【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

"But no matter what, I want to meet him, Red-Haired Shanks." Ace covered his cowboy hat and walked forward against the blizzard, adding with a smile.

……

"The Spade Pirates?" A deep voice sounded in the dim cave. "The legendary super rookie wants to greet me?" The figure said, picking up the sword at his side, quietly waiting for the challenger.

Ace looked at the man who was about to fight him, and quickly waved his hands to explain, "No, no, that's not what I meant. You are my brother's savior, so I want to meet you and thank you again."

"Luffy's?" Shanks reacted quickly and smiled happily, "Hey, are you Ace? You're growing up so fast! Come and have a good chat with me."

Ace smiled happily.

There were lively sounds coming from the snowy mountains. The bright bonfire in the cave continued to burn. The Red-haired Pirate and the Spade Pirate happily held a bonfire party around the bonfire.

Red Hair and Ace sat among the pirates, the sounds of pirates drinking and talking could be heard all around them. Ace excitedly told Shanks about his and Luffy's childhood adventures, and Shanks happily listened to what Ace told him about Luffy that he didn't know.

"Really? That guy is still clamoring to become the Pirate King?" Shanks said with a smile on his face while holding a glass of wine.

"It's just like his catchphrase." Ace thought of Luffy's usual obsession with One Piece, and responded with a helpless look. Then Ace showed a mischievous smile and said, "Well, although I'm sorry to say this, Luffy, who made me go to sea before him, so I will be the Pirate King."

"Huh? Really?" Shanks asked curiously.

"First, I have to make the entire sea area recognize my strength." Ace said in a firm tone.

"Oh, how do we do this?" Shanks looked at Ace's confident expression and responded seriously.

"Defeat the man who is considered the most powerful in the world." Ace said seriously, this was his plan.

"Take off Whitebeard's head." Shanks added to Ace's words, Shanks looked a little solemn, Ace left too fast and Whitebeard left them too early, but he did not say any words of comfort.

"Thank you for your hard work, masked staff officer. You are heading towards the King without any reason. The aimless journey is always accelerated by anxiety..." Shanks turned his head to look at Deuce beside him and said in a low voice.

Deuce was very surprised that Shanks could see the problem at a glance.

"Ace, I suddenly want to ask you a question. You and Luffy are sworn brothers who drank sworn brotherhood wine. Since the hero Garp is your grandfather, who is your father?" Shanks turned his head and looked at Ace and asked.

"Ah...that guy, I don't really want to mention him, sorry." Ace thought of that guy with a look of disdain, but felt a little guilty for not being able to answer the question raised by Shanks.

Shanks was silent for a moment. The guess in his mind might not be answered for the time being.

"Is that so? That's fine. It's hard work for you to get here," Shanks said. Then he thought of something and asked with a smile, "Except for Luffy, you three should be the same age. Did you go to sea separately?"

Ace was silent after hearing what Shanks said. He felt a little sad, but then he suppressed his sadness and responded, "Yeah, they all went out to sea first."

Shanks looked at Ace's expression and his heart sank "What happened?"

Ace looked at Shanks' serious expression. He didn't want to mention it, but he also knew that Shanks needed to know what happened. He told Shanks what happened when he was a child.

Shanks was silent for a long time after hearing what Ace said, so long that he didn't notice that Ace had left.

"Boss." The atmosphere in the Red Hair Pirates was a little depressing.

"Beck." Shanks called out in a low voice.

"Okay, I understand." Beckman took the cigarette out of his mouth. The navy will feel the wrath of the Red Hair Pirates during this period.

……

"Sabo! Why are you messing around again?" Kerr pulled Sabo's cheeks and yelled at him, "Why are you always messing around? I'm so worried about you, but you just act on your own and end up having Haku and I clean up your mess!"

"That was a heavy blow!" Sabo retorted, rubbing his painful cheek. "I had planned it all, and the mission was successfully completed."

"Huh?" Kerla looked at Sabo angrily.

"Uh!" Sabo looked at Kerla's angry expression and decided not to anger her.

Lucci was leaning against the wall and accidentally saw this good show. He was speechless about his behavior of peeping at the couple's play. He decided to leave before they noticed he was there. Although he was a little concerned about the man named Sabo, he didn't think much about it.

……

"Dad, I'm so hungry." The little boy cried, holding a man's hand.

"I'm sorry, son." The man hugged the skinny boy in pain. They had no food left. Looking at the villagers around him who were also starving, the man couldn't help feeling despair.

"Hey, everyone, a pirate ship has been washed up here." A villager shouted.

"Great, there is food here, we are saved!"

"What about these pirates?"

"Tie them up."

"Hmm!" Ace woke up from his coma and looked at the hungry villagers without moving. After the villagers had eaten all the food, he untied the rope on his body and stood up.

The villagers were horrified to find that the pirates had easily untied the ropes that bound them. Looking at the pirates coming towards them, they couldn't help feeling despair, and they knew they would definitely take revenge.

Ace looked at the despair on the villagers' faces and pursed his lips. He walked up to a child about 5 years old, put on a bright smile and said to her, "Are you full? You should have some dessert next."

The girl stared blankly at the pirate in front of her, feeling a little overwhelmed.

Ace put the hat on his head and asked with a smile, "Where can I get some dessert? I'll go get some."

The villagers stared at the pirate's back in amazement. They were rescued by the pirate.

……

In a few days...

Ace looked at the straw in Xiaoyu's hand with some curiosity, "Xiaoyu, what are you doing?"

"Brother Ace, we are weaving straw hats," Xiaoyu responded happily.

Ace stared at the straw hat in Xiaoyu's hand in a daze, wondering what Luffy was doing now and whether he was training well.

"Brother, do you want to learn?" Xiaoyu asked with a smile while looking at Ace.

"Hey! Is it okay? Then please give me more advice, Xiaoyu." Ace touched the girl's head and responded with a smile.

Ace carefully weaved the straw hat in his hand. Weaving requires carefulness and endurance. Since it is made of straw, and Ace is the user of the Flame-Flame Fruit, every time Ace is about to finish weaving, he will always be burned by his own flames. But after learning, he quickly mastered this skill. He just needs to make sure that he does not burn the straw while weaving. In this way, Ace stayed in this village for a few weeks, learning to weave straw hats with the villagers.

"Ace, are you leaving here soon?" Xiaoyu asked seriously while looking at the straw hat that Ace was weaving.

"Yeah, so I have to finish weaving this before then." Ace responded with a smile while weaving a straw hat.

"Ace! Take me to the sea too!!" The girl sat next to Ace, looking up at him seriously.

"Xiaoyu, you are only five years old, right?" Ace said with a smile, "We will come again, after we become a bigger pirate group!"

"Can I be your partner then?" Xiaoyu said happily.

"Next time you come back, if you become a charming female ninja, we will take you away!!" Ace said with a smile while touching Xiaoyu's head.

"Ace! Is it necessary to emphasize the word 'seductive'?!" The Spades members laughed and teased their captain.

"Then we have a deal!" Xiaoyu said happily.

"Oh no! Many of our children have been captured by Kaido's men and taken to Onigashima," a villager shouted in panic.

"Let's go, let's go to Onigashima and bring the kid back!" Ace put down his woven straw hat and shouted to the Spade members, then said with a smile, "It's time to take Kaido's head!!"

"Oh!!" The members of the Spade Pirates were inspired by Ace's words and shouted excitedly in an instant.