Nereus recounted the earlier battle and mentioned that she had used Surf to wash those people far away.
“Surf?! Aunt Nereus, we want to surf too!”
“Don’t cause trouble. Let Ludicolo keep you company. Your dad and Aunt Nereus have to go meet Lord Arceus later.”
He pulled his children off Nereus’s shoulders one by one and instructed Ludicolo to look after them for a while before going off to handle important matters.
This time, there weren’t as many Pokémon involved. Apart from Mythical Pokémon like Zeraora and Shaymin, the participants were the leaders of various Pokémon, such as Ampharos, Altaria, Tsareena, Vespiquen, Corviknight, Tinkaton, and other representatives of their species.
Bisharp and Farfetch’d were also present. Tauros and Miltank, walking together, were discussing something along the way.
These Pokémon held positions similar to Nereus, essentially serving as leaders of their respective species.
For rarer species, one representative was chosen per region. For instance, the mines were represented by Gigalith, who was considered the “most beautiful Pokémon in the mines” among Rock-type Pokémon.
This was the Pokémon Annual Meeting, and the one they were reporting to was, of course, Arceus.
Manaphy, who was working in the outer seas, also sent back a Swampert, which was currently slowly walking forward while carrying a Toxapex. Except for Manaphy itself and the elusive Darkrai, all the Pokémon created by Arceus had gathered.
Blissey and Audino even showed some symptoms of occupational disease, wanting to give everyone a health check-up, but they finally calmed down when Arceus arrived.
“My Lord…”
“…!”
Amidst the cacophony of Pokémon languages, the various Pokémon reported their recent experiences and their progress on the tasks assigned by Arceus. However, none of them brought good news.
“It’s okay. Don’t be discouraged. There’s still plenty of time—just keep searching patiently,” Arceus said, comforting a dejected Heracross.
Nereus initially planned to report the recent event, but Zeraora told her that it was just a trivial matter, not worth bothering Arceus.
So, she just threw it to the back of her mind. She didn’t know where those people ended up after being washed away by Surf—whether they were alive or dead—but she was sure they were no longer in Wano Country.
As for Ace, whom she didn’t even give a second thought to, he eventually encountered some kind-hearted people after drifting for a long time.
……
White bed sheets, an unfamiliar ceiling, a beginning that feels incredibly familiar, except he was still on the sea.
“Ace? You’re finally awake!”
“Where… How long has it been?”
“I’m not sure either. But thanks to you and Wallace, even though everyone was injured, we managed to survive…”
In a tsunami of that magnitude, it was nearly impossible for ordinary humans to survive. But the Spade Pirates were special, as their crew has a unique member: Wallace, a curious weedy stingfish Fish-Man.
Nereus’s final Flamethrower had been blocked by Ace’s body. As the user of Flame-Flame Fruit, he has some immunity to fire, so the Flamethrower didn’t cause much harm.
Afterward, Nereus hurried off to her pilgrimage, leaving behind a Surf attack before departing. Gyarados didn’t have a habit of eating humans. They would kill enemies but had no interest in their corpses.
Nereus didn’t even look back, and the Gyarados beside her didn’t pursue further either.
Meanwhile, relying on his Fish-Man strength, Wallace desperately tied everyone on the ship together with ropes and swam them out of the dangerous waters. Many were injured, and the ship and all their possessions were destroyed, but at least their lives were saved.
Aside from Wallace, everyone else had been knocked unconscious during the tsunami. Wallace held on until he encountered another pirate ship just before passing out. They were fortunate—the ship’s captain was a kind-hearted person.
“You’re awake too? Well then, young man, since I saved you, will you marry me?”
Still disoriented, Ace was immediately hit with a marriage proposal. Turning his head, he saw a pink-haired woman standing in the doorway, staring at him.
“Uh… sorry, I’m not interested in that. Could you tell me where my companions are?”
“Rejected! Big Sister Lola has been rejected again!”
“This makes it the 419th time! Every man on this ship has turned her down!”
Ace heard the shocked exclamations of the pirates nearby, and it left him feeling utterly bewildered. His brain struggled to process what was going on.
“Deuce, what exactly is happening here?”
“Well… it’s a bit complicated. Honestly, I don’t fully understand it myself, but it’s something like this…”
Deuce gave a brief summary of the situation.
Since Ace was a Devil Fruit user, he sank straight to the bottom when the ship capsized. Wallace had a tough time hauling him back up.
Just as Wallace was about to exhaust himself, they ran into the Rolling Pirates, who rescued them. It was as simple as that.
As for why the Rolling Pirates were there, it was due to Lola’s plan. After fleeing her arranged marriage, Lola didn’t immediately leave the New World. She figured that with Charlotte Linlin’s personality, her mother would be furious and send people to capture her.
Lola’s ship couldn’t outrun the homie ships, which were part of the Big Mom Pirates’ special fleet, but she didn’t dare use them either. If she had Homies, Charlotte Linlin would be able to catch up to her even more easily.
So, she employed a “hide in plain sight” tactic, staying on an island not far from Charlotte Linlin’s territory for a while. During this time, she reinforced her ship and recruited some subordinates.
Thanks to her cheerful personality, she managed to gather quite a few crew members.
As for the 400-plus marriage proposals she’d made during this time, it’s simply because she doesn’t want Charlotte Linlin to control her life. She wants to pursue her own love. Loki comes from a powerful background and truly loves her, but she didn’t want to choose him.
Thus, whenever she encounters a man who is somewhat similar, she’d propose marriage. This has been the experience of nearly all the men from the Spade Pirates, and now it was Ace’s turn.
Despite being rejected once again, Lola wasn’t discouraged. Instead, she maintained her cheerful demeanor.
…..
“Uh… where exactly are we now?”
After reuniting with his crew, Ace began planning for the future again.
“Here? We’re not far from Fishman Island. It won’t be long before we get there.”
Having grown up in the New World, Lola understood how dangerous it was. She couldn’t rely on the Big Mom Pirates anymore, and surviving here with her own strength wasn’t going to be easy.
So, after hiding for so long, she decided to take her crew to Paradise and start a new journey there.
“Fish… Fishman Island?!”
Hearing the name, the Spade Pirates were all stunned. It meant their recent voyage had been for nothing—Nereus had essentially sent them back to a “mid-way save point.”
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