Behind the fallen Bartolomeo that Luffy was staring at, an enraged Hancock looked down at him.
Gambia and the rest of his crew knelt on the ground, tears streaming down their faces as they looked at their fallen captain. On either side of the fifty or so men stood Zoro and Sanji.
"Alright, Romeo, from now on think about the consequences of your actions before you do anything."
"What's this, Luffy? I almost died because of this guy—aren't you going to kill him?"
"I'm sorry… I saw the pirate mark on the ship's flag and, without thinking, turned you over to Buggy the Clown…"
"Shut it!"
Gah...!
"That's enough. You've only got yourselves to blame for going around with a pirate mark… Luckily none of your comrades are injured, so I'll let it slide."
"…Got it."
"Y-You're letting us off, Senior Luffy?! Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"Thank you so much, Senior Luffy!!!"
"Well then, if they've got him as their senior… just take their captain and go."
"Understood!"
After Bartolomeo and his worried crew had boarded the ship, Anne spoke, looking awkward.
"I'm glad you decided not to kill them, Luffy. Even though I didn't know them long, they seemed like decent people—if you'd killed them, it would've felt pretty bitter."
"I never intended to kill them. They're from East Blue, so I'd heard some of his rumors."
"As far as I know, their gang didn't do much wrong, so there's no bounty on him."
"But why did you just watch when Hancock was thrashing him…?"
"Sure, I almost died because of him, too, so he's irritating. But still…"
Exactly, it was because, in the original story where he joined Luffy's fleet, I already knew what kind of person Bartolomeo was, so I believed his explanation without any hesitation.
If I hadn't known that, he'd have been nothing more than the guy who almost killed me and my friends.
"But honestly, if they hadn't flown that pirate mark on their ship, this never would've happened… I shouldn't have gone around saying I'd be Pirate King."
"What's that, Luffy? Where's that kid you were betting with on who'd become Pirate King?"
"Isn't that a bit much coming from someone who joined Whitebeard's Pirates?"
"Hey Anne, you said Whitebeard Pirates earlier… are you talking about the same Whitebeard I know?"
"Marimo, you've at least heard of Whitebeard too, haven't you?"
"It'd be weird not to. Ever since we were kids, every adult I knew mentioned the name Whitebeard at least once."
"It is exactly who you're thinking of, Zoro."
"The captain of the Whitebeard Pirates I belong to is none other than Whitebeard himself—one of the [Emperors of the Sea], known as the strongest man in the world."
Whitebeard—Edward Newgate.
Whitebeard was a powerhouse who fought on equal footing with the Pirate King in his lifetime, and during the early Great Pirate Era after Roger's death, he was widely hailed as the Emperor of the Sea and the strongest man in the world thanks to his overwhelming strength and the might of those who followed him.
Even at the present time, being introduced as one of the [Emperors of the Sea], those epithets still refer to Whitebeard.
"Including my home, Alabasta, there's hardly anyone in the world who doesn't know Whitebeard."
"Some even say the term 'Emperors of the Sea' was based on Whitebeard, who'd long been called the Emperor of the Sea, and it refers to pirates who've matched him in power and influence."
"Wow… I've heard the name a lot, but I didn't know he was that incredible and terrifying…"
"Wait, Nami! My father's not scary, okay?! He's not a bad person!"
"W-Wait, I didn't mean scary as in bad…!"
Hancock reached out and pushed Anne's forehead away with her fingertip.
"I don't think that's what Nami meant."
"Ugh… sorry, Nami. I overreacted."
"It's just… there are so many times people talk carelessly about my father without knowing who he really is."
"What can you do, sis? After what I went through with Romeo… It's all because of the pirate mark, I guess."
"Still, Whitebeard's not just a good pirate—he's just a genuinely good person. He protects those living in his territory and is known to charge a fair fee for his protection."
"Honestly, if you consider the tribute we have to pay to the World Government, it's better to be under Whitebeard's protection and pay him his fee than to deal with the Navy."
"Hehe, Luffy, you know him well—my father really is a good person~!"
"Um, Anne? You call Whitebeard 'father'. Are you his biological daughter…?"
"Ah~ you might not know, Sanji. All the crew in our pirates call him 'father'."
"I'm not saying it lightly; we truly see him as our father, and he calls us his sons, treating us like family."
"Everyone was so moved by his character that they willingly became his sons. Because we're family under the same father, our bond and unity are unmatched."
"Of course, I'm called his daughter, which I like—since there are very few women on the ship, I feel extra special."
"But you said you're the captain of the 2nd Division out of the fleet's sixteen ships. Does that mean you're the second-strongest in the crew after Whitebeard?"
"Hmm~ you could think that way, Usopp…"
"Hey, no way, Usopp. Do you know what kind of guys the division captains are? That I'm second among them is…"
"Luffy! That's for me to say; why are you talking like that?!"
"Then deny it from the start—why the 'hmm~' and hesitation?"
"You're gonna talk to your sister like that just because you got a bit stronger?!"
"By the way, call Dadan more often. Don't Whitebeard's ships have [Transponder Snails]?"
"I-I will! Just because you think I don't call her often doesn't mean I don't—I'll call more often!"
"Those two really are siblings. It's like watching me and Nojiko argue when we were kids."
As Nami watched the arguing duo, Hancock spoke, flanked by Vivi and Karoo.
"Clinging to Luffy like that… Do you think you're jealous of your sister? That's not really becoming, is it?"
"Well, you know, I don't think she needs to go that far…"
Kwaaak! Kwak! Kwak!
"Karoo, why the sudden outburst… Oh right, I was going to ask you something."
"Hey Luffy, didn't you say your sister came after someone? Who was it you were chasing?"
"Oh! Was that from someone called Dordon?"
"That's right, Anne. I heard he was a pirate who raided Drum Kingdom."
"Ah, that's right. Sis, you also dined and dashed again, didn't you?"
"D-Did I really bring that up too...?"
"It's not like you can't make money… why bully the people who live from a day's trade?"
"Well, you see… you've handled the finances since I was little… now that I try, my money keeps disappearing from my pocket… B-But that's not as important as the real issue right now!"
Flustered, Anne avoided Luffy's icy gaze and pulled a photograph from her pocket.
The black-and-white photo showed a chubby middle-aged man with slightly curly hair.
"This guy is Marshall D. Teach—he was my subordinate in the 2nd Division of the Whitebeard Pirates."
"And not long ago… he murdered a comrade and fled the ship!"
Anne explained the full story of the incident to the group on the spot.
She told them that a man named Shachi, the captain of the 4th Division and someone close to her, discovered a Devil Fruit, and Teach killed Shachi and ran off with the fruit.
She added that in the Whitebeard Pirates, there's a rule granting first rights to eat any found Devil Fruit to whoever discovers it first; in his greed, Teach must have murdered Shachi over that rule. Although Shachi was one of the veteran members, Teach had served on Whitebeard's ship for over twenty years.
Normally, a command should have been issued to capture Teach for violating the taboo against killing a comrade, but Whitebeard, claiming he had an ill omen, forbade anyone from chasing Teach. Anne confessed she defied that order and chased Teach all the way here.
"Murdering a comrade… that guy's despicable."
"Right, Usopp. But why did Whitebeard order that Teach not be pursued?"
"Father didn't say any more than that, Vivi. I'm the only one who outright refused his order."
"You all remember this photo. He's been calling himself 'Blackbeard' up until recently."
"If you see him or hear anything about him…"
"Stop, sis."
"…What do you mean, Luffy?"
Luffy looked at Anne with a cold gaze and spoke.
"Even Whitebeard forbade it. There must've been a reason for that, right?"
"Shachi, who was killed, was my friend! And Teach was captain of my 2nd Division!"
"That scum murdered a comrade and ran away, tarnishing Father's name! How could I just…!"
"If you can handle it, fine."
"Yeah… so that means I…!"
"But… you can't handle that guy, so give it up."
"…What did you just say?"
"W-Wait a minute! Since when did siblings turn so hostile? Luffy, why are you talking to your sister like that?!"
As Anne scowled, Usopp panicked and tried to step in, but Luffy brushed past him and approached Anne, speaking again.
"I'm telling you, sis, you can't handle that Teach guy—so give it up."
"So go back."
In the original story, Anne would have been defeated by Teach and handed over to the Marines as bait to lure Whitebeard to his base.
This would trigger a massive war between the Emperors of the Sea and the Navy, and Anne would die in that conflict.
So I really wish she'd listen to her little brother…
"Luffy, I don't know if you've forgotten… but you've never once beat me."
"And now you're going to assess my strength? You?"
"If I try to convince you with words, are you gonna listen?"
"If words were enough, you wouldn't have come all the way here."
"If there's something you want to hammer into my head, prove it with strength, Luffy."
Yeah, I knew it would come to this.
I'm her little brother—how could I not have expected her to react this way?
****
"So that's why you two are duking it out like that, Senior Sanji?"
"Yeah, Bartolomeo… or whatever his name is."
Bartolomeo, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, stood on his ship's deck facing Luffy and the others.
Kruuung!
Luffy and Anne traded punches and kicks in the center of the island.
On an island roughly ten kilometers by ten kilometers—a size neither huge nor small—the two fighters shattered the ground and slammed into each other, rattling the air with their roars of impact.
"By the way, Senior Luffy is amazing… to be able to go up against Anne like that…"
"Really? I was thinking Anne's the one who's incredible, being able to fight Luffy like that."
"Senior Sanji! Of course Senior Luffy is great, but Anne is a division commander of an Emperor's crew!"
"Her skills and fame carry a bounty of 550 million Berries!"
"Five—five hundred and fifty million?"
"How much is that in total?!"
As Usopp and Nami gaped at Bartolomeo's words, Zoro murmured under his breath:
"Hmm… Then does that mean Luffy's the more impressive one?"
Beside him, Hancock continued to watch the duel on the deck expressionlessly.
At that moment, Anne, wiping blood from her split lip with her hand, glared at Luffy and spoke.
"What's this, Luffy… when did you get this strong?"
"I did a lot of training while you were away. I might just catch up with you."
"It's not like I haven't been training! In fact, I trained harder than when we were together…!"
"It's not that you lacked training."
Luffy recalled the training back then, pounding his fists until they cracked, and continued speaking.
"But if I've caught up…"
And as he spoke, Luffy used [Soru] to appear instantly behind Anne.
I worked harder than you.
Recalling the rocky wall he once faced in training, he hardened his fist with [Armament Haki] and cloaked it in a golden piercing force before swinging.
[Dragon Claw Spear Strike]
Bang!
As a wave of dust spread left and right from Luffy's punch, Anne found herself staring him down face-to-face.
As the golden, piercing force that had formed a spike-shaped aura vanished, Luffy's punch pressed against Anne's crossed arms, which were surrounded by thick, pale white energy outlining their form.
"You almost pierced through… I'll admit you've caught up, Luffy."
"A tangible [Armament Haki]… advanced [Armament Haki]?!