Chapter 102: Awakening Ace, The Burned Man

Looking down at Ulti at his feet, Roy was also dumbfounded. 'What's wrong with this girl? Is she just... slow?' He started to worry that his own son might become equally dense by staying in this pirate crew, unable to tell a king from a joker. "She's kinda cute, but she's got no brains. Loxus, if you ever fall in love, don't pick someone like her," Roy said casually, glancing at Ulti before turning to advise his son. Loxus hadn't expected Roy to say something like that. The tense atmosphere was suddenly broken, and his face flushed red with embarrassment. "Izou, let's go," Roy said, slinging Kaido's broken dragon horn over his back and starting to walk away with the others. "We're just leaving like this? Leaving Loxus with them?" one of Whitey Bay's crew exclaimed in disbelief. "It's his own choice. Ask him, is he coming home?" Roy replied. "Loxus..." "I'm not going back." "This..." "Don't be so stubborn, just come back with us." "Yeah, your mother's still waiting for you." "If you don't go back soon, you'll end up with a new baby sibling." "I'm not going back! I'm part of the Beasts Pirates now!" Loxus shouted angrily. No one could persuade him. Seeing that Roy and Izou were preparing to leave, a few of them clenched their teeth and said, "We're staying. We'll stay here to protect Loxus." "You guys..." Loxus looked at the uncles and elders who had watched him grow up, eyes wide with disbelief. "You're not safe alone, we'll be here for you." "Right. If anything happens, just contact that jerk of a dad of yours. He'll come to save you." "I don't need you!" Loxus yelled, turning away, refusing to even look at them. The men were heartbroken, their goodwill rejected so coldly. Izou glanced back at Loxus, then silently followed Roy. The others who stayed behind looked on sadly, then reluctantly followed Roy's group back. Kaido hadn't said a single word the whole time. He couldn't understand why Roy didn't just kill him. He clearly had the strength to shoot him dead, so why let him live? 'What is his real goal...?' Kaido stared at Roy's departing figure, his mind racing, replaying their battle over and over. 'Why had he stopped?' Izou didn't speak of returning to Wano. There was nothing left for him to do; Oden was dead, the others were gone, and as a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, it wasn't his place to intervene further. "Big Bro, could you have killed Kaido?" Izou asked as they left Wano, looking back at the high cliffs. "I could. But it would come at a cost," Roy nodded. "Then why didn't you?" Roy paused for a moment. "Because he can't die yet. I need him for my experiment." Kaido couldn't die. If he died, the Devil Fruit power in his body would vanish and respawn elsewhere, meaning Roy wouldn't be able to clone the Fish-Fish Fruit. Devil Fruits are unique; once their host dies, the power disappears from their body. Just like if two people ate the same fruit, the one who ate it first would retain the power. If Roy had killed Kaido in Wano, the Fish-Fish Fruit might have reappeared elsewhere, maybe in Wano, maybe overseas. And without a fruit on hand, Roy couldn't take that gamble. Keeping Kaido alive was necessary to complete the cloning experiment. It was also to let his son grow up. He couldn't just wipe out the pirate crew his son had just joined. That would be too easy. Besides, is there a better teacher than Kaido? Sure, Roy had immense Haki, but that was thanks to his system. He couldn't teach it; he didn't understand the grind. It's like being born at the top of a mountain; you don't understand what it takes to climb it. Back at the Whitebeard Pirates' base, Roy began researching Kaido's dragon horn. He wanted to analyze it. He extracted the bloodline factor and used it to water the miracle apple trees. "There are six trees now. Each tree bears only one fruit." The experiment data was being collected, and the miracle apple trees slowly grew as they were nourished. Ace arrived, with Deuce beside him, both bandaged and bruised, looking ashamed as they stepped into the Whitebeard Pirates' territory. "Big bro!!" Seeing Roy, both of them hung their heads. Loxus had joined the Beasts Pirates to save them; it was their incompetence that had forced him to sacrifice himself. "What do you want?" "Where's Loxus?" "He's with the Beasts Pirates." "What? You didn't bring him back!?" Ace exclaimed. "Why would I?" Roy replied with a strange look. "Why not?!" Ace was shocked. "Yes, he's my son. But more importantly, he's a member of the Spade Pirates. Your subordinate. You should be the one responsible for him, not me. "I entrusted my son to you. Now something happened to him, and I'm supposed to go after Kaido? No, you should be the one I'm mad at. This is a cause-and-effect relationship. Right now, I should be after you. You lost my son. Your crewman got hurt, that means you're incompetent as a captain." "Loxus joined the Beasts Pirates because of you. As his captain, you're the one who needs to take responsibility. I can guarantee he won't die while he's there. But whether he ever leaves the Beasts Pirates, that's up to you. You'll have to go there yourself and get him out." "I..." Ace lowered his head in shame. After thinking it through, he realized Roy was right. "Big bro, I'll definitely get Loxus back. He's my crewmate. I am his captain," Ace declared with renewed resolve. "Now that's the spirit. Get stronger. If you keep sulking, this is as far as you'll go. You'll never be Pirate King like that." With Roy's "motivational scolding," Ace left the Whitebeard Pirates' territory to set off again. He would grow stronger, and one day return to challenge Kaido, to bring Loxus home. Roy trusted that Loxus was waiting for Ace to come for him. A journey of mutual resolve. As for Roy, he wasn't ignoring his son; he needed to grow, to mature. if he took him back, he would be pampered. As for everything else? Let the young ones handle it. In due time, they would have to face reality and solve it themselves. "Big bro, the Marines have chosen their next Fleet Admiral. You were right, it's Akainu," Marco said, handing Roy the latest newspaper. It boldly announced Akainu as the new Fleet Admiral and detailed the succession battle. Akainu and Aokiji had fought a ten-day battle on Punk Hazard during Roy's trip to Wano. That battle lasted ten days and nights. Akainu emerged alive, while Aokiji suffered a crushing defeat; he was reportedly severely injured and is now recovering in a Marine hospital. "As expected. That was already decided. I need to head out for a bit, keep an eye on things for me," Roy said, handing the paper back. "Running from Whitey Bay again?" Marco teased. "Of course not! I've got real business!" Roy denied quickly. "Where are you headed? Need someone with you?" Marco offered. "I'm thinking of heading to Paradise. Have Namur go with me," Roy said. "Got it, I'll call him back right away," Marco nodded. "But what are you doing in Paradise?" "Eh, don't ask too much. You'll see." "You're always like this... fine, I'll go get Namur." After all, what danger could there possibly be in the first half of the Grand Line? Later that afternoon, Namur arrived with his crew and set off with Roy, taking the Fish-Man Island route. "Big bro, we'll need to coat the ship, it'll take a few days." Under the Red Line, ships needed to be coated before passing through. Even in the New World, Yarukiman Mangrove could be used for coating. "No problem. It's still faster than sailing around," Roy said. "True," Namur agreed. "By the way, Namur, is that burned guy still wandering around the world?" Roy asked. "Big bro, we don't really know where he is now," Namur replied. "Well, next time I see him, I owe him a drink," Roy smiled. "Sure thing." Once the coating was complete, Namur led them to Fish-Man Island. Still as beautiful as ever. Since Roy wasn't in a hurry, he decided to stay for a while. "That red one you gave away was the smartest move. Otherwise, Fish-Man Island wouldn't have peace," Roy said. King Neptune stood nearby, arms crossed. "Yeah, not giving it away would've only caused trouble. He did us a great favor taking it off our hands." "So maybe not all Celestial Dragons are trash." "With enough people, there are always some good apples. We were just lucky to meet a few." "He left Mary Geoise for your sake and took the burden with him. Truly impressive." Neptune fell into thought. 'Back when Fisher Tiger climbed the Red Line, how did he escape with so many slaves?' 'Could one man really do that alone?' That fire... someone helped him. Someone got burned in the process. That burned man was rescued by the freed slaves and brought to Fish-Man Island. He also took the red Poneglyph with him. Now, he wanders the New World. ... If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead. [email protected]/DaoistJinzu