Hera led her companions through the door; this was the first time the three had met since leaving Foosha Village.
Immediately after stepping through the portal, Hera grabbed Chopper and rubbed his fluffy body. "Luffy, this companion of yours is quite cute. Why don't you give him to me?"
Having rushed over, Usopp said in surprise, "Marines? How did you guys appear?"
Ace and Luffy, who were immersed in the joy of their reunion, turned their heads and saw it was Hera. They became even more excited and wanted to hug her.
Hera looked at the two of them, who were holding meat in their hands, with disgust. She jumped up and gave each of them a heavy blow to the head, making them calm down.
Seeing the back of a Marine who had also grabbed Chopper, Zoro and Sanji both attacked Hera. "Let go of Chopper!"
Kuina swung her wado ichimonji and blocked Zoro's blade. "Oh? Are you that eager to duel me, Zoro?"
On the other side, Reiju swung her arm to block Sanji's kick. "We haven't met for so long, and your strength has improved quite a bit, my little brother."
When the smoke cleared, Zoro and Sanji's eyes widened in shock as they cried out the names of those before them. "Kuina?" "Reiju?"
Brook, who had just arrived at the scene, saw Perona and took his hand off his sword. "Yohohoho! Long time no see, Miss Perona. May I see your panties?"
Perona's Negative Ghosts passed through Brook's body. "Who would let a skeleton like you see them, you idiot!"
Hit by the Negative Ghosts, Brook knelt on the ground, tears streaming down. "Anyway, I'm just a useless skeleton..."
Seeing Brook's state, Perona retracted her Negative Ghosts. "Hmph, I forgive your rudeness."
After recovering from his negative state, Brook returned to his usual gentlemanly style. "Yohohoho! What a terrifying ability."
On the other side, Nami saw someone she hadn't expected. She pointed at the approaching Nojiko and asked in surprise, "Why did you go out to sea too? And as a pirate?"
Nami's sister, Nojiko, said, "I met Luffy while I was delivering tangerines. He saved me from some pirates. After finding out he was Hera's younger brother, I couldn't bear to let him sail alone, so I joined his Pirate Crew."
Hera was somewhat surprised. "Oh? Are there still fish that slipped through the net of the New Navy's suppression in the East Blue?"
Nojiko nodded. "Pirates will never cease to exist. We encountered the Alvida Pirates. That old hag somehow became beautiful after eating some Devil Fruit."
Hera thought for a moment and said, "It should be the Sube Sube no Mi. This fruit has a beautifying effect."
Then, Hera looked at the restaurant, which was now in a mess. She expanded her portal and threw a stack of Berries to the restaurant owner. "This is for the food and the repairs. Keep the rest as a tip."
Then she said to Luffy and Ace, "Alright, first come sit on my ship for a while. You'll be there once you step through this door."
She then asked Luffy, "Is your crew all here?"
Luffy looked around and said, "Princess Vivi and her companion haven't come over yet."
Hera's Observation Haki covered the entire Nanohana. She soon found the blue-haired Princess Vivi, who seemed to be giving instructions to her duck.
Hera slashed open a rift and reached through, grabbing Princess Vivi and pulling her over along with Karoo.
Ace was secretly shocked by Hera's actions. Even for Ace, who had spent time with both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates, this ability was incredibly absurd.
Recalling the time-based abilities Hera had shown when they were children, Ace realized he could no longer gauge her true strength.
The group passed through the rift Hera created and arrived at the seaside. Nojiko was explaining the current situation to Princess Vivi, who hadn't yet figured out what was going on.
Luffy looked around. "Where's the ship? I don't see it."
The City of Devouring Time extended into the sea, and the argo slowly emerged from the shadows. Hera introduced it proudly, "How is it? This way, we can prevent others from stealing the ship."
Luffy looked at the magnificent argo, his jaw dropping to the ground. "So cool! What a huge ship!"
He jumped onto the ship and looked around. Usopp said, "Our going merry isn't bad either, okay?" while his hand reached out to touch the dark-gold hull.
Hera said, "You can visit, but don't touch anything recklessly." Then, various foods emerged from the City of Devouring Time. Reiju pointed Sanji toward the kitchen. "Go on, let me see how much you've learned at the Baratie."
Sanji looked at his older sister and walked into the kitchen helplessly, beginning to cook.
Luffy suddenly thought of something and asked Hera happily, "The Marine are supposed to help member nations of the World Government, right? Then can you solve Princess Vivi's problem?"
Hera shook her head and said, "I know what you want to say, but Sir Crocodile is one of the Shichibukai organized by the World Government. The Marine also have no authority to arrest him at will."
Hearing Hera say this, the hopeful look in Princess Vivi's eyes dimmed. Hera felt a bit of pity and said, "As long as you can find concrete evidence, I will help you."
Luffy said, "Don't worry, you're my companion. I'll take care of Sir Crocodile for you." He gave a thumbs-up and smiled at Vivi.
Seeing this, Ace asked, "Is it really not possible? I don't remember you being someone who listens to the World Government."
Hera said, "Luffy and his companions need to be tempered. I don't want to get too involved in their adventure."
Ace nodded upon hearing Hera's words and continued, "You know what I'm trying to do, right? Can you tell me Blackbeard Teach's current location?"
Hera sighed and said, "You're going to capture Blackbeard Teach, aren't you?"
Ace nodded. "He violated the iron law of the Whitebeard Pirates. He killed our comrade Thatch for power. I'm going to hunt him down and make him pay for his actions."
Hera said, "As your sister, I support you. But looking at it rationally, I don't quite approve of you hunting down Blackbeard Teach. He's not someone to be trifled with."
Flames erupted from Ace's body as he said, "Don't worry, I've improved a lot over the last few years. Don't underestimate me."
Hera said, "The Logia Mera Mera no Mi? The Dark-Dark Fruit that Thatch stole is the nemesis of all devil fruit users. This alone won't be enough."
Then, Hera saw the sword hanging at Ace's waist, and her eyes lit up. "This is..."
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!