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At this point, both sides were completely stuck.
Vivi couldn't back down—for the sake of both the Straw Hats and Alabasta.
Tina couldn't back down either—for the Navy's pride.
Neither of them could be the first to cave, or even look like they were giving in.
So yeah… things were getting real tense.
Just then, Pell—the giant bird Vivi was standing on—finally spoke up:
"Captains of the Navy, instead of wasting time trying to make enemies with Alabasta, maybe you should be thinking about getting your Vice Admiral friend over there out of here."
"Whaaa!!"
Hearing the big bird under Vivi talk freaked Luffy out.
His eyes lit up like a kid at a candy store. "That's so cool!!" he shouted over and over.
Then he got smacked again by the usual trio—Zoro, Sanji, and Nami—for being a total goofball.
Tina and Smoker ignored the Straw Hats clowning around and turned to look to the side.
There, still lying on the ground and being totally ignored, was Gashi.
The two captains exchanged a look and nodded silently.
Well, at least they had some reason to leave now.
The reason they hadn't checked on Gashi before was because Smoker had already noticed—
Even though Gashi had lost both his right arm and leg in one slash, none of his vital organs were hit.
And he'd used "Life Return" to control his body and stop the bleeding.
According to Smoker's judgment, Gashi was no longer in danger.
So his focus had been entirely on the Straw Hats.
Now that fighting wasn't really an option, they had no choice but to take Gashi and go.
Still, Smoker was really curious—
What kind of insane battle must've gone down between Gashi and the Straw Hat crew… for him to end up that messed up?
And then there was Bai Ye…That guy actually turned into a cocoon.
What the hell is going on?
Bang!
"Ah, ow!"
"Bai Ye. You're doing it again."
An old man with white hair but a youthful face stood there, holding a wooden ruler. He looked down at the boy clutching his head in pain and shook his head.
"Still stuck in that dream again, huh?"
Bai Ye had just been whacked on the head with the ruler. It hurt, but he didn't dare fight back.He simply cupped his fists respectfully and said to the old man:
"Master, I just… can't figure it out."
It had been three days since Bai Ye woke up in his own room.
In those three days, he'd learned about everything that happened while he'd been "gone."
Even though he spent a few months in the world of One Piece, only a single month had passed in the Taoist temple.
And over those three days, Bai Ye started to realize—he really had returned.
Because this place... it was exactly like the temple he remembered. Every detail was the same.
"What can't you figure out?" the old man asked for the 88th time in the past few days, walking up to Bai Ye again.
"There's a lot I don't get," Bai Ye said, meeting his eyes. Then he added slowly:"But there's just one thing I really can't wrap my head around."
He looked up at the sky. The red sun hung high above, lighting up every corner of the world.
"Where the hell am I?"
"WHAT!!! BAI YE IS THAT THING?!"
After the Marines left, Nami, Vivi, and the others hurried over to Luffy.
With tears in her eyes and her voice trembling, Nami asked, "Where's Bai Ye?"
Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Ace all took a step back in sync, revealing a big cocoon surrounded by the group.
They all pointed at it at the same time:
"He's in there."
The timing was so perfect, Vivi and the others just stood there stunned.
It wasn't until Sanji explained it all again that they were finally forced to believe it.
Bai Ye had turned into… that thing on the ground.
"That big white cocoon is actually Bai Ye?" Vivi couldn't believe her ears.
"What the heck did I just miss?" Usopp's eyes were as wide as saucers.
"Wait, does that mean I was right all along?" Nami muttered, thinking back. "Bai Ye's not human?"
"Humans can turn into cocoons???" Chopper looked totally confused—he nearly jumped out of his fur."Doctorine never taught me that! Humans can do that now?!"
"Chopper, quick, heal Bai Ye! Get him out of there!"
Suddenly, Luffy popped up in front of Chopper, eyes full of hope.
But Chopper just shook his head and said:
"I've never heard of anything like this before. I have no idea how to treat it."
That made Luffy visibly deflate. He muttered:
"Then maybe I should just pull Bai Ye out myself…"
He raised his hands, ready to try.
Then—SMACK! Nami's loving punch landed.
Luffy: I'm sorryyyyy~
At that point, Ace couldn't hold back his laughter anymore:
"Pfft—ahahaha! Luffy, your crewmates are hilarious."
And that's when the others finally realized—They all turned to Ace at the same time:
"Wait… who are you?!"
With his nose bruised and face puffed up, Luffy replied, "This is Ace. He's my brother."
"BROTHER?!"Now the whole Straw Hat crew was even more shocked.
Ace gave them a very polite smile and introduced himself again:
"I'm Portgas D. Ace,"
He placed a hand on Luffy's head, giving a warm smile:
"I'm this guy's big brother."
"…You've gotta be kidding," Usopp muttered under his breath.Not because of how they looked or anything like that—
But how could Luffy, of all people, have a brother like this?
Ace caught the meaning behind Usopp's words and just burst out laughing:
"Yeah, having a dumbass little brother like him really keeps me on my toes."
"Seriously, I've gotta thank you all."
"Thanks for putting up with Luffy."
As he spoke, he ruffled Luffy's hair again.
"Huh?"
Luffy picked his nose and protested:"Bai Ye's always saying good things about me, though!"
Zoro and the rest: ??? You sure about that?
"Hahahahaha!" Ace couldn't stop laughing.
He knew exactly what his little brother was like.
At that moment, his curiosity about Bai Ye had hit the roof.
But it was a shame.
Ace looked at the huge white cocoon on the ground, feeling a little regretful.
Still, he quickly turned to look at Luffy and said:
"Even though I already know your answer, I've still gotta ask."
Ace lifted the brim of his cowboy hat and said seriously:
"Wanna join our Whitebeard Pirates?"
"Whitebeard?" Usopp was the first to react.
"Isn't he one of the Four Emperors in the New World? Oh—and that symbol on your back…"
"That's right," Ace grinned. "That's something I'm proud of."
"Forgot to introduce myself—I'm also the commander of the Second Division of the Whitebeard Pirates."
When Ace said that, everyone was stunned.
"Luffy's brother… is actually a top officer in one of the Four Emperors' crews?!"
"Nope!"
Luffy picked his nose and shot Ace down right away.
"I've already found my own crew. Besides, I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"
"Hahaha," Ace wasn't surprised at all. After laughing out loud, he said:
"Our old man's the one who's gonna be Pirate King, not you, Luffy."
"Say whatever you want. I'm still gonna be Pirate King."
Luffy didn't care what Ace said one bit.
He grinned and added, "When the time comes, we'll just duel it out."
Ace laughed again when he heard that.
And the way he looked at Luffy changed—there was admiration in his eyes.
"You've really grown up, kid."
"....."