A new Bounty

Resisting the urge to punch Luffy, who was currently giving him a smug smile, Ace decided to change the topic while wondering how exactly Luffy's crewmate would hold the third sword.

"Anyway, let's stop talking nonsense and return to your crew."

"Hehe~ Luffy, someone seems to be trying to change the topic~"

"Hehe, I wonder why that is, Yuna~"

Seeing not only Yuna teasing him but noticing that Luffy somehow seemed to have managed to cultivate enough brain cells to tease him as well, Ace gritted his teeth in anger while glaring at Luffy, who immediately started whistling, pretending to be innocent.

Anyway, minutes later, the trio reached the shore where the Going Merry was previously anchored. However...

"Did your crew ditch you, Luffy?"

"Doubt it. They probably figured out that Luffy would cause havoc, so the others brought the ship into safety."

And as if the crew heard Yuna's words, the Going Merry appeared in the distance.

"Shishishi, there they are. Let's go! Gomu-Gomu-noooo~ ROCKET!!!"

Seeing the Going Merry on the horizon, Luffy grabbed two nearby rocks, stretched his arms, and flung himself toward the Going Merry. While doing so, he tried to take Yuna and Ace with him, but both of them dodged his attempt.

"Yeah, I would rather not be uncontrollably blasted through the air at high speed."

"Yup, giving it a pass as well. Want me to give you a ride to your ship?"

As Ace said those words, he pointed at a small sailless ship that could, at best, accommodate two standing people.

Seeing the little ship, Yuna shook her head before a smirk appeared on her face.

"Hehe, no need. Have you forgotten? I'm a ninja~"

As soon as she finished speaking, Yuna went through around a dozen hand signs before jumping toward the sea, safely landing on its surface without sinking.

"Hehe, [Waterwalking Technique]"

[Gotten addicted to playing ninja?]

'Kurama, you know. I simply love messing with people~'

[Right. And what's with the short name?]

'It's just a little parlor trick, after all.'

[Didn't you name the jutsu that created a giant penis in the Land of Lightning a grand name?]

'Yes? Is that supposed to be a contradiction?'

[Sigh Why do I even try? Forget about it.]

Meanwhile, Ace looked at the back of Yuna, running on the water toward the Going Merry, and could only click his tongue.

"Damn, ninjas are so cool. I need to convince Pops to get a few into the crew."

Meanwhile, back on the Going Merry, a completely drenched Zoro was contemplating whether this was the moment he would finally cut Luffy up. He was just peacefully sleeping on the deck when Luffy came flying in, crashing into Zoro and sending him flying into the sea.

"Shishishi, sorry, Zoro~"

Hearing not even an ounce of regret in Luffy's apology, Wado Ichimonji slowly left its sheath, but before Zoro could fully draw it, Yuna jumped on the deck.

"Yo, I'm back as well."

"Yuna-chwan~ I'll make you some snacks~"

"Oh, thanks, Sanji. And Zoro, you shouldn't cut up Luffy. Who is going to be the King of the Pirates if you do?"

"Shishishi, that's right, Zoro. You shouldn't..."

"Just give him a beating."

"Eh?"

While Luffy was dumbfounded due to Yuna's words, a smirk appeared on Zoro's face as he popped his knuckles.

Ignoring Luffy and Zoro, Nami stepped toward Yuna, curiosity clearly visible on her face.

"What exactly were you two doing? We saw you briefly getting chased by Marines, but it took you quite long to get back here."

"Yeah, the Marines were swiftly dealt with, but we bumped into someone rather interesting. We met Luffy's big brother, Ace."

"""Luffy's big brother!?"""

Nami, Usopp, and Chopper were all shocked by what they had just heard. After all, Luffy has never talked about his family, so they assumed that there was nothing to talk about. As in, none of his family is alive. Surprisingly, there was now a big brother.

"Yup, he's quite the powerhouse. Apparently, he is a commander of the Whitebeard pirates, with Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world, being the Captain of that crew.

"""The strongest man in the world?"""

Hearing that title, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper were dumbfounded, while Zoro couldn't help getting interested. He had already met the "Strongest Swordsman," so he was a little curious about the difference between the "Strongest Swordsman" and the "Strongest Man."

"Haha, that's right! Pops is the strongest, and I'll help him become the King of the Pirates!"

"WHAT!? I'LL BE THE KING OF THE PIRATES!!!"

During the conversation, Ace landed on the Going Merry's deck and instantly started boasting about how great his "pops" was, immediately triggering Luffy into yelling out his own ambitions.

Feeling Luffy's glare on him, Ace only chuckled in amusement. If any other pirate dared to claim to become the King in front of him, he would beat them up, but at the end of the day, Luffy was his brother, leaving him in a somewhat awkward position. On the one hand, he wanted to support Whitebeard to become the King of the Pirates, but on the other hand, he wanted his little brother to achieve his dream, something he considered only possible after becoming the King of the Pirates.

Before the discussion could continue, cannon fire could be heard in the distance, and after taking a closer look, Ace saw three Baroque Works ships approaching the Going Merry. Seeing that, Ace smirked as he adjusted his hat.

"Hehe, let me handle them."

Before anyone could speak, Ace jumped off the deck and landed on his little boat. Suddenly, flames erupted from his feet, propelling the little boat toward the three vessels.

As soon he got into attack range, Ace jumped, cocked his fist back, and punched toward the three ships.

"[Fire Fist]"

Flames erupted from his fist, creating a massive firestorm that engulfed the three Baroque Works ships, setting them ablaze and crushing them. This casually demonstrated the power of one of the commanders of the Strongest Man in the World.

A few seconds later, Ace returned to the going Merry with a smug expression on his face.

"Hahaha, a bunch of small fries! No big deal at all."

While the rest of the crew was surprised by the power Ace showed, Yuna only nodded in agreement. Frankly, with her control over ice, sinking a bunch of ships was no big deal. While sailing the ocean, there was very little that could pose a challenge for her. After all, with all that water readily available, there was little she couldn't do with her ice. Of course, she didn't actually need water to create ice, but having some made things less energy-consuming.

Anyway, for now, Ace decided to sail with the Straw Hats a little longer, wondering if he could find his target, Teach, within Alabasta.

As the Going Merry was approaching the next port, a News Coo landed on the ship's railing, instantly drawing Nami's attention. She approached the large bird and gave it some money and got a newspaper in return.

Frankly, the only crew members who bothered about the newspaper were Yuna and Nami, while the rest of the crew would only absorb the information Nami provided them. Well, everyone but Luffy, who somehow managed to have less information about this world than Yuna, who only appeared here a month ago. As long as the meat prices weren't raised, he couldn't care less.

As Nami opened the newspaper, multiple small pieces of paper flew out, causing Yuna to roll her eyes.

'The World Goverment really loves spreading bounty posters, don't they?'

[Isn't that natural?]

'The problem is that they are only bounty posters for small fries. If I hadn't looked at the records within that Navi base, I wouldn't even know who Whitebeard was. He has the highest bounty, and yet nobody in this part of the Grandline knows who he is. Clearly, the World Goverment and, by extension, the Marines, attempt to keep things balanced rather than actually going after these big shots.'

[Considering what you have learned so far, it's not like they can actually do anything to these big shots.]

'True. No matter how I look at it, that's rather pathetic. On one side, we have an organization that has existed for 800 years, and on the other side, we have a guy with a strange mustache, and somehow, the former doesn't dare to provoke the latter.'

However, while looking through the bounty posters Nami dropped, Yuna couldn't help but stop at one that was rather peculiar, almost causing her to laugh out loud.

"Hehe, oi, Zoro, you got yourself a bounty~"

Zoro, not noticing the teasing undertone Yuna was using, couldn't help but get excited hearing Yuna's words. He immediately approached her with an excited grin on his face.

"Oh? So, the Marines have finally realized how strong I am? Good. Very good!"

Happily, snatching his wanted poster out of Yuna's hand, Zoro looked at it with excitement. However, moments later, his expression froze in disbelief as his gaze remained on the poster with nothing but disbelief.

"Unnamed pirate associated with the Straw Pirates.

Dead or Alive

Bounty: 100000 Bely"

His soul almost left his body, seeing that pathetic bounty. 100000? During his bounty hunter days, he could knock people with this little of a bounty out with a single punch, and now, he was suddenly shelved into the same category as the small fries. How outrageous!

Well, he might be well-known within the East Blue, the "weakest sea" but in the Grand Line? Who the hell was Pirate Hunter Zoro? If he had done something big, for example, taking down a famous assassin like Daz Bones, the Goverment would have undoubtedly investigated his background more and found out who he was. However, just being part of a crew whose Captain has a mere 30 million bounty? Meh, give him some random bounty and be done with it.

Hearing that Zoro had a bounty, Sanji couldn't help but be annoyed as he approached Zoro to take a look. However, seeing his bounty poster and noticing that Zoro wasn't even named, Sanji burst into laughing, rolling on the floor and clutching his stomach.

"HAHAHA, well done for getting bounty, PIRATE CEEEEE~"

While getting such an insignificant bounty bothered Zoro, Sanji's mocking undoubtedly got him really angry.

"At least I have a bounty, you third-rate cook!"

"What did you just call me, mosshead!?"

Just like that, another duel to the death started, and while every other member of the crew ignored it, Ace couldn't help but be a little confused. Ultimately, he decided not to say anything. After all, he was just a guest.

"Usopp is an idiot~"

"Damn, Luffy, why are you calling me an idiot again!?"

"Haa!? I didn't say anything!"

As yet another battle to the death started, Ace couldn't help but awkwardly scratch his head as he noticed Yuna putting away something that looked suspiciously like a Tone Dial.

'Is this fine? Will this crew be fine? Exactly what kind of crew has Luffy recruited? It's a complete mess!'

Despite two battles to the death on the deck, Nami was utterly indifferent as she briefly glanced at one of the maps she had managed to buy.

'Mhh, we should reach the next port soon. Considering the layout of the country, I guess we'll have to travel by foot for the rest of the journey.'