Chapter 169: The Cautious Hero and the Follow-Up Plan.

"Is this the thing?"

On the large raft of the Blackbeard Pirates, a group led by Teach gathered around an object on the ground, deep in thought.

Under the gaze of these fierce individuals, a piece of white paper on the ground trembled slightly, moving slowly in one direction. Although it moved as slowly as a crawling turtle, it was clear:

"It's a tracking device placed on our ship by the enemy's ability user."

Doc Q, the ship's doctor, spoke slowly. They hadn't expected that someone had tampered with their ship. Now, with their group of Haki experts, even an ant couldn't escape their search!

"Fate is truly unpredictable. That little guy from the Straw Hat crew was planning to trick us back on Jaya Island? Hehehe~~~"

In the hands of the seemingly terminally ill ship doctor was the wanted poster of the entire Straw Hat crew. The topmost poster was the bounty for the 'White Knight.'

"180 million, quite a figure. But this..."

The wanted poster depicted the armored White Knight, clearly a creation of an ability. What is the Marine up to? They can't be that blind—"It seems we were almost played."

The 'Demon Sheriff' Lafitte toyed with his cane, watching the crawling white paper with interest.

"Should we go after them?"

If the enemy could use an ability creation to track them, they could also use the creation to find the enemy!

"No,"

Teach shook his head and waved his hand, instantly engulfing the white paper in darkness.

"We'll set off immediately and avoid Water 7!"

...Whoosh—

Roman opened his eyes.

The tracking paper was destroyed, meaning the Blackbeard Pirates had given up on seeking revenge?

What a pity!

That paper was another of Roman's backup plans. Since it was his creation, he could destroy it at any time if needed.

He had deliberately left it to see if the Blackbeard Pirates, having just captured Ace, would arrogantly follow the paper, leading them to Vice Admiral Garp, who would show them why rose are so red!

And Aokiji should be nearby as well. With two top-tier forces, they could easily crush the current Blackbeard Pirates.

Unfortunately, it seemed Blackbeard wasn't as stubborn as Ace and destroyed Roman's trap immediately.

Oh well, it was all up to fate.

Roman hadn't expected to truly rescue Ace unless the newly acquired 'Door-Door Page' suddenly evolved, allowing him to transport Garp from Water 7 to Banaro Island in an instant. Otherwise, no plan could work against absolute power.

Until the new ship was built, Roman wouldn't cause trouble and let Garp, his free bodyguard, leave.

"Sigh, life really can't be too smooth."

Who is Ace?

The son of Pirate King Roger, the grandson of Vice Admiral Garp... Although it sounds like Roger is a generation younger, his bloodline is undoubtedly strong:Indeed, Ace showed extraordinary talent from a young age. Conqueror's Haki was standard, and with Garp's personal guidance, he had considerable strength as soon as he set sail.

He soon ate the Logia-type 'Flame-Flame Fruit,' and his power became unstoppable! The Marine even wanted to invite him to become a Warlord of the Sea. Although he refused, his strength and reputation were unquestionable.

Then he broke into Wano Country, coincidentally encountering Kaido and his officers on an expedition. He fought with Kaido's daughter, Yamato, and realized that Yamato hated her father just as much as he did. Together, they smashed the dragon statue that symbolized Kaido's authority as a warning. How spirited they were!

Later, he met Red-Haired Shanks. At first, Shanks thought Ace was there to challenge him, but Ace explained that he just wanted to meet the man who had once saved his brother. Shanks was very happy to hear this and held a grand banquet to welcome Ace.

Look at that,In just a few years at sea, the government was eager to recruit him, he had trampled on Kaido's home, and he was a guest of honor with Shanks. Anyone would get a big head, and Ace was just a hot-blooded youth after all.

Later, he encountered Whitebeard. Although he was defeated and absorbed into Whitebeard's crew, Whitebeard generously forgave Ace's offense.

Even though Ace was not convinced and attempted to assassinate Whitebeard hundreds of times without success, Whitebeard did not kick him off the ship. Instead, he laughed it off, which made Ace finally recognize Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, as a great pirate. He eventually was willing to bear the name "Whitebeard."

Whitebeard treated Ace like his own son and even prepared the entire pirate crew for him to inherit, intending to push him to the throne of the Pirate King!

Looking at Ace's journey at sea, it was smooth sailing, a triumphant march, like the protagonist of a feel-good novel! Coupled with Whitebeard's 'indulgence,' it was inevitable that he would develop such a stubborn and arrogant mindset.

In contrast, Luffy had been beaten and struggled all the way. He knew what it meant to be alone and understood the importance of assessing the situation. When faced with an unbeatable opponent, he would immediately tell his comrades to run, and he admitted that he couldn't survive without them.

But Ace, chasing the Blackbeard Pirates alone, stubbornly refused to retreat...

"Sigh, if it were someone else—"

Roman wouldn't care if they died!

But the other party was Luffy's sworn brother, so if he could help, Roman would certainly be willing to lend a hand. However, if it meant putting the Straw Hat crew in danger, he would politely decline.

"Roman, what are you thinking about?"

Facing Luffy's question, Roman, who had just snapped out of his thoughts, rubbed his face.

"Nothing, just eat your meat."

Leave the rest to me.

If it weren't for learning Seimei Kikan, which allowed the puppet 'White Knight' to use recorded abilities remotely, this trip would have been not only fruitless but also a huge loss..."Nami,"

Thinking of the recorded abilities, Roman waved to Nami, who was practicing with "Thieves' Ultimate Skill"

"Give me the book, I'll 'upgrade' it for you."

?

Facing the two pages Roman took out, Nami looked puzzled.

"Roman, I know you want to quickly improve my strength, but—"

Practicing with a book every day, even a beautiful girl needs a break...

"These are the 'Door-Door Page' and the 'Bubble-Bubble Page,' both very practical auxiliary abilities!"

Roman explained as he added the pages to the book.

"The 'Door-Door Page' can greatly enhance your mobility, and the 'Bubble-Bubble Page' can create defensive bubbles to improve your survival ability. The bubbles can also wash away anything and make objects incredibly smooth..."

!

In an instant, Nami's sleepy eyes lit up like stars.

Skin... smooth..."This ability is great, I'll work twice as hard to practice it!"

??

"Wait, wait a minute!"

As Nami reached out to grab the book, Roman waved his hand to calm her down. —She was practically lying on top of him, how improper!

"Let me 'upgrade' this book first—"

With Roman's training in 'Seimei Kikan,' he could now modify parts of his body! For example:"I've given 'The Thief's Ultimate Art' the ability to store energy and granted it some independence."

"From now on, this book won't drain my stamina, but will instead use the book's stamina. —That is, it will use the life force of the blood vial paper to activate its abilities."

"You just need to store enough blood vial paper, and you can become a mobile artillery!"

"Of course, how much you can develop the book's abilities depends on your own efforts, Nami."

"Alright, alright,"

Snatching the newly upgraded 'Thieves' Ultimate Skill 2.0,' Nami eagerly began practicing, but:'Skin... smooth... beauty... eternal youth...'????

Nami, isn't your 'training' direction a bit...Alright, now we just need to wait for Franky to finish the ship so we can set sail. —As for Ace, if Plan A doesn't work, we'll go to Plan B, if Plan B doesn't work, then Plan C... If none of them work, then Roman will accept his fate.

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