"Thanks."
Hikari Uchiha patted the fluffy head of the seagull, pulled a newspaper from its satchel, and slipped some Berries back as a tip. The bird flapped its wings, soaring into the sky and vanishing in moments.
Only then did Hikari sit down and start flipping through the stack of newspapers in her arms.
Yup, that's right.
When Hikari sent Snapshot King off earlier, she'd casually mentioned wanting some recent newspapers. They weren't expensive—about 100 Berries per issue, or 5,200 Berries for a whole year, roughly the price of a few grams of gold. Morgans, knowing this, had sent a year's worth of papers her way in one go.
[Sea Calendar 1520, April: Straw Hat Pirates wreak havoc on Judicial Island, declaring war on the World Government…]
[Sea Calendar 1520, February: Straw Hat Pirates defeat Warlord of the Sea, Sand Crocodile…]
[Sea Calendar 1519, September: Fire Fist Ace's identity exposed, suspected to be the posthumous son of Pirate King Roger…]
[Sea Calendar 1519, May…]
[…]
Each article chronicled major events in the One Piece world, making up the front-page headlines of every issue.
The latest headline, though, was about them.
[Navy Admiral Aokiji reportedly spotted on the Grand Line, teaming up with the 'Dimension Pirates' to take down Drought Jack!]
Below was a detailed write-up, accompanied by a picture of Aokiji and a tiny photo of Bulma.
"…Seriously? We took so many photos, and they only used one?" Bulma, now on the deck, peered over Hikari's shoulder as she flipped through the papers. "And what's with this huge shot of Aokiji? It's like he's the star of the show!"
"We're just riding his coattails for now," Hikari said with a small smile, brushing it off. "Don't worry. Keep making waves in this world, and we'll be the ones in the spotlight soon enough."
"…Fine," Bulma grumbled, still a bit miffed.
Hikari didn't say more, just kept scanning the recent issues. There were no reports yet of "The Pirate King's son being sent to Impel Down" or "Straw Hat Pirates causing chaos in Sabaody Archipelago." That meant the Summit War was still a ways off.
Meanwhile, Esdeath held a slip of paper with coordinates, her eyes narrowing. "This is where the so-called 'world's strongest man,' Whitebeard, is right now?"
She emphasized "strongest" with a hint of challenge.
Hikari knew exactly what she was thinking. Esdeath hadn't had her fill fighting Kaido last time.
"Well, back in his prime, Whitebeard was a beast—probably stronger than Yamato's dad by a good margin. But now? He's pushing seventy and riddled with illness," Hikari said. "If you want to take him on, go for it, but take it easy. At least don't kill him."
"…Got it," Esdeath replied.
At this point in the timeline, Whitebeard was already on death's door. Even without the Summit War, he likely only had a few years left. That war just sped things up. But if Esdeath took him out before he could save Ace? That'd stir up some serious trouble.
Still, with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's raw power, Whitebeard wouldn't go down easily unless Esdeath pulled out something like her "Mokobotmo" technique. Just to be safe, Hikari figured a heads-up was in order.
"Let's move," Hikari said, shaking out the newspaper and standing. "Morgans' coordinates are probably a bit delayed. If we're too slow, we might have to track down the Whitebeard Pirates all over again."
---
The coordinates Morgans provided weren't too far from their current location—about 300 kilometers. A top-speed Navy warship would take five or six hours to cover that distance.
But the Blue Planet wasn't your average ship.
As Bulma headed to the captain's cabin and worked her magic at the control panel, the destroyer's propellers began to spin. The side panels of the ship opened, blue flames burst out, and the entire vessel slowly lifted off the sea. After hovering for a moment, it whooshed into the air!
"Whoa!" Even Hikari was caught off guard.
Yuji Itadori, Tanjiro, Naruto, and the others on the deck were downright freaking out, shouting and laughing as their hair whipped in the humid sea breeze. Drinks on the table went flying until Hikari activated her "Blood Jade Barrier" to block the wind.
"Big Sis Hikari, what's… what's this?!" Naruto clung to her sleeve, equal parts curious and nervous.
Naruto wasn't the clueless kid from two years ago anymore. Thanks to books Hikari brought back from other worlds, he'd learned a bit about things like "ships" and "oceans," even though he hadn't been allowed to leave Konoha yet. He'd adapted to the Blue Planet faster than Nezuko.
But… what was this? The books never mentioned ships could fly!
"That's the power of technology. Pretty cool, right?" Hikari ruffled Naruto's hair. "Stick with your Big Sis Bulma and learn a thing or two. This stuff's way more useful than that 'Will of Fire' nonsense. Later, I'll introduce you to some friends your age. You can swap ideas and grow even faster."
She was talking about Karin, Kimimaro, and others who'd been studying under Orochimaru for a while. Their scientific knowledge had probably come a long way.
For now, Hikari didn't elaborate. She just narrowed her eyes, gazing ahead.
In the distance, the outline of a massive ship was coming into view.
---
Onboard the Whitebeard Pirates' ship, Marco, the First Division Commander, rubbed his eyes, staring in disbelief at the approaching vessel. "What… what the hell is that?!"
A… flying pirate ship?
(End of Chapter)