Ace and the others turned their gaze and spotted an unmarked ship not far away.
Several figures were aboard it.
"Who's that, Ace? Are they your friends?" Luffy asked, a little puzzled.
Luffy did not recognize them, but that did not mean Ace and the others did not. "Not friends. Strictly speaking, they should count as enemies."
"What? Enemies?" Luffy rolled up his nonexistent sleeves, ready for a fight.
Seeing this, Ace quickly reached out to stop him. "Wait. They probably aren't enemies anymore."
"Hey! Ace, you jerk! First they're enemies, then they aren't. Which is it?" White steam puffed from Luffy's nostrils, and he looked furious.
Still, he stopped what he was doing.
Ace walked slowly to the bow. "Katakuri, I never expected to run into you here. From the looks of it, are you heading to Peach Spring?"
Aboard the other ship were Katakuri and some members of the Big Mom Pirates.
Ace was filled with wariness. Katakuri had been the Big Mom Pirates' number two.
He had not expected that, when Big Mom fell last time, her forces had not been completely wiped out.
Such a powerful remnant had survived.
He took in every expression on the faces of the remaining Big Mom Pirates aboard the ship.
In the past, these people had been so arrogant they practically tilted their heads up to the sky whenever they met anyone. Now, their eyes all held some degree of dullness.
They had once been among the very highest-ranking people in this world. Now, fallen from their pedestal, they had lost their former luster after a long period of hardship.
On top of that, the Big Mom Pirates had often bullied those weaker than themselves.
Without Big Mom to hold the fort, many pirate crews and organizations they had bullied