Ace probably shouldn't have found his crews suffering nearly as amusing as he did, but no one had ever accused him of being a good person. In his defence though, it's incredibly easy to be amused when everyone around you is suffering from the cold, and you yourself are completely unaffected.
"Stupid fire logia Captain, should get some fucking seastone, see how he likes the snow then." Alice's muttering continued to grow steadily darker whilst various crew mates chipped in with their own threats, purposefully shooting dark glares at their captain.
Ace smiled obnoxiously in retaliation "Everyone feeling nice and warm?" Twelve identical glares landed on the logia, and even the normally even tempered Dusty shot the teen a scowl "Ace, you're my Captain, and I respect you. But if you don't shut the fuck up right now I will personally start a mutiny, and then take the rest of the crew and sail somewhere warm. All in favour?"
Twelve voices raised in unison "Aye." Ace pouted but decided it was probably best to shut up now. After all, Doc had seastone lined handcuffs just in case he ever needed to operate on Ace whilst he was unconscious and control his flames.
It hadn't taken the spades long to reach the winter island Runag, and dealing with the yellow viper pirates had been almost pitifully easy for the former new world pirate and the crew he'd been training.
So after an almost embarrassingly short fight (where Ace hadn't even needed to make use of his devil fruit), the Spades had taken the time to spread some new rumours about the missing 'Lady Spade' (And boy would he kill to see Akainu's reaction when those finally reached the marines). And then the crew had once more continued on their journey to try and find Shank's.
Unfortunately, whilst a good portion of the journey could be done by ship, the last half day of the route was inaccessible by anything other than good old-fashioned hiking. And despite Ace melting a basic path up the mountain he could provide absolutely zero defence for his crew against the frozen winds and heavy snow.
The logia's excessive laughter at his crew's discomfort was probably the reason Ace was currently being threatened with mutiny, though in all fairness it may have had something to do with the excessive training sessions he'd forced his crew to endure...
Luckily before a mutiny could occur Ace spotted a flickering light in the distance "I see the cave! Looks like we're here." Within an instant the atmosphere grew tense. Despite Ace's reassurances that they'd be completely fine the Spade's couldn't help but worry, after all it wasn't every day you met an Emperor.
With a complete lack of caution (aka self-preservation instinct) Ace walked into the cave, his crew following nervously behind him. The conversation inside the cave died instantly as the crew already inside surveyed the newcomers with interest, and more than a little bit of blood lust.
As if oblivious to the tension he'd caused Ace grinned "I'm looking for Red Haired Shanks, is he here?" there was a moment of silence before the man in question laughed, a wickedly sharp smile on his face. "I am. But who are you, and what does a group of no names want from me?" As he spoke the Emperor's hand moved to rest lightly on his sword.
Ace's grin widened, completely unaffected by the implied threat "I'm not here for a fight if that's what you're wondering." ignoring the surprised looks of the Emperor's crew, the fire logia gave a short bow "The name's Portgas D Ace, I came to thank you for saving my little brother's life. Luffy talks about you all the time." Any lingering tension was dispelled with those words "Luffy's brother? I didn't know he had a brother."
The Spade Captain smiled "We exchanged vows of brotherhood a few months after he met you, so I'm not surprised. I heard you were in the area, so I wanted to stop by and say thanks." The older pirate Captain grinned "Well then settle in, let's party!"
It took approximately an hour for the majority of both crews to get completely smashed, much to the amusement of both Captains. Sitting aside from the chaos the older Captain asked the younger the question that had been on his mind ever since the teen first introduced himself.
"So Ace, if you're a pirate how come you've avoided getting a bounty till now?" Ace snorted "What makes you think I'm a pirate?" The One-armed Captain smiled knowingly "Only three types of people have the security to try and sail the grandline, Pirates, Nobles and Marines and I highly doubt you're a Marine."
The logia couldn't quite help the snort of laughter he let out, it went without saying that he was no noble, and Ace certainly wasn't a Marine. "Yeah I'm a pirate, in truth we've been flying under the radar till now, though that should change come next week's paper."
Taking another sip of his Sake Ace grinned and pulled a familiar playing card out of his jacket and passed it over to the emperor "Though that's not to say you haven't heard of us." Taking the card in his hand Shanks paused in recognition of the bright orange spade proudly displayed in its centre.
Looking between the card in his hand and the happily smirking teen in front of him, Shank's burst into laughter. "Well we've certainly heard of you kiddo." realisation and amusement dawned on the man's face "Does that mean you're responsible for the rumours about Akainu's love life?" Ace nodded enjoying the laughter his response drew, and paused to give the older pirate a minute to calm down.
Staring at the smiling face of the man who had once saved his little brothers life, Ace decided to take a risk. Shanks had been a pirate longer than he'd been alive, meaning he had contacts Ace couldn't even dream of.
Contacts which could possibly have more information on Blackbeard. "Shanks I know this might be a strange request, but I was hoping I could see if you had some information I've been looking for."
The Red-haired man paused before giving the younger Captain a discerning look "You can ask, but it doesn't mean I'll give you any answers." Ace let out a sigh of relief, it was more than he'd expected "That's fine, I'm looking for any information you might have on a figure in the underworld currently going under the name of Blackbeard."
Shanks stopped and stared at the teen in front of him, something almost unbearably heavy in his gaze "And just how did you hear that name?" Ace hesitated, he could trust Shanks, but what he did now had the potential to change everything.
But as it stood, change had been Ace's goal from the start. And he'd always been a risk taker. "The whispered words of a dead man." It was technically the truth, Thatch's last words had been to accuse the traitor after all.
Ace leaned forward to hold eye contact with the Emperor to let the man know exactly how serious he was "The man used his last breaths to claim that Blackbeard has been hiding as one of Whitebeards Sons, some guy named Teach."
Shanks face turned deadly serious "That's a bold accusation to make, and a dangerous one at that." Ace nodded in agreement because Whitebeard was protective of his sons and Ace knew that better than anyone.
"I know, which is why I haven't been shouting it from the rooftop. But one of Whitebeard's men helped me out once, and if this information is true I'd like to repay the favour by warning them."
Shanks gave a sober nod before gesturing for his first mate to come over, Benn took one look at his Captain's face before sitting down "What do you need Captain?"
"Get me a copy of our Den Den Mushi number and when you get back, give Ace all the current information we have on Blackbeard, as well as any information we have on Marshall D Teach." The first mate's eyes widened slightly, and he left to find the number leaving Ace and Shanks alone once more.
The fire user bowed his head in gratitude "Thanks for your help." He couldn't accuse Teach without evidence but hopefully with Shank's help he'd be able to find some soon. Something that could help protect his family.
Shanks gave a small scoff "Don't worry about it Kiddo, we've not got much information on Blackbeard but the stuff we have is.. unpleasant to say the least. If he really is hiding as one of Newgate's children, particularly that specific child, we need to be aware of this sooner rather than later."
Almost subconsciously the Emperor lifted his hand to the scars on his face "I don't think I should have to tell you this but I'll say it anyway, don't approach Teach under any circumstances. He's out of your league right now and I'd hate to see you die so soon Kiddo."
Ace froze before nodding. He knew Teach was out of his league right now, badly out of his league. No matter how close the fight had been on Banrou island, the point remained that Ace had lost. And he couldn't afford to lose again.
So until his strength and haki got back up to New World levels, Ace wasn't even going to consider going after Teach. Interrupting his thoughts Benn walked over two folders and a slip of paper in his hand. Passing them over to Shanks the first mate gave a small nod to his Captain and wondered off once more.
The Red Emperor handed both over to Ace "Benn's gone to get your crews number, we'll call if we get any conclusive evidence on Teach and feel free to do the same to us," Shank's paused a grin growing on his face "I also wouldn't be adverse to hearing a call about whatever rumours I'm sure you'll be spreading in future."
Ace laughed, and the tense atmosphere dissolved "I will," The teen paused in thought an evil grin appearing on his face "please feel free to add to the rumours as you go, the Marines are still trying to determine who Lady Spade is."
The Emperor threw back his head and laughed "You know you're just like your mother." Ace froze, he'd never heard of Shank's association with Rogue in the original timeline "You knew my mum?" The older pirate gave a small nod, a nostalgic grin on his face "Rouge, right?" Seeing Ace's nod of confirmation, the older Captain grinned.
"Yeah, I knew Rouge, real spitfire she was. She always looked so gentle and sweet, and then as soon as the fighting started she turned into a demon straight out of hell. The Marine's hated her. She drove the Captain close to death with worry as well, idiot that he was."
Ace grinned before the meaning of Shank's words settled in his mind "The Captain?" The look Shank's sent Ace was far too knowing "Gol D Roger." Shank's laughed at the teens narrowed eyes.
"Yeah that's the same reaction a lot of folks have to the name. But the Captain was a good man, an idiot for sure but he cared about his men, and he was willing to become the Devil himself to protect them."
Shank's paused considering before giving a small shrug "Roger was never actually caught." Ace stared with wide eyes "I think the Marines would disagree with that." The emperor shook his head sadly "They would. The Captain was dying of an incurable disease, he turned himself in, hoping to draw attention away from what was important."
The Red haired man fixed him with a pointed stare, and for once Ace found himself struggling to insult his parentage. Noticing the conflict on the younger man's face Shanks gave a small smile.
"I'm sure you've heard a lot about Roger, most of it uncomplimentary, but you of all people should know how easily rumours spread, and trust me when I say the world government did everything it could to discredit Roger. But you've heard what I have to say, and if you ever get the chance I suggest you ask Rayleigh or Buggy. Hell, even old man Whitebeard's sure to have some stories."
Ace gave a small nod, unwilling to upset the man who had helped him so much, but also slightly curious. After telling Whitebeard of his parentage the Emperor had occasionally told Ace stories about the Rodger pirates, and Ace had listened (however unwillingly it might have been).
And whilst he still didn't accept the man as his father, he could acknowledge that Gol D Roger was not the heartless devil he had grown up hearing about. Seeing he'd gotten through to the younger Captain, Shanks gave another smile "I won't say anything else on the matter, but you should know that your parents loved you. Both of them."
Ace gave a shaky nod and Shanks grinned "Alright enough of the serious stuff for now. Let's drink, I want to hear some stories about Luffy!" Happy for the distraction Ace spent the next few hours regaling both crews with tales about his dumb little brother, gaining more than a few laughs.
Finishing up his last story, Ace rose to his feet "Thank you for your hospitality, we'll be heading back now." Shank's grinned "Keep in contact Kiddo, and we're looking forward to hearing the latest rumours when they come around!"
Ace grinned and gave a last wave, before turning back towards his crew "Let's get back to the Card Deck! We've got a long journey to the next island!"
Ignoring the complaints of hangovers, Ace whistled cheerfully and started melting a path back towards the ship. Now that Ace had more information on Blackbeard, he could afford to relax a little. Besides from what he remembered they would be sailing through a bounty hunters den soon, and Ace was looking forward to venting any remaining frustrations.
Somewhere a few days away, a whole nest of bounty hunters shivered.
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Garp didn't think he'd ever laughed so hard in his life. For one day and one day only, the old Marine could even forgive his grandson's choice of becoming a pirate. Because this, this glorious piece of news made up for everything.
When the rumours about Akainu and Lady Spade's passionate love affair had first popped up, no one had dared mentioned it out of fear of the red dog. But after a second set of rumours had popped up at the exact same time Akainu had coincidentally been away on 'shore leave' people had jumped to conclusions.
And by God were those conclusions beautiful.
The main rumour going round, was that Akainu had used his time off to ride a wave of lava all the way to the start of the grandline, where he had gotten down on one knee with a diamond ring in hand and sung a passionate love song (consisting of the words "I lava you") And then asked lady Spade to marry him.
And whilst it was incredibly hilarious to even imagine Akainu discarding his sense of justice and proposing to a pirate Captain with a cheesy romantic song, the rumours only got worse from there.
In another story, Akainu had sacraficed Spades still beating heart to the volcano gods in an attempt to prove his devotion to the Marines and to gain more power. But instead the enraged Gods had cursed him to never love again. A few Marines had even teared up at that one.
But Garp's absolute favourite rumour by far was the one that claimed that Akainu was secretly an undercover pirate, who had only joined the Marines after a longstanding bet with Buggy the clown, who was also involved in a convoluted love triangle for Lady Spade's heart.
Garp absolutely loved his stupid grandson.
But then again Garp wasn't sure anything could compare in his mind, to the experience of watching Sengoku and Tsuru making purposefully vague and misleading statements about Akainu's personal life, to help fuel the fire.
Sometimes Garp couldn't help but feel proud of his grandkid.
Author's note
Hi guys, so I way too much fun trying to come up with rumours about Akainu, but who can blame me? Thank you for all the favourites, follows and reviews its been really nice to read them! I'm afraid lectures are gonna start up again soon so updated are gonna slow down but I promise to try to get one or two updates out a week! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please leave a review! your reviews feed me! :D