The one thing Ace had in common with his father, Roger, was a carefree personality and an indescribable charisma that naturally made people want to follow him.
Roger had it, Ace inherited it, Luffy inherited it, and even Shanks had inherited a piece of it. Ivalis saw a shadow of that trait in Ace, so he did something extremely rare, he decided to indulge the kid's wild idea. With the corner of his mouth twitching upward, he said, "Fine. Let's have a banquet!"
Half an hour later, in a suburban clearing near the gates of the Kingdom of Arderay, countless barrels of ale and cuts of meat were spread out on mats. Everyone sat around, talking loudly and without restraint.
Initially, the Spade Pirates were cautious, but as the atmosphere lightened, they began to speak up.
"This city feels surprisingly empty... probably because it's so huge," Ace remarked, sitting across from Ivalis with a massive two-liter tankard in his hand.
"Arderay was once a superpower with a population of two million. It's only natural," Ivalis replied, matching Ace by draining his own giant mug in one go. "The crew stationed here barely numbers ten thousand; of course it's going to feel a bit sparse."
"I... I've been wanting to ask a question."
Ace glanced at the surrounding crowd, who were already deep into the party spirit. He lowered his voice significantly, trying to ensure no one else would overhear.
"Alucard is... the man who defeated Red Hair, right? As a former core executive, why do you follow him?"
Ace was far more sensible than Luffy; he chose the word "defeated" instead of "killed."
Ivalis fell silent for a few seconds. Just as Ace began to worry that he might have sparked an outburst of rage, Ivalis unexpectedly laughed. It was a clear, prominent laugh, even a bit exaggerated.
"Fire Fist Ace, do you realize there is a power in this world called 'The Ultimate'?"
"Huh?" Ace's expression froze, clearly not grasping the meaning behind Ivalis's words.
Whirrrr—
The sudden drone from above caused everyone below to look up.
High in the sky, Aranea Highwind peered down at the gathering. She descended, landing gracefully between the Golden Hair Pirates and the Spade Pirates. She removed her helmet, tucked it at her waist, and said with a grin, "Yo, everyone. You sure look like you're having a good time."
"Aranea... Highwind."
Someone in the Spade Pirates called out her name.
She had recently made headlines as the woman known as the Female Dragon Knight. With a bounty of 77 million Berries, she was a former military officer for the Government who had defected to join the Immortal Pirates.
Ace stared at Aranea's dark red armor, which left only her arms and a portion of her waist exposed. His gaze focused primarily on the mechanical wings on her back. He thought to himself, She can fly... is it because of that armor? How peculiar.
"A blonde with a huge... my favorite..."
Naturally, there were also those whose attention was fixed squarely on Aranea's face and figure.
"Would you like to join us for a drink, Guard Captain Aranea?" a member of the Golden Hair Pirates invited.
Since becoming Vegapunk's bodyguard, the other members of the Immortal Pirates occasionally referred to her as "Guard Captain."
"I'll pass. I heard from Vegapunk-san recently that the Captain has a Logia-type Devil Fruit that might suit me. I'm considering whether or not to eat it," Aranea said, resting her chin on her hand.
"Oh, a Logia?" Ace's interest piqued instantly, being one himself.
"Our Captain is a Logia user too. Would you like to test him out, beautiful lady?" a bolder member of the Spade Pirates suggested.
"Oh?"
Aranea's mouth parted slightly as her gaze shifted to Ace. "A very young boy, isn't he?"
"That works for me. I've been wanting to test the strength of a Yonko's subordinates anyway," Ace said, striking his left fist into his right palm. Flames erupted from his arms, his eyes burning with excitement.
At this stage, Ace was still just a rookie, a total greenhorn. It was this exact temperament that fueled his hidden desire to challenge Whitebeard, the very trait that would eventually lead to his own downfall and the death of Whitebeard.
"Mmm~ Alright then. But let's keep it to a friendly spar," Aranea said, dropping her hand from her chin.
Soon, both parties followed the two fighters to a wasteland ten miles from the city gates. Aranea and Ace stood ten meters apart.
"Heh!"
Ace grinned, his right foot sliding out as he dropped into a horse stance. He pointed two fingers from each hand toward his waist like a Western cowboy drawing his revolvers. "Fire Pistol!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Countless small bullets of fire shot out from Ace's fingertips.
The armor on Aranea's back erupted with a burst of pressurized air, too fast for the naked eye to track, propelling her into the air. She dodged the attack effortlessly. Seeing that his Fire Pistol was having trouble tracking her, Ace quickly switched to a more powerful move designed for aerial targets.
"Flame Pillar!"
Ace dropped into a full crouch and slammed both palms into the ground. A massive pillar of fire soared into the heavens, faster and more violent than the previous attack.
In the crowd of spectators, a member of the Spade Pirates said confidently, "270 million versus 77 million. This should be over pretty quickly, right?"
"Idiot."
Beckman took a drag of his cigarette and thought, Fledgling pirates.
Facing the incoming pillar of flame, Aranea controlled her flight armor perfectly. By shifting the direction of the air jets, she maneuvered her flight path as naturally as if it were her own limbs, a level of control no less perfect than Doflamingo's with his String-String Fruit.
Seeing several of his moves fail to hit, Ace, the greenhorn who had experienced smooth sailing for most of his voyage, started to lose his cool. Flames erupted from his feet like a jet engine as he rocketed into the sky, intending to close the distance for a melee fight.
Unfortunately for him, his "jet" could only fly in a straight line. He lacked Aranea's ability to move left, right, up, and down at will.
"Rookie..."
At this moment, even Cavendish, the member with the least seniority among the Immortal crew, let out a sigh of lament.
Doesn't that Fire Fist Ace see the weapon on Aranea's back?
It was a gun-lance! A pure close-quarters weapon.
As an ability user, Ace should have kept his distance. Instead, he charged in for a melee brawl. Was he out of his mind?
Cavendish was willing to bet his life on it: Fire Fist Ace would be defeated within ten moves!