Three years before the pirate named Monkey D. Luffy left on a voyage of his own, this is the story of Luffy’s foster brother, Portgaz D. Ace…
Gold Roger was the only man in history to conquer the Grand Line and become King of the Pirates. Enough time has passed since his death for an infant to grow into a man.
It is the Great Age of Piracy, a time of adventure and seafaring in search of Roger’s legendary treasure, the One Piece.
There are as many pirates on the sea as stars in the sky, and the most powerful of all of them are called Emperors of the Sea for the way they rule over the New World. Together, they are called the Four Emperors.
The World Government attempts to counterbalance the Emperors’ expanding power by establishing the Navy Headquarters at Marineford, and establishing a team of privateers called the Seven Warlords who have the legal right to pillage.
If these three great powers are thrown out of balance, the world’s uneasy peace could come crumbling down.
The greater each faction’s power becomes, and the more they fight, the more precarious the future seems. Power and governance, alliances and betrayals—the world is in a state of both peril and excitement, shining with the allure of the unknown and driven by the engine of greed.
In other words, it is an age of that which knows no bounds—the dreams of humanity.
A prow in the shape of a white whale split the waves. The massive ship that followed it cruised through the choppy sea.
“Gura ra ra ra…”
In the captain’s cabin, the man who commanded the ship sank back into his chair and chuckled heavily.
“Portgaz D. Ace of the Spade Pirates!”
“Refuses to join the Seven Warlords!”
“Feisty kids in the Grand Line these days. Gura ra ra ra… So he turned down an offer to join the Seven Warlords, eh?” he said.
A promising rookie pirate fought off a Navy vice admiral and set sail from the Sabaody Archipelago on a ship coated for undersea travel. The newspaper contained an article about it with a picture of the pirate.
“D…” the captain murmured, rubbing the white hairs growing on his face. “How many years’ve these guys been around? Why’s a young guy like this in such a rush?”
“I’m coming in, Pops,” said a man carrying a tray, as he walked through the cabin doorway. He wore a white cook’s apron, knee-length pants, and a cook’s tie—he was clearly the ship’s kitchen master.
“Hey, Thatch. The sea turtle soup was fantastic.”
“Sea turtle? Today’s soup was sea viper.”
“Right, that’s the one. It’s got my stomach on fire.”
“That’s because it’s a stamina-building soup and it’s packed with nutrients! This is your after-dinner medicine,” said Thatch the cook, leaving the medicine on the table along with some hot water.
“What?”
“You’ve got another pill to take, starting today. And you’d better take it.”
“Who are you, my doctor?”
“If you don’t take that, Pops, the ship’s doc will yell at me instead. Your health is everybody’s concern,” said Thatch.
The man he called Pops grudgingly picked up the pill from the table, stuck it in his mouth, and washed it down with the water. “Tastes like crap.”
“Well, you know what they say about good medicine. Drink more water to wash it down your throat.”
“Who are you, my mother?”
“The Fourth Division of the Whitebeard Pirates is in charge of the kitchen!” Thatch said. Then he clapped his hands with recollection. “Oh, by the way, I heard that Jimbei is returning.”
“What? He already left?”
“No, but he said he didn’t need a send-off.”
“Nonsense.” The man stood up from his chair.
He cut a bold figure; he’d been a major rival of Gold Roger, King of the Pirates. He was at the ripe age of around seventy, but his momentum was greater than ever as an Emperor of the Sea with territory in the New World. His Jolly Roger was a skull bearing his long white mustache, and if anyone was foolish enough to raid a land that flew that flag, his sixteen division commanders and the dozens of smaller pirate crews affiliated with the fleet—a force of tens of thousands—would come bearing down.
He was Edward Newgate.
The world’s strongest man, known to most as the dread pirate Whitebeard.
His strength was enough to set the earth and sea trembling, and crumble an entire island.
Newgate left his captain’s quarters and stood on the deck.
Night air caressed his skin. The pitch-black sea was all around, leaving only stars, moon, and Log Pose to point the ship’s way. So how did the fish find their direction? They must have some special sense that humans didn’t. The same for fish-men.
“Hey, Jimbei.”
“Whitebeard…Pops!” said a man at the ship railing. He’d been about to jump into the water, by the look of it.
The man was ten feet tall. He was Jimbei, First Son of the Sea, a whale shark fish-man.
The fish-man race could breathe underwater, and their physical capabilities were far beyond the average human’s. They weren’t an entirely different species, however; they could bear children with ordinary human beings.
“You were just gonna slip away?” Whitebeard smirked. He wanted a proper goodbye.
Jimbei felt embarrassed. He walked across the deck toward Whitebeard and looked up at him.
“Well, I’ve been summoned to Marineford.”
“By Sengoku?”
“Yes.”
Jimbei was a member of a fish-man pirate crew that had been antagonistic to humans. His bounty was 250 million berries at the time—but now he was on the side of the World Government.
“The Navy’s fleet admiral seems to think pretty highly of Boss Jimbei,” said Thatch, approaching with a lantern.
“I suppose so, Thatch. But these Warlords are all so mercenary.”
“You’re about the only one who shows up at Navy HQ, aren’t you? Boa Hancock the Kuja empress is one thing, but then you’ve got Doflamingo, and that slimy Croc—all those Warlords are only concerned with their own personal business.”
“I took my position in exchange for amnesty for the fish-man people. I consider it a responsibility.”
That was why Jimbei, as a member of the Seven Warlords, hesitated to spend too much time on the ship belonging to Whitebeard, a rival Emperor of the Sea, even though they’d known each other for years.
“You’re so dutiful about such things, Boss Jimbei.”
“Well, with his troubles filling the hole in the group, I’m sure Fleet Admiral Sengoku needs all the help he can get.”
“Speaking of that,” Whitebeard said, handing Thatch a newspaper. The front page article was illuminated by the lantern.
“A rookie pirate turned down an offer to join the Warlords?” Thatch murmured in wonder.
“Do you know that boy?” asked Whitebeard.
Jimbei peered at the paper. “I’ve…heard things. His bounty posters have been making the rounds. They say he’s got Logia powers. Flame, from what I hear.”
“It says he caused some trouble at Sabaody Archipelago. Do you suppose he’s coming here, then, to the New World?” Thatch wondered, looking to Jimbei first, then Whitebeard.
“Well, I didn’t mean to hold you up. So long, Jimbei. Good travels.”
“Same to you, Pops.”
Whitebeard waved a hand and returned to his cabin.
Boom…
The sea rumbled. A small red explosion appeared on the far horizon. Perhaps a volcano erupting in the distance? Thatch and Jimbei were briefly distracted by the phenomenon.
“Thatch…how’s old Whitebeard doing?”
“He’s doing great. At the very least, he hasn’t gotten any worse.”
“That’s good to hear,” said Jimbei, the relief apparent on his face.
“Of course, no human being will stay in exactly the same condition as they age. If you lose your fine sense of taste, you’ve got to be careful not to season too much. Don’t want to oversalt the food…”
“Maybe it’s not my place to say this, Thatch, but take care of Whitebeard. My people owe him a great debt.”
“I know, Boss Jimbei,” said Thatch, taking his hand. “Everyone knows about Pops.”
“Good. I’ve got to go now.”
“Be careful out there… Oh, and if you learn anything about this kid from the newspaper, let us know.”
“Of course. You don’t disregard a youngster who spurns the Seven Warlords to go into the New World…”
There was no saying what such a person was thinking, or what he might do.
Portgaz D. Ace.
With one last rumination on that name, Jimbei leapt over the railing of the ship. His massive form plunged into the water and promptly disappeared into the darkness of the sea.