The next day at Nami and Nokigao's home...
"What?! Nokigao, you want to come with us?!" Nami's eyes widened as she looked at her sister, who appeared slightly embarrassed.
"Hey! Ace, how did you trick Nokigao into boarding the ship?" Nami shouted at Ace.
"It's none of Ace's business; it's my own choice," Nokigao quickly interjected, pulling Nami back as she made a move towards Ace.
"But why? Nokigao, didn't you always want to continue Bell-mère's orangery?" Nami murmured, her voice full of confusion.
"I've thought about it a lot. If I choose to cultivate orange orchards just for Bell-mère, she wouldn't be happy," Nokigao smiled cheerfully and then looked at Ace.
"You're not being honest, Nokigao. Didn't you mean to... well!" Before Ace could finish speaking, Nokigao, blushing furiously, covered his mouth.
"Ace!" Nokigao said, her face still flushed.
"Uuuuu," Ace raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
"What is going on with you two?" Nami said loudly, growing more anxious.
"Since Nokigao is shy, she can show you in the days to come," Ace spread his hands and smiled.
"Okay, Nokigao, it's time to fulfill my promise. Do you remember everything I told you?" Ace looked at Nokigao seriously.
"Yes!" Nokigao replied, her face equally serious.
Ace slowly extended his right hand, and mysterious fluctuations filled the air. Nami bit her lip, watching the scene intently, curious about the secret behind Nokigao's decision to join them. Kaya's eyes were full of nostalgia, recalling how Ace had once helped her overcome her illness, making her a strong companion.
"The realm of understanding!" The mysterious fluctuations enveloped Nokigao.
Nokigao closed her eyes, reflecting on Nami's dream and their shared moments. Nami's dream was to draw a map of the entire world, but how could she do that without an excellent helmsman? After Bell-mère's death, Nami was her only family. Ace had promised to help her gain excellent steering skills. She wanted to support Nami's dream, to explore the map Nami would draw with Bell-mère's oranges.
With these thoughts, Nokigao felt herself becoming an exceptional helmsman, capable of navigating any ship through any storm. A sweet smile appeared on her lips as she envisioned Bell-mère protecting her and Nami against Arlong.
Tears streamed down Nokigao's cheeks as she thought, "Bell-mère, as a sister, I will help Nami realize her dream. Don't worry."
Ace sensed Nokigao's strong emotional fluctuations and smiled, but then he was suddenly stunned. "In the field of understanding, Nokigao's strong emotional connection to Bell-mère awakened her sniper talent," a line of text appeared in his mind.
After an unknown period, Nokigao slowly opened her eyes, looking at her hands in disbelief.
"What's wrong, Nokigao?" Nami immediately became anxious, treating Nokigao like her biological sister.
"It's okay. I feel like I've truly inherited everything from Bell-mère," Nokigao smiled through her tears, her face radiating like the brightest rose, leaving Nami and Kaya stunned.
"Congratulations, Nokigao. Welcome aboard, my helmsman and sniper," Ace welcomed her with a smile.
"Thank you, Captain. Please take care of me," Nokigao laughed.
"Why?!" Nami was still stunned, then seemed to understand and looked at Nokigao with emotion.
Later, Nami and Nokigao said their goodbyes to the villagers. Ajian promised to take care of the orange orchard until they returned. Afterward, Nokigao and Nami returned home, touching everything with nostalgia.
Ace and Kaya watched quietly. "Okay, it's time for us to set off, Nokigao," Nami said, smiling as she put a bag on her back.
"Yes, Nami," Nokigao smiled and nodded.
"Welcome aboard, Nokigao, and welcome back, Nami," Kaya said, waving beside Ace.
Nokigao and Nami nodded in response. As they stepped out of the house, they felt a gentle push and turned to look at their warm home where Bell-mère once lived.
"Hehe, hahaha," Nami and Nokigao laughed together, feeling their mother's presence encouraging them to find their own paths.
Ace smiled at the sight. The world of One piece was truly magical, with its strange powers and adventures. There was, however, one more thing to do before setting sail. Ace's eyes flashed with determination as he led the three women away.
A Marine warship docked in the waters near Arlong Park.
"Damn you brat! You actually got rid of Arlong and his gang. My income..." Colonel Mouse gritted his teeth as he looked at the portrait of Ace he had taken. In the portrait, Ace could be seen slightly extending his index finger, which had turned into a pillar of flame, pointing forward—capturing the moment Ace killed Arlong.
"I'm going to put a bounty on you! I'm going to make sure you have no peace day and night!" Colonel Mouse faxed the portrait to Naval Headquarters, elaborating furiously. "I told you, he is an extremely vicious pirate! He also destroyed the Arlong Pirates. He is extremely dangerous and deserves a bounty of at least 30 million!"
"So what's his name?" the phone bug asked, sounding impatient.
"Name..." Colonel Mouse thought carefully, but he had been too far away at the time to hear clearly. "It seems to be called, Ai?"
"Is it Ace?" A faint laugh came from behind, making Colonel Mouse smile.
"Yes, yes, it's Ace! Ji!!!" Halfway through his sentence, Colonel Mouse looked up in horror at the sudden appearance of the visitor.
"You... you..." Colonel Mouse began to tremble. This was the ruthless man who had destroyed the Arlong Pirates single-handedly.
"Come on, come on! Come on!" Colonel Mouse roared at the top of his lungs, but there was no response.
"Don't waste your time." Ace looked at Colonel Mouse with cold eyes, slowly pointing his index finger at him. The sailors outside had long been rendered unconscious by Ace's Conqueror's Haki.
"I said, anyone who makes my navigator cry will die." Ace gave a cruel smile as fierce flames engulfed Colonel Mouse amid his screams.
"Hey! Hey! What happened?!" The Naval Headquarters liaison officer on the other side of the phone was yelling.
"He is dead." Ace took the phone and smiled lightly.
"Who are you?!" The person on the other side of the phone was shocked and angry.
"Remember, it was me, Portgas D. Ace, who killed the Arlong Pirates and Colonel Mouse. The Flame Man of the Mera-mera Fruit." Ace smiled and hung up the phone.
"Crack." After hanging up, the phone bug lowered its head feebly and fell into a deep sleep.
Walking out of Colonel Mouse's room and onto the deck of the warship, Ace looked at the wide sea. Memories of his childhood with Luffy and Sabo flooded his mind. Ace's hand slowly opened, revealing Sabo's original letter. Sabo was probably still suffering from amnesia now.
Unlike in the original timeline, where Ace's death at Akainu's hands had stimulated Sabo to regain his memory, Ace now aimed to make his name resound throughout the sea, loud enough to restore Sabo's memory.
"Wait until you hear my name, Luffy, and... Sabo." A slight smile played at the corners of Ace's mouth.
Golden Merry...
"Ace, we don't have a pirate flag yet," Nami said happily after Ace returned to the ship. The tattoos on Nami and Nokigao's arms had disappeared thanks to Kaya's healing fruit. Nokigao had originally gotten her tattoo to make Nami feel less inferior about her own. Now that Nami's hated tattoo was gone, Nokigao had also removed hers.
Nami, excited to replace the hated tattoo with something new, became very interested in designing a pirate flag. "Our pirate group doesn't have a name either," Kaya added, equally interested.
Ace thought for a moment, picked up a paintbrush, and began drawing on the blank pirate flag. After a while, a skull surrounded by blazing flames and an incomparable Haki pattern appeared on the flag.
"The Entei Pirates! This will be the name of our pirate group from now on!" Ace laughed.
"What a handsome design. Hey, Nokigao, tattoo it on my arm," Nami said, smiling.
"Ah? Well! It's really handsome, so I'll get it tattooed on my body too." Nokigao smiled warmly, feeling a deep appreciation for their new pirate group and the opportunity to let go of the past.
"Then, I..." Kaya began, but Ace interrupted her.
"Kaya." Ace touched her head gently, smiling warmly. "There's no need to force yourself to blend in. We are already one."
Kaya, startled at first, then smiled sweetly. "Um!"
Nami and Nokigao shared a knowing smile.
"Sailing! Target! Grand Line!" Ace pointed to the sea in the distance and laughed.
"Oh!" Nami held the navigation chart, Nokigao controlled the rudder, and Kaya held a medical book, all smiling in response.
"And don't forget my 3 billion beli Devil Fruit, Captain!" Nami suddenly hung on Ace, speaking coquettishly.
"What's this about a 3 billion beli Devil Fruit? How come I don't know about it?" Ace said deliberately.
"Ace! I'll fight you! Give me back my 3 billion!" Nami said sharply.
"Hahaha!" As Ace and Nami made a fuss, Kaya and Nokigao laughed.
Despite Nami's playful demands, all the money recovered from Arlong was left to Cocosia Village.
The Entei Pirates set sail, with their first target being the Grand Line, specifically Loguetown!