Chapter Three

—1—

Whitebeard… That’s the only man who could stand toe-to-toe with Roger, King of the Pirates. He’s a legendary monster!

He’s the most powerful man in the world, without a doubt!

The man closest to the One Piece!

The bits of information that Skull gathered about Edward “Whitebeard” Newgate came from many sources, but all said the same thing.

Whatever you do, don’t mess with Whitebeard.

“The strongest in the world,” Ace murmured.

It was hard to say what made you the strongest. This wasn’t some kids’ competition, like footraces or arm wrestling or test grades.

According to Skull, the pirate-obsessed nerd, in terms of sheer battle power in a one-on-one fight, Kaido was likely the strongest. If you were sitting around drinking, telling stories and debating the merits, you might conclude that Kaido was the invincible “strongest creature alive,” while Big Mom had the “strongest family in the world,” and Edward Newgate’s very life was that of the “strongest pirate alive.”

“Whitebeard’s terrifying if you break the code. In the pirating world, that means the bond of ceremonial cups. Whitebeard would never rest if his progeny—those followers with whom he’s shared cups—were killed. Never,” Skull warned Ace emphatically.

“Well, yeah. Who wouldn’t be upset if his pals got hurt? Same goes for the other Emperors—and for me, of course.”

“That’s true,” admitted Deuce, “but there are levels to this sort of thing. When those in your group are harmed, do you feel anger for their sake, or anger that your own honor was attacked, or do you make a show of anger to strengthen the connections within your family?”

“Which do you think is true in Whitebeard’s case, Deuce?”

“Based on what Skull’s saying, Kaido’s the dangerous combative type, and Big Mom’s more business-oriented… Red-Hair was difficult to pin down, based on what I saw of him, but I bet Whitebeard’s more like your classic pirate type.”

“The pirate crews under his operation are expanding big-time. If there’s an unaffiliated pirate who wanders into his territory, he sends one of his division leaders to them. If they obey, great. If they don’t, there’s a simple answer for that,” Skull said, clenching an iron fist to demonstrate.

The New World was split between the Four Emperors, but there were pirates, including prominent young rookies like Ace, who weren’t happy with that arrangement. Ultimately, they would have to make a choice: either join one of the Emperors for protection, be destroyed, or carve out their own little slice of territory. That’s how things worked on this sea.

“So let’s get down to business here. There’s been a bit of chaos lately in Whitebeard’s territory,” Skull explained, opening up a map and putting chess pieces on top of it. The white king was Whitebeard, with the other white pieces, representing his division leaders, arranged around him.

“Bohemian Knight Doma, the A.O. Pirates, and a couple more pirate crews are trying to barge in on Whitebeard’s territory. They’re not aligned with one another, but they’ve all started fighting back at the same time. If you dig into the backstory, it seems like there’s some sabotage afoot from the other Emperors. At any rate, Whitebeard’s division leaders are marshaling their forces and heading out to neutralize these threats.”

Black chess pieces headed into Whitebeard’s space. Behind them was the black king. Then the white pieces pushed forward in the direction of black.

“And that means the white king has few defenses now.”

“Four ships in Whitebeard’s main fleet are out on assignment. The Moby Dick, his mothership, might as well be defenseless.”

“This sounds like the perfect opportunity to take a shot at the world’s strongest man,” said Ace, reaching for the white king.

Down in the water, directly below the Piece of Spadille, swam a humanoid figure. It was trailing Ace’s ship—and had been doing so ever since the ship entered the New World, in fact.

The fish-man kicked above the surface and then sank deep beneath the waves, leaving the ship’s side in search of some distant destination.

—2—

The island was wreathed in a thin mist.

The Spade Pirates moored their ship on a chilly coast spotted with conifer trees, and disembarked. Nearby animals bolted for safety, alarmed by the arrival of the unexpected visitors.

“Nobody’s here,” said one of the crew.

“Stay on guard… We’re in Whitebeard’s territory now,” warned Deuce.

It appeared to be a completely ordinary island. But this was one of the places Whitebeard used to resupply.

Resupplying is something any seafaring pirate must do to survive; it’s a lifeline. Especially when you command a crew of a thousand. Seawater can be purified until it’s drinkable, and fish and aquatic mammals can be acquired for food—but there are many supplies, like firewood, that can only be found on land.

So in a sense, the entire island was a working farm producing supplies for the Whitebeard Pirates. Somewhere on this rock were fields where farmers worked in Whitebeard’s employ, producing vegetables, fruit, and meat for the crew.

Ace received word that Whitebeard’s main ship might be stopping by to resupply in the near future, so he took the crew through the mist to secretly disembark on the far side of the island.

“Is Whitebeard really coming here?”

“Don’t chicken out, Deuce. If we get tired of waiting, we can just run our flag up on this island instead.”

A resupply point was the ideal place to carve away some territory. If Whitebeard was flustered by that, it would be reward enough.

“What about the Piece of Spadille?”

“Mihal’s in charge. We’ll hide it in some secluded inlet or another, and set up a campsite. Who knows how many days we’ll be waiting here.”

They had to be careful that the farmers on the island didn’t spot them. The mist would not last forever.

“I’m gonna take a few men and check out the area.”

“Be careful, Ace. Whitebeard might have left some soldiers here.”

“It’s fine. We’re prepping for war anyway.”

“Oh, c’mon.”

He was like a knife that was all edge. Ace was always a loose cannon—the type to act before he thought—but he had been more hasty and less careful than ever since they’d reached the New World, Deuce noticed. Why was that?

If there had been a starting point, it was when he’d messed with Whitebeard’s flag at Fish-Man Island. There had to be a reason for that. Deuce thought he—and he alone—knew the answer. As the son of Roger, the King of the Pirates, Ace felt invisibly persecuted by the rest of the world. He was struggling, trying to free himself from the chains of his father’s shadow.

He had no interest in the One Piece, or being King of the Pirates. When Ace told Shanks as much, it was probably the unvarnished truth. Ace wanted to be free of Gold Roger’s curse. If he was going to succeed at that, he couldn’t be King and find the One Piece… He couldn’t just do what his father did.

So what should he accomplish?

How could he surpass his father? Roger was the first man to conquer the Grand Line, shaking the foundations of the world and bringing about a new era. But in the end he died a miserable death, executed at Roguetown. He submitted to the yoke of the World Government.

To overturn the world.

Perhaps in some vague way, Ace’s goal was a kind of conquest. To be a man ruled by no one and nothing. Not the Navy, not the Four Emperors, not the World Government—not even the Celestial Dragons, those living gods who called upon the Navy’s admirals like bodyguards. To destroy the very concept of a protected class like the Celestial Dragons.

All of existence was his foe.

So Whitebeard, the man praised for being neck-and-neck with the King of the Pirates, was the first step on the stairs he sought to climb.

What Deuce was doing—asking Skull to investigate, collecting information, and waiting for the right opportunity to launch a surprise strike on Whitebeard’s forces—was executing a solid military strategy, but it was not where Ace’s interests were. Ace would challenge them directly, even if it meant facing the entire combined might of Whitebeard’s group.

Ace took a few men and began to walk along the coastline. Deuce gave orders to the others and began to search for a discreet place to push farther into the forest.

Boom…!

There was a roar like a cannonball blast.

Where was that? Deuce wondered, holding his breath. Up ahead through the light mist was the inlet where the Piece of Spadille was supposed to have gone…

A huge shadow appeared before the Spade Pirates. The entire group was stunned. Where had it come from? It came leaping out from the bottom of the sea, in fact. A sodden cloth was draped over the figure’s shoulder.

“Isn’t that our…”

Deuce couldn’t even finish his question. It was the flag of the Spade Pirates, the one that flew from their mainmast. This creature had torn it off, mast and all, and tossed it aside like scrap cloth.

The Spade Pirates bristled. Tearing down a pirates’ flag was equivalent to stomping on their faces with your boot. The only possible response was battle.

Deuce was worried about the ship. Was Mihal, the ship’s guard, all right?

“Do you…do you realize what you’ve done?” Ace growled. He stared down the enemy through the mist.

“I could ask the same of you! Do you understand what you did when you burned down Whitebeard’s flag over Fish-Man Island?” said a deep, threatening voice.

“Oh!” gulped Wallace, the fish-man of the crew.

“Ah, you have a fish-man, too? Do you know who I am, young man?” growled the figure, glaring down from a height of ten feet.

“Boss!” gasped Wallace, who was so terrified he could say nothing more.

“Are you the boy who turned down the Seven Warlords, then?”

“I don’t know nothin’ about the Warlords, you big lug,” said Ace, fire enveloping his body. Very quickly, the mist in the area burned away, revealing torn earth.

“King Neptune of the Ryugu Kingdom and Whitebeard are good friends. That flag protected Fish-Man Island from pirates, boy. Your actions are too serious to laugh off as a childish prank.”

It meant making an enemy of all fish-men—and doing great insult to the reputation of Whitebeard, Emperor of the Sea.

“Listen, big guy…I wanna see this Whitebeard dude!”

“And then what?”

“You already know.”

Ace indicated the threat he posed with the flame in his hands. The rookie who’d spurned the Seven Warlords and made contact with Red-Hair Shanks intended to take out Whitebeard.

“Well, I can’t allow Pops to meet with a boy as sharp and willing to harm as a knife! I am not part of the Whitebeard Pirates…but I do have an obligation to oppose you.”

“That’s one of the Warlords, Ace! It’s Jimbei!” his companions warned.

Of course he was aware this was the First Son of the Sea—a man counted among the Seven Warlords, who was previously wanted for a bounty of 250 million berries.

Jimbei, the second captain in the history of the Sun Pirates, had long served as a diplomatic bridge navigating the rocky relationship between humans and fish-men. Eventually, he was given an invitation by the World Government to join the Warlords.

The Warlords made up one of the Three Great Powers. They were government-sanctioned privateers, pirates who hunted other pirates. In exchange for a percentage of their earnings, they were granted the right to pillage from pirates and unaffiliated countries without being charged by the government.

So Jimbei the Warlord attacking the Spade Pirates was an act sanctioned by law. He could say that he was an assassin sent by the World Government to eliminate Ace for refusing their offer, and it would all check out. But Jimbei stood at this moment as an individual, a fish-man, for his own personal reasons.

Ace had been under observation on Fish-Man Island ever since his encounter with Aladdin. Jimbei had made sure his people knew to keep an eye on him.

He’d started off as just a dangerous rookie, but Portgaz D. Ace had made clear his intention was to take Whitebeard’s territory. So they had trailed his ship all the way from Fish-Man Island to this point. Fish-men could swim, after all.

The ensuing battle lasted four whole days and continued into the morning of a fifth.

It was a battle to the death—a conflict of life against life, one grinding the other down until each side was nearly snuffed out.

Jimbei was a master of fish-man karate. The secret of that martial art of the Ryugu Kingdom lay in having control over water. Its blows were not simply bludgeoning impacts, but rather sent their force in waves through the moisture in living bodies, trees, the ground, and even the atmosphere.

Ace, on the other hand, wielded the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit. He could transform his own body into fire. It was a Logia power, a seemingly invincible force of nature, but that did not mean there was no way to counteract it.

In a fight with one worthy of being in the Seven Warlords, such weaknesses would eventually show—and now, after so much battle, Ace’s breath and flame were both feeble enough that they were close to being snuffed out. He had collapsed on the ground.

“Huff, huff…”

“Huff, huff…”

The same was true of Jimbei. His clothes were burned and the expanse of his ten-foot bulk was exhausted to the point of inertia, like a fish beached on land.

It’s been five days, and still neither of them has the upper hand! At this rate they’re both going to die!

The Spade Pirates had no option but to keep their distance and observe a battle that was far beyond their capacities. It was a valuable glimpse at just how powerful their captain was.

They’d seen the true measure of his fighting ability in vivid detail. But the counterpoint to their amazement at the skills he had demonstrated was their dread at the sheer strength, stamina, and willpower of the First Son of the Sea, who could battle so dauntlessly against Ace without the aid of a Devil Fruit power.

Are there more like this in the New World? Those with even greater power than this, in fact?

“I’m…I’m gonna go stop him.”

“What, Master Deu?”

They’d been hanging back and watching the battle for days, but the tension of that alone had left the crew exhausted. Deuce marched up to Ace and Jimbei, who had both collapsed in a stalemate. The ground beneath them was scorched and riddled with holes.

“Ace. You alive?” asked Deuce, glancing briefly at Jimbei just in case. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’ll say it anyway. I’m going to help you now.”

“Eh!”

Apparently, Ace was just barely conscious. He couldn’t move. Ace had Logia powers—had he ever suffered so much damage to his physical body before?

A Warlord and a man who refused to be a Warlord.

It seemed their battle was a peculiar clash of characteristics in which each participant’s strengths negated the other’s. If it were an exhibition of fighting arts, this would be considered a weak match, indeed. And both men were incredibly tough. As a fish-man, this could be expected of Jimbei, but Ace proved himself to be nearly superhuman in stamina as well.

“I’m going to pick you up, and we’re going to get out of here.”

“Deuce…” Ace muttered in protest. But he didn’t have enough strength left to brush his crewmate away.

“If you’ve got complaints, I’ll hear them later. I can’t have you dying on me now. For the sake of your honor, I’m just going to be honest: you picked the wrong opponent,” Deuce said, lifting Ace up to lean on his shoulder.

“Let…go! I still haven’t finished fighting…the big guy…” rasped Ace. But when he lifted his head, he and the rest of the Spade Pirates saw the last thing they were expecting.

Yet they should have expected it. It was the man they were waiting for. The very man they had come here to ambush.

“Ah!” Deuce gasped.

Beyond the pale mist of the morning was a vast shadow, as big and round as an Island Whale. But this whale did not bellow a whale call. This whale had a mast sticking out of its back—and it sidled up to the coast like a ship. An enormous ship.

“Who is it that’s come to take my head? Then have at it! I’ll take you all on!”

Standing at the prow of the ship like a hunter over his white whale was the king of the New World.

“That’s the Whitebeard Pirate Crew.”

“I can handle this myself.”

Thud! The man struck the edge of the ship with the blunt end of his weapon—a long, spear-shaped blade called a naginata. A shock wave crackled through the air.

The naginata had to be twenty feet long. It looked like a ship’s mast in his hand.

And the stature of the man called Edward Newgate, Whitebeard himself, was nearly as towering.

He had the look of a ruler of the seas.

The Spade Pirates were overwhelmed. They were paralyzed with fear—some felt their spirit broken, and fell to their knees.

There was a gust of wind, and a shock wave like a slash through the air cut by a master swordsman tore through the Spade Pirates.

Screams.

The sound of his companions’ voices brought clarity back to Ace’s hazy consciousness. He pushed Deuce away and stood on his own. The masked man stumbled backward to where the rest of the crew waited.

“Step down here! I’ve come to take you out!” Ace howled, his body battered and bloodied. He barked like a stray dog, calling all attention to himself.

Whitebeard unleashed another swing. This flying slash grazed Ace and plunged through the crewmates behind him.

“Eeyaaaaah!”

“Guys! That’s it…the Flame Fence!”

Fwoom! A wall of fire many feet tall rose up just behind Ace.

The sudden roar of flame whipped up the air, blocking the brunt of Whitebeard’s gusts from passing through.

“Captain!”

“Captain Ace, what are you doing?!” shouted his men from beyond the flames. With the Flame Fence blocking their way, they couldn’t rush forward to help Ace, either.

“Run! All of you!” Ace shouted.

Whitebeard watched in silence. Eventually he mocked them: “What, chickening out now?” First the youngster talked trash, then he started beating a retreat? The great pirate was a bit disappointed.

“Let my men go!” said Ace, staring Whitebeard down. “In exchange…I’ll stay here until the end!”

Ace was the captain. This battle was something that Ace sought for himself.

At this, for the first time, the legendary demon that was Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, revealed his human side.

He chuckled, “You little sprat. You think you’re man enough to take me?”

“Graaaaah!!”

Shwuk!

If it hadn’t been for Sabo, and a
handful of a little brother like you,

I wouldn’t have bothered staying alive.

Can you imagine? For Portgaz D. Ace, just being born and living life ground him down to his core.

If Gold Roger had a kid, you’d execute the spawn too.

Nobody would want such a child around. It’s just a sad fact of life.

What if we let every last person in the world with a grudge against Roger poke him with a needle? Then set him on fire, and let the entire world laugh at him before he dies!

And they’ll all say, serves you right! Gya ha ha ha!

Gold Roger brought about the Great Age of Piracy from the execution stand in Roguetown by hinting about the One Piece, a treasure supposedly containing everything in the world.

But this turbulent era was by no means a boon for everyone. The way the Ryugu Kingdom suffered at the hands of mermaid-hunters was only one example of this; lawless pirates took to pillaging and destroying in all corners of the globe.

While history ascribed many dazzling tales of heroism and grand adventure to the Age of Piracy, for the nameless common people of the time, the arrival of pirates was like a storm or drought—a merciless disaster that stole away loved ones.

“I hope his last words were ‘I’m sorry for being born, and for being the trash that I am,’” someone might say, hurling this invective like so much drivel into a spittoon. But the circumstances of that random man’s life and what Roger actually did in his were not likely to have any connection. Lowlifes who spend their days smoldering in bars and gambling dens over watered-down booze are always apt to blame their problems on others.

“The man executed by the World Government for being the worst, most despicable criminal in history should become the dirt beneath humanity’s feet.”

But he was just a pirate. Did he deserve such derision because he conquered the Grand Line and reached the final island of Laugh Tale? When a man’s already dead, you can say whatever you want about him.

Did the World Government so thoroughly smear Roger’s personal history because he knew the answer to the riddle of the One Piece? Because he stirred up the public and tempted young people into the idea of being pirates? Nobody could say for sure.

But in any case, the innocent public was given license to insult his memory, to blame him for everything and claim his death was payment for his sins. If anyone carried on his bloodline, they would also deserve to be stamped out. His wife, his children—all were fair game if you had a rock in your hand. All the world shared this common understanding. In fact, such an act would be considered worthy of praise. And this was entirely at the World Government’s direction. One might suppose that Roger’s existence, and what he achieved, were extremely dangerous ideas to the world nobles, the Celestial Dragons…

The people did not know. They mocked his life without even knowing his real name.

Gol D. Roger? Who’s that? Do you mean Gold Roger?

Do I know about him? Don’t you know whose fault it is that there are so many pirates in the world?

It’s all that Gold Roger guy’s fault.

He’s someone who should never have been born. He’s a complete and total scumbag.

A headache in life, and a headache in death. The worst trash in history. That’s all you need to know.

Back on Mt. Corvo in the East Blue, Ace was a brat with such an ornery mean streak that even the mountain bandits had trouble controlling him. Every time he wandered into town, bloodshed resulted.

What were you doing in town, Ace?! The street thugs down there were raising all kinds of hell, saying a young boy nearly murdered them.

Shut up! If I had the power, I would have killed them all!

He stared holes into anyone and anything that crossed his path.

Nobody knew about Ace’s parentage. But to him it felt like every single person he encountered blamed him just for being alive. They wanted all of Roger’s blood relatives dead.

Growing up in squalor, living off of the scraps of the mountain bandits. It was better when he was starving for food and affection. When he was old enough to think for himself, and his mind dwelt not just on life, but on death as well, Ace’s hatred festered, and not a day went by that he didn’t think of his father.

He knew that if anyone found out his father was Roger, even the closest friend would leave him. So the solution was simple: he never tried to make friends in the first place.

Bwa ha ha ha ha! I hear you’re a real handful these days, Ace!

It was Garp, the Naval officer who had left Ace with the bandits. He was a vice admiral with Navy HQ who had battled Roger in the past, such that they came to know one another in a way. One day, Roger surrendered himself to the Navy. Once he was arrested and his execution was scheduled, Roger took Garp aside and told him a secret: that he had an unborn child.

A search went out for any blood relations of the King of the Pirates. Garp warned him at once: they’ll execute your woman, and the baby if it’s been born.

But for better or for worse, Roger could see the true nature of people. And in the end, after Roger’s execution at Roguetown, Garp secretly protected the woman who gave birth in the town of Baterilla in the South Blue, after a stunning twenty months of pregnancy. The length of human gestation is typically no more than ten months. Therefore, based on the timing of Roger’s arrest, it could not possibly have been Roger’s child. No one would make the connection.

As the mother wished, Garp named the boy Ace and left the baby with Dadan, a mountain bandit he knew on the fringes of East Blue.

Every now and then, he came back to see the boy. Only Garp, Dadan, and Ace himself knew that he was the son of the dreaded King of the Pirates.

You have a grandson, don’t you, old man? Is he…happy?

You mean Luffy? He’s all right.

At the time, Ace couldn’t have guessed that he would soon end up living with that vice admiral’s grandson in the bandits’ shack in the mountains.

Old man.

What?

Would it…have been better if I was never born?

The more seriously he thought about that question, the harder it was to find the answer.

Garp considered it for a while, then gave his response.

Well, kid…only time can answer that question.