Normally, let alone two little fish, even twenty fish would only just about fill his stomach. Naturally, Ace realized that what he had eaten was no ordinary fish.
And so the two of them argued over the fish for half the day.
"It's just the most ordinary white fish! Stop lying!"
"What do you mean, lying? Look at this fish. It's long and white. And look at the bones. They're thin and crisp…"
Of course, the result of the argument was that neither of them managed to convince the other.
Only after night fell did young Ace prepare to leave. Before he went, he looked at Roy and asked, "Will you still be here tomorrow?"
"Barring any surprises, I should still be here."
"Oh!"
Young Ace nodded, then immediately ducked into the forest and disappeared.
Coming out for a walk every now and then during the idle days between training was pretty nice too.
Roy stretched lazily, then raised his hand and made a slicing motion. A sharp burst of sword energy flew from his fingertip and cleaved through a branch about twenty centimeters thick on the front side of the great tree, cutting it cleanly into two pieces.
…
In the days that followed, young Ace basically came to the great tree every day, freeloading food and drink alongside Roy.
The two of them had plenty to talk about. Young Ace had no friends, and Roy just so happened to want to clear his mind, so the two chatted and messed around together.
Of course, most of the time, it ended with young Ace getting thoroughly beaten up by Roy.
Just like that, the days gradually passed, until one day—
"Roy-aniki, what kind of person do you think Pirate King Gol D. Roger was?" Young Ace lay under the great tree, sprawled spread-eagle, staring straight up at the sky as he asked.
Through their time together, young Ace had already learned Roy's name.
Of course, the surname young Ace gave Roy was Portgas.
"Pirate King Roger, huh… How should I put it? There are as many Rogers as there are people who look at him. In the eyes of the World Government and the Marines, Roger was an utterly unforgivable criminal. In the eyes of some civilians, Roger, who brought about the Great Pirate Era and severely endangered their lives, was scum."
Sensing the violent fluctuations in young Ace's emotions, Roy continued on as if talking to himself. "Of course, in the eyes of pirates and adventurers who carry dreams in their hearts, Roger is their goal and their dream. After all, even the great pirate Rocks couldn't conquer the Grand Line, but Roger did. He was worthy of the name Pirate King."
"Then was Roger good or bad?" young Ace murmured while looking up at the sky. "And even if he became Pirate King, didn't the World Government and the Marines still arrest him?"
"You're wrong there. Roger turned himself in. He wasn't captured."
"What?" Young Ace's eyes suddenly widened. He turned his face toward Roy and said in disbelief, "Why? Why would Roger turn himself in? Hadn't he already become Pirate King?"
"As far as I know, before Roger conquered the Grand Line, his body had already contracted a terminal illness, the kind that couldn't be cured no matter what. So, in order to start the Great Pirate Era, he chose to turn himself in.
"However, in order to promote their own authority, the World Government announced to the outside world that they had captured Roger. As for why Roger wanted to start the Great Pirate Era, he probably obtained some sort of information after reaching the final island, Laugh Tale, and only then chose to do that."
"Is that so?" Specks of starlight gradually appeared in young Ace's eyes. No matter the child, every child hoped their father was a hero, a successful man.
In the original story, Ace had such intense hatred for Roger, and most of the reason was the influence of the people in town. But it was not impossible that, deep in his heart, he had also felt a faint disappointment over the fact that Roger had been caught by the World Government.
Besides, if Ace truly hated Roger that much, he would not have chosen to go out to sea with the goal of becoming Pirate King, following the same old path as his father.
"Then, Roy-aniki, tell me about the others. What about you? What kind of person do you think Roger was?"
"I see. So even Roy-aniki admires Roger?" Ace's eyes grew brighter and brighter. Then he froze.
"Roy-aniki, you said you're going out to sea?"
"Of course. I'm a criminal. If I don't go out to sea and become a pirate, what else am I supposed to do? Become a noble? Or join the Marines?"
"I see…" Young Ace thought for a moment, then his face showed hesitation. Finally, he regained his calm and said to Roy with a serious expression, "Roy-aniki, the truth is, I…"
"…Eh, eh, eh??? Roy-aniki, you know?!"
"I guessed. You care so much about Roger's situation, and I've seen Roger's wanted poster. Your faces look pretty similar. On top of that, I've heard some rumors that Pirate King Roger once spent some time with someone named Portgas D. Rouge. Your surname is Portgas. Could it be any more obvious?"
"…" Young Ace widened his eyes, then opened his mouth, unable to say anything.
"Then in the future, I'll definitely go out to sea too! The Pirate King will definitely be me."
"Mm-hm, I know. Although you have no chance, do your best. I really admire that kind of confused confidence."
Young Ace: "…"
In the days that followed, the barrier between young Ace and Roy clearly became even thinner.
Every time young Ace came over, he would bring some prey with him.
Huge fish from the river, wild bulls from the mountains, and so on.
After finishing a day of training, Roy enjoyed the food Ace brought him, seasoning it with sea salt from Water 7. The flavor was excellent.
From time to time, Roy would also take the chance to give young Ace a few pointers. After all, the latter had inherited Roger's bloodline, and his own talent was extremely good.
Aside from young Ace, Roy also got to know one other person.
A lonely old man living in Gray Terminal: Naguri.
Naguri was an old man from Gray Terminal. He seemed unremarkable, but his skills were extraordinary. He wore a battered top hat and orange sunglasses, his hair was messy, and he often had a pipe in his mouth.
He himself said that he had once been a pirate captain, but after unfortunately being defeated in a clash with the pirate crew of Pirate King Gol D. Roger, he drifted to Gray Terminal in the Goa Kingdom and settled there.
(End of Chapter)
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