"Dammit! Those bastards of the Baroque Works!"
Nami, the navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates, looked at the newspaper and felt angry as it put all the blame for what had happened in Arabasta on their pirate group!
The rest weren't much different as they felt angry for being put to blame when they did nothing.
Vivi Nefertari, the princess of the Arabasta Kingdom, who had infiltrated the Baraque Works, was also helpless and filled with blame. "I am sorry everything..." She thought that as long as Crocodile was defeated, everything would be over.
Yet, even though Crocodile was defeated, nothing changed, and the war continued, then somehow, like lightning on a sunny day, all the Straw Hat members became the scapegoats for all the problems in the Arabasta Kingdom.
But the truth?
"But at least... we have defeated Crocodile, right?" Chopper tried to raise everyone's mood, but even Luffy couldn't smile, as for them, this battle felt uncomfortable.
Yes, uncomfortable.
Every one of their fights was against those beasts and villains, especially on the East Blue during their first journey, but on the first Grand Line, their first fight against Crocodile was weird.
It was as if there were no bad guys or good guys, and everyone fought for their beliefs, which made them believe that they were on the side of the righteous.
Moreover, did Crocodile truly die?
When they looked at the newspaper, they felt so weird, especially when the battle between Luffy and Crocodile seemed to be different from what they imagined.
However, as they lacked knowledge about the Logia type of Devil Fruit, they didn't think there was anything wrong.
Yet, as everything had happened, if they had stayed in the Arabasta Kingdom, they would have been caught, and it would have been terrible, right?
"Vivi, do you want to follow us?" Luffy felt that everything was weird, but with his simple mind, he decided to move on, and asked whether Vivi would become his partner, but—
"I am sorry, Luffy. I can't go with you."
If the Arabasta Kingdom's problem was solved, then Vivi might hesitate, but as no bad guy was defeated, and the war in her kingdom hadn't been defeated, it was impossible for her to follow Luffy.
What would she do if she ran and left all of the people to a pirate?
Vivi might not have the smartest mind, but she wasn't an idiot!
More importantly, the situation in her kingdom was out of control and impossible to stop anymore.
If Crocodile were still alive and all of his crimes were exposed, then everything could end in peace, but as the criminal no longer existed and the work of the Baraque Works turned into a pure business and was more low-key, hiding behind the scenes with many intermediaries in the middle, including those noble families, tribe leaders, and even people with influence, everything was in chaos, like tangled cables that were impossible to untie.
"I see..."
Luffy took a deep breath, trying to calm his restlessness, feeling the strangeness as if something that he had expected didn't happen, but as he felt at a loss, the newspaper announced something that he had never expected.
"Huh? Ace?!"
Meanwhile, in Wano Country, Charlotte Linlin came to meet Kaidou, who was hurt, but due to their relationship, as she often took care of him when he was young, and was still a trainee at the big pirate group in the past, she looked at him with a doubt, and asked, "Is he really that strong?"
"He is." Kaidou nodded as his entire body was still aching. Yes, he didn't die, but he was in a critical situation. Yet, as his vitality was high and the Devil Fruit that he had eaten was a Mythical Zoan Type, it was so hard for him to die. Probably, only Nika Nika no Mi was the one who could defeat him.
"..." Shinra.
"Then, are you just giving up like this?" Linlin looked at Kaidou angrily.
"Of course not! I am going to have revenge! Still, that guy... I think that he isn't so simple and he isn't a pirate."
"Then, who is he?"
"Er... I don't know, but I am not surprised if he becomes a Marine."
"...." Linlin.
"Really?"
"Really."
"....." Linlin.
If Shinra, who could defeat Kaidou, became part of the Marines, what would they do?
Could they become the Pirate King?
If it was before, Linlin would only snort at the Marines, but as Caesar was caught and his experiment to create giants was exposed, which was something that she had asked, it made her the enemy of many, as Caesar's experiment was done by kidnapping many innocent children.
While she was angry, she was also powerless since those kingdoms and countries, whose many children had been kidnapped by Caesar and his gangs and others, who weren't related, condemned her and her country together. She didn't fear them when they were together, and if the Marines also decided to go all out, even Linlin didn't think that she was confident enough to fight all of them, so—
"Kaidou, what do you think of an alliance?"
"Oh?"
While it was still early, the alliance of the Beast Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates had started.
Yet, as the two discussed their alliance, everyone on the Whitebeard Pirates was stunned when they saw the newspaper.
"Ace!"
"Pops, Ace has been caught by the Marines!"
"What the hell is happening?! How did Ace get caught?!"
"Let me see!"
Edward Newgate also couldn't stay calm since among all of his children, Ace was the one that he loved the most, as if Ace were his own child, and if something happened to Ace, even if all of his children died, he would save Ace!
So, what would Sengoku do?
"Also, CP0?"
It was clear that the one who had caught Ace was the CP0, the secret agent of the World Government, showing their determination to stop the piracy, working together with the Marines toward peace, yet all the members of the Whitebeard Pirates snorted and couldn't continue to read due to how hypocritical the newspaper was!
"CP0..."
What everyone wanted to do was clear, yet among all of them, one had a panic and felt so irritated by how he was unable to find the Devil Fruit that he sought the most, and how stupid everything was.
'What the fuck are you all doing?! Saving Ace?! Do you want to die?!'
While Teach felt furious, she didn't show it on his face and just showed an indignant look like everyone, but deep inside, he also felt Newgate's favoritism, which made her even angrier!
Still, as nothing could be done, Teach knew that he had to think of how to increase the chance of their victory!
As Teach was at a loss, all of a sudden, the weather turned gloomy, and they all felt a tingling sensation, which caused them to turn and see a familiar ship that made their expressions ugly.
"Red Hair..."
Meanwhile, for Shinra's group—
"Uno!"
"You lose! Take off one piece of your clothes!"
"Dammit! I only have my bra left!"
"Shave your pubes, okay?"
"Shinra-sama... if you want to do something, Baby 5 is okay..."
"..."
Shinra enjoyed his adventure well.