Chapter 40: The Red Line

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Noir chased after Ace, who ran away.

Ace teased, "Catch me if you can~" and laughed with a girlish giggle that sounded like a tinkling bell.

Noir was drenched in cold sweat, feeling so embarrassed that he wished he could dig a hole in the ground and hide.

How could he not feel embarrassed to act like this?

But there was no choice. At least it was a good excuse to get away from the Marines...

If they believed it...

Amidst the rain, the sound of footsteps and shouts grew louder as people began to gather.

A large wave of Marines approached.

Cold raindrops fell on Noir's face, keeping him alert.

Even though he always thought about betraying Ace, he wouldn't be happy if Ace ended up like in the original story.

After spending so much time together, one would get attached, even to a dog, right?

The wind on the street grew colder, and as the rain increased, the townspeople retreated into their homes to keep warm.

But the Marine's zeal for catching criminals didn't diminish; it only grew stronger.

The Marines continued to pursue Ace, their numbers growing, with Smoker leading the charge.

Smoker flew up, propelled by the smoke beneath his feet, looking like a cloud-riding monkey.

Flying next to Noir, Smoker looked at him doubtfully and said, "Can't you even keep up?"

Noir lied without missing a beat, "Oh, well, I've been feeling a little weak lately..."

Smoker gave him an annoyed look, unimpressed by his excuse.

The chase continued, and both groups were about to leave the city.

With the power of the Flame Fruit, Ace found it easy to fend off his pursuers.

Smoker, on the other hand, had to protect his subordinates from Ace's attacks, which slowed him down.

Not to mention that Noir was deliberately holding back...

Meanwhile, Ace's new ship, the Spade, was waiting on the shore.

Sitting on the ship was Mihar, who had just come from Noir's ship.

Even from a distance where Ace and his group were barely visible, Mihar confidently raised his weapon.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several shots rang out, and Noir suddenly felt bullets coming at them from the edge of the city!

Mihar's sniping? From this far away?

Noir was now certain that Mihar had some level of Observation Haki!

Several marines suddenly fell for no apparent reason, and Smoker's face grew even grimmer.

Why was there a sniper? Why was this pirate crew of only four so troublesome?!

With Mihar providing long-range support, Ace, Deuce, and Skull finally made it back to shore and boarded the Spade.

They hoisted the Spade Pirate flag and, at Ace's command, set sail again!

Standing on the edge of the ship, Ace put his hands over his mouth and shouted, "Sorry, Captain! The Spade Pirates are setting sail!"

"Damn pirates!" Smoker's anger flared at Ace's taunt.

But things got worse. A Marine soldier ran up and reported:

"Captain, we're severely undermanned in Loguetown. Many pirates have started attacking the townspeople!"

Smoker ran to shore and watched Ace's crew sail away.

Capturing Ace alone was unlikely; he needed more forces to contain him.

Without a warship, waiting for one to arrive before going after Ace would leave Loguetown vulnerable to pirate attack.

Smoker thought deeply and decided he couldn't continue the hunt.

As Loguetown's commanding officer, he knew his duty.

He had to choose between an unreachable pirate and pirates actively threatening civilians, and he knew which was more urgent.

But he still hesitated!

Smoker turned his attention to Noir.

Noir, though outwardly calm, felt uneasy.

He had just thought about sailing away and now this Smoker was staring at him?

Smoker approached Noir and said:

"You're a pirate hunter, right? Whenever you bring me Pirate Ace, I'll pay you double the bounty."

Noir cursed inwardly, "You still owe me money!"

"Host has met important character. Reward issued: Top quality Cigars, 10 boxes."

The sudden system message startled Noir. He asked himself, "System? Aren't you upgrading?"

...

No answer.

Well, it seemed the system could still give out rewards during an upgrade.

Noir gave Smoker a small smile, then boarded his ship and went after Ace's crew.

Tashigi asked Smoker hesitantly, "Is he really going after the pirate?"

Smoker, with a grim expression on his face, shook his head and directed the soldiers back to the city, saying:

"I do not expect him to catch the pirate."

"I only gave him a promise to remind him that he's a hunter, not to get involved with criminals!"

"Let's go, arrest the pirates in town!"

"And increase Portgas D. Ace's bounty..."

The rain intensified, and thunder rumbled through the dark clouds. The storm on the sea grew more menacing, and compared to the vast ocean, Noir and Ace's ships seemed like mere boats.

Noir caught up to Ace's ship, used his navigational skills to guide them, and gave Ace a Log Pose.

Not far from Loguetown was Reverse Mountain, and using the maps Noir had purchased, he quickly plotted a course.

After fighting the storm for what seemed like an eternity, they finally saw something different.

The massive rock formation of the Red Line seemed to rise from the sea, standing tall in the rain, unyielding even to the giant waves crashing against it.

Noir gazed at the Red Line, its towering height daunting, its immense scale unbelievable.

This was the continent that divided the world, a truly formidable barrier.

Noir was filled with shock and awe, seeing the Red Line first hand shattered his perception of the world.

Furthermore...

Was it just a coincidence that the Red Line divided the world in this way?

The Grand Line and the Red Line intersected like a cross.

And to become the Pirate King, to reach the end at Raftel, you had to cross the Red Line twice...

Suddenly, a bizarre and inexplicable thought popped into Noir's head.

Could it be... that the Red Line was man-made?

And if so, perhaps it was to protect the secret of the last island, Raftel.

Noir shook his head vigorously, looked at the entrance to Reverse Mountain in the distance, and laughed at himself:

"If it was for protection, why would they leave a hole and add stairs to Reverse Mountain?"

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