Chapter 427

"What? Naming this ship? At a time like this?" Nami exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, a ship without a name sets sail with no momentum," Franky said very seriously. "How about the Lion of So-and-So?"

"I have a super cool name! Black Bear White Bear Lion!" Luffy raised his hands high.

"No one would name a ship something so strange!" Usopp retorted.

"Then how about Tiger Gray Wolf Lion!"

"Don't just list animal names! What is that? A spell!" Usopp retorted again.

Immediately, everyone began a naming contest.

Squid, octopus, chimpanzee, Meatball Chimpanzee Lion, Lion Mama, Big Brother Lionel, Lord Sleeping Lion, Dark Maru, Gentleman Lion, Mr. Sunflower, Lion Violence Champion, Sakura Pirate, and so on.

When they asked Sima Di, he didn't even think and blurted out "Seven-Colored Mary Sue" and "Zang Ai Family," after which everyone thoroughly despised him.

In the end, the new ship was given the name it deserved.

Thousand Sunny.

Nickname: Sunny.

Merry suddenly appeared from the deck, smiling very happily.

"He said he really likes this name!"

Afterwards, under Franky's command, Merry skillfully operated the Sunny to perform its escape maneuver.

Windy Blast!

Under the astonished gazes of everyone, the Sunny flew into the air.

Sima Di smiled as he looked at Water Seven receding rapidly.

Goodbye, Water Seven.

Rest in peace, Master Bruce.

One day, I will ignite the newspaper recording the Spade Organization's destruction and send it to your netherworld.

Meanwhile, on Banaro Island.

Ace and the others found Blackbeard three days ago, and a great battle erupted; nearly half the island was destroyed, and Ace thus fell into Blackbeard's hands.

Zero, traveling with Blackbeard, fulfilled his agreement with Sima Di and secretly let Cheng Yu and Xue Lihong escape.

But Xue Lihong was not resigned; after Zero let her go, she did not flee immediately. Instead, she and Cheng Yu lay low on this island, waiting for an opportunity to rescue Ace.

Three days after that battle, which is today, a large number of Marines received Blackbeard's message and arrived here, even including Akainu, one of the Three Admirals.

This shows the importance the Navy places on this matter; it is no wonder Blackbeard was directly promoted to one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

"Oh my, I never expected Admiral Akainu to grace us with his presence; I truly failed to welcome you from afar," Blackbeard said. Although his words were respectful, neither his tone nor his eyes showed any sign of groveling.

"Enough nonsense. Where is Fire Fist Ace?" Akainu said with a cold snort.

"Right here." Blackbeard stepped aside, and his two subordinates brought Ace up, bound in Sea Prism Stone shackles.

Ace looked somewhat disheveled, but his injuries had already been treated, and the bandaging was quite professional.

When Blackbeard handed Ace over to Akainu, Zero keenly sensed a killing intent. He shifted his body to the side, blocking that killing intent behind him, so neither Blackbeard nor Akainu noticed.

Zero glanced casually to the side and saw it was still Xue Lihong, who was staring at him fiercely.

It's that death-seeking girl again? He had caught her no fewer than dozens of times in these three days. Why was she still coming? If he hadn't deliberately concealed her, Xue Lihong would have been chopped into meat filling countless times.

Afterwards, Blackbeard's crew and Akainu boarded the warship together and headed straight for Impel Down (originally they planned to go to Enies Lobby for trial first, but Enies Lobby had disappeared from the map due to the Straw Hat crew).

After the ship set sail, Zero sighed helplessly and, taking advantage of everyone's inattention, came to a relatively hidden spot on the ship.

Here, besides Zero, there was another person.

"You again? Don't you get tired?"

Zero, who rarely expressed emotions easily, could be heard expressing helplessness in his words at this moment.

Xue Lihong was now wearing a Navy logistics uniform, holding a mop and a bucket.

"What do you mean 'you again'? If I don't rescue Ace, I will not give up." Xue Lihong's gaze was fierce, as if she would launch an attack at any moment.

"Where is that former police officer, Mr.?" Zero selectively ignored Xue Lihong's words and searched everywhere for Cheng Yu's figure.

"He... that coward didn't come." Xue Lihong's eyes were full of contempt. "I used to respect him very much, but he retreated when danger arose. What a waste."

"I think he just didn't want to accompany you in your nonsense anymore. Accompanying you so many times was only to prevent you from getting into danger," Zero said coldly. "Xue Lihong, I remember I warned you last time: if you appear before me again, I will kill you without hesitation."

"Kill me? Fine, then just do it." Xue Lihong adopted a fearless stance.

For the first time in his life, Zero felt a bit of a headache.

"You... are truly shameless. You know perfectly well I can't bring myself to do it. Lihong, you really should change your temper. After that incident, everyone has grown, and the only one who hasn't grown is you."

"Don't put on an adult air to lecture me! I am much older than you!" Xue Lihong said through gritted teeth. When had he fallen to being lectured by a teenager?

"Age never represents experience... Look at you now; who looks more like a child, you or me?" Zero sighed and said somewhat helplessly. "I will point you to a clear path. When Ace is executed, Whitebeard will certainly not let his own squadron commander be killed; he will definitely raid the execution site. If you really want to rescue Ace, then go with Whitebeard."

"Raid... the execution site?"

Xue Lihong recalled that Cheng Yu had made the same suggestion to her, but at that time she was so angry that she was busy arguing with him, and she didn't listen to a single word Cheng Yu said.

"That's right, raid the execution site... Actually, from recent contact with Ace, I found he is also a good person. If he dies, I cannot bear it in my heart," Zero said.

"Contact with Ace... so, did you treat Ace's injuries?" Xue Lihong asked.

After the battle between Ace and Blackbeard, Ace suffered many injuries. But when Ace was handed over to the Navy, his wounds had been treated very well. As for Blackbeard's group, no matter how Xue Lihong thought, no one among them would treat Ace. If it was Zero, it was possible.

"It was just a casual thing... If I let my ship doctor treat him, whether he lives or dies would be a gamble," Zero replied.

"Then... thank you first." Xue Lihong said somewhat embarrassedly. She had treated Zero like that before...

"No need for thanks, just don't cause me more trouble," Zero said. "It will take three hours to reach the next rest island. During this time, hide yourself well. When the time comes, I will let you leave here."

The Navy originally planned to rest on Banaro Island, but since the whole island was destroyed quite thoroughly, if they needed to replenish supplies, they would have to detour to the other side of the island. So it was better to just sail directly to the next island.

"Mm, I understand. Generally, when I wear a Navy uniform, no one can discover me!" Xue Lihong was very confident.

"Oh, then good luck." After saying that, Zero turned and left.

Cheng Yu was on one side.

After a huge quarrel with Xue Lihong, Cheng Yu also felt he had been too childish; he was nearly forty, after all, why get angry with a young Miss? Although rescuing Ace had to be postponed for now, Cheng Yu's primary task was to ensure Xue Lihong did not act rashly and to bring him back safely and soundly.

"That girl... where exactly has she run off to? I clearly saw her board this ship..."

Cheng Yu, dressed in the uniform of a Marine grunt, slung a rifle over his shoulder and wandered aimlessly through the Marine ship.

"You... what are you looking for?"

A deep male voice suddenly sounded behind Cheng Yu, making him jump in fright.

Cheng Yu hurriedly turned around and found a tall, bald man wearing the uniform of a Marine Vice Admiral.

Cheng Yu quickly searched his memory, matching this person with the name Vice Admiral Pierre.

"Yes! Vice Admiral Pierre! This subordinate is carrying out a patrol mission! The area is Sector C and Sector D!"

"What is your name?" Pierre's gaze was unfriendly.

"Reporting to the Vice Admiral! This subordinate's name is Elmondo." Cheng Yu answered without a moment's hesitation.

"Elmondo, huh... come with me, I have a mission to assign to you."

"But Vice Admiral, this subordinate is on patrol..."

"Someone else will handle the patrol matters; just come with me."

"Yes!"

Cheng Yu followed Pierre all the way to his office, feeling extremely uneasy.

It was said that Vice Admiral Pierre was notorious for his ruthless methods; generally, eighty percent of the pirates he captured never made it to Impel Down, but were executed on the spot by him.

Why did this guy happen to pick him out of all people?

What exactly... did he want to do?

"Close the door." Pierre spoke, sitting down in front of the desk, elbows straight, looking at him with a sinister gaze.

"Ah... yes, yes, yes!" Cheng Yu hurriedly closed the door behind him, suddenly having a bad feeling.

Ling Guiguai stepped forward obediently and sat in the seat previously occupied by Hu Zi, assuming a standard posture, staring motionlessly at Ace. Akainu said nothing either; the three of them just sat there awkwardly.

After a while, Ace opened his eyes and saw that the guard had been replaced by the little girl who had treated his injuries before.