The massive black flag of the Eclipse Pirates was carried to the center of the Mokomo Dukedom's plaza.
The flagpole had been raised overnight.
Not a temporary post. A great trunk hauled from the edge of the Whale Forest, planed and polished by Mink craftsmen, then driven deep into the plaza's heart.
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi stood on either side of the pole.
The Musketeers, the Guardians, the forest scouts, and Mink representatives from every settlement had gathered around the square.
No one spoke.
Every gaze rested on the black flag, still furled.
The flag of the Eclipse Pirates.
And from today forward, the banner the Mokomo Dukedom would fly as its own.
Ace stood before the flagpole.
The Eclipse Pirates stood behind him.
Inuarashi stepped forward, his voice carrying across the plaza.
"From this day, the Mokomo Dukedom stands under the Eclipse flag."
Nekomamushi bit down on his pipe, his voice rough.
"Anyone who comes to Zou looking for trouble from now on can ask this flag first if it agrees."
"When the time comes to strike Kaido, the Mink Tribe will not be absent."
Across the plaza, Mink warriors tightened their grip on their weapons.
Not hostility this time.
An oath.
Ace glanced up at the flagpole.
"Raise it."
Pedro stepped forward.
He was already a member of the Eclipse, but he was still a warrior born of the Mink Tribe.
No one was more fitting to raise this flag with his own hands.
Pedro took the halyard and pulled, slowly.
The black flag rose inch by inch.
Wind swept across the plaza.
The fabric unfurled.
A stark white skull emerged against the black field.
Behind the skull, crimson-gold wings spread like a divine bird in flight.
A ring of dark-red flame encircled it, like the corona of an eclipse.
The Eclipse flag.
Flying for the first time atop Zunesha's back.
Carrot stood beside Wanda, eyes wide.
She looked at the flag, then at Pedro.
Pedro stood beneath the pole, his restored left eye catching the morning light.
He did not look back.
But Carrot could feel it.
Pedro was leaving.
Not a short voyage like before.
He was truly boarding that black ship, bound for a world she could not yet reach.
Wanda glanced down at her.
"Going to miss him?"
Carrot pressed her lips together.
"I'll go too someday."
Wanda didn't discourage her.
She just ruffled her hair gently.
"Then get stronger first."
On the other side of the plaza, Buggy craned his neck up at the Eclipse flag and couldn't help curling his lip.
"That flag is seriously intimidating."
Brook laughed.
"Yohohoho, the skull has excellent taste."
Chopper nodded earnestly.
"The wings are really cool too."
Berries stood on Carina's shoulder, flapping its wings.
"Caw! Berries has wings too! Berries is cool too!"
Carina pressed its head down.
"Don't steal the flag's moment."
Ace watched the flag reach its peak, his expression calm.
Zou was not the first place he had claimed.
It would not be the last.
Skypiea. Mermaid Street. The Mokomo Dukedom.
More would follow.
What he was building was not merely a pirate crew.
It was a power grid that would blanket the New World.
Inuarashi walked to Ace and inclined his head slightly.
"Zou will honor the agreement and await your command to strike Kaido."
Nekomamushi came over as well.
"Don't make this old cat wait too long."
"These old bones feel better than ever after that fire of yours."
"I'm itching to try my claws on the real Azure Dragon."
Ace looked at him.
"Kaido will be dealt with."
"But not yet."
Nekomamushi's brow lifted.
"You're not heading straight for Wano?"
Ace's tone was flat.
"Wano is Kaido's stronghold."
"If we take it, we take it in one decisive move."
"Before that, I need a place to set my feet."
Inuarashi understood immediately.
"You intend to seize another island first."
Sabo stood at Ace's side, his voice even.
"The New World can't be held with a single ship."
"The Eclipse needs a ground base."
"A port, an island, a territory the whole world can see."
Nekomamushi bared his teeth.
"Sounds like you already have a target."
Ace smiled.
"We do."
"Dressrosa."
The name landed. Law, standing beside the Heart Pirates, felt his gaze darken.
Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo all went quiet.
Nekomamushi looked at Law.
"What, you know the place?"
Law didn't answer.
Carina closed her logbook and answered for him.
"The kingdom of the Donquixote Family."
"And Doflamingo's current seat of power."
Inuarashi's eyes shifted.
"A Warlord of the Sea?"
Sabo nodded.
"Warlord. The underworld's Joker. King of Dressrosa."
"A port, population, resources, an underground trade network. All of it makes it the ideal first ground territory for the Eclipse in the New World."
Nekomamushi burst out laughing.
"Gahahaha!"
"You just claimed Zou, and now you're going to seize a Warlord's kingdom?"
"You brats really can't sit still for a single moment."
Enel snorted.
"Warlord?"
"Sounds even duller than a wildcat."
Nekomamushi immediately glared at him.
"Preacher, you want another round?"
Enel grinned.
"Any time."
Inuarashi sighed.
"Monster cat, not now."
Ace ignored them.
His gaze settled on Law.
The decision had not been made on impulse.
Before the flag was raised, Carina had already placed the intelligence in front of him and Sabo.
The Donquixote Family had been hunting for Law.
The North Blue. Swallow Island. The Heart Pirates' old trail. They had been digging it up piece by piece.
And the real problem: they had already set their sights on Wolf.
The old man who had helped Law and the others escape to sea, who had left the Heart Pirates their submarine.
Doflamingo hadn't touched the Eclipse directly.
He knew he couldn't afford to provoke Ace.
So he meant to use someone Law cared about to draw Law out alone.
That was his specialty.
Strings.
Hostages.
Traps.
When Law had finished hearing the report, he had said only one thing.
"I'll go myself."
Ace shut it down with a single sentence.
"You're on my ship now. It's not just your problem anymore."
Now Ace looked at Law, the smile still at the corner of his mouth.
But the warmth in it had thinned.
"Looks like your revenge is getting moved up."
Law lifted his head.
Ace went on.
"I'd planned to wait until you were stronger."
"Until you could cut Doflamingo down with your own hands."
"But since he's decided to try something this stupid…"
Ace turned, looking toward the Eclipse hovering above Zou in the distance.
The black warship hung there in silence, like a great beast waiting to sail.
"Then his kingdom is mine."
"His life is still yours."
Law's grip tightened around Kikoku.
After a long moment, he said quietly, "Understood."
Sabo tugged his hat brim lower.
"Then we set the course."
Carina nodded.
"I'll recheck the Dressrosa intelligence."
"The port, the palace, the underground trade lines, the positions of the Donquixote Family officers."
"You'll have it before we sail."
Ace's smile returned.
"Good."
He turned and walked toward the Eclipse.
"Then we sail."
"Next stop."
"Dressrosa."
The Minks in the plaza looked up.
Beneath the Eclipse's hull, the vector thrusters began to glow with a low, deep light.
Pedro stood at the deck rail and looked back at Zou.
Wanda, Carrot, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and countless Minks stood below.
He did not say goodbye.
He only raised a hand and pressed it to his chest.
Carrot waved with all her strength.
"Pedro!"
"You have to come back!"
Pedro nodded.
"I will."
Ace stood at the bow.
The black warship rose slowly into the sky.
Zunesha still moved steadily across the New World's sea.
And on its back, the Eclipse flag flew high against the morning wind for the first time.
From this day forward, the Mokomo Dukedom was no longer merely an ancient nation hidden atop a giant elephant's back.
It had become the first walking territory of the New World under the Eclipse banner.
And the black ship's next shadow was already pressing toward Dressrosa.
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