Ch 22: New world

Chapter 22: New world

"Finally, we've arrived in the New World!" Wearing an eye patch, Deuce stood on the deck with his arms outstretched. His pose was a bit irritating to Ayaan.

Come on, your name is Deuce, not Ruth! You could easily hit an iceberg doing that kind of thing—do you even know that?

But soon, the New World's welcome ceremony showed him the consequences of posing randomly. Huge waves mixed with terrifying cold air nearly froze him into an ice sculpture on the spot.

"Ah, it's so cold! What's going on? It's sunny, so why is the sea so cold it's about to freeze over?!"

Shivering, Deuce quickly ran back. Ace stretched out his hand and released a burst of fire, warming him up considerably.

"In the New World, not only is the seawater colder than ice, but it's also normal for icebergs to fall from the sky," Ayaan said lazily.

"Haha, no way! Icebergs falling from the sky?" Deuce let out two dry laughs.

Ayaan narrowed his eyes and ignored him. The climate in the New World was even more unpredictable than the first half of the Grand Line.

Not to mention other things—just look at the Golden Lion. Even a sea overlord like him nearly got wiped out by a storm. The man turned into a giant chicken, practically. You can imagine how terrifying the weather really is.

Fortunately, the navigator of the Spade Pirates was Ace—the only truly capable person on the ship besides Ayaan. Otherwise, Ayaan wouldn't have dared to come to the New World.

At this point, over half a year had passed since Ayaan joined the crew.

In the past six months, the Spade Pirates had experienced many things, but most of the danger was handled by Ace and Ayaan. It's not that the rest of the crew didn't contribute, but their combat strength was lacking—they were mostly good for logistics and support.

For instance, while both Ace and Ayaan had begun to grasp Armament Haki, more than half the crew still hadn't even awakened basic Observation Haki.

Ace, having dealt with multiple opponents who possessed Armament Haki, awakened his own during battle through sheer talent. He wasn't particularly skilled at teaching it, but that was fine—Ayaan didn't need a teacher. Through repeated sparring, he eventually grasped the essence of Armament Haki himself.

With both types of Haki under their belts, the two finally dared to challenge the New World. Ace was fearless, of course, but Ayaan would have been hesitant without this strength.

He also understood Ace's mindset too well.

Ace first went to meet the Red Hair Pirates—fortunately, only to thank Shanks for saving his brother, Luffy. Thanks to Shanks's cheerful and generous personality, there was no conflict between them.

But afterward, Ace acted recklessly—he went straight to Wano to pick a fight with Kaido. If Kaido hadn't been away at the time, Ace might've become just another death statistic.

In Wano, Ace didn't find Kaido but instead encountered Yamato. The two fought to a draw—even though Yamato had seastone cuffs on. Still, Ace didn't realize the gap in power and went on to provoke Whitebeard next.

Come on! Even Luffy, as reckless as he is, had the sense to retreat and grow stronger before facing Big Mom. Ace, why are you so brave?

Oh right. Back on Fish-Man Island, Ace had burned Whitebeard's flag. While Whitebeard might've been magnanimous enough to let it slide, his "sons" definitely wouldn't. In fact, Ace was lucky he didn't get killed before ever meeting Whitebeard.

Sure, in the original timeline, he eventually acknowledged Whitebeard as his father after being defeated. But before that happened, he was seriously at risk. Any of Whitebeard's sons or one of Kaido's top men could've taken him out.

Even someone like Marco or King could defeat Ace in a straight-up fight at that stage.

Just thinking about their path through the New World gave Ayaan a headache.

Still, this was the reality of piracy. For any crew entering the New World, the Four Emperors were colossal obstacles.

Even if the Spade Pirates didn't want to antagonize them, avoiding conflict was practically impossible. The Four Emperors instinctively suppressed rising threats. Even groups like Red Hair and Whitebeard, who weren't malicious, had subordinates who acted in their interest and would crush rivals without hesitation.

It's just like the saying: beat the younger ones, and the older ones will come. Every pirate in the New World is linked to one of the Four Emperors. Conflicts are inevitable. Sooner or later, any new pirate crew would face them head-on.

As a supernova and a former Warlord candidate, Ace was already on their radar. Conflict was just a matter of time. Ace simply accelerated the timeline.

Putting aside his worries, Ayaan turned to Ace. "Captain, where to next?"

Ace, the captain and navigator of the Spade Pirates—and someone bold enough to chase Blackbeard across the sea—pulled out a map and checked the permanent pointer.

"Let's go find the Red Hair Pirates first. I want to thank them for saving Luffy."

"But they're hard to track down. If we can't find them, we'll head for the Whitebeard Pirates instead."

The Red Hair Pirates had the smallest territory among the Four Emperors, and unlike the others, they constantly traveled and had no permanent base.

Kaido ruled Wano, Big Mom controlled Totto Land, and even Whitebeard had a base where he stayed frequently.

But Shanks? His crew wandered aimlessly, like nomads.

There was a story—during one of their banquets with Hawkeye or someone else, they shared a brew that supposedly came from a deserted island. But that island wasn't marked anywhere on the map. No logs, no eternal poses. They must've stumbled onto it by accident—and probably couldn't find it again if they tried.

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