One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 138 Boss, we seem to have forgotten about your sister.

Following the guidance of the Vivre Card, the Spade Pirates sailed to an island.

Unexpectedly, they encountered the Red-Haired Pirates here, specifically the Redfords. The ship was anchored on one side of the island, and coincidentally, Ace and his crew also sailed to this location to dock.

The captain of the Red-Haired Pirates, Shanks, is a pirate whose bounty exceeded 4.489 billion Berries, which was reported in the news just two months ago. He is the newly crowned Emperor of the Sea and the man who turned the Three Emperors into the Four Emperors.

Ace had always wanted to meet Shanks, after all, both his sister Yu and his brother Luffy had been taken care of by him. But right now, finding the owner of this Vivre Card was more important.

Yu still needed Deus to look after him, so Ace took Skal and the fishman Vores to the island to find someone.

As a result, the three of them still encountered the Red-Haired Pirates.

"Captain, I told you he came to challenge you."

Shanks sat on a rock, while the other members of the pirate crew sat in an arch around him, seemingly waiting for Ace and the others to arrive.

Shanks, his right hand resting on his longsword Griffin, asked with a friendly smile, "I've seen your bounty poster. Your name is Ace, right?"

"You've been with our pirate crew for so long, is there something you need?"

"You've come to greet me..."

As they spoke, sparks flickered in front of Shanks and his companions. They were asking questions while simultaneously preparing for a challenge; their Conqueror's Haki was a test. Clearly, the pirate before them possessed sufficient strength to withstand it.

Ace had no recollection of ever being with Shanks' pirate crew, so his statement was truly baffling.

While Ace was thinking, Skar realized, "Boss, you were in the cabin before so you didn't know, but our ship encountered the Redfords three days ago."

"Well, we didn't follow you. We just happened to be here looking for someone."

Since Skarsson has explained everything, there is no misunderstanding between the two sides, and there is no challenge as previously speculated.

"I see." Shanks raised his glass, took a sip of his drink, and then looked up to ask, "Would you like to join us?"

Although the banquet in front of him lacked bright lights and music, the warmth of the fireside and the enticing aroma of the food made Ace forget the purpose of his visit.

He pulled Skal and Wallace to sit down, and then, with polite manners, he began with a traditional greeting, introducing where he was born and raised.

While eating meat and drinking wine, Ace was in high spirits. It wasn't until he realized he had forgotten to mention his bounty that he asked, "Do you know my bounty?"

"I've seen your bounty poster, it's over a hundred million, which is quite high for someone who's only been at sea for a year," Shanks replied. However, Ace's words piqued his curiosity. "Why would you ask that?"

“Makino taught me to greet people like that,” Ace replied, swallowing the food in his mouth. “When I was in Windmill Village, I specifically went to Makino to learn etiquette.”

Shanks was delighted to hear Makino's name. "Then you've done very well."

"I learned etiquette back then so I could take better care of Luffy." Ace mentioned Makino, then thought of Luffy, "By the way, Luffy is my younger brother!"

Upon hearing this, Shanks was shocked. "You should have told us this first!!" Not only Shanks, but also the other members of the pirate crew around him were shocked.

Skar took a bite of the meat, and it was so delicious he almost cried. After finishing, he added, "The boss has wanted to come and see you guys for a long time to express his gratitude."

"Thank you for taking care of the eldest brother's sister and brother all this time."

Shanks hadn't noticed who the older sister was yet; he was just happy to hear that her younger brother was Luffy. He patted Ace on the shoulder, indicating that the banquet should continue.

Ace was already sitting there, stunned, stiffly turning his head to meet the eyes of Skal, who was tearing at his flesh.

Skal was stunned by the stare and hadn't realized what was wrong.

"You just said sister..." Ace felt he was so happy that he kept forgetting something, but couldn't remember it no matter what he said.

Suddenly, Skarl didn't find the meat appetizing anymore.

They came to the island with a purpose; they were looking for someone. How did they end up eating something for no reason?!

"Boss! Your sister is still waiting for us on the ship, we need to find her quickly!"

Shanks and his group only noticed that the two young men who were just eating meat and chatting suddenly changed, becoming restless and muttering about their sister.

"What happened? Is there anything we can do to help?"

Ace was looking for the glass bottle containing the Vivre Card, but the more anxious he became, the less he could find it. "My sister has a virus, and we came here to find someone to treat her, following the Vivre Card she gave us."

Shanks told him not to worry, that they'd always been here, and the Vivre Card wouldn't have fallen anywhere else. "Do you know who we're looking for?"

"I don't know, the older sister fainted before she could explain clearly, so we can only look for her first." Skal also helped Ace search the ground.

Fortunately, Ace found it in his cloak pocket. He had started wearing a cloak because of the cool weather, but he had never gotten into the habit of doing so, and had completely forgotten that cloaks had pockets.

Ace pondered how to straighten the glass bottle and figure out which way to go.

Beckman had remained silent until he saw the glass bottle, at which point he couldn't help but ask, "Your sister's name is You?"

“Yes!” Ace blurted out, but, “How did you know?” Ace remembered that he hadn’t mentioned Yu’s name, and Scal didn’t seem to have mentioned it either.

Beckman had already put down his glass, called out to Hongo, and said to Ace, "Lead the way!"

"Could this Vivre Card be...?" It dawned on him that the owner of the Vivre Card was actually a member of the Red-Haired Pirates!

“It’s the captain.” Beckman and Hongo followed behind Ace. “What’s Yu’s condition now? Do you know what kind of virus it is?”

Ace said he didn't know, "Deus has analyzed the basic ingredients, but the antidote hasn't been prepared yet." They didn't have enough medical supplies on board, and given Yu's urgent situation, they couldn't go to replenish them along the way.

Upon hearing that the virus components had been analyzed, Hongo's brow relaxed a little. "Tell me about your symptoms, and give me the sample." The Redford had everything needed.

Beckman exhaled a puff of smoke and said in a low voice, "You shouldn't have joined the party in the first place. Finding the right people is the most important thing."

Hongo sensed the dissatisfaction in Beckman's tone and silently quickened his pace. "Let's hurry and go see Yu."

Beckman is generally easy to talk to, but he also has to consider the occasion and the person.

From Ace and Skal's descriptions, Hongo learned about the symptoms caused by the virus, which were similar to those described in the news more than four months ago in the Kingdom of Voka, but seemed to be more severe and last longer than those of the residents there.

"When did Yu get infected?" Hongo originally wanted to change the subject, but as he listened, he felt something was off.

At that time, those infected with the virus in the Kingdom of Woka died within two or three days at the fastest, and at most half a month at the slowest. Moreover, this virus could not be transmitted from person to person. It can be said that this virus only affected the Kingdom of Woka and would not be found elsewhere.

However, later, someone who passed through the Kingdom of Woka concocted an antidote, and the situation there gradually improved.