No Need to Be So Gentle

As the two chatted, they kept an eye on the warship, which was about to pass the lookout post set up by Marine Headquarters.

"How much do you know about Ace?"

River asked quietly, his gaze deep.

Back then, he had expended tremendous effort and sacrificed his prospects in the Marines just to ensure the boy was born safely.

Unfortunately, he had never met him.

Naturally, he was deeply interested in this nephew he had never seen.

"Ace? Fire Fist Ace?"

Crocodile paused, then asked in confusion.

"That's right!"

"Also, you'd better keep yourself out of sight. The Marines' binoculars aren't blind."

River nodded, glancing at the nearby lookout post.

Crocodile shifted, concealing himself in a blind spot.

"All I know is that he's the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander. I don't know much else."

"Oh, Baroque Works discovered that he appeared in Alabasta not long ago."

River looked up at the lookout post a short distance away and waved to the Marine holding binoculars. "Do you know where he is now?"

"After I was arrested, Baroque Works disbanded, and I lost contact with my intelligence department."

"I'm afraid it'll take some time to get information flowing again."

Crocodile spoke in a low voice.

"So you don't know!"

"I'll have to try asking someone else!"

River sighed.

He did not know whether he would make it in time. According to the plot, Ace's capture was imminent. Once Blackbeard defeated him and he was sent to Marineford, the Paramount War would be just around the corner.

He could not predict how events would unfold, but talking to this nephew was something he very much wanted to do right now.

Crocodile gave him a puzzled look, unable to fathom where he would find anyone else to ask.

He himself had only been imprisoned for a short time, yet his organization had already fallen apart. River had spent nearly twenty years in Impel Down.

So many events that had once shaken the world had already been forgotten, fading into distant, hazy memories.

As they talked, the warship passed the lookout post and sailed slowly into the distance, gradually leaving Marineford behind.

Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters in Marineford.

Sengoku watched the photograph slowly emerge from the printer, his gaze sharpening.

"River has already left Impel Down?"

"And he hasn't come to headquarters to report in?"

After a pause, he set the photograph down.

"Never mind. Giving him some time off isn't a bad idea."

"Ask Impel Down for River's Den Den Mushi number. Stay in contact with him at all times."

The soldier before him nodded, then turned and left.

Time passed, and three days slipped by in the blink of an eye.

River's departure attracted some attention, but only within a limited circle. Meanwhile, all remained quiet in Impel Down.

Clearly, Hannyabal had suppressed everything, and Magellan, who had noticed clues, had also chosen to remain silent.

Everyone had tacitly agreed to show River considerable respect.

Sabaody Archipelago.

"The supplies on our ship aren't nearly enough to get us to Mock Town!"

"And isn't that vice warden a little too stingy? He didn't give you a single Beli?"

Wearing a mask, Crocodile grumbled in frustration.

It had taken three days to get here, and he had gone hungry for two of them.

Impel Down had prepared only two days' worth of food for them, but split between two people, it had become just one day's worth.

What was more, they both had enormous appetites. It simply could not sustain them.

"Impel Down has always been short on food. Hannyabal already did plenty for us."

"Or maybe he never counted you in the first place."

River said with a smile.

He did not look too well either. Hunger truly was a formidable enemy.

After a pause, he raised his head and looked at the ships docked along the shore.

"Still, we won't be short of supplies here!"

"If we don't have any, we'll just take theirs!"

Crocodile froze for a moment, then followed his gaze.

Although the ships had lowered their flags, it was easy to tell that their crews were anything but respectable.

That familiar scent gave them away as pirates almost instantly.

"You really don't act like a Marine at all!"

With a soft sigh, a ruthless gleam appeared in Crocodile's eyes.

"Marines never go easy on pirates, do they?"

River smiled.

Then the two slowly brought the warship alongside one of the larger vessels.

Although the ship had taken down its flag, its crew could not conceal their vicious air. Every man carried weapons at his waist, with scars crisscrossing their faces and exposed skin.

They were clearly no good!

"Shall we?"

Crocodile gave him a meaningful look, sand swirling around his right arm as he prepared to attack.

Just then, River drew the long blade at his waist and grinned.

"No need to be so gentle!"

As he spoke, the blade in his hand quivered. An inexplicable aura swept outward, and then he swung it sharply.

Whoosh!

The air shuddered with a hum as a sharp flash of light screamed forward, reaching the ship in an instant.

"What?!"

The pirates aboard felt a fierce wind blast into their faces. They jerked their heads up and cried out, their expressions changing drastically.

But it was already too late. The blade's light flared, erupting in a sudden burst.

Humm!

The air trembled. The massive ship was sliced straight down the middle, wood splinters flying everywhere. The pirates' faces were clearly visible, contorted and twisted with terror.

Boom!

An explosion rang out, sending up a thick cloud of dust.

"Who did that?!"

Clambering up from the severed deck, one of the officers roared in fury.

Before he could finish, however, he saw a figure leap high into the air and swing the long blade in his hand once more.

Whoosh!

This time, the already split ship was sliced across. Everyone stood dumbfounded, then terror seized them.

The ship creaked as it slowly sank into the sea. Fortunately, they were in port; otherwise, not a single person aboard would have survived.

"Run!"

"My God, he sliced our ship apart in an instant!"

"Who the hell is he?"

Panicked and terrified, the pirates scrambled and stumbled toward the shore.

The Marines patrolling nearby also noticed the commotion and hurried over.

"I didn't mean anything by it. Just saying hello!"

River slowly descended and crouched on the ship's rail, looking down at the panicking pirate officers.

"I'm a little short on money lately, so I'd like to borrow the treasure aboard your ship."

As he spoke, he grinned and looked at the treasure chests that his two slashes had cut open and exposed.

"A-are you kidding me?"

A pirate officer shouted in shock and fury.

"I never joke."

River swung his blade. Amid a humming sound, the pirate before him was sliced in two. Ripples spread, and a fierce gust swept outward.

Just then, streams of sand swept over the ship's treasure, wrapped around it, and hauled it into the warship.

Tweet!

A shrill whistle sounded. The Marine patrol had arrived.

River glanced up, then leaped back onto his own ship.

"Let's go!"

Crocodile immediately got the ship moving, heading elsewhere.

After causing such a commotion, they certainly could not stay in this harbor.