Chapter 397: Brothers Reunited in the Sandstorm

“Vivi, it really is you!”

Koza, with his blonde hair shining in the sun, spotted Vivi and ran straight toward her.

“Koza, sashi burida na!”

The moment their leader dashed excitedly toward the woman calling herself Princess Vivi, the guards all relaxed. They lowered their guns and wandered off to patrol elsewhere, careful not to spoil the joyful scene.

“Vivi, I never expected you to come here yourself.” After a warm hug, Koza beamed at her, his face alight with excitement.

He’d planned on speaking with the King, but meeting Vivi first took him by surprise.

Vivi made things easy—they were the same age with lots in common.

“Koza, we’ve all been tricked. This is all Crocodile’s doing.” Vivi cut straight to the point. According to Crocodile’s schemes, even if Koza never intended any of this, if Crocodile’s plot works out, his followers might end up causing chaos regardless of what Koza wants.

She had to tell Koza the truth as soon as possible. Only then would there be enough time to pass down orders. Wait too long, and everything might spiral out of control.

If the hundreds of thousands of soldiers started fighting, not even they could guarantee stopping the carnage.

“Shh! This isn’t the place to talk. Come on, inside.” Koza hadn’t spent all these years doing nothing.

He’d long sensed another force in the shadows stirring up trouble. Unfortunately, he’d never traced it to its mastermind.

And now, Vivi had named Crocodile out loud. The name made Koza’s heart skip a beat. He’d long suspected Crocodile, but never had solid proof.

After all, Crocodile had the powers of the Sand-Sand Fruit. In this vast desert, his spies were everywhere. Not to mention, he ran the assassination organization Baroque Works.

Following Koza, the group wound through twists and turns until they reached a tent. Everyone filed in after him.

“Alright, tell me everything. Why do you believe Crocodile’s behind this?” Koza couldn’t hide his curiosity. He needed to know exactly what Vivi had found out.

“Here’s how it happened—I went undercover in Baroque Works and uncovered some of Crocodile’s plans…”

…

“This should be the place.” Usopp wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke to Sanji beside him.

Sanji didn’t answer right away. He double-checked the map. Sure enough, this was Rainbase, Crocodile’s main headquarters.

“Yeah, this is Rainbase. Take a look at that building up ahead—the one shaped like a crocodile head. That’s Crocodile’s base.”

After double-checking, Sanji confirmed this was their destination, then put the map away.

“Alright, I’m going in first!”

With a shout, Luffy dashed off toward the distant casino. Sanji and the others exchanged a look, shook their heads, then hurried after their reckless captain.

Who knew what kind of trouble their reckless captain would cause next?

Rip!

“Nani? Ace!”

As Luffy passed a restaurant, he happened to spot Ace staring straight at him in shock. Luffy skidded to a halt, stunned.

Sanji, running behind, didn’t have time to stop and crashed right into him. Both of them tumbled to the ground.

He’d never expected Luffy to stop so suddenly, and the two ended up rolling across the floor.

“Is that an enemy?” Zoro, noticing who Luffy was looking at, was on guard, instantly drawing his Wado Ichimonji.

“Hahaha, Luffy! It’s really you!”

“I’ve seen your wanted poster for ages, but I never thought you’d make it all the way here.” Ace tilted back the last of his food, patted his full stomach and stood up, moving to meet Luffy at the door.

Ace was twenty-two, with black hair, freckles on his cheeks, a red bead necklace hanging around his neck, a bare upper body with the letters ASCE tattooed on his left arm, a dagger at his right hip and black shorts completing the look.

“Hey, young man, you haven’t paid!”

“Huh? I never pay for food. I’m a pirate!” Ace shot a look back at the tavern owner, his hand suddenly flaring with fire.

“Wha—he’s a Devil Fruit user,” whispered a shocked bystander.

“I can’t believe I’m actually seeing a Devil Fruit power in person!”

There might be more Devil Fruits on the Grand Line than anywhere else, but they were still treasures, rare and coveted.

Every Devil Fruit could change a person’s fate. That’s why everyone on the seas dreamed of finding one.

Even the most basic Zoan-type Devil Fruit could give someone a life of luxury and ease.

“Uh—s-sorry, sir, take care!” The tavern owner’s face went pale as soon as Ace’s hand burst into flames.

Sweat soaked his back as fear set in. He was just a simple barkeep. Offending a Devil Fruit user could mean death at any moment. Between a meal and his own life, he’d pick his life every time.

Ace didn’t say a word. He just let the flames fade, adjusted his hat and strode for the door. “Thanks for the meal, boss!”

Once Ace left, the tavern owner hurried over and slammed the door shut, as if that could keep Ace out.

“Luffy, you’re just as impulsive as ever.”

“Ace, sashi burida na!”

Luffy was thrilled to see his childhood friend—no, his sworn brother. He rushed over and hugged Ace tight.

Zoro relaxed and sheathed his Wado Ichimonji, then leaned casually against a wooden post nearby.

“L-Luffy, is he your friend?” Usopp’s wide eyes still flickered with the shock he’d just felt.

As the Straw Hat Pirates’ sniper, Usopp had always paid close attention to sea news.

The mark on Ace’s back was the flag of Whitebeard Newgate, one of the Four Emperors of the sea.

“Yeah, he’s the brother I grew up with.”

Ace gave them all a soft, easy smile. “Nice to meet you. I’m Ace. Thanks for looking after my little brother.”

“That’s right! Everyone, this is my brother, Ace!” Luffy quickly introduced him to Sanji and the rest.

“No way. Luffy, you have a brother?”

“Yeah, you never mentioned that before.”

“But honestly, Luffy’s brother seems way more reliable than he is.” Usopp couldn’t help making the comparison.

No matter how you looked at them, they just didn’t seem like they could be related.

“By the way, Ace, what are you doing here?” Luffy was happy to see his brother, but shouldn’t Ace be in the New World right now? What was he doing in the first half of the Grand Line?

Thanks to Ye Fan, everyone on the ship knew about the Four Emperors ruling the New World—and Luffy knew Ace sailed with Whitebeard.