The Moby's Will didn't just sail; it tore through the New World like a jagged blade of ebony and red. With its massive white-moustached figurehead cutting the spray, the ship became a ghost story that refused to stay in the past. For Maye, the "Fog" was a distant memory, replaced by the sharp, metallic tang of blood-scent and the constant, reassuring heat of Ace at her side. Her midnight-brown hair, now grown longer and usually tied back in a practical, messy braid, whipped in the gale as they officially began their hunt.
The Marine Captain on the deck of the heavy cruiser Justice-G7 didn't even have time to finish his command. He had spotted the red sails on the horizon and assumed it was a foolhardy rookie crew. He realized his mistake when a streak of fire, hotter than any sun, vaporized his forward cannons in a single blast. "IT'S HIM!" the lookout screamed, his voice cracking. "FIRE-FIST ACE! BUT HE'S NOT ALONE!" Maye didn't wait for the ships to dock. She stepped off the railing of the Moby's Will, her boots hitting the ocean surface. Instead of sinking, she walked on a platform of her own solidified blood, the ruby on her chest glowing like a dying star. With a flick of her wrist, she drew the life-force from the air itself, weaving it into a thousand crimson needles. "You're standing in our way," Maye said, her voice calm and terrifyingly cold. "And we're in a hurry." She moved like a blur of midnight and red. Every time a Marine raised a rifle, the blood in their own veins seemed to rebel, their aim faltering as she swept through their ranks. Behind her, Ace landed on the deck in a pillar of flame, his back to hers. "Nice timing, Anchor," Ace grinned, his fists engulfed in swirling orange heat. "Don't get cocky, Captain," Maye shot back, ducking under a sword swing and counter-attacking with a whip of blood that shattered the deck boards. "I'm counting. That's twenty for me." "Twenty?! I was busy with the cannons!" Ace yelled, laughing as he unleashed a Hiken that melted the cruiser's mast. In less than ten minutes, the Marine ship was a smoking wreck. They didn't kill everyone, Ace still had a shred of his brother's mercy but they left a message. They gathered the surviving Marines and forced them into the lifeboats. "Tell Akainu," Ace said, standing on the burning prow, his silhouette framed by the roaring fire. "The Newgates are coming for their inheritance."
The news hit the world like a tectonic shift. On a colourful ship far across the Grand Line, Luffy sat on the head of the Thousand Sunny, clutching a crumpled newspaper. His jaw was hanging open, his eyes wide and shimmering. The photo on the front page was blurry, taken from a distance but it clearly showed Ace standing protectively beside a woman with flowing midnight-brown hair. "ACE! MAYE!" Luffy roared, his voice echoing across the sea. He began to bounce on his seat, a massive, toothy grin splitting his face. "Nami! Sanji! Look! They're together! They're really together!" "We saw, Luffy," Nami said, her voice soft but filled with wonder. "The 'Anchor' of the Whitebeards... she really did come back from the dead." Deep in the New World, on a secluded island, Red-Haired Shanks stared at the same headline. He took a long pull from his sake bottle and let out a low, appreciative whistle. "You always were a stubborn old man, Newgate," he muttered to the wind. "Even from the grave, your children are shaking the world."
But the reaction was different at the Revolutionary Army headquarters. Sabo sat in a room filled with ancient, dusty scrolls, his face pale. While the rest of the world celebrated the return of the heroes, Sabo was looking at a translation he had just finished, a hidden text about the Mistress of the Flow. "The Anchor is a debt," he read aloud, his voice trembling. "A soul borrowed from the tide must return to the tide. If the seal of the Sanguine is breached, the Sea will recognize the trespasser. A Great Storm shall rise, and the Ocean will claim its due with interest." Sabo slammed his fist onto the table. "It's a trap," he whispered. "The deity didn't save her because she was kind. She saved her to see if the 'Human Will' could survive the inevitable reclamation. Ace isn't just her anchor... he's her shield against a literal law of the universe."
The hunt grew darker as they approached the territories controlled by Blackbeard. The laughter on the Moby's Will began to fade, replaced by the grim reality of war. They ran into a fleet of "Peace Main" pirates who had been forced into Blackbeard's service. It wasn't a heroic battle; it was a slaughter. Maye found herself standing knee-deep in the wreckage of a ship, her clothes stained with a mixture of salt and blood that wasn't her own. Her head throbbed. The "Fog" tried to creep back in whenever she saw the brutality Teach had inflicted on the islands he ruled. She felt the weight of the ruby pendant, it was getting heavier, hotter. "Maye?" Ace called out, stepping through the debris. He looked tired. The fire in his eyes was still there, but it was tempered by the weight of leadership. "I'm fine," she said, though her voice was hoarse. She reached up to touch her midnight-brown hair, finding it matted with grime. "It's just... the memories of the 'Watcher' are starting to get louder, Ace. I can hear the water. Even when we're on land, I can hear the tide calling my name." Ace pulled her into a hard, desperate embrace. He could feel the vibration of the pendant between them. "I've got you. I'm not letting the tide have anything." But as they stood there, a Den Den Mushi began to ring in Maye's pocket. It was Sabo.
"Ace? Maye? Listen to me," Sabo's voice was frantic, stripped of all its usual composure. "I found the rest of the text. The 'Watcher' is a deity of balance. By bringing Maye back, she created a hole in the world's logic. The World Government—they aren't just hunting you for being pirates anymore. Vegapunk's sensors have picked up the anomaly. They know she's a 'breach.' They're going to use the Sea itself against you." "What does that mean, Sabo?" Ace growled. "It means Akainu isn't just coming with ships," Sabo replied, his voice breaking. "He's coming with something that can break the Sanguine seal. If that necklace breaks before you find a way to make her life permanent, the ocean won't just take her—it will erase her. No grave, no memory, no ghost. Just... nothing." Maye looked at Ace, her hand instinctively clutching the ruby. The grit of the battle, the pain of the journey, and the looming shadow of the deity all crashed down at once. The hunt was no longer just for revenge. It was a race against the very fabric of existence. "We have to find Teach first," Maye said, her eyes turning a cold, dark blue. "We kill the traitor, we take the power back, and then... we deal with the Admiral." Ace nodded, his face hardening into a mask of pure, unadulterated defiance. "Full speed ahead. I don't care if I have to fight the Sea itself. We're finishing this."