Chapter 15

"It's time, you two!" Ace called out to Vash and Terzo. They were currently sailing on the Little Drake along with the Newt Pirates.

"What is it, Ace?" Vash asked as he cleaned his revolvers.

"We need to decide the official name of our pirate crew!"

"I thought we were the Ace Pirates?" Terzo commented. Similar to Vash, he was performing maintenance on his longsword.

"Well, that was just something I came up with. A crew must make decisions a majority of them agree to!" Ace said.

"I thought a crew's decisions are made solely by the captain?" Vash asked with a raised eyebrow.

"This captain says we'll make decisions through a vote sometimes," Ace proclaimed as he jutted a thumb to point at himself. "This is one of those instances!"

"Well, if you say so. Honestly, Ace Pirates seem pretty good to me." Vash suggested keeping the name.

"Ooh! What about Royal Ace Pirates?" Terzo suggested.

"Royal Ace, huh? Sounds cool!" Ace said.

"Hmm… it definitely sounds grand, for sure," Vash said after pondering on the name Terzo suggested. "Did you add 'Royal' because of Ace's dad?"

"Yup!" Terzo was infected by Vash's emerging habit of poking fun at Ace.

"Oi! Now that I know what the name means, I don't like it!" Ace retracted his vote.

"Now that I know what the name means, I like it!" Vash voted for Terzo's suggestion.

"I like the name too!" Terzo voted for his own suggestion.

"No! Scrap it!" Ace tried to veto the decision.

"But I thought deciding the name of our crew is on a majority vote?" Vash smirked.

"...damn it."

Needless to say, Ace was annoyed. Vash and Terzo laughed. They seemed confident he'll grow to like it soon.

…

"It's done!" announced one of Newt's subordinates.

Ace turned his head to the Newt Pirate he assigned a task to. He wanted their own jolly roger made as well as a new one for the Newt Pirates, the first member of the Spade Fleet.

"Let me see!" Ace excitedly reached his hand out to receive the jolly roger for their crew. It was very similar to the jolly roger of Ace's crew in the canon. A skull wearing his flaming hat over a red spade. Only this time, the fire looked like a flame crown.

'The same… but slightly different.'

"Great job!" Ace voiced his appreciation to the pirate who worked hard on creating it.

"That looks great! Why the spade though?" Terzo asked.

"It's simple. As the leader of the fleet, we have the Spades behind our backs!" Ace grinned.

"So that's why you wanted a change on their jolly roger, too," Vash said as he looked at the new mark of the Newt Pirates.

It was their original jolly roger of a skull with two green crocodiles beside it, only this time, it was inside a bigger red spade.

"Yeah. Since they're a member of the Spade Fleet, they're only part of a whole. That's why their spade is much bigger."

"You put a lot of thought into this, huh?" Terzo commented.

"Of course! I've wanted to be a pirate since I was a kid! I had a lot of time to think." Ace smiled at the memories he suddenly remembered.

"Thinking about your brothers again?" Vash asked.

"Yup. Is it that obvious?" Ace handed their jolly roger to Vash. "Keep it for now, will you? Once we have our own ship, we'll hoist it on top of our mast first thing!"

"You can just take our ship, Commodore Ace!" Captain Newt offered.

It has been two days since the two crews formed a relationship. Their young commodore charmed them with his charisma and now they're following him wholeheartedly.

"No way! This is your ship! I'll have our own built by the shipwright I'll have in my crew. But, I don't think I'll find whoever it is here in East Blue."

"Then, feel free to sail to the Grand Line on our ship!" Newt offered.

"Really? Did you already have plans to sail there before meeting us, Newt?" Ace asked.

"We did. The Newt Pirates are bonded by a goal, Commodore Ace."

"What is it?" Ace was curious. It was obvious from the last two days they spent with each other that the Newt Pirates are… strange, even for pirates.

A lot of them had pets. In fact, there were more animals than humans on the ship. Ace and his crew didn't see them at first because they were hiding in the cabins. Over the past two days, the animals were allowed to go out and meet their commodore.

"We want to create a sanctuary! A place where a wide variety of animals can live freely!" Newt blurted out with an embarrassed blush.

"That's a great goal! I'm sure you guys will find an island that would fit your standard in the Grand Line!"

"You really think so?" Newt looked surprised.

"Of course! This world is vast! There could be millions of islands, you know? Finding one that suits your needs will definitely not be impossible!"

"Thank you for believing in us, Commodore!" Newt bowed to Ace.

"An island! I see an island!" The pirate on top of the Little Drake's crow's nest shouted out to let the rest of the crew know. Ace and the others leaned over the railing to see where the island was.

"If we sailed correctly, that island should be Middway Island," Ace said before giving out orders. "Men! Sail to that island!"

"Yes, Commodore Ace!"

…

Little Drake reached the island, only to come face to face with a cliff. So, Ace had them sail around the island to look for a beach they can dock on.

When they reached the eastern part of the island, they found a small cove they could dock on. They only knew the cove was suitable for docking because another pirate ship was docked there.

"What a boring jolly roger. They must be cannon fodder, ordinary pirates." Ace was disappointed with both the ship and the flag. It was just so… standard. No hint of personality at all.

"We should go before they sack the island's town. If there is one," Vash said, having the same sentiment as Ace. Ordinary pirates mean trouble.

"Yeah, we should. Let's go, you guys!" Ace said before jumping off the ship. He was followed by Vash, Terzo, and then Newt.

"Secure the ship and stand guard! I'll go with our Commodore!" Newt said to his crew.

"Aye aye, captain!"

The four of them simply followed the tracks. They were running at a decent speed. The tracks were fresh. They only recently docked, around a minute before Ace and the rest found the cove.

Ace extended his Observation Haki forward to try and see where the pirates were. He found them easily. They stood in front of… nothing. But they stopped and faced something, or someone, there.

'Whoever it is, I can't see them with Observation Haki. But… I definitely feel their presence. This is getting interesting.'

Ace sported a wide grin before running faster. Vash and Terzo easily followed, but Newt was lagging behind. Soon, Ace reached the place where the pirates were just standing. It was a wide open field with boulders scattered here and there.

The pirates stood in an arc. Ace couldn't really see who they were facing. Vash and Terzo stopped behind him, followed by Newt moments later. They heard the pirates shouting.

"Come on, little missy! I swear I'll give you a good time!"

The pirates were laughing and whistling at whoever was in front of them. A woman, apparently. Then, Ace saw something he never expected to see in East Blue.

"These are East Blue pirates? No wonder this is the weakest sea," the woman said before her Conqueror's Haki bursted out of her. All of the pirates harassing her instantly collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

Ace felt it, but he brushed it off easily. Vash and Terzo felt it too, but they only tensed. Newt felt it, but he managed to stay conscious and only knelt down.

"C-C-Commodore Ace! That's the woman that attacked us!"

Ace took a good look at the woman in front of them. Short red hair, a patch on the right side of her face, and a small hammer on her leg holster. She matched the description Newt gave him.

"Oh? You're still standing?" The red-haired woman said to Ace. "You weren't even affected. How come you're serving a pirate like this?"

The woman kicked the unconscious captain of the pirates that harassed her. Ace smiled wryly.

"I don't even know who that is. More importantly, what's a pirate like you doing all the way out here in East Blue?"

"Oh? You know me?"

"I don't. But you're definitely not from around here."

Ace and the woman stood still, staring at each other in a silent standoff. They didn't clash just yet, but Vash, Terzo, and Newt already felt the apprehending tension.

"You're right. I'm not," the woman said. "I'm looking for a man named Shimotsuki Kozaburo. I don't suppose you know him?"

"Doesn't ring a bell." Ace lied.

"I see. What about a white sword? It's a Meito named Wado Ichimonji. Have you encountered someone using it?"

"Can't say I have."

"Then get outta my way," the woman spat before emitting a much more powerful burst of Conqueror's Haki.

Ace responded with his own Conqueror's Haki. He emitted enough to cancel each other's Haki out without heavily affecting the three behind him. A flash of red lightning illuminated the surrounding area. It quickly died down.

"Wh-What was that?" Vash asked.

"I have no idea. It felt… suffocating," Terzo answered. The two of them looked behind them to see that Newt fell unconscious.

Ace and the woman stared at each other, both of them sporting grins on their faces.

"I never expected to see another Supreme King all the way out here. What's your name, kid?" The woman asked Ace.

"Kid? How rude. It's common courtesy to state your name first before asking others theirs." The woman sneered at Ace's words.

"Fine. My name is Hepha." The woman, whose name is Hepha, introduced herself to Ace.

"Nice to meet you, Hepha. My name is Ace." Ace introduced himself in return.

"I'm guessing you're not in any way related to these trash?" Hepha was referring to the pirates that harassed her.

"Nope. Saw them for the first time today."

"Good. That means I won't need to have them in my sight once I take you as part of my crew!" Hepha grinned wildly as she took out the small hammer from her leg holster.

"Me? In your crew?" Ace laughed at what she said. "I'd rather have you in my crew instead."

"Then don't blame me for smashing you up before dragging you on board my ship!" Hepha rushed forward and swung her Armament Haki coated hammer at Ace.

Ace grinned and rushed forward to meet Hepha. The woman aimed straight for his head. Ace caught the hammer with his hand, only using his physical strength, much to the shock of Hepha.

"Come on, using Armament Haki on a nameless pirate on East Blue? You're one merciless woman." Ace sneered at Hepha, mostly because he found delight in watching her mouth hang open in shock at what he did.

"You? A nameless pirate? Cut the crap!" Hepha retreated. "Who are you, really?"

"I told you! I'm Ace!"

Seeing Ace rush at her to initiate an attack, Hepha finally got serious. Ace watched her hammer grow until it was as tall as her. She clutched its handle with both hands before swinging the huge Armament coated hammer at Ace.

Ace was surprised at the sudden move of Hepha. He didn't see the future.

'She knows Observation Killing? Just who is this woman?'

Still, Ace responded properly. He knew at first glance he couldn't take on such a strike without using Haki. So he did just that. With an Armament coated fist, Ace met the hammer's blow.

Ace grinned in excitement at the prospect of having a good battle with Hepha. This woman was clearly a great pirate from the New World. It was a great opportunity to practice.

Without using his Devil Fruit, Ace met Hepha blow for blow. Fist against hammer. Ace knew the moment he used his Devil Fruit, the fight would become easier… but he doesn't want that.

After exchanging a series of blows for ten whole minutes, Ace and Hepha put distance between each other. Hepha was slightly out of breath while Ace still felt fresh. Courtesy of his enhanced healing and ridiculous physique.

"What a fight!" Terzo was shivering in excitement on the side as he watched Ace and Hepha battle.

"How is Ace strong enough to punch a swinging giant hammer away?" Vash asked, mostly to himself. Ace still didn't ingrain in him the habit of using Observation Haki as often as possible.

Without Observation Haki, spectators won't be able to see the black coating covering Hepha's hammer and Ace's fists. They would just think Ace's bones and muscles were sturdy enough to meet a swinging hammer head on.

"You're strong! I definitely want you in my crew!" Ace said to Hepha.

"Don't count on it! I'd rather die!" Hepha ran towards Ace with a normal sized hammer.

Ace ran to meet her. Hepha suddenly swung her hammer at Ace despite being so far away. Ace couldn't react in time.

The handle of Hepha's hammer extended as the head of the hammer expanded. Hepha timed her swing perfectly. The head of Hepha's hammer was easily twice the size of Ace and it was about to hit him. It was covered with Armament Haki too.

'Shit!'

Ace was hit solidly and was sent flying. Vash and Terzo screamed in concern for their captain's safety.

"ACE!"