【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

"That's for sure. No one can stay in their prime forever." Whitebeard showed a domineering smile. "But if I can't even be a match for a kid I like, can you call such a man a daddy!?"

Marco smiled proudly, this is their father.

"Whether it's one hundred times or two hundred times, I will accept that guy's challenge!" Whitebeard showed a trace of worry on his face, "Because that guy is so impatient that he will die if I don't take care of him, I can't pretend not to see it...!!"

Ace listened in silence, then turned and walked towards the deck. He didn't know how to face them. They were obviously enemies...

……

early morning

Marco stared at the freckled boy who had his hands on the railing. He walked over and put the bowl of food in his hand on the ground.

Marco was about to get up and leave when a voice stopped him.

"Why do you all call him... Daddy?"

He turned to look at the boy and smiled. "Because he called us 'sons'. We are all people rejected by the world. Even if it's just words... we still feel very happy."

Marco approached "How long are you going to risk your life like this? Make a decision! You can't possibly take your father's head right now. Decide whether you want to leave this ship and start over, or stay here... and carry Whitebeard's flag!"

Ace sat there pondering what Marco had said, he looked up when he felt someone sitting next to him.

Lucci glanced at Ace, he could already tell what he was thinking "So you plan on joining them?"

Ace nodded slightly "But I still don't trust them enough, so I won't tell them about my bloodline...but I like it here."

Lucci remained silent. He sighed, smiled, turned around, leaned on the railing and looked out to sea.

Ace looked at Lucci and frowned, "Lucci, what about you? If you don't want to stay, we can leave together!"

"No, you belong here, Ace, and I want you to stay." Lucci shook his head and smiled, then explained "I just don't know if I can trust them, and I have some unfinished business."

"Well, no matter what you choose, I will support you because we are partners." Ace said with a smile.

"So when do you plan to join them?" Lucci asked Ace with a smile.

"We still have one last battle between us. This is the last time, and I will definitely defeat him." Ace looked at the sea and said firmly.

"Of course!" Lucci stood beside Ace and stared at the rough sea with him.

……

Marco was lying on the deck railing, his favorite place to rest, doing nothing but gazing at the sky and enjoying the perfect day.

The sky was clear, the waves were calm but enough to make the boat rock slightly, and the breeze was perfect, with the smell of the sea. He couldn't help but close his eyes, stretching his arms slightly, putting his hands under his head to make a small pillow, crossing his ankles loosely, listening to the sound of the breeze and the sound of the waves hitting the side of the boat, with a relaxed smile on his lips, hoping that no one would disturb him.

"Hey, Marco!" a voice came from the deck of the ship.

He knew who it was and what he wanted to do, but he might not be able to help his brother this time.

"Go and persuade him!" Sachi said worriedly as he looked at Marco lying leisurely on the railing.

"Sorry, I can't do that yoi" Marco replied with a smile "The location and date for the 100th duel between Ace and Daddy has been set yoi."

Piccolo Island, Whitebeard's territory in the New World.

Lucci stood on the Moby, quietly looking at the uninhabited island in front of him. In an open space surrounded by mountains on all sides, Ace and Whitebeard were confronting each other. The duel that lasted for more than three months will come to an end today.

"Uh-oh!"

"here we go!"

“Can this island hold up?”

Lucci watched nervously as a fierce domineering aura swept across the entire place amidst the violent storm, lightning and thunder.

"What do you think? The results of his training." Thatch looked at Jinbe next to him.

"Honestly, I really admire him. He was simply not the same person when we fought each other." Jinbei watched the battle between Ace and Whitebeard with a serious expression.

Ace used the flames under his feet to propel himself backwards, quickly dodging Whitebeard's Kusukimi's attack, while his fingers continuously shot out powerful flaming bullets.

He saw Whitebeard turning the knife in his hand to block all the bullets he shot. Suddenly his expression became fierce. His observation Haki allowed him to see Whitebeard's next attack. If he didn't dodge it, he would be hit and lose his ability to move.

Ace turned his entire lower body into flames, and used the momentum of the flames to propel his body into the air. Whitebeard's fist missed Ace and landed on the mountain behind Ace. A large number of rocks continued to fall. Ace used the falling rocks to twist his body in the air and blocked Whitebeard's knife attack the moment he landed.

"Damn it." Ace gritted his teeth and used all his strength to resist Whitebeard's knife that was constantly pressing down. His expression condensed, and he concentrated all his strength on his arms, using fire to knock Whitebeard's weapon away.

Ace stared at Whitebeard. This was his last trick. Ace used his last bit of strength to create several circles of huge spiral flames. The spiral flames continued to condense into a huge fireball "Wisp·Big Flame Ring!"

"Oh!" Whitebeard looked at the fireball that was about to attack him and smiled in surprise. Then his expression serious, he clenched his fist, concentrated all his strength in his hand, and swung his fist in the direction of the fireball.

The Whitebeard pirates outside the island watched in shock. The ground collapsed, the mountains shook, dust flew, and a huge explosion occurred on the island. The powerful momentum hit the waves and continuously washed the Moby.

Lucci steadied himself and stared at the island not far away. When everything calmed down, they could clearly see Whitebeard's fist resting on Ace's chest.

Whitebeard stretched out his left hand to stop Ace who was about to fall to the ground, pulled him into his arms, hugged him and said with a smile, "Are you satisfied, my son?"

"Ah...I lost."

……

Lucci looked at Ace and the Spade Pirates who were standing on the rocks not far away. They were performing the disbanding ceremony of the Spade Pirates.

"I'm sorry for acting on my own initiative. I could have continued under him, but... I want to end it my way." Ace looked at the crew members he had fought with and said seriously, "If you don't want to board Whitebeard's ship, just tell me. I'll do my best to help... Because I'm no longer the me you decided to follow, so I think... it's natural that you don't want to board his ship with me."

Bree sighed dramatically.

Deuce laughed and said, "He's talking about that again, Richie."

Richie joked, "The Captain does have this side of him..."

Then the Spades members burst into laughter.

"???" Ace looked at them in surprise.

Deuce held out a black banner and handed it to Ace, "We will all follow you."

"Deus had already guessed it before you made your decision. In fact, there was no need to confirm it with us." Richie said with a smile.

"You haven't just started acting on your own today." Deus said with a smile.

"What is this?" Ace took the flag from Deuce's hand in confusion.

"This is our pirate flag. It seems that Captain Thatch helped us retrieve it." Deuce looked at Ace and said seriously, "Ace, you are a pirate. We were attracted by the flame in your hand, so please hold the flag in your hand and let us move forward with you."

Ace raised the flag in his hand and released the flame to make it exist forever in his hand. The scene of them designing this flag together was still vivid in his mind.

Since then, the Spade Pirates have disbanded...