[Two days ago, the Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, "Fire Fist" Ace, engaged in a fierce battle with former crew member "Blackbeard" Teach on Mosquito Coil Island in the Grand Line.
The two towns on the island were completely destroyed in this massive clash. The battle ultimately ended with Blackbeard Teach emerging victorious, while Fire Fist Ace's fate remains unknown...]
"Fire Fist Ace... I remember he's Luffy's older brother, right?"
Reading the news report, Nami's expression turned solemn, her tone filled with disbelief.
"To think a powerhouse with a bounty of 550 million Berries was actually defeated by that guy. He couldn't even beat you..."
"Hey, what do you mean he couldn't even beat me? Do you think my 200 million Berry bounty makes me weak?"
Veins popped on Allen's forehead as he shot her an exasperated glare.
Nami shrank her neck back and smiled slyly.
"Hehe, I'm just joking."
"Still, Blackbeard just fought you not too long ago. To think he actually defeated Ace only two days later."
Nami's expression turned serious again as she looked at Teach's massive 500 million Berry bounty poster.
Although Allen had been briefly surprised earlier, he quickly came to terms with it.
Ace had come to Paradise specifically for Blackbeard. The battle in the City of the Spring Queen a few days ago had caused such a massive uproar that as long as Ace wasn't too far away, he would easily hear the news and follow the route to chase him down.
What he cared more about was how Teach would deal with Ace now.
Even if he wanted to hand Ace over to the World Government in exchange for a Warlord of the Sea title, there were currently no vacancies among the Warlords—unless Teach could drag another one down from their position.
And in the first half of the Grand Line, Teach's only available targets were him, Gecko Moria, and the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock.
Allen actually wished Teach would come. Having just acquired the power of the Buccaneer Tribe, he wanted to test if a Sonic Punch fueled by giant-like strength could blow the guy's head off.
Unfortunately, Teach likely wouldn't want to provoke him anytime soon. After all, he had just tortured the man into screaming in agony a few days ago.
Meanwhile, Moria's Thriller Bark was drifting through the Florian Triangle, making it a pain for Teach to even find. The only one with a fixed territory was Amazon Lily in the Calm Belt.
However, Hancock's physical combat skills were nothing to scoff at. Would a Teach without the Tremor-Tremor Fruit really dare to provoke her?
Allen remained skeptical about that for now.
But regardless of what Teach decided to do, Allen felt that the World Government might actually take the initiative to seek him out.
The higher-ups of the World Government had long known Ace's true identity. It was just difficult for them to interfere with the power dynamics of the New World, and with Whitebeard's protection, the Marines found it hard to make a move on him.
Now that Ace had been defeated in Paradise, the World Government definitely wouldn't sit idly by. They would likely approach Teach soon to negotiate a trade for Ace. In other words...
The Summit War was highly likely to break out after all.
As a Warlord of the Sea, he would be forcibly summoned when the time came...
At this thought, Allen couldn't help but start pondering.
In his eyes, the impending outbreak of the Summit War was a highly probable event. Being summoned wasn't a big deal; he could just slack off anyway.
His main consideration was whether there were any benefits to be reaped if he actually went to the Summit War.
Little Oars Jr. with his Ancient Giant Tribe bloodline counted as one, and then... nothing else.
*Damn it.*
Allen's face darkened, instantly losing any desire to go.
He figured he might as well ask Vegapunk how much longer the serum would take to finish.
...
Two days later, the Freewill sailed slowly across the calm, tranquil sea.
Inside the third-floor library.
Robin sat on a sofa in the corner, holding a steaming cup of coffee. Its rich, mellow aroma filled the air.
As usual, Robin sat quietly, flipping through a book. The only difference was the figure sitting across the table from her.
Today, the library had unexpectedly welcomed a rare new guest.
—Allen.
Who would have thought? Even he never imagined there would come a day when he had to read books.
Stacked beside the table were several thick books, titled: *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*, *Illustrated Guide to the Creatures of Demonic Beast Island*, *Exploring the Diversity of Demi-Humans*, and so on...
The content wasn't boring at all; Allen was actually reading with great relish.
Of course, it wasn't because he was planning a career change to become an animal king. Obviously, this was all to learn more about the existence of various creatures.
When the time came, he could issue a long-term commission in the black market, hiring people to collect all sorts of bizarre creatures for him to use in developing his abilities.
Knowledge is power. For the first time, Allen felt that this saying made a damn lot of sense.
Though the process wasn't going entirely smoothly.
"Ahem, Robin, could you help me translate these two paragraphs?"
Allen deadpanned as he flipped the book he was reading and pushed it over to Robin, silently cursing the stupid ancient text in his mind.
That's right, the book he was reading was the *Illustrated Guide to the Creatures of Demonic Beast Island*, and it was written entirely in ancient text.
However, it wasn't the same script as the Poneglyphs. It was just a type of ancient writing that was roughly similar to modern text, allowing Allen to grasp the general meaning.
Except for the paragraphs that contained too many obscure characters.
"Of course. Calculating the time, we should be arriving at the prehistoric island soon. You've already started doing your homework, I see."
Robin said with a gentle smile, taking the thick illustrated guide from his hands.
Allen couldn't help but give her a speechless look.
"Don't use that tone like a teacher praising a student. Don't forget, I'm the captain."
"My, my. Understood, Mr. Captain."
Robin covered her lips with her fingertips, smiling faintly as she teased him.
Allen: "..."
There was naturally a reason why he was reading this book. Demonic Beast Island—that was their next sailing destination.
The reason he had traveled from the City of the Spring Queen to Carnival Town, San Faldo, before setting off again was because in San Faldo, the magnetism stored by the Log Pose pointed directly to this Demonic Beast Island.
It was a prehistoric island. Due to the bizarre magnetic environment of the Grand Line, each island underwent its own unique evolution.
Among them, there was a specific type of island that permanently retained the landscape of the primeval era, such as [Little Garden].
These types of islands also had various evolutions, but they all shared one common trait: an environment closely resembling the ancient past.
Various ancient plants grew on the island, and all sorts of prehistoric creatures inhabited it. Hence, they were called prehistoric islands. The island they were about to arrive at was exactly one of these.
And the reason it was called Demonic Beast Island was because the prehistoric creatures living there were gigantified!
Saber-toothed tigers as tall as houses, dinosaurs as massive as galleons, and mammoths comparable in size to warships could be found everywhere. It was an island overrun by giant beasts!
To other visitors, it would be an island of nightmares. But to Allen, it was an absolute paradise. He had already selected a few powerful prehistoric creatures, just waiting to capture them upon landing so he could analyze and convert them into his own abilities.
For the rest of the time, Allen and Robin holed up in the library, exchanging knowledge and studying. They stayed there for half the day, only stepping out reluctantly when it was time for lunch.
After eating lunch, Allen eagerly ran back to the library to devour more books. However, he had only been sitting for a short while when he heard an excited shout coming from outside.
"Everyone! I can see the island!"
Hearing this, Allen abandoned his book, casually tossing it into a corner, and impatiently got up to head outside.