A man wearing a skull mask was explaining to Ace and the others what to watch out for before entering the New World. The Spade Pirates, consisting of over a dozen people and a lynx, is a small pirate crew in terms of numbers. Moreover, it’s a gathering of various interesting individuals.
Skull was one such eccentric, wearing a skull mask, and his body covered in various skull patterns.
He is a collector of skeleton-themed merchandise and was originally not a pirate.
But in the Great Pirate Era, he became fascinated with the pirate lifestyle. His obsession drove him to sneak onto various pirate ships. Pirates weren’t fools, so he was often caught. However, luck was always on his side—most pirates weren’t as paranoid as someone like Queen, who constantly investigated unknown people.
Some pirates would keep stowaways as errand boys or even recruit them as underlings. Skull’s ability to survive in such situations brought him from one port to the next, granting him a wealth of knowledge about the world.
Most pirates saw him as nothing more than a nuisance, completely useless except for running errands. Ace, however, thought otherwise. Eventually, he joined the Spade Pirates, aiming to become the world’s number one intelligence expert, and officially became a pirate.
“Are we really going to be delayed for three days?…..I wonder if the food here is any good.”
One moment, Ace seemed concerned, and the next, he made a strange remark. The Spade Pirates, however, weren’t surprised—they were used to it.
The Sabaody Archipelago had proper ports, but those had little to do with the Spade Pirates. After all, they were pirates. At this moment, Skull was advising the crew to stay alert.
After all, this place is full of all sorts of people. If they attract the attention of the Marines, bounty hunters, or unscrupulous peers, they might not have time to worry about coating.
“Marines, bounty hunters, World Nobles, slavers… there’s no end to the trouble you can attract here. Until the coating is done, don’t stir up any trouble. Especially you, Ace. Please, I’m begging you, Captain!”
Finally, Skull’s gaze landed on Ace, seriously advising him. However, although Ace looked solemn, his focus was clearly not on him—he was far more interested in whether Grand Line Manju was delicious or not.
“Teacher, I’ll leave the ship in your hands.”
The crew members were preparing to leave the ship one by one. The person called Teacher was Mihar, who didn’t like going out and spent most of his time staying on the ship. He was originally a teacher, but over time, there were no more children at the place where he taught, and he remained there all along.
He dreamt of traveling across the seas to reach children around the world who can’t get an education. Because Ace was the only one who supported his dream in so many years, he finally stepped out of his comfort zone and joined the Spade Pirates.
Skull was still worried about Ace, but he didn’t have a chance anymore.
“After all the hard work of sailing, it’s a captain’s duty to reward the crew. Leave the job of looking for food to me!”
Saying that, Ace leapt off the ship without hesitation and headed straight for the Sabaody Archipelago.
Watching Ace disappear into the distance, the remaining crew members looked at each other helplessly. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished into the mangrove forest.
The captain had gone to gather food for the crew, while Deuce, the first mat, took charge of real work. Deuce was his alias. Originally a second-generation noble and a medical student from a certain country, he began a new life for various reasons.
While searching for a coating craftsman, they encountered an elderly man with white hair.
“Are you the captain?” the old man asked.
“No, not me. I’m just acting as a stand-in. The captain was lured away by a delicious smell as soon as we docked.”
“Haha, captains have always been carefree souls, no matter the era.”
“Yeah, and some of them say that fate pulls people in to become pirates. Are you a pirate too, old man?”
“That was long ago. For some trivial reason, I ended up on a ship and embarked on a long journey. I think we’ll get along well. Need your ship coated? I can give you a discount.”
“Is that so? Thanks a lot, old man. By the way, what’s your name? I can’t just keep calling you that.”
“Call me Rayleigh.”
Deuce finalized the arrangements for the ship’s coating. At this time, he had no idea who this seemingly ordinary old man really was. After all, intelligence work wasn’t his forte.
Meanwhile, as expected, Ace had gotten himself into trouble.
“Dine and dash, huh? Stop right there!”
“Block him! The kid ran that way!”
A group of employees from several shops had joined forces to chase down someone who didn’t pay for their meals. Meanwhile, Ace’s figure was fleeing ahead.
It wasn’t that Ace didn’t want to pay—he had simply forgotten to bring his wallet when he left the ship, which led to this situation. Among those hot on his heels were a few individuals wearing uniforms adorned with fruit patterns.
“Hey, I’ll pay! Just let me find my wallet first!”
“Yeah, right! This is the Sabaody Archipelago! If you run away, how are we supposed to find you?!”
The sight of Ace fleeing and the employees chasing him created quite the spectacle, drawing the attention of many onlookers.
“Sister Isuka, it looks like our people are up ahead. Should we lend them a hand?”
At this moment, at the entrance of the Senbei shop, Isuka was purchasing a large quantity of Grand Line Senbei as souvenirs. Every officer passing through Sabaody Archipelago has this habit of casually buying something to take back.
As the current No. 7, Isuka now had her own ship and dedicated squad. This trip to Sabaody was part of a religious mission. The person who asked her was Lami.
Following recent adjustments within the Arceus Cult, some of its members had started venturing out. Lami was one such example.
Though not particularly strong in combat, she was nearly impossible to harm. Her Alolan Muk body functioned much like a Logia-type, rendering ordinary physical attacks ineffective.
Those with fruit patterns on their chests were naturally employees of Beasts Fruits. Only they can be at the forefront among the numerous “debt collectors.”
“Let’s see… Wait, is that guy… asleep?!”
At this moment, Ace was cornered and surrounded on all sides. However, what happened next was almost unbelievable. After being cornered on a park bench, Ace simply fell asleep.
Seeing him suddenly falling asleep, the debt-collecting employees were all left bewildered. They had seen all kinds of people on Sabaody Archipelago, but this was the first time they encountered someone so bizarre.
Eventually, Ace was saved by his crewmates, who had rushed over. They had found his wallet back on the deck and guessed what must have happened.
With the crew members apologizing, the employees took the money and left. Meanwhile, Isuka and her group made their way toward the slums of Sabaody Archipelago…
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