The sea was calm, the wind gentle as Yuta, Maki, and Ace stood at the front of their ship. It had been weeks since they left the Whitebeard Pirates behind. Now, their new goal was clear—find Luffy.
Though it was hard to do it, not everyone is Nami who navigates the treacherous waters of the New World. Even someone like Ace, who had traveled these waters before, sometimes turned out no better than Zoro at navigation. Yuta almost immediately knew that perhaps going out to sea while relying solely on Ace's sailing prowess wasn't the best idea.
But still, they had no other option in this regard. It was either Ace or them alone, which was exactly why he even bothered going with Ace. Since he had no way to navigate or sail in this sea alone with Maki.
Ace held a small, worn piece of paper in his hand. It was Luffy's Vivre Card. A small mercy to find the infamous captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. Without this paper, Yuta might as well have just followed Zoro rather than going to sea himself. There was always a chance they would wind up in another world.
The paper fluttered slightly, pointing them in the right direction.
"Still heading east," Ace said, squinting at the horizon.
Yuta nodded. "We catch up with your brother and then head for Wano. That's the plan."
Maki leaned against the railing. "Are you sure you can trust this piece of paper?" Maki had learned many things after coming here. Her suspicion about this world being an elaborate joke or a dream no longer existed. However, she still found a few things utterly absurd in this world.
"Absolutely," Yuta said. "If not for this paper, then perhaps I would have done the navigation part myself. No offense," Yuta said the last part to Ace, to which Ace just shrugged off the concern.
Even Ace knew how hard it was to find someone in this vast sea. Without the Vivre Card, even he might not find Luffy.
As their ship moved steadily through the Grand Line, the mood was light. They had no idea trouble was already heading their way.
Later that day, thick clouds rolled over the sky. The wind picked up. The sea grew darker. A large shadow appeared on the horizon.
Ace's eyes narrowed. "That's not a merchant ship."
Yuta had better eyesight with his Sharingan. "No. That's a Beast Pirates ship... and it's big."
The black and gray ship came into full view. It had a massive horned figure standing at the front like a statue. But it wasn't a statue—it was Jack the Drought, one of the Calamities of the Beast Pirates.
He crossed his arms as the ships drew closer. "A Whitebeard Pirate ship, huh?" Jack growled. Knowing this guy's usual behaviour from the manga, Yuta already knew what would happen.
Yuta stepped forward. "What do you want?"
Jack smirked. "To sink you, of course."
Knew it. It was almost comical how few words it needed for the situation to turn completely hostile.
Without another word, Jack raised his weapon—a massive pair of tusks strapped to his arms—and leapt onto their ship with a crash. The fight began instantly.
Ace's flames burst to life, lighting up the stormy sky. "You picked the wrong ship today!"
Yuta summoned Playful Cloud, spinning it in his hands, while Maki dashed in beside him. Jack charged like a beast, crashing into the deck with wild force.
Yuta had many ways to end this bullshit; however, this was a really good chance to practice his Haki.
The fact that he could use Haki was a surprise and thrill to him. Most of his powers were connected to his Hero Time, meaning in the absence of HT, he was vulnerable.
Haki, in this case, at least gave him some fighting ability. And thus, once he learned that he could use the power, he worked as hard as he could to master this power system.
The three fighters worked together. Maki's speed and strength kept Jack busy at close range. Ace bombarded him with fire from a distance, and Yuta used his Playful Cloud coated with Armament Haki and combined it with his Observation Haki to fight against Jack and land heavy strikes when the openings appeared.
Still, Jack was a monster. His toughness was beyond normal. Each time he was hit, he just stood back up and came in harder. The ship shook with each of his steps. A section of the railing cracked and broke off from the shock of one of his attacks.
"This guy's built like a tank!" Maki shouted as she dodged a swing. Never had she seen someone physically this strong. Cursed Energy, yes—but not physical strength like this.
She probably was at the peak when it came to physical power in her world, so seeing what the One Piece world had was humbling in many ways.
"Don't let up!" Yuta said, rushing in and slamming Playful Cloud into Jack's side with Haki. Jack grunted, but still didn't fall.
Ace jumped into the air and shouted, "Hiken!" A massive fire fist shot out, hitting Jack straight in the chest. The explosion rocked the ship and threw Jack backwards into the mast.
Even then, Jack stood again, panting but laughing. "Hahaha... is that it!"
Jack was strong. He wasn't one of the disasters in the Beast Pirates for nothing.
Yuta was sure that when it came to an all-out fight, any one of the three could take that guy down in single combat. However, that would take too much time, and this bastard was destroying their ship.
Ace's firepower wasn't suitable for sea fights. Maki could take him down, but that defense of his would take time for her.
Yuta's eyes glowed faintly. "Guess just Haki is not enough after all."
He focused, calling on his ROFA and reinforcing Playful Cloud with everything he had. Maki and Ace gave him space. In a flash, Yuta appeared in front of Jack and hit him with a powerful blow. The ROFA debuffing effect immediately kicked in, and then the shock power erupted like a shockwave, cracking the very space itself. Jack crashed through the side of the ship and hit the sea with a giant splash.
Silence followed.
Maki exhaled. "Is he dead?" Now once again, wondering whether she even should be this much amazed by this world when she knew a literal monster in front of her—a world traveller at that.
"Don't know, maybe," Yuta shrugged.
Ace crossed his arms. "No wonder you fought all three Admirals back then." He looked at Yuta, a grin on his face. "You sure you're not interested in joining the Whitebeard Pirates?" Ace asked cheekily, to which Yuta just rolled his eyes.
He was, but there were complications. After all, what's the point of joining if he's going to leave in a few months anyway?
Jack was the weakest among all the Calamities, not even Warlord level. For Yuta, taking him down with all the buffs he had was pretty easy.
They patched up the ship as best as they could. The storm cleared, and the Vivre Card once again pointed the way forward.
"Let's keep moving," Ace said. "We're close."
xxx
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