"Come on, yoi." Marco said as he looked at their guest, a tick mark forming.

"Can't, the doctors tied me up." He retorted; arms crossed in front of him and gaze in the opposite direction, refusing to make eye contact with the first division commander.

"That loop will not stop you. you got out of it yesterday without even undoing it, yoi." He gestured to the pathetic loop around Ace's wrist. After he disappeared out of the infirmary for the tenth time, the doctors got a little annoyed and tied him up completely to the bed. After letting them do it in their rage and playing along innocently, as soon as the doctors turned around he got out of the rope and disappeared. Now, he just has a loop around his wrist tied to the metal edge of the bed to stop him from going anywhere. It doesn't work, but he puts it back on when he comes back anyway.

That only pisses the doctors off more, but no one's doing anything about it.

It's been a week since he first ran off and he kept doing it. the first few times, the doctors allowed it, but now he was just running away from their daily check-ups. And he admitted it bluntly.

"Nope!" Ace said, staying rooted to his spot on the bed.

"It's just a meeting with the captain, nothing world shattering, yoi." Marco said massaging his temple with one hand, easing the infuriation. "And stop throwing pillows at me, yoi!" he shouted as he dodged another pillow.

"Nope!" the brat smiled mischievously, "Besides, didn't the Doctors say I couldn't leave with my 'life threatening' injuries?" he said with a hint of disbelief.

"We both know that you would leave as soon as I left." Marco rebutted.

Ace tilted his head as if he was considering something, "True, but that doesn't mean I can't use it in my argument." He said as if he was a professional lawyer, or whoever it is who does that sort of thing… maybe a businessman? Never mind, it doesn't matter, he was getting off track.

Marco sighed, "Why don't you want to meet Whitebeard anyway?"

Ace hummed in though as he sat up on the comfy bed. "Because he'll ask me to join the crew… don't give me that look, thatch told me yesterday that he was thinking about it!"

Marco rubbed his forehead in irritation, "And what's so bad about joining our crew?"

Ace just smiled, not even gracing him with an answer, the rude bastard.

"Can you just come up and meet him?" Marco asked, dropping his hand to his side.

Ace stares at Marco unblinking before he finally relents with a sigh, "Fine… but if he asks me to join the crew I'm refusing." With a twist of his wrist, Ace frees himself from the rope that trapped him to the bed. It was still tied up in a knot as its capture had just disappeared, leaving it around nothing but thin air. Ace let it hand from the side of the bed like a mini noose and jumped off the bed and headed to the door.

Marco led the way to the deck as Ace kept getting lost, even if he did always find the deck eventually. Though, climbing out a window and up the side of the ship isn't recommended.

As always, Ace's eyes instantly went to the sky when they walked out onto the top deck. Completely ignoring the stares and looks he gained from everyone around him, Ace expertly avoided collisions with the other sea farers, dodging around them and skipping over objects laying on the ground, all with his eyes up to the sky. It said a lot about his Haki, to have trained it so far as to be able to sense the small or miscellaneous objects around the place between the many pirates milling around above deck. Seriously, there was a lot of them, and that usually messes with one's Haki ability. There was a reason most people trained it in mountain ranges.

Ace eyes only travelled back down to earth when he stopped in front of the captain. Their eyes met, both unwavering in their staring off. Whitebeard was sitting in his chair, a bottle of sake in his hand, to the fury of the nurses, and his coat on his shoulders. He was the definition of intimidating, scary and strong. His Bisento was clenched in his other fist. As if to test the kid, Whitebeard released a tiny portion of his Haki, splitting the clouds that had suddenly appeared in the previously clear skies.

Ace smirked, not backing off even after the wave of Haki that spread over the crowd. He took the challenge given to him and released a tiny portion of his own Haki onto the ship, knocking out all the crewmembers who couldn't handle it. They were used to Whitebeards conquers Haki and it wasn't aimed at them, so they were able to ignore it rather well, but Ace's Haki was unfamiliar and was aimed at everything in the surrounding vicinity. Somehow it felt stronger and more experience them their captains and quickly overpowered it. In response to this, Whitebeard release a bit more of his Haki, taking a slightly stronger grip on his weapon and narrowing his eyes.

Their stare off continued.

By this point, the only ones left standing were the commanders, and they were only barely holding onto consciousness. Whitebeard was slightly strained under the power of his opponent's power, nothing he hasn't experience before but that was ages ago when Gol D. Rodger still lived, back when he wasn't the strongest man I the world. To have someone clearly more skilled with Haki in front of him, especially when he looked around 20 years old, made his blood boil in excitement, it's been so long since he got a worthwhile and fun spar.

Whitebeard stood up from his seat and looks down intimidatingly at Ace, he slammed his bisento into the wooden deck, cracking it slightly under its force. Ace, for his part, widens his smirk and puts his arms in the pockets of his borrowed pants, all the while keeping eye contact with the old man.

One by one, the commanders fell to the ground, they still held onto their consciousness, but it became too difficult to stand under the pressure being given off by the two power houses. When Ace said he knew Haki, they didn't expect him to be so good at it, least of all better than their Captain, who hasn't lost a battle in his entire life… except that one against Roger, but that doesn't count, Roger bribed him with alcohol and a party. Pops was known to have one of the most powerful and well controlled Haki's on the grand line, but Ace was clearly winning this invisible fight if the small bits of sweat running down Whitebeards cheek was anything to go by.

Of course, Marco was the only one to see this as he was the only commander still watching the battle, even if he was using the handrail to support him as he fell slowly to the ground. All the other commanders had either passed out from the sheer power being emitted of were hugging the floor concentrating on staying awake.

Just as fast as it started, it ended.

A speck of dust flew into Whitebeard's eye. Causing him to blink.

The Haki from both of then disappeared and a massive grin plastered itself on Ace's face.

"Haha! You blinked! I win!" the boy exclaimed, pointing at the captain in a stance Marco was familiar seeing from a certain Red-Haired Pirate. It was very childish.

Whitebeard, for unknown reasons, was pouting like a kid who just dropped his ice-cream. He slumped into his chair and crossed his arms, looking off to the side while grumbling something under his breath and spinning his polearm in his wrist, almost drilling a hole into the deck… the ship wrights aren't going to be happy about that. Marco couldn't hear it over the drumming in his ears, he was still recovering from the aftereffects of the Haki War, as it will now be named. Ace was laughing like the school bully who just stole someone's candy, it was malicious and cheeky.

Now, normally it would take a lot for Marco's patience to run thin, and normally he would probably just sigh and move on, leaving his Captain and whoever got caught up in his antic alone. But normally, the captains antics don't lead to an entire unconscious crew aboard one of the largest ships ever made on the most dangerous ocean in the world, where there needs to be at least thirty people stationed at all times to check for weather changes and prepare the boat for the unpredictable storms that pop out of nowhere whenever you don't want them.

So, it's pretty justifiable when Marco started yelling at his Captain and their guest.

"WHAT THE HELL WHERE YOU TWO DOING!" he yelled, glaring at the two as they laughed and sulked respectively. Not that whitebeard was sulking, nope, not at all…

Ace stopped laughing and tilted his head to the side, ignoring the glare Marco was giving him and returning it with his own confused gaze.

"I won the staring contest, what else did you think we were doing?" he asked casually, as if sending the entire crew unconscious was to be considered as trivial as the weather in the east blue, the weakest of the seas.

Marco's glare intensified, completely aimed on Ace and his confused eyes, "WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE A STARING CONTEST! YOU TWO IDIOTS JUST SENT THE ENTIRE CREW UNCONSIOUS! ALL BECAUSE OF A BLOODY STARING CONTEST!" The first division commander yelled. By now most of the commanders were awake alone with some of the crew members, but most were going to be out of it for a least a day. They were all either laughing their heads off or frowning in displeasure at the two powerhouses.

Marco sighed angrily and groaned into his hand, these two were idiots. He let his hand fall off his face slowly. Then he turned around and left, letting the other commanders' deal with the problematic powerhouses.

Thatch was the first to speak up after a while, "You know, he does have a point. Why did you have a staring contest?" he asked the two idiots.

Ace immediately pointed at Whitebeard like a little kid avoid a parent scolding, "He started it." His face was the sole meaning of innocence and good behaviour… damn, that's a good poker face.

Whitebeard laughed loudly, "Cheeky brat." He said, gaining a glare from Ace. He didn't refute Ace's claims thought.

"I'm not a brat." He said seriously, but his pout sort of took the effect away, some of the commanders joined in with whitebeards laughter.

Whitebeard smiled, "I'm Edward Newgate, Captain of the Whitebeard pirates, it's nice to meet you, brat."

Ace sighed annoyed, "I'm seriously not a brat, and it's nice to meet you too, I guess. My name is Portgas D Ace, please learn to use it."

Whitebeard grinned, "Well then Ace, would you like to join my crew? Become one of my sons?" he said, reaching a hand to the boy.

Ace sighed, "Sorry, but I'm going to refuse. Don't take it personally, your crew seems great from what I've seen so far, but I don't like staying in one place for too long." He smiled up at the captain, it looked like he was trying to seem happy, but all the awake commanders and the captain could see something beyond the smile, something broken and defeated. It was something they had seen before in the loneliest of people, but they no longer had that look after joining their crew, they made sure they weren't alone here. But Ace, he seemed so much worse off than anyone they had ever seen before, it was as if, even if he did join them, that haunted and alone gaze would never leave him. Like he has had it all his life and has given up trying. Like he has accepted that he will be alone for the rest of his life and isn't even going to attempt to change it.

Honestly, it scared them. What could possibly cause him to seek loneliness so much that he was afraid to make connections with other people? It was like he was afraid of getting attached.

Whitebeard hummed in thought, "Then what about you stay on this ship for six months? That isn't too long, is it?"

Ace sighed, fiddling with the hem of his borrowed shirt, "As much as I really don't want to, I do owe you guys a favour, you did save me from that hell hole I was in… fine. I'll stay for six months, but no longer." He didn't smile, he wasn't happy about it, no matter how many of the pirate crew cheered, even if it were only the people who were awake.

Ace looked around at the unconscious people, there were a lot of them, in fact, barely fifty of the crew of 1600 were awake. "Umm, random question, but do you want me to wake these guys up or just leave them here?" he asked, jerking his thumb backwards to point at them over his shoulder.

Whitebeard raised his eyebrow, "As much as I would appreciate it, I thought that only people with a strong will could resist it, and I don't believe it is possible to wake them up. Besides they will do it all by themselves eventually."

Ace smirked knowingly, "Oh, if you don't even know this much then there is so much about Haki that you don't know. I can definitely wake them all up, and it's as easy as thinking." With that said, a wave of power spread out form Ace, this one even slightly visible with a light green colour. As soon as it hit the unconscious pirates, they jerked awake, not feeling a single after effect of the power from before. The people who were already awake lost all the lasting effects they felt themselves.

They were as good as they were before their staring contest, if not better.

Most of them didn't really remember what had happened exactly, so just continued on with whatever it was they were doing before with a frown on their faces as they tried to figure out why the hell they were laying on the ground.

Everyone who was already awake had their eyes wide open in shot with their mouths hanging down to the floor. Whitebeard, however, had the decency to keep his mouth closed, instead his eyes were so wide in shock and surprise he had trouble creating a thought for a few moments.

When he did, he composed himself, so he didn't show his surprise in a stutter, "How did you do that?"

Ace waved a hand dismissively, "Old trick I learnt. It's not that hard when you get the hang of it, but it's really draining when you just learn it."

Whitebeard nodded in understanding, "Well then, thank you for waking my crew up."

Ace smiled, "No problem."

Whitebeard smiled back before changing the subject, "You know, you don't seem very afraid for someone waking up on a pirate ship." He said, and he truly meant it, the kid didn't even seem fazed that he was in a dangerous place surrounded by strangers. Sure, that could be because of where he was and sees this as the better alternative, but still. It was a pirate ship.

Ace smirked that cheeky irritation smirk that said I-know-more-then-you. "That's because I know I can beat you all."

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow, that was rather cocky, even coming from this brat who doesn't seem to know how to die. Well, according to the nurses anyway. From what he gathered, Marco, Namur and Thatch quite like the guy. "And how would you manage that?" he asked, "Our crew numbers in the thousands, we have all trained to be strong. Each division is overseen by a commander whose strength surpasses the others by a huge margin, and then there is me, the captain, who hold the title of World's Strongest."

Ace smirked, eyes growing serious. They flickered to the side of the boat as if contemplating something. After a few seconds of deliberating, Ace help up his hand, palm facing out towards the sea. Nothing happened at first, and no one really expected anything to happen, but then something did.

It started off as a roaring sound, a large, tidal wave of a roar. Deep and gutted; dangerous. When it got louder, Ace flicked his wrist upwards, pointing two fingers skyward.

The ocean followed.

A huge wave shot out of the water next to the ship. The wave climbed higher and higher, the shadow below growing further and further. The crew stepped away from it, but the wave followed, dwarfing the massive ship like a Sea king does a sardine. People shouted and panicked as the wave passed over the boat…

And stopped.

What would have been a colossal disaster stopped. Halted mid-air in a way that defied gravity. If it fell now, they would all die. No survivors, the ship would sink. The sheer power that wave could possibly deal could even kill Namur, a fishman. The lifeform that is made to live and survive in the ocean waters cruelty.

That wave could kill them all.

"Well, can you survive the wrath of the ocean?" Ace's voice broke them out of their deteriorating thoughts. His question was met with silence. Half the people on board were scared shitless, terrified of what this power could do, what this man could do to them. How the hell did he do that?! It couldn't be a devil fruit, that's what the fire was from! What was this!?

Whitebeard stared at the man holding them all hostage on their own ship no less. He was surprised by the action but wasn't that put off by it. He didn't feel a shred of malicious intent from him, only idle curiosity. At a guess, whitebeard concluded that Ace was testing how he would react. Seeing that, Whitebeard relaxed. None of them were going to die, they were safe. Even with the huge wave looming over their ship.

"Gurarararara! Cheeky brat! Wouldn't that take you out too?" he asked already knowing the answer. Most of his boys calmed down seeing that he wasn't reacting. They trusted his judgement. Ace saw this, nodding to himself with a calm smile on his lips.

Ace scoffed, "Nah, this measly thing wouldn't be about to do much. Probably nothing more than a slight dizzy spell. I've lived in much worse conditions for a lot longer." He flicked his hand, the wave slowly returning back to the laws of gravity, slinking into the ocean with just as much precision as it came up with. "Probably need to practice though, dropping that would have been bad."

Some of the pirate shuffled away from him in fear, as if getting further away from him would help them in anyway. That power more or less effects everything in the vicinity.

Whitebeard grinned, "Your welcome to train with any of us, when the nurses give you the green flag. As I've heard, they really don't know what they're doing with you. According to them, you heal too fast."

"Well, duh. That's sort of my signature thing." He paused, "…well, when I'm actually healing properly, that is. I'm still waiting for most of the effects from that room to leave me. Normally something like this-" he gestured to his body, "-would be all better in a matter of seconds."

The crew around his sweat dropped, that was a lot more than just fast healing. That was competing with Marco, a Phoenix, an immortal fucking bird of rebirth. Not fast healing. There was a difference.

"Really?" whitebeard raised an eyebrow. The freckled man in borrowed clothes nodded enthusiastically, as if happy they haven't caught onto something yet.

"Yeah, it's super annoying to heal this slowly." He shrugged as if it was only a minor inconvenience, and for him, it probably was, "Whatever, I'll be all good by the end of the week at most."

A week.

That was it? A week? From what the doctors said, those accumulated wounds would take at least years to heal, even with his supposed super healing, that shouldn't be possible. Whitebeard had the burning feeling that he was missing something big here.

"Do you know how long you were there? In that… cage? The doctors wanted to know, but apparently you haven't been the most cooperative with answering question." He continued.

Ace shook his hair back and forth with his hand, taking a seat on the deck. "Well, most of them I just don't want to answer, that one, however, I don't actually know the answer to. I know how many times the island surfaces, hard to miss it, it's the only time I can actually breath, but I really don't know how long the island is underwater for." He said with an annoyed sigh.

Believing he missed something in that sentence, Whitebeard furrowed his brow. Wait a minute, did Ace just say he was literally submerged? They had that suspicion when he was soaking wet to the bone, but they thought that would just be like a regular shower or something, not literally being underwater for at least ten years straight. Humans can't survive that, it's impossible… he was human, right?

"The island stays submerged for ten years before resurfacing. Does that help?" he answered the kid's unspoken question. The brats mouth goes wide in surprise before slowly forming into a light smirk. It looked sad.

"Yeah, it helps, but I'm not going to tell you how long I was under there. You wouldn't believe me anyway." The freckled man said with a slightly mocking smile.

"Try me." He challenged.

Ace shook his head, "I'd rather not."

The captain shrugged, it didn't really matter that much, if Ace didn't want to share then he wouldn't force him to tell. It's only a number, and it's not like it could be anything more than ten years or so anyway.

Ace yawned, "Well, if I don't want your doctors hounding me again, I think I should go back to bed."

Whitebeard laughed, "I can relate, they keep hounding me about my drinking habits." He pouted at the end of the sentence.

"Pops! Don't tell me you've been drinking again! I said no alcohol for the next week! You have to listen to us!" one of the nearby nurses bemoaned.

Whitebeard laughed, "Don't worry my child, I've only had a few drinks."

"That isn't any better!" the same nurse yelled, pointing at the captain in fury. He was probably the only person on board who wasn't completely afraid of the nurses, well, except for Ace, but he hasn't really felt their wrath yet. Even if he infuriates them.

Ace laughed. When he got their attention back to him, he said, "Anyway, the infirmary's boring. Do you have any books here or something? Or anything really to pass the time?" he asked.

Whitebeard smiled at their newest addition, "We have a whole library. Thatch can show you the way." He pointed to his head chef, who jumped up at the mention of his name.

"Huh? Wha- oh. The library. Come on Ace, follow me!" the head chef cheered, taking Ace by the hand and dragging him off to the library.

It was a few hours later when Marco went to find his captain on deck.

"So, what happened after I left? And what was that wave of power, yoi? It seemed… friendlier." That was the only word that could describe it. The first clash of conquerors Haki was filled with determination, and a stern finality. As if it was demanding their attention and wouldn't let them go. The two powerhouses had clashed, spewing forth all their thoughts, fears, and everything in between; without moving a single step. It was the ultimate fight between masters.

But the second wave of Haki; sure, it had determination riddled within it, but it was a kinder, more compassionate, feeling. Like someone was slowly arousing you from sleep instead of forcing you to do as they commanded. It was peaceful, calming, and above all, helpful. Its user was a true master, that much was certain. And it was clear he didn't only rely on violence; no one with a Haki signature like that could be too bad.

The captain smiled down at him, "After you left, Ace and I had a nice conversation before he woke everyone up with that second wave of power. Apparently, it's hard to learn. Other than that, I don't really know what he did. He also created a massive wave."

Marco nodded, he suspected the second Haki wave came from their guest, no one on this ship could do that – or at least, not that he knew of. He didn't even think it was possible. Marco paused, "Wait a minute, did you just say, 'a giant wave, yoi?'"

Whitebeard nodded, "Yep, completely dwarfed the ship. Ace didn't even look tired when he did that. It was quite literally, a flick of his wrist."

Marco nodded disbelievingly, not that he had any reason not to believe his captain, but he highly doubted Ace made a giant wave like he said. Though, there is always the possibility.

Which begs the question, how? It couldn't be a devil fruit, he already told the nurses that the fire was from a devil fruit, and anyone who ate two devil fruits at the same time spontaneously combusted. So, what could the giant wave be from? Sure, it would explain how he survived under the ocean, if it gave him the ability to control the water it wasn't too far a leap to expect him to be able to live under the ocean.

But still, what could it be from?

"Where is he now, yoi?" Marco asked instead after scanning the deck for their soon-to-be brother. No matter his opinion of the situation, they were going to make him their brother, there was no way they could leave such a broken child alone. If he ran away, they would follow. There was no escape after they made a decision like this. He will become one of them. Strange abilities and all.

"He's in the infirmary, last I check. Has a pile of about twenty books too, all of them are about completely different things." Whitebeard laughed, "The doctors were complaining earlier that he was trying to read three books at the same time; one about recent history, a book of fairy tales, and a diary from a famous pirate crew about 50 years back – I think they were called the Rumbar pirates. They were a bunch of musicians, I believe."

Marco smiled, that did sound a bit funny. Who tried to read three books all at the same time? That sounds counterproductive, if anything. He wondered what he was trying to achieve with that.

"I'll pay him a visit, see how he's going, yoi. Maybe even get to know him more, who knows?" Marco said as he walked off in the direction of the infirmary.

Things were looking up, and hopefully they could give this broken man a place to call home. Somewhere to return to, if nothing else.

He looked to need it.

"Ace, since your stomach and other internal organs have fixed themselves up, you can start eating solid food now. I don't want you eating too much, and still a full diet of soft foods, but you can have some other things now." Whitely Bay sighed as she looked at their resident irregularity. No matter how many weeks he's been here, his healing rate is exponential. Impossible. Stupidly overrated. Any of these things could describe it.

He's been here for three weeks now, and he's almost completely healed, all lasting things they thought would stick around forever like muscle detraction, immune deficiency and mass organ failure were gone. No more signs of any of it left. He was as good as new.

"Wohoo! Freedom!" Ace shouted as he jumped out of the infirmary bed, running away from the head doctor who was going through his files again, just to check. She didn't look up as he sprinted out of the room, used to it by now. He would be fine.

Ace sprinted down the hallway, ignoring the looks he got from the people he passed, them all aware that he was on his death bed not long ago. Normal people aren't able to resurrect themselves. Nor were they about to command the seas and fire. He slid to a halt in front of the Galley doors, kicking them open. Lunch was over by then, but he knew some chefs will still be in the kitchen, washing dishes from the last meal and maybe even setting up food for dinner.

He ran into the kitchen, almost running over a chef carrying way too many plates, but was able to quickly dodge to the side, crashing into one of the counters. Luckily, the chef didn't drop any of the plates when he stumbled out of the way of the charging person.

"Don't run in the kitchen!" a chef further away shouted, sounding used to it.

Ace laughed, "Haha, oops! Sorry!" he said, not sounding sorry in the slightest. "Hey, anyone got any more food?"

The chef he almost ran over asked, "Aren't you banned from eating too much? We can't give you more then what the doctors specified unless they say so. We don't want to face their fury." The chef shivered.

Ace waved him off, "Bay just gave me the all clear, and I intend to use it to the fullest. So, got any food?" his face was the pure meaning of innocence and good behavior.

The chef looked at him quizzically, he should probably go and double check with one of the nurse before he did anything but the way the man stared at him like a hopeful puppy broke his heart. He just had to feed him; it would go against him nature if he didn't. No one could refuse those puppy dog eyes. Especially not him.

The chef sighed, "Okay, fine. Give me a minute." He said, hefting the plates higher and continuing his way to the cupboard they belong. "While I make you some food, go and help them wash up from lunch, consider it payment. Next time, eat at the designated times."

Ace smiled gleefully, "Sure!" he cheered before moving to help the other men. He didn't mind helping out if it got him some extra food. The measly amounts he's been allowed to eat have been just that. Measly. Tiny and miniscule. He had a high metabolism; normal amounts of food just won't cut it!

Never mind that he hasn't actually eaten anything other than small amounts recently. The last time he actually got to eat his fill wouldn't been a couple centuries ago. Not that he would tell the pirates that, they would never believe him.

Time flew passed as he carried plates back and forth the kitchen and into the right spots, and soon enough, they were don't.

"Thanks for the help…"

"Ace." He filled in the gap.

"Thanks for the help, Ace." The chef drying the plates said. "I'm Johnny, by the way." he held out his hand. Ace grinned and happily took it.

"Nice to meet you, Johnny." Ace then walked off to the chef who was cooking for him. he appeared to be done, or close to it, with a plate of food set out.

"Now, I know you said the doctors released you from your diet or whatever, but I still kept most of it light for now. just in case… you know…" the chef vaguely ended the sentence with a hand gesture.

Ace raised his eyebrows, "That I was lying, and the doctors will come charging in here guns blazing and take out all their frustration on you?" he deadpanned.

The chef blinked, "Umm, yes?" He didn't sound so sure of himself. Ace was very specific.

The flame man grinned, "No problem then, I'm no liar." He sat down at the table where his single plate of food was. He would have to ask for more now, damn it. He knew it was odd eating as much as he did, but still, he could be hopeful. "Anyway, thanks for the food…"

"Steven."

"Thanks for the food, Steven." Ace quickly dug into his food. Now that he didn't have the doctors and nurses breathing down his neck with absolutely everything he did, he had a lot more freedom with how much he ate and how fast he ate.

He was finished in record time, barely ten seconds. He held out the plate hopefully.

"Seconds please." He asked politely. People always gave polite people more.

The chef blinked, completely surprised that the person who was practically dead three weeks ago could eat that fast with absolutely no repercussions. In a daze, he took the plate off Ace and started piling it high with more food. When Ace finished that just as fast, he filled it up again before calling the other chefs in to help cook some more food.

Steven wasn't the sous chef, or the head chef. He was still basically an apprentice, being new to the role. He made food for Ace because that was basic cooking where he wasn't under a lot of pressure, and it gave him some time to practice. But he was running out of food to give to him, other than fruit and biscuits. But he came here for a meal, not some measly snacks, and they would damn well supply it.

Even if they had to resupply sooner rather than later.

He got the help of one of his fellow apprentices, Steven, who had washed plates, and together the two fed the black hole. Alone, they probably wouldn't have managed, but together, they struggled by the end of the rope to get just enough food on the table for each fleeting moment. Honestly, they were proud of themselves for not messing up yet.

When the two were at the end of their ropes, Ace finally sighed. A satisfied, happy sigh. A small smile touched his face. his belly was bloated inhumanly, and they watched as it slowly shrunk. Metabolisms don't work like that, so the chefs were truly baffled.

"Ahh, thanks for that, it was delicious. You're going to make some great chefs one day." He stated, as if he already knew they were apprentices.

"How did you-" steven started, confused how the man who could eat at a house knew that. He was pretty sure they didn't mention it.

As if reading his mind, Ace answered the question, "It's standard procedure for apprentice chefs to clean up after meals. I came here at this time deliberately, you know."

Johnney blinked, "Wait, why would you want our cooking? Wouldn't Thatch's be better, since… you know, he's the division commander and our teacher?" he asked.

Ace smiled, "Well, of course it would. He's had more practice. I wanted to eat the apprentice's cooking to judge for myself how the division commanders treat their subordinates. If Thatch was a good leader, he would teach those under him his craft. Sure, he would probably keep his own personal skill set as his own, but he would teach at the very least the basics. Same with all the other divisions, if the commander isn't willing to teach their subordinates their skills, then they weren't supposed to be a commander in the first place. I can see that Thatch isn't only teaching the basics though, which is good."

Normally, both of them would take huge offence from that, but the way he said it, plain and simple, made it sound like he knew what he was doing. For him, it was standard procedure, what he always does. And it made sense to the apprentices, what good would a commander be if they were only chosen because of their strength?

Although, they are all very strong.

The three nodded in understanding, they got it, even if Ace went about a rudimental way for it. "We still take offence for you doubting our commander." Steven said, narrowing his eyes, but not in a malicious way. more like a pout. Which on Steven, did look a bit like a glare.

Ace shrugged as if it didn't matter, "Not like I will stop you for it. What you think is up to you, this is just the way I perceive the world."

He turned and left, leaving two apprentice chefs no idea what exactly happened.

"Again, thanks for the food!" he called behind him as he ran off, probably to find another division to mess with.

The apprentices blinked, before turning to face each other.

"Should we tell Pops?" Steven asked Johnny. Referring to Ace's test for each of the commanders.

"We should." Answered Johnny.

The two quickly followed in Ace's wake, after cleaning up the dishes, of course.

I did not realize that it has been two years since I last updated. Thank you Petit Rouge Cerise for pointing thatout to me. I have a few chapters of Eternity already written and I honestly thought I had already uploaded then. Now, some of you may be wondering what I have been doing in this time, and I am proud to say I just finished high school (today is literally the last day of school, ignoring end of year exams). Also, I may have gotten a little side tracked with a crossover fic Harry Potter and One Piece that has been taking up a lot of my time. I have something like 250,000 words already written up and have rewritten it like 4 times now, but none of it is uploaded as of yet. (Still lacking in an overall plotline besides doing things better though…). And then I got lost in a super long tangent of reading pretty much everything that came to me.

So yeah… I got side tracked, and I get side tracked very easily. Didn't mean for this to go so long without updating. Also, for the people who want more on Monsters and Pirate, I really don't want to give you false hope, but I have started writing more on it again. (I expect myself to get side tracked by the end of this week, minimum.) I have some ideas for much later on it, but I'm really struggling for the here and now sort of things.

Just so you know, I do have a fool proof explanation for the water controlly thingy and the fire that Ace has in this fic. It is a bit ridiculous, but that's the point. I would love it if you tried guessing it thought. That could be fun!

Favorite! Follow! Review! Do whatever!

New chapter will be posted when I remember.

Bye!