In the blink of an eye, the two sides were only a hundred or so meters apart.
Cavendish stood on the deck, waving his right hand and shouting to Ace aboard the Moby Dick opposite them.
"Ace!!!"
"Hahahaha! Long time no see, Cavendish!"
Ace laughed as he replied.
"We're heading out! Let's catch up another time!"
Cavendish shouted.
"So are we! Next time, then."
After a moment of surprise, Ace looked toward River and saw his uncle watching him with his arms folded and a smile on his face.
"Goodbye, Uncle."
He grinned and waved farewell.
The massive Whitebeard fleet began turning around at once, and the distance between the two sides quickly grew.
A short while later, the Ark Maxim rose off the sea and flew into the sky.
"That inexperienced, despairing, dejected kid from back then has become one of the Four Emperors, capable of standing on his own!"
Leaning against the ship's railing, Aokiji sighed with emotion.
"Hahahaha! Kuzan, people change."
River laughed.
"Yes, people do change."
"Where are we going now?"
Aokiji nodded, then asked in puzzlement.
He had soon realized that this course did not lead to Dressrosa.
"To Germa 66. Then we'll return to Dressrosa together with Mr. Vinsmoke Judge-Miss Reiju's father-and the others."
River smiled as he spoke.
Hearing her name, Reiju looked over and nodded with a smile.
"I didn't expect you to bring the Vinsmoke Family into your fold too."
"It looks like you're realizing your ambitions step by step."
After a pause, Aokiji continued with a lazy smile.
"Still, keeping those vicious beasts under your command could count as an act of justice."
River burst out laughing at his words.
Soon, the Ark Maxim arrived once more at the Vinsmoke Family's location.
It was an enormous, island-like ship assembled from