Wishfull-star: Thank you!
3A07: You're very welcome!
Their first island was indeed calm for the New World. There was a city, and the crew found it was under Whitebeard. A good, relaxing start to the most dangerous place in the world. When they docked, Deuce offered to stay on the ship for the first day. They could leave whenever to go to another island. No longer did Ace need to drag them to save time and not get bored on boring islands.
When they disembarked and walked into town, the residents were terrified. Unlike Paradise, where they knew his face but had no idea how strong he really was with his affiliation with Kaido, everyone knew who he was in the sea. He didn't waste his breath trying to convince anybody he wasn't going to kill them.
He heard someone running into the main building, no doubt going to report it to Whitebeard. Well, they had no problem. They would not damage or wreck this place. They just went inland and asked where the nearest restaurant was. Shaking hands pointed to the left, where they entered the first establishment that served food.
They'd sailed for a couple days only. There were more islands in the New World than Paradise, so some were pretty close together. Only a few days distance. Because of this, it was not unusual for island chains to be under the same yonko protection. So, Whitebeard most likely presided over the next couple of islands, as well.
Should be easy and simple. They ate the food and then went sightseeing. There wasn't much to see, but there was a large lake that people swam in for fun, like a beach. The devil fruit users who were not aquatic just hung out on the shore while the two lucky ones went inside. Ace, of course, couldn't turn into his dragon body here, so he just swam around.
He had his mask on to not scare everybody at the beach, just laying in the surf. It was nice; he didn't actually know how damn nice this felt. Deuce jumped in the water next to his face, spraying it with sandy water. He gave a death stare up at his second member. Ace grabbed his leg and chucked him out into the water. The others on the crew who saw it started laughing. Deuce wasn't happy, but hadn't been drowned in the shallow part, so he was fine. He ran after Ace, and like kids, they started chasing each other in the water. It was fun, lighthearted.
They stayed at that island for a couple days just so they could all have a chance of relaxing on the beach. It seemed Whitebeard gave the island the OK that the Spades were safe, since nobody bothered them or looked too scared. Many didn't want anything to do with the pirates, but that was okay.
He was fine with the mask for a bit as long as he wore a sleeved shirt unlike others and some pants other than black shorts. His disguise wasn't perfect, but it was good enough. When they left, after stocking up on what they could here, they sailed away, stopping only a couple days later on another relaxing island.
Three islands in, and Ace was bored out of his mind. He didn't want to relax anymore! He wanted a real fight, he wanted his crew to fight, realize how to better themselves, learn while fighting for their lives or even just their pride and dignity.
And after the third whitebeard protected island, they sailed past some New World pirates. Ace excitedly stood on the railing, ready to fight until he heard the enemy pirates shouting about him and swerving the ship away. "Oh come on! You cowards!" Ace shouted in disappointment. He sat down and moped, not looking like a tough pirate at all.
He'd gotten used to reckless fools who had no idea who he was. Now everyone on this sea knew of him, his former position and strength. As well as his bounty. He was disappointed. Sabo walked over and patted his shoulder. "Well, we're safer I guess?"
"I don't want to play it safe, I want to fight somebody! I want you all to fight people! Strong ones to improve yourself and truly form you into New World pirates. That means we can't have every crew tuck their tails between their legs and run away!" he complained loudly, truly whining. Sabo patted his back and said, "Maybe next time."
And lucky, next time came. A rookie crew. This one was under Kaido, if Ace remembered correctly. Basil Hawkins. Ace stood on the yardarm. "Yo! Straw man!" he boomed, his voice amplified as loud as he could. "Sabo, turn the ship, we're going after these guys," Ace said to his navigator. He nodded and ran to the wheel, turning it starboard so they could go after the crew that Ace's previous one had been allied with. They got closer, and the Hawkins crew weighed anchor. The man was glaring at Ace.
"You abandoned the alliance. You could have defeated everybody. Well, since I lost some of my crew in that, I guess I'll exact revenge on you," the captain said.
"First of all, they betrayed first. Though you should know how that feels, dirty traitor," Ace said with a shit eating grin. Hawkins didn't take the bait, and attacked them with his straw dummy, his crew jumping onto the PoS. His crew barely could handle them, but this was good practice. Ace went onto Hawkins' ship and he focused his devil fruit on Ace.
"You know, I thought you could read tarot cards and tell the future. Did you accidentally miss the whole defecting thing?" he taunted, dodging each swipe, though it was making him sweat and breathe quickly. He was out of shape, jeez. Hawkins didn't take the bait. "You sure are a boring guy. Your straw puppet has more personality than you do," Ace said. He formed haki on his forearms and slammed them together with the straw in between, severing it easily.
Before the slightly-pissy rookie could do anything, in just a second, Ace kicked him against his railing, where he gripped his hand and slammed his head back against the wood. He was passed out from that, his head bleeding.
"Tch. Weakling," Ace complained. He dragged him to the side and tied his hair to the railing, dangling him over the side. "I'll be back, try to wake up," he said and went to observe his crew. They were doing okay, but didn't look like they would win without many injuries. So Ace got in between and took out everyone else. He had a wicked idea. He ordered everybody to get the fairly small number on their ship.
Ace asked Sabo to burn the sails, which he did. Ace then got rope and tied the men's hands and feet together before dangling them all over the sides by their hands or hair if it was long enough. "Nice decorations if you ask me," Ace said as they sailed away from the stranded ship.
"You really are an asshole," Bree stated. Ace just laughed and agreed. He got them all treated from worse to better. Aggie wasn't injured, having stayed in the doorway and shot from there. He had a couple bruises, but that was it. He watched over his crew, and asked how their first fight with New World pirates were.
Ban honestly said it was a bit uncomfortable. "They were completely different from any other crew or marines we've fought."
Ace smiled and said that was the reason they had to get stronger. Strong enough to hold their own against more ordinary crews. They were told to never get in a fight with a yonko crew. "Shanks seems like a good guy in terms of yonkos, but never get in a fight with him that harms them. I'm not being weak, it's being smart. Know your limits. Even I don't feel comfortable angering Shanks."
Mihar said this side of him was different. "Well, this is my logical side speaking, you know?" Sabo snorted, and got back to navigating when he suddenly sensed a storm, and led them through it. Since storms were pretty much daily, they'd grown equipped to react quickly and smartly. Sabo really was a great choice for this crew. Everyone was. Even Aggie was getting better and more confident, even if he didn't directly engage enemies. Mostly stayed back and just didn't let them get near him. That was his own strategy and it was working fine. Nothing was wrong with it, so Ace didn't comment.
They were running low on food when the needle they were going to lead to an island that was gone when they got there, and they needed food. So, Ace went sea king hunting and came back with more than enough to eat just plain sea king, since they'd already eaten a lot of the food that would be made with it.
Ace ended up dragging them to the nearest island that he knew was there. They were easier to find due to their unstable magnetic fields. But it was more fun following the log pose and spending time up on the deck. He really had missed out on a lot of being in Paradise due to being a horse pulling a carriage.
When they got to the next island, it wasn't protected by anybody, which was surprising, since all islands that were inhabited were usually under protection. Strange. They found a lot of pirate crews there, so Ace kept the ship away from port, keeping Sabo and Mihar there while they stocked. Getting crates of supplies to the ship from land was easy by setting them on his back as he swam back to the ship. He was irritated when crews left the island when his dragon form was revealed. It was notable, they knew who he was.
Despite Wano being so holed up, Ace had made regular visits outside of the country that made him recognizable for his cruelty to some enemy pirates and marines. But this was just annoying. It seemed they all knew of his new crew somehow. Knew it was under the Terror of the Sea.
But, even when most of the sea was cautious, there were always the idiotic/brave gems out there for them. Ace had fun fighting against them, usually going after the captain and having a heated fight that almost always ended with him killing the leader or humiliating them like he had for Hawkins's crew.
For this one, the Pinkbeard Pirates (what was with "Beard" being so damn popular?) were cocky, but had nothing to show for it. They were pitiful. Ace killed them to just put out their misery of being so pathetic. He wasn't the only one who killed, Sabo and Ban did, too. He was the only viscous one who humiliated them, dead or alive. The others didn't directly murder, but they left wounds that were obviously fatal, they just didn't die in sight.
It wasn't much of a difference - they die regardless - but whatever made his crew happy. After running into another "beard" pirate crew, with quite a large captain, one more crew was defeated and he got more practice. For Brownbeard, Ace didn't miss the chance to string him up with his own hair.
It was something he found fun to do, and started to try and make it his trademark, which his crew thought was just ridiculous. Sure, it was immature, but funny as hell for Ace and Sabo, too. After fight after fight of crews varying in strength, the bounty hunting began. Sabo's bounty went up after burning a marine ship to ashes while riding on Ace's back, standing right above the surface of the water as he burned it from all sides. His bounty was now 300,000,000. A great bounty jump from before!
His crew also got new bounties. Ranging from 50,000,000 to Sabo's 300,000,000. Deuce was a hundred million less than Sabo. And like pirates should feel, they were happy they were being recognized. Not only for their captain. Ace felt for them about that, but there was nothing he could do or change about his well-deserved reputation. They were not being subtle with Ace's comeback and introduction to another rookie crew led by a strong captain. Well, they were the rookies, not Ace.
When they were finally making it to Dressrosa, they all wore disguises. Ace had his mask and a hat on, and the others had various disguises on as well. Bree had no interest in another vacation island, so he stayed on the ship to train with nobody else there to distract him. They were stocked, and Ace thought being there and getting too much attention would be a mistake.
He wasn't sure if the citizens knew that Doflamingo was working with somebody higher, and if they knew anything about that crew and its members. Hopefully they didn't, and nobody recognized Ace.
When they entered the island from the back, they saw just how damaged it was, even a year later. Ace hadn't thought it was this bad. Holy crap. How would they ever fix this completely? He knew Doflamingo left a mess, but this was insane. There was nothing there like a vacation, only the whole country working to repair their damaged island. Ace wasn't going to turn this into another Water 7. He had no reason or attachment to these people.
He didn't directly affect them, as he had never had contact with Doflamingo after he met him when the teenager was seven. 11 years ago. So, he had no blame to have over this, but he did feel pity. It was a very pirate/tyrant like thing to do to leave an island looking this way after you lose. He was sad to see the coliseum wasn't in business right now, and there was nothing vacationy about the place at all.
"Well this is disappointing," Ace said, huffy. "I thought it would be fine by now." Sabo asked what had happened there. "Doflamingo fucked it up. He's the cause of this, ruled the country terribly. Though I can't really complain since my former crew did worse than this. The citizens at least thought they were living in a nice place. People in Wano know their lives are shit," he explained briefly.
Deuce asked if they weren't gonna help them. Ace raised his eyebrows, asking if he wanted to. "I mean, maybe we could. We're strong and all."
Ace asked what they would get out of it. How would it benefit them? The blue haired man stalled, not having an answer. "We're pirates, not saints. I didn't help others because I was obligated to, or it was the right thing to do. I just wanted to do it. It was fun, worth it. I don't see this being worth it."
Sabo frowned and Ban asked if he was being a little cold. "Okay, fine. We'll ask if they want our help. If they do, then we'll stay for a little bit, if they don't, we leave and don't come back." The others nodded. Ace really didn't feel cold for speaking in that way. Their crew was not a good crew. They did good things sometimes, but Ace had no obligation to do such things and did not exactly want to come across as a helper.
He knew about the Strawhats and their escapades of doing good things for others besides marines. But they weren't them, and Ace had never wanted to be. They went on the island and found a one legged man with the missing one replaced by a prosthetic helping pick out rubble.
"Hey, guy," Ace called, walking to him. The man was incredibly buff and strong looking. "Does this island need help, being repaired and all?" he asked. The man narrowed his eyes, and asked who they were in a short voice. "The Spade pirates." A sword was at his throat instantly. "Whoa, no need to freak out."
"We don't need help from pirates."
"Oh? Wasn't Doflamingo taken down by some pirates? Or do you only welcome pirates who are saints?" he asked. Sabo smacked his arm.
He said, "Excuse us for our bratty captain. Do you need help?" The man told Ace to take off his mask. He sighed and did so. A sword was at his throat again. He gave his crew a "told you so" look and pushed the sword aside.
Ace said, "Well, we'll take that as a no. I just want to tell you: Doflamingo is dead, he won't be coming back." The guy asked how he knew that, sounding confused and suspicious. "I killed him. He was in Impel Down, and I trashed the place. I saved Phoenix Marco from there and just threw away everybody else."
He froze. "You're allies with the Whitebeards?" Ace nodded, and started to walk away. "Does that mean we can trust you?"
"Well, you shouldn't easily trust pirates. Maybe don't hate them all, but we're not all the Strawhats. Well, good luck rebuilding your country. Just be glad the Donquixote Family won't be here ever again." His crew moped on their way back to the ship, but once they left, Ace was mopping the most.
He complained that he'd wanted to fight in the coliseum, he'd wanted good food and music. Deuce said there was no getting around it. Nobody brought up the coldness in his words when asking what they'd get out of it if they helped. They sailed on.
-x-
"Shit! What do they want?" Sabo shouted. Ace was standing on the yardarm, seeing who was approaching them. It was the Red Haired pirates, coming right at them. Ace sensed no hostility, but was confused about their approach. They weren't a yonko crew, were nothing big besides Ace, so why would they even turn their ship their way in the slightest?
He told them not to freak, they'd done nothing to deserve any hostility. Shanks wasn't one to attack crew on a whim when they'd done nothing wrong to them or their islands. So, he let them approach, weighing anchor. Shanks' ship pulled up next to theirs, and they set up a gangplank to the Spades.
Everybody had their weapons out, but relaxed. Shanks didn't seem bothered at all. "Can we help you?"
Shanks got to the point. "You were the one to destroy Impel Down, correct?" Ace slowly nodded, hoping he hadn't killed one of their crew members and was now going to face the consequences of mass murder of people he didn't know. "Then it seems we have you to thank."
"Huh?" Ace asked dumbly. Shanks explained that one of his crew got stranded on an island in the New World that they couldn't find. And Marco was the one to help them out when making his way back to the Whitebeards. So, it was a chain event that came from Ace saving Marco.
He said, "You really don't need to thank me, though I'm glad I didn't off one of you and am about to be killed. That was Marco's decision. Honestly, I wouldn't have saved him. I don't know who he is, I just felt Marco was a good guy and wanted to repay him for some kindness he gave me." Then he snorted. "That sounded totally contradictory, didn't it?"
Shanks laughed loudly and agreed that it had. "Well, then I thank you for just causing a chain event. And I heard you killed Blackbeard as well."
"He was a prissy moron." That was ignored.
"I am thankful you killed him, too. I held a grudge against him, but because he was a member of Whitebeard's crew, I could not exact revenge," Shanks said. Ace shrugged, knowing who he was briefly, and then encountering him personally. When he couldn't use his devil fruit, he was weak. He relied on it too much. That was all he was strong at.
Shanks nodded in agreement. Since they were seeming to be on friendly terms, they had dinner and sake together, Ace really not thinking Shanks would get drunk and kill them in their sleep. So, he seemed to be on friendly terms with two yonko. How funny. Now, he was on good terms with three of the four. But now subtract one and he was only friendly with two.
"You know, another reason I know about you? Besides your high bounty and young age?" Ace made a questioning "hmm" sound as he drank his water, of course still not drinking any alcohol. When Shanks asked him why, Ace said it was for personal reasons, shutting him down immediately, which the man had the grace to go with. "I stopped at Whitebeard's ship after Marco returned. He talked all about you, as did the first mate."
Ace said, "They invited me to their crew if I ever get tired of pirating like how we are." Shanks wondered if he planned on taking up that offer. "Well, I haven't ruled it out. So it might be possible. I have things I still need to do as a pirate captain of this crew. That I need to make up for."
Shanks asked if it had anything to do with Wano. "Yup. I want to apologize and help rebuild. Even if they don't welcome me, I'll clean out some of the sewage without them knowing." Shanks asked for the story, how Ace was an All-Star so young. So, he told the story of his childhood and the things he couldn't see in his young and gullible eyes when it was right in front of him. He commented that both his and Whitebeard's crews don't seem like they'd kill their own members for just being a nuisance.
The red haired man expressed some sympathy, but it wasn't in an offensive way that showed any ounce of pity. Eventually, they left, and parted their ways, ending their dinner together by becoming an ally for them. It was a strange but fortunate turn of events. So, now they were allies with two yonkos.
"I never thought this would happen," Ace said while they stood in front of the two large den dens in enclosed spaces against the wall of the navigation room. Aggie said he welcomed it, and the others agreed.
Ace beamed and said, "You know, I don't know why good people like me! Hah! It doesn't make sense." Sabo pointed out that he was honest, blunt and funny. And charismatic when he wasn't being a cocky asshole. "C'mon, you have to admire my decorations." Sabo punched his head, making Ace laugh.
He really felt like a successful captain. His crew was allied with two yonkos, he had taught them all haki very quickly, protected them and safely introduced them to the New World, training them as best as he could to be prepared. He hadn't lost a single one of them, or let any of them sustain terrible injuries.
At first, he thought he would be a terrible captain, but he didn't really feel that way anymore. It was a wonderful feeling.
-x-
"Thank god this ship is made of Adam's Wood," Ban said as they worked to repair the sails after an extra bad storm. "Any other ship would have been blasted apart."
Ace threaded another thick wire into the ripped up portion. "Such is the New World," he said simply. "I am disappointed the storm took down some of the remnants of my old crew. I was looking forward to destroying them and staling all of their shit." They had been nearing a battle with the butthurt pirates when a storm erupted out of nowhere, spouts of water shooting from below, impaling the other ship from below. The PoS weathered it okay, nothing too damaged but some of the front deck and the sails.
Nothing else was destroyed even as that ship drifted apart in pieces while the Spades cleaned up the mess. The sails were fixed relatively quickly, and Saber replaced the planks on the deck. They had some left over Adam's Wood for repairs, but eventually they'd have to switch to regular wood. There would be little spots that were regular, and others that were Adam's Wood.
Well, they wouldn't let the ship get too damaged. Ace had been off his game then, preparing for a pirate battle and not ready for the storm. Unable to act fast enough to get them out of there, just help them stay aboard and keep the ship alright. It wasn't up to him, they all kept their home in good condition. He would not take all the credit when it was not all his to take.