sairakanzaki: I'm so happy you like it! And I'm so thankful for regular reviewers. I honestly thought this story would be a lot more popular, but I was disappointed. :(
3A07: Thank you! We only have four chapters left, so it won't be too long until then.
Wishfull-star: lol yeah. Death by sea king got kind of old. I like him dying in a pathetic way. Hate him so much...
Ace was bummed the last three islands he wished to visit had nothing special. It was disappointing, but maybe it was a way of telling him so many months in Paradise was too much. So, they set out for Sabaody Archipelago. Before they got there, Ace had a talk with his crew. They were all resting on deck after a long storm they had to make through. The sails had been lowered during it and it almost tore the ship apart.
"Sabaody often has Celestial Dragons on it, those who shot down Sabo when I found him. Caused him the bad burns. They're heartless and soulless, the highest of the World Nobles. They have the government and marines under their fingertips. Piss them off and they will be able to send an admiral after you.
"If you cause trouble with them, you better not get any others hurt. If you fight, have a plan to escape. So, don't piss them off until the ship is completely coated. Just, try to stay away from them. I know I will. I might end up punching one in the face, but I'll make sure we'll get away safely," he explained. Deuce snorted.
He asked, "So, you're not telling us to not fight, but just have a plan in place in case we piss them off?" Ace grinned and nodded. He replied that he didn't think recklessness was always a bad thing, as long as you wouldn't die or bring anyone else down in the process. "You know, you're so responsible at times, and then act your age others."
Ace said, "What's wrong with keeping you all on your toes? Things are more fun that way. Saboady is a great place for a vacation, and most of you have no bounties. Sabo, Deuce and I do, but bounty hunters won't attack any of you." They grumbled about wanting bounties. "Sorry, we didn't go after enough marine bases. But you gotta have a bounty to prove you're strong. Prove it in the moment it matters."
Since the log pose was definitely not going to point to the right place, Ace towed them to Sabaody. He'd put the mask on, the one he'd never ended up using. His hair was back to being black, Mihar having chopped it for him so the red was gone. So, he'd wear the hat and the mask. He might look ridiculous, but that didn't matter much.
When they reached the island only a week after leaving the last of the three remaining islands on their journey, Ace stopped the ship where he knew Rayleigh lived. Or usually lived. He was told last time that he sometimes ended up in the auction house to make some money.
Well, it was one way to do so, but was also reckless. Though Silvers Rayleigh wouldn't be killed by anyone but the best. So, he anchored the ship someplace away from everybody. Bree said he'd watch the ship, since someone definitely needed to watch the ship. "You guys go look around." He gave them each a hefty amount of money to spend on what they liked. "Meet back at the ship at 5:15. That should be more than enough time for me to find the guy we need."
They agreed, and hurried off in a group to explore. Ace had already done so that last time he visited, so he was down to business this time. He walked leisurely to the bar, and found the barmaid and owner there. He'd never met her personally, but knew of her. He sat at the bar and ordered a soft drink, still no alcohol.
"That'll be 5,000 berries," she said. He wasn't surprised. It was called "rip off bar" for a reason. He dumped the money on the counter after pulling out of his mouth. "Terror of the Sea Ace. what can I do for you?" She already had to know.
"I need my ship coated to return to the New World. Is Rayleigh here to coat it? Or do I have to go get him?" he asked lightly, drinking the fizzy drink which was definitely not worth 5,000 berries. Though it wasn't much of a sacrifice. They had less money than in the beginning, but stealing treasure from all of the pirate ships they attacked gave them quite the amount. They were still very comfortable money wise.
Shakky said he had been out gambling. "So, he's probably at the auction house, then?" She smiled and nodded. Then she asked why he left Kaido, curious. "He was planning to kill me. Why stick around? I'm sure I'll be back later. Thanks for the info," Ace said, downing the rest of the fizzy drink and leaving the bar.
He knew where everything was from the last time he'd explored, contemplating what to do with the rest of his life. He headed to the auction house through the back room, sneaking in easily. He found the man in a cage, not bothered at all while the other captives were terrified. "Hey, I need my ship coated," he said simply. Rayleigh smiled at him, saying he expected his appearance some time. "I have a lot of money to pay," he added. The legendary former pirate broke his restraints and also broke the cage's lock, both of them leaving without anybody noticing.
When they got to the Spade's ship, he whistled at it, recognizing the Adam's Wood. "How much did this cost?" he asked lightly. Making small talk. Ace replied that it was free, and explained what had happened. He looked at Ace in interest. It was uncharacteristic for a Beast Pirate to do something like that.
"I've changed a lot since then," he replied simply. "Will you coat it for us?" he asked, changing the subject to the present. Rayleigh said it was no problem. "How much will you charge?"
"Two million berries," Rayleigh said, looking at Ace in interest. That was pretty much nothing, but he was glad it was cheap. He pulled out enough money through the sacks and presented them to him. "Were those in your stomach?" he asked in curiosity. Ace explained that he had a pouch under it.
"It's holding all sorts of stuff. Money, books, devil fruits," he said, not realizing he'd confessed about the devil fruits until it came from his mouth. But Rayleigh just looked curious and didn't ask. So Ace simply told him there was an island that grew certain plants. The old man said nothing, but nodded.
He got to coating immediately, and Ace thanked him. He trusted him to keep the Piece of Spadile safe for them and do his job perfectly. He left, going to explore himself. He did have his mask and hat on. But of course Rayleigh and his partner recognized him. Anyone who looked hard enough might figure it out.
Walking to the tourist side, he got all sorts of food, and then he found Sabo in the amusement park. He was contemplating taking a ride on one of the more intense roller coasters. "Yo," Ace greeted. Of course Sabo felt him come up from behind him. "I found Rayleigh and he's started coating the ship. It should take most of today and then will be ready by tonight.
"But I'd like us to stay here for two days or so. Just to take in the sights. If we don't get into any trouble before then," Ace said. Sabo replied that they all knew they would. There was no question about it. Ace couldn't argue since he agreed. He hadn't seen any Celestial Dragons yet, but they didn't come out every day.
Hopefully they wouldn't be on the island while they visited. He went on the rides, his mask staying on perfectly as he went in loops on a roller coaster while Sabo screamed his head off, both of them with their hats secure in their laps. Ace just laughed the whole time. When they finally were done at the amusement park, Sabo pointed out to somebody they knew.
"What's she doing here?" Sabo wondered. Ace had his hat and mask on, but Sabo would be recognizable.
"Maybe she's on vacation or some shit. She's not exactly dressed like a pirate," Ace commented. The two walked on and got some cotton candy before heading back to the ship. The others were there, too. The captain and first mate were the last to arrive. The ship was not fully coated, but that was understandable. It must take a long time. Their ship wasn't tiny.
They walked through the bubbles in front of the entrance while Ace got to pulling the ship away from the coast a bit. They had dinner, special meats from the island and tons of sweets. It seemed most of them went to the amusement park, they just didn't catch sight of each other.
"Oh, we saw Isuka here," Sabo commented, halfway through the delicious meal. Ace looked forward to catching sea kings in the New World again. They tasted better than the ones in Paradise and those that did were very rare in the Blues. They were all surprised. "I don't know what she's planning. Even I could tell she's not ready for the New World."
Ace nodded, and said, "She's gonna die the moment she enters the next sea." He sounded so casual. She was fun to tease, but other than that, he didn't care about her much. She could do whatever she wanted, even if it was run right into the hands of death. She probably had never even heard of haki. Most Paradise pirates don't unless somebody else tells them. Trains them, which would be very lucky but probably not too common.
"Why do we keep landing on the same islands as her?" Ban wondered. Ace shrugged, saying it was just strange coincidences. They never picked a real route, but they had gone from island to island quicker. Maybe it was in sync with how long it took for her crew to get to Sabaody. They didn't know what island was after the Drug Island. It was still funny that all of the villagers were constantly high.
Ace went on watch that night, watching the bubbles form and pop above the island, echoing around. He tried extending his senses down to Fishman Island, but it just wasn't possible, even as he was now. He wondered if anybody could sense that. And he wondered what it would be like for them.
He'd passed by it, but had not interacted with the island at all. He had just been a scary monster passing through, not spending any attention on the miracle island. He looked forward to it a lot. And he'd stay on the ship, already having swam down there himself in the water.
The next morning, they had breakfast and then headed back to the island, docking the ship in the same place for the coater to continue. He was there as they disembarked, and the crew all thanked him, shaking his hand or nodding their heads politely. Rayleigh smiled at it. Maybe it was surprising to him for Ace to have a respectful crew, he wasn't sure.
He told them the coating would be done that day, and they were glad for that. So, they went shopping, Ace still wearing his mask and hat. Nobody looked at him strangely, lots of people were dressed a bit strangely. They headed to the tourist attractions, and even went to see an auction house.
Ace wanted to really show them how the World Government was. Many never realized how bad they were, never coming into real contact with them. They'd only heard the stories from Ace and Sabo. They bought nothing and nobody. The crew were in varying levels of disgust. Frowns, scowls, anger, sadness.
They may not be being sold by the World Government, but these auction houses were well known, and were never stopped. Not once. They watched the whole thing. There were multiple fishmen and mermaids, which gave the crew a good sense of why relations with them were so bad. They needed to be careful with their behavior on Fishman Island.
Even without realizing it, they might offend others. Ace really didn't know much, but he had an idea of what was proper and what might be offensive. He'd tutor them on their way down. For now, after the auction house, they went to enjoy themselves. When they were walking through a shortcut in the more dangerous areas crawling with bounty hunters, Ace simply took off his mask and hat when they approached.
Immediately, they went running from the scene, knowing they were no match for him. Bree complained about not being allowed to fight. "How about tomorrow you go crazy?" Ace asked. The chef grudgingly agreed.
After a day of exploration, they headed back to the ship late in the evening and saw it was coated, covered in bubbles and looked pretty awesome. They headed into Shakky's bar, but nobody ordered anything. Rayleigh explained to Sabo how to get down to the island, how to use the bubbled ship properly and safely.
The former first mate of the Roger Pirates asked Ace what had happened with Kaido, curious about his defection. So, Ace told him about his story at Wano, and his exit from the crew. "So, with me gone, they lost the fight to Strawhat and Traflgar. If I'd been there, I could have destroyed their ships. Now some remnants of the weakest of the Beast Pirates are after me for revenge," he explained.
Rayleigh's eyes lit up when Ace spoke of Luffy. "I want to find and thank them. I was concerned only for myself, and barely remember my time on Wano, not with the Beast Pirates. I'd like to apologize and help rebuild the country. Clean its land. I know I might not be welcomed, but I was rarely seen by anybody, rarely went onto the island. Hopefully knowing I left before they lost will help me be a bit more welcomed."
"I hope that, too. I honestly do not think you deserve hate. You were brainwashed by Kaido, thinking that was all right," the old man replied sincerely. Ace smiled, and said ignorance was part of it, but also laziness. Just leaving the island and doing his own thing. He was just glad he never did anything to hurt the citizens of the country he was born in.
Rayleigh said he sounded like a responsible person. Deuce said, "Too responsible. He taught us all haki, spending most of the time either doing that or towing the ship to new islands." The old man looked quite surprised with the haki part.
"Once they knew what to feel, how it would function and were practicing, it unlocked pretty easily in stressful situations. We didn't get many chances to prove to the world we were strong, but it doesn't really matter. We're sailing just to enjoy the experiences."
Rayleigh smiled at this. "It was you that destroyed Impel Down, wasn't it?" Shakky looked surprised at this. Ace explained how he infiltrated it and saved Marco before destroying the place. "Why did you save Marco?"
"To repay a debt." He was asked if it was because Marco saved his life. "No, he was kind to me when I needed it most. So I wouldn't let him die." He pulled out the marine book and set it on the table. "I was able to trick everybody inside by memorizing names and faces, even the workers at the great prison. They had no idea I wasn't one of them. It was funny, maybe too boring. Too easy," Ace explained. Rayleigh took the book, looking at it in interest.
"This is indeed helpful. I'm sure the Whitebeards don't feel you repaid a debt just for being kind. They will no doubt offer you to be allies. Not subordinates most likely, but allies. You deserve it, saving one of their most precious members. As well as killing the traitor from their ship."
Ace said Blackbeard was a conceited prick. When he was alive. "I'd like to see them again. I also want to travel to Dressorsa now that Doflamingo isn't in charge anymore," he commented. When it got late enough for dinner, Ace said they'd see them tomorrow in thanks. Unless they got into trouble and had to flee.
"The ship will descend quickly, so you won't be followed if you get into any trouble," the man said. "Now that Sabo knows how to work it, I'm sure you'll depart smoothly." The crew thanked him again and left. They were eating at the ship that night, so interested in the spongy bubble. When nobody was looking, Ace bounced on it for fun. Then he went to bed, excited to descend tomorrow some time.
After they ate breakfast the next day, they departed once again. They walked through town, Ace getting tired of Sabaody quickly until he sat on a bubble and floated up a bit before he fell back down. Landing lightly. He did it a few times before he climbed up one of the large trees. His crew watched in amusement.
He bounced on the bubbles a bit before he dropped back down. "Okay, I'm done with the bubbles," Ace said simply. Today, they spent the time together. "Ugh, Celestial Dragons," Ace said, looking at the procession. "Those are the scummiest people alive," he added. They were hidden from view.
His crew looked disgusted, not only from the appearances of said World Nobles, but how they were riding on human slaves like they were horses. Then Ace groaned when he saw Isuka in the line, a bomb collar around her neck. "Hang on," he grumbled. "Stay out of sight but don't go anywhere." None of them tried to stop him.
He walked right up to her and surprised her. "You're so troublesome. What kind of pirate are you?" he asked. The Celestial Dragon turned around and demanded to know what he was doing to his slave. Ace gave him the middle finger. When he was shot at by a ridiculously fancy gun, he covered his skin in haki wherever the bullet would hit. He grabbed the bomb collar, crushing it in his hand and breaking it.
He threw it into the air, where it exploded not five seconds after it left his hand. "Get going, baggage," Ace said, kicking Isuka's butt forward. She glared at him but ran. The Celestial Dragon got really angry, and Ace walked right up to him. He couldn't help it, it came out. "Why does your face look like a toddler tried to draw a human realistically?" he asked.
Ace put his hand to his chin, looking him over in an unimpressed expression. He popped his bubble helmet and coughed in his face. Ace laughed at seeing the man shout and gasp about being 'infected by human scum'. "There's no need to get upset. I may have a fatal and contagious disease, but it won't take effect anytime soon."
"Ahhh!" he screamed.
"Well, have a nice shorter spanned life," Ace said with a smirk, before he ran off. "We're going!" Ace called. His crew was laughing loudly. They ran from the scene, hearing that an admiral would be called. "Well, we'll be gone before that," Ace said casually.
They were still all laughing. "You really can be a little shit, man," Mihar said, surprising Ace since he didn't swear often. They got back to the ship, made sure everybody was there, and Ace followed Sabo's directions to go to the bottom of the ship to inflate the coating. He swam down and did so before jumping back onto the ship, the bubble coating went over them and above them, covering the ship with a large, airy space above the deck.
"To the New World, we go!" Ace called as the ship sank relatively quickly. They all cheered, excited. The seven of them were heading to the most dangerous place in the whole world. Ace explained in depth about how they needed to behave in Fishman Island. "Respect them by not staring, no matter how unique they look. Mermaids are sort of kinky sometimes, so try to avoid swimming with them.
"Don't take sea shells or anything else that is property to the kingdom. Just... try to be polite and not act like the assholes you never are," Ace concluded. They agreed to behave and do their best to not offend anybody.
Mihar asked if they didn't like pirates, if they'd hate them before they even made it in. "The island is protected under Whitebeard. I saved Marco, so I'm sure at least that won't make us immediately hated," Ace replied. They were getting deeper, and it was getting darker. Aggie, Sabo and Deuce were looking up at the fading sunlight in anxiety. Ace said it would get pitch black.
"The sunlight won't reach us until we make it to the island. If necessary, I'll lead us there, but I want to do this normally this time," Ace said. Sabo said if they were smart and aware, they should be fine. Ace agreed. It still didn't help those who were nervous. Especially when sea kings and massive, deep sea fish arrived.
They were curious, not aggressive. Ace assumed they lived so deep there and so they never had a reason to hunt humans. He felt safe. They just watched apprehensively. "C'mon guys, enjoy it. We'll most likely never make this journey again," he said, trying to cheer them up. They looked surprised, but didn't ask why he thought they'd never return to Paradise. They watched as the sunlight faded and faded until it was no longer visible. Ace wished they had some sort of light in front of the ship. He was an idiot. This might end up being him needing to be the guide.
They had flashlights, but not much. So, Ace got their strongest light and put it at the front of the ship. It showed what was immediately in front of them. They were still not at all close to the sea floor, where the real navigating would need to be. More terrifying creatures let themselves be known circling the ship.
Ace didn't have conqueror's haki, unless it just hadn't awakened yet, so he couldn't use that against them. Instead, he tried to bring his zoan out, and let out a deafening and startling snarl and roar. Even his crew flinched. But it worked, as everything around fled the area. "This is just a taste of the New World! Exciting, huh?" The others nodded, though the newer members looked worried.
"Nobody can say they want to go back now. No chickening out, we all agreed on this," Ace said firmly.
"We know. This seems like a good transition," Sabo commented. The sea floor was coming closer, Ace could sense it. He was also sensing large creatures. It was time he took the lead, they couldn't be one of the majority that never made it to the island and then the New World. Dying here would be embarrassing. Well, he wouldn't die, but his crew would and he wasn't sure he could live with that.
"I'll be leading now as we get to the more dangerous spots," he explained and then slipped out of the bubble, transforming and taking the harness onto his face. He was thankful Rayleigh did not coat this part or else his teeth would pop the bubble. He led them deeper, able to see perfectly now.
He saw creatures that wisely hid from him. There was a massive presence that might rival his sze, but it was either asleep or avoiding Ace, which was nice since he had no distraction and his crew wouldn't be put in direct danger from it. They went over a more abandoned area of the Ryugu Kingdom, what looked like slums. He heard fishmen screaming in fear of him, though many looked in awe.
He ignored them, and took them directly to the entrance of the bubble. It really was fascinating how Fishman Island was in existence. How the sunlight reached them through the deep, deep reaches of the ocean. He heard his crew shouting in awe as well. When they got to the bubble entrance, Ace got back on the ship, transforming immediately, one finger in the bubble so he didn't get crushed by the pressure outside.
After all, he was unable to breathe underwater or handle the pressure unless he was in dragon form. The ship was docked and let in immediately, despite the giant dragon that was just there. "The Spades, right?" the fishman in charge of letting ships in asked. The crew were doing well not to stare, even if they'd never seen anybody like this guy before.
"Yeah… how do you know?" Ace asked, voice slightly suspicious.
"The king has been waiting for you. Whitebeard-san has requested you for something," he said. "Your ship will be coated in three days from now. We have multiple ships to coat, so it will take some time." Ace nodded slowly and thanked him. The ship was moved along a sort of large canal. Very large. They disembarked and walked around before they headed into town. Everything was so damn colorful, beautiful.
His crew was in awe, and he turned around to see their faces and smiled. There were fishmen of all types around, mermaids, too. Ace could hear them laughing from the pools, voices high pitched and soft sounding. It was only a matter of time before Ace, Sabo and Deuce were invited over.
Sabo was covered by clothes while Ace and Deuce had open shirts, showing off their muscles. Deuce blushed, and Ace politely declined, saying they had places to go. The crew snickered, and they walked away from the mermaids gathered in the pool. While they were buying delicacies, Fishman Island food and candy from a candy factory, a mershark man came over, needing to be on a bubble.
Man, being a mermaid or mershark sure looked inconvenient if you ever wanted to go on land. They could only go to Saboady with the bubbles. Anywhere else would be impossible. Fishmen were luckier. "Ace of Spades, right?"
"Hey! He used the name I wanted," Ace said to his crew excitedly, who all started laughing. The mershark looked a little surprised. Ace rubbed the back of his head and said, "Sorry. I'm just tired of being called 'the Terror of the Sea'."
"I see. I am here because the king has something to give you from Whitebeard-san." Ace nodded, and they followed after him, all munching on delicious candy. They may have bought way too much and would be sick later, but they just tasted too good. They were put on a floating eel, which was pretty cool. It seemed Ban didn't like heights, so she was a bit uncomfortable but said nothing of it.
They went up to the second, much smaller bubble that held the palace. There was very little talk until prince Fukaboshi asked if Ace had swam past the island last year. "Yeah, that was me. I was heading to the East Blue to start over. These are the fruits of my journey," he replied, pointing to his crew.
Then there was no more talk, Fukaboshi seeming like a pretty boring person. When they made it to the palace, they disembarked the floating eel, and went onto the palace grounds. It was quite beautiful. They all looked around in awe, and in interest when they had to use the bubbles to breath in the underwater parts.
But most of it was above water, or at least temporarily was for them. Fukaboshi led them in more, and they saw guards, but Ace felt no hostility from them, so he was unbothered. He saw Sabo looking uncomfortable, as was everyone else. "It's fine, guys. I don't think they're hostile." They relaxed a bit from this.
Ace wondered when they'd truly realize that, in the New World, they were not stronger than everyone. They were average at best. But he knew they'd grow much stronger in a short amount of time, like they had in Paradise. The New World would force them to be stronger, and he knew most if not all of them could handle it.
When they finally came to a huge room, they saw the largest man many had seen before. Well, a merman. He had a crown on, so clearly the king. They walked up to him, and all bowed but Ace, who gave a polite nod of his head. "Ace-san, it's good to finally see you. Whitebeard-san has been growing impatient, jamon," the king said. Ace casually replied that they'd been taking their time. The guards in the room disapproved of how casual he was speaking. But this guy wasn't his king, he didn't need to show complete respect. He would act perfectly civil, but not show immense respect and act like the merman was leagues above him in any way.
"What is this with Whitebeard?" he asked curiously, but wanting to get straight to the point.
"Oh, right, jamon," the merman said, and brought out a large den den mushi. Ace had assumed that it would be this. Ace walked forward and took it. It was large and hefty, but easy for him to hold. "He wanted you to call when you got here, having a message to give you and your crew, jamon," King Neptune explained. Ace asked if he was supposed to call him now. "Whenever you wish. You don't need to do it here, jamon."
Ace nodded, saying he'd answer it when they were by themselves. Then he stuffed it into his mouth, shocking and disgusting almost everyone in the room. "My fruit gives me a pouch to store things in my body," he said simply. "Well, thank you. I appreciate it," Ace said to the king politely.
Neptune offered them a feast, and Ace immediately accepted, wondering what kinds of food this place had - and for free, too! Deuce asked why, sounding a bit suspicious. "Ace-san rescued Marco-san from inevitable death. And Whitebeard-san may have been injured in a battle with the marines, as well. Marco had been one of those that drove out bad pirates and planted the flag of protection here.
"Saving him was a respect for more than just those on the Moby Dick," Neptune explained. He then asked if he could know why Ace saved Marco, not asking for any sort of payment.
"Marco and two others showed me kindness when I needed it most. I feel I repaid them for that, not that I felt obligated to," Ace replied simply. Neptune smiled through his huge and puffy beard.
Then they were invited to the feast, as it was almost dinner time, and ate as much as they could. Ace and Deuce ate the most, Sabo and Ban following. The captain paid little attention to the performing mermaids, mostly focusing on the food and thinking of what to say to the yonko.