“Those guys back there said they loved you,” I said to Ace with a mug in one hand.
He leaned back against the railing and smiled. “Yeah, because if they take my head, they can sell it for money.”
Ace glanced in the direction of the bounty hunters’ ship. I followed his sight line. There was already thick mist over the area, and the enemy ship was entirely hidden. What a fickle sea this was.
“You’re so popular.”
“But only with people like them. That’s no fun,” Ace grumbled as he drank. It was rare for him to be grumpy, but he was right: lately there had been an increase in attacks for Ace’s bounty. Considering Ace’s career as a pirate, his bounty was notably higher than others of his generation. For a rookie pirate to command a sum so high without having reached the New World—it was no wonder he became a juicy target.
With each bump in the value of his bounty, the crew cheered for Ace. And when he saw how happy they were, Ace celebrated too. But nobody knew the reason that Ace’s bounty grew so much higher than that of other pirates. Not us, not the people going after Ace, and probably not even the Navy, under certain ranks.
Maybe nobody knew.
Ace was very tough, to be sure. And he had the power of the Devil Fruit. In the blink of an eye, he had sunk multiple higher-level pirates who commanded more infamy than he. The Navy couldn’t catch us, either. Of course they were wary.
But had Ace really done anything to deserve the price they put on his head? What did it mean that he was assigned a bounty higher than those who had committed truly atrocious deeds?
It was impossible not to sense some hidden scheme, some plot at work behind this. At least, as his longest-running companion at sea, I couldn’t help but think that. And I suspected that Ace had a notion too.
Roger…
I thought of that name every time I saw Ace’s wanted poster.
But I guessed that Ace didn’t want to admit it had anything to do with him. Although I knew about the shadow that hung over his existence, Ace never mentioned it to me, and so I had no choice but to pretend I hadn’t put two and two together.
“Hey! Still, being loved has gotta be better than being loathed and despised, regardless of who’s loving you,” I suggested, trying to lighten the mood a bit. “Even a sweaty, gross beardo like…”
I came to an abrupt stop. I saw the loneliness in Ace’s eyes as he stared into his mug. It looked like the bottom of the deep, dark sea. He wasn’t drunk.
“Ace…” I said, hesitating.
“Mrow!” said Kotatsu.
The chanting and stomping of the crew came to a halt. The ship was quiet. Everyone followed Kotatsu’s gaze, who was peering into the distance and growling. The wildcat was looking beyond the mist through which the bounty hunters’ ship had gone. Another ship’s silhouette was emerging.
“What’s up? Are they coming back again?” Ace wondered, leaning forward. But soon there was more than one ship.
Many of them, in fact, all looming through the thick mist. It looked like a fleet…
“The Navy?!”
Soon the seagull insignia broke through the sheet of white.
It was painted on a sail—the symbol that pirates dreaded. Below it was the familiar MARINE logo. Sure enough, the Navy had arrived. The battleships were on the move, and they were all coming our way.
“That’s the Nailer’s ship. Bad one to have on our tail,” said Skull, pointing out the lead ship. “The Nailer’s supposed to be a real nasty ensign.”
“That’s an odd epithet to have. Former shipwright or something?” Ace asked. Meanwhile, I gave orders to the other crewmates. “We need some distance!”
One battleship surged out in front of the others. If we had to deal with that one first, the others would circle us in the meantime. They were already distancing themselves from one another, fanning out in a wide formation. We weren’t going to let them get that far.
“There was a reef nearby, if I recall. Let’s change course to head there. Full speed! Unfurl the map, Teach!” I shouted to Mihal, who I assumed was somewhere in the ship’s library. I helmed the ship, wary of the Navy vessels right behind us, and rushed to and fro across the deck.
Suddenly, from very close by, an unfamiliar voice said, “This is a good ship.”
It belonged to a young woman. I spun around in shock and saw a Navy sailor standing alone on the deck nearby.
But this was not just a sailor. Like a cape flapping in the wind, she wore over her shoulders a white coat with the word “Justice” embroidered on the back. Only proper Naval officers were allowed to wear these coats.
“When did you—?!”
Somehow a Navy officer had jumped onto our deck.
“I’m sad to say that your voyage ends here,” the woman said, placing her hand on the narrow sword at her waist. I could see a nasty burn scar on the back of her hand.
There was a gunshot.
“Hmph!”
A clang. She snorted.
Without batting an eye, she had drawn her sword and swung it through.
“Very impressive…” Mihal’s voice came from some indeterminate location a moment later. It all happened in a blink. He had shot at her from his hiding place, and she had drawn her sword to deflect the bullet.
“You’re a beast,” I stammered, backing away.
“Master Ace, that’s the Nailer!” shouted Skull. The gunshot had drawn his attention to the woman on the deck.
“Oh yeah? I was imagining some big, burly carpenter guy. Why’s she called the Nailer?”
“Apparently she puts holes in people as precisely as though she’s pounding nails.”
“Okay, that’s spooky,” said Ace, not looking spooked in the least. He strode forward.
Ace was cool and calm. So was the woman. She stared him straight in the eyes with conviction and clarity.
“I am Ensign Isuka. You must be Fire Fist Ace,” she said, in a powerful voice. She pointed the tip of her sword at him. “You are under arrest.”
“Hey…” Ace said, looking deadly serious as he stared back at her. “That sounds like a bird’s name.”
Instantly, the entire scene seemed to freeze.
What he said didn’t match the tense mood of the situation in the least. And yet the officer who introduced herself as Isuka barely budged. She just kept her sword pointed at Ace.