Chapter 15
Jack disappeared into the ocean for hours every day before re-emerging, cold and tired. The Straw Hats soon grew used to it, being one of many oddities on an already very odd ship.
When he surfaced on this particular day, he found the atmosphere a little weird. Everyone sat around gloomily, occasionally muttering to each other.
"…wow, did you guys really miss me that much? Well, I'm back now, so go ahead and cheer up."
Vivi was the first to speak, giving him a humorless smile.
"We… ran into a member of Baroque Works a while ago. He-…"
"Turned out to be Mr. 2, Bon Clay, right? That's why I warned you to not get fooled by a weird okama-like, swan-looking guy."
Hearing this, Nami and Zoro turned their heads, looking at him strangely.
"Wait a moment-…"
"…why do I feel like I heard that before?"
The most notable reaction was from Chopper. Eyes wide as dinnerplates, he peered out from behind—or to the side of—the ship's mast.
"Huh…? No, w-wait…"
Meeting the shy reindeer's gaze, Jack sighed.
"Since you were on duty, I told you before leaving, Chopper. Well, it's alright. I guess you forgot."
Thoughts churned behind Nami's eyes before she suddenly banged her fist on the rail.
"That's right, it's just like last time. But how did you know? And don't even think of dodging the question!"
Jack looked at her innocently.
"What question?"
"I said don't try it!"
"I really don't understand."
Her eyes narrowed, Nami drew closer until her finger was wagging under Jack's nose.
"Don't play dumb! What's going on with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"…so you're not going to answer. I should've guessed."
Putting her hands on her hips, she just stared at him. The other Straw Hats were whispering behind her, trying to figure out the situation.
Eventually Nami spoke in a low voice.
"Are you okay with this? We can't trust you if you hide things from us."
"You think I'm the only person here with secrets?"
This seemed to catch her off-guard. However, Nami didn't look back, not noticing how a certain person twitched nervously.
"But we're not talking about other people. This is about you."
"Those are some nice double-standards you got there."
Nami grunted.
"…Zoro, Luffy—it's time you tell me where exactly you found this guy."
Behind her, Luffy scratched his head.
"Huh? Oh, he was in our boat."
"He found us, really."
Nami looked between the two of them.
"And you guys… didn't see a problem with that? Why would someone approach you two out of nowhere? That's incredibly suspicious!"
"Is it?"
"If he caused trouble, I'd just cut him up."
Nami groaned, putting her head in her hands.
"Luffy… even you should realize it, right? There are some serious questions that should've been asked a long time ago!"
Their captain's expression turned thoughtful, pulling his hat over his eyes.
"You're right…"
He took a moment to consider his next words
"…it's getting late. Sanji, I'm hungry. What's for dinner?"
Sanji coughed.
"I don't think that's-… well, whatever. I might as well get started."
"…"
Nami sunk to her knees. Her face was pale, expressing a sense of defeat. Really, she had no chance from the start.
Feeling a little sorry for her, Jack patted Nami's head.
"Well… since everything's been sorted out, let's go inside."
"What was sorted out?!"
"Don't be so loud. You'll shout yourself hoarse."
"I don't want to hear anything from you! And stop touching me!"
"Come on, I've done a lot more than head-pats. Relax."
"You…! I really hate you! Go die!"
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Jack strolled through the port town of Nanohana. There was a certain someone he wanted to meet, preferably in private. After arriving in Alabasta, he'd left the rest of the Straw Hats to their own devices.
Eventually reaching his destination, he raised his head. A sign hung above the doorway, the carved letters spelling out two words—'Spiced Bean'.
"This is the place…"
Ignoring the murmuring crowd, he opened the door.
"…the shop's especially noisy today."
"What happened?"
"Seems a customer suddenly died in there."
"That's right. Everyone thinks he ate a desert strawberry…"
Jack walked toward the diner table. A solitary figure was seated there, shirtless and with a large cross tattooed on his back. Face-down in a plate of food, it didn't look like he was breathing.
He pulled out the stool next to him, taking a seat.
"Owner, I'd like something to drink. Beer is fine."
Having stood nearby, keeping a wary eye on his unconscious customer, the man glanced at him.
"Huh?! Young man, you shouldn't sit so close! The desert strawberry's poison is extremely infectious-…!"
Before he could finish his sentence, the other person suddenly gasped, sitting upright. He looked around confusedly before grabbing a spectator's clothes, wiping his mouth.
"What the-…?! He came back to life!!"
"Phew, man, I really fell asleep there."
"You fell asleep?!"
"In the middle of a meal, and conversation?"
"He started eating again…!"
Jack watched the situation play out for a while before deciding to interrupt.
"Hey, aren't you fire-fist Ace? Lieutenant of the Whitebeard pirates?"
The surroundings immediately went silent.
Ace finally turned his head, looking at Jack. He gave him a slow once-over.
"…oh, you know who I am?"
Jack smirked. He waved at the bartender, tossing a few coins on the counter.
"Sorry, my throat's a little dry. How about that beer?"
The man gulped nervously, giving a single nod. The atmosphere was tense while he served the beer, nobody saying anything.
When the jug's bottom thumped against the counter, Jack drained half before sighing satisfiedly.
"Ah, that was great. Much better than drinking rainwater."
Ace wasn't in a hurry either. He slowly ate the rest of his lunch, not taking his eyes of Jack. It wasn't long before the plate joined the rest in a pile.
He looked like he was just about to say something when the door slammed open. The silhouette of a man and a woman was outlined—marines, judging by their uniforms.
"I guess you don't have a problem eating in public… isn't that right, Portgas D. Ace?"
"…"
Looking at the man's face, Jack's smile froze. He'd been a little too excited about meeting his favorite character, momentarily forgetting about this development.
The man took a step closer, his eyes flicking between Ace and Jack.
"Wait a moment… I remember you. You were in Loguetown that day."
He grunted, shifting his cigar to the other side of his mouth.
"That's good. Since you're here, it means Straw Hat Luffy should be as well."
Ace's eyebrows rose, his expression turning excited. He also looked at Jack.
"Ho ho, that's good news! I just so happened to be looking for my little brother. You're in his crew?"
"Actually yes. I heard about the message you left in Drum Island. We just came from there-…"
"Enough chit chat! As long as you're pirates and I'm a marine, I'm going to arrest you!"
Jack looked at the marine, clearly annoyed.
"You have a lot of courage, Smoker-chan. There's two of as and only one of you. How exactly do you think-…"
Before he could finish, there was a loud crash, debris hurtling in all directions. The restaurant's front wall practically disintegrated, a blurred red shape colliding with Smoker. Both were flung forward, taking the slack-jawed Ace with them.
Jack's lip twitched, barely noticing the brick smashing against his forehead.
"I really hate… being interrupted."
He curled his hand into a fist, raising it in the air. When the rubble shifted, revealing the head of a certain strawhat-wearing boy, he brought it down again. There was a loud crash, the impact burying Luffy in the floor like an ostrich.
Sighing to himself, he stood, throwing more coins on the counter.
"My mood is completely ruined now… but I guess there's still an opportunity to talk later. Anyway, owner, that's for the beer and broken floorboards."
Waving idly over his shoulder, he exited through the front door. It barely hung on its hinges, creaking once before collapsing to the ground.
The patrons exchanged frightened glances before following his lead. They certainly didn't want to get involved in a fight between pirates and marines.
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With Ace and Smoker's conflict, and the Straw Hats escaping from the marines, the town of Nanohana was all but upended.
It took a while for things to settle down, with the pirates eventually managing to escape to their ship. Luffy and Ace had a short reunion there before the latter took his leave, pressed by his mission's urgency.
However, before the Whitebeard pirates' lieutenant could catch the inland wind—sailing in his small, canoe-like boat—a shadow flashed above his head. A figure fell from the peak of a rocky outcropping, landing perfectly on the pointed prow.
"Leaving so soon, Ace-kun? I'm hurt. You and I barely had time to chat."
Non-plussed, Ace took in the sight of Jack's smiling face.
"…you're Luffy's friend from the bar. What are you doing here?"
Jack laughed, the white of his teeth contrasting with his tanned skin and black hair.
"Come on, you're practically a hero of mine. I definitely can't miss a chance like this!"
"…"
Ace just looked at him. When he'd met the rest of the Straw Hats, he was nothing but smiles, but that wasn't the case now.
"You know, it's interesting. I remember you saying you guys got my message on Drum Island, but Luffy didn't know about anything like that."
"Oh? I must've forgotten to tell him."
"Neither did anyone else."
"Hehe. What can I say? I'm an airhead."
There was a moment's silence before Ace grunted.
"Well, what do you want from me?"
Jack pointed in a certain direction, a relatively flat spot between the rocks.
"Don't be in such a hurry. Return to land for a bit. We'll talk there."
"I am in a hurry."
Jack sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"Hunting down Blackbeard, right? I heard about it."
"…did you want to talk to me about that?"
"Oh? That's right. How did you know?"
Ace shrugged casually.
"I always had good intuition. Anyway, if you have something to say, just do it. There's no reason to go back and forth."
The smile slowly disappeared from Jack's face, but in the end, he decided to be frank.
"Fine. I won't beat around the bush. You can't beat Teach. Not in a one-on-one, and definitely not with his crew by his side."
Ace didn't look convinced.
"Have you even met him before?"
"No."
"Then how can you say that?"
"I just know."
His gaze growing more scrutinizing, Ace stared at Jack.
"This is none of your business in the first place. It's between members of the Whitebeard pirates. Outsiders have no say."
Jack sighed.
"I knew you'd say something like that. I'm not sure you'd budge even if I kept pushing. So I think I'll just give up right here."
"Good. Now get off the boat. You're heavy."
"Actually, there was one more thing…"
Ace raised an eyebrow.
"What is it-…?"
Before he could finish speaking, a sudden outburst of force plunged the boat's nose, sending him up into the air.
Jack leapt after, his leg scything toward Ace's abdomen. The kick landed, the latter deciding to block with his forearms. The impact was enough to send Ace flying, rapidly covering the distance to shore, where he used his mera-mera fruit to stabilize himself.
His body flickering between flame and flesh, he watched Jack land not far from him.
"What are you doing?"
"I told you already. This opportunity is too good for me to miss."
Jack didn't give Ace a chance to reply. Leaving a cloud of dust in his wake, he shot toward his opponent. He knew that, when it came to dealing with Logias, it was best not to give them a range advantage.
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