Portgas D. Ace. Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. That position had sat empty for years before him—it had originally belonged to Kozuki Oden.
Would Whitebeard really go to war over Ace's capture and public execution? The answer was unquestionably yes.
That was the kind of family the Whitebeard Pirates were. Every member was an adopted child taken in by Whitebeard himself. Now that the old man was advanced in age and his body required constant IV drips just to stay functional, he was even less likely to back down. The world's strongest pirate couldn't afford to become a laughingstock in his twilight years because his health was failing.
So then why had the World Government risked open war to execute Ace when they could have simply locked him in Impel Down and been done with it? Because "Portgas" came from his mother's side. His real full name was Gol D. Ace.
Sharing a surname with the Pirate King made the answer obvious. In a world that placed inexplicable stock in bloodlines, Ace represented the most dangerous lineage of all to the World Government. They intended to publicly execute the Pirate King's only son and reveal his identity to the world as a deterrent to all pirates.
Seven hours remained until the Paramount War. Aboard Hancock's ship.
"You can put that thing down already—stop chewing on it in my bed!" Hancock grabbed Yimi by a cat ear and gently tugged her over.
"Meow." Yimi let out an innocent mewl. "Sorry, Auntie."
"Auntie??" Hancock pinched Yimi's little nose with slightly more force than necessary.
She was only twenty-nine! And the girl was calling her Auntie!
The cause: Hancock had procured from somewhere a ball of cat grass nearly as big as Yimi's head. The child was now hugging the thing, alternately licking and biting it, refusing to eat her actual meal.
"Honestly... you got drool all over my pillow." Hancock stuffed the cat grass ball into a chest and locked it. If Rayleigh and Auntie Shakky found out, they'd definitely blame her for letting the kid lose herself to frivolous distractions.
"That's mine." The little cat patted Hancock's stomach, displeased.
Hancock hooked one leg out and scooped Yimi onto her lap. "Rayleigh's been teaching you all this time—how's your Haki coming along?"
Time to check the summer homework.
"Look." Yimi hopped off her leg, pulled out a small stick she'd picked up a few days ago, and channeled a faint surge of energy from her tiny hand through it. The stick turned entirely jet-black.
Armament Haki—used to reinforce one's body or weapons, like layering on an extra suit of armor. Offense and defense in one.
A power system native to this world, cultivated through self-discipline. And yet Yimi—who hadn't even soul-transmigrated into this body—had picked it up with ease. Whether that counted as a miracle was anyone's guess.
"You actually learned it in two days..."
The little cat stood with hands on hips, chest puffed out. Proud.
"Lady Hancock, is there anything I can help you with?" A Marine's voice came from outside the door.
"I believe I said no man is to come within twenty meters of this room." Hancock drew a pink heart from the air and fired it through the wall. One more statue with hearts for eyes now decorated the doorway.
Momonga, watching from the corridor, simply turned a blind eye. They'd all be restored once they arrived anyway.
Though it felt abrupt, Hancock had ultimately agreed to participate in the war against Whitebeard. That said, the other Warlords were presumably showing up with the same casual attitude—none of them seriously intended to fight Whitebeard's crew.
Interestingly, every Warlord except Mihawk—who had already been stripped of the title—ran a sizable organization of their own, yet for this war they'd been barred from bringing ships or subordinates. Even if one or two of them wanted to fight in earnest, they'd have no room to do so.
On top of that, she'd agreed a touch too late. At maximum speed, they still wouldn't reach Marineford in time—likely arriving only to sweep up the aftermath.
Looking down at the little girl beaming with pride over having learned Armament Haki, Hancock felt she'd made a poor decision.
But Rayleigh himself had confirmed that this child had beaten an Admiral.
Hancock pointed at Yimi's face. "Listen. The moment we step outside this room, you turn into a cat and curl up quietly on me... Did you really beat Akainu?"
There hadn't been time to notify Rayleigh—and had he known, he absolutely would have forbidden Yimi from going.
Not because he feared she couldn't beat Whitebeard, but because the Roger Pirates and Whitebeard had history. You might even call it a debt over borrowing a crewmate. Having Yimi swoop in to kick Whitebeard while he was down was the last thing Rayleigh would want to see.
Not that Yimi's eagerness was unreasonable. In her mind the Emperors were weaklings, the Admirals were the strong ones, and she'd finally stumbled onto an Emperor—if the Marines killed Whitebeard before she got there, that was one fewer option on her list.
Yimi hopped onto Hancock's bed and counted on her fingers, realizing she could also pivot mid-battle and attack the Marines to potentially complete the quest.
"Don't stand on my bed with shoes on!"
Fate was unpredictable. On this route at this time, the ships they'd encounter wouldn't necessarily be allied vessels—far more likely, they'd run into pirate ships rushing through Sabaody and on to Fish-Man Island while the Marines were too busy to bother with them. For the sake of the bigger picture, those ships would have to be ignored.
But certain flags were impossible to overlook no matter what.
"Hold on—is that..."
"Why would they be here?!"
Panicked shouts erupted from outside, followed by Momonga's sudden cursing.
"Kaido of the Beasts!"
Whether Vice Admiral Momonga, on a mission, would detour around an Emperor or not was one thing. A pirate stumbling into the Marines without a little friction was unthinkable—especially when the Emperor himself had stepped onto the field.
Sensing trouble the instant the commotion started, her Observation Haki flickering rapidly, Hancock snatched Yimi and dove for the corner of the room.
"Thunder Bagua!"
A horrifying surge of pressure tore through half the warship in an instant. This wasn't a cutting attack like Hawk-Eye's—pure blunt force had shattered the vessel like a foam model, and Momonga, blade raised to defend, hadn't lasted a single second.
"Boss Kaido, we could've handled something like this..."
"I don't have time to waste here."
"Kaido?"
Why would he be coming from the New World?
The ship listed, seawater flooding through every gap. A devastating sight for Devil Fruit users—but Hancock, who traveled with a swimming snake, wasn't overly concerned.
The kid beside her, however, had come here specifically for an Emperor.
Treading on the water's surface, Armament Haki coating the shaft of the Spear of Longinus, Yimi sliced through the ship's wall blocking her path.
"Kaido!"
"Hm?" Kanabō slung over one shoulder, Kaido looked down and spotted the kid who'd bumped the execution of Whitebeard's brat off the front page.
"No way—she's standing on the water?"
"Kid..." Kaido lowered the kanabō and studied the kid with a complicated expression.
He hadn't expected a casual swipe at a ship to flush out the second person he most wanted to see. Since when did Marine warships have this kind of drop rate?
Kaido had always been the recruiting type when it came to talent, and he was especially fond of the ones who refused to break—conquering them was half the fun.
He sized Yimi up. The more he looked, the more she reminded him of Yamato, if he squinted hard enough.
Kaido extended a hand in invitation. "Do me a favor, kid. Be my grandchild."