Chapter 147: I Want to Go!
"What's going on? They... don't seem to be planning to arrest us?"
Looking at the warship that passed by, the crew aboard the Going Merry all breathed a sigh of relief, each of them feeling as if they'd narrowly escaped disaster.
"They must have been frightened by my Haki! Ho ho ho ho~!" Usopp (Sniper King) posed heroically.
"Really? Sniper King, you're amazing!" Chopper, barely able to move, looked on with wide-eyed admiration.
"You actually believe him, Chopper?" Nami said, rubbing her forehead.
"Shut up. The person standing on that ship is a Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters. If he had attacked, we wouldn't be able to resist in our current state," Zoro said seriously.
"That's right. They must have had more important priorities to let us go..." Sanji added, lighting a cigarette. But mid-sentence, he noticed something odd about Luffy's expression. "Luffy, what's wrong?!"
"Ace!" Luffy, still weak, twisted his body and shouted, "I saw Ace on that ship!"
"What did you say?!"
"Luffy, are you sure?" Sanji asked, narrowing his eyes.
"That's right. Your brother Ace is a big pirate. Why would he be on a Marine warship? Luffy, maybe you were mistaken," Nami offered.
"No way! That was definitely Ace! He even let out his Haki to get my attention. I'd never mistake Ace!" Luffy said firmly.
"Can someone really direct their aura at a specific person like that?" Zoro asked doubtfully.
Everyone was silent.
"Yes," Robin replied calmly. "In the New World, people with powerful Haki can indeed do something like that."
"So it's possible!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper exclaimed in unison.
"Your brother must have had a reason to appear on that warship," Robin continued. "Luffy, if Ace was trying to alert you, did he communicate anything with his expression or presence?"
"Hmm... the way Ace looked at me... it was like he was telling me not to get involved," Luffy said slowly.
"That makes sense. If I saw correctly, the warship was escorting a high-level prisoner. That means it's likely headed to Impel Down," Robin analyzed.
"Impel Down!" Nami exclaimed. "Isn't your other brother, Sabo, scheduled to be publicly executed? If Ace is on that warship, he's probably trying to break into Impel Down and rescue Sabo before the execution!"
"That does seem likely," Zoro nodded.
"Wait, what?! When did Luffy get another brother?" Usopp asked, confused.
Nami explained everything about Sabo and his identity as the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army.
"I see," Zoro said, sitting beside Luffy. "One brother's got a bounty over a billion, and the other's second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army. I won't be surprised if you tell me your grandpa is a Marine Admiral."
"You're not far off!" Nami and the others replied.
"Luffy!~" Robin was touched, realizing Luffy had chosen to rescue her first even after learning about Sabo's execution.
"That's not all!" Franky interrupted, holding out a newspaper. "Take a look at this!"
Everyone leaned in, and their expressions turned to shock.
"H-He's the Pirate King's son!" Usopp shouted. "Luffy, your brother is the son of Gol D. Roger! That means... your dad is the Pirate King?!"
Everyone stared at Luffy in disbelief.
"No," Luffy said calmly. "Ace and I aren't related by blood."
"Phew!" everyone exhaled in relief.
"A war between Ace and Whitebeard's alliance and the Marines... this is going to be massive," Sanji said.
"Exactly," Robin continued. "The World Government is targeting Ace because he carries Roger's bloodline. But attacking Whitebeard directly would favor the pirates. So instead, they captured Sabo, to lure Ace into a trap. That way, the Marines control the battlefield."
"That's why Ace is infiltrating Impel Down—to rescue Sabo before the execution!" Nami added.
"But can Ace pull it off?" Sanji asked. "Impel Down is known as an impenetrable undersea fortress."
"Success or not, this war is inevitable," Zoro said as he unsheathed one of his swords. "Luffy, what do you want to do?"
Everyone turned to Luffy.
"Thinking about it now... Ace was telling me not to get involved. But..." Luffy pushed himself upright, meeting his crew's gaze. "I want to go!"
At this moment, there were 28 hours left until Sabo's public execution.