"That's right?"
Ash turned after hearing the voice and looked at Trafalgar Law again.
Law pointed at the wooden crate Sali had tossed aside. Inside was the gift he had brought, one hundred pirate hearts.
"Over the past few years, you've swept through the Grand Line twice. Any pirate worth mentioning was either wiped out or escaped to Paradise or the New World through other routes."
"Before coming here this time, I wanted to bring something meaningful, so I paid attention to recently rising Pirate Crews. In the end, I found two crews whose captains are Devil Fruit users."
"I wonder if you'd be interested?"
Hearing that, Ash finally smiled.
"I'm very interested. Tell me about them."
"The first is the captain of the Hawkins Pirates, Basil Hawkins, also known as the Magician. He's a Paramecia-type user of the Straw-Straw Fruit. I don't know the full extent of his abilities, but he seems highly skilled in divination."
"When you swept through the Grand Line those two times, he had already set sail. Somehow, he used his fortune-telling to avoid running into you twice."
"I've tried tracking him myself, but I couldn't find him either."
"The second is the captain of the Drake Pirates, X Drake, nicknamed Red Flag. He used to be a Marine Rear Admiral, though I have no idea why he turned pirate. He possesses the Ancient Zoan Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Allosaurus."
"Still, his way of doing things is strange. He seems to have kept many of his Marine habits. He rarely attacks civilians or merchant ships and mostly hunts pirates to raise his bounty."
"We've crossed paths a few times, but you know, he's not exactly my target."
"Hawkins and Drake, huh? Very good."
With information on two future Supernovas, Ash was more than satisfied with Law's gift.
Before leaving, Ash glanced at Pekin, Shachi, and Bepo, who had practically become background decorations, then turned to Law again.
"Your Heart Pirates only have four members right now?"
"It's the Heart Pirate Hunter Crew," Law corrected stiffly.
"There aren't many people whose personalities match mine. There were a few before, but they didn't want to go out to sea as pirates, no, I mean Pirate Hunters. So for now, it's only the four of us."
"They didn't want to go out to sea? Why?"
Ash clearly remembered that by the time of the Summit War, Law's Heart Pirates already had nineteen members.
There was no way he recruited all of them in just two years.
So what exactly happened to make the people Law wanted unwilling to set sail?
Ash found himself genuinely curious, but then he noticed the strange expression on Law's face as he looked between him and Sali.
"So, this happened because of our two Grand Line cleanups?" Ash asked uncertainly.
Law nodded helplessly.
Ash's eyes immediately brightened.
He turned to Sali.
"If it's that effective, contact Wyper when you have time. The two of you can do another sweep of the Grand Line. While you're at it, find Hawkins. As for Drake, handle him however you see fit. You'll know what to do once you find him."
"Let's go."
Watching Ash casually decide on a third major Grand Line purge in only a few sentences, Law felt completely numb.
"This has nothing to do with me, right?"
Law turned toward his three companions, silently asking for reassurance.
Pekin and Shachi exchanged looks and winked at him.
"What are you staring at? This is absolutely getting blamed on you."
"Hehehe."
Bepo laughed foolishly beside them.
"What the hell are you laughing at?!"
"S, sorry..."
Ash had already left, and Sali no longer had time to watch them fool around.
"You're considered part of the group now, but whether you officially join depends on surviving the probation period. Come with me, I'll introduce you to some people at the training camp."
"Are they the ones who came before us, White Sage Beast?" Law asked.
Sali suddenly stopped and turned around.
"What?"
"Remember this clearly, I am not White Sage Beast. I'm Sali."
He crossed his arms and snorted.
"And I'm not your boss either. If you pass probation and still want to, you can call me Sali in the future."
"Just remember, not White Sage Beast."
"Alright, Sali."
Satisfied, Sali nodded.
Truthfully, the probation process was little more than a formality.
Anyone Ash personally chose to keep usually had enough talent to pass.
As they chatted, the group eventually arrived at the training ground behind the lighthouse.
Before even stepping inside, the sound of weapons clashing echoed through the area, mixed with occasional cries of pain.
"By the way," Pekin whispered, "what happens if someone fails probation?"
"How would I know? Ask louder," Shachi muttered without opening his mouth.
"Don't worry, it's nothing serious."
Sali smiled as he pushed open the training ground doors.
"You already know too many secrets. If you fail probation, you'll just be eliminated."
Law ignored his idiotic companions and the terrified Bepo, who was already close to tears.
The moment the doors opened, his attention locked onto the people training inside.
The famous Daly brothers and Dicken were nowhere in sight. They had probably gone out to patrol the surrounding waters.
The first thing Law noticed was a green-haired swordsman with a black bandana tied around his arm, relentlessly attacking a bald man.
The swordsman held three blades, one in each hand and another clenched in his mouth.
Nearby, the bald man transformed parts of his body into blades as he clashed fiercely against him, clearly another Devil Fruit user.
Law instantly recognized them.
Roronoa Zoro and Daz Bonez.
Not far away, a muscular man sat casually atop a stone platform, coaching two figures, one dressed in blue and the other in green, as they sparred.
When the burly man spotted Sali's group, he greeted them first.
"Sali! Are these newcomers too?"
"That's right, Fales."
Sali patted him on the shoulder.
"How's training today?"
"Everything's progressing well. They've basically mastered the fundamentals of the Six Powers."
"Zoro has exceptional talent. He's close to stepping into the realm of a Master Swordsman. His blade has become noticeably sharper over the last few days."
"Luckily, Daz isn't far behind. He should awaken Armament Haki soon. Those two will probably keep fighting for a while."
"As for Johnny and Yosaku, I still don't understand why the Leader calls them the Blade God and Sword Saint. Their foundations are much weaker."
"But they're ruthless enough. This morning alone, they nearly cut each other to death three times. Thankfully, Vergo treated them, otherwise they might not have survived. If this keeps up for a few more days, we may need Conis to give them proper treatment."
"Still, the results are showing. At this rate, they might awaken Observation Haki before Zoro and Daz."
"Very good."
Sali nodded approvingly before pointing at Law, Pekin, Shachi, and Bepo.
"These four are yours too. Same rules as before. As long as they don't die, train them hard enough to wish they had. Let them understand what the Grand Line is really like."
"By the way, where's Vergo?"
"His old man dragged him back for a blind date."
Sali burst into laughter.
"Old Man Shan has been pressuring Youki recently too. Luckily, that kid is still aboard Ash's ship, otherwise the old man would've gone to drag him back personally."
Law and the others stood frozen, their eyelids twitching.
Good grief.
So Youki, one of Ash's feared subordinates, came from the same village as these people?
And they were casually discussing confidential information in front of newcomers who had not even passed probation yet?
If they failed the test...
Were they actually going to get silenced?!