Aboard the Going Merry...
"Ugh..."
Tashigi felt like she had just awakened from a long, surreal dream.
In that dream, Ace-san had become a fearsome pirate.
Smoker—Captain Smoker—had come to rescue her. But Ace only lifted his head and glanced at them... and in that instant, everyone from the Marines, Smoker included, collapsed unconscious.
"I... I must've had a ridiculous dream, haha..."
Tashigi murmured sleepily, her head still clouded by her usual innocent daze.
"Captain Smoker falling over just from Ace's gaze? That's way too much... But if Ace did have that kind of power... maybe he really could bring an end to the Great Pirate Era?"
Still drowsy, she slowly opened her eyes—only to be snapped back to reality by the sound of someone scolding.
She turned her head. Standing there was a beautiful young woman with orange hair, clearly frustrated and giving Ace-san an earful.
"I can't believe you! You kidnapped a Marine girl?! And the worst part is I helped bring her onto the ship! I'm doomed! They're gonna put a bounty on me too! My life is over! The Marines are gonna hunt me down now!"
Nami clutched her head in panic.
"I already told you, it wasn't a kidnapping," Ace replied with a helpless smile.
"Oh, really? What do you call it then?!" Nami shouted.
"Now, now, Nami. We're pirates, remember? Getting bounties is only a matter of time," Nojiko said, trying to calm her down.
"Besides, Ace already has a 35 million beri bounty on his head. Us being on the radar was inevitable."
"Yeah, Nami! I want a bounty too!" Kaya chimed in hopefully.
Just imagining her own bounty poster next to Ace's made Kaya grin with joy, her eyes practically turning into crescents.
"Why don't you just ask her directly?" Ace said, pointing at the still-confused, wide-eyed Tashigi.
"Th-this is... where am I?"
Tashigi blinked and looked around. But as her eyes landed on the flaming skull-and-crossbones surrounding her, her mind snapped into full clarity.
A Jolly Roger...?!
I'm on a pirate ship?!
Ace-san—no, Ace—is really a pirate?!
And not just any pirate... a pirate with a 35 million beri bounty?!
"Yo, you're awake, Tashigi. Want some afternoon tea?" Ace said cheerfully as he walked over.
"D-don't joke with me! You're a pirate?! You... you LIED to me?!"
Tears welled up in the corners of Tashigi's eyes.
He was the first person who had ever praised her dream.
The first one who'd said something crazy like wanting to end the Great Pirate Era.
And it turns out... he's just another pirate?!
"When did I lie to you?" Ace looked genuinely puzzled. "Did I ever say I wasn't a pirate?"
"..."
Tashigi was momentarily speechless.
Now that she thought about it...
He really hadn't said that.
But who asks someone they just met if they're a pirate?!
Especially someone so polite, with such a bright smile—someone who had encouraged her dreams.
"Then what about what you said... about ending the Great Pirate Era?! How can a pirate say something like that?" Tashigi demanded.
"I wasn't lying," Ace replied with a confident grin.
"I am going to end this era of pirates. Those wicked pirates—when I find them, I'll take down every last one."
That grin carried a fierce charisma.
This era—
The one started by Gol D. Roger when he was already dying from an incurable disease—
Maybe he had hoped to destroy the corrupt World Government... but his method had been too extreme.
In truth, neither Luffy in the original story nor Ace now were true pirates at heart.
They were adventurers.
Most pirates, however, were ruthless monsters who plundered and killed without mercy.
Had Roger not been terminally ill, perhaps he would've chosen a different path.
But that no longer mattered.
Ace had arrived in this pirate world—
And this era, would end with him.
This era would be known... as the era of the Flame Emperor.
"Ace..."
Nami, Nojiko, and Kaya all smiled softly at his words.
After all, each of them had been rescued by him—from the clutches of pirates.
"..."
Tashigi stared at him. For a moment, just a moment—
She believed him.
"!!!"
She suddenly shook her head violently.
No, no, that's wrong!
A pirate taking down evil pirates? That's the job of the Marines!
That's... that's right!
"Wait—what about Captain Nezumi?! I heard he was killed by a pirate... was that you?!" Tashigi accused.
She hadn't seen Ace's bounty poster yet, but rumors had already spread throughout the East Blue Marines—
Captain Nezumi had died at the hands of a pirate.
And if Ace had a 35 million bounty... it had to be him.
"Yep, that was me."
Ace said casually, then turned to Nami and Nojiko.
"But I think you two should tell her the story."
Nami rolled her eyes and said nothing.
Nojiko, however, smiled calmly and explained everything that had happened in Cocoyasi Village.
When she finished, Kaya chimed in, telling the story of how Ace had saved her from Kuro's clutches with vivid detail.
"..."
Tashigi stood frozen in place.
A Marine base captain... conspiring with pirates to violently oppress innocent villagers?
This... this couldn't be...
"Then allow me, Portgas D. Ace, captain of the Flame Emperor Pirates, to formally invite you—
Tashigi—Join me as my swordswoman."
Ace offered her a gentle smile.
"After all, didn't you already promise me? When the time came to end the Great Pirate Era, you'd help me—no matter what."
Tashigi blinked in a daze... then shook her head vigorously.
"I-I didn't mean this kind of help! I'm a Marine! How could I possibly join a pirate crew?!"
She shouted in protest.
"Are the Marines always just? Are pirates always evil?"
Ace gave her a piercing, kingly smile.
"You don't belong in a Marine force controlled by a corrupt World Government.
Whether I'm the man who'll end this era—
Whether the Marines are truly what you believe them to be—
Use your own eyes. See the truth for yourself."
"One year.
Spend one year with me.
If after that, you still want to return to the Marines...
I won't stop you."
Ace burst into a bold, carefree laugh.
And he meant every word. If, after a year, Tashigi still chose to walk away—
Ace would never force her to stay.
That... was the mark of a true king.
And whether Tashigi would ever actually want to leave—
Ace had never doubted the answer.
That...
Was the confidence of a king.
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TL/N:
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