Who Writes a Diary? / Ace, You Can't Handle This Fruit

With a single roar, he had nearly wiped out his entire pirate crew!

How could the world be so vast?

The world couldn't possibly be so vast!!

Krieg forced down his fear and said through gritted teeth, "I'm Krieg. Did Sabo send you?"

"That's right."

"Why didn't he come himself?"

Mammon's gaze narrowed slightly. "You're not worthy."

Me, the overlord of the East Blue, not worthy?

Krieg curled his lip, but he had one virtue: he knew when to yield.

"If you want to see my master, you'll have to at least finish what he assigned you first."

"What did you say?"

Master?

Krieg drew a sharp breath. Just what kind of man was this Sabo, to have such a powerful subordinate who was merely a slave?

Chapter 12: Who Writes a Diary?

With a "guest" visiting, Gin, the fleet's chief commander, put his hunt for the traitor on hold.

Krieg invited Mammon into the ship's cabin and ordered the kitchen to prepare fine wine and food to treat him generously.

As a devil born from a fruit, Mammon had no interest in human food. He usually replenished his energy by drinking blood.

"There's no need. Let's discuss exactly what you need to do."

"Go ahead."

Krieg waved everyone else out, leaving just the two of them in the dining room.

Mammon said calmly, "The person you need to find is named Portgas D. Ace. He's seventeen, male, and from the Goa Kingdom. He's over 1.8 meters tall, has black hair and freckles on both cheeks, and likes to wear an orange cowboy hat..."

He told Krieg everything he knew about Ace, detail by detail.

Krieg fell into thought after hearing him out.

What's so special about this man called Ace?

"Can you be more specific? Do you know how big the East Blue is? Who knows how long it'll take to find one particular person in such a vast sea?"

"He's a pirate, and he's headed for the Grand Line."

"A pirate? That makes things much simpler."

Krieg thought it over. The route from the Goa Kingdom to the Grand Line narrowed the search area considerably, making it much easier than searching blindly across the entire East Blue.

After all, the East Blue covered a far larger area than the Grand Line.

The Grand Line was merely a band of sea encircling the planet, while the East Blue accounted for nearly a quarter of the world's ocean area.

"There's one more thing you need to keep in mind," Mammon added. "Your men are only responsible for finding him. Once they do, there's no need to make contact."

Are they afraid of alerting him?

Krieg wondered. "Fine. Now let's talk payment. Since you're from the Grand Line, there's only one thing I want.

A chart of the Grand Line! Or a sailing journal, something like that. In short, I want all the information I can get about the Grand Line!"

"Once you find him, Master will grant your wish."

With that, Mammon stood up. "I'll stay here for the time being. I hope you'll work quickly. Master's patience is limited."

Having said his piece, he left the dining room.

The many pirates outside didn't dare stop him. Terrified, they stepped aside and let him move freely around the ship.

Gin entered the dining room and approached Krieg.

"Admiral."

"Put the traitor aside for now. Tell every pirate crew under our command to look for a man named Ace..."

Gin nodded, then lowered his voice and said fiercely, "Understood. But Admiral Krieg, are we just going to agree to their demands? What if we do something to his food? Even against a monster like that, we'd have a chance of winning if he were poisoned!"

"Don't do anything unnecessary."

Krieg snorted. Even if they could deal with Mammon, what good would it do? He was only a slave, and killing him would thoroughly enrage the master behind him.

Until he knew more about "Sabo," Krieg wouldn't be foolish enough to provoke him.

Meanwhile.

Mammon went to the uppermost deck, stood at the stern, and spoke to the air. "Master, I've conveyed the task to Krieg as you instructed."

A reply sounded out of thin air.

"Understood."

Dimon didn't merely know; he had watched the whole thing.

Ain's ability was very useful. Ain could split into many parts, each possessing [Listening to All Things].

Long-distance conversations like this were just as easy.

At that moment, aboard the Big Bazar Pirates' ship, Big Bazar soon received a call from the Krieg Pirates.

"Yes, understood, Chief Commander Gin. I'll get right on it!"

After hanging up, Big Bazar put on an ingratiating smile. "Sir, so you're looking for someone? Leave that sort of thing to me. I have excellent sources."

Dimon reclined on the sofa, reading a newspaper to catch up on recent news in the East Blue.

Hearing that, he couldn't help glancing at Big Bazar.

"Do you know where he is?"

"...No, but don't worry, sir. I'll find him soon!"

"Then get going."

"Right away!!"

Big Bazar hurried off.

"Come back."

He promptly scurried back.

Dimon thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you have a diary on your ship?"

"A diary? Maybe. I'll have someone look in the storeroom."

"Bring me a pen too. Go on."

"Right away."

Soon, the sitting room fell quiet.

Dimon turned his thoughts back to the Flame-Flame Fruit. Finding it wasn't actually all that difficult: he only had to wait in Loguetown, and he was certain to run into Ace.

Loguetown was an unavoidable stop on the way from the East Blue to the Grand Line.

The trouble was, the Ace he met there would most likely have already eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit.

If he wanted to snatch the fruit first, he had to locate Ace before then, without interfering with his actions, and let everything unfold naturally.

Dimon looked at the newspaper and fell into recollection.

He remembered that Ace had set sail alone at seventeen and been shipwrecked not long afterward, drifting to an isolated island, where he met his first partner in life, Masked Deuce.

The two had been short of food on the island, but found a Devil Fruit instead and ended up splitting it, each eating half.

Ace ate first, so he gained the power.

"What was that island called again? Too bad, I can't remember."

Dimon felt a little regretful. If he knew which island it was, he could go straight there and wouldn't have to go to all this trouble.

Before long, Big Bazar had someone bring him a notebook and a fountain pen.

Dimon put down the newspaper, picked up the pen, and began making up a diary.

He didn't have the Grand Line chart Krieg wanted. The thing was completely useless anyway. What pirate crew relied on a chart to sail the Grand Line?

Country pirates really don't know a thing!

But a sailing journal? Who writes a diary?

Still, it didn't matter. He could make one up on the spot!

It's just making up a diary, isn't it?

When he was in elementary school, his teacher had assigned him a diary to write every day over summer vacation, and he had always made it all up on the last day.

Making one up now was like returning to his old trade.

He started writing at a furious pace, only to come to an abrupt stop. After so many years without writing, he was a little rusty.

Luckily, his muscle memory was still there, and the more he wrote, the more into it he got...

[Sea Circle Calendar, February 23, 1500]

[It's been over a week since I entered the Grand Line. I have to write something down to record what I've encountered, or I'll go mad.]

[My name is Roselle D. Gustav, the man who will become Pirate King!]

While Dimon was making up the diary, the overlord-level pirate crew of the East Blue gave the order, and the more than thirty pirate crews under its command immediately sprang into action.

Their objective was clear: starting from the Goa Kingdom and ending at Loguetown, they would search the waters in between.

For the first few days, no valuable information came in.

But with so many pirate crews acting at once, the Navy quickly learned of it as well.

Major branches across the East Blue treated it as a grave threat and dispatched warships to suppress them.

For a time, the entire East Blue was suddenly thrown into chaos by Dimon's will, leaving everyone on edge.

It wasn't until seven days later that Dimon received word from Mammon.

"Master, we found him!"

Chapter 13: Ace, You Can't Handle This Fruit

"You found him? That fast?"

Dimon was rather surprised by the news. Was Krieg really that efficient?

"Bring him to me."

Half an hour later, a black bat flew in from the horizon, carrying a burly man in his claws.

When Krieg got a clear look at the Big Bazar Pirates' ship, he finally understood everything.

That bastard leaked my whereabouts?

Krieg glanced at Big Bazar without betraying his feelings and didn't confront him on the spot.

Mammon set him down on the deck, and he was led to meet the mysterious "master."

He was unexpectedly young, looking no more than his twenties. He sat on the sofa with his legs elegantly crossed, leafing through a diary.

Could that be... a sailing journal?

Krieg's expression shifted slightly, and he saw Dimon close the diary with a smack.

"This is a sailing journal left behind by a legendary great pirate named Gustav. I've read it many times, and I can give it to you as payment."

After a pause, Dimon finally looked up at him and said with a smile, "Provided you've really found the person I want."

Krieg stood there and said in a deep voice, "I'm not sure if it's him, but the person matches the information you provided."