Gale, torrential rain, and towering waves.
The dilapidated small boat was tossed and turned in the storm.
On the boat, a masked boy had tightly wrapped himself around the mast, his eyes filled with fear and despair.
He had endured the storm for nearly an hour, but there was no sign of it ending.
The relentless waves had made him vomit repeatedly, emptying his stomach completely.
Hunger, exhaustion, and the bone-chilling seawater tortured him to the brink of fainting.
Am I going to die?
As lightning flashed, the light in the boy's eyes gradually faded.
He felt that his life was utterly miserable. He had already abandoned his past life, his name, his appearance, and even everything about himself, all to pursue his ideals.
Yet, not long after setting sail, he was about to be thrown into the sea by this sudden storm.
"Damn it, even if I die, don't let it be such a ridiculous death…"
As his consciousness blurred, the boy couldn't help but curse.
The torrential rain pounded on his face, and exhaustion surged over him like a tide, causing his eyelids to droop uncontrollably.
A deep darkness surged from all directions, quickly engulfing the boy's vision.
Boom—
Just as he was about to lose consciousness, another bolt of lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the night sky.
It also illuminated the figure with enormous black wings, like a demon.
...
Caw~
Caw~
Caw~
The sound of seabirds was somewhat noisy, and the sunlight shone on the rain-washed deck, giving off a salty and damp smell.
Bartolomeo cursed as he scrubbed the deck, grumbling about the sudden storm. Every storm meant a major cleaning of the deck.
Such rough work, of course, couldn't be done by women, and certainly not by the esteemed Mr. Caesar. As for Kuma, the other man on board, the largest brush in his hand looked like a toothbrush.
So, he had no choice but to volunteer and take on the task himself.
Given his physical condition, it wasn't heavy work.
But just like how someone who just washed their car dreads rain the most—he had just cleaned the deck yesterday!
"Yo, you're already scrubbing the deck this early? Good job, Barto."
With a creak, Caesar walked out of the cabin, brushing his teeth and mumbling, "By the way, how are those two from last night?"
"Oh! Good morning, sir!"
Bartolomeo pointed to the cabin: "They're still fast asleep. Kuma is keeping watch in the room."
"I see…"
Caesar nodded, rinsed his mouth, and was about to spit the mouthwash into the sea when a sudden shout from the cabin startled him, causing him to swallow the mouthwash with a gulp.
"Ah! Monster!"
Inside the cabin, the boy who had just woken up was huddled in the corner, terrified as he looked at the shadowy figure as large as a hill.
Kuma looked at the long-haired boy with some helplessness: "Seems quite lively."
As he spoke, he slightly turned his body, and sunlight streamed through the round window into the room, allowing the boy to see the true face of the "monster."
It was… a human.
The difference was, this human had an incredibly imposing stature. Just sitting there, he was at least four or five meters tall.
The man was dressed in a black turtleneck and wore a hat adorned with bear ears. Although he wasn't smiling, there was an inexplicable contrasting cuteness about him.
"Uh… sorry, I must have mistaken you for someone else."
After a brief moment of shock, the young man regained his composure and quickly apologized, "By the way, I haven't thanked you yet for saving my life."
"It wasn't me who saved you. It was our captain."
As Kuma spoke, Caesar suddenly pushed the door open and entered, with Barto following eagerly behind him.
"Oh, you're awake, kid."
Seeing Caesar enter, Kuma silently stood up and moved behind the chair, while Caesar unceremoniously plopped down onto the seat Kuma had just vacated.
Kuma raised his hand to introduce, "This is our captain, Jin Caesar."
"Oh, hello, Mr. Caesar… Wait, what?! Caesar!!!"
The young man was about to express his gratitude but was startled by the name.
He swallowed hard and finally got a clear look at the man before him.
The handsome face appeared to be around the same age as his own. The white shirt had puffed sleeves with lace cuffs, giving it a somewhat flamboyant look. The buttons on the chest were left casually undone, revealing half of his well-defined pectoral muscles. His demeanor was both elegant and masculine.
He looked exactly like the man in the newspapers!
Young, handsome, and… powerful!
Recalling the massive black wings he had seen before losing consciousness, the young man couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
"What's your name?"
Caesar scrutinized the young man before him.
He had light blue, medium-length hair and a fairly handsome face, though he looked somewhat frail.
"I… I've abandoned my name."
The young man hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Along with my past, and even my appearance…"
"Your appearance? Come on, you look pretty handsome. No girl would want to spend the night with a guy who hides his face, unless they have some special preferences, of course…"
As Caesar spoke, he pointed to the head of the young man's bed.
On the bedside was a thick notebook and a stylish black half-face mask.
Without a doubt, this person was likely to be Ace's first crewmate in the future, the masked Deuce.
Caesar didn't know much about the plot of Ace's Story, but he had once heard an anime blogger talk about how Ace met Deuce and how he ate the Flare-Flare Fruit.
He didn't know much beyond that, but it was precisely this part of the story that had confirmed to him that the Flare-Flare Fruit was inside the belly of that giant bird he had encountered earlier.
For the next few days, he had been lingering in the nearby waters, waiting for Ace to arrive.
As for whether he would run into Deuce, Caesar wasn't sure. After all, the Vampire Fruit was part of an official game personally overseen by Oda, but while Ace's Story was acknowledged by Oda, it was essentially a fan-made work.
However, it seemed now that the events of Ace's Story had also been incorporated into this world.
"So, you set out to sea alone to write your own adventure story?"
Caesar gestured toward the notebook on the bedside with a nod of his chin, "And then you ran into a storm right after setting sail?"
"Yeah…"
The young man's face turned red, looking extremely embarrassed.
"I was too overconfident. I underestimated the sea and ended up causing you trouble."
"Hmph, it's good that you realize that."
Bartolomeo crossed his arms, looking at the boy with a "you're lucky" expression. "You were more than a dozen nautical miles away from us at the time. If it weren't for the gentleman's Observation Haki detecting you, you'd have already ended up as fish food."
"Observation Haki?"
The boy looked puzzled. "What's that?"
"It's a special ability that allows one to predict an enemy's movements and sense the surrounding environment within a certain range. It's a must-have skill for the strong in the New World."
Caesar chuckled. "So, what do you think? Want to learn it?"
The boy was incredulous. "You... you're willing to teach me?"
"Ah, you're braver than I am, setting out to sea alone in a small boat. I'd never do something so reckless."
Caesar grinned. "Coincidentally, we're explorers of sorts at the moment. So, what do you say? Want to join my ship?"
"At the moment?"
The boy was taken aback. "And after that?"
"Unify the seas."
Caesar didn't mince his words. "I plan to completely pacify these seas, take down those high-and-mighty Celestial Dragons, and bring unity to the world."
"Huh?"
The boy's eyes widened, and he instinctively sniffed, as if he'd just heard something unbelievable.
"Ah, right, I haven't asked yet. What's your reason for setting out to sea? If it's just chasing dreams, you wouldn't need to discard your name and appearance, would you?"
Caesar asked curiously, "Teenage rebellion?"
"No... not exactly. Well, there's a bit of that, I guess."
The boy fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking. "Ever since I was a child, I've dreamed of becoming an adventurer. I wanted to see the legendary giants and write my own adventure stories. But everyone around me laughed at me, calling me childish, a liar..."
"Is that so? Speaking of giants, I remember Kuma, your Buccaneer Tribe has some giant bloodline, right?"
Caesar turned to Kuma, who nodded silently.
"Huh? The Buccaneer Tribe? You're from that race?"
The boy looked shocked. "And the Buccaneer Tribe has giant blood?"
"The Buccaneer Tribe... what about it?"
Bartolomeo tilted his head, looking confused.
"Rumors say the Buccaneer Tribe was born to be slaves to the Celestial Dragons. So, once the existence of this tribe is exposed, they're hunted down by the World Government."
Kuma said calmly, "That's how my parents died."
Bartolomeo scratched his head. "Uh... sorry."
"It's fine."
Kuma's tone was steady. "I've already decided to follow Caesar and overthrow their rule. So, things like race don't matter at all."
The boy broke out in a cold sweat. Can he really say such things in front of me? If I don't join, will I be silenced? These are people who can go toe-to-toe with the Four Emperors!
But recalling the earlier conversation, the boy couldn't help but ask excitedly, "So, giants really exist?"
"Of course. While there aren't many unique races in the East Blue, there are still some, right? What's so strange about giants? Doesn't the Navy have plenty of giant vice admirals?"
Caesar couldn't understand why the boy was so worked up.
The young man asked again, "So, the Little Garden mentioned in 'Brag Men' (The Liars, The Boasters) really exists? And there are truly two giants fighting there?"
Caesar nodded, "After entering the Grand Line and passing Whisky Peak, the second island you reach is Little Garden. The two giants fighting there are Brogy and Dorry, the captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates. They've been dueling on that island for many years."
"However, the Log Pose for that island takes a full year to set, so aside from pirates, hardly anyone goes there."
"It's actually real..."
With Caesar's confirmation, the young man's body trembled slightly with excitement.
In his eyes, Caesar had no reason to deceive him. Although they were similar in age, their strength and experiences were worlds apart. Caesar had no need to lie to a nobody like him, and he had no value worth deceiving.
"The book 'Brag Men' is treated as a joke in the Four Seas, and even in the first half of the Grand Line, many people don't believe it. But in truth, most pirates in the New World have, to some extent, experienced the islands and legends recorded in it."
"Eh? Is that so?"
An unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out. The young man turned to look and saw a boy with jet-black hair and freckles on his face, who appeared to be about the same age as him, grinning from the next bed.
"Yo!"
Seeing everyone looking at him, the boy raised his hand in greeting and politely thanked Caesar, "I heard everything just now. You saved me, right? Thank you so much! My name is Ace!"
Bartolomeo was startled by Ace, "Ah, you woke up without making a sound? When did you wake up?"
"Just now, when he woke me up."
Ace pointed at Deuce on the neighboring bed, smiling energetically.
Then he patted his stomach, "I'm so hungry. Is there any food?"
"Since you're awake, let's eat first."
Caesar smiled slightly and stood up to leave the room.
Portgas D. Ace...
The son of the Pirate King, the spark that ignited the Summit War, and the sworn brother of Monkey D. Luffy...
Impulsive, hot-tempered—honestly, this guy wasn't suited to be a crew member, but Caesar didn't care about that.
Compared to being the son of the Pirate King, Caesar valued his identity as Luffy's sworn brother more.
Luffy was undoubtedly the chosen one of this world. It was impossible to subdue him, but there was also no need to oppose this protagonist group. After all, their ultimate goal was the same: to overthrow the Celestial Dragons. Given Luffy's personality, he would inevitably walk this path sooner or later.
Moreover, no one knew what role Nika would ultimately play. If, in the end, there was a sudden twist like "Straw Hat Rises, Nika King," and a wave of divine intervention occurred, it would be a real mess.
Given Oda's tendencies, this possibility couldn't be ruled out.
So, Caesar had long since formed a plan regarding Luffy, the protagonist of the original story.
Subduing him? No.
Opposing him? No.
The most suitable approach was guidance.
Through Ace, he could guide Luffy to act according to his own plans. If Caesar couldn't overthrow the World Government within three years, then Luffy could serve as a major force to help accelerate the process.
Of course, all of this hinged on Ace joining them.
Soon, everyone arrived at the dining room. Baby 5 had already prepared breakfast, and Yamato and Bonney were already devouring their food with gusto.
When Caesar and the others entered the room, the two of them mumbled a vague greeting, looking quite adorable.
"Wow! What a feast!"
Seeing the table full of breakfast, Ace couldn't help but drool. He then looked at Caesar with pleading eyes: "Can I... eat all of this?"
"Of course."
Caesar turned to the other boy: "You should sit down and eat too. Uh... what's your name?"
The boy seemed troubled: "To be honest, the issue of my name has been bothering me for days. I'm trying to come up with a pen name..."
"How about Deuce?"
Ace casually grabbed a piece of bread and stuffed it into his mouth: "It's similar to my name!"
"Alright, that's good. Let's go with that name then."
Caesar nodded. Having a name was good, and besides, the name Deuce was originally given by Ace.
Deuce: "..."
Don't you think you should ask for my opinion?