News of Ace

Mock Town.

The streets buzzed with voices as newcomers streamed past, jostling shoulder to shoulder. Noise rose from every direction.

The pirate town had regained its peace today after yesterday's great battle. Even the destroyed houses had been rebuilt with astonishing speed.

On the surface, everything looked the same as usual, but everyone who lived here knew there were two monsters on the island they absolutely must not provoke.

Yes, monsters!

In the forest beyond the outskirts, the trees for several kilometers around had vanished, all transformed into strange, tough white threads.

The sight sent chills through people.

What sort of power could change the state of matter? They had never heard of or seen anything like it.

As far as the people of Mock Town knew, anyone capable of such a feat was undoubtedly a monster.

Inside a manor some distance from the bustling streets, a group sat studying one another with different expressions.

River sat on the steps at the far end.

On either side sat Crocodile, wearing a Ghostface Mask, and Doflamingo, dressed in a pink feather coat. Foxy huddled in another corner, trembling.

Doflamingo!!

The man sitting on the stone to his right was none other than the famous Shichibukai, Doflamingo!

What shocked him even more was the question of who his boss really was, and who that fellow in the Ghostface Mask could be.

Neither showed the slightest flicker of emotion as they looked at the Shichibukai. They were nothing like him, panicking here.

"My people are already looking into Fire Fist Ace's whereabouts. We should hear back soon."

After a brief silence, Doflamingo spoke.

"Good."

River nodded, seemingly pondering something.

"But I don't agree with you making a move against Whitebeard's men right now."

"After all..."

At this point, Doflamingo glanced at the other two before him.

"They don't even seem to be Numbered Ones yet."

"And you haven't filled all your numbered positions, either."

A hint of surprise appeared in River's eyes. Then he looked up and smiled. "You may have misunderstood."

"I have no intention of attacking Whitebeard. Even if I were to deal with him..."

"It wouldn't be now!"

Doflamingo paused, then nodded slightly.

Crocodile looked at River in confusion. "What exactly is a Numbered One?"

"Fufufufufufu!"

"You really don't know anything yet!"

"Being a Numbered One is something incredibly precious-a source of power and status!"

Doflamingo burst out laughing.

"It's not time to give you a number yet."

River smiled faintly.

Not far away, Foxy's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

What had he just heard?

Whitebeard?!

Was the boss planning to take on Whitebeard? Good heavens, he was one of the Four Emperors of the New World, a legendary pirate!

The World's Strongest Man!

And what was a Numbered One?

At that moment, Foxy felt as though he had stumbled upon an earth-shattering secret beyond anything he could imagine.

"Doflamingo."

Suddenly, the cold, mysterious man in the Ghostface Mask spoke.

"Oh?"

Doflamingo raised an eyebrow, looking at the Ghostface Mask across from him.

"Do you know Straw Hat?"

Crocodile's voice was cold.

"Straw Hat?"

Confusion crossed Doflamingo's face, but he quickly caught on, his lips spreading into a grin.

"I remember now."

"You mean the rookie who defeated you?"

Crocodile's expression darkened. "He should be arriving on this island soon!"

"What's that supposed to mean? Don't tell me you want me to deal with some wet-behind-the-ears rookie?"

Doflamingo laughed in surprise.

"Fufufufufufu."

"Don't forget, you're not a Numbered One yet. You don't count as my colleague."

"I'm under no obligation to do anything for you."

Crocodile fell silent.

His eyes flickered. The term "Numbered One" had left him deeply puzzled.

What did it mean? How could a simple number make Doflamingo, the great Heavenly Yaksha and one of the Shichibukai, so proud?

Back then, River had risen too quickly and disappeared just as quickly. People might have heard of Void Night, the organization he had founded, but they knew little about what it actually represented.

"Straw Hat, Monkey D. Luffy?"

River chuckled softly. As he mentioned the name, an odd look appeared in his eyes, somewhere between reminiscence and keen interest.

"What, are you interested in him too?"

Noticing his expression, Doflamingo asked in a serious voice.

"Hehehehe."

"A kid with some potential."

"As for interest, I wouldn't go that far yet."

River shook his head.

Although Luffy was this world's protagonist, its chosen one, the gap between them was still enormous at present.

"Hearing you say that makes me even more interested in him."

Doflamingo sounded taken aback.

"Don't concern yourself with him."

River spoke.

After that, the courtyard fell quiet once more.

They waited. Doflamingo controlled the Underworld and naturally had his own procedures for gathering intelligence.

At times, his methods of acquiring intelligence and tracking down information even surpassed the intelligence networks of the Navy and the World Government.

After all, what island or ship in this world lacked someone touched by darkness?

That afternoon, a figure hurried into the manor and made his way straight to its innermost courtyard.

After glancing at River, who sat casually on the steps, the man strode over to Doflamingo and whispered something in his ear.

Then the man bowed, turned, and quickly left.

"Looks like those fellows are pretty quick at digging up information!"

Doflamingo smiled and looked at River.

"Where?"

Hearing those words, River naturally understood that news of Ace's whereabouts had arrived.

"Someone saw him in a small town called Rump, a little over fifty li northwest of Alabasta."

"Yes, just today."

After a pause, Doflamingo continued with a smile.

"What's stranger is that they also spotted a pirate named Blackbeard there not long ago."

"This Fire Fist Ace seems to have come looking for Blackbeard."

Doflamingo's eyes flickered as he spoke.

"Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach-he's a subordinate of Ace, the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander, isn't he?"

Doflamingo's interest was piqued.

Two members of the Whitebeard Pirates had both come to the first half of the Grand Line. What was the reason behind it?

"Rampo Town, huh?"

"That's not far from here."

Rather than answer his question, River immediately rose to his feet.

"Let's go!"

With those words, he was already striding toward the gate.

Seeing their boss get up, Crocodile in his Ghostface Mask and the still-stunned Foxy hurried after him.

"In such a hurry?"

Doflamingo paused, his eyes flickering.

A man who drew so much of River's attention had to be extraordinary.

Could he have some connection to Fire Fist Ace that no one else knew about?