"Do you have the Conqueror's Haki?"
The red-haired man looked Ace up and down for a moment, then paused in thought before speaking again.
"You truly are the son of the Captain… You've inherited not only his will, but his incredible talent for Haki as well."
He smiled, then continued seriously,
"However, Conqueror's Haki—Haoshoku—is based entirely on talent. It can't be trained or taught. So, I can't offer you much guidance… but remember one thing."
"The strength of your Conqueror's Haki depends entirely on your will—your ambition."
Shanks looked at Ace with a firm gaze.
"If you want your Haoshoku to grow stronger, you must cling to the ambition that drives you. The closer you move toward that unwavering goal, the stronger your Haki will become."
Ace mulled over Shanks' words carefully.
"Stick to my ambition…?"
He suddenly recalled that in the original timeline, Luffy's ambition had always been clear—to become the Pirate King. From start to finish, that goal had never wavered.
In the world of pirates, ambition is equivalent to one's goal in life. And Conqueror's Haki is a power that only those with the qualities of a "king" can awaken. If what Shanks says is true, then Haoshoku can't be improved through training. Rather, it evolves with one's commitment to their ambition.
Then, what Rayleigh once described as the 'Territory of the Conqueror', could that be the final stage of Conqueror's Haki?
If so, perhaps when someone with Haoshoku gets close to fulfilling their lifelong goal, their Haki reaches this pinnacle state.
Roger's ambition was to become the freest man on the sea—and he succeeded. Even before finding the last island, Laugh Tale, he roamed the seas freely, unbound. That must be when his Conqueror's Haki reached its peak—the Territory of the Conqueror.
Shanks' own Haki is said to have reached that same realm. If that's true, then he too must be nearing the fulfillment of his ambition.
But then—what is Shanks' ambition?
Could it be the same as Roger's—to be the freest man on the sea? As one of the Four Emperors, Shanks does enjoy immense freedom. He even inherited Roger's straw hat, so this idea makes sense.
Still… something about that didn't sit right with Ace. Deep down, he felt Shanks' ambitions were far more complicated. And the red-haired man's persona in Ace's mind became increasingly enigmatic.
> (Author's note: "Damn you, Oda! Why leave so many mysteries around Shanks and never explain anything!? It's maddening!")
"I hope I'm overthinking this, but Shanks really has the kind of gaze that sees straight through you," Ace muttered internally as he glanced at the red-haired man.
"Now that I think about it… what's my ambition?"
Ace suddenly paused.
Though his soul had traveled through time, he now inhabited Ace's body and inherited his will. Among all of Ace's thoughts, which desire burned the brightest?
That's right.
To surpass the man he hated the most… the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!
But then—how does one surpass Roger, who already reached the top?
Reach Laugh Tale? Reveal the secrets of the Void Century?
No, Roger already did that.
Topple the World Government?
That's the Revolutionary Army's job, not his.
Suddenly, Ace's eyes lit up.
> "I've got it!"
> "When Luffy becomes Pirate King… I'll beat the crap out of him! That way, I'll be the man who surpassed the Pirate King!"
Ace stood up with clarity in his eyes and looked at Shanks.
"Thank you for your advice, Shanks-san. I think I finally understand what you meant."
Shanks raised an eyebrow in surprise, then laughed.
"Hahahaha! You really are Roger's son… Looks like you've found your ambition."
Ace nodded confidently.
"Yes. My ambition has always been there—it just needed to be defined."
He looked Shanks in the eye.
"Next time we meet, we might be enemies, Shanks-san!"
Shanks burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! Now that's the spirit. I'm looking forward to seeing how far you'll go."
"I won't let you down." Ace smiled and adjusted his hat.
"Soon, I'll be challenging the Four Emperors. Please look forward to it!"
Shanks stood up solemnly and replied,
"I'll be waiting for that challenge—as a Yonko."
---
It was noon. Though the sun blazed overhead, it couldn't drive away the bone-chilling cold of Ice Island.
At the harbor, the Spade Pirates' ship slowly set sail. Ace stood at the bow, watching the island fade into the distance, deep in thought.
Even though he gave up the idea of forming an alliance with the Red-Haired Pirates, the encounter was fruitful—he'd gained new insight into Conqueror's Haki.
"In the end, Whitebeard is the only one truly suitable for an alliance. But that old man is prideful… not sure he'll agree unless I accept being his 'son.'" Ace thought.
"But whatever. It's not the time to reach out to Whitebeard yet. Let's focus on growing stronger first."
"Vores, hold the ship here for an hour." Ace called to the helmsman, then took to the sky and vanished into the clouds.
Ever since training on Skypiea, Ace made it a habit to train at extreme altitudes—an hour each day—to sharpen both his physique and Devil Fruit abilities.
Now, he could fly up to 100,000 meters above sea level on his own.
After ten minutes of high-speed flight, Ace reached that peak. He then remained in a semi-elemental state, soaking in the sun's energy as part of his training.
---
"What's Ace doing?" Kerra asked Gambi, puzzled as she looked at the sky.
"He's training. He does this every day—it'll take about an hour." Gambi answered casually.
"Training… in the sky?" Kerra was confused, but didn't press further. She just waited patiently alongside the rest of the crew for Ace's return.
An hour and a half later, Ace returned from the sky.
By around 8 p.m., they finally reached Burning Island, just as Kerra had described!
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