Fleet Admiral Sengoku retires to the second line; former Admiral Akainu assumes the position of Fleet Admiral."
Today's newspaper headlines were earth-shattering. A change in Marine leadership was enough of a megaton event for the seas, but Akainu's subsequent actions completely ignited the already turbulent waters.
"The Navy has declared war on the Whitebeard Pirates?"
Looking at the news, even Ren was shocked. "Wait, how does Akainu have the guts?" Ren couldn't wrap his head around it. "Given the Navy's current state—one Admiral, one Fleet Admiral, and a handful of underwhelming Vice Admirals—how do they expect to fight Whitebeard?"
The situation was dire because, upon Akainu's ascension, the old man Garp had officially retired as well. Garp was now focused solely on training recruits and clearing out pirate rookies in Paradise. This had resulted in a complete lack of "Supernovas" this year—they had all been nipped in the bud by the old man.
Clearly, if Akainu clashed with Whitebeard, Garp wouldn't be participating. Sengoku might follow along, but getting that old man to exert himself would be difficult. After all, he was retired!
Scanning other news, Ren saw reports on the Straw Hat Pirates. It claimed they were reuniting at Sabaody and were allegedly "recruiting an army" to sweep through the Four Emperors. Ren's crew didn't believe a word of it. Knowing Luffy, he was likely still drifting aimlessly at sea; there was no way he was running a recruitment drive at Sabaody.
"The Navy settles the score with Whitebeard in ten days. Should we go watch the fireworks?"
"No! I'm going to Egghead to find Papa!" Bonney declared.
Ren didn't particularly care how things turned out for Whitebeard either. Since Bonney was heading toward Egghead, he decided to swing by Wano Country to see what "Pluton" actually was.
"Alright! Destination: Wano!"
"Why Wano?"
"Because I want to go!"
The climate of the New World was chaotic. Reaching Wano safely was a challenge in itself. They were currently near Dressrosa; the nearest Emperor was Big Mom, and Wano was still a significant distance away.
Meanwhile, back with Luffy.
He carried a bundle larger than himself to the small town beneath the Red Line. Learning that reaching Sabaody required submerging in a bubble, Luffy decisively chose a different path.
"Hey, hey! That giant bundle of yours costs extra for the elevator!"
"Shishishi! I got it!"
Luffy reached into his bundle and pulled out a gold bar. It was the travel fund Bonney had given him; he hadn't expected it to be useful so soon. Taking the official Government elevator, Luffy successfully crossed the Red Line and arrived at Sabaody via a sightseeing boat.
Zoro had already arrived at Rayleigh's. Realizing he was the first to show up, Zoro looked utterly exasperated. "Seriously... did all those guys get lost?" He decided to wander out and find some "fun" while waiting.
Rayleigh and Shakky were barely holding back their laughter. Just as Zoro stepped out, he ran into Luffy and his tiny backpack. The two shared a grin and headed off to kill time by fishing.
A few days later, the Navy officially set out! Legend had it that Fleet Admiral Akainu, leading Admiral Kizaru and a hundred thousand elite Marines, headed straight for Whitebeard's territory.
There was no livestream for this war. No one knew the exact details of what happened until three days later, when the results were published worldwide.
"The Emperor Whitebeard was killed on the spot by the Navy. The division commanders suffered heavy casualties. Among the survivors, Fire Fist Ace has taken command, swearing revenge against the Navy."
Ren looked at the paper and chuckled. "That 'swearing revenge' part was definitely added by the journalists."
"Regardless of who said it, I'm sure Ace hates the Navy to his core right now," Hina said, pushing up her non-prescription glasses. "Should we go find him? We have met him before, after all."
They had met Ace when dealing with Blackbeard. Ace had left a good impression on Hina. Now that he had suffered such a massive life-changing blow, it seemed reasonable to pay a visit.
Using the Vivre Card Ace had given them, and ignoring Bonney's slight annoyance, the crew spent a week of difficult sailing to find the remnants. The former Four Emperor crew was down to a few "stray cats and dogs."
Ace, Marco, Vista, and Jozu. Out of a crew with over a dozen commanders, only these four remained. Well, Ace was now the Captain of the "Second Generation" Whitebeard Pirates, meaning there were only three commanders left and some subordinates with little combat power.
Ren's arrival made Ace extremely tense. Despite their state, they were still technically an Emperor crew on paper. Given Ren's current fame, killing them would essentially guarantee him a seat as a new Emperor.
Ren sat cross-legged on the ground and smiled at Ace. "Long time no see, Luffy's big brother."
"Luffy?" Ace froze for a second, then broke into an uncontrollable smile. "You've seen Luffy?!"
"Yeah. I spent the last year training him," Ren nodded.
"I see... thank you so much for looking after him!" Ace thanked him with total sincerity. During the year Luffy was missing, Ace had been worried sick, even training hard to go cause trouble for Kizaru. Unfortunately, Kizaru was a standout even among Admirals; Ace hadn't mastered Future Sight yet and was no match. If Marco hadn't dragged him away at the cost of his own safety, Ace might have followed Whitebeard to the grave.
Knowing Luffy had been cared for by Ren, combined with the previous favor regarding Blackbeard, Ace's gratitude reached a new peak. Seeing that Ren wasn't there to cause trouble, Ace breathed a sigh of relief.
After a long conversation, Ace grew silent for a few seconds before looking at Ren earnestly. "Ren, you... can you teach me how to train?"
"No."
Ren refused flatly. After pummeling Luffy for a year, he was tired of the teaching profession. Ace looked disappointed but quickly adjusted. "I guess I'm not as lucky as Luffy."
"What's the plan? There are a lot of people outside eyeing you like tigers," Ren noted.
Ace nodded bitterly. "I plan to train for a year. Once I master Conqueror's Infusion, I'll head back out."
Behind him, Marco spoke up: "I don't plan on being a pirate anymore. For the rest of my days, I just want to protect Pops' hometown."
Ren hadn't expected Marco to take this path so soon, but on reflection, it made sense. Like Whitebeard, Marco never truly cared for the title of Pirate King; they just wanted a home. This was where Ace and Whitebeard differed—Ace shouted about making Whitebeard King every day, but he never truly understood what the old man wanted. Even now, Ace was thinking about making a grand comeback for the title once his strength peaked.
Given their somber mood, Ren didn't force a banquet on them. He asked for a Permanent Pointer to Wano Country, and the crew set sail once more. With a direct guide, they no longer had to wander aimlessly and headed straight for the closed nation.
However, only half a day after parting with Ace, they received a call from Luffy.
"Ren! We've found news of the Pure Gold!"
Luffy has news of the ultimate treasure! Should Ren divert his course to regroup with the Straw Hats for the "Pure Gold" hunt, or should he continue to Wano to uncover the secrets of Pluton?