"Brat."

Ace looked up to see the said first division commander standing with crossed arms in front of him. "What do you want?" He snapped.

"Thatch has been looking for you, and he said you haven't eaten for at least a day."

Ace huffed. "Please stop acting like you care, because you don't!"

"Yes we do, brat."

Ace fumed. He could never get the Phoenix to lose his temper, and he could get anyone to lose their temper. "Just leave me alone, alright?"

"After you eat."

Ace threw up his hands. "How the hell do you keep on finding me?"

"I'll tell you that as you eat."

"Fine." Ace was starving, really.

A few minutes later…

"How did you manage to coax him here this time?" Thatch asked in disbelief. "I've never managed it, not even once."

"I have to sacrifice the secret of my always knowing where he is."

"Hurry up and tell me!" Ace growled, eating.

"Okay. Have you ever heard of Haki?"

"No." Ace lied, he had of course used and heard if armament Haki before, as well as observation, but what did that have to do with anything?

"Well, you've used it already." Seeing the expression on the teen's face he chuckled, causing Ace's scowl to deepen. "There are three types. You've managed to use two. Armament Haki is something you use to reinforce and be able to take enemies down with only your bare hands, it's like a very strong second skin. You used it once in your first fight with Pops, I definitely saw it. It works against logia devil fruit users, too forcing them into a solid state. Observation Haki is when you can sense the next moves of your opponent, along with the relative strength of an opponent based on their aura. If you manage to progress it to that level, you can sense the emotions of a person as well. It's how I find you, as everyone feels different. "

Ace nodded, for once not wearing a scowl. So that was what it was. Well, couldn't Uncle have spent an extra three minutes explaining to him then?

"And the last is called Conquers Haki, it's basically forcing your will upon others and making them go unconscious. People who have foaming mouths usually have been hit by it. You used it, too. And it's really rare. Only around one in a million people have it, and yours, by what I've seen, can perhaps eventually become on par with Red Haired Shanks. I think you unlocked both because of situations of extreme danger."

"Amazing vigor and drive, to the fullest." Ace muttered. "He lied!" He looked furious.

"What?"

"He told me it was a mystery power." Ace pouted. "And I believed him! Like I was Luffy! I can't believe Uncle never told me this stuff!"

"What?"

"Whatever. So how do I use it?"

Marco believed that Ace most likely had no control whatsoever over his Haki. "Training. That, and patience."

Ace groaned. "Seriously?" He had great control over his observation and armament, only he had thought he could only use it at swordplay. Conquerors, though, was a mystery.

"Everything takes time."

"Wait. You said that I unlocked them because of situations of extreme danger right?" Ace rubbed his hands together. "So just I need to be in an extremely dangerous situation!"

"Wait. That's not how it works, you've unlocked it, but you need to train it."

"Could you possibly…" Ace's voice trailed off as he realized what's he had been about to say, and his face hardened. His mask snapped back into place. "Whatever." He left quickly.

"Well?" Thatch walked in. "How did it go?"

"We've made progress. But there's still a long way to go."