Chapter Text
Portgas D. Ace was a man with a fire in his chest and the wide, open ocean ahead of him. It had been several months since he had pushed his tiny rowboat away from the wooden docks of Dawn Island, leaving behind Foosha Village, Mount Colubo and every memory that tied him to his childhood.
Now, he was no longer a lonely boy adrift on the East Blue. He was the captain of the Spade Pirates, a crew he had gathered himself and held closer than blood. Every member on deck was a testament to how far he had come, and Ace could not have been prouder of the idiots who had chosen to follow his lead. Chief among them was Masked Deuce.
Officially, Deuce was the first mate of the Spade Pirates, the finest companion Ace could have ever asked for. Unofficially—and Ace would never admit this out loud—Deuce was also the best free babysitter in the whole world, constantly keeping Ace from burning down their own vessel or diving headfirst into unnecessary trouble.
“Set the sails to catch the western wind!” Ace barked out, grinning as he gripped the wooden railing. “We are keeping this course until we hit land!”
Deuce let out a sigh, adjusting his mask as he stepped beside his captain. “That is precisely what I am worried about, Ace,” he said, unrolling a sea chart between them. “We have just entered the territorial waters of the Red Hair Pirates. Rumours in the last port suggested that Red-Haired Shanks himself and his crew are currently docked on the island ahead.”
Ace blinked, a spark lighting up his eyes, but Deuce quickly held up a warning hand. “I am serious, Captain,” Deuce added. “Everyone on this ship is loyal to you and would follow you to the very end of the world without hesitation. However, I would strongly prefer it if we did not get ourselves killed the moment we stepped foot into the New World. So please, try not to pick a fight with a Yonko.”
Ace grinned, hopping down from the wooden crate he was perched on and slinging an arm over his first mate’s shoulders. “Where is your sense of adventure, Deuce?” he asked, dragging the man down a fraction under his weight. “I’m not looking to cause unnecessary trouble, but you know my goal! I came out here to make a name for myself that will ring across the world, so of course I’m going to have to fight the Yonko eventually!”
Deuce was unbothered by Ace’s weight. “I remember your goal. I just think that if Red-Haired Shanks is the very first emperor we pick a fight with upon arriving here, it will also be our last.”
“Alright then, smart guy,” Ace said, letting out a bright laugh. “What do you suggest we do?”
Deuce turned his head to eye his captain flatly. Ace blinked, plastering on his most impossibly innocent, wide-eyed smile. Yet beneath that harmless expression, Ace could almost hear Deuce screaming on the inside: What is the point of me making suggestions if you are just going to ignore them anyway?
“What?” Ace asked softly, keeping the bright, harmless smile locked onto his face. “Why do you not go ahead and tell me your suggestion?”
Deuce let out a long, long sigh, gently lifting Ace’s arm off his shoulders and stepping back to open his trusted notebook. “Fine. My suggestion is that we land on the island quietly to resupply. We do not announce our presence, we do not draw our weapons and we certainly do not challenge a Yonko to a duel on day one. If you insist on taking down a Yonko to build your reputation, we gather information first, gauge their military strength and target one of their minor outlying territories down the line rather than walking straight into the captain’s lair.”
Ace stared at him.
“That sounds too smart and boring,” Ace declared, folding his arms over his chest. “Why would we waste time fighting some minor territory when the main guy is right in front of us? Where is the glory in fighting a fence when you can just kick down the front door?”
Deuce pinched the bridge of his nose, but Ace only offered a quiet, fond grin as he looked past his first mate and surveyed the deck of the Striker. Around them, the rest of the Spade Pirates were bustling about—Kotatsu lounging lazily by the mast, Skull polishing a cannon with far too much enthusiasm and the rest of the crew laughing together amidst the sea spray.
Ace loved every single one of these idiots. They were a ragtag group of misfits, but they were his crew. Deuce was right. Every man on this vessel was loyal to a fault and would march into hell if Ace asked them to. They worried about him constantly because of his relentless habit of plunging headfirst into danger, but Ace knew he was a good captain to them.
Still, as much as he appreciated Deuce’s calculated caution, Ace had no intention of avoiding Red-Haired Shanks. In fact, he was going to walk straight up to the man and deliver the politest greeting he could muster. Makino had spent endless hours teaching him proper manners back on Dawn Island for this exact reason. He needed to formally thank the Yonko for saving his little brother’s life and being such a towering inspiration to him.
Huh? Strange.
Thinking of Luffy brought an ache to Ace’s chest.
The thing was, for the longest time, Ace had questioned whether he even deserved to exist, carrying the burden of his cursed bloodline. When he was younger, he had been so full of rage that he had nearly killed the tiny, relentless kid who kept following him into the forest. However, Luffy had simply smiled, holding onto Ace with an unconditional, foolish love that Ace still did not understand. Luffy loved him so freely, without care for who his father was or what thoughts filled his head.
A murmur from Deuce snapped Ace back to the present moment. “I don’t even know why I waste my breath giving you tactical advice,” Deuce muttered, looking up. “So, what are you actually going to do, Captain?”
Ace spun around to face the main deck and raised his voice so it echoed across the ship. “Listen up, everyone! Change of plans! We’re heading straight for that snowy island ahead where Shanks is staying! I just want to go and meet the guy! I promise I won’t make any trouble!”