Chapter 173

[1 week later]

"Hurry up!"

"Bring that crate here!"

"Be careful not to fall off the ledge!"

"You, go and recheck the supplies on board."

"Ey, who did the cleaning here? Look at how much dust is left!"

"Sorry, sir, I'll clean it again!"

These are the shouts of sailors from Jiyū Island. They volunteered to help the Azure Pirates to get ready for their upcoming voyage. There are 11 ships ready to set sail. 1 is the main ship, Ocean's Black Star, for the main crew. And the other 10 are for the soldiers. 6000 soldiers have been chosen to come along.

"Ace, please be careful."

"Don't worry, Isabel, there's no way I'll get hurt."

"This is the thousandth time that you have told me that. But you always come back injured."

"Well, I have become much stronger than before, so this time, I really won't get injured."

"Ken, I can't trust this idiot anymore, so please keep him safe," said Isabel as she bowed down.

"Ey, why are you bowing to him! And how dare you call me an idiot!"

Isabel didn't respond and looked at Ken with hopeful eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he gets back alive."

"But that isn't what I'm worried about! I know that he won't die, but I also don't want to see him hurt."

"Sigh. Ey Ace, if you get even a scratch on you, I'll forbid you from seeing your girlfriend for 1 month." After saying that, Ken walked away.

Both of them froze. They said their goodbyes as if it was their last time they were going to see each other.

"Babe!"

Someone suddenly jumped at Ken, and he caught her in a hug.

"I told you that you didn't have to see me off."

"What, you don't want to see me anymore or something?" asked Celine with a pout.

"How could I not want to see someone this cute."

"That's better. Here, I made some cookies for the crew." Celine handed him a basket filled with cookies.

"Smells nice, and I'm sure they will taste even better. But it is to be expected from the number one baker in my kingdom."

"But that is only because you gathered everyone in the kingdom just to promote my bakery. You even made me say something in front of everyone. I've never been so embarrassed."

"Aren't I an awesome boyfriend then? And there was nothing to be embarrassed about. That speech you gave could make even the marines come and buy something from you."

"Captain, we're ready to leave!" said Jinbe from the ship.

"It seems like I have to go. I'll bring you back some souvenirs."

Celine suddenly grabbed his collar and pulled him closer; their lips met. The adults around quickly covered the children's eyes, who came to watch the ships leave.

"I thought that you get easily embarrassed."

"How can I think about anyone else when I'm looking at you? I don't need any souvenirs. Please just come back safely."

"Don't worry. How can I not come back when I know that someone this beautiful is waiting for me."

"That's good to know. Now go to your ship. Don't let everyone wait."

"Ken quickly snuck one more kiss in and then appeared on the ship.

"I'll see you later then!"

"Bye!"

Everyone said their goodbyes, and the ships started leaving. Celine and Isabel looked at the ships disappearing into the horizon with tears in their eyes and praying for their safe return.

---

"Captain, everything is going as scheduled. We will arrive there in 1 week," said Laffite.

"Good, let me immediately know when something is going on."

"Yes, sir."

Ken, Ace, Laffitte, Robert, Van Augur, Paulie, Brook, Jinbe, Urouge, Tani, and Akari are the ones that have left the island. The rest stayed there to protect it.

"Eh, Captain, you know that I can just teleport us there, right?"

"And what's the fun in that? We are supposed to enjoy this. Just teleporting everyone is boring. That's something we should only do if we don't have much time left or if we're trying to do a sneak attack. But we have enough time, and we're going to destroy them head-on."

"I guess you're right."

"I'm always right."

"Haha, yes, sir."

A newspaper bird landed next to Ken, and he bought a newspaper from it.

[The Strawhat Pirates appeared after 2 years of being gone and made it to Sabaody!]

'I'm waiting, Luffy. Become the strongest and come challenge me for the crown. That plot armor of yours, once I crush that, there is no one in this world who can defeat me.'

---

1 week later, the sun is standing high in the sky, and 11 ships are sailing through the most dangerous sea in the world.

"Captain, land in sight!" said Van Augur.

Everyone looked at where Van Augur pointed, but they didn't see anything, even after a couple of minutes.

"Ey, Van Augur, are you sure that you saw it?" asked Ace.

"We are fated to make it to land, so it will be there." Right after he said that everyone finally spotted a small island. As they got closer, they could see that the island was covered filled with giant fruits. When they passed by the island, they spotted another island; this one was covered in cheese.

"She really likes food, huh," said Paulie.

"Likes is an understatement," said Ken.

"Captain, I sense a lot of weird creatures covering the bottom of the sea. I think it's those Territorial Sea Slugs you were talking about. Should I kill them?" asked Van Augur.

"Leave them be. It's not like we're trying to hide. We will take everything she throws at us head-on. If she is waiting for us at the coast, that will only make it easier for us."

"Understood, Captain."

The ships kept sailing past the food island till they made it to the main island, Whole Cake Island. And as Ken hoped, Big Mom was waiting there with all her soldiers. Her hair was already on fire, and her sword was in her hand. She seems ready to go.

"Disperse!"

The 10 ships with Ken's soldiers changed course and started sailing towards other parts of Whole Cake Island, completely surrounding it. But Big Mom didn't seem to care and only focused her attention on the person in front of her. Ken unsheathed Shusui and glared back at Big Mom.

"So the bastards finally showed up," said Page One.

"Akari, it seems like you can finally finish what you promised him the first time you met."

"I'll definitely kill him this time, Captain!"

Besides page one, the other 5 Tobiroppo are also present, including X Drake.

"Jinbe, this is far enough; stop the ship."

"Yes, sir."

But before the ship stopped, Ken already jumped towards Big Mom at an incredible speed.

"Say hello to your kids in hell for me, Big Mom!"

"You can say it yourself, Azure Ken!"

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Quotes:

"Love is simply an electrical bug in the human neural circuit."

- Akasaka Ryuunosuke (The Pet Girl of Sakurasou)

"Love is like a mirror that reflects your bad side. Especially when it's unrequited, you get envious, jealous, prejudiced, and resentful. You have to face all sorts of emotions, but there's no reason to find that shameful."

- Margery Daw (Shakugan No Shana)

"I want to be with you. From now on, I want to spend all and every single one of my days until I die with you, and only you."

- Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto Shippuden)