Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Through all the chaos, one thing was certain if nothing else. There was only way, only one way to win this, and it was all up to him. He was the key. She knew it, she’d known it from the beginning. Her fingertips were already alight with a bright iridescent light.

Waves of power washed over her, nearly forcing her to her knees. Yet she still managed to make it behind him, gently guiding her fingers through soft black hair cacked in blood. He was turning around already, but he didn’t move away, as trusting as always with those he kept close. Not that it would’ve mattered. She’d already pressed her fingers into his scalp.

There was no turning back.

She closed her eyes. "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Luffy.”

A tick reverberated loudly as though it was coming from the Earth itself.

A flash of brilliant white and they were enveloped in an astronomical amounts of energy swirling all around them. She could feel it brushing against her skin, making it break out into goosebumps involuntarily.

“It’s the only way.”

Another tick could be heard, echoing just as much as the other one.

“Please—”

Somewhere out there in the New World, you could find an island named Half Island. Right down the its middle was a cut so straight it looked like it had been slain by a sword. And so, separated by a river, one side was a luscious green forest rich in materials which stood on an elevated plateau. On the other side—in complete contrast—you could find a booming city known for its incredibly complex durable structures and architecture, Founding City.

For the residents who lived there, it seemed like the perfect day to spend some time outside. The sun was shining brightly with no clouds in sight, and there was even a light breeze keeping things cool.

Unfortunately, that was only the case if you looked past the huge portal that had opened up in the sky that very same morning.

“How long has it been there now?” asked the mayor of Founding City, standing on the edge of the forest overlooking the towering buildings of the city. Out there, on top of the tallest one still standing, could be seen a black flag waving through the air.

“It’s been three hours, sir,” replied his secretary beside him after glancing at her watch. “Surprisingly enough, there haven't been any changes to the portal since it’s initial appearance.”

The mayor crossed his arms in displeasure. “I can’t believe it destroyed one of our grandest towers. It was the city’s pride! It was made out of our best materials too. How could this portal destroy is so easily?”

“At least we managed to evacuate everybody safely to the forest, sir. Set aside the injured who happened to be in the vicinity of the portal,” reminded the secretary patiently.

“Yes, yes, I suppose that’s true. But then why has nothing happened yet? Am I doomed to lose the beautiful city I spent my life building to this— this thing? Whatever it is, it better start doing something!” exclaimed the mayor as he waved a hand around agitatedly.

While everybody in Founding City thought some sort of monster would come out of the portal as soon as it showed up, they were all wrong. All it had done so far was continue it’s torrent of lighting—each as powerful as a small explosion—onto the city, destroying many houses and starting many fires.

An amused smile grazed the secretary’s lips. “Don’t worry, mayor. We won’t go down without a fight.”

The mayor nodded, seemingly pleased at the secretary’s declaration. “Did you communicate with you-know-who when I told you? We might need his help in case it does start doing something. He did say if we needed him for something important he would come as part of the deal, right?” asked the mayor.

“Of course, sir. It’s important to inform him of our situation, even if he wouldn’t be able to assist us. This is his territory after all,” assured his secretary. “Emperor Whitebeard should be on his way.”

Chapter Text

Night had quickly fallen over the dark sea. Though the stars were twinkling quietly, it was as rowdy as ever on the huge ship with a whale figurehead, the glorious Moby Dick. Most of the excitement could be found around the long dinner table where some of the Whitebeard Pirates Commanders were eating and drinking together. Portgas D. Ace just happened to be one of them.

“The ships heading towards Half Island right? ” asked Haruta, the 12th division commander, before gulping down his drink. “That place where they made those huge statues out of each of us?”

Izou, the 16th division commander, brushed back his long hair, “If I remember correctly, they did manage to portray me in all my glory so I’ll give them that.”

“You mean in all your arrogance?” said Marco, the 1st division commander, with a small smile as he leaned back in his chair.

He quickly dodged when Izou tried to hit him atop the head, nearly tipping over in his chair from the two legs it had been previously standing on. “Shut it, bird brain.”

“It’s strange though. A huge portal suddenly appears above an island with no clear reason as to why? I have to say it fits right in for the kinds of things that happen in the Grand Line,” said Thatch, the 4th division commander, completely unbothered by Izou‘s continuous attempts in making Marco fall over.

“The marines seem to be heavily interested in the portal as well. Though they won’t approach the island knowing it’s in Pops’ territory,” remarked Marco now on all four legs of his chair.

Ace, as the 2nd division commander, had only just woken up from his impromptu nap. He wiped the food off of his cheek, stuck there after he’d fallen asleep and face planted into his plate. He swallowed the food in his mouth, and finally rejoined the conversation. “What came out of the portal?”

“That’s the thing, nothing’s come out of it yet,” replied Marco.

Ace was no expert on portals, but he was pretty sure that didn’t sound right. “Hmm, does that mean that someone has to go through the portal instead?”

Izou sighed, “You really think there’s someone out there crazy enough to do that?”

Though he knew Izou didn’t actually expect an answer, Ace still managed to come up with one. “My brother probably would.”

“I swear it’s always that damn brother of yours. It’s like we’ve met him already with how much you talk about him,” said Haruta.

Despite the teasing, Ace couldn’t help but laugh. It was his little brother, Luffy, they were talking about after all. Ace cared about him more than he did anything else. No matter how much time passed or what went down, he would do anything for Luffy if it meant protecting him. And if one were to ask, the first few months after they met where he spent his time trying to kill Luffy never happened.

It had already been three years since Ace had left Dawn Island, setting out at sea in the goal of becoming a great pirate. And he would be lying if he said he didn’t miss Luffy, and his warm smile, and his way of making you feel as though you truly mattered.

“I think it’s sweet how much he talks about him. It’s been decades since I last saw my own little sibling,” said Izou, carefully reapplying his lipstick with the help of a pocket mirror after having finished eating.

Marco, who was sitting to Ace’s left, patted his shoulder. “I swear I’ve never seen you be as happy with us as you were when your brother’s wanted poster came in a few days ago. You were kind of like an excitable puppy-yoi.”

Ace shrugged Marco’s hand off his shoulder and grumbled. “Was not.”

Well, who could blame him? He’d already known Luffy had set out at sea, his 17th birthday passing by in May. But it was a different thing to see his bright grin for the first time in three years. Not only that, he had a 30 million price on his head for his first bounty. How could Ace not be proud of his budding little brother?

He came out of his own thoughts, when somewhere down the table, shouts rang out. He glanced over only to be met with food flinging around in the air. It seemed like a food fight had broken out. Thatch muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like ‘those goddamn bastards’.

Thatch got up from his seat, “Oi! Don’t go wasting the food I made for you guys now—” he was quickly interrupted when a glob of mashed potatoes went flying straight into his face.

The table went silent, but noise picked up again when everyone started laughing at Thatch’s twitching face. Ace couldn’t help but join them, laughter bubbling out of him. Thatch didn’t say anything, which probably didn’t mean anything good. He headed over to where the food fight had originated, and then he shoved one of the pirates’ face into the gravy. Ace was now clutching his stomach with how much he was laughing.

Life was good, better than good, surrounded by all his brothers and sisters. He never would have thought he would find a place where he felt such belonging, even less on Whitebeard’s ship. Especially after having been unfortunate enough to be born as Gol D. Roger’s, better known as the King of the Pirates, son.

After that, things were a flurry of motion, and before long, Ace was going to the Commanders’ quarters and finding himself face to face with his bed. As he always did before going to sleep, he placed his hat on his nightstand. He paused at the wanted poster that had resided there for the last few days. His grinning brother’s face alight with moonlight started back at him.

He flopped into bed, mind wandering back to Luffy yet again. He’d thought about him a lot lately, hadn’t he? Maybe it was because he had a feeling he’d see Luffy again sooner than later. He wondered if his little brother might have changed after three long years, or if he was the same as he’d always been.

Ace brought his hand up to his left shoulder, tracing the tattoo there with his fingers. He wished Sabo was still here to see Luffy grow up into the great pirate he always said he would be.

A few minutes later, he’d fallen asleep. His dreams were filled with a kid with black hair and a scar under his eye, and another kid with blond hair and a top hat. That was all forgotten by the next morning when Ace woke up to a bucket of ice water being thrown into his face. Wasn’t that just a great way to wake up?

Whoever the offender was seemed to have stayed for long enough for Ace to have time to sit up, brush his hair out of his eyes, and glare at them. He wasn’t surprised when he came face to face with Thatch. Afterall Ace had eaten a bit—well maybe a a lot more than a bit—of the stock of food late last night without his explicit permission.

“You’re dead,” he said with a dead-pan face before lifting up three fingers. “One,” one finger went down, “Two,” another went down and Thatch was already gone, “Three.” Ace was right on his tail with flames lighting up threateningly on his back.

That was how his well spent morning passed, and before long, Half Island could be seen in the horizon. He’d never been there himself, the Whitebeard Pirates traveling to this particular island before he joined, but he’d heard that Pops had struck a deal with the mayor of Founding City, offering the island his protection as part of his territory.

From afar, the island looked like a giant stair. But that wasn’t what caught Ace’s attention or any of the other Whitebeard Pirates’. Everyone’s eyes were turned to the giant portal hanging over the right side of the island. It was more eye-catching than anything else. That thing was as bright as a thousand stars. After accidentally staring at it for too long, he’d looked away to find black dots swirling in his vision.

“What the hell is that?!” he heard one of the many pirates on the ship exclaim.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said another with wonder in their voice. Neither had Ace.

“I ain’t going anywhere near that thing,” someone laughed nervously.

Ace would soon have a much closer look at the behemoth of monster once the Moby Dick docked at the still intact ports of Half Island. From there, he could feel some sort of mysterious energy coming in waves from the portal, saturating the air with tension. If he strained his ears, he could even hear a distant rumbling noise coming from the direction of it.

As soon as the huge ship stopped moving, someone shouted from down below. “Oi! You’re finally here! Took you long enough.”

Ace wondered who in their right mind would be brave—or stupid—enough to shout at an Emperor’s ship like that, even more at Whitebeard, also known as ‘The Strongest Man in the World’. Said man was currently sitting in his usual chair being attended to by his nurses. Ace raised a brow at Marco, but he seemed completely unbothered, leaning on the railing of the ship and looking down at the docks.

Ah, so this must be normal then.

With all the intimidating aura he usually radiated, Pops stood up to a staggering 21 feet and 10 inches tall. He ripped out the IV drips attached to him, deaf to the cries of protest of the nurses around him. It made a funny sight seeing such a tall man being chided to take better care of himself by people who weren’t even a third of his size.

Ace had long learned long ago that that was just how Pops was. Even if he seemed terrifying at first—and certainly could be very very much terrifying if he needed to be—he was actually a caring and down to earth captain who listened and looked after his crew as though they were his own children. He’d given a family to many who didn’t have one, including Ace.

Pops was his father, just as Ace was his son.

Pops walked to the edge of the ship, and jumped straight off it down into where the voice that had previously called out had come from. A huge thud could be heard from down below—Ace wouldn’t be surprised if the wood of the docks had splintered under his weight. Curious, Ace walked over next to Marco and peered alongside him down below.

Right in front of Pops stood an older man who had a well-built body and was about half of Pops’ height—which was very tall. He had strong facial features, accentuated by a short beard and short straight white hair. His eyelashes along with his brows shared the same alabaster colour of his hair, making his dark eyes stand out.

All in all, he gave the impression of serious man. Though the effect was ruined when he crossed his arms and pouted. And also by the colorful floral print shirt—the kind the old geezer would wear—he was wearing.

“It’s been a long time, Whiters,” greeted his captain.

“You haven’t changed at all, Newgate. When are you finally going to keel over and pass away?” Ace couldn’t help the small smile that crossed his face. Whoever this man, Whiters, was had to be really close to Pops.

“Gurarara!” laughed Pops, his shoulders shaking up and down. Whiters uncrossed him arms and joined Pops, laughing along with him. Though they had just met up, there was no hint of awkwardness between the two. “You’re still the same as always too. It seems you’re till out here playing with blocks.”

“And seems you’re still playing pirate,” retorted Whiters, a grin stretching across his face.

“Hem, hem,” a female voice suddenly cleared her throat. Just then, a woman—who’d been previously dwarfed by Whiters—graciously stepped out from behind him. “I don’t mean to interrupt, sir, but the activity from the portal has abruptly increased.”

The woman seemed to be in her early twenties. She had long dark blue, nearly black, hair that fell to the middle of her back, even tied up in a high ponytail with a white bow. Her blue glasses accentuated her piercing orange-brown eyes, and so did her similarly blue formal clothes. She looked much more put together than Whiters.

“Ah, Mary!” exclaimed Whiters, looking like he’d forgotten she was there in the first place. He grabbed her by the shoulder, shaking her. To Ace’s amusement, she seemed used to it. “This is my secretary, Mary. I’m sure you remember her.”

“Nice to see you again, Whitebeard-san.” Mary, just like Whiters, seemed unbothered that she was talking to one of the four Emperors of the Sea. But unlike Whiters, Pops wasn’t one of her old friends.

“Mary? As in that little runt that kept trying to climb all over me?” asked Pops with amusement in his voice. “You’ve grown into a beautiful woman.”

Mary smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Thank you. Yet again, I apologize for interrupting your reunion.”

“No worries, Mary,” reassured Whiters, unintentionally patting her shoulder with more force than needed. Mary’s serene expression didn’t disappear, simply pushing the hand away. “You said there’s something going on with this portal thing?”

“Yes, sir. The portal’s size and energy output seems to have increased in the last couple of minutes. I’ve also just received a call from the surveillance team that the amount of lighting strikes has gone up,” reported Mary.

“Hmm, that does seem pretty concerning. Well, you going to do anything about it, Newgate? You have to uphold you part of the deal.” Ace doubted it had anything to do with whatever deal they made. It was less about obligation and more about commitment to one another.

“Of course,” said Pops, turning his head towards the ship. “Ace, Marco, you two go and check it out. If anything changes, come back to the ship.”

Pops had already decided that morning who would go take an initial look at the portal. Ace, along with Marco, was selected. Well, maybe Ace had volunteered because he’d accidentally burned the tip of Thatch tower of hair earlier and he didn’t want to have to deal with the sure consequences that would come later. But that was a secret between him and the Moby Dick, and maybe Marco who had been sending him knowing glances after having been witness to the whole ordeal.

That wasn’t all there was to it. Ace was interested in seeing this thing up close. Even after having traveled the Grand Line for a couple of years now, he’d never come across anything quite like this, and neither had anyone else on his crew. And maybe, just maybe, if luck was on his side, he could witness something crazy coming out of that portal.

“Ai, ai, captain,” answered Marco, finger-saluting Pops.

And that was how Ace, accompanied by Marco, found himself standing at the edge of where the portal began. After having climbed up a pile of rubble, they paused at the top when a strange foreboding sensation started creeping up their chests. The energy he felt now was way worse compared to earlier. He was positively swimming in it, and somehow, it felt more hostile. To top it all off, that faint rumbling sound from earlier was now echoing loudly all around them.

“This feels weird,” said Ace, one hand coming up to lower his hat so he could see without the portal’s brightness blocking his vision. The sight was a bit surreal. Tall buildings with crazy designs—some had Ace wondering if they were even structurally sound—stood tall while others had been reduced to piles of rock and metal with fires raging all around.

It was only the two of them in these parts, and the continuous thunder raining down ahead. Usually, they would have probably been joined by members of their divisions, but the torrent of thunder was too dangerous for most non-Devil Fruit users.

Both he and Marco had Devil Fruits that would protect them in case they were struck by one of the bolts. Having eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit, the thunder would pass straight through his flames while Marco’s Phoenix Fruit had great regenerative powers.

Marco hummed in agreement, “It feels like something’s telling us not to go any further.”

“What the hell is up with this thing?” muttered Ace.

Marco started advancing again, hands in his pockets. “You know, maybe this is kind of stuff it still too dangerous for you. If you’re too scared, you can go back.”

It was an old joke. Ace had joined the Whitebeard Pirates only two years prior, when he’d still been a fledgling of a pirate. Back then, he’d still been angry at the fate being forced onto him. And so, it was the only way to rile him up into doing things when he refused to listen to anyone.

Well, now Ace had become a commander, proving himself quite thoroughly. It wasn’t quite the same thing anymore.

It was an obvious way to tease Ace, but he wasn’t going to let Marco insult his pride scot-free. “What are you talking about? I’m not scared!” said Ace as he joined Marco in his trek forward. “Pineapple head,” he added on for good measure.

“I heard that-yoi,” said Marco, not seeming too insulted by Ace’s remark.

“So Marco, what exactly are we supposed to do about this thing?” asked Ace. There wasn’t a lot they could do. Unless they wanted to go with Ace’s idea from last night and try to go through the portal.

“Well, like you heard earlier, the residents of Founding City have been closely monitoring the portal. But it’s too dangerous for them to go any closer for—” Marco paused just as Ace felt a tingle alerting his senses.

Both of them jumped back, and a second later, thunder crashed down where they were just standing. The shockwave threw them back, and a loud ‘BOOM’ resonated around them. So that’s what that feels like up close. Even if he would have been fine, Ace doesn’t think it would be too pleasant to get struck by lighting.

Marco cleared his throat, “That was close-yoi. Don’t let your guard down, Ace,” he said before he kept walking forward. "As I was saying, they can’t get any closer for a more thorough inspection so it’s up to us to do that,” he continued as though nothing had happened.

Ace didn’t know why he expected anything more.

He placed his hat back on his head from where it had fallen. “Right, makes sense.”

After that, they fell into a comfortable silence, one filled with explosions going off in the distance. They traveled closer and closer to the center of portal, occasionally avoided getting struck by thunder, and looked for anything that might point to the origins of the portal—not that they had much to go on.

That was until, after his mind had wandered, an idea popped up in Ace’s head. “Hey, Marco. What if we suddenly got sucked in by this thing?” he asked, gesturing towards the portal.

“You mean like a black hole?” asked Marco.

“A black what?” questioned Ace, “You know what, sure.”

Marco sighed, deciding to ignore Ace’s earlier question. “That probably won’t happen. I mean just look at all this wreck around us. Not one thing has gotten sucked up this whole time.”

“I know that, but what if it did? Maybe whoever or whatever did this meant to lure us out here for that exact reason,” Ace theorized not very seriously.

Marco laughed, “Didn’t know you were so cautious.”

Ace shrugged, “Well, you never know.”

Soon after, they’d reached the center. They knew they’d reached the center, because everything has suddenly become eerily quiet and still. There was no longer any thunder-explosions going off around them, but Ace could still see the ones outside the silent middle going off. Even those were weirdly muffled, giving the impression of being in the eye of a hurricane.

“That’s beautiful,” he heard Marco say beside him.

“What?” Ace asked, confused. He looked at Marco and followed his gaze up. Ace tilted his head towards the sky, and his breath was taken away.

Right there, up above them, seeming so very close, was a kaleidoscope of colours twisting all around each other in an ocean of brightness. Its shades and hues mixed in such perfect harmony that Ace had the impression that he was seeing new colours. If one had to describe what they thought heaven looked like, this was probably one of the things they imagined.

Rays of light shun down upon Ace, who’s jaw had dropped at the unreal sight. Even if nothing ended coming out of this damn portal, he was glad he’d come all the way over here to see this. He wished he could picture this in perfect detail for the rest of his life.

Maybe this could work as his free therapy. All of Ace’s worries had dissipated as soon as this view had blessed his eyes.

Reluctantly, he tore his eyes away when he felt a tingle down his back. He was welcomed with the sight of the ruins of the city he’d walked through a bit ago. Now that he thought about it, the change in mood was laughable. A few minutes ago—or maybe more than that, he’d lost track of time looking at the portal—he’d been in a wrecked, dark and destroyed city.

He stood up straighter, when the tingle became more intense, turning into a shiver that ran through his whole body. His senses were pinging all over the place. Damn, he’d let himself get distracted. They probably should’ve headed out earlier, but it was too late.

Something huge was about to happen. And there was no avoiding it.

Marco could tell too, scanning his surroundings with calculated eyes (or maybe he was squinting, he did need glasses). Both commanders switched to being back to back, dropping into well-practiced stances.

Despite the situation, Ace wasn’t nervous. Especially with Marco at his back. Marco who was always a steady calm in these kinds of situations and who could make you relax with only his presence.

Just then, the rocks around his feet started trembling when a rumble not unlike an earthquake shook the ground. All at once, the energy in the air—which had remained constant this whole time—increased ten-fold, charging the air with invisible tension. It was so abundant that Ace could feel it brushing against his skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

His attention was quickly stolen when he spotted movement outside the center where they currently stood. At first, he could only spot a few small stones rising a few meters off the ground. But then, slabs of concrete and even whole parts of building started ascending as well. With all of them revolving around the center of the portal, they kept going up and up.

The portal was pulling them in.

Somehow, Ace and Marco had lucked out and were safe—for now—under the protection of the of the core of the portal who, for some unexplainable reason, wasn’t affected by the sudden pull of the portal.

“Well, I’ll be damned-yoi. You somehow predicted it, Ace,” said Marco.

A grin spread across Ace’s face. “I told you didn’t I?”

That quickly disappeared when, with no warning, an immense amount of pressure was pinned down onto Ace, almost forcing him down onto his knees. All the air inside his lungs was expelled with the force, and his face twisted in discomfort when his ears popped loudly. Black dots started appearing at the edge of his vision when he was unable to take a breath.

Drowning, that was what this felt like. He distantly registered Marco in a similar situation beside him. This wasn’t looking too good for them.

Thankfully, as suddenly as it had appeared, the pression had disappeared. He immediately took a deep breath of fresh air and truly appreciated the wonder of oxygen not for the first time. He didn’t get a moment of respite because all of a sudden it sounded like a thousand fireworks had gone off.

Up above him, the portal abruptly exploded like a mini-supernova. It was so bright, so very bright. But Ace was still able to see all those different colours from earlier expand into a pool of rainbows, letting off in all kinds of different directions before disappearing. The heavy energy in the air dissipated along with it, and a loud thud resonated in the distance as all the floating rubble fell.

It was like the portal had never been there in the first place.

The blue sky was all that left in its trace, and was that a blob moving towards them at an alarming speed? And was it just him or did that blob have a suspiciously human shape a head, two arms, and two legs?

Ace’s eyes widened in surprise. “Is that a person?!” he exclaimed. As soon as he’d said that, said person had already crashed into the ground—that was how fast they were going.

A cloud of dust rose into the air.

Ace was already heading for the place where they’d fallen, Marco right on his tail. Anywhere else in the world, people would’ve assumed that person was already dead without doubt, but this was the New World they were talking about. A Devil Fruit or especially good Armament Haki increased one chances of survival exponentially.

Though a fall from that high of a place and at that speed wasn’t anything easy to live through, even if you possessed those things. Even here, death was the most likely.

He could tell Marco was thinking something along the same lines. “Shit,” muttered Marco, a displeased frown on his face. “They’re still barely alive, I can feel it.”

If Ace sharpened his focus hard enough, he could tell what Marco was talking about. Aside from Marco, he could sense someone else’s presence. It was so so very faint. So faint that Ace almost didn’t pick it up. It balanced on the precipice of life, like one nudge would be enough to push them over the edge.

They were right at death’s door.

Clack.

Ace and Marco stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of rocks hitting each other. They were only a few meters away from the crash site, right where the noise had come from. Both of them held their breaths. All that rang was silence for next few seconds. Had he imagined it?

Shuffle.

Ace’s stomach dropped. This time he was sure he heard something. He squinted his eyes, trying to see through the dust.

Ace didn’t think he could have anything more surprising happen to him today after everything that went on with the portal, but right there, in front of his eyes, was someone’s silhouette, surely but slowly moving forward. Not a second later, they made it out of the dust cloud and into the open space lit by the sun.

It was a gruesome sight.

It was what looked like a shorter young man that walked out. That was all Ace could tell as far as his features because the rest of him was covered in blood. It dripped from his hair, down his face, and down his arms and chest. He was only wearing shorts with a yellow sash tied around his waist.

What stood out the most though wasn’t the alarming amount of blood, but the fist-sized hole in his side.

It certainly didn’t look like it’d been caused by his fall from the skies, the wound much too clean and precise. Ace gulped at what that implied. It meant that this man, whoever he was, had survived a fall from that high and at that speed with a good chunk of his left side missing. Had survived with that amount of blood loss.

And he managed to stay conscious enough to stand and walk.

Ace could only think of a few people who could live through such a thing. One of them being Whitebeard.

Just who was he?

The man’s knees buckled before he started falling forward. But he never crashed into the ground, instead falling into Marco’s arms and slowly being lowered while carefully avoiding being jostled. Marco had already covered him with his phoenix’s regenerative flames, enveloping the man in a gentle warmth.

“He’s got the devil’s luck, that’s for sure. If anyone else came here in my place, he would’ve already been dead,” said Marco with arms extended towards the man.

“I can’t believe he was even able to move in his state,” stated Ace, watching from the side and still staring with furrowed eyes at the man, trusting Marco to take the best course of action. He was one of the ship's trusted doctors after all.

“Both me and you, Ace.” A drop of sweat rolling down Marco’s face in concentration. “My flames won’t be enough for much longer. We have to move him to the ship quickly.”

“What do you need me to do?” asked Ace.

“I’ll focus all my flames on the wound on his side. That’s the one that needs my direct attention the most,” explained Marco, even if he didn’t have to. “I need you to carry him back while I focus on doing that.”

“Ready when you are,” confirmed Ace, rubbing his hands.

Just as Marco had said, the flames receded from covering the man completely to only engulfing his left side. That’s when Ace should’ve moved to pick him up. But he didn’t. He didn’t even even move.

Marco turned to face Ace with urgent eyes. “Ace? Come on-yoi. we don’t have time to dwindle here.”

Anything Marco was saying was going straight through one ear and straight back out the other.

But even if he wanted to, Ace couldn’t move. The blood in his veins had frozen over while his heartbeat had increased ten-fold, beating loudly enough for him to hear it. That was all just background noise. He was only fixated on one thing. On the one thing that currently rested on the mysterious man’s back.

A straw hat.

But it wasn’t just any straw hat. Ace had seen this very same straw hat for seven straight years. The same straw hat with brimmed with red. He would recognise it anywhere. Even now, looking all sorts of beaten and battered, he recognised it. How could he not?

It was his little brother’s most prised possession.

It was Luffy’s straw hat.

Chapter Text

Plip.

Plip.

Plip.

When the third droplet of water landed on the tip of Luffy’s nose, he startled awake. Blinking his eyes open, he was instantly hit by the familiar pang of hunger, his stomach growling loudly. Usually, shouting for meat would’ve been Luffy’s first instinct. But this time, surprisingly enough, something else was able to draw his focus away.

No, Luffy wasn’t talking about the painful stabbing in his side gnawing at him or any of the other many aching injuries he seemed to have. Or that he was currently chained up to a wall in a dark cell with an annoying leaky ceiling that kept dripping water onto his face. Those things should’ve been the first to call to his attention, but they were all things that could be dealt with later.

He’d had worse after all. For just one moment, the scar on his chest twinged.

Instead, Luffy’s head was filled with worries about something much more important. And that happened to be none other than his crew. The same one that was made up of all the great people he’d found and brought together, and which allowed him to sail the seas everyday. It was with them by his side—he’d have it no other way—that he’d reach his dream one day.

That was why he was completely preoccupied with trying to figure out what had happened to them. See, Luffy had a problem. Anything that had gone on prior to finding himself where he currently was, alone in this strange unknown place and with his crew nowhere near him (or at least nowhere in the range of his Haki), had been wiped from his mind.

Starting from a day like any other on the Sunny, all there was a huge empty void where there should’ve have been his memory.

The only thing Luffy could rely on were his instincts, the ones he’d long learned he should listen to. And they were all giving him a horrible queasy feeling. It didn’t help when sudden images of lots and lots of blood joined by the sight of his crew’s terrified faces flashed through his mind.

That shouldn’t be. Those kinds of looks didn’t belong there. Luffy should always be there to ease them of their worries, to carry their burdens until they made it to the ends of the sea. Yet he stupidly had no idea what the cause behind those horrified expressions could’ve been in the first place.

Luffy couldn’t help but clench his fists tightly in frustration, more at himself than anything. The chains rattled along with the movement. No matter how hard he scrunched up his face in concentration—which was completely necessary in helping him think—nothing came up. Well, what did come up counted as nothing.

All there was was someone’s familiar presence—one that he was sure didn’t belong to anyone in his crew—coming up behind him. He had no idea who though. After that, there was a sudden bright flash of white. And then nothing, just an empty darkness. So it was all useless information that didn’t tell him anything about his crew.

However, there was one thing that reassured him despite that ominous feeling nagging at him, one thing that stood out above anything else. He was sure of this more that anything; his crew would be fine. They always were in the end, and this time wasn’t going be any different. Worrying wouldn’t do anything to help them. What Luffy had to do was get out of wherever he was as soon as possible and find them. And he would find them no matter what.

They would be out there waiting for him.

Simple enough, ignoring the fact that he no idea where he was, or that he didn’t know where his crew was either. Or that it seemed he’d been captured. But that could be addressed once he’d eaten. He was very hungry, energy so depleted that it was hard to even keep his eyes open. As always, some nice delicious meat should fix everything, it always did. His stomach growled again.

Now, how exactly could he get some food?

Well, for one, Luffy wasn’t alone. There was someone unknown right in front of his cell. Not that he could see them, it was much too dark in here for that. Instead, Luffy was able to sense whoever it was that was keeping watch over him with his Haki.

They felt like the embers coming from a campfire late at night, perfect for grilling some meat over. Luffy could tell they they were irritated, displeasure coming off of them in waves. Those incorporeal flames of theirs were agitated, rising higher and higher, and crackling louder and louder. But most of all, there was an undertone of concern peeking through, a deep vulnerability shining bright at the core.

Luffy could sense some other presences further away, but he was much too exhausted to concentrate enough to get a real feel for them. So it was just the mystery person and Luffy. Unfortunately, Luffy knew he wasn’t imaging that nasty glare that seemed to be aimed right at him. Still, it couldn’t hurt to try.

He opened his mouth wide, sucking in all the air he could. Admittedly, it was harder than usual when his left side decided to flare up into a painful twist, making him pause abruptly. A wince escaping him involuntarily. His hand twitched, wanting to instinctively press a hand there, but his muscles were too tired to listen.

Luffy didn’t let it distract him. The word ‘food’ is all he shouted with a strained voice, the air emptying from his lungs. It was almost like he was summoning it in front of him. But sadly for Luffy, those kinds of things only happened in his dreams. Instead, he had to wait for the stranger to hopefully bring it to him.

That single word reverberated through the empty cell, echoing back at him. Seconds passed and all he received in return was silence. But Luffy was sure they’d heard him, and he really didn’t want to use his remaining strength to repeat himself. Although he had to acknowledge that it was one of his weaker screams.

The stillness was interrupted by a deep male voice. “If you agree to answer my questions, I’ll give you food.” Whoever he was, he sounded oddly familiar. Yet Luffy couldn’t quite match it to anyone he knew.

Luffy’s head perked up at the words. Answering question in exchange for the food he desperately needed sounded like a great deal to him. He did have an inkling feeling that Nami wouldn’t have thought the same. Luffy readily accepted with a louder than necessary “Okay.”

Luffy didn’t get any confirmation back. All he heard was some shifting, a door opening, and before long, the fiery presence was gone, disappearing off among where the other presences he could vaguely sense were coming from. Well, all Luffy had to do now was try to not to pass out while waiting for the stranger to inevitably come back with his food.

He stirred where he was sitting on the floor of the cell, the cold of the wall he was resting against digging into his back. Luffy paused. Something was wrong, something very very important. He moved his head back and forth—which wasn’t a good idea, it just made his headache worst—and didn’t feel that usual string around his neck.

Where in the hell was his straw hat?

He frowned deeply, opening his eyes and trying to squint through the darkness. Maybe it was somewhere around here. Unfortunately, the more he looked the more it became clearer that there wasn’t anything resembling his straw hat anywhere near him. Somehow, Straw Hat Luffy was missing his straw hat.

Now, there was a new thing on Luffy’s priority list of things to look for once he got out of here. His crew and his straw hat. Maybe if he was lucky enough, they would both be in the same place.

Luffy blinked rapidly when black dots started to show up in his vision, the darkness of his eyelids seeming more and more welcoming. He was pretty sure that wasn’t a good sign.

He shook himself awake when the smell of food reached him. His eyes opened in an instant. Not that he’d realised he’d closed them in the first place. Right there on the ground in front of him, was a plate piled high with mouth-watering food. It was less than what he truly needed—it always was—but it was good enough.

For one moment, everything else was ignored as Luffy focused completely on eating. His body had moved before his mind could, already stuffing his mouth with whatever his hands could reach. Thankfully, the chains were loose enough for him to be able to move them freely. Before long, whatever had been on the plate had been annihilated, going straight to the endless void of Luffy’s stomach.

Once he was done, Luffy sat up, wide awake. The previous tiredness he’d been feeling earlier was completely gone, and the pain in his side was much more bearable. Food really was like magic medicine. Luffy sighed in satisfaction, patting his stomach. “Ahh, that was good. I’m still hungry though.”

Much more conscious now, Luffy was able to get a better feel for his surroundings. In the time Luffy had been eating, it seemed the stranger had returned to being in front of his cell. Luffy’s eyes had adjusted to the dark and through the bars of his cell, Luffy could vaguely tell the other was sitting in a chair and wearing a hat, but that was about it.

“You’re not getting any more food unless you answer my questions,” said the stranger who’d waited this whole time in silence.

“Really? That’s nice of you,” responded Luffy, looking down at the cuffs around his wrists.

He’d wanted to break them apart from the inside with his Haki, but they were made of the worst possible material, sea prism. Curiously enough, they didn’t seem to immediately weaken him as though he’d just plunged his full body into sea water.

“What?” the mystery man asked, voice filled with confusion.

“You already gave me food,” said Luffy easily as he picked up the plate and started licking the remaining crumbs, trying to get every last bit of food. Sanji would've been proud of him.

“…Right.” The stranger only seemed to realise now that he’d already upheld his part of the deal given that he’d brought Luffy food. He didn’t actually need to give any more to have answers to whatever questions he had. Although Luffy thought that was pretty obvious.

Just as Luffy was lowering down his plate, the darkness of his cell was lit up by an orangey flickering light, fire. Luffy looked up only to pause when he saw a very familiar straw hat brimmed with red being held up.

Luffy frowned. “Hey! That’s mine—”

Shatter.

The sound of ceramic breaking rang through the cell. The plate that had previously been in Luffy’s hands was now scattered in pieces on the ground.

Automatically, Luffy’s attention had locked onto his straw hat, ignoring everything else. But when he’d moved his eyes just a bit higher, the real surprise had come with who exactly was holding it.

Sitting there with his elbows on his knees, was a dark-eyed man with jaw-length curly black hair and freckles splattered across his face. He wore an orange hat with two smileys, one smiling and one frowning. He was shirtless and on his upper left bicep was a tattoo spelling out A, a crossed S, and CE. Along his back, flames had been lit up.

Ace.

Ace.

His big brother, Ace.

Just looking at him hurt. It hurt so much it felt like the scar on Luffy’s chest was still a fresh wound. It hurt so much it felt like Luffy’s heart had been ripped out. It hurt so much he wanted to scream. But he didn’t. Because this wasn’t Ace.

No. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be Ace. No matter how much Luffy wanted it to be.

Ace was dead. Luffy had seen it happen right in front of his eyes. He’d been there for the whole thing. All of it. He’d seen the fist of lava go clean through Ace’s middle, had felt the the smoldering heat of it, had smelled the burnt flesh. He’d seen the fist retract and the gruesome injury it left behind. He’d been there to catch Ace before he could hit the ground.

Luffy still remembered the blood, so red on his palms. He remembered how horrified he’d been looking at it. His brother’s blood on his hands. Like Luffy had been the one who’d caused Ace’s death. Sometimes, in his worst moments, Luffy would look down at his palms and still see the vermillion mess there. Like he was still there, holding his big brother in his arms as the life flowed out of him. Hearing him speak his last words.

But more than anything, Luffy remembered seeing Ace crash lifelessly onto the ground. He remembered the pool of crimson getting bigger and bigger under him, and that horrible gaping wound on his back, still smoking from the magma. He remembered how Ace hadn’t moved at all, had only just laid there.

Luffy remembered being completely powerless to change his brother’s fate.

Even if he would’ve switched places with Ace in a heartbeat if it meant his brother would have lived.

After that, Luffy only knew tremendous pain and nothing else. He'd woken up to the reality that Ace was gone and he was never coming back. The scar on Luffy’s chest would be a constant reminder of it.

Luffy had spent those two whole years isolated not only training, but also reminding himself everyday that Ace had died. Ace had died because Luffy had been too weak—much much too weak—to protect him until the end. Luffy had to be protected by Ace instead. And that lead to Ace’s death. And so, every day for two years, he’d spent him time fighting to get stronger. Strong enough that he would never fail anyone else like he did his big brother.

Never again.

So Ace couldn’t suddenly be alive and breathing again. It wasn’t true. Couldn’t be true.

People died, and they didn’t come back. That was plain reality. And the same thing applied to his brother. No matter what Luffy did, Ace was never coming back

That made one thing clear in Luffy’s mind. Whoever this was wasn’t Ace. Maybe it was his clone. Or maybe it was someone’s attempt at impersonating him. Either way, it didn’t matter because whatever twisted explanation there was for this, Luffy knew this wasn’t his Ace.

Not his Ace, his big brother, who would have recognised Luffy by now and wouldn’t have kept him locked up like this.

Not his Ace, who’d been gone for over two years now.

He’d accepted it long ago. Luffy had failed and he wasn’t getting a second chance. He had to live with that.

But that didn’t mean he liked it. Luffy hated it. He hated it so much. He hated that old feeling of intense sorrow and deep distress coming back. He hated the old feeling of a lump in his throat choking him and that agonizing pressure in his chest resurfacing. He hated the way his bottom lip quivered.

But most of all, Luffy hated having to stare at the reminder of what his brother used to be.

Not-Ace—that was how Luffy had named him—waved around the straw hat. “Oh, so you recognise it then?” It was so strange to see his mouth move, to hear his brother’s voice coming out of him.

The seconds ticked away as Luffy simply started at him, tightening his fists over bits of ceramic that had stuck to his hands when he’d crushed the plate, uncaring as it dug into his skin. He didn’t want to talk to him. Not at all. But Luffy didn’t really have a choice. He’d struck a deal in exchange for food. And the sight of Not-Ace holding his straw hat made his stomach churn uncomfortably.

Only when Not-Ace raised one of his eyebrows in an incredibly familiar way did Luffy finally say something. “When I get out of here, I'll kick your ass.”

Luffy couldn’t do anything about the Ace look alike right now, but he needed the other to know. All Luffy wanted to do was punch that face off of him. It didn’t belong there. Whoever was wearing it was dishonoring his brother, his death. Luffy wasn’t going to let him get away with it freely. No matter what.

Not-Ace found that amusing, his lips curling up slightly even as his eyes darkened. “Really? Did I introduce myself? I’m Portgas D. Ace, the 2nd division commander of Whitebeard pirates.”

“No. You’re Not-Ace,” said Luffy resolutely. Not-Ace’s eyebrows furrowed, opening his mouth, but Luffy spoke before he could say anything. “And that’s my hat. Give it back.”

Not-Ace mouth closed, all traces of humor disappeared off of his face as the fire on his back grew bigger. “It’s not your hat,” Not-Ace denied firmly, completely sure of his words.

Luffy’s frown deepened. “It is my hat! Now, give it back and go away.”

“Liar! This straw hat belongs to my brother!” Not-Ace raised his voice, protectiveness shining through his words in a way that was all too familiar. Luffy’s heart clenched painfully. Did he have to act like Ace too? “He’s worn it ever since we were kids. So how in the hell do you have it?”

“Well, you‘re wrong!” Luffy told Not-Ace with absolute certainty. “I’ve had that hat since I was kid. And it’s very important to me so there’s no way your brother could’ve had it. He had to have had a different straw hat.”

Not-Ace squeezed the straw hat in frustration, although gently enough not to damage it. “I’m not stupid enough to think every straw hat is my brother’s. I know this is his, the same one he’s always worn. So why was it with you?”

“I already told you everything I know,” said Luffy. That straw hat belonged to Luffy. He was sure of it. He would recognise it anywhere. “If you’re done with your questions, then can you let me out of here? I don’t have time to waste here.”

Not-Ace stared at him, bewildered. “Do you really think someone’s ever going to let you go just because you ask them?”

Luffy crossed his arms. “Well?”

“No! Are you out of your mind?” said Not-Ace, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. “You’re the only possible person behind what destroyed Half Island, part of Whitebeard’s territory. There’s no way you could walk away from this that easily.”

Whatever Not-Ace said didn’t make much sense to Luffy. It was most likely some nonsense. “If you’re gonna be like that, then I’m done talking to you.”

Luffy would just wait for someone else to ask instead of having to talk to Not-Ace. He wanted to end this conversation as soon as possible. He didn’t want to keep having to talk to Not-Ace or look at his face. It was clear he wasn’t going to give Luffy his straw hat anytime soon anyway. Luffy would just get it back from his once he was freed.

“Hey! I’m not done talking to you! Did you even hear anything I just said?” asked Not-Ace.

Luffy had already looked down and away, effectively ignoring Not-Ace in front of his face. Looking at the ground, there was a small puddle that had accumulated there from the leaking ceiling right under Luffy’s face. His reflection started back at him, the contrast between his lit face and the dark background making the image clearer.

Luffy tilted his head, poking his own cheek. His reflection copied him. “Eh? Is that me?”

“You mean… your own reflection?” Luffy heard Not-Ace say, face still aimed at the ground.

Luffy almost didn’t recognise himself.

There were bandages covering nearly every inch of his face, expect his eyes and his mouth. They went across the bridge of his nose, across his forehead, and along his jaw and chin. They must be why Luffy’s face felt oddly numb. But even that wasn’t too unusual. This wasn’t the first time he'd found himself in this state, and there were also bandages all over his body. 

Instead, it was the top of his head where his hair rested that had him taken aback. Unless Luffy had been wrong his whole life, he was pretty sure he had black hair. Yet it didn’t look quite look like it in his reflection.

He brought his hand up to pull at one of the strands of hair at the front, bringing it just perfectly in the middle of his face, right in sight for Luffy. He crossed his eyes almost comically at the hair, trying to get a better look. Although he didn’t have the best view of it, he could tell straight away that it didn’t look like it usually did.

It wasn’t black. Not anywhere close to black. Quite the opposite actually.

It was white.

Luffy brought a hand to his chest. Resting it there, he listened intently. Nope. His heart didn’t sound funny or beat along to the rhythm of drums. Most of all, he didn’t feel the urge to laugh at everything, free from all his worries. He certainly wasn’t feeling giddy with Not-Ace in front of him. And his hair wasn’t all cloudy-like, floating and swirling.

He wasn’t in Gear 5, so how come his hair was white?

Was this something else that had gone down in that span of time where he’d forgotten practically everything?

White hair. White hair. That was really telling him something. He scratched his head. Thinking back on it—and he’d done way too much of that lately—that one presence he’d felt coming up behind him stood out. It was a familiar one, one who reminded him of alabaster white and the passing of clouds in the sky.

In an instant, it clicked. “Whitney!”

That was who white hair reminded him of. It was Whitney. The girl with the long white hair that liked to stare daggers at him with her orange eyes. She must have been involved with whatever happened before he found himself here because almost all recollections he had of her seemed to be missing, just like his memories of that time.

He did remember calling her White-Out once, but that just ended up with him having a massive bump on his head. Just like Nami, she seemed to be above the rule that blunt hits shouldn’t hurt him. After that, he’d only called her Whitney as to not summon her wrath again.

“Whitney? Who’s Whitney?” asked Not-Ace.

However he’d gotten here had started with her. She was the last thing he remembered before waking up so she had to be involved. Also he had white hair just like her now, so that had to somewhat be her fault too. Although he wasn’t too sure why Whitney would do that. Did she want another white-haired friend? Maybe he should introduce her to Yamato.

Luffy slapped the bottom of his fist into his hand. “She’s the one who’s behind this,” said Luffy like that was enough context for Not-Ace to understand what Luffy meant.

Not-Ace squinted his eyes. “Are you an idiot?”

“Hey! You’re the idiot,” replied Luffy, lifting his head up from his reflection to glare at Not-Ace.

“Tch. Stop screwing around,” Not-Ace said, getting up from where he was sitting to stand right in front of the bars of Luffy’s cell, the fire on his back burning brighter. “You said you would answer my questions!”

“And I did! You’re the one who’s taken my straw hat!”

“I already told you that it can’t be yours. The only place it should be is in the East Blue where my brother currently is. Not anywhere near here.” Not-Ace glowered at Luffy. “Did you do something to him?”

Not-Ace looked ready to tear down the bars and set Luffy on fire. Actually, he looked ready to try about anything for Luffy to give him the answer he so desperately sought. His eyes were filled with contempt as he looked down at Luffy sitting on the floor of his cell. It was odd to see that look on his brother’s face directed at him.

Ace had never looked at him that way before.

“And I already told you that hat is mine,” repeated Luffy. “I don’t even know who this brother you keep talking about is.”

Not-Ace held up the straw hat with right hand, the other gripping tightly onto one of the bars of the cell. “This straw hat belongs to Monkey D. Luffy. Not to you.”

Luffy yet again found himself staring at Not-Ace. Luffy hadn’t thought he looked so unrecognisable as to not even be able to tell who he was, even with the bandages and the white hair. But this copycat truly had not idea who he was. So Luffy enlightened him, or at least tried to.

“I am Monkey D. Luffy.”

Rewind.

It happened in instant, so quick Luffy didn’t even have the time to react. One second he was sitting in a cell surrounded by dark stone with bars in front of him. The next, in a bright flash, everything around him was gone. All there was left was a white void, stretching on and on as far as the eye could see. Everything that he was sensing moments prior, including Not-Ace’s presence, disappeared along with it.

And then Luffy was back. Back to the grimy cell. Not-Ace was still there, glaring at him as though nothing had happened. As though Luffy had never opened his mouth and called himself by the very same name of Not-Ace's brother.

Another mystery seemed to have befallen Luffy like it always did wherever he went. Although it wasn’t a pleasant one. Especially because of what Luffy had felt during those few seconds where he’d been in that empty nothingness. That unnatural pull at his core, pushing against his very sense of self had felt so very wrong.

He tried again, more forcefully this time. “I am Monkey D. Luffy.”

Rewind. Another flash of white.

This time, he felt it full force. He felt it when something bigger than life showed up, its presence so very bright and powerful. He felt it when it wrapped its fingers around his very being, pulling on the strings that made him up like he was an instrument that had to be tuned. Like it was tuning him to its tune.

He was back again. Face to face with Not-Ace who still had the same expression.

“Hey! Stop it,” he told It firmly. He didn’t know if It could hear him, whatever It was. He didn’t care either way. It would understand his intention just as Luffy understood its own purpose.

And for whatever reason, that was to stop Luffy from speaking his own name.

Obviously, Not-Ace had no way of knowing that. The temperature of the room rose with his flames. Luffy could feel the heat of it brushing against his skin. “I’m not going to stop until you tell me where you go this straw hat from.”

“Shuddup, I’m not talking to you,” responded Luffy.

“Eh? Who else is could there even be? You…” Whatever Not-Ace had said after faded away as Luffy closed his eyes and felt intently for that uncanny presence, everything else around him disappearing into the background.

Again. “I am Monkey D. Luffy.”

Rewind.

The same thing happened once more. Suffocating is what it felt like, that presence pushing against his whole being. So this time, Luffy didn’t let It do as it wanted. He pushed back.

He pushed back using all his willpower, all his authority, to try and stop whatever it was that was blocking him from speaking. He pushed and pushed until he felt the presence react. It fluctuated in its brightness, those fingers loosening around him. But then, It reached out with one of its hands and pulled at one of Luffy’s strings.

And it was like a dam had broken.

Luffy’s eyes flew open when all the force of his Conqueror’s Haki he’d been previously only aiming inward and towards that strange presence exploded outward. Almost out of control, it flowed out of Luffy until he put a stop to it.

Everything around Luffy rushed back all at once, breathing hard and feeling sweaty. Was that what happened when he tried to mess with whatever this thing was? This kind of thing hadn’t happened with his Haki since he’d started learning how to consciously use it.

Somehow, It had been able to redirected his Haki with one simple tug. Yet what stood out to Luffy the most was that there was a weakness there to exploit. It had reacted to his Haki, and then defended itself from it. He would try again. And next time, he would succeed. One thing was for sure, he wouldn’t let It win.

Although right now wasn’t the best time to attempt it again. Further away, Luffy could feel some of those presences from earlier who’d previously all been relaxed on high alert, growing ever more present and bright. Others had been weakened or even gone out, passing out from Luffy’s accidental wave of Conqueror’s Haki.

Of course, there was also Not-Ace looking at Luffy with wide eyes, the fire on his back flickering low now. But Not-Ace’s spirit spoke otherwise. His presence had grown bigger and its flames higher, ready to rise up to challenge the authority that had just been forced onto him.

“Whoops. Sorry,” said Luffy. “I didn’t mean to do that.” And he really hadn’t.

Not-Ace just stared at Luffy like he was crazy.