Ace snapped his fingers cleanly, a cheerful smile still on his face. "Since we've decided, let's act quickly."
Sanji, with a cigarette in his mouth, glanced at the kitchen, where there were still spare ingredients to entertain guests.
"Won't you stay a bit longer? At least have some tea and a bite to eat before you go."
Ace shook his head, his smile tinged with a hint of seriousness: "Thanks, but I'm in a hurry."
His gaze settled, sweeping over everyone, then looking in the opposite direction of Alabasta. "I'm pursuing a major criminal. I heard he's recently been calling himself Blackbeard. That guy... he was originally a member of my crew."
His words paused, his voice deepening a few shades, and Ace's originally sunny smile now looked somewhat shadowed.
"He killed a crewmate and escaped... As the captain, I have to deal with this myself."
The air seemed to freeze for a moment at these words, and Luffy, uncharacteristically, furrowed his brows.
"Ah, that's how it is." Ace looked at Luffy. "So, I can't delay. Once I drop off your crewmate, I'll leave immediately."
"I understand."
Luffy's smile returned. "Then I'll see you next time, Ace!"
Ace also smiled. He turned back to the Mugiwara crew, a slight hint of helplessness in his smile as he said, "This idiotic little brother of mine has been a handful since he was young. I've always worried about him."
"From now on... I'm counting on all of you too!"
With that, he didn't linger. He braced himself on the railing with one hand, nimbly flipped over, and landed steadily on the strangely shaped single-person dinghy below.
Tomioka watched Ace's movements, then simply nodded slightly to Luffy and Vivi, and said, "See you in Alubarna." Then he too rushed to the side of the ship, flipped over the railing, and landed on Ace's dinghy.
Vivi clung to the going merry's railing, anxiously shouting down at the two: "Wait! Do you know roughly where on the Sandora River would be suitable to disembark?"
Ace waved both hands at Vivi, his tone relaxed: "I know, I know! Don't worry, I've been in Alabasta for a few days now. Trust me, it'll be fine!"
Then he looked down at Tomioka beside him, pointing to the engine-like structure at the stern of the dinghy: "Mr. Swordsman, you stand on that engine."
Then he instantly elementalized his right leg, turning it into a mass of hot, flickering flames. "I'll be using my ability down here, so there won't be room for anyone to stand. Sorry for the trouble."
"Mhm, my name is Giyu Tomioka."
Tomioka looked down at the protruding structure behind him, then at Ace.
Devil Fruit abilities... they are indeed extraordinary and very convenient. He lifted his foot and stepped steadily onto the raised platform.
Hearing Tomioka's reply, Ace smiled and reached out. "Alright, Tomioka, then hold on tight."
"Mhm."
"Hold on tight!"
Ace reminded him again, his lower body instantly and completely elementalized, transforming into even more turbulent flames, which furiously injected into the dinghy's stern engine.
Boom—!
The next second, the flames, compressed by the engine, erupted violently, and the dinghy shot forward. The bow even lifted slightly due to this immense initial thrust, cutting a wave across the sea.
They began to travel at an astonishing speed towards the Sandora River, leaving behind only a gradually dissipating trail of scorching heat.
"Wow! So fast!! I want to ride too!!!" Luffy stretched his neck, watching the fiery wake instantly shrink to a tiny dot, and shouted excitedly.
"Amazing... Is this a pirate from the Whitebeard Pirates?"
Nami gazed into the distance, but her heart also relaxed slightly. At least Tomioka could reach Alubarna as quickly as possible... After the going merry sailed out of the Nanohana port, everyone was marveling at how Ace could be Luffy's brother, and how wondrous the sea was.
However, this brief tranquility did not last long, as Usopp's shout reached everyone's ears:
"Enemy attack!!! Two o'clock! Two ships are rapidly approaching us! That mark!... It's the Baroque Works mark!"
Everyone immediately went into battle mode.
Two rather large ships were seen cutting through the waves, their decks filled with fierce-looking individuals armed with weapons.
"Looks like they were attracted by the commotion just now." Zoro's lips already curled into a smile, his hand on the hilt of his sandai kitetsu. "Perfect. Let's take care of some of them first and weaken their forces."
"I'll take care of the one on the right!"
Luffy shouted, not waiting for a response, and his rubber arm stretched back sharply. "Gum-Gum...!"
Immediately after, Zoro also drew all three of his blades, looked at the Baroque Works ship on the left, and said, "Then I'll take care of the one on the left."
The battle erupted instantly.
Luffy first firmly grabbed the opponent's ship with his arm, propelling himself onto their deck.
"This guy, dares to come up alone?"
"Everyone, open fire! Shoot this Mugiwara idiot full of holes!!"
Then Luffy's hands and legs spun rapidly like a windmill, creating a strong airflow. "Gum-Gum Pinwheel!!"
His body was like a giant rubber top, and the terrifying impact directly smashed the ship's hull, sending splinters flying. Bullets also had no effect on him whatsoever.
The ship tilted violently, and the agents on deck were either knocked out or sent flying into the sea like dumplings. With just this one move from Luffy, that ship had already lost its fighting capability.
Almost at the same time, Zoro's figure also moved.
He took advantage of the left ship approaching, jumped onto its deck. His three swords crossed in front of him, and watching the scene of Luffy sending people flying, he murmured, "I see, then I'll do something similar."
"Three-Sword Style: Dragon Twister!"
He roared, his blades dancing wildly in his hands, twirling his swords as if a dragon was ascending to the sky, directly blowing the enemies he cut into the air. Moreover, the powerful sword pressure also generated a tornado-like airflow, tearing everything apart.
"What... what kind of monster is this!!?"
"Who... who are these guys on this ship?"
The agents on the ship only managed to see a green afterimage integrated with a tornado. The ship's mast and sails were torn to pieces by the pressure, and the entire structure of the ship was destroyed.
The battle started suddenly and ended even faster.
In just a few breaths, the two attacking Baroque Works ships were almost completely paralyzed, and the agents on deck had no power to resist, all of them knocked unconscious.
Usopp's mouth hung open as he watched the scene, muttering, "Whoa, whoa... I knew they were strong, but I just feel like... these two guys seem even more exaggerated than before..."
Sanji exhaled a long plume of smoke, looking at Zoro, who had sheathed his swords and returned, and Luffy, who had bounced back onto the deck, his eyes filled with a hint of helplessness as he softly complained:
"Seriously... these two monsters, their rate of progress is just too unreasonable."