Hachinoso.
A small, wrinkled elderly woman, wearing a leopard-print coat, holding a cane in one hand and a newspaper in the other—Miss Buckin.
A former member of the Rocks Pirates, who claims to have been a lover of Edward Newgate.
She wore thick lipstick and sunglasses.
At that moment, gripping the newspaper tightly, she trembled with anger at its contents.
"Damn it! Ever since Whitebeard died, all his honor has been taken by that cursed brat!"
"Weevil!"
The old woman slammed her cane heavily on the ground.
"Ah, sorry, Mother."
The man behind Buckin had a stocky build, with two prominent scars running down from his left eye and neck. His thick white hair was tied into two ponytails on each side of his face, and like his self-proclaimed father, he wore a black bandana and a crescent-shaped mustache even larger than Edward Newgate's. He wore overalls suspended by chains instead of stripes, with his Jolly Roger emblazoned on them.
As he apologized, his expression was vacant.
"But am I really Whitebeard's son?" he asked.
"What nonsense are you talking about! Look for yourself!" Buckin roared, grabbing a bounty poster she had been holding for many years and showing it to her son.
Weevil stared blankly. "Is this… a mirror?"
"No, this is Whitebeard's bounty poster!"
"What? I thought it was a mirror!"
"You two are identical. How could you doubt my words!?" Buckin huffed, putting the bounty poster away, and continued walking. "You're so stupid."
Having said that, she completely ignored him and turned to leave.
"Ah, Mother, I was wrong! Wait for me!"
Weevil quickly followed.
Behind them, the land was ablaze, the two pirate crews that had been exterminated.
These two pirate crews had participated in the Summit War previously and were among the 43 pirate crews under Whitebeard's command!
Miss Buckin snorted, crumpling the Straw Hat Luffy bounty poster in her hand:
"The one who will inherit Whitebeard's legacy is you, my dear son. That Fire Fist Ace should have died at the Summit War. First, find that brat who ate the Mera-Mera Fruit!"
"I got it, Mother!"
New World, a certain island.
The kingdom on this island was too poor to pay the World Government, becoming a lawless place for pirates and human traffickers.
It had once been Whitebeard's home.
Over the years, the kingdom survived thanks to Whitebeard's gifts.
At this moment.
On the edge of a flower-filled cliff.
A gravestone stood, draped with Whitebeard's cloak, and beside it lay the naginata that had accompanied him in battles for decades.
In front of the gravestone were three people:
Shanks, Ace, and Marco.
"Be happy; your safety is the greatest consolation for Dad." Marco patted Ace's shoulder.
"I know."
Ace cried, covering his tear-stained face with one hand while clenching his fist with the other. "Damn it! I'm too weak!"
"Ace, now is not the time for that. Now that the Whitebeard Pirates are dissolving because of Dad's death, you need to rise up," Marco said gravely.
Although he was the captain of the First Division, he could not assume the role of overall captain.
Ace was the one in whom Whitebeard had placed his greatest hopes!
"I know. I won't let the Whitebeard Pirates dissolve! I will inherit Dad's legacy…" Ace wiped his tears and spoke firmly. "Once I've gained enough power, I will personally eliminate the root of it all—Marshall D. Teach!!"
Seeing that Ace had regained his resolve, Marco felt immediately relieved.
At that moment, Shanks, who had been silently standing nearby, smiled and said:
"Ace, you should read the news."
Shanks handed over a newspaper.
Marco and Ace looked at it together, both showing annoyed expressions.
"Luffy has acquired Whitebeard's powers and has now become a Yonko! Hahaha! His bounty has already surpassed mine!" Shanks laughed.
"Luffy…"
Ace looked at his younger brother's profile picture and read the news, which immediately reminded him of his childhood and Sabo.
Was this vengeance?
"Luffy will be the King of the Pirates…"
He smiled and said something, then fell silent for a moment:
"Marco, gather everyone. Whitebeard's possessions will be targeted by many. Now is not the time to hide and tremble in Dad's hometown. As an elder brother, I cannot fail here!"
A few days later.
The consequences of the big news were still unfolding.
And the protagonist of the news, Luffy, had finally moved Amazon Lily to the New World.
He chose an area with relatively shallow sea water and positioned Amazon Lily there.
The island was not far from Elegia, and it could be seen with the naked eye.
"Will the island sink?" Gloriosa asked, slightly uneasy.
"No. With my powers, I can keep it afloat for a long time. I will perform a certain degree of transformation later so it can safely float in the sea without relying on my powers," Luffy replied.
As everyone knew, most islands in the world have roots connecting them to the seabed.
There are also rootless islands, called floating islands.
Amazon Lily is obviously not a floating island, so some transformation was required to make it float.
That was no problem for Luffy.
"Suddenly changing a piece of the sea—won't the magnetic field here get chaotic?" Shakky sighed softly. "This could affect navigation. Maybe pirates will come here in the future."
Following the Log Pose, one could easily get lost here.
"Not anytime soon," Luffy said.
He pointed to another island in the distance. "That island is called Elegia. You've probably heard of it."
"…."
Shakky seemed stunned.
Elegia, an island that had disappeared from the maps.
Due to the proximity, the magnetic forces of the two islands would intertwine, and shortly, the magnetic field in the area would become chaotic.
In simple terms, the Log Pose would tilt one way for a while, then the other way, repeatedly.
A change of this magnitude is equivalent to the word "dangerous" in the New World.
Even a brave pirate insisting on traveling would get lost and not know where the Log Pose would lead.
"Hancock, I'm stationed on that island. I'll visit you whenever I have time," Luffy said to the empress beside him.
"In a few days, I'll meet Big Mom. I'll also need your strength then," Luffy added.
"Luffy, I'll always support you~" Hancock's expression was filled with reluctance. She was happy to stay with him these past days, but now they had to part.
After saying their goodbyes, Luffy set off toward Elegia.
"My lord," Marigold called softly.
The empress averted her gaze, smiled faintly, and said, "I'm not a clingy woman. Maria, Sonia, let's return to the palace! We have work to do."
"Yes!"
---xXx---
Back in Elegia.
Nami and the others immediately detected Luffy's approach and went to meet him.
"Luffy!"
Having not seen each other for several days, Nami and Vivi immediately threw themselves into Luffy's arms.
Luffy wrapped his arms around them, then turned to Uta, who had puffy cheeks, and asked with a smile, "Who upset you?"
As he spoke, he also pulled Uta into an embrace.
This made the singer smile again.
Nami was already mentally prepared for Uta's joining. Over this time together, their bond had strengthened.
"Luffy, where did that island come from?" Uta asked, curious.
"That's Amazon Lily. I'll tell you about it later."
Luffy gathered the girls and walked toward the palace. "Get ready. It's time to go see Big Mom and finalize the 'deal'."
---
(End of Chapter)