To be honest, I could have just taken out [Jack Sparrow's Compass] and looked, but I wanted to see Shakky and Rayleigh at least once. Besides, Rayleigh had witnessed everything that happened on the Sabaody Archipelago, so he knew all the details.
"Straw Hat Luffy… What is your relationship with Straw Hat Luffy?"
Thinking about it, my relationship with Luffy was a bit vague. I couldn't exactly call him a friend. So I just told him what had happened.
"Relationship… Well, Luffy was a kid who I sometimes gave candy to when he came to the village. We got caught up in various incidents together, and I grew fond of him. You could say I've taken an interest in that pirate crew, especially since a girl who grew up on the Merchant's Island ended up joining them."
"That kid is lucky to have the backing of the Merchant King, one of the Five Emperors."
"I think that kid will climb even higher."
"I see."
"Anyway, could you tell me what happened here?"
"He was captured by the Navy. I suspect he'll be sent straight to Impel Down."
"How did that happen?"
Rayleigh told me in detail what had happened. After the incident with the Celestial Dragon, Luffy's crew stopped by Shakky's Bar and requested coating to go to Fish-Man Island.
But because they had attacked a Celestial Dragon, they were pursued by Admiral Aokiji Kuzan and Warlord Bartholomew Kuma, putting them in a crisis. Rayleigh himself rushed to help, but despite that, Luffy's comrades had already been sent flying by Kuma. Luffy, after fighting Kuzan, had his entire body frozen and couldn't move, so he was captured as he was.
'So in the end, because of Kuzan, he couldn't be sent flying — he just ended up frozen and captured. Kuzan, go a little easier…'
After hearing the story, I stood up and handed Shakky some money.
"Hmm? What's this money for? You didn't order anything."
"That's for the information. Thank you for the story. I'll come by for a drink next time."
Rayleigh then asked me, "Thanks. So, are you heading straight to Impel Down?"
"I'm thinking about it."
"If you do go to Impel Down, I hope you can rescue Whitebeard's fourth division commander, Thatch, as well."
Rayleigh handed me a newspaper. It had an article about the execution of Thatch, the fourth division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Sigh… This is…"
"A war is going to happen."
It was as if the world had some kind of inertial force. I had hoped Ace would come to his senses and prevent the Paramount War, but now someone else had been captured, and things seemed to be flowing just like the original.
"Thatch, huh… Well, see you later."
"Yes, come anytime."
Instead of going to Impel Down, I went to Whitebeard. Since things had turned out this way, considering the Paramount War, I decided to visit Whitebeard rather than Impel Down.
It took about five hours to reach the Moby Dick. As expected, the crew of the Moby Dick saw my Talaria and waved happily.
"Hey~ Taejin, long time no see~"
"Long time no see, everyone."
Today, Whitebeard was also out on deck, giving various orders. It seemed preparations for war were already underway, even before I arrived. Seeing the Moby Dick's sister ships and allied crews gathered, it looked like the entire Whitebeard Pirates were committing all their forces.
As soon as I climbed aboard the Moby Dick, Whitebeard called out to me.
"I was about to call for you. Perfect timing. Sell me some food and supplies."
"So you've decided to go rescue Thatch."
"Yes. That foolish boy went to talk some sense into someone and ended up a hostage… You're not here to talk me out of it, like that red-haired brat (Shanks), are you?"
"Of course not. I think this is a matter of precious comrades. It's not something a third party should interfere with."
Pleased with my answer, Whitebeard laughed loudly.
"Gurarara!! You're right."
From what Whitebeard told me, it seemed Thatch, who was close to Teach, had gone alone to meet Blackbeard Teach to try to persuade him. And this was the result.
"Anyway, Izo is handling supplies now, so you can talk to him."
"Understood."
As soon as I finished talking with Whitebeard, Izo and Ace came over to greet me.
"Taejin, long time no see. I'm in charge of supplies, so talk to me."
"Long time no see, Taejin. I heard you captured a Navy Admiral and became an Emperor. I'm jealous."
"What good is being an Emperor? I'm a merchant, not a pirate."
"That's true."
I talked with Izo and sold them food ingredients and supplies, but this time I only charged the material cost. To be honest, even selling this way was a profit for me — thanks to my abilities, I had no production costs or material costs.
"Is it okay to sell this cheap?"
"Thatch did a lot for me too."
"I see…"
"And Ace, come with me for a moment."
After finishing the sale, I called Ace aside. For the sake of the original story, I told him what had happened to Luffy at the Sabaody Archipelago.
"What? Luffy is in Impel Down?"
"Yes, he was captured by a Navy Admiral. He's probably imprisoned in Impel Down, just like Thatch."
Ace grabbed his head in frustration.
"Ha… what do I do… We're on the verge of war… Ah! Wait a moment."
Ace hurriedly went to Whitebeard and talked with him.
"No! You've gotten stronger, I'll admit that, but I can't send you. Impel Down is full of powerful enemies!"
"But Father, if we can rescue Thatch from Impel Down, we won't need to fight this war. Besides, my younger brother is also imprisoned there, so I have to go rescue him. And if Taejin gives us a ride, we might be able to rescue them quickly."
I hadn't actually offered to give him a ride, but I stayed quiet. I was planning to help a little anyway.
Whitebeard closed his eyes and thought.
"Hmm…"
Seeing Whitebeard's deliberation taking too long, I took the [Flare-Flare Fruit] from my inventory and tossed it to Ace.
"Ace, catch."
"Th-this is?"
"The Devil Fruit [Flare-Flare Fruit]. A Logia type. To be honest, I was saving this to strengthen the Merchant's Island's fighting power… but I suppose it can't be helped. If you don't want to eat it, you can give it back."
I handed over the fruit with a hint of regret in my voice. At my words, not only Whitebeard but the other crew members on the Moby Dick stopped what they were doing and stared at the fruit in surprise. Their reaction was natural — Logia fruits are rare even for them.
"Where in the world did you find this?"
Whitebeard asked me.
"I obtained it by chance on an island in the East Blue while traveling around. I'd been saving it since I had no one suitable to give it to."
"I see… Well, no one travels as widely as you do."
It was a bit of a loss. I had thought about saving it for Vivi. But for the sake of the original story, and because I had taken Ace's original fruit for myself early on in my leisure life, I also wanted to repay that debt.
"Thank you, Taejin. I keep owing you. No matter what happens, I'll repay this debt."
With those words, Ace took a big bite of the [Flare-Flare Fruit] without hesitation.
"Urgh! Damn, that tastes bad…"
After eating the whole fruit, Ace excitedly started testing it out, but having just eaten it, he couldn't control it well yet.
"Damn… It's cool, but I can't control it…"
As Ace practiced his abilities, parts of the Moby Dick caught fire, and the crew quickly stopped him.
"Ace, stop! Are you trying to burn the ship!?"
"Sorry, I can't control it well yet…"
Watching from the side, Whitebeard thought for a moment, then said to Ace, "Hmm… Fine! One day! I'll give you one day. If you can get used to the fruit's power in one day, I'll let you go to Impel Down."
"Really, Father!!??"
"Yes."
Ace was overjoyed at Whitebeard's words. Seeing that, Whitebeard smirked.
Not wanting to train on the Moby Dick with all the supplies, Ace took a small boat and moved to a nearby uninhabited island, where he burned the area fervently while practicing. It seemed he didn't even have his personal boat, the Striker, yet.
'Well… that boat ran on the [Flare-Flare Fruit]'s fire power, so it makes sense he doesn't have it.'
Meanwhile, I used [Matter Creation] to recreate a map of Impel Down from memory. Just in case Ace got lost if we moved separately. After that, I just played games in the Talaria. The Moby Dick was busy, so I figured staying there would just get in the way.
The promised one day passed, and the next day, Ace began demonstrating the abilities he had trained, with the Whitebeard Pirates watching.
"Fire Fist!!!"
Ace gathered flames around his fist and punched forward. The fire shot out and burned the sea.
Ooh!!
The Whitebeard Pirates were impressed. Ace smiled and said, "How's that? It's only this for now, but it's a pretty good technique, right?"
To be honest, even I was surprised — not only could he control it this well in one day, but he had also created a technique, even if just one.
"That's amazing?"
In the original One Piece, I remembered that the World Government had tried desperately to obtain the [Gum-Gum Fruit] but failed. Some theorized that the Five Elders believed Devil Fruits had wills of their own. Seeing Ace use this fruit, I wondered if it wasn't coincidence but fate that he ate the [Flare-Flare Fruit]. Of course, it could have been Ace's exceptional talent, but still, no one suited the [Flare-Flare Fruit] as well as he did.
'I feel a little bad for Sabo.'
Still, seeing him use it so well made me feel less regret about giving it away.
Just then, Whitebeard said to Ace, "Good! As promised, I'll allow you to go to Impel Down. But the Navy could attack Impel Down at any moment, so be careful. And if it gets too dangerous, just escape. We can rescue Thatch ourselves."
"Got it, Father. I'll rescue Thatch and my brother and join up quickly."
After saying that to Ace, Whitebeard called me aside.
"And you — come with me for a moment."
"Yes."
Whitebeard entered his captain's quarters, and I followed. He sat down, poured me a drink, and began to speak.
"I know you're preparing something. This fight will probably be my last."
Whether it was from his sharp instincts from decades at sea, his Observation Haki, or something he'd seen on the Merchant's Island, Whitebeard seemed to vaguely sense what I was preparing. I thought to myself — this is what experience looks like.
Whitebeard sighed deeply and continued, "I wanted to see Ace grow stronger, but there's little time left. So I'm telling you this — I want you to absorb my forces. If Ace can't rescue Thatch, the war with the Navy will be my end. And if that happens, war with that Teach brat will be unavoidable. So I'm entrusting the people and my sons in my territories to you. You seem trustworthy enough."
I was a little taken aback.
"That's impossible. What about Marco? And there will be a lot of opposition."
"This has already been discussed with Marco."
Whitebeard seemed to have sensed that his remaining lifespan was short and had prepared in advance.
"I… see."
Whitebeard handed me several documents.
"Maps of my territories and the transaction ledgers from all these years. I think this much material will be enough for you."
I hesitated for a moment, then accepted the documents.
"Understood."
"Then I'll take that as your agreement."
Whitebeard then stood up and went back outside. I put the documents in my inventory and followed.
"Where's Ace?"
When I came out, Ace was nowhere to be seen. I asked Izo, who was carrying supplies.
"Probably waiting on your ship?"
"Is that so?"
Since the crew was busy, I walked around saying goodbye for a while, then boarded the Talaria. There was Ace, sprawled on the sofa, fast asleep. He must have been exhausted from training his technique all night.
'This guy — I never even said I'd give him a ride, and here he is sleeping on my sofa.'
In any case, Ace and I took the Talaria toward Impel Down. Things were flowing similarly to the original, but the difference was that Luffy was imprisoned instead of Ace.
And my head ached over the matter of Whitebeard's territories. My original plan was to absorb them slowly, one by one, and move them to Sky Island, but suddenly taking responsibility for so many territories felt like overeating.
'Whitebeard's territories… Fish-Man Island, Foodvalten, Hand Island, Sphinx, Samba Island, and others.'
As one of the oldest Emperors, it was only natural that Whitebeard had many territories.
I was looking through the documents and making plans when Ace yawned, got up, and started looking for food.
"Taejin, do you have anything to eat?"
"Honestly… Wait a moment."
Since I needed to eat too, I took out various foods from my inventory and ate with Ace while talking.
"First, Impel Down has a strong warden named Magellan. He's a Paramecia-type [Poison-Poison Fruit] user. You need to be very careful. And take this."
I handed Ace the map of Impel Down I had prepared earlier. Ace glanced through it while eating.
"This is a map."
"Yes. I got it when I visited Impel Down before. I think Thatch and Luffy are on the lowest floor, Level 6."
"I see. But the [Poison-Poison Fruit] sounds dangerous. And Impel Down's hallways are narrow, right?"
Ace was worried about the nature of poison — definitely smarter than Luffy.
"It's not that narrow. The interior is actually quite spacious, because the Navy locks up so many pirates. But it's still dangerous. If you run into him, avoid him, or burn the poison before it gets to you. If you're poisoned, there's not much you can do."
"Got it."
I explained Magellan's techniques and the characteristics of each level of Impel Down to Ace, and before I knew it, we had arrived. The Talaria really was fast.
"I never thought I'd come here again. Starting to feel attached to the place. Anyway, let's go in."
"Okay."