A few days later, Ace finally reached the seas near Wano. His supplies were running dangerously low — and by low, he meant one rotten apple and a dream. Luckily, the universe had mercy on him.
A small group of kind, overly friendly pirates rowed by and waved at him.
"Oi, traveler! You look hungry! Want to come aboard?"
Ace blinked. Friendly pirates? That alone felt illegal.
Still, free food was free food, so he climbed aboard. As soon as Ace stepped on their deck, he was greeted like royalty. Plates of meat, bowls of rice, warm soup, fresh bread — it was paradise. Ace devoured everything with the enthusiasm of a starving dragon.
After the twentieth plate… Ace leaned back, patted his stomach, and casually fainted.
The pirates looked at him for two seconds.
Then every single one of them grinned like hyenas.
"Tie him up."
Immediately, seastone chains appeared from nowhere. One pirate unsheathed his sword and pressed the blade to Ace's neck. Another crouched beside him, cuffing his wrists with seastone while muttering:
"This guy might be strong, but he's an idiot. He actually trusted pirates."
Another pirate snorted.
"Yeah. Traveling alone near Wano? He must be strong… but also stupid. Hah! Maybe King-sama will reward us."
Someone else added eagerly,
"Or Kaido-sama! Imagine the bounty we'll get for delivering a tough outsider!"
They all laughed and high-fived over Ace's "unconscious" body.
"You know, you guys are good people," Ace said, "But unfortunately… you're also pirates."
The cheering faded instantly.
"Huh?"
Ace gave them a gentle, absolutely friendly smile.
"So I'll be sending you to God now. Don't worry — it's for repentance, not punishment. Say hi to Him for me."
A moment later, the sea was peacefully quiet again. A rowboat drifted slowly away, and Ace stood on it, munching a loaf of bread he'd packed before departing the ship.
He nodded to himself.
"See? Helping pirates repent… that's charity work."
And with that holy justification, Ace paddled toward Wano with a full stomach and a clean conscience.
---
Wano, Kuri
The sky over Kuri was the same dull, hopeless grey that Ace remembered from before. Wind scraped across the ruined plains as if trying to peel the land itself away. And somewhere inside that broken land waited a tiny girl he once knew.
Ace, wearing the form of a wandering green-haired ronin, walked down the dirt road with a bag slung casually over his shoulder. The disguise was perfect — Zoro's face, Zoro's hair, even the lazy, tired expression. He had chosen it not because he wanted to be Zoro… but because he wanted to see everyone's reactions later when the real Zoro arrived.
A small joke for the future.
He reached the outskirts of Amigasa Village. Poverty sat on every doorstep. Thin children, patched roofs, fires barely strong enough to heat water. It hurt to see. It made the whole pirate world feel heavier.
Ace inhaled slowly, then used his Observation Haki. His senses scanned the village, and the moment he located her presence, a small warmth spread across his heart.
Tama.
He walked toward a small hut on the far side of the village and knocked gently.
The door opened a crack.
A tiny face peeked out — younger than when Luffy would meet her in the future, cheeks a bit rounder, eyes a bit more innocent.
She blinked up at the green-haired samurai and stepped back nervously.
"R-Ronin-sama… do you want food…?"
Her voice trembled slightly, but she was still brave enough to offer what little she had.
Ace softened. When he spoke, he lowered his tone to match Zoro's roughness,
"…Do you have food?"
She hesitated, then nodded. "A-are you hungry? Samurai-sama, please come in… I still have a little left."
Ace nodded, stepped inside, and placed his bag down. The hut was even smaller than he imagined. A few cooking tools, a small pile of rice, some dried pickles — that was all. No luxuries. No comfort.
Tama hurried to prepare a bowl of rice and pickles, setting it in front of him with both hands.
He watched her. Watched the sincerity in her eyes.
Then he smiled.
"Hey, Tama. Long time no see."
Tama froze.
Her eyes widened. She stared at him, mouth slightly open, searching the voice… then the gaze.
"I… I've heard this voice… who… who are you?"
Ace chuckled softly and released the transformation. His hair returned to black, his face sharpened into his own.
"Well, Tama… I wanted our reunion to be cooler than this. But you didn't recognize me at all. I'm hurt."
Tama didn't answer.
She launched herself at him like a tiny cannonball.
"A-ANIKI!!! I MISSED YOU!!"
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she hugged him tightly, burying her face into his chest. Ace patted her head gently, a relieved smile on his face.
"…Yeah. I missed you too."
He opened the bag beside him.
Inside was a mountain of food — apples, vegetables, meat, rice, bread, sweets — enough to feed half the village.
Tama gasped so loudly it sounded like a squeal.
"So… so much food!!"
Ace crossed his arms proudly. "It's all yours. A gift."
Tama's excitement dimmed for a moment, and she lowered her head.
"I… I shouldn't eat so much. Everyone here is hungry. Can… can I share it?"
Ace smiled wider.
"It's your food. Do whatever you want. Just don't cause a riot."
Tama gave the biggest grin he had ever seen, grabbed the entire cloth bag, and bolted outside like a blur.
A few moments later — exactly as expected — the entire village erupted in commotion.
Shouts. Cries. Thankful laughter.
But it settled quickly. Tama had always been good at calming people.
Ace leaned back and finally ate the rice and pickles she had given him. Simple. Warm. Honest.
He read a sentence somewhere
"It's not the gift that matters — it's the emotion behind it." Ace felt that this sentence can be used here.
He lay back on the creaking floor, staring at the holes in the roof and letting his thoughts drift.
Udon.
The prison where Luffy once trained.
The prison where Queen ruled.
The place where Ace planned to learn Internal Destruction Armament Haki — the same technique that saved Luffy.
He could defeat Queen. He knew that. But fighting Queen would create noise. Noise brought attention. Attention brought Kaido.
Kaido
Ace sighed, leaning back and thinking about Kaido.
"Man… people really don't understand how stupidly strong that beast is."
He began counting on his fingers.
First, Kaido fought Big Mom for two days and two nights straight.
No food. No water. Not even a bathroom break.
Just two monsters punching each other like it was cardio exercise.
Then, after finishing his romantic honeymoon brawl with Big Mom,
he immediately went to fight Oden's legendary 12 Scabbards during the raid.
All 12 of them rushing him together.
Kaido looked annoyed, like someone woke him from a nap.
Then, after beating them,
one Scabbard (Kin'emon) stood up again —
and Kaido just sighed and beat him again too.
Then, Kaido climbed to the rooftop and fought the ultimate headache combo:
Luffy, Zoro, Law, Kid, and Killer.
Five supernova captains.
All at once.
While still half drunk!
After that, he beat Luffy again, tossed him off Onigashima,
and calmly walked back inside the castle like he was checking in at a hotel.
But no rest.
No sleep.
Because next…
He fought Yamato for a full round.
His own kid.
Using Conqueror's Haki.
With explosions everywhere.
Then, Luffy came back with new powers and Kaido had to fight him again.
This time using Advanced Conqueror's Haki like it was nothing.
Just when the fight was getting interesting?
CP0 agent jumps in and ruins everything.
Kaido got annoyed and deleted the agent from existence.
And finally…
Kaido vs Gear 5 Luffy.
The weirdest, loudest, cartooniest battle in history.
After all of this —
after fighting 10+ top-tier fighters nonstop,
after carrying the entire raid on his back like a gym backpack…
Kaido finally collapsed.
Ace sighed again.
"…And people say Kaido is weak. Bro fought half the cast of One Piece in one night."
He was a monster.
Even Ace wasn't delusional enough to treat him casually.
"…I could fight him once," Ace muttered, "and then run away with Yamato."
Escape — that Ace was confident about.
His Logia abilities allowed flight for short bursts. Enough to escape Wano if needed.
But deciding the future could wait.
For now… there was Tama. And tomorrow, Udon.
Ace closed his eyes.
Tomorrow, the real journey in Wano would begin.
------------------------------------
Hello everyone, your author here!
From this chapter onward, Ace's strength will increase rapidly.
No deep logic, no scientific step-by-step progression — because honestly, One Piece itself stopped doing that a long time ago.
In the early story, "Admiral level" felt like the peak of the world.
We thought maybe 10 people existed at that strength.
But as the story expanded, Oda revealed more and more monsters…
And now in Luffy's timeline, there are 40–50 Admiral level strong people still alive,
and if you count old ones, easily 100+ Admiral-level characters exist.
So at this point, Admiral level is just the entry ticket for playing the Pirate King game.
Here's how the world looks in terms of power:
Marines:
Garp, Sengoku, Sakazuki, the 3 Admirals, and probably several hidden ones like Bogart. ( atleast 6 )
Pirates:
Luffy, Zoro (borderline Admiral), Blackbeard, Kuzan, Shanks, Ben Beckman,
Crocodile (borderline Admiral), Katakuri (borderline), Hancock, Marco, King ( I think he is, atleast borderline/ just like zoro ), Douglass Barett,
Big Mom and Kaido ( I think they are still alive ).
Law, Kidd ( atleast 12 )
Legends:
Rayleigh, Scopper Gaban, Patrick Redfield (atleast 3 )
Revolutionaries:
Dragon, Sabo (escaped Imu & Gorosei = definitely Admiral tier). ( 2 )
Elbaf:
Loki, Dorry, Brogy — all above Admiral level. (3)
World Government:
Imu, Gorosei (6), Holy Knights, CP0 elites,
and the Figarland family — many of them are Admiral level. ( atleast 15 )
So yes — the world is filled with top-tier fighters now. ( Atleast 40, many others have uncertain strength )
To keep Ace relevant, I'll be raising his strength faster.
This is necessary for the story and the power balance of the world.
And with the new update in One Piece I feel like even if Ace gets the strength of Rogers or Rocks he can't do anything as Imu's First named attack Domi Reversi can just control Rocks and the two captains of Giant Pirates.
I don't know if there are any limitations but still now I think the only way Ace can defeat Imu is by possessing the ability of those Hentai anime like time reverse, hypnosis and time stop.
Thank you for reading!