Chapter 338
At the same time, on the opposite side of the New World, a cold, salty breeze swept across the enormous deck of the Moby Dick.
The distinctive exhaust of a small engine gradually grew louder, disrupting the peaceful morning.
Marco, who had been leaning against the mainmast, opened his half-lidded eyes as he recognized the sound.
Several division commanders followed his gaze toward the railing, where a familiar single-person, flame-powered craft was approaching at tremendous speed and leaving a long trail across the water.
“It’s that idiot.”
The Striker slowed alongside the Moby Dick’s towering wooden hull.
Ace crouched near the center of the little vessel with his familiar orange-red hat pulled so low that his expression was impossible to make out.
He did not lift his head until the Striker came to a complete stop, and even then his movements were unusually heavy.
Marco jumped down from his position and landed beside the railing.
He had been planning to greet Ace with a friendly smack on the shoulder and several jokes about his prolonged absence, but the moment he saw his bloodshot eyes, his raised hand stopped.
“Well, at least you’re finally back, Ace. If you’d stayed away much longer, the old man was practically ready to send people after you.”
Ace said nothing as he began climbing the rope ladder.
The moment his boots touched the familiar wooden deck, his steps became even heavier.
At the far end of the ship, Whitebeard sat in his enormous, specially constructed armchair with medical tubes connecting his body to several intravenous bottles, while Murakumogiri remained firmly within reach.
When he spotted Ace, the corner of the old man’s mouth lifted beneath his distinctive crescent-shaped mustache.
Before Whitebeard could speak, Ace approached and dropped to both knees, bending forward until his forehead struck the deck with a heavy thud.
“Dad… I’m sorry.”
His voice was hoarse, carrying an exhaustion and guilt none of his brothers were accustomed to hearing from him.
“I couldn’t bring Teach back.”
The nearby commanders exchanged uneasy glances.
Ace remained bowed for several seconds before drawing a deep breath and raising his head.
“I met Zaraki.”
That immediately caught everyone’s attention.
Ace continued before anyone could interrupt.
“Teach broke into Impel Down. He used his Warlord status to get close enough that the prison didn’t treat him like an enemy until it was too late. Magellan nearly wiped his crew out, but Shiryu betrayed the prison, saved them, and joined him.”
Marco’s expression sharpened.
“Shiryu of the Rain?”
Ace nodded.
“That’s not all. Teach went down to Level 6 and took prisoners with him when he escaped. Catarina Devon, Avalo Pizarro, Vasco Shot, Sanjuan Wolf… and maybe more.”
The mood aboard the Moby Dick changed immediately.
Whitebeard’s smile disappeared.
Ace’s fists tightened against his knees.
“Zaraki told me to stop chasing Teach alone. He said the man I’m hunting now isn’t someone I can handle by myself anymore, and he ordered me to come straight back here and tell you everything.”
Whitebeard remained silent for several seconds before extending one enormous hand and placing it on Ace’s disheveled black hair.
“Gurararara…”
His deep laughter rolled across the deck.
“Ace, lift your head.”
The huge hand gave his son’s hair a firm, almost affectionate rub.
“On this ship, family can be forgiven for making mistakes. But I won’t tolerate anyone making my family suffer.”
Ace’s throat tightened.
Whitebeard’s expression gradually changed.
The warmth in his eyes gave way to something cold and murderous.
“As for that bastard Teach…”
His hand stopped moving.
“He broke the one absolute rule aboard my ship. I don’t care what filthy gutter he’s hiding in or how many monsters he’s collected.”
Whitebeard looked directly at Ace.
“I’ll find him and snap his neck myself.”
Ace’s eyes immediately reddened.
“That’s exactly why I’m worried!”
He grabbed the edge of Whitebeard’s cape.
“Zaraki said Teach coming back into the open was already bad enough, but with those prisoners following him, his group could become more troublesome than the Marines.”
Several commanders visibly reacted.
Ace forced himself to continue.
“And before I left, I warned Zaraki about the same thing. The Five Elders let Teach walk around Mary Geoise with a Government title before he disappeared into Impel Down. Even if Teach betrayed them afterward, people like that will still use him if their interests line up again.”
Marco’s eyes narrowed.
“The alliance banquet.”
Ace nodded.
“Kaido and Big Mom announced their alliance. The banquet is on Onigashima in four days, and the Five Elders already want Zaraki dead. Whitebeard’s name is the biggest thing standing over the old era of the New World.”
He looked desperately at his father.
“If those people are moving pieces again, that’s exactly the kind of place they’d use.”
Whitebeard remained silent.
Ace swallowed.
“Zaraki didn’t tell me he knew exactly what was waiting there. He didn’t pretend he could see days into the future or anything like that. He just told me to come home, tell you everything about Teach, and stop trying to handle this alone.”
His fingers tightened around the cape.
“And he said he had something more important to do first—a very large surprise for his future allies.”
Several commanders looked at one another.
Marco rubbed his forehead.
“That somehow sounds more worrying than reassuring.”
Ace could not disagree.
Whitebeard reached for the enormous bowl of sake beside his chair and drained it in one long drink.
Strong liquor trickled down his crescent-shaped mustache as he stared toward the distant horizon.
“Zaraki’s heading there too.”
“I think so.”
Ace could not honestly claim more.
“He didn’t tell me exactly what he planned to do, but Wano is where the alliance is gathering.”
Whitebeard slowly lowered the empty bowl.
Ace drew another breath.
“Dad, for the sake of the Whitebeard Pirates… for everyone’s sake…”
“Even if people call us cowards for it, we don’t have to walk straight into something the Five Elders may have spent days preparing.”
Ace’s voice carried across the deck of the Moby Dick.
“Teach is already out there with a crew full of monsters, Kaido and Big Mom have joined forces, and Zaraki has the World Government trying to erase him. There’s no reason for us to make things easier for them by charging into Onigashima on their terms.”
Whitebeard studied his son for a long moment.
Then the old pirate laughed.
“GURARARARARA!”
The sound rolled across the sea with such force that several nearby sails trembled.
“Ace.”
Whitebeard gripped Murakumogiri and slowly rose from his enormous chair.
The medical tubes attached to him stretched taut until he pulled them free one after another, ignoring the protests of the ship’s medical staff.
“You think the name Whitebeard survived this long because I only sailed into battles I knew I could win?”
Ace’s face tightened.
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“I know.”
Whitebeard rested Murakumogiri against one shoulder.
“But if Kaido and Linlin announce to the entire sea that they’re joining forces, then invite every ambitious bastard in the New World to gather beneath their flag, I don’t get to pretend it has nothing to do with us.”
He looked across the deck at his sons.
“Half the territories protected by my flag survive because people believe that flag means something. If I hide the moment two old monsters start rattling their weapons together, every pirate who has ever wanted those islands will smell weakness.”
Marco folded his arms.
“Pops…”
Whitebeard’s gaze shifted toward him.
“You disagree?”
Marco sighed.
“No. I just wanted to make sure you knew this is probably going to be a complete disaster.”
Whitebeard’s grin widened.
“When isn’t it?”
A few commanders laughed despite themselves.
Ace remained unconvinced.
“This isn’t only Kaido and Big Mom.”
“No.”
Whitebeard’s expression became serious again.
“There’s Teach.”
The deck quieted.
“And if that bastard really crawled out of Impel Down with Shiryu and a pack of Level 6 monsters, then I’d rather see what he’s become with my own eyes than wait for him to choose when and where he comes after my family.”
Ace’s fists tightened.
Whitebeard looked toward him.
“You were right to come back.”
The simple statement made Ace freeze.
“You were also right not to chase him alone after learning what happened.”
Whitebeard’s mouth curled into a fierce grin.
“But you’re wrong about one thing.”
Ace looked up.
“We’re not walking into Onigashima because the Five Elders told us to.”
Whitebeard lifted Murakumogiri.
“We’re going because I decided to.”
The commanders around him began to smile.
Whitebeard slammed the butt of the naginata against the deck.
BOOM!
The Moby Dick shuddered.
“SONS!”
The response came immediately.
“OOOOOOH!”
Whitebeard’s enormous voice thundered across the ship.
“ARE YOU AFRAID OF KAIDO?!”
“NO!”
“ARE YOU AFRAID OF BIG MOM?!”
“NO!”
“BLACKBEARD?!”
The answer became even louder.
“NO!”
Whitebeard threw his head back and laughed.
“GURARARARARA! THEN STOP LOOKING LIKE WE’RE SAILING TO OUR OWN FUNERAL!”
The atmosphere aboard the Moby Dick changed almost instantly.
Men who had been tense only moments earlier began checking weapons, shouting orders, carrying ammunition, and preparing the ship for a voyage that every one of them understood could end in the largest battle the Whitebeard Pirates had faced in years.
Ace remained beside Whitebeard.
He still hated the decision.
Yet he knew there would be no changing it now.
Marco approached and placed one hand on his shoulder.
“You did what you could.”
Ace looked toward him.
“What if Zaraki was right?”
“About Teach?”
“About all of it.”
Ace stared toward the horizon.
“He said Whitebeard was going to have a headache. Coming from him, that might be the understatement of the century.”
Marco groaned.
“Now you’re starting to sound like him.”
That earned the faintest smile from Ace.
Whitebeard heard the exchange and laughed again.
“What did that East Blue brat say he was doing?”
Ace rubbed the back of his neck.
“Something about delivering a very large surprise to his future allies.”
Silence lasted for one strange second.
Jozu frowned.
“That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
Vista stroked his mustache.
“That doesn’t sound especially reassuring.”
“It wasn’t.”
Marco sighed.
“Whatever Zaraki considers a ‘very large surprise,’ I would prefer to be standing very far away when he delivers it.”
Whitebeard grinned.
“Gurararara! Then we’d better reach Wano before we miss it.”
The order spread through the ship.
Sails were adjusted, the helmsman corrected their heading, and the enormous whale-shaped vessel began turning toward the route that would eventually take them to Wano Country.
Four days remained until the alliance banquet.