Hello Friends! As always thanks WyrdFyre for being my beta!
Warnings at end of chapter
FISHMAN ISLAND
I stood near the bow of the ship with the rest of the crew, watching in awe as fish and all kinds of sea critters swam past our ship.
"This is incredible." Deuce said as a particularly colorful school of fish swam past us.
"Yea it is. I think I get why you love the ocean so much now Air." I said. When she didn't respond I looked around and couldn't find her.
Where is she? Wasn't she on deck just a minute ago?
"Hey do you guys know where Ari went?" I asked the guys who were all still staring at the fish.
"Think she went inside Cap." One of them said.
"Ok thanks."
I went into the ship and first headed to the galley. When I found that empty I headed up to our cabin.
Why would she go inside?
"Hey Air you in here?" I called out before poking my head in. "Oh hey there you are." Once I had walked in fully, I found her sitting cross legged on our bed, writing furiously in her journal.
When she didn't acknowledge me I said, "What are you doing in here? I thought you would have wanted to be out on deck watching the fish and stuff. It sure is pretty down here."
"Don't feel like it." She said without pausing in her writings.
Well that can't be good.
"You ok?"
"I'm fine."
"You don't sound fine."
"Well I am. So if that is all you wanted then you can go back outside." She snapped.
"Whoa, Ari what's going on? You never get this cold with me."
Everyone else sure but not with me...
"Yea, well things change."
I felt my stomach drop at that and hesitantly asked, "What changed."
Did she change her mind about us? Does she want to leave? But... no, if she did then why did she get on the ship again at Sabaody?
Ari sighed and looked up at me finally. But then she just shook her head, went back to writing.
"Nothing. Forget it."
Ok what the hell? I need to figure this out. If she wants to leave then ok, I guess I can deal with that, but I need to know what happened first.
Figuring that this would take more than a simple 'tell me what's wrong' I went and sat in front of her on the bed. When she still refused to look at me I grabbed the journal out of her hands and said, "You obviously have a problem, so tell me what it is."
Ari glared at me, but didn't make a grab for her journal. Instead she just said, "Is that an order Captain ?"
"If it needs to be."
Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?
Ari's face changed from a glare to enraged to blank in a matter of seconds before she jumped up from the bed and started angrily putting on her jacket. While she was doing that she said, "My problem is that you asked Isuka to join the crew."
Wait that's what she's mad about? Why? It can't be because she's a Marine. She even said that she didn't hate Marines! So what's the big deal?
"Why are you so pissed off about that? Come on Air it's not a big deal."
She barked out a harsh laugh and said, "The fact that you don't see what the problem is. IS the problem Ace."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked while standing up. When she turned to leave I grabbed her shoulder to stop her and said, "Will you just calm down and talk to me?"
If you're going to leave then at least look me in the eye and tell me.
"Calm down? Are you fucking kidding me? Ace! You asked ISUKA to join the crew. FUCKING ISUKA!"
"Yea so what? What are you pissed that I didn't ask your permission first? Well sorry but last I checked this was MY crew."
"You IDIOT! This has nothing to do with my role on the crew!"
"Then what the hell is the problem?"
"She's in love with you!" She shouted. "She's in love with you and you asked her to join the crew!"
"Oh for fucks sakes. Isuka is not in love with me!"
"Yes. She is."
"No she isn't! And how the hell would you know that even if she was?"
"How could I not? You think I haven't noticed how she stares at you? The way she talks to you? Ace open your eyes! She was clearly flirting with you and begging you to stay with her everytime she tracked us down! Why do you think she was so hell bent on following us in the first place?"
Bullshit. None of that means that she is in love with me. Who the hell would love me in the first place?
"Alright fine whatever. She doesn't fucking love me but fine believe what you want. But why would that even matter in the first place?"
"BECAUSE I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU!" She screamed. "I'm in love with you and you wanted to bring someone who was trying to take you away from me onto the crew! She was trying to get rid of me so she could have you. But she can't because I love you. I love you Ace."
What?
"Yea. Sure you do." I said as I turned to look out the porthole in the cabin.
There is no fucking way that anyone, let alone Ariadne, would love me...
Ari looked like she had been punched in the stomach as she let her hands fall to her sides. "W-what?" she whimpered. But as I refused to look at her she just turned and walked out the door.
You don't love me Ari. No one does...
Ariadne in love with me? Yea right. Like that would ever happen.
I was walking around fishman island and mulling over my fight(?) with Ari. I didn't want to call it a fight because she was being ridiculous but she was obviously upset. After she had stormed out of our room she had apparently dove out of the bubble and swam down to Fishman Island on her own. But we also made it down here safely so I'm assuming she had something to do with that as well.
Well whatever. There's no point in dwelling on it. I guess I might as well go find something to eat.
I had been planning on going to the mermaid cafe with the rest of the guys but hadn't really felt up to being around them right now. So now I was wandering around an area that was apparently called Fishverly Hills.
Oh hey look a restaurant. That'll work.
After walking in it wasn't long before I had been seated, had my order taken, and was served. But after a little while of eating I felt this sudden wave of exhaustion come over me. I fought as hard as I could but it wasn't enough to stop me from face planting into my meal.
Why the hell does this keep happening? Ever since that one fight on Kyu…
"What's up with him?"
"Did he die?"
Wha? What's going on? Someone died?
"Die? Maybe he's just sleeping."
"Who the hell falls asleep like that? HIs arms are both still raised and his face is in his food!"
Oh they're probably talking about me...
"He's human! Maybe this is just how humans do it sometimes?"
"What? Have you never seen a human before? They do not sleep like that!"
"Then go poke him and find out if he is dead or not!"
"Why me? You do it!"
"Fine I will!" The stranger said before they walked over. "Um… Sir?"
I quickly jerked my head up out of my plate and blinked at the mermaid waitress standing next to me looking stunned.
Oh I probably have food on my face. Whoops.
I grabbed her apron and quickly wiped my face before asking "So what kind of fishman are you?"
The waitress screamed and ran? swam? away without answering.
Well that was weird.
I looked around a bit more and saw that I now had the attention of everyone in the restaurant. "Sorry for disturbing your meals, folk!" I said before going back to my food.
After a few more bites another plate was set down in front of me. I looked up to see a burly fishman with a long ponytail. "Oh hey thanks mister. Also, what kind of fishman are you?"
"I'm a goatsbeard brotula merman , actually." He said.
I nodded and just kept on eating until he crossed his arms and said, "You're a bold young pirate to be here all alone."
"Oh yea? Why's that?"
"Haven't you heard about the recent attacks at Fishman Island? Happens to human pirates, and some fishmen who work with humans."
"Sounds pretty violent." I said while I kept eating.
"Hey listen to me-"
"So who's attacking who?"
Might as well learn a little bit about this place if he's feeling talkative.
"It started years ago. Queen Otohime of Ryugu Kingdom lost her life. She wanted us to find harmony with you humans. But someone who didn't take kindly to that idea assassinated her."
I nodded again and glanced over at the board of wanted posters on the side of the dining room. Most of the posters were from the Navy but one of them was from the Ryugu Kingdom. "Is that the guy who did it?"
"No. That one is something different." He said. He sneered before he kept talking, "He's an idiot of a fishman who ate a devil fruit and has been harassing the Princess."
I snorted at that and said, "A Devil Fruit huh?"
"Something funny about that?"
"You have to admit that a fishman eating a devil fruit is pretty funny. But if this guy is messing with the princess then what has the king done about it? He has to be pretty tough to be king right? But if he can't keep his own daughter safe then it sounds like he's just asking to be overthrown."
The man glared and said, "Watch what you say around here kid."
Looks like I touched a nerve there.
Even if I am right.
"Sorry. My bad." I said trying to placate the guy. "I'm a pirate, an outsider. I don't care what happens to the places I'm just passing through. Just sharing my thoughts on the matter is all."
I went back to eating as the guy fell silent for a little while. But after a bit he said, "You mentioned a coup. But that's not going to happen. There are two men who would quickly attend to any such attempts."
"Two?" I asked.
"The man you humans call Jimbei, First Son of the Sea. He works as one of the Seven Warlords."
"The Warlords…"
"Oh yea, there was a big story about some wild rookie who just turned down the offer to join them just the other day. Anyways, the only reason Jinbei is so important is-"
Ugh history...
I rolled my eyes and said, "I don't care about the past old man. Who's the other one protecting the king?"
"Edward Newgate."
I felt my blood turn cold as soon as he said that name.
Oh I know who that is alright.
"Fishman Island is in the territory of Whitebeard. King Neptune's an old friend of Whitebeard's. So no one will be looking to try and overthrow him any time soon."
I picked up my mug and quickly drained what was left in it before slamming it down on the counter, gathering the attention of everyone in the restaurant. "Thanks for the meal!" I said before standing up.
Before I could reach the door the man called out to me, "What's your name young man?"
"I'm Portgas D. Ace. Even here at the bottom of the sea, you're going to be hearing my name a lot, whether you want to or not." I tipped my hat and walked out of the restaurant.
So this island belongs to Whitebeard then?
I had set off to explore the island, ending up on a tall rooftop while I stared at Whitebeard's flag as it waved lazily on several of the rooftops below me.
Everyone always says that Newgate was the only one who could stand up to Roger…
But why would he bother protecting this place? Why does he care what happens to these people? They aren't members of his crew, so why bother?
Regardless…
Whitebeard isn't on this island and it would take days to get down here, yet it looks like no one even tries to attack…
His flag alone is enough of a deterrent to make people not even want to try and pillage this place.
I wonder what it's like to have a name that powerful…
I layed back on the roof and stared up into the deep ocean, the only thing holding it back was a bubble.
What am I even doing out here? I don't want to be the next pirate king. No, fuck that. But what else am I going to do then?
Sure we've been making a name for our crew, but we are nowhere near strong enough to deter people from attacking just by saying not to. Hell, bounty hunters still attack me every chance they get. Ok, so I obviously need to do something bigger. More drastic. But what?
"So here's where you've been hiding." I heard Ari say as she jumped up onto the rooftop and came to stand next to me.
Oh fuck, I forgot about her. I really don't want to go into this shit right now.
"Yup. Been right here." I said hoping that my tone would be enough to make her go away.
"Right… Well, um about earlier-"
For fuck sakes.
"I really don't want to get into it right now Ariadne so if that's all you came here to talk about then just leave it." I said while sitting up and glaring at her over my shoulder.
The last thing I need right now is Ariadne and her delusions…
"Right, right. No um, Deuce was getting a little twitchy since you went off on your own and since I've been here before I said that I would come find you." She said while fiddling with her jacket.
I scoffed and said, "I'm not a fucking child I don't need a baby sitter all the time."
"Yea... I know that…" She said before coughing awkwardly and continuing. "So is there a reason you're up here by yourself?"
"I'm thinking."
"Oh dear. What trouble are you getting us into now?" She said with a forced laugh.
When I didn't respond she came over and sat next to me and asked, "What's going on?"
I pulled out my dagger from my belt and started fiddling with it as I thought. After a bit I finally said, "I didn't realize that Whitebeard and Edward Newgate were the same guy. Not until a little while ago."
"Seriously?"
"Yea. I remember Garp talking about Newgate sometimes when he would actually talk about Roger. And I vaguely recall the name coming up a time or two with my mom. So I knew that he was a powerful pirate… But no one ever called him Whitebeard."
"But I've talked about him before."
"Yea once. But I just thought he was another pirate that your dad knew. Not that he was…" I trailed off.
"Was what?"
"The only man who could stand up to Roger."
She shrugged and said, "I mean I guess you could say that."
I rolled my eyes again. "The hell does that mean?"
Why does she always have to be so damn cryptic?
"I just wouldn't say that Newgate stood up to Roger. They were equals. I would even go so far as to say that Newgate was stronger."
"Why?"
"Newgate's still standing. Roger isn't."
"Yea I noticed that…"
Ari pulled her jacket closer around herself before asking, "But what's with the sudden interest in him?"
I thought about that for a minute before saying, "Whitebeard protects this island right?"
"Of course. That's why his flag is everywhere."
"Yea but he isn't here now is he?" I ask before glancing at her. "It took us 3 days to get our ship coated and then the better part of another day to get down here. So that means that it would take at least 4 days for Whiteberd to get down here is someone decided to attack, right? And that's assuming that he is at the Red Line with a coater right now."
"I suppose, but what does that matter."
"Look around Ari. Whitebeard is days away at best and yet no one is attacking this island. Everyone knows that it would take him forever to get here, and still. Nothing. Why?"
"Because everyone knows how powerful he is. They know that while they might be able to flee for a little while Whitebeard will find them."
"Oh please you mean to tell me that all the dipshit pirates who come here are thinking that far ahead? No they don't attack because they fear the name of Whitebeard. They don't know him, hell I don't know him. But just the mention of his name is enough to keep this island safe."
"Where are you going with this Ace?"
I thought about that again before saying. "What are we doing out here Ari? I mean really?"
"I thought you wanted to surpass Roger."
"Yea I do but what have I actually done to make that happen? Sure I fought a few pirates in Paradise but who gives a shit?"
"You were offered a Warlord position within 4 months of setting sail." She said with a raised eyebrow.
"That's another thing that's been bothering me." I said, jumping up from where I had been sitting and started pacing. "Why the hell would the Marines offer me that? Don't they only offer those spots to people who are super strong? What have I done to make them think I have that kind of power?"
"Do you want my honest opinion?" She asked without looking at me.
"Do I have a choice?" I stopped pacing and looked at her back.
You never hesitate to say whatever you want anyways.
"If you don't want me to say it then I won't but I think you already know the answer."
"Just spit it out already."
"Roger." She said. "They likely suspect that you are the son of Roger and want to get you under their control before you become too much of a threat. That's probably why your bounty is as high as it is considering how little we've done in terms of actual piracy."
"Son of Roger. Fuck that." I snarled, staring out over the island. "Before I die people won't call me the 'son of Roger'. No, they'll be calling that bastard the 'father of Ace.'"
"While that's all well in good, what are you going to do to make that happen?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out. So any suggestions you got would be just great." I said as I sat down next to her again.
Ari shrugged and said, "Just give it some time. I know that's not what you want to hear, but we need to get stronger. We need-"
"To train? You've been saying that shit non stop since we were in the East Blue. I'm plenty strong. I can do this. I will do this." I clenched my dagger in my hand.
"What, exactly?" She asked.
If I want to be the strongest in the world and make people stop thinking of me as "the son of Roger" and instead have people think of Roger as "the father of Ace" then I can't keep doing what I've been doing. I need to get serious in the New World and make sure that no one ever thinks to overlook me ever again. I need to be the strongest on the sea.
So I guess I should start by taking down the strongest on the seas. Right?
"I'm going to kill Whitebeard."
Warnings:
No warnings apply.