his forehead, as he argued.

"Pleading for mercy doesn't necessarily mean you care... pleading for mercy... Pirate matters aren't that complicated."

What followed was a string of incomprehensible statements, such as "Rayleigh is an old man," "The Roger Pirates have nothing to do with me," and "Roger's brothers are not my uncles," and so on.

This caused Storm to burst into laughter.

The air inside and outside the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

After a while.

Storm wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes. How come he hadn't noticed before that Ace's comedic talent was no less than his brother's?

Is this the allure of the "D Clan"?

"In short, releasing them is out of the question. Even pirates have to uphold 'loyalty'!"

"Storm said seriously."

"Not to mention that I still have four Devil Fruits to get my hands on, I've already taken the two Devil Fruits from the World Government, so I'll definitely hand Rayleigh over to them!"

"When you're in the business world, you have to keep your word! You have to do what you say you will do!"

Upon hearing Storm's refusal, Ace's mood immediately plummeted.

"Hey, hey, hey, who are you trying to impress with that ugly face?"

Storm couldn't help but raise his right hand and slap Ace hard on the back, making a dull thud.

Have you forgotten what we do?

"Cough cough cough!!"

Ace was slapped so hard by Storm that his face turned red, and he coughed several times before he could barely recover.

"Aren't we pirates?"

"Yes!"

Storm nodded readily.

"Since they're pirates, if they want something, they should just go and steal it!"

"If you want to save Rayleigh, just wait until the World Government takes him away, then snatch Rayleigh back!"

Is this even possible?

Ace stared wide-eyed at Storm in disbelief.

"Didn't you just say that pirates should keep their word?"

"Yes!"

"Storm said in a very serious tone."

"I said I would hand Rayleigh over to the World Government, but I never said I wouldn't take Rayleigh back."

"If you hadn't pleaded for Rayleigh, this 'Pluton' would have died anyway."

"But since you've pleaded for Rayleigh, I can't let my subordinates' feelings be hurt because of some old man from the Old Era, can I?"

Certainly.

Aside from that reason...

There was another reason that Storm didn't mention.

That is--

Pluton Rayleigh isn't someone who can only "sell" once!

Sell first, then steal; sell again, then steal again...

Green, healthy, and sustainable development – exhausting resources!

If the World Government doesn't mind.

Storm didn't mind doing a few more pirate jobs.

He had no qualms about taking advantage of the World Government and Pluton Rayleigh, in any case.

"You..."

Ace inexplicably felt that he was entering the treacherous world of real pirates.

"If we do that, what will the World Government do?"

"World Government? Have you lost your mind?"

Storm looked at Ace strangely.

"You're actually worried that the World Government will suffer losses because of this?"

Snap!

Ace immediately covered his face.

Storm didn't look at Ace again. He manipulated the clay around him and took out a Famous Sword from it.

"I remember your 'Supreme Water Pipe' broke before, didn't it?"

Storm casually tossed the Famous Sword into Ace's arms.

"Try this knife! It's a 'Black Blade,' and aside from everything else, it's absolutely durable."

"Black Blade?"

Ace weighed the heavy, Famous Sword in his hand, then instantly drew it from its sheath.

"It's a bit heavy! But it's easy to handle! Does this knife have a name?"

"One of the Twenty-One Great Grade Swords - The Black Blade [Shusui]!"

Storm revealed the true name of the Black Blade.

"Oh right, I said I'd introduce some new people to you guys, but I forgot to mention there's one more guy..."

"Weevil! Get up and eat!"

A 10,000-word article delivered at midnight!

Please subscribe! Please vote with monthly tickets!

There will be one more update, it will be quite late...