Vivi, who already knew about Ace's possession of Conqueror's Haki, was naturally prepared and not at all surprised.

Ace, on the other hand, was somewhat stunned. His usually composed expression almost faltered. What was going on? He had just happened to meet a woman by the seashore, and she possessed Conqueror's Haki? Wasn't that a king-like quality that only one person in a million possessed?

Conqueror's Haki was extremely effective in intimidating lesser foes, but it was quickly exhausted in intense combat. Vivi sheathed her sword as soon as her Haki was down to thirty percent and retreated more than ten meters with a light tap of her foot. The fighting spirit in her eyes quickly faded. Ace withdrew all of his flames as well before exhausting his energy.

It seemed to be a draw.

Vivi wasn't sure if Ace had any other tricks up his sleeve. In any case, she hadn't used her Vampire Form or Ikoku.

She got straight to the point: "Hey, fire-breathing guy, do you have a Den Den Mushi?"

Ace had a Den Den Mushi on his ship, but it had been so badly damaged during the passage over the Wano Country waterfall that it might kick the bucket at any moment, let alone be used for a call.

Worried about Karoo, and despite thinking that getting involved with Ace could be troublesome, Vivi still asked, "When does your ship leave? Where are you heading? Can you take me with you?"

Ace asked curiously, "Aren't you from Wano? You want to join us as a pirate?"

"I can't be a pirate, nor do I intend to be one. I just need a lift for a while."

Ace and his first mate, a young doctor called Masked Deuce, exchanged glances.

Then Ace boldly declared, "We're going to Onigashima. I'll claim Kaidou's head and become the new Emperor!"

Vivi thought the boy was still half-asleep. He couldn't even defeat her. And now he wanted to take on Kaidou?

But as she watched Ace closely, she realized that he wasn't joking and her enthusiasm waned: "I was just kidding. How could I leave Wano? I have a disease that will kill me if I leave Wano. Goodbye!"

She planned to return to the Flower Capital to continue her work as a bloodletting doctor and wait for the next group of travelers to arrive...

…

After his battle with Vivi, Ace appeared indifferent on the surface, but in reality his beliefs were deeply shaken.

Using the pretext that he needed to repair his ship, he settled in Amigasa Village. Every day before dawn, he would do his training alone in the mountains. The villagers often saw the mountains glowing red as the wild animals scattered in chaos.

Occasionally, Ace would chat with the villagers of Amigasa Village. He found their weaving of straw hats to be interesting, and for some reason, he decided to learn to do it for a few days.

Vivi took the little girl Otama to the Flower Capital and didn't let her have any contact with Ace.

"Don't even think about becoming a bewitching kunoichi. That freckle-faced boy doesn't look like he'll last long. You're better off obediently learning medical skills from me!"

After a frustrating two-day wait, the Den Den Mushi in Ace's possession not only failed to regain consciousness, but its neck oddly twisted and it died, leaving Vivi utterly speechless.

"Join me in challenging Kaidou. I believe that if we combine our forces, it will not be impossible to claim the head of an Emperor."

Ace regained his confidence after two days of intense training. He tried to convince Vivi to join him in the fight against Kaidou.

"You must be sick, right? You need to get your head checked. You can't even assess your own strength properly. I don't care what you think, all I care about is my own judgment!" Vivi kept shaking her head in refusal.

But Ace's next words made her hesitate.

"I don't know where your companions are, but the magnetic fields in the New World are extremely chaotic. Ordinary Den Den Mushi would have trouble communicating across regions. Even if my Den Den Mushi were alive, it would probably not be able to contact your subordinates. But I'm convinced that Kaidou must have a Den Den Mushi capable of long-range communication."

Vivi began to waver. She feared that Karoo might come looking for her. If she ran to the north and Karoo ran to the east, they would never see each other!

It had only been a few days since she had left Karoo, but it felt like it had been several months. Her spirits were low in everything she did without the duck at her side.

When she looked at the many attributes that she had not been able to pick up, every day was like losing a billion.

One billion the first day, two billion the second day... it was unbearable!

Gradually, she began to entertain the idea of Ace's proposal.

Ace added one more incentive: "All you have to do is hold off the officers of the Beast Pirates. You can leave Kaidou to me."

Could Vivi take on the "All-Stars" or the "Tobi Roppo"? She might be able to handle a few moves in a one-on-one fight, but in a group battle, she was sure to be overwhelmed.

She had only followed the Wano Country arc up to Kozuki Oden's hour-long boiling execution scene. She couldn't relate to Oden's approach and had stopped following the story. Who could have imagined that she would end up transmigrating into this world? Her knowledge of the subsequent plot was vague, based mostly on hearsay. Now, she was faced with the dilemma of whether or not to join Ace in "challenging" Kaidou.

She asked, "Are you really sure that you want to challenge Kaidou?"

"Yes," Ace confirmed.

"You came to the New World just to face Kaidou? You encountered no obstacles along the way? No one influenced your decisions or interfered with your journey?"

Ace was confused by her question and answered casually, "That is the only reason I came all this way. Who could possibly influence me? Are you talking about the Marines?"

Vivi began to think seriously about the possibility of sneaking into Kaidou's territory to steal something.

Without any external factors influencing the situation, this operation should theoretically still be safe. Otherwise, if Ace were to challenge Kaidou with his current ability, wouldn't he be killed on the spot? With Ace dead, there would be no Battle of Marineford three years later.

Unlike Big Mom, who spent her days at home, eating cake and having children, Kaidou was not the kind of person who stayed in one place. He often wandered around. It was quite normal for him not to be in his lair.

Vivi surmised that Ace probably hadn't encountered Kaidou this time and hadn't suffered any significant physical, emotional, or mental trauma. Therefore, sneaking into his lair seemed to be a relatively safe plan.

Besides, she thought, if a non-flying boy like Ace wasn't afraid, why should she be? She had plenty of ways to escape. Being stuck in Wano Country was a huge obstacle, so after much deliberation, she finally made up her mind. At the very least, she aimed to steal a Den Den Mushi.

Vivi repeated her conditions: "Okay, I'll go with you, but to be clear: I'll only deal with Kaidou's officers. The fight against Kaidou himself is yours alone."

"Deal! That's exactly what I want! Don't be jealous when I take my place as one of the Four Emperors, hahaha—"

They agreed on a time, and everyone went to prepare for battle.

A day later, under the cover of night, Vivi boarded Ace's pirate ship and left the main island of Wano Country.

Onigashima was not far from Wano's main island. On clear days, its silhouette could even be seen from its shores.

Ace, who was now a little more aware of his limitations and knew that he wasn't invincible, decided not to make a bold and direct approach this time. Taking advantage of the cover of a stormy night, the group stealthily landed on Onigashima...

(End of the Chapter)