"Hahahahaha! Xie Wen! We came to see you!"
Before Whitebeard's fleet had even reached shore, Ace leaped off a ship, laughing and shouting at the top of his lungs.
After landing, he immediately stepped forward and hugged a visibly disgusted Xie Wen, then punched his shoulder and continued boisterously, "You! You've already made a name for yourself on par with Pops, and you even beat Kaido!"
Having once received a thorough thrashing from Xie Wen's cats and spent some time under Xie Wen's instruction, Ace wasn't actually all that resentful about him becoming the Fifth Emperor. It was more the frustration of suddenly seeing a friend become an elder's equal.
"Actually, beating Kaido didn't have much to do with me."
Xie Wen shrugged and told the truth.
First, Issho had fought Kaido and led him on a chase for several days. Then Kaido Meow had tangled with him. Finally, what blew off his horn was the "Little Girl" that Klee Meow and the other Little Furball Cats had made together...
Strictly speaking, all Xie Wen had done was fling a Flying Slash at Kaido at the beginning and fire a cannon shot at him at the end.
"Doesn't that make it even more impressive?!"
Feeling that Xie Wen was actually showing off, Ace slapped him hard on the back twice.
Then...
"Huh?! Aren't you Yamato?!"
He suddenly spotted Yamato standing with the cats and greeted this friend he'd made through a fight with delighted surprise. "You can leave Onigashima now?!"
"Long time no see, Ace!"
Yamato walked over cheerfully. "Xie Wen helped me remove those shackles, and I've joined the Palico Research Commission now, too!"
"Really?" Ace smacked his lips with a hint of regret. "I'd been hoping to introduce you to Pops..."
Because Yamato shared his plight of refusing