Wishfull-star: thank you!

"The hell happened here?" Sabo asked, breaking the silence as the Upstart sailed through an area of the ocean that was completely, blood red. Ace didn't dare get in and see what happened. The three were searching the water for any bodies, sea king or otherwise, but it was so thick that they couldn't see anything.

The red sea spray wasn't staining the hull of the ship, luckily. Their ship wouldn't be doused in blood. Ace didn't even want to get low enough to smell it, let alone swim in it. Well, weird things happened in Paradise, too. Not just the New World. But he was actually thrown off by something! That was new. It was nice, his heart beating a little faster at not knowing the answer, being unable to surely know what to do next.

It was awesome. Not knowing something… it felt thrilling. "I have no idea," Ace said. Deuce looked at him and asked why he was smiling. "Oh. I guess it's just new for me. Not knowing something. I mean, no, you know what I mean. Up until now, I've known what will happen. I have experience as a pirate and on the Grand Line, but I don't know everything."

Sabo said, "That would be boring." Ace grinned and agreed. He went into the kitchen and got a grape and then tossed it into the water. It just sank. "Doesn't look like we can do anything about this but sail through it, right?"

Ace nodded. "No fuckin' way I'm going in there to investigate." The three stayed out on deck, waiting for the water to turn back to normal. "Hey, do you think it's flammable?"

"We are not trying to blow it up," Sabo said firmly. Ace said he wasn't suggesting doing so, just wondering. "There would be no way to find out unless we tested it." Ace huffed that he wasn't going to try. He stood up and smelled the water go back to normal. The blue gradually retired and the red sea was behind them.

The Upstart was completely undamaged, not even looking like it had gone through strange waters. They'd probably never learn what that was. Oh well. "How long until the next island?" Ace asked, still looking at the red as it disappeared the further they got from it.

"Another day or so," Sabo replied. Ace was about to complain about it when he had a sudden presence rush at them from below. Ace was in the water in a moment, going to protect his ship and his crew. It was a massive sea king, but when Ace appeared and roared at it, the sound rumbling and reverberating through the water, it turned away and swam at the cloud of red.

He couldn't help it, he swam closer to the red cloud until he sensed just how many sea kings there were festering in there. In a frenzy. Meaning he wasn't able to fight back against that many. He rocketed away and breached the surface to shout for the chain. They knew what chain it was, and threw the heavy chain into the water.

Sabo and Deuce were shouting out questions, but smart enough to furl the sails as Ace rushed them forward, to the nearest island he sensed. He kept swimming until he calmed down and stopped, able to tell the presences were no longer after him. He transformed and climbed the chain back onto the ship.

The ship was far from the swarm. Ace, even in the New World, had never come across a swarm of that size. Whatever was in the water was attracting them. It got their attention so much they hadn't noticed the ship sailing through it. "The hell happened?!" Sabo demanded.

Ace ran his hands through his hair and sat down. "Whatever was in the water seemed addictive to the sea kings. There was a massive swarm in it. I'm sorry I scared you, but even I couldn't handle that many. A few big ones would probably be okay, but there were hundreds." The other two were shocked. "We're lucky that they didn't pay attention to it as we sailed through, because the Upstart would be destroyed."

Deuce said, "Sea kings are really that scary?" Ace nodded and took a deep breath again, calming himself. That was an unwelcome shock. But what had been in the water? How was it made? Now he was embarrassed about his reaction. His face turned red. The strong and calm captain freaked out. Panicked.

Sabo seemed to realize what he was feeling. "Why did you jump in so suddenly?"

Ace replied, "One of them was rushing at us from below. It was big enough that it would have punched a hole through the bottom. I saved us, but I also panicked in a rush." He sighed. "I'm sorry."

The other two were confused. Deuce said, "But, you got us away from a sea king attack. Why are you apologizing?" Ace replied that he'd panicked. Captains shouldn't panic about things. Sabo frowned but also had a pitiful smile. Ace knew he wasn't pitying him, though. Sabo wasn't an asshole.

"You know humans panic for a reason right? The fight or flight reaction is to protect itself. You chose flight. And you panicked while also knowing to go out of your way to take us with you. If you had just thought about what to do for a bit, it would have been too long and we'd be dead," he said with a firm voice. "There's nothing wrong with panicking as long as you don't do something bad about it."

"Of course I wouldn't abandon you!" Ace said defensively.

Deuce sat down and Sabo replied, "You're used to being on your own right? And we've never had an emergency that needed us gone right now. You didn't fall back into step and run on your own. I think it showed you're a good captain!"

The blue haired man agreed. Sabo was right. Ace was so used to being on his own, protecting himself and himself alone, that it wouldn't have been shocking if he fled alone, leaving them. But he hadn't. He was so glad about that. If he'd left them, ran on his own, he'd hate himself, even if the ship ended up being fine and he'd over reacted.

He nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry I freaked. And I won't leave you guys, ever. But if I order you to leave me, you have to follow that order. If it's a captain's order, you have to. Understand?" Sabo frowned, but nodded. "Promise?"

"Y-Yeah, I promise," Sabo said, voice sounding in defeat.

Ace looked to Deuce. He surprised both of them when he said, "If you die, I die." Ace didn't know what to say. "I'm serious. You saved me. I don't mean just saved me from an uninhabitable island, but I had no life, nowhere to go, nothing to do."

It was quiet for a moment before Sabo said, "Deuce, a captain's order is final," in a quiet voice. "If he tells us to leave, it would be because he thought it was best for the crew." The blue haired man didn't reply. Before he and Sabo got in an argument further, Ace put his hand up to prevent it.

"Sabo, if I tell you and any of our future nakama to leave me, you knock them out and force 'em," Ace said. "That's my first order as captain. My first real order." Sabo nodded firmly, making Deuce scowl. "I appreciate the loyalty, Deuce. But I also need to know that you'll follow my orders. I wouldn't sacrifice myself easily, you know?"

The blue haired man nodded. Ace finally had his breath caught, and he walked to the front of the ship. He had an idea. The ship had been hard to lead with just the chain. He had a project. They had a lot of chain. More than they needed, most likely. He walked inside and to the lower storage room, surveying the supplies.

His two crew members followed, wondering what he was doing. "I want to make an instant harness. It was hard to carry the chain like that and threw off my balance." The other two asked what he was envisioning. "You know how horses wear the harness, right? The mouth part, where it's clamped between the teeth and pulled back on either side of the head?"

Deuce got it first. Sabo got it next, and said they could make it hang from the front of the ship so Ace didn't need to shout for it first. The zoan fruit user nodded. It would be the safest and quickest way to get away from something or someone. So, the next four hours were spent concocting a harness. It was relatively easy to make for three people who weren't used to building anything, let alone successfully.

They attached the chains to the ship on either side of the figurehead that connected to a mouthpiece. They were anchored for this so Ace could have it fitted around his mouth. He pulled it for a bit, slower and then faster. It was easily clamped between his teeth. It was a metal bar, not wood. Wood would snap easily.

So, a productive day with a big success! The harness was rolled up underneath the figurehead. So, Ace could get it alone if he needed. Now he could get them to safety more effectively. He felt better, and they all felt good about the success, even if it was small. It was then that Sabo noticed the log pose was different.

"The log pose is pointing in the wrong direction," he said, his voice filling the quiet room. Ace jerked up and ran over. "We probably ended up in the magnetic field of another island when we fled."

He sounded so calm, but Ace said, "I moved us to the closest island. It's still not close to where we ended up." Sabo just smiled, and said it was an adventure. "You're not worried?"

Deuce was pretty calm, too. "We'd end up on an island regardless, right? The log pose isn't spinning, which is the worst case scenario, right?" Ace nodded, knowing that was true. "As long as we end up at an island, it will point us to the next. With you moving us, we don't even really need the log pose if we have no actual destination."

Sabo laughed, and said that they were probably the only crew who could do this. "At least Isuka won't be following us now," the blonde joked. Ace felt a weight lift off of his chest. He should chill, now he was the one throwing fits over everything. He sat down on the deck and sighed. So, they followed the log pose, not knowing where they were heading to now, how long they'd be on the sea.

If necessary, Ace would take them to the island they should go to next. They practiced fighting and Sabo and Deuce taught Ace more complicated math just so he felt he was learning something as well. They sailed on relatively peacefully until a storm came. They were coming more often, but none of them had been overwhelming yet. They were easy to navigate. Sabo was getting the hang of it quickly.

Deuce was faster when it came to furling the sails and pulling up the anchor. They were both very capable, and Ace was glad they were his first members. The three of them followed the log pose until they got to the next island. Ace deemed them good enough to get more members. Sabo and Deuce were strong even without haki.

But the haki training had helped them both regardless, even if it didn't end up magically granting them months or years of practice.

When they landed on the next island, they found it was full of thugs and pirates. Ace knew many of them had much higher bounties than Ace and Sabo's current ones. None of these people had anything close to Ace's real bounty. He honestly wasn't bothered with having a small bounty at the moment.

Right now, he was working on building a crew and having them be competent on fighting and living on the sea. He didn't need to be a super rookie right now. It wasn't a number one priority. He wasn't working to get a ton of attention yet. Right now, he was enjoying being a simple pirate, known in Paradise or not.

They didn't dock the ship at the island or shore, they dropped anchor a bit away from the island, not wanting to risk anyone trying to find what wasn't there. It was in Ace's pouch. They took the small rowboat, Ace pulling them along under the water before they got out. Sabo sent heat at Ace to dry him, something he thought was really helpful. Having a devil fruit user completely soaked might look strange.

They walked into town, all three having little pouches of money rationed for spending. They had to buy supplies, but for now they were just exploring. It had been a while on the sea, so they were enjoying the land. Ace was fine with being on the sea, but he had to admit that being stuck on a boat for weeks or months wasn't too fun.

Nobody really paid any attention to them at first before they saw Sabo's get up, and thought he was a rich noble. "That's what you get for being fancy," Ace commented after the thugs that tried to attack Sabo were on the ground with bleeding and bruised wounds. Sabo gave him a look. Ace just snorted. The three looked like kids, Ace the most. He had an overwhelming presence over him if someone knew to look for it.

Otherwise, he looked like an easy going teenager. 17 years old. They headed to a bar, since they never had any booze. Deuce was the only one who ever really drank regularly. Ace only drank when he had his little breakdown and the Whitebeard's approached him in pity. He wondered how they were doing.

When they entered, Ace was immediately asked how old he was. "Nineteen," he said easily.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. But I'm not going to drink, so it's not a problem, really," he said and the three headed to the bar counter. Ace could tell the men inside were weak by Grand Line standards but stronger than East Blue criminals. There was no marine base on this island, so of course pirates flourished.

They didn't even know what this island was named or how long they'd be there. They just wanted to walk around and try something new. Deuce and Sabo ordered alcohol while Ace just got lemonade. Not spiked. He actually wanted orange juice, but that would have looked quite ridiculous. He drank it through a straw and watched Sabo as he drank his first type of alcohol. His face turned sour and Ace laughed. Deuce was perfectly fine drinking from a tankard. Well, he was the oldest of them.

But Ace was surprised, since he'd lived with a strict family as a doctor in training. So did he drink in secret there? It was interesting, but Ace didn't ask. They were talking when somebody sat next to Ace. he was the perfect definition of cocky and self-inflated. He was grinning a nasty smile. Ace ignored him, but he didn't ignore Ace.

"Yo, what's somebody your age doing at some place like here?" he asked. Ace knew he had bad intent. He was relaxed, though. Knowing this guy couldn't lay a finger on him. Ace could easily snap his neck with three fingers. And he was a devil fruit user, too. But still not strong with whatever it was.

Ace replied, "None of your business." He took another sip of his lemonade. "You got a problem? You're in my space and kind of smell bad." Another sip taken. The room went quiet, his cronies laughing after a moment of silence. Apparently, Bellamy, a blonde man with a tiny nose, would beat the shit out of him. "Good luck with that," Ace said.

Sabo and Deuce looked perfectly calm, watching in amusement. They knew Ace liked to push buttons, so clearly, this wasn't surprising. "You better not mess with someone with over a 50 million berri bounty," Bellamy said, grinning still.

"Good for you. Now, shoo, your nose is bothering me," Ace replied in disinterest. This seemed to be the final straw, and he moved to slam Ace's face into the bar counter. Ace moved to the side and instead grabbed the back of his head and slammed it hard into the counter. The room went silent. "And I was enjoying my drink. Sorry miss, I'll pay for the damage," Ace said politely to the barmaid, who looked very alarmed.

He dropped the little sack of money down, and his friends downed the rest of their drinks. They walked past Bellamy, Ace stepping on him for good measure as they left the building. But he woke up and came running after them. He was swaying, but he immediately, enraged, used his devil fruit. So, he made springs on his legs that allowed him to move fast.

Not fast enough to beat Ace's haki. When he went flying at Ace's back, he was out of the way suddenly and caught him mid flight, kicking up high in the air, sending him up, screaming. Ace said they should go look around some more. Sabo and Deuce agreed. Deuce wasn't drunk, but Sabo complained about the taste in his mouth.

"Who are you?!" the blue haired first mate of Bellamy demanded. "Ace, nice to meet ya." He was asked for his bounty. Everyone around was listening, the island swarming with bounty hunters. "5 million. I'm a starting pirate." Everyone was shocked, and Ace snickered. If only they knew the truth. They'd be shitting their pants.

They ended up in a calmer part of town, much quieter but also smaller. Ace knew somebody was following them from far behind. Someone strong, but not very strong. He ignored it for now. There was a nice little restaurant there, quaint and looking more like it was for breakfast. He asked Deuce and Sabo to get him something.

"I don't want to cause them trouble by bringing a fight to their doorstep," Ace explained when they looked at him questioningly. So, he waited outside, watching the person walk to him. It was a woman with a huge sword on her back. She looked at him with angry eyes. "Can I help you?" he asked her.

"I was after him and you took my fight from me," she snapped. She was tall and in her early twenties. Again, older than Ace. Ace claimed it was self-defense. "Are you really only worth 5 million? That was not how a 5 million bounty pirate fights." Ace shrugged, but did say his bounty was accurate. He just hadn't gotten in enough trouble with the marines yet.

He asked what she was there for. "To kill you," she said casually. Ace told her good luck, and continued to sit on the fence outside of the restaurant. She walked towards him before starting at a run. He came off of the fence and she attacked him ruthlessly. He dodged every swipe, and redirected her sword a few times with a haki covered finger.

She was confused and got angrier, but her fighting didn't change. She wasn't letting her emotions affect her fighting. Ace was impressed. "You're pretty good at not letting your emotions get to you," he said, ducking against before he finally tripped her and held her own sword to her neck. She kicked him under him, but he pinned her legs down with his knees. "What will you do now, bounty hunter? Try to take someone worth 5 million? Isn't this a waste of time and money?" he asked. She snarled at him.

He said, "Bounty hunting must be a boring life. I feel bad for you." She bristled at this, but had a look of embarrassment on her face. "You doing this for somebody else?" She looked shocked. "I'm good at reading people. Based on your clothing, you either suck at your job or you're giving the money to somebody else."

She looked very uncomfortable, he guard completely down. He could have easily snatched her weapon away or killed her. "You love them?" he asked. He wasn't really that interested, but he was bored while the others ate their food.

"It's none of your business."

"That's true. And I'm a pirate. I do whatever the fuck I want. If I want to talk to you, I will," he replied. She looked very thrown off. "But I don't know you, so…" he left it hanging, but he didn't know her, so he was unbiased. He was curious about where this would go. He never really sympathized with people, was always dismissive. He was liking finding new things about the kind of person he really was.

Helping Isuka was a shocking development, but he was looking forward to more. Like he was finding himself through this journey.

The bounty hunter looked like she was about to leave, but stopped herself. "It's my dad. He's sick with an illness and can't afford the cure. So I'm trying to save up, but it's just not enough." Ace asked how much it cost. "50 million berries, but I hate dealing with the more powerful guys. So I try to save up with the little ones."

"Is that why you came after me? Since it's so cheap?" He wasn't offended, business was business. He knew that well, but he wasn't going to give himself up for this woman. She nodded. "What's your name?"

"Banshee." Strange name. But Ace was also kind of a strange name. He didn't give it, she didn't ask. Ace could tell she was a good person. He asked if she enjoyed bounty hunting. "It makes money like no other job." That was true. He then asked if she was being held back by doing this. "It's my dad, of course I'll do what I can to help him!"

Ace "hmmm"ed and then wondered what she'd do if she did gain all the money and pay for her father's cure. Ace wondered what the cure was. "I want to travel," she said simply. Ace asked if she'd ever want to be a pirate. "I don't know. Maybe."

He leaned forward and asked if she wanted to join them and become a pirate. "Did you not just hear what I said? I can't!" Ace put his arms behind his head and asked if she suddenly had the money, if she'd join them. As long as she didn't go after their heads. And if she did, it would be mutiny and she'd be thrown over the ship to be eaten by sea kings. He said it with such a casual voice that it shocked her.

"If I had the money, then I'd try. You don't seem too bad even if you're annoying." Ace grinned and asked where her dad lived. Apparently in a tiny village in the forest. She hunted pirates in this town and turned them into the marines on a nearby island that was easy to get to even without a log pose. But she had an eternal pose for this island, so it wasn't too hard.

Ace warned her not to be disgusted, confusing her as he pulled out a bag of berries. He had the paper money in neat and compacted stacks up to one million berries. He pulled out fifty of them, shocking her. "This is 50 million. Enough for his treatment. Welcome to the Spades, Banshee." She was shocked and confused. "Why don't we go, now?" he asked, standing up straight and then putting the money back inside.

"A devil fruit?" she asked, seeming to be over her shock about the scene. "Wait… I can save him?" she questioned, voice full of a different shock. He nodded, and said a good captain and friend would help their crew. Sabo came out, carrying boxes for Ace to eat. He hurried to it and smelled them. They smelled delicious.

Deuce asked who the woman was. "A new crew member."

She had tears down her face about Ace's generosity. The amount of money he'd given was more than replaceable on a couple pirate ships and maybe a marine base. He had to do that soon, he couldn't stay at 5 million too long. Sabo and Deuce didn't question his choice, and welcomed her.

She said her name was Banshee. "We're going to her dad's house and are going to give him money for a cure to his sickness," he explained. "Lead the way." Banshee sniffled and nodded. She had short black hair that was in a ponytail and was wearing very concealing clothes. All covering every inch of her body. Ace wondered how she didn't get hot all the time. This wasn't a winter island.

Ace ate the food on their way, and soon it was gone. He handed it to Sabo who burned the cardboard boxes into nothing. There were no trash cans out there and Ace wouldn't litter. When they reached the small village, Ace saw just how poor it was. Everything was falling apart. It reminded him of the worst parts of Wano.

Banshee led them to one of the houses and walked inside to see an old man whose skin was a light green color. Ace was baffled immediately. "This is not an illness that needs a 50 million berrie price tag," Ace said. He knew the cure and could get it. Only he could get it, so it did make sense that it would be hard to get. Sea king piss.

That was a remedy he'd used when he got harmed once. It was disgusting, but he had had this sickness before. "Is the illness called sicily fever?" She nodded, looking surprised. "Well, looks like I don't need to use any money. I'll be back with the cure in a few hours. Deuce, Sabo stay here."

Deuce followed him out and stopped him, asking where he was going. "Don't tell anybody, but sea king piss can fix this." Deuce was shocked. "I've gotten sick from this before. I ate a certain fish that needed to be cooked, but I ate it raw. Not many get this illness since all chefs should know not to use it.

"Cooked, it could be fine, but if it's cooked in any wrong way, bam, sick," Ace explained. He walked back through the doorway and Ace asked if he'd eaten a blue fish with red and black stripes. The man nodded, and coughed. "Then I'll be back in a bit." Banshee asked where he was going, but Ace was already gone.

He was running down the opposite side of the big and rugged city. He looked around before entering the water and leaving, easily finding a sea king that he tore apart and ripped the bladder out. Their bladders were thick and able to be handled. That was how he'd done it the first time, sick and barely able to swim.

Nobody knew it had happened, as he'd never talked about it, not wanting to seem weak. He was just lucky he'd read all sorts of medical texts when he started going off on missions on his own when he was 13.

He brought the sack back, drying his clothes and wringing them out before heading back up. He poured it into a glass once he was in the little house. He didn't tell them what it was. "Here, drink this. It'll taste rancid, but will be the cure. I got sick with this once, too," he explained. The man was so desperate for the cure that he drank it from some stranger.

They waited for two hours, playing cards while Banshee monitored her father. He sat up, tired but no longer green or shivering. He looked at his fingers that were no longer tingling and burning. He'd been sick with it for so long. It must have been very painful. She was shocked and started crying. They asked what the remedy was.

Ace turned to Deuce, who shrugged. The captain told him not to throw up, and he promised he wouldn't. "It's sea king piss." He held up the pouch that still had some urine in it. "This is a sea king bladder."

The former bounty hunter and her fathers' faces turned into shock and disgust. "H-How did you get that?" she asked in complete confusion. Ace said it was a secret. She sighed and said it didn't matter, that it worked. Ace asked what the island name was and when the log pose would set. They had forgotten to ask anybody about it.

The father sounded completely back to normal, his voice no longer weak and scratchy. "It's called Oppa Island, the log pose takes four days to reset. "Isn't… isn't that boob island?" Ace asked, holding in a snort. Banshee said a lot of people called it that.

"Does everyone here have big tits or something?" Ace wondered, leaning against the wall, knowing this part wasn't going to collapse by the weight.

The oldest man shook his head, it was named after the founder hundreds of years ago. Ace frowned. The other option was more entertaining. But he shrugged and told Banshee she had four days to say goodbye and get things ready. He was glad when she didn't look like she'd back out, or he'd be irritated. Instead, her face showed excitement before it was hidden. Poorly hidden, but he didn't comment on it.

"What does he mean, Ban?" the man asked. She explained she was going to go be a pirate with them. "But… you hunt pirates, right?" He was confused and looked concerned as well.

She shook her head, "Not anymore. Besides, Ace wrangled a sea king to save you. He's not a bad guy. At least, I don't think so." Sabo made sure to say he was a good person to those he cared about. The correction didn't bother the woman. Ace then wondered if she could cook. "Because I'm a woman?" she snapped, angry all of the sudden.

"No, we just don't have anyone good at cooking," he replied simply, not fazed by her instant change of demeanor. It looked like gender would be a touchy subject, so he wouldn't bring it up again. She was strong enough for him not to have to babysit, which was good. And she wasn't new to the Grand Line. Her body and face relaxed, but she said she wasn't good at it, either. "Do you have any other talents? Besides fighting?"

She frowned and asked if she had to. "No, I'm just wondering." She said she was only good at fighting and hunting. The former bounty hunter looked ashamed. Ace made sure to say it didn't really matter. "I'm the captain, Sabo is the navigator and first mate. Deuce is the unofficial doctor and fighter. There's only the four of us now."

Banshee looked concerned and asked if they had any experience, since they were new pirates and Ace had such a pathetic bounty. Deuce said Ace was experienced, but refused to go into specifics. After all, the three of them were keeping his past and true identity a secret. To anybody on the crew. No matter how close they got to them, nobody but the three would know of Ace's actual bounty and his status in the New World.

His former status, he was no longer an All-Star, no longer under Kaido. He was his own man, now. Doing what he wanted, seeing who he wanted. Having people who actually cared about him. "We'll remedy that disgrace. You said there was a marine base near here? Does this island need them?"

Banshee scoffed and the marines didn't give a shit about anybody there. That was why pirates and thugs were in such massive numbers on such a small island. The sun started to set, and Ace said they should get back to the ship. "Three days, be ready to sail." He grinned and put his hand out. "Welcome, Banshee, to the Spade Pirates." She shook his hand, and told them they could call her Ban.

"Ace, Deuce, Sabo. The ship is the Upstart," the captain said. He was happy to have another nakama. He felt the other two were strong enough already to be useful, and they'd only get stronger with experience. He said they should be going now. She nodded and said she'd be there on time, no matter what.

The three headed back down the mountain and through the rough town. Many pointed their swords at Ace, grinning widely. He'd one shotted Bellamy, the only one in the town that probably had a bounty over 30 million. And he had been weak against Ace. Sabo and Deuce didn't seem bothered either.

Ace knew, before they entered the Grand Line, the two would have been uncomfortable or even terrified of being surrounded like this. But after many pirate attacks, sea kings and storms, he felt they were better equipped to handle stress. It was showing, and Ace was proud.

"Move," Ace commanded. He stared at each pirate, letting out his aura. They all started to sweat but didn't make a move. They stood still until Ace passed. Then someone pulled a gun, and shot at Ace. It would hit his back, and he decided to scare them, and jerked around to catch the bullet in a haki coated hand. Of course bullets would do absolutely nothing to armament haki. He made it disappear before he threw the bullet back and it went straight through somebody's chest.

Everyone was freaked out and ran. Ace snickered. Deuce and Sabo said he'd have a bounty in no time, and weren't surprised. "I wonder if there's anyone stronger than you in Paradise?" Sabo wondered. Ace made sure it was dark outside and nobody would see before pulling the row boat back to the ship, around the other side. Sabo and Decue climbed up and then Ace.

"I think that the warlords could have been a challenge, but they don't exist anymore." He forgot that both of them came from the East Blue and had no idea what the warlords were, so he explained them. They were dissolved pretty recently, before he defected. Betrayed, whatever you want to call it. Even though they betrayed first.

He still was angry about it deep inside. Emotionally hurt, but it was only natural, and he never let it get to the surface. Only simmer in the bottom of his heart, making sure not to think about it. "It'll be weird having somebody else on the crew. It's been just us three for months," Sabo said. They were eating more sea king meat. "But I can't believe you ripped out a sea king bladder and made someone drink it!"

Ace laughed and said that least they didn't need to spend 50 million berries. "But we were always going to get new crew members. It was only a matter of time. We should steal one of those marine log books again. Then everyone can see it and use that shit. I can't wait to go wild on them. In the New World, there aren't many marine bases, and they're more powerful. Here, they're regular marines."

He honestly was looking forward to it like crazy. And it was so close, too. And while they would normally have to wait for the log pose to set, that was no problem with Ace around. So back up couldn't get there in time before they left.