White Sea, Sky Island – the edge of the clouds
Wearing his backpack, Portgas D. Ace stood at the cloud's edge, gazing down with an excited glint in his eyes.
After breaking through the 10,000°C limit of his elemental flame temperature at an altitude of 10,000 meters, Ace had spent ten more days on Skypiea teaching Enel the basics of Armament Haki. Now, it was finally time for him to leave the Sky Island.
"After a year... I'm finally going back," Ace muttered, his voice filled with anticipation as he looked beyond the clouds below.
"Captain Ace, are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Enel asked with barely concealed eagerness.
During the time Ace trained him, Enel also learned much about the Blue Sea from Ace — the Marines, the Four Emperors, the World Government, and the New World, where the most powerful figures gathered.
The very idea of the Blue Sea stirred a deep calling within Enel.
Ace shook his head. "Not for now. Your current task is to oversee the reconstruction of the Maxim, and finish it as soon as possible."
Ace's eyes turned serious. "Don't worry. This time, when I descend, I'll reunite with my former crew and invite a few other powerful individuals I've been keeping an eye on. Once we're all assembled, we'll return here and use the Maxim to begin our real adventure."
"...Understood," Enel said, disappointed but respectful. "What about the Shandians?"
The Shandians had come to Ace asking for help to reclaim their lost homeland. But Ace declined.
It wasn't just because Enel had become his ally. Even if Enel had refused Ace's offer, Ace wouldn't have interfered in the Shandians' conflict with the Skypieans. To him, that fight was meaningless.
Even if Enel handed the Upper Yard back to them, the conflict wouldn't stop. Resources on the Upper Yard were too scarce. As long as the land remained in the sky, disputes were inevitable. Even in the original timeline, after Luffy defeated Enel and allowed the Shandians and Skypieans to coexist, Ace doubted how long such peace could truly last.
It was human nature to fight over limited resources.
Now, with Enel aligned with Ace, the Sky Island no longer interested him. He was never emotionally attached to it. If Ace asked, he would surrender the Upper Yard without hesitation.
"That's your call," Ace replied. "But those Shandian warriors aren't bad. You could use them to sharpen your priests' combat skills."
"Got it," Enel nodded. He never planned to abandon his followers anyway.
"Then... until next year!" With a confident grin, Ace turned around and stepped off the cloud's edge, freefalling into the Blue Sea below.
"See you soon, Captain Ace," Enel said softly, watching his captain vanish into the clouds, then turned and walked away.
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Paradise – First Half of the Grand Line
Ace descended rapidly from 10,000 meters. Just before hitting the ocean, he shifted into partial Logia form, transforming his body into flames and soaring through the air.
The Grand Line had seven navigational routes starting from Reverse Mountain, and once a route was chosen, a crew had to follow its islands one by one, all the way to Sabaody Archipelago, the end of the first half.
But Ace had no idea which route he had landed on. He had no ship, no Log Pose, and couldn't fly directly to Sabaody. Navigating without a Log Pose would be suicidal—even flying would only lead to being hopelessly lost.
So Ace aimed for the first island he spotted: Baron Island, a small, poverty-stricken land with barely any infrastructure.
Ace initially hoped to find a meal, but there wasn't even a decent restaurant. Eventually, he came across a humble bar that served food.
It's worth noting that in the original timeline, Ace never carried money and often dined and dashed. But now, having another soul within him—one from a materialistic, modern world—he'd gotten into the habit of always carrying money.
After finishing his meal and paying the bill, Ace was about to leave when a group of familiar faces walked in.
"Huh? Them?" Ace sat back down, ordered a glass of rum, and smiled. "Well, this just got interesting."
"The Surgeon of Death — Trafalgar Law."
Though Law wasn't at the top of Ace's must-recruit list, he was definitely on the candidate list. And among all of them, Law seemed like the easiest one to approach.
Trafalgar D. Water Law possessed the Ope Ope no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that gave him surgical precision and godlike power within his spatial Room. He had once been a subordinate of Donquixote Doflamingo, but after the death of Corazon, he turned against Doflamingo, swearing revenge.
Interestingly, Ace's Shou Shou no Mi had also been snatched from the Donquixote Family. That alone made Ace and Doflamingo natural enemies.
As the saying goes, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." If Ace could show Law that he had the strength to bring down Doflamingo, winning him over wouldn't be hard.
"Just landed from the sky island and ran into Law... Fate's got a good sense of timing." Ace looked at the newcomers with amusement.
"Hey, boss! Bring out your best food and the finest sake you've got!" a crewmember from the Heart Pirates shouted at the bartender.
"Law, look over there," said Bepo, the mink and one of Law's closest comrades. He nudged Law and whispered, "That guy's been watching us since we came in."
"Who?" Law followed Bepo's gaze—and locked eyes with Ace, who gave him a warm, amused smile.
Law's eyes narrowed. "...You've got to be kidding me. Why him, and why here?"
Trouble might've just arrived.
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