Without even moving a finger, the injured Spade Pirates were all knocked unconscious by the shockwave. As for Ace… Ace, who hadn't eaten his Devil Fruit yet, was knocked unconscious with a single Armament Haki-imbued kick.
The Shichibukai were indeed strong.
Perhaps Ace, after eating the Mera Mera no Mi, could pose a significant threat to the Perfume Serpent, but in a one-on-one fight, Ace wouldn't be able to fight Hancock.
Perhaps in a few years, Ace, who could fight evenly with Jinbe, could fight Hancock, but now… he was far from ready.
Not to mention Ace without the Mera Mera no Mi.
"Tie them all up! Alistair, are you alright!" the Empress commanded sternly, turning into a concerned girlfriend as she asked Alistair.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Hancock. And thank you, Sandersonia." Alistair moved his limbs, feeling like he had flipped some strange switch today.
The feeling of Observation Haki just now was truly amazing. That feeling of controlling everything was extraordinary. And the thrill of a high-speed bullet coming towards him, the feeling of knowing exactly where the bullet was going, was something else entirely.
And the Conqueror's Haki just now…
The feeling made his whole body tingle.
"Sister really didn't choose the wrong person." Sandersonia stood beside Alistair, somewhat surprised.
"Even in Amazon Lily, many people can't withstand Sister's Conqueror's Haki, but you, so weak, are perfectly fine." Marigold stood to Alistair's right, looking at him. "Perhaps you're not just talking, you really have the bearing of a king."
"Conqueror's Haki…" Alistair was still savoring the feeling, scratching his hand, a wry smile on his face.
"I didn't come to this world to become an emperor… There has never been any savior, nor do we rely on gods or emperors…" He softly hummed the lyrics of "The Internationale," slowly walking to Hancock's side, taking her hand.
"To create human happiness, it all depends on ourselves. We must reclaim the fruits of our labor, let our thoughts break free from their cages…"
His eyes grew brighter. He turned to look at Hancock, and they seemed to understand each other, gazing into each other's eyes.
"Hey, kill or maim, just get it over with!" Ace, tied up tightly, had already woken up. Sitting beside the railing, the frustrated Ace looked at his tightly bound companions, relieved.
If they were dead, there would be no need to tie them up. This meant that his companions were captured, but not dead.
But was the gap between them really that big? A complete annihilation…
A wry smile appeared on his face. Now, he felt the same as Luffy on the execution platform. He had accepted defeat.
"Portgas D. Ace." Alistair released Hancock's hand and half-squatted in front of Ace, a bright smile on his face.
"Roger's son, nice to meet you."
"!!!" A terrifying expression appeared on Ace's face. He glared fiercely at Alistair, saying nothing.
"No way!!" The entire Spade Pirates exclaimed in shock. Clearly, they didn't know this news either. He only told Whitebeard this secret long after joining the Whitebeard Pirates.
Not only the Spade Pirates, but everyone on the Kuja Pirates' ship showed shocked expressions. No matter how naive they were, they knew of Gol D. Roger's achievements. The fact that the Pirate King Roger had a child was undoubtedly a world-shaking event.
Their exaggerated reactions were understandable.
"You… how did you know…" Portgas D. Ace wasn't the type to deny it. He admitted it without hesitation, and became very dangerous. "Are you a Marine...?"
The Shichibukai were affiliated with the Marines. Having a Marine inspector among them was perfectly normal. At this stage, pirates didn't fully understand the Shichibukai system. Having such thoughts was natural.
"Of course not, I'm a sworn enemy of the Marines." Alistair chuckled.
"Then how did you…" Ace couldn't understand. Only the Marines had this kind of intelligence network and ability—in fact, the Marines didn't have this kind of intelligence network and ability. Ace was discovered because he was defeated by Blackbeard, and Blackbeard, in order to sell him for a good price, told the Marines about his parentage.
This led to the Marineford War.
Before that, his identity and secret were well-preserved. Otherwise, the Marines would have desperately gathered Admirals and Vice Admirals to kill him in his cradle.
How could he have roamed the seas for so many years, even reaching the position of second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates?
"I want to overthrow the current Marines, the World Government, and even the Great Pirate Era your father created. Can you help me?" Alistair looked at him, not untying him, but smiling and asking.
The pirates' self-healing abilities were astonishing. The pierced areas were already starting to clot.
Ace frowned and looked back at his companions. They had woken up when they were tied up, and were now alert. He turned back to look at Alistair, not believing his words.
This was natural. No one would tell their ultimate goal to someone they had just met—except for revolutionaries.
With revolution, if you start with deception, you only get lies. It's impossible to attract like-minded people to move forward together.
Alistair knew this, so he had always been frank about his ideals, not ashamed to talk about them.
But he was also very cunning—he didn't talk to just anyone.
For example, the Devils Luck Pirates. He trained them, but never mentioned his purpose or goal.
If there was a reason, it was probably because Hancock and Ace were more important than the Devils Luck Pirates.
He could let the Devils Luck Pirates go anytime, but if Ace refused to join, he might have to kill him.
That was the difference.
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