On Moby Dick, Whitebeard was thinking. Some clear facts to him were: Ace is Roger's son and his brothers are the infamous 3C's. So that means they are also Roger's son, right? But how can the smallest be of Roger's? If he had to take a guess, he will say that Ace looked no bigger than an eighteen years old teen. And if he has to deduct from the voices of the other two. Then, he will say Cyane is almost the same age as Ace. So, they could be twins but Cyra cannot be 18. He seemed 13-14 years old just from his voice.
Also, if he is right and is making the right assumptions, then Cole is Ace. The first people to rescue Ace are Cyane and Cyra. They are apparently closer somehow and it completely makes sense. When Cole disappeared from the news, Fire Fist Ace appeared, and it can't be too much of a coincidence.
When the brothers landed on Moby Dick, the storms had raged, which is not an actual surprise, considering it is The New World. But the most surprising fact was how the storm vanished after the small flick of a finger from Cyra. Maybe it was a coincidence. There were abnormal waves, which always accompanied Moby Dick since Ace had landed on their ship, but they are in New World, so it's not a huge problem.
He was getting one theory set in his mind though. The brothers have Devil Fruits. One is Ace who has Mera Mera no mi. The other is Cyane who can have Mizu Mizu no mi, to control the waves, but that doesn't fit 'cause Cyane was not on board when Ace was. Still, he could blame that on the New World weather. The last, the youngest one could have Arashi Arashi no mi. But he isn't sure after he saw the youngest's limbs stretch when they made their escape hours ago. Could it be that he has eaten two devil fruits? But that is impossible. Whitebeard has lived for several ages and has seen things that are completely ridiculous and abnormal not this is not something that can be true.
Above all, Whitebeard only knew one thing for sure, he will make the trio join Whitebeard Pirates, 'cause he wants to protect them and give them his unconditional love. He laughed on his own, making Marco, who was standing there from the beginning shake his head.
"Pops, yoi!" Whitebeard hummed his son to continue. "I don't like how Ace's crew has been acting, yoi. We separated them two days ago and they have all bundled together again, yoi. I don't think they will be joining, yoi." Marco stated. "And with Ace's brothers on the deck, the possibility of them joining is thinning a lot, yoi."
They have tried their best to show Ace that his crew isn't strong and he will be happy if he joins them, but the attacks Ace was using on Whitebeard, he really didn't like it. Ace's fighting style was a mixture of many. There was a hint to the marine fighting style, the raw fighting style which he was using, and the perfect assassinating skills. It was like Ace was a spy. Can that be possible?
"Guararararara!" Whitebeard laughed. "Don't worry, Marco! Once the brat sees how much we care for him, he will stay. And soon his crew ad his brothers will follow."
Marco could only nod at Pop's words.
Whitebeard soon noticed familiar haki's coming from the side of the ship and turns out the little firecrackers have returned.
"Guararararara!" Whitebeard offered his warm, soft grin to the boys, which had Ace glaring at him vehemently. They were like children to him, and from their expressions, feral children. "Welcome back my so-"
"Pack up!" Ace said looking at his crew, who were on the deck, interrupting and ignoring Whitebeard completely.
"Aye, aye, captain!" Ace's crew chorused and hurried to the room in which they were bundled together in. Whitebeard was not liking how things were turning.
"Where is Piece of Spadille?" Ace glared at him. "Where is my ship?!!!" Ace hissed like a feral cat, who had been left out of his cage after making him so so so angry. Whitebeard frowned at the change.
"What? Not gonna take my head?" He asked in an amused tone, trying to keep the brat on the Moby Dick. He liked the brat and his brothers and wants him. And what he sets eyes on, he gets it.
"FOR YOU TO USE YOUR BULLSHITTING CONQUEROR'S HAKI ON ME? TO FUCKING TAME ME?" Ace roared at him and the people on the deck stared wide-eyed at the teen standing on the railing with his brothers at his side, for his curse words and the use of 'Conqueror's Haki'.
Whitebeard was caught and he knew it. But hell, he will give up. He is a Yonko. He will not give up on the boy. He will make him his son. He will take his revenge on Roger for taking Oden from his crew and never returning him by taking his son.
"My ni-chan is not an object for you to take revenge on him," Cyra said in his cold voice. The lightning crackled making some of the ship residents scream at the extra loud thundering. But above all of this, the little brat's voice was clearly heard. Whitebeard narrowed his eyes and tried checking if he has said his thoughts too loud. But no, he hasn't. How did the little brat know what he was thinking? He is an interesting piece. He should become his son, along with Cyane.
"How about the Spades and The 3C's run wild under my name? No hand shall touch a hair on your heads with me as your father," Whitebeard said kindly, watching as the brothers, except Ace who was scowling and glaring darkly at him, just continued to frown at him. "Just give us time to prove we are not trying to take your freedom away," Whitebeard suggested. "Stay and try out this life, just until the next island."
"LISTEN WHITEBEARD! I AM NOT SOMEONE YOU CAN ADD TO YOUR PILE OF PITIFUL FUCKING FAMILY!" Ace glared angrily and he meant every word. "YOU CAN PLAY WITH YOUR FAMILY AS MUCH AS YOU WANT. BUT I AM NOT ONE OF YOU AND NEVER WILL BE!"
How many of these pirates will really stay if the captain is dead? How many will really give their lives for their Captain? In a crew of thousands of men and women, how many have ill in their minds or are simply hiding and taking the protection the Yonko is offering? He won't fall into this type of trap and provide his back for the pirates to attack him. Once his heritage or any high-class information is leaked about him, they will fucking leave him or hand him to the Navy or kill him. Why will he in his right mind accept that? He won't give in to Whitebeard's Will ever. He has his own Will and he will make the Old Pirate crumble under it, someday!
"Papa can protect us better than you, Old Man!" Cyra retorted. He was looking like he was about to thrash Whitebeard if only he could. It only further amused Whitebeard, for such a young boy to look so fearless. "Papa is the best and no one can replace him."
"You don't know a thing about us, Whitebeard. We will leave the ship with the Spades and there is no stopping us." Cyane spoke with a tight feral smile on his lips.
"I'LL LEAVE WITH MY CREW, YOU WANT IT OR NOT!" Ace yelled.
"But you can't leave my ship without my permission, brats!" Whitebeard glared with the same intensity as the boys and his voice rumbled through the deck of Moby. His Conqueror's haki clashed with the Fire Brat and was about to overwhelm him until his brothers joined him. Ace couldn't even deny his brother's help at that moment. They have clearly told him that they will interfere if they feel like it, and Ace had accepted it, after some grumbling. But he will defeat Whitebeard on his own. He will make his Dad proud and show that he hadn't wasted his years in the Revolutionary Base as a sitting duck.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO STOP ME, YOU MOTHERFUCKER?!!! I WILL LEAVE THE SHIP ON MY OWN FUCKING WISH!" Ace shouted at the old man, threatening him to play any cheap tricks up in his sleeves, and it won't turn good. He will burn down the ship to the sea. He would never work for a man who doesn't consider his choices. He would never work under anyone!
"And if you don't, I swear my words weren't a joke when I said Moby Dick will be history!" Cyane said with an icy cold voice, mixed with his Conqueror's Haki, which he rarely uses. His hands fiddled with his weapon pointing the Yonko to dare do anything rash. They were facing a Yonko and they needed whatever they can have on their side. All they needed to do was escape with the Spade Pirates and never turn back until they were stronger to face The Whitebeard Pirates.
"You are threatening my sons and daughters!" Whitebeard pointed out angrily, with Haki clashing with the glares, the waves were raging below, swaying the ship dangerously. The bolts of lightning never stopped coming. They were falling dangerously close to the ship. The rain hit on the board as if it wanted to kill every single pirate on the deck. The wind was making even the heavy crew members lose their footing. Above all Whitebeard stood, even if he was an old man and sick, he won't give in to the wills of the three combined even. Even the brats stood on the railing never falling due to the swaying of the ocean.
Amid this Ace's crew came out of the deck and Ace created a protective ring of fire around them. So, no Whitebeards pirate can even imagine approaching them. Ace was fuming, he knew it. But controlling his free will? Chaining him down? Snatching his freedom? Whitebeard didn't make a good choice since he decided to do that. He will face his rage. He promises himself.
"In a week, we fight." Ace declared, hopping off the ship of the angry Yonko. His crew followed him obediently, with a smirk on their faces.
"If you do any more funny business, it won't be good for you," Cyra spoke with his calm voice, which was enough to make some pirates on the deck shiver.
"If you know what's good for your crew, you won't follow us," Cyane spoke, leaping out of the ship with Cyra in tow and the abnormal weather resided after a few good minutes.
The pirates on the deck were glaring at the three brats who threatened them. They were unable to do anything as the brats clashed with their captain. It was like the same invisible force when Cyra and Cyane had arrived at Moby Dick, which kept them from speaking and made them choke.
Whitebeard stood there angrily, like a child who just lost his favorite toys. He watched the Spade Pirates and Cyra and Cyane vanish from the beach and head to the jungle. He sat on his chair drinking sake, huffing in between.
"Pops, yoi," Marco said softly, placing himself on his captain's shoulders. "I agree with a part of them. We shouldn't use Haki to make the brat join us, yoi."
"I overdid it, huh, Marco?" Whitebeard said slowly to which Marco only nodded his head.
.
The Spade Pirate sat in a circle surrounding the born fire at the opposite end of the Island, far away from The Moby Dick. They haven't liked their time on the Whitebeard ship at all. They were once beaten up by the Whitebeard Pirates badly but this time they have their captain and they won't lose. They will fight the Whitebeard if it means they will get their freedom back.
Sabo bonked Ace's head once the dinner was over. "Why the hell did you go and challenge Whitebeard to a fight, idiot?"
Ace pouted at Sabo and crossed his arms above his chest, looking at the fire. "I don't want them to control me. I don't want to run away from my fights."
The Spades were listening to the conversation silently. It wasn't a big deal for them. Even if they were defeated by the Whitebeard once, they won't lose the second time, right?
Deuce shook his head silently. "It's useless telling him to not pick up fights."
"Deuce!" Ace pouted at his first mate, who rubbed his temples silently, from the growing headache. "Not you even!"
"Ace ni-chan looked so cool while challenging Banana Moustache Man!" Luffy chirped hanging from Ace's shoulders and Sabo had to suppress the chuckle forming in his throat, to not inflate Ace's proud smile on his face. "When I'll be 17, I'll also beat the Yonkos!"
"Don't learn from him, Lu!" Sabo said in a calm voice and many Spade Pirates snickered at the huffing face of Ace. "This idiot and his crew- no offense-" Sabo said to the Spade Pirates, who nod their heads, "is not yet ready to take down Emperors. We should be glad it's Whitebeard, not Kaido or Big Mom."
"Otherwise we will be dead..." Finamore said with a bit of shivering. Sabo was still learning the name of the 19 Spade pirates and it was tough. He doesn't have any idea from where Ace has picked his bunch of misfits to make a crew. But the crew was strong, strong enough for Paradise but not for New World. Not for facing an Emperor of The Sea. They need to plan if they want to have even a certain percent chance of winning.
"I am not forcing any of you to fight. I'm the only one who is going to fight with him." Ace said with a frown on his face. Sabo feels like banging his head, 'cause Ace can be so much stupid sometimes.
"Ace, I don't care about your pride." He said warningly to his older brother- yeah he accepts but would never say it aloud- but acts like a ten-year-old.
"But I want to fight my fights alone!" Ace retorts leaning away from Kotatsu, the big black lynx cat, to show the seriousness of his statement. Where did Ace pick it from now?
Sabo really wants to give Ace a good lecture on how it's not his fight alone. How he and Luffy could lose a brother if they let him fight this alone. But Luffy beats everyone who were about to state their point. He makes it to the point directly and it will forever be a mystery how Luffy tells the right thing at the right time.
"Ace is not alone in this. Ace will have us even if Ace decides to go against every emperor together or even the World Government." Luffy tells from between Sabo and Ace while petting Kotatsu.
"We can't leave you alone and see you getting beaten up." Ace's crew tells him and Sabo is really glad for the first time that Ace has a loyal crew.
"You did help me in my Revolutionary career," Sabo whispers for only Ace to hear, which he does and bites his lips, as a sign of thinking.
"And maybe I will allow Ace and Sabo to fight by my side when I target the Emperors." Luffy chirps and oh how Sabo wants to bonk Ace's head for giving Luffy the idea to fight Yonko's. He knows one day Luffy has to, if he wants to be the King of Pirates, but he fucking wishes that Luffy doesn't until he is at least 20 or 21 and his future crew is stronger.
"Fine. But only when I wouldn't be able to overwhelm him, which won't be the case." Ace huffs like a baby and Sabo really wishes the ten-year-old Ace to see the new Ace. He would bet that Ace would be disgusted but that Ace didn't know love and that everyone loves him even if he has Roger's blood, whom he thought was a demon.
"Crew, I don't want anyone of you to fight with the Yonko unless you want. I know most of you are not that strong and it's ok if you want to leave the crew now or even join the Whitebeards. I won't-" Ace started fiddling with his hands trying to explain, but was cut off by his first mate.
"Shut up, cap' we will fight alongside you forever. Even if it means death!" Deuce said looking at Ace, seriously.
"Without you, some of us won't be even alive. We will follow you to hell and back, Captain!" Banshee says with her eyes looking at Ace with conviction.
"Yes, cap'!!!" Ace's crew choruses back, making Ace blush a good color of crimson and shiny tears at the edge of his eyes.
"Thank you, guys. Thank you so much!" Ace says with a bright grin on his face, making the crew smile.
A/n:
This time it is longer than the rest of the chapters. Hope you all enjoy it!