"Zehahaha! Captain Ace, what's there to explain? Liking someone is just liking someone. A man falling for a woman is just the natural order of things," Blackbeard chimed in, his loud laughter echoing across the deck.
"Yeah, Captain! There's nothing to be embarrassed about. We all understand," the other crew members added, teasing their leader. They were convinced Ace was simply too shy to admit his feelings, despite his frantic denials.
"Idiots! I'm not embarrassed because it isn't true! Stop causing trouble!" Ace shouted, his body practically steaming with frustration. These guys clearly just wanted to see him make a fool of himself.
"Huh? So it's not true? And here I thought I was pretty popular with the younger guys," Yamato sighed, leaning back and looking mockingly disappointed.
"Hey, I already told you it's not like that! I never had any thoughts like that!" Ace quickly waved his hands, desperate to kill the rumor before it spread further.
By now, even Haruko realized Yamato was deliberately teasing the boy. The icy aura around her dissipated, though she still looked a bit concerned. "Young Master... do you actually like men younger than you?"
Yamato turned to her and burst out laughing. "Haruko, you really have quite an imagination! Of course I was joking. I'm not a child, but things like 'romance' are still way off my radar."
"Uh... Young Master, you aren't that young anymore. Not understanding those feelings would actually be the childish part," Haruko said, facepalming. She felt like Yamato's perception of social norms was increasingly warped.
"But then again, from what I've heard, aren't 'onee-sans' supposed to like younger guys? I'm an 'onee-san,' right? So even if I did, it wouldn't be a problem," Yamato added with a mischievous glint in her eye.
Haruko almost tripped over her own feet. What kind of nonsensical logic was this? She had no idea where Yamato picked up such ideas, but they were clearly misleading. "Young Master, I don't know who told you that, but please stop listening to such heretical nonsense."
"Is that so? Is it really that weird?" Yamato blinked innocently. These were just things she remembered from her past life; surely they weren't entirely wrong?
"Yes," Haruko nodded firmly.
Yamato raised an eyebrow. "Alright, alright. I'll keep that in mind."
"Hey, Yamato! Fight me!" Ace's voice rang out again, cutting through the chatter with pure fighting spirit.
Yamato snapped back to attention. "Before we start, I have a question. Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" To be honest, it was a detail that had been bothering her for a while.
"Ahem... That's my personal freedom! Don't worry about trivial things. Hurry up and fight me! I need to see the gap between us!" Ace stamped his foot, clearly flustered. Behind him, his crew couldn't hold back their snickering.
"Fine. But we can't exactly go all out in the middle of the ocean. Let's find some land. I'll spar with you for a few rounds," Yamato agreed. She was curious to see if he had taken her previous advice to heart.
A little over half an hour later, the pirate ships dropped anchor beside a small, rocky island. The strip of land was only a few hundred meters wide; you could see from one shore to the other with ease.
"Go get 'em, Captain Ace!"
"You can do it! Just try not to lose too badly!"
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division stood at a safe distance, shouting encouragement that sounded suspiciously like they expected him to get thrashed.
"You guys! Can't you have a little more faith in me?" Ace muttered, exasperated. He turned his gaze back to Yamato, his expression shifting into one of dead seriousness. "Yamato, I've heard your father, Kaido, is a very violent man. Even though I've never met the guy, I can tell you're different from him."
"What's with the sudden flattery? Do you think saying that will make me go easy on you?" Yamato asked, reaching behind her to draw her massive spiked club.
"No, I don't want that. I want you to be serious. I'm just saying I think you're a good person. That's all," Ace said, dropping into a focused fighting stance.
"Well, thanks. Are you ready then?" Yamato smiled slightly. Her club was instantly coated in a sleek, black layer of Armament Haki.
"Here I come! Fire Fist!" Ace roared. His body erupted into brilliant orange flames as he launched a massive pillar of fire toward her.
"You should know by now—moves like that won't work on me," Yamato said casually. With a single, effortless swing of her club, she shattered the firestorm into harmless embers.
In the same breath, Ace had already closed the distance. He knew flashy long-range attacks were useless, so he dove straight into close-quarters combat. He relied on his physical prowess, combining his Haki with the explosive speed of his Devil Fruit.
"It's been a while, but your Haki has improved quite a bit," Yamato noted with a faint smile. When they first met, Ace's Haki was like a tiny sprout. Now, it had grown much sturdier; both his Armament and Observation Haki had clearly passed the beginner stage. At this level, he finally had a real foothold in the New World.
Ace was following a path similar to the Marine Admirals. As a Logia user, his Devil Fruit was his primary weapon, but his Haki was becoming the necessary foundation to support it. Combined with his innate Conqueror's Haki, he had the potential to reach the very top of the sea given enough time.
Boom! Boom!
Flames exploded across the battlefield like a frantic firework display. Ace went all out, launching a fierce assault that left the ground charred and smoking.
"Not bad. Your Haki is stronger, and you've clearly put work into your fruit," Yamato said, rhythmically blocking every strike with her club. It seemed her previous guidance had actually been effective.
"You're holding back, aren't you? I told you to get serious! Great Flame Commandment: Ghost Fire!" Ace bellowed. A massive vortex of flames swirled around the rocky island, completely engulfing the two of them in a pillar of heat.
"Captain Ace is using his ultimate move!"
"With this, even Onihime shouldn't be able to shrug it off so easily. He might actually have a chance!" The Second Division members watched in awe, their hopes rising.
"Zehahaha! Don't be fools. That girl is a real monster. There's no way he wins this," Blackbeard muttered, his eyes fixed on the flames.
Haruko instinctively glanced toward Blackbeard. Something about the man felt off—an indescribable, unsettling aura. It was the same feeling she'd had the last time they crossed paths. The 2,000,000,000 Berry bounty on her own captain's head seemed small compared to the potential danger she sensed from this "small fry."
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