Chapter 2: I Am Ace
"Hey!"
Ace lifted his head, grinned, and flashed his white teeth. "Of course what I just said was a joke. But Gambi… and all of you… what I'm going to do next might get us killed. Are you ready to face life and death with me?"
Bang!
Before the words even settled, Gambi punched him square in the face.
Ace stumbled back, stood up, and dusted himself off. Looking up at the nearly three-meter-tall man, he was stunned to see tears streaming down his face. The rest of the crew, those lovable misfits, were no better—faces full of tears and snot, gazing at him with overwhelming emotion.
Gambi suddenly raised the longsword in his hand and shouted,
"Ace! What the hell are you talking about? Haven't our lives already been entrusted to you long ago?"
"Hey…"
Ace lowered the brim of his hat to hide his wet eyes, then declared loudly,
"In that case, I, Portgas D. Ace, officially declare—
The Spade Pirates are born today!"
He raised his head, revealing tear-streaked cheeks, and looked at his crew.
"Brothers! Are you ready to face life and death with your captain?"
"OHHHH!!!"
"YEAHHHH!!!"
No more words were needed. Their hearts had already been entrusted to one another long ago. Cheers erupted. Bottles, food, and weapons were thrown into the air as laughter and excitement filled the unknown island at the edge of the Grand Line.
That night, a pirate crew bearing the name "Spade" was officially born.
"Then… boys—let's party!!!"
Ace tossed his hat into the air, shouting with a wide smile.
In that moment, the shut-in boy from the 21st century completely let go of his past and fully embraced his new self—
Portgas D. Ace, destined for greatness!
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Three days later — Nighttime
Ace lay on a boulder, gazing up at the stars overhead, a troubled look in his eyes.
> "I really lost myself in that moment," he murmured.
With arms behind his head, he thought back to that emotional surge. Even now, a trace of fear lingered in his heart.
Those intense feelings and vivid memories—he knew they weren't his. They belonged to the original Ace. Fortunately, those memories carried no will or personality, just raw emotion. Otherwise, with his fragile state of mind, he might've been completely overtaken.
> "Still… it changed me," he whispered.
Though the emotions had affected him deeply, the gains were undeniable. The confusion in his eyes vanished as an invisible aura suddenly surged from his body—
Conqueror's Haki.
Then, just as quickly, it dissipated.
> "That was… Conqueror's Haki. So powerful."
"Is this one of the perks of transmigration?"
The thrill was real. The personality shift brought by Ace's leftover emotions wasn't all bad. It had also awakened Ace's dormant gifts within him—including his terrifying natural talent for Conqueror's Haki.
In the original story, awakening Conqueror's Haki required not only natural charisma and talent, but also a powerful emotional trigger. Its strength was rooted in one's spirit and resolve.
> "If I had stayed my old cowardly self… I'd never have understood what 'will' truly meant," he admitted. "Let alone unlocked something like this."
In the canon, Ace had awakened Conqueror's Haki at just ten years old—an insane feat. Though the series never mentioned his Armament or Observation Haki, there's no way someone like Ace—who roamed the New World and became a commander in the Whitebeard Pirates—didn't master them. With Roger's blood and the Mera Mera no Mi, he was arguably more protagonist-worthy than even Luffy.
> "Ace's feelings are incredibly powerful… strong enough to alter my very soul. But they didn't erase me. And honestly, that's probably the best possible outcome."
If he hadn't inherited that fierce will, he'd probably have disbanded the crew on day one, run off to some quiet island, picked up girls, and wasted away. The thought of challenging monsters in the New World would've never even crossed his mind.
> "As for training hard and getting stronger? Yeah, right. Not with that attitude."
His end might've been even worse than Ace's original fate.
> "To become stronger… strong enough to surpass that man… to become the next Pirate King—no, a greater Pirate King—how ridiculous."
That overwhelming desire to become stronger… it devoured his laziness instantly. He sighed.
> "No choice now. The urge to grow is just too strong. All I can do is move forward. How far I get… depends on fate."
And right now, the fastest path forward was obvious—mastering the Mera Mera no Mi.
Even without reaching its awakened state, pushing it to the level Ace used in the fight against Blackbeard would be enough to survive the New World.
As a 21st-century otaku, he'd long forgotten most of his math and science, but he did remember fan theories and the netizen debates about how to optimize the Flame-Flame Fruit. With that knowledge, he could definitely push the fruit's power to new levels.
> "But even with a maxed-out Devil Fruit, that's not enough. I need Armament and Observation Haki—those are basics in the New World."
Thankfully, he already had the perfect teacher in mind.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
> "With Ace's identity… there's no better teacher out there than that person."
Something stirred within him—his heart racing, blood pumping. It was a strange but exhilarating feeling.
> "So this is what it feels like… to want to fight, to want to rise."
He clenched his fists and grinned.
> "I'm no longer a shut-in. I'm Ace now."
He shouted into the night, casting off his old identity like a snake shedding its skin. For the first time, his blood felt alive.
"Captain Ace! Something's wrong! The Donquixote Family is coming to kill us!"
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