Waters near Water 7.
A uniquely designed one-man skiff was tearing across the sea at high speed.
The craft had no sails at all. Instead, violent flames blasted out from its stern, propelling it forward like a rocket skimming the ocean's surface.
"Damn you, Teach… I've finally caught your trail. This time, let's see where you run!"
On the skiff stood Ace, bare-chested, the massive Whitebeard skull emblem tattooed across his back, muttering under his breath.
Finding someone in the vast ocean was like looking for a needle in a haystack—but relying on his status as the Second Division Commander and that face people feared, Ace had pried loose plenty of information from black markets and taverns along the way.
"This direction should be right…"
He glanced at the Log Pose on his wrist, then cross-referenced it with his sea chart to confirm his heading.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, a screech came from overhead.
A News Coo flapped past, seemingly noticing the strange little craft below. It circled once, then swooped down.
"A News Coo? Perfect—give me a paper!"
Ace held his hat down with one hand while fumbling in his pocket with the other, finally flicking a few coins upward.
He might skip out on meals now and then, but when it came to buying newspapers, he was surprisingly law-abiding.
At a critical moment like this, newspapers were a vital source of information.
Besides, judging by the timing, it should be about when his little brother Luffy set sail.
The moment Ace shook open the paper, a stack of bounty posters slipped out with a rustle.
He bent down quickly to grab them—and when his eyes landed on one of them, his pupils shrank violently.
The boy in the photo, wearing a straw hat and grinning without a care in the world—
Wasn't that the brother he'd been thinking about nonstop?!
"Hahahaha! Luffy, you idiot—you finally came out to sea!"
Ace snatched up the bounty poster, laughing so hard his mouth wouldn't close when he saw the number beneath it.
"Thirty million Beli! Nicely done! Just what I'd expect from my little brother—starting out this high! Now I just wonder how hard those fists of yours really are."
"Judging by the location… you should be near Alabasta, right?"
He pressed down the brim of his hat, a gentle smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Perfect timing. I'll just take a small detour and go see that idiot little brother of mine."
—BOOM!
The flames at the skiff's stern flared violently, the craft surging forward once more and carving a long white wake across the sea as it sped toward the distance.
...
The Sky Kingdom, Coast of the Clouds.
Tenma received the latest newspaper at the very first opportunity.
Looking at the familiar bounty poster, he smiled as well—but unlike Ace's joy, his expression carried a calm sense of total control.
Not because he was moved by a boy's dream.
But because the chessboard was now complete.
This meant that all the great dramas were about to begin.
Beside him, the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock—dressed in a sexy bikini—also cast a curious glance at the straw-hatted boy.
Since Lord Tenma had said this was a piece capable of shaking the world, there was naturally a reason for it.
Still, it was only a brief look.
The next second, she clung to Tenma like an affectionate cat, her breathtakingly beautiful face filled with an infatuation completely at odds with her usual cold and haughty demeanor.
In the eyes of this proud Pirate Empress, all men in the world were dust—only Tenma was her god.
Of course, this tenderness was reserved for him alone.
The moment she noticed Black Maria nearby—equally voluptuous and always trying to squeeze closer—Hancock instantly switched to a murderous glare.
She sharply pointed toward the well-behaved Mermaid Princess Shirahoshi at the side, her look clearly warning Maria:
Learn from her! Just stay quietly as a decorative vase—why insist on butting in?!
Black Maria completely ignored her.
She knew perfectly well what her greatest trump card was. Whenever it came to swimsuit showdowns, Lord Tenma's gaze always lingered on her just a little longer.
Seeing the woman so shamelessly defiant, Hancock ground her teeth in fury, her chest heaving as her anger reached its peak.
That woman called Yamato had voluntarily gone out to sea with Ulti and the others—this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
It was the perfect window for Hancock to go all out and aggressively fight for favor.
Whenever such a "vacuum period" appeared, there was only one wild thought in her mind—
While that powerful rival wasn't around, she had to seize the time and produce a "life."
When Yamato returned to see her with a baby bump… just imagining it was enough to make her giddy. It would be the ultimate, dimension-crushing blow to her rival.
Unfortunately, heaven did not grant her wish.
After so many attempts, her belly remained perfectly flat, without the slightest sign of movement.
In fact, it wasn't just her.
Even Toki, who had been by Tenma's side the longest, and even Lira Blackveil, the very first chief steward—three women combined, yet still nothing.
Hancock secretly muttered to herself, wondering if Lord Tenma's physique was simply too special—but she'd never dare voice such a thought.
All she could do was turn her pent-up frustration into even more aggressive actions, constantly dropping hints and making demands.
And the truth was much as the Pirate Empress suspected.
Tenma himself wasn't in the least bit anxious.
Whether it was the readily obtainable "pure gold," or the legendary immortality surgery, both meant he possessed an inexhaustibly long span of time—something that applied just as much to the women in his harem.
Compared to something as mundane as having children, his gaze had long since crossed beyond this swimming pool, toward the "Paramount War" that would soon shake the seas.
Thinking of this, Tenma slightly turned his head, his eyes settling on the luxurious poolside lounge chair beside him.
There lay a languid, golden-haired beauty.
She was leisurely applying sunscreen to her body, every movement exuding the dignified elegance of a noblewoman.
"Stussy."
At the sound of his voice, the hand rubbing her thigh paused slightly. She then gracefully lifted the sunglasses from the bridge of her nose.
"What is it, my dear Grand General?"
Tenma's tone was calm.
"The result I asked for—you haven't reported it yet."
At his words, Stussy's eyes rippled teasingly. She deliberately twisted her alluring figure, pouting in a sultry, coquettish tone.
"I was thinking of saving that information as tonight's bargaining chip, you know—using the excuse of a work report to spend a little more private time alone with you, my lord."
There was a sense of an old tree sprouting new buds about her.
Ever since Tenma had seen through her heart and given her that special kind of fulfillment, Stussy's desire to take the initiative had skyrocketed—her methods of competing for favor growing more and more blatant.
She spoke without restraint, not caring in the slightest whether the vinegar jar known as Hancock might explode beside her.
After all, she'd dared to betray the World Government that had cultivated her for decades—what was there left to fear?
That said, flirtation aside, she hadn't neglected her duties.
Stussy quickly reined in some of her allure and proceeded to lay out, in full detail, the intelligence Tenma had been waiting for.
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