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Here's chapter 2. Still on the introduction side of the plot, but things move forward ^^


Chapter 2

Ace glared ahead, arms crossed and eyes following the strange old man whose hair resembled a flower as he moved about his boat.

It hadn't come as much of a surprise that his boat had suffered damage from the arrival into the Grand Line, but Ace had hoped it would be in a good enough condition to reach the first island. It was, but this man had offered to help him all the same, clearly surprised and curious at seeing someone his age alone here.

Ace would have refused, but he had long since learned to take advantage of all the chances presented to him. He had also learned to be wary of them. Still, his sensing ability told him this weird man was strong, far stronger than Ace was, and the boy was aware that the man, who apparently was a doctor, didn't need to trick him if he really wanted to harm him.

That didn't mean Ace couldn't mistrust or glare at him.

He liked the whale, though. It didn't pay any attention to Ace, but he had always liked animals. You didn't need to worry about them stabbing you in the back. And he was curious about the scars. He wondered how such a big whale could have got so many of them, and really big ones at that.

Ace got his answer when a loud, earsplitting wail filled the air right before the whale began to bang its head against the Red Line.

The man, Crocus, left what he was doing and ran to the edge of the cape, yelling for it to stop hurting itself.

Laboon, that was the whale's name.

Judging by both the number of scars and the resigned sigh of the doctor, Ace could guess this was a very common occurrence.

Hours later, after Ace had decided to help Crocus fix his boat, they sat for dinner, the man having insisted the boy stay the night and leave the next morning, arguing that it would be suicide for Ace to start his trip through the Grand Line in the middle of the night. That, the promise of free food and Ace's reluctant belief that Crocus didn't seem like a bad person had convinced him to stay.

"I'm curious," the man said between mouthfuls of what he claimed was sea king meat, "how come a boy your age is a pirate on his own? Shouldn't you have searched a ship to be an apprentice at? That's the most common thing."

Ace shrugged and bit off another piece of meat. He wasn't sure if it was really sea king or not, but what he couldn't argue was that there was plenty of food and it was delicious.

"I didn't want to work for anybody." He explained when his mouth wasn't so full.

"Then why don't get a crew of your own?"

"Don't need it."

Crocus didn't answer, instead giving him a long, considering look while Ace continued to wolf down dinner. Once his plate was empty, Ace reached for one of the still full plates on a side table.

"What?" He asked, noticing the man was still looking at him.

Crocus shook his head.

"Nothing. When I saw you, I thought you resembled someone I knew, but you're very different." Ace gave him a confused look and brought the plate in front of him. Crocus laughed. "You have his same appetite, though."


Ace had decided to take his advance through the Grand Line calmly.

At the first island he arrived, the pirate boy had soon discovered people here were considerably stronger than those he was used to fight, both local thugs and pirates alike. That hadn't prevented him from beating up some crew who had laughed at him for 'playing pirate'.

It was becoming easier to control his abilities, he just had to think of something that really pissed him off for the strengthening power to appear. Remembering Bluejam did the job spectacularly.

But the fight had been hard and had taken a toll on him, and that was the reason why Ace had decided to stay on this island and train even after the Log Pose fixed on the next destination. It would take a week for that to happen, according to a nice lady from the market.


Garp's blood ran cold through his veins, as it had done ever since he saw the daily memo sent to all marine officers. He usually only gave it a quick browse and maybe came up with some funny thoughts at the bounty upgrades and new criminals with a price on their heads, but today one of the three wanted posters there had frozen the world around him.

There, on his desk, lay a new wanted poster, the picture of the grandson who had gone missing over three years ago glaring up at him.

Twenty million beli. That was what the government offered for the head of his almost fourteen year old grandson.

That paper, that innocent piece of paper, destroyed any chances there might have been left of finding Ace and taking him back to Mount Colbo, where he could have stayed safe for at least some more years.

And it also told Garp many things about his grandson.

Ace looked tired and angry, had deep shadows under his frowning eyes, his brow furrowed and his mouth drawn down. If he hadn't known better, that picture would have led him to believe he was fifteen, maybe even sixteen. Not even the boyish freckles on his face helped to soften his expression.

Also, reading the list of Ace's crimes, he now knew his grandson had entered the Grand Line, apparently a couple of months ago, though he didn't seem to be advancing fast through it. That might increase Garp's chances of finding him, at least as long as Ace stayed in Paradise, even if he wasn't sure what he would do now if he did manage to find his grandson. He wouldn't arrest him, that was for sure, but he couldn't take him to a safe place either, and entering him to become a marine wasn't an option anymore.

And then there was the name on the wanted poster. Ace. No Portgas, no D. Just Ace. That, in itself, was a blessing despite the circumstances. It gave him a certain anonymity, hiding his relationship with anything that might have alerted the marines and the government about his possible dangerous potential, effectively erasing any interest a higher up marine officer might have had in him. That, at least, was something.

Despite not knowing what to do, Garp was still determined to find him. He might not be able to protect him from this, but he at least wanted to make sure with his own eyes that Ace was alive and as fine as possible.

For now, the vice admiral realized the best thing he could do to help the boy was hide his relationship with his oldest grandson. Sengoku would immediately know he wasn't Dragon's, as Garp had boasted about Luffy in numerous occasions, and it wouldn't be hard for his old friend to figure out whose son Ace was.

Sighing deeply, Garp brushed a thumb over the picture and wished with all his will that Ace would be able to surpass all the trouble this simple paper would bring his way.


Marco the Phoenix raised an eyebrow at one of the wanted posters that had come with that morning's newspaper. He liked to stay up to date on the people the government considered dangerous. While most of these people were weaklings that he forgot about as soon as he read about them, sometimes there appeared a strong person or crew that had potential. He liked to keep an eye on those, as relatively strong crews had a thing for trying to defy the Whitebeard Pirates as soon as they reached the New World, and Marco liked to know what possible enemies they might face in the future.

This, however, was strange. It didn't catch his attention for the bounty that, though not bad for a first one, was pretty low. No, what caught his attention was the picture attached to it, the scowling face of a teenager who still seemed to have at least a couple of years to go before he could be considered an adult. A boy that age, if he was a pirate, usually would be a cabin boy that would go unnoticed by the marines and most other pirates, not a pirate on his own who went around fighting other wanted people.

"Oi, Thatch." His friend looked up from his breakfast. "Look at this," he said, throwing the wanted poster to the other commander. He waited until the man had looked at the picture before asking: "How old do you think that kid is?"

"Dunno, fifteen? What's with marines and putting bounties on kids?" He asked rhetorically, and then added. "And this epithet is lame. 'The monster child'? Really? These guys need to hire someone with imagination."

Marco smiled at his friend's comment. Another of the reasons why he looked at wanted posters was to have a laugh with his crewmates at some of them. But he didn't find this one amusing. The bounty might be low, but for a boy that age to earn it, and as a first one no less, was at least interesting.

Marco decided he would keep an eye out for this Ace guy when he read the newspaper from now on.


Ace had laughed hard when he saw his wanted poster at a bar of questionable patronage, extremely pleased with himself that he had earned his first bounty, and a very good one for someone who came from East Blue.

His laughter had attracted the attention of the other people there, and some of them had apparently recognized him, as a burly man stated cockily he had found a lot of easy cash and tried to capture him. After said man was flung through a wall no one else tried, and Ace was disappointed that there wasn't anyone strong in the bar. A good fight would have been a great way to celebrate his entrance into the wanted people list.

He felt really proud of himself and, for a short moment, indulged in thoughts of what could have been the reactions of the people that had been relevant in his life. Sabo would have laughed, just like him, and suggested they celebrate. His brother might even have expressed his jealousy at Ace having a bounty before he did. Dadan would have yelled at him, annoyed that Ace always did whatever he wanted. And Gramps would have got mad, really mad, and probably beat him to a pulp for daring to become a pirate.

Ace froze at this last thought.

Gramps was a marine. A marine vice admiral, no less. He probably knew about this already.

He stood up, running off of the bar, unconsciously emulating his old tradition of leaving before paying with Sabo, and ignored the bartender's yells as he headed as fast as possible for the port.

He had to get out of here. To another island. Preferably an island from a different route than the one he had been following so far.

Ace might not place any value in his own life, but that didn't mean he wanted to die at that man's hands. No way in hell.


Fifteen year old Portgas D. Ace sat on a bar stool at Water Seven, distractedly thinking about the strange city he was at while he devoured his meal, expertly ignoring the horrified stares around him.

Recently, his boat had been damaged after a particularly nasty storm, and at the island he had arrived next, a place with excellent food called Pucci, he was told about this island that was supposed to have some of the best shipwrights in the world. His boat hadn't been in any condition to sail further, but luckily both islands were connected by the Sea Train, an impressive machine that had made Ace practically drool at the sight of it, and he had managed to get his boat transported by it, even if it had been somewhat expensive. Then he had hired one of these animals that acted as a means of transportation in the beautiful city of water, a huge King Bull, to take his damaged boat to one of the docks, where he had been surprised at the ease with which the shipwrights had acted, apparently having no problem about working for pirates.

Ace hadn't been the only pirate there, and had been glad to know his rather generous treasure would be more than enough to pay for the repairs. He would have to wait some days for the repairs to be done though, and that meant now Ace had to find a hotel to stay meanwhile.

His next destination was, finally, Sabaody Archipelago, the last stop before Fishman Island and, at long last, the New World. It had taken him almost two years to cross the first half of the Grand Line, but he finally was almost there and the long wait had been worth it. He was now much stronger than he had been when he first entered this ocean, as his bounty of now one hundred and fifty million beli indicated, and had lived many things he once thought were only impossible dreams.

Now it wouldn't be long before he visited one of the most mythical places of the world and, with that thought in mind, Ace decided that as soon as he had found a hotel he would go in search of information about the New World and, luckily, the way to reach Fishman Island. According to some maps he had seen, the island was right below the Red Line.


Sabaody was, put in one word, impressive. The bubbles floating everywhere, along with the architecture of the place, mostly consisting on circular shapes that reminded of those same bubbles and the tall Mangroves rising far above the trees gave the place a fairy tale-like appearance that was dampened by the rumors Ace had heard about slavery still being a common practice in this place, sanctioned by the marines who simply turned a blind eye on it so the Tenryuubito could have a place to acquire their slaves.

Ace had heard enough about the Tenryuubito, all of it whispered in low and fearful voices, to know he really didn't want to encounter one in case he couldn't resist the urge to punch their face in if he saw them do something disgusting.

That was one of the reasons he decided to head for the lawless area, along with the idea that it would probably be easier to find information about a coating engineer who didn't mind working for pirates there. He would rather avoid the hassle of threatening an unwilling person to do it and risking a lousy job because of that. It was his life on the line here, after all.

Entering a bar, he sat on one of the few free stools on the counter and asked for the first thing that caught his fancy of all the bottles behind the bartender, along with food. Lots of it. As much as the man could fit in the space before him. Said man looked at him strangely, a skeptical look on his face at the request, but complied nonetheless.

He ate and drank in silence for a while, listening to the conversations around him in hopes of hearing something useful but, when he couldn't hear anything of interest, he decided to ask.

"Hey, boss," Ace spoke to the bartender in his most polite way, having learned that calling someone 'asshole' or 'bastard' didn't get you far when you wanted to gain some information, "you know of any good coating engineer around here?"

The man, who up to this point had been directing astonished looks his way as Ace devoured all the food he had ordered, smiled. Not a nervous gesture, despite the fact that the man obviously knew who he was as Ace's wanted poster hung in one of the walls, and answered him.

"Actually, you're sitting next to one. Right, Ray-san?"

Ace turned his head around in both directions and settled on the old man to his right who now was looking at him.

"Really? You're a coating engineer, old man?" Ace bit his tongue as soon as the words left his mouth, remembering a lot of people didn't like to be called old even if they did have long gray hair, a matching weird beard and more wrinkles on his face than Ace could count. He fleetingly thought the man looked slightly familiar.

The boy cursed internally, fearing he had lost his chance.

But the man just laughed heartily.

"Yeah, I am."

Ace grinned.

"Can you do my ship, then?" He asked excitedly.

"It depends. Can you pay, brat?"

Ace crossed his arms, suddenly annoyed at the old geezer's question.

"Of course I can."


Ace had been worried that his boat would be too small to be coated and go all the way down to Fishman Island, fearing he would be forced to find another way to go there, but according to the engineer, Ray-san, it was big enough for Ace to make it with more than enough air if he went alone. Now they were on it, moving the boat to a more secluded place where the man said he would be able to work better. It would take at least three days to coat the boat, even with its small size.

Ace guessed he could have a look around meanwhile. He still hadn't found a New World Log Pose, after all.

"So you're a pirate, eh? It's surprising how young some people make that decision." The old man said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, so I've been told." Ace answered, having heard that same comment too many times to be offended by it any longer. He guessed it was strange that someone his age, even more the age he had been when he set sail, was a pirate, and could understand some people was surprised by it. Ray-san wasn't surprised, though, he just seemed to have stated a fact.

"I knew two brats your age who were pirates, too. They were apprentices." The man said in a strange tone of voice. It sounded almost melancholic.

Ace turned his head to look at him and, sure enough, there was a faint trace of wistfulness in his expression.

"You were a pirate, old man?"

Ray-san grinned, a bright and somewhat happy gesture that somehow still managed to look sad.

"Yes. It was a long time ago."

Ace stared at the man, his posture relaxing a little after obtaining that knowledge. If Ray-san was a former pirate, it was less likely that he would try to sell Ace or something. Hell, the man might even have a bounty on his head, and that would make selling Ace really hard on him.

He froze, eyes fixed on the man. A picture from a book he had read many years ago, when he was just a little boy trying to understand why the world couldn't know he existed, came to his mind. A blond man with a strange dark beard on his chin, round glasses and a confident smile appeared above an obscenely high sum of money and a name famous all around the world.

Silvers Rayleigh.

Rayleigh.

Ray.

Ray-san.

Ace stared and, before he could think properly, his stupid mouth opened and uttered the name of the Dark King, the first mate of the Pirate King.

He didn't know what reaction he had been expecting, but for the man to laugh certainly wasn't it.

"You'd better not go throwing that name around, kid. I'm old, I'd like to live a peaceful life."

Ace frowned, and for a moment thought of steering the boat to the coast and ask the man to get out, that he would find someone else to help him. But he didn't want to look weak, and so he kept his mouth shut and didn't say a word.

A silence that weighed heavily on Ace's mind settled on the boat.

"What's your name, boy?" Rayleigh asked after long minutes. Ace looked sideways at him. "And I don't mean just the 'Ace' from your wanted poster. Your full name."

Ace debated not telling him, but his pride didn't allow him to just stay silent, and it wasn't as if his name would make a great difference in his life, at least not the name he had chosen for himself. He had renounced his birth name long ago.

"Portgas D. Ace."

Again, he was surprised at the Dark King's response.

"Rouge's son? I liked her."

For the first time, Ace turned to look fully at him, surprise written all over his face.

"… You knew her?"

"We met her a long time ago." Rayleigh smiled sadly. "Am I wrong in assuming she's dead?"

Ace shook his head and, for some reason he couldn't fathom, provided an answer for an unasked question.

"She died giving birth to me."

He was surprised at the genuine sadness in Rayleigh's eyes. This man was the first person aside from gramps he had met who knew his mother, and the obvious sorrow at the news of her death made Ace's animosity toward him slightly decrease.

Silence settled once more until the older man spoke again.

"Tell me, Ace, are you Roger's son as well?"

Ace tensed, back going ramrod straight and hands clenching in tight fists.

"What if I am?" He snapped.

Rayleigh shook his head.

"I guess you don't like him much."

"Why should I?!" He yelled, feeling the sudden urge to express all his thoughts on the useless man who had sired him, but Rayleigh spoke before he could begin.

"I'm not sure what you've heard about him. The rumors, I'd imagine, but maybe you should ask about him to those who knew him instead of forming an opinion based on what people who never met Roger think."

Ace paused, his stance going slack involuntarily, and he stared.

"I don't know what your grudge against him is, but Roger was my captain and best friend." Rayleigh said, confusing Ace further. Aside from gramps' fond memories of his fights with the Pirate King and the time he told Ace that Roger wasn't that bad a guy, Silvers Rayleigh was the first person Ace had met who seemed to have a good opinion about Gol D. Roger.

Seeing the deep sadness in the man's eyes when he said those last words, Ace decided to hold back any further comments on the topic.

Rayleigh raised an arm and pointed to one of the various rivers sneaking between the enormous trees.

"Let's go through there. And don't worry about the money, take it as a present."

To be continued


And we get our first glimpse of Marco :)

I hope you liked the chapter and will leave me a review. I really love reviews, you know :3