Secret

Chapter 036: Secret

Without even moving a finger, the Kuja Pirates had already subdued and knocked out all the injured Spade Pirates. As for Ace... Ace, who had never eaten a Devil Fruit, was directly kicked unconscious by Armament Haki.

The Shichibukai are indeed strong.

Perhaps Ace, after eating the Flame-Flame Fruit, could pose a significant threat to the Perfume Sea Serpent. However, in a one-on-one fight, Ace still wouldn't be able to contend with Hancock.

Perhaps in a few years, Ace, who could fight Jinbe to a draw, might be able to fight the current Hancock. But now... he was far from strong enough.

Not to mention Ace without the Flame-Flame Fruit.

"Tie them all up! Leo, are you alright!" the Empress commanded sternly, then turned to Leo with the concerned expression of a young girl in love.

"Mhm, I'm fine, Hancock. And thank you, Sonia," Leo said, stretching his limbs. He felt like he had unlocked some strange switch today.

The feeling of Observation Haki just now was truly marvelous. That sense of having everything under control, it was exceptionally good. Coupled with the thrill of high-speed bullets coming at him, the feeling of being completely aware of them was something else entirely.

And then there was the Conqueror's Haki just now...

That sensation sent shivers down his spine.

"Sister really chose the right person," Sandersonia said beside Leo, sounding somewhat surprised.

"Even on Amazon Lily, many people can't withstand Sister's Conqueror's Haki, yet you, so frail, were completely unaffected," Marigold said, standing to Leo's right and looking at him. "Perhaps you're not just all talk; you truly possess the bearing of an emperor."

"Conqueror's Haki..." Leo was still savoring the feeling from just now. He scratched his hand, a wry smile appearing on his face.

"I didn't come to this world to become an emperor... There are no saviors, nor do we rely on gods or emperors..." He softly hummed the lyrics of The Internationale, slowly approaching Hancock and taking her hand.

"To create human happiness, we must rely on ourselves. We must seize the fruits of our labor, let our thoughts break free from their cages..."

His eyes grew brighter. He turned to look at Hancock, and as if their minds were connected, they simply gazed at each other.

"Hey, kill me or torture me, just give me a quick end!" Ace, who had been watching them flirt while securely tied up, had surprisingly woken up. Sitting by the ship's railing, a dejected Ace looked at his bound companions being brought back and felt a sense of relief.

If they were dead, there would be no need to tie them up so neatly. This meant that even though his companions were captured, they were still alive.

But... was the gap between them really that large? They had wiped out everyone...

A wry smile appeared on his face. He felt the same way Luffy must have felt on the execution platform. He had lost fair and square.

"Portgas D. Ace." Leo released Hancock's hand and half-knelt before Ace, a brilliant smile on his face.

"Son of Roger, hello."

"!!!!" Ace's face contorted into a terrifying expression. He glared fiercely at Leo, not saying a word.

"No way!!" the entire Spade Pirates crew exclaimed in shock. Clearly, they had no idea about this secret either. He had only revealed this secret to Whitebeard long after joining the Whitebeard Pirates.

Not only the Spade Pirates but everyone on the Kuja Pirates ship wore expressions of shock. No matter how sheltered they were, they knew of Pirate King Roger's great achievements. The fact that Pirate King Roger had a child was undoubtedly a world-shattering event.

Their extreme reaction was understandable.

"You... how did you know..." Portgas D. Ace was not one to deny things outright. He admitted it without hesitation and became dangerously menacing. "Are you a Marine...?"

The Shichibukai group had been incorporated into the Marines. It was perfectly normal for there to be a Marine supervisor among them. Pirates at this stage didn't understand the Shichibukai system well enough, so having such a thought was natural.

"How could I be? The Marines and I are sworn enemies," Leo said with a chuckle.

"Then how did you..." Ace couldn't understand. Only the Marines possessed such an intelligence network and capability—in fact, even the Marines didn't have it. Ace was discovered because he lost to Blackbeard, and Blackbeard, in order to sell him for a good price, revealed his parentage to the Marines.

This led to the later Summit War.

Before that, his identity and secret had been well-preserved. Otherwise, the Marines would have disregarded everything and gathered Admirals and Vice Admirals to eliminate him in his cradle.

How else could he have roamed the seas for so many years, even reaching the position of Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates?

"I want to overturn the current Marines, the World Government, and even the Great Pirate Era that your father started. Can you help me?" Leo looked at him, not untying him, and simply asked with a smile.

These pirates had astonishing self-healing abilities. The bullet-pierced areas had already stopped bleeding.

Ace frowned and looked back at his companions. They had woken up when they were tied up and were now full of energy. He turned back to Leo, not believing his words.

This was only natural. No one would reveal their ultimate goal to someone they had just met—except for revolutionaries.

Revolution was something that, if you started with deception, you would only get lies in return. It would be impossible to attract like-minded people to move forward together.

Leo knew this very well, which was why he had always been forthright about his ideals and was not ashamed to talk about them.

However, he was also very cunning—he wouldn't talk to just anyone.

For example, the Cutlass Pirates. He trained them, but he never mentioned his purpose or goals.

If there was a reason, it was probably because Hancock and Ace held significantly more importance than the Cutlass Pirates.

He could let the Cutlass Pirates go at any time, but if Ace refused to join, he might have to kill him.

This was the difference between the two parties.

PS: Oh my, it's 2 AM again. What have I been doing?