Ash and the others could not stand Dicken's ridiculous "manly" enthusiasm, so they decisively gave in to his request.
But before that happened.
Ash lowered his gaze toward Dracule Mihawk, who had already crossed the battlefield and arrived not far from them.
"What is wrong with you? You come all the way here just to stir up trouble for your old man?"
Ash showed no intention of giving Mihawk any respect. The moment the so-called World's Greatest Swordsman swung his blade at them, Ash responded with a stream of insults.
Mihawk frowned slightly.
The sharp gaze beneath his wide-brimmed hat turned colder.
"Did Red-Haired Shanks die at your hands?"
Ash laughed.
"That sounded like a question, but you said it like you already know the answer." He crossed his arms casually. "What makes you so sure Shanks is dead, and why assume we killed him?"
Mihawk's expression remained unchanged.
"Do you not know what a Vivre Card is?" he asked coldly. "The Vivre Card Shanks gave me burned to ashes the day before news of your war spread across the seas."
Ash paused briefly.
He had genuinely forgotten about Vivre Cards.
Still, even if news about wiping out a Yonko crew leaked out, he was not especially worried.
Compared to that, something else interested him more.
"Hold on," Ash said with a strange look. "You actually have Shanks' Vivre Card? Are you two really that close?"
Mihawk's brows twitched.
"If I did not have his Vivre Card, how do you think I usually tracked him down for sparring?"
His tone sounded as if he were speaking to an idiot.
The moment he finished speaking, Mihawk reached behind his back and slowly drew Yoru, the Supreme Grade Black Blade, clearly done with conversation.
Ash clicked his tongue.
"This is supposed to be a heated battle, and now suddenly there is some revenge story over a drinking buddy."
Losing interest in talking, Ash casually patted the excited Dicken on the shoulder.
"He is yours. Kill this poser, and you become the World's Greatest Swordsman."
"Hahaha! Leave it to me!"
Dicken burst forward instantly, charging toward Mihawk with excitement written all over his face.
...
As the two swordsmen moved farther away, exchanging increasingly violent attacks, Ash's thoughts shifted back to the matter of Vivre Cards.
If people like Shanks and Mihawk, who constantly fought each other for fun, kept one another's Vivre Cards, then what about the Figarland Family, who already knew Shanks' true identity?
Or even the Gorosei?
Did they possess his Vivre Card as well?
And what about the other Yonko?
Logically speaking, Kaido had been captured by the World Government numerous times. They had even extracted his Lineage Factor.
Making several Vivre Cards from him should have been easy.
Yet judging from the World Government's reaction over the past year, they seemed completely unaware that Kaido had died.
Fortunately, Ash only realized this oversight after reaching a level of strength where he could stand above most of the pirate world.
If this had happened shortly after he first sailed out to sea...
He paused.
Then shook his head.
"Actually, it probably would not have mattered much anyway."
Ash suddenly laughed at himself.
"Why am I overthinking this?" he muttered. "If anyone notices something they should not, I can just silence them."
Shifting his attention elsewhere, he turned toward Kirk.
"Kirk, should we start preparing food?"
Kirk glanced at the sky and looked speechless.
"Food? It is barely afternoon. At most, we can prepare tea."
"Tea works too," Ash replied casually. "Standing around doing nothing is boring."
"Fine."
Kirk sighed helplessly.
He pulled out a dining table and began arranging tea sets and snacks one by one.
Then he glanced at Ash.
"You looked deep in thought earlier. What were you thinking about?"
"Oh, Mihawk showing up reminded me of something." Ash leaned back lazily. "Vivre Cards."
"..."
...
Meanwhile, on Hachinosu Island, the battle continued raging.
At the same time, inside Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office at Marineford.
Sengoku frowned deeply as he placed down the Den Den Mushi receiver.
Vice Admiral Tsuru immediately noticed his expression.
"What happened this time?"
Even Garp, seated across from her, unusually refrained from stealing Sengoku's tea and senbei.
His expression was equally serious.
Sengoku rubbed his forehead.
"Borsalino received another direct order from the Gorosei. He is being sent back to Hachinosu Island to issue a ceasefire order to Ash."
"On his way back, he discovered traces of the Great Eirik. Based on its direction, it appears the Giant Warrior Pirates are also heading toward Hachinosu."
Tsuru frowned immediately.
"That raises two problems."
"First, we originally sent Borsalino to stop the conflict between the Dawn Faction and Big Mom. But the Gorosei bypassed us and recalled him directly."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Now, less than a day later, they are sending him back again?"
She continued in a grim voice.
"Even if Ash wanted to avoid conflict, that ship and the Big Mom Pirates are already engaged in battle. Once pirates are fighting, do you really think either side would stop just because of an order from the World Government?"
"The second issue," Tsuru continued, "the Great Eirik belongs to the Giant Warrior Pirates from over a century ago."
"Combined with Oimo and Kashii abandoning Enies Lobby last year, it is obvious they have already learned the truth about Red Ogre Brogy and Blue Ogre Dorry."
Her expression darkened.
"In that case, their target is obvious."
Garp slammed his fist against the desk impatiently.
"So what exactly is the World Government trying to do?"
"Are we really supposed to sit here and watch the kid get surrounded like this?"
"Even if Ash is already strong enough to rival a Yonko, how long can he last against Big Mom, Wang Zhi, and the Giant Warrior Pirates at the same time?"
"We should interfere!"
"If things go well, we could even wipe out one or two pirate factions in the process!"
Tsuru shook her head slowly.
A heavy look filled her eyes.
"We all know what the best option is."
Sengoku sighed deeply.
"But."
"The Gorosei bypassed us and issued direct orders to all three Admirals."
"Borsalino is already heading to Hachinosu to 'stop the war'."
"Sakazuki's fleet is not far behind, escorting a so-called special envoy from the World Government."
"As for Kuzan..." Sengoku's expression darkened. "For some unknown reason, he fought White Lion Sali at Reverse Mountain and only recently crossed back over the Red Line. He is currently rushing toward Hachinosu as well."
"If we want to interfere, we only have two choices."
"Either we directly defy the Gorosei and order the Admirals to assist the Dawn Faction against Big Mom, Wang Zhi, and the Giant Warrior Pirates."
He paused briefly.
"But even then, victory is uncertain."
"At best, both sides suffer losses before retreating."
"And after that..." Sengoku's tone grew bitter. "The consequences would fall on us and the Admirals."
He leaned back in silence.
"Never forget, the Marines belong to the World Government."
"We cannot always follow our own sense of justice."
Garp's expression darkened.
Then, as expected, he immediately launched into furious cursing aimed at the Celestial Dragons and the Gorosei.
His voice became loud enough to attract someone rarely involved in Marine affairs.
Former Admiral Zephyr.
Since the tragedy where pirates murdered his family after he spared them, Zephyr had long abandoned his idealistic refusal to kill.
Over the years, he had heard plenty about Ash from Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru.
Although he did not care for Ash as much as the others, his opinion of him was not bad either.
After hearing the full explanation, Zephyr calmly reached over and covered Garp's mouth before he could continue shouting.
Then he turned toward Sengoku.
"What is the second option?"
Seeing Garp finally quiet down, Sengoku adjusted his glasses.
His gaze swept across the room.
Then he looked directly at Garp.
"You tell me."
"Besides the Admirals, what other top-tier fighters does the Navy still have?"
===
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