Gin had personally seen the city blueprints that Luke and his planners had designed.
It was like something out of the future.
"Tsk tsk, this is no longer a traditional pirate headquarters but a complete futuristic kingdom, right?"
Ace sighed.
This doesn't look like a pirate's lair at all.
Even the capitals of most kingdoms may not be so magnificent.
Having grown up in the Kingdom of Goa, he had been to High Town, the so-called most beautiful and cleanest city in the East Blue.
But it was nothing compared to this.
Cutting-edge technology was everywhere… It felt like a futuristic kingdom.
"Hey, are you Ace the Spade?"
As soon as they passed the strict security checks and entered Hachinosu Island's port, a clear and confident voice called out.
"Yamato?" Gin, who led the way, raised his eyebrows.
He was not very surprised.
"Hmm?" The crew of the Spade Pirates subconsciously looked at the source of the voice.
A beautiful woman in a kimono, with horns on her head and a tall figure, was running towards them.
Moreover, she was carrying a mace on her back.
"That's..."
As the deputy captain of the Spade Pirates who is an intelligence expert, it should be said that he is the former deputy captain of the Spade Pirates. Deuce's pupil couldn't help but shrink.
"One of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Netherworld Pirates... The Oni princess?!"
"Oh?"
Ace was surprised: "She is one of the Four Heavenly Kings?"
He didn't expect that there was a woman among the Four Heavenly Kings.
Whoosh!
At this moment, Yamato pressed her feet and suddenly accelerated.
Like a bolt of lightning, she blitzed toward them.
"Huh?"
Ace instinctively tensed up. She wasn't coming over for a friendly chat; her stance was clearly aggressive!
"Thunder Bagua!!"
The next moment, Yamato swung her mace, which had been pulled out from his back at some point and was intertwined with strands of black and red lightning.
With an unstoppable force, she smashed it straight at Ace.
"Wait! That?!"
Gin's eyes widened in horror, his hair standing on end.
He had fought with Yamato multiple times and suffered countless defeats.
He was too familiar with this move.
"What!?"
Bang!!
Before Ace could react, the devastating strike landed.
He was sent flying like a cannonball.
"Captain!"
"Ace!"
"This bastard!"
"Damn woman..."
The crew of the Spade Pirates roared in anger, raising their weapons, ready to charge.
But…
"Nice to meet you, hello... I'm Yamato!"
Yamato rested her weapon on her shoulder, and then she looked at the dazed Ace lying in the wreckage.
She clenched her left fist in encouragement and said.
"I heard you wanted to challenge me? You better work hard then!"
In the rubble, Ace bloodied and battered, barely moved.
His vision blurred as he groaned in pain.
Even though he had tried to defend himself, he had been utterly powerless against her attack.
How could a woman be this strong?
… … …
[Latest news! Ace the Spade joins the Netherworld Pirates!]
[Super Rookie Ace the Spade appears on Hachinosu Island, suspected to have joined the Netherworld Pirates!]
[Super Rookie with a bounty of 300 million Belly, the captain of the Spade Pirates, Portgas D. Ace]
[The Netherworld Pirates have added a powerful cadre!]
On this day, a large number of News Coos, carrying the newly printed newspapers, fly to all parts of the world.
A piece of news has sparked heated discussions and caused quite a stir.
All forces can't help but pay attention.
"Hiss, is this true?"
"The Super Rookie who rejected the invitation to become Warlord of the Sea in the Sabaody Archipelago and defeated Vice-Admiral..."
"Ace the Spade actually joined the Netherworld Pirates pirates?"
"Then the Netherworld Pirates are getting stronger and stronger?"
"Oh my god! Who can stop those lawless guys..."
"What are those guys in the Marines doing?"
Looking at the headlines in the newspaper, many people were shocked.
Seeing that the Marines, even after a grand world conscription, were still struggling to recover their strength while the Netherworld Pirates continued to grow, some people couldn't help but worry about the future.
Bang!
Marine Headquarters, in the Fleet Admiral's office.
The brand-new desk was instantly broken into pieces.
While grabbing the latest newspaper tightly, Kong, who had been forced to oversee all marine affairs due to the lack of a suitable Fleet Admiral, had a dark expression.
He never thought that Obask Luke would actually take Ace the Spade under his command.
"What on earth is the CP organization doing? We only received the news after the people had been taken to Hachinosu Island?"
He looked directly at Brannew, who was once the adjutant of Sengoku and asked angrily with gritted teeth.
"I'm very sorry because Obask Luke was once an elite member of the CP9, and his subordinates like Rob Lucci are also top CP9 agents... The Netherworld Pirates' counterintelligence is too strong. It's been impossible to infiltrate them. Over the past two years, both the Marines and CP have tried to plant spies on Hachinosu Island, but all contact was lost without a trace!"
Brannew wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and reported carefully: "However, we just discovered that the Spade Pirates were defeated and forcibly recruited by Gin's forces right after entering the New World..."
"Obviously, they had planned it!"
"Damn Black Prison, does that guy know something?"
Kong frowned; his eyes were a little uncertain.
Because the Marines have received some unusual information recently.
It turned out that Portgas D. Ace wasn't just an orphan raised by Garp.
His mother was likely Portgas D. Rouge, a resident of Baterilla Island in the South Blue.
The World Government had long suspected that Gol D. Roger, before turning himself in, had stayed on Baterilla Island for some time.
Fearing the possibility of Roger's blood surviving, the World Government had exterminated every pregnant woman on that island during that period.
But Rouge's name was not on the confirmed list of executed women.
Her sudden death twenty years ago seemed highly unnatural.
More importantly, Garp had visited the island at that time under the pretense of a mission.
All clues pointed to one chilling possibility, Ace the Spade might be the son of the King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger.
Even though Garp refused to confirm it, recent interrogations of an old midwife revealed the shocking truth:
Rouge had already been pregnant, but by somehow extending her pregnancy to 20 months, managing to avoid detection.
Right as the Marines were preparing to eliminate Ace, the Netherworld Pirates took him in.
"This is troublesome..."
Kong held his forehead, feeling a little headache.
Ace the Spade has the blood of the devil flowing in his veins, and there is no doubt that he has completely inherited the talent of his father, Gol D. Roger, and has quite amazing potential.
If he is left alone, under the training of Obask Luke, the Netherworld Pirates may have another powerful cadre.
You know, the intelligence investigated by the World Government shows that Obask Luke has definitely mastered a special way to make people grow up in the shortest time.
Otherwise, in just two short years, how could his once-ordinary subordinates, Wyper, Rob Lucci, and Kuro, rise to the level of Big Mom's Sweet Commanders and Kaido's Calamities?
This kind of rapid growth terrified the World Government.
Now, with Ace joining the Netherworld Pirates, even the Marines couldn't easily make a move against him.
Unless they were prepared for an all-out war against the ever-growing Netherworld Pirates, they had to proceed with extreme caution.
However, neither the Marines nor the World Government was ready to make that decision.