16 Chapter 16

The large hammer landed solidly on Ace's body, but Hepha knew it wasn't enough to take down someone like Ace. She made her hammer small again and jumped up to follow the path of Ace's trajectory.

Hepha started spinning vertically with her hammer extended. The hammer grew in size. Hepha and her hammer grew in power and momentum the more she spun. She was aiming straight at Ace who was currently on the ground after flying away.

"Babylon's Impact!"

Ace, who was currently lying down on the ground, was smiling at the incoming strike. At the last second of Hepha's previous strike that sent him flying, he covered his body with Armament Haki. That hit didn't really injure him as much as he thought.

'I bet I could've still taken that strike on without Armament Haki. The flesh and blood of the first Pirate King is ridiculous!'

Hepha's hammer, which was carrying an impressive amount of momentum and power, came crashing down on the smiling Ace. Still lying down on the ground, he raised his Armament coated fist and punched the incoming hammer.

The resulting crash was loud and powerful. Hepha's hammer carried the force of a building that aimed to reach the heavens crashing down on Ace.

Vash and Terzo took a moment to recover from the impact's blast before madly rushing at Hepha as she stood in front of a pile of rubble.

"Damn you!"

"You'll never be our captain!"

Hepha turned to glare at them and unleashed a full blast of her Conqueror's Haki. In their maddened state, Vash and Terzo didn't have enough mental resistance to resist the powerful wave of Hepha's will. They were rendered unconscious.

Hepha breathed heavily and tried to catch her breath. But she didn't celebrate her victory in any way.

"You have a good crew," Hepha said to the pile of rubble. Then, the pile of rubble moved. Ace got up from the rubble and dusted off his clothes.

"Yeah, I know. I'm pretty proud of my friends. They're diamonds in the rough," Ace honestly said. He still felt and heard everything even when he was under the pile of rubble. "That was a nice attack! It definitely hurt more than I thought it would."

Hepha watched Ace stretch and dust himself off. He said it hurt, and he was honest, but he was already healing up. It definitely looked like he was joking to those who didn't know his abnormal healing rate.

"What's a monster like you doing all the way out here in East Blue?" Hepha asked, trying to buy time to catch her breath. Ace humored her.

"Me? A monster? Thanks!" Ace appreciated the compliment. "I won't be in East Blue for long. Soon, I'll be in the Grand Line beating up Emperors!"

"Beating up Emperors?" Hepha laughed at Ace. "You're crazy!"

"I am!" Ace didn't deny that fact. "What use is there in trying to be sane in an insane world?"

Ace and Hepha stood in silence. He watched her be distracted, as if she had something in her thoughts. Ace interrupted her by asking a question.

"What do you carry on your shoulders?" Hepha was shaken off her thoughts and looked at Ace after hearing the question. "You said you'd rather die than be in my crew. Why?"

"I have my own goals. You have yours. Simple as that." Hepha was unwilling to share her ambition with Ace.

"How do you know our goals won't work together?"

"I just do."

"C'mon, humor me!"

"Fuck off!" Hepha rushed at Ace with her medium sized hammer. "Nile's Flow!"

Hepha swung her hammer at Ace which he responded to with his fists. They started exchanging blows again, but this time, Ace felt something different. With every strike, Hepha's attacks seem to be getting stronger and faster.

Ace watched closely what Hepha was doing. She was moving in a different way. Every strike of hers saved the momentum from the previous one. The more she swung, the more powerful the attack was.

'But, that technique should definitely harm her body somewhat. The hammer would keep gaining power and momentum until the body can't keep up with the demand.'

It got to a point where Ace needed to avoid the blow instead of meeting it head on. Hepha was getting much faster as well. Left with no other choice, Ace used his Devil Fruit.

Ace turned his body into fire and manipulated his form to move past Hepha's swing. He safely avoided her powerful blow and watched Hepha's face twist in fear. He quickly subdued Hepha with a well placed Armament coated punch on the gut.

Hepha spat out spit and blood as her body folded under Ace's punch. She knelt on the ground, clutching her stomach in pain. Ace stood over her and watched her try to recover and resist him.

"You ate a Devil Fruit?" Hepha asked Ace, her face on the ground.

"I did. Wasn't planning to use it though. You're really strong!"

"Damn you…"

"Tell you what," Ace said as he was about to share another crazy idea. "You come at me with your best move. I won't dodge, but I'll try to block it. If you manage to send me flying, you win."

Hepha heard Ace's ridiculous idea as if he was treating a supposedly life and death battle like a game. She looked up and glared at him.

"What do I stand to win?" Hepha asked, which made Ace happy. At least she was willing to hear him out.

"Me! And my crew! And my fleet! Although, it's only one crew. But still!"

"And what if I lose?" Hepha asked and gritted her teeth in apprehension. She realized playing along will be her chance to escape.

Ace knelt down to Hepha's eye level before a gentle smile bloomed on his face.

"If you lose, we talk. I wanna know more about you. After that, if you wanna join my crew, we'll welcome you! If not, you can leave."

Hepha's eyes widened. No matter how she looked at it, she stood to win everything should she win or lose. It looked like Ace was in the losing position.

"Cut the crap! What's the catch?" Hepha demanded Ace to be honest.

"Calm down, there isn't one! Jeez, not all pirates are assholes you know?"

Hepha was silent for a few moments. Ace gave her all the time she needed. In the end, she accepted Ace's little game.

"Fine. I accept."

"Great!" Ace shouted in glee before standing up. "Come!"

Hepha stood up on slightly shaky legs. Ace's last hit was critical, but not enough to put her completely out of commission. It looked like she's still capable of pulling out a very powerful move.

"You can rest up and catch your breath if you want."

"Thanks. But there's no need. I'll end this now," Hepha said as her determination grew apparent. She clutched her hammer that turned big.

Ace watched Hepha close her eyes to focus and gather all her strength into the next attack. Her hammer glowed black from the sheer amount of Armament Haki she used to cover it with.

At the momentum she was going, it was obvious that her attack will use Ryuo. Or Armament Emission.

'Ryuo sounds better.'

But, Ace felt it. Hepha's next strike wasn't coated with Conqueror's Haki. She knew Observation Killing, but not Conqueror's Infusion. Ace grinned as he unsheathed the cutlass on his hip.

At that moment, Hepha opened her eyes. She took a big step forward as her whole body was coated with Armament Haki as well. With all her strength, she swung her hammer at Ace.

"Sumeru's Hammer!" Hepha shouted with a hoarse voice.

Ace's cutlass was coated with Conqueror's Haki. He raised his cutlass to the side as he grinned, remembering the day he started learning this technique.

…

"I swear I'll beat you up with this someday, Gramps!" Ace raised his metal pipe at Garp who was just sitting on the ground, yawning and picking his nose.

"Huh? Good luck with that, brat!" Garp said before picking up a random twig on his side. "I bet you can't even break this twig!"

"Shut up! Take this!" Ace jumped at Garp for an overhead strike. His metal pipe was covered with Armament Haki, but it didn't look like Garp was impressed.

Garp grinned before raising his twig to the side. Ace's attack was about to swing down and hit him. That was when he struck with a technique that engraved itself in Ace's heart and mind.

…

"Divine Departure!"

With a wide swing, Ace swung his cutlass at Hepha's hammer. There wasn't a clash at all. Hepha was instantly sent flying along with her hammer despite Ace using only Conqueror's Haki.

Ace grinned wildly as he felt the seemingly unstoppable force behind his swing. In that brief moment when their attacks clashed, he watched Hepha's eyes slowly light up in recognition. Or familiarity.

Hepha was sent flying a long distance away. She would have flown a much farther distance if it weren't for the boulders that blocked her path. She crashed into them and broke them with the sheer momentum Ace sent her flying. She had just enough strength to keep up the Armament Haki coating her body, preventing further injuries.

The hammer returned to its normal size in Hepha's hand as she lay there in the crater she created when she crashed, her whole body groaning in pain. Ace quickly appeared near her with a series of Flickers. He sat beside her.

The battle was over. Hepha lost. Ace won.

"You… are you the son of Gold Roger or something?" Hepha asked, not even believing the words coming out of her mouth.

"Yeah," Ace said, not bothering to hide the fact.

"I can't believe it. You looked like his last picture. So, that man had a son," Hepha mused aloud. "No wonder I lost to you."

Ace had a tick mark on his head after hearing what Hepha said.

"Oi, listen here! Sure, that man's flesh and blood helped me a lot, but I still did a lot of hard work to get where I am, y'know?"

Hepha turned her head to the side to look at Ace being annoyed at her comment before giggling.

"Sure, if you say so," Hepha said between giggles. "I guess Roger isn't as bad as they say."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, you don't look like a devil at all."

Ace blushed in embarrassment at Hepha's cool smirk and remark. Hepha broke the awkward silence.

"Tell me. Why do you sail the seas?"

"I sailed to be the one and only Emperor of the Seas." Ace replied without hesitation or doubt.

Hepha was quiet for a moment after hearing Ace's honest declaration.

"The one and only Emperor…"

Hepha forced herself to sit up. Ace helped her in steadying herself.

"An Emperor needs his kingdom, right?" Hepha asked Ace, to which he responded with a smile.

"He does."

Hepha was silent. Ace watched her frown as she struggled, debating whether or not she should say what she wanted to say. Ultimately, she decided to speak her mind.

"I sailed the seas for knowledge in creating weapons that would protect the kingdom I aim to build. A kingdom of warriors, where everyone can be safe and happy. A kingdom that won't force its people to fight for something they don't believe in…"

Ace watched Hepha collect herself. She seemed so vulnerable the moment her lips uttered those words.

"Will you really help me build such a kingdom, Emperor of the Seas?"

"I always help my friends," Ace grinned slyly. Hepha smiled at what he wanted to say.

"If you get in the way of my ambition, I'll leave immediately."

"That's fine!" Ace grinned. Hepha had a respectable ambition. It was something they can help each other with.

"Then… I'll be in your care, Captain Ace!"