"One day, I swear I'll go to Wano and drag that bastard Ian down from his throne!"
A burly man shouted, his voice booming across the deck as he vented his fury.
The Beasts Pirates' domination of the entire New World, treating it as their private sea, had truly become unbearable.
"Hahaha! Headed for Wano, are you?"
A cheerful voice suddenly echoed from above. "How about I give you a ride there?"
"What?"
The pirates froze, their faces filled with confusion and disbelief.
After all—they were in the middle of the ocean!
Then, as they lifted their heads, they noticed that a cloud had drifted above them at some point.
No—something was wrong!
That wasn't an ordinary cloud. It looked as if it were burning—like flames dancing across the sky!
The next instant, a dark shadow descended from within the fiery cloud.
A lean, agile young man landed lightly atop the ship's mainmast.
He looked very young—around sixteen or seventeen at most.
Thick black hair framed his handsome face, where a bright grin played across his lips. A few freckles dotted the bridge of his nose.
The boy was bare-chested, wearing only a pair of shorts that fluttered in the sea breeze.
"Who the hell are you?!"
A burly pirate barked the question, his voice booming across the deck.
He had never seen this brat before.
But the way the stranger appeared out of nowhere, at a time like this, filled him with a sudden sense of dread.
"My name is Ace!"
The boy spoke with a cheerful tone, his grin widening. "Portgas D. Ace! Remember it well—because soon, it'll be a name that echoes across the world!"
"Hah?"
The burly pirate frowned deeply. "Where did this snot-nosed brat come from?"
Portgas D. Ace?
He'd never heard that name before.
Just then, the pirates behind him squinted up at the boy, shielding their eyes from the sunlight.
And that's when they saw it—a massive emblem stretched across the young man's back.
Their expressions changed in an instant.
"C-Captain!! T-That kid's back! He's got—he's got—!!"
The pirates stammered in panic, as if even speaking that name would bring some unspeakable disaster upon them.
"What is it?! Spit it out already!"
The captain's sense of foreboding grew heavier by the second.
"Oh? You mean this?"
Ace—seventeen years old, already tall and fit—turned slightly, showing them his back.
"Well? Looks cool, right?"
The captain's pupils constricted sharply.
That was—
"The Beast Pirates' emblem?!"
A man holding a musket behind him shouted in disbelief.
That symbol was unmistakable—it was the same as the one that flew high over every island in the New World, the mark of the fearsome Beast Pirates!
"Correct."
Ace grinned, showing a row of white teeth. "Uncle Jinbei called Uncle Kuzan, and Uncle Kuzan sent me to deal with you."
"Big Bear Biller, bounty two hundred thirty million Berries. Ready to sink into the sea?"
"Damn it! Prepare to fight!"
Without any hesitation, the burly man roared in anger. "Beast Pirates! Damn pests, always meddling!"
In an instant, brown fur sprouted across his body, and his muscles swelled.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a massive bear.
The giant bear bared its fangs. "Beast Pirates, huh? Just some kids!"
If the officers of the Beast Pirates had appeared before him, he would have knelt immediately in surrender—there would have been no chance of winning.
But a mere kid?
Even faster than the bear's transformation was the bullet fired from the figure behind him.
A long musket was raised in an instant, the muzzle aimed at Ace. The trigger was pulled, the powder ignited, and the metal bullet was propelled forward.
Ding.
The bullet struck Ace's forehead but bounced off the patch of darkness there.
Ace scratched his forehead and smirked. "Deadly accurate. Nicely done."
"Armament Haki, huh?"
The giant bear leapt, claws swiping directly at Ace. "I can do it too!!"
Indeed, his claws were enveloped in a dark layer of Armament Haki.
With the path to the New World blocked, pirates stranded in Paradise were slowly drawn into conflicts.
Strong and stronger pirates were forced to stay in Paradise, and through their battles, even more formidable figures emerged.
Now, Haki in the latter part of Paradise, near the Sabaody Archipelago, was no longer uncommon.
But—
"Heh."
Ace lightly jumped, casually dodging the bear's claws, and landed a kick on its head.
Despite his body not being particularly muscular, a burst of astonishing power erupted from him.
One kick sent the giant bear plummeting, smashing through the deck and crashing onto the lower deck.
"Captain?"
The pirate holding the gun couldn't help but exclaim.
Such astonishing power! This kid wasn't ordinary!
Before his exclamation even settled, Ace glanced back slightly and flicked his arm toward him.
"Why don't you try my gun?"
"Flying Finger Gun."
His fingers snapped through the air, forming invisible bullets from nothing.
Bang.
A burst of blood erupted on the chest of the man holding the musket. His eyes were full of disbelief, but his body collapsed uncontrollably.
It seemed he had neither Haki of Armament nor Observation.
Ace landed lightly on the ship's railing.
"Roar!!"
In the next moment, the deck before him exploded. A massive bear lunged out, its ferocious maw snapping directly at Ace.
But in that instant, Ace spun his body, his right leg whipping like a whip and slamming directly into the bear's right cheek.
The thick, heavy flesh of the bear's face deformed from the kick, the cracking of bone audible.
Then, like a football, it was sent flying, breaking a mast along the way. Its momentum didn't stop as it crashed headfirst into the cabin.
The pirates on the deck were dumbfounded.
W-what was this? Their seemingly invincible captain was so effortlessly defeated by this kid?
"All right, time to send you on your way."
Ace leapt into the air. In that moment, his body suddenly expanded and elongated.
To the nearly despairing eyes of the pirates below, he transformed into a crimson dragon over a hundred meters long!
"…A dragon??"
This guy… was he Kaido's illegitimate son?
"Flame Command!!"
A pillar of scorching fire fell, and in the next instant, a massive explosion erupted across the sea.
Destruction had already arrived.
"Done."
Ace, now transformed into a divine dragon, glanced lightly at the still-turbulent ocean below, then grabbed a cloud and flew straight in a certain direction.
It wasn't long before he arrived at a grand and imposing fortress.
As he descended toward the coast, impatient shouts rose from below.
"About time, Ace! It's just some low-level pirate—why did it take you so long?"
A golden-haired boy complained loudly, clearly dissatisfied.
Beside him were the teenagers, now grown into young adults.
****
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