Chapter 21

"Oi! Damn woman! Get out of your forge! It's time for breakfast!" Soma knocked on the door of Hepha's forge loudly, much to the amusement of Ace and the rest of the crew.

"I'm sleeping!" Hepha shouted from behind the door between the audible sound of metals bashing.

"We can hear you banging away on your precious steel! It's breakfast time! Don't you dare ignore food!"

The door to the forge opened, revealing the sweaty figure of Hepha. She didn't have her top on. Instead, she was wearing a sarashi. A white cloth on her midriff. Vash and Terzo looked respectfully. Ace whistled. Soma wasn't affected at all.

"When the hell are you going to at least call me by name, you damn kid?" Hepha glared at Soma.

"When you stop calling me kid!" Soma glared back before pinching his nose. "Man, you stink. Nevermind, take a bath first! You're gonna spoil the food!"

"You!" Hepha quickly choked Soma as she pushed and pulled him by the neck out of annoyance.

Ace, Vash, and Terzo laughed at the scene of Soma struggling to no avail at the much stronger woman. The young cook reached a hand out to them.

"Captain! She's gonna kill me!" Soma was starting to go purple.

"Alright, alright! That's enough, Hepha. Our cook is dying," Ace said after laughing. Hepha let go of Soma, dropping him on the ground.

"Let's have breakfast, guys! It's our first breakfast with Soma's cooking!"

Ace led the group to go above deck. Hepha separated from the group and went to take a quick bath. They were about to go to the dining room when one of Doppol's Doubles shouted.

"Captain! Man overboard! I see a man overboard!"

"Really? Perfect! Time to test this out!"

Ace jumped up. His feet turned into jets of flames, propelling him to stay floating in midair. He lost his balance for a moment before quickly regaining it. One month of training in Baratie made his control over his flames more precise.

"I'm flying! HAHAHAHA! This is amazing!"

The jets of flames that replaced Ace's feet got stronger, making him fly upward. Ace adjusted his body to fly in the direction he wanted. He spotted the man overboard the Doubles saw and flew to him.

The man overboard was badly beaten and unconscious. Even in that state, the man was hanging onto a wooden plank. His legs were submerged underwater. Ace flew above him and grabbed him by his shirt's collar. With one hand, Ace flew up to the Ashen Dragon's deck and placed the man there.

"A marine?" Vash recognized the tattered and torn uniform the man was wearing.

"Should I kill him?" Terzo asked, his hand already on his longsword.

"Don't. Vash, can you treat him?" Ace asked.

"I can. But, are you sure? He's a marine."

"I don't care. He's not a threat to us. If he badly wants to die when he wakes up, I'll kill him myself," Ace answered with a shrug. "For now, treat him. Will you need help?"

"No need. I can do it."

"Alright then," Ace started walking up the stairs to go to the ship's dining room, followed by Terzo and Soma. "We'll go ahead and eat. Catch up soon, Vash! Second, you joining?"

"You guys go on ahead without me. I'll keep watch first, then eat later," Second waved from the helm of the ship. Doppol was beside him on the railing near the helm, barfing in his bucket.

When they entered the dining room, a delicious aroma immediately wafted over to them. They didn't need any further invitation and directly sat down around the table. Soma went to give Ace and Terzo a serving of breakfast.

It didn't take long for Hepha to return fresh from the bath along with Vash. Soma immediately prepared a serving for each of them. Vash returning so soon only meant one thing.

"So, he's dead?" Ace asked Vash.

"Yeah. It was too late," Vash answered before taking his first bite into his breakfast. "This is good, Soma!"

"Ahh, what a shame. I wanted to recruit a marine as my subordinate." Ace was disappointed. He was hoping to brainwash a marine into becoming his spy.

"I'm sure there'll be plenty of other chances," Hepha said.

"I hope so. Ahh, whatever. This is East Blue. Having a spy here won't be that valuable anyway." Ace quickly moved on. "By the way, Terzo. Are we nearing Loguetown yet?"

"At the speed we're going, we'll probably see it later in the afternoon."

"Can't wait! We're finally doing it guys! We're going to the Grand Line!"

At that moment, the ringing of the Transponder Snail Newt gave Ace started ringing. It was rather loud, so it was still heard despite it being in another room. Ace left the dining room and went to the communications room. It only had one Transponder Snail at the moment, but Ace was sure it'll grow in the future.

"What is it, Newt?" Ace asked after he picked up the Transponder Snail.

"Commodore! We came across a strong pirate crew. I don't know if we can take them. They dealt with two of our ships!"

"Ohh? Do you know who they are?"

"No, I- What?" Someone interrupted Newt on the other side. "Commodore, I just got information. It's the Black Cat Pirates! Their captain is a man with 16,000,000 Berry bounty, Kuro of a Hundred Plans!"

'Ahh. That guy.'

"Nice," Ace whistled at the bounty amount. It was higher than average in East Blue. "Where are you guys right now?"

Newt quickly gave their current coordinates. They were in the opposite direction of where the Royal Aces were going.

"Well, that complicates things." Ace suddenly remembered something he asked of Doppol. "Are you guys on their tail?"

"We are, Commodore!"

"Good. Stay on them. I'll come soon." Ace hung up the Transponder Snail and went to see Doppol or his Second.

"Yo! Second! Is my Striker ready?" Ace spotted Second still on the helm.

"Ohh, that! It is! Doppol made it himself last night," Second said. "It's on a lift by the stern. Will you use it?"

"Yeah, I got a quick errand to run," Ace said. "Go on without me. I'll be back soon."

Ace went to the stern of the ship. He spotted it suspended by a lift over the railing. It was Striker, the iconic raft used by Ace in the canon.

'Only this time, it came to reality a bit later.'

Ace pressed a button that lowered the lift. The moment Striker hit water, the ropes suspending it let go and quickly retracted. Ace jumped off the railing on the stern and landed on the one-man seat of Striker.

'Let's test you out, shall we?'

Ace used his Devil Fruit powers and ignited his legs. The combustion was the Striker's source of power. Ace felt the raft move forward at great speed. He leaned his body to the sides to guide the direction Striker was going on.

'It's like an oversized skateboard!'

Ace laughed at the feeling of having the wind hit his face. He quickly got the hang of using Striker as if he was meant to be in it. Ace made his flames stronger, propelling Striker forward even faster.

'Let's go catch ourselves a cat!'

The Striker moved forward at great speed, seemingly splitting the water in half. Ace guided his now favorite raft in the direction that Newt indicated.

…

When Ace got to the place Newt told him, he spread out his Observation Haki. He saw the Little Drake in the distance and went to it. Ace stopped beside the ship and jumped up the railing.

"Commodore Ace!" Newt greeted Ace. They saw him earlier, going straight at them at great speed.

"Yo, Newt! Where's the cat? I hope you didn't lose him."

"We didn't, Commodore. One of our ships is following the Black Cats."

"And? Where are they?"

"In that direction," Newt answered, pointing at where the Black Cat Pirates were.

"Alright. I'll handle them. Follow me," Ace said before jumping back down on the Striker.

Ace sailed with the Striker in the direction Newt indicated. He was faster than Little Drake, so they had to follow him. Ace used his Observation Haki as they sailed. A few minutes later, he spotted them.

A pirate ship was chasing another pirate ship. The one in pursuit had a jolly roger with a red spade. A member of the Spade Fleet. The one being chased was a ship with the jolly roger of a black cat instead of a standard skull. The Black Cat Pirates.

Ace went ahead and used Striker to get closer to the Black Cat Pirates' ship, the Bezan Black. He grabbed a rope from inside Striker, jumped up on the Bezan Black's railing, and tied the rope there. Some swords and guns were pointed at him, but Ace wasn't bothered.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Captain, should we kill him?"

Ace watched a man from within the crowd of pirates step up to meet him face to face. It was a familiar face to Ace since he knew who the captain was.

"So, you're the Kuro I've heard about?" Ace asked.

"I am. And who might you be?" Kuro asked as he pushed his glasses up with his palm.

"Me? I'm your soon to be Commodore!" Ace sneered at Kuro.

"Commodore? So you're the leader of those pesky pirates chasing us?"

"I am. I heard you sunk two of my ships. That's no good. You'll have to join my fleet now."

"Me? Joining you? A nameless pirate? Keep dreaming!" Kuro suddenly lunged at Ace and swiped at him with his claws.

Ace just grinned and leaned his head to the side, easily avoiding Kuro's blow. With a jump from the railing, Ace landed on the middle of the Bezan Black's deck. Kuro chased him, swiping his sword claws relentlessly.

"I won't be nameless for long. Soon, my name will be known in all the seas!" Ace declared as he effortlessly dodged every swipe from Kuro's claws. "Join me, Kuro! Rise to the top under my name!"

"Damn you!" Kuro retreated before preparing his next move. "Stealth Foot!"

"No! Captain!"

"We're still here!"

Kuro swayed from side to side before disappearing from everyone's eyes. Everyone, except Ace's. Claw marks started appearing on the deck. Soon, some pirates were slashed.

"Let's run!"

"There's no stopping captain now!"

The Black Cat pirates ran away from their own captain, leaving Ace alone with the wild Kuro. Ace just clicked his tongue in annoyance.

When Kuro came close to slash him out of pure chance, Ace raised his hand and caught Kuro by his wrist. He strengthened his grip, not letting go of Kuro.

"Impossible! How can you see me?" Kuro was flabbergasted.

"It's easy, actually. You looked ridiculous, swaying here and there like a drunk guy," Ace said before kicking Kuro away. "You even attacked your own crew! What a crappy technique!"

"Shut up!"

Kuro stood up and used Stealth Foot again. Ace followed Kuro with his eyes. He used Flicker to match Kuro's speed. Unlike Kuro, Ace had complete control over his movement. Kuro was kicked away again.

"See? I told you! Crappy technique!"

Kuro stood up again, but Ace didn't let him do anything more. He Flickered in front of Kuro before giving him a beatdown. Ace punched and kicked Kuro. He wasn't really aiming to defeat Kuro, more like trying to break his will. With every punch and kick, Ace delivered a message.

"You're no match to me."

Ace stopped beating up Kuro for a moment. He watched Kuro twitch on the ground, trying to get up. A few moments later, Kuro was standing up on shaky legs.

"Who… are you?" Kuro asked.

"I told you. I'm your soon to be Commodore!" Ace sneered at Kuro's defeated and limping form.

"I… I don't wanna be a pirate anymore!" Kuro shouted. "I'm tired of this life! Being chased around! Like a damn dog!"

Kuro lost his strength and knelt in front of Ace.

"Well then, how about being a Base Commander?" Ace offered.

"Base Commander?"

"Yeah. Base Commander. You can sit tight in a building, enjoy the feeling of having treasure delivered to you. Treasure the rest of your crew worked for."

Ace squatted in front of Kuro to look him in the eye.

"It'll be much safer. You can live a life in peace! Just as long as you make sure you work hard. What do you say?"

Kuro was quiet for a few moments, steadying his breathing. He then looked Ace in the eye.

"How could I serve a man I don't know the name of?" Ace laughed at Kuro's words.

"That is true! Very well!" Ace stood up proudly. "My name is Gol D. Ace! Kuro! Will you be my Base Commander?"

"Gol D. Ace," Kuro whispered the name. "If you'll have me, Commodore! I wish to be your Base Commander!"

"Good!" Ace laughed. "Now, see that ship over there?"

Ace pointed at Little Drake, the ship of the Newt Pirates. Kuro saw it in the distance and nodded at Ace.

"The one on that ship is Captain Newt, your direct superior. Follow his ship. We'll be taking over the base you'll be leading soon!"

"What base will that be?" Kuro asked and Ace grinned.

"Loguetown."