The next day, after dinner last night, Ace had already blended in with the Straw Hat Pirates.
With a bit of alcohol, he was easily tricked by Sandy into showing off his fire abilities.
When he woke up in the morning, Ace remembered what happened last night and couldn't help but glare resentfully at Sandy when he stepped onto the deck.
But Sandy completely ignored Ace's expression. Instead, he casually pulled out a cigarette and walked over to borrow a light.
After all, the power of the Mera Mera no Mi was damn convenient for lighting cigarettes.
At that moment, Ace was still half lost in thought about the previous night.
Seeing Sandy approaching with a cigarette, he thought it was for him to smoke. So, he took it without a second thought and bit down on it.
Sandy froze for a moment before saying speechlessly, "I'm borrowing a light from you. Why the hell are you snatching my cigarette?"
Ace scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Wasn't it for me to smoke?"
Sandy rolled his eyes.
"Wanna smoke? That'll be 250 Belly."
Ace instantly shoved the cigarette back into Sandy's hand.
"Forget it, I don't want it anymore."
Sandy pulled out another one and lit it himself.
"You already bit it. You owe me 250 Belly now."
It was just a cigarette, right? Ace didn't take it seriously at all.
Little did he know… that 250 Belly would become the source of endless embarrassment later on.
Marco laughed at him, Garp laughed at him, everyone laughed at him.
Suddenly, the Going Merry was surrounded!
Vivi gasped,
"Everyone! This is bad! We've been targeted by the Baroque Works' Billions!"
Ace grinned, "I'll take care of it."
Since joining, the Straw Hats—except Sandy—hadn't seen Ace in action. So Sandy didn't interfere.
Ace hopped onto his small boat and used his flame ability to accelerate straight toward seven or eight enemy ships.
(He had told Sandy where his boat was last night while drinking, so it was still tied to the Merry.)
Usopp shouted nervously, "Hey Luffy, are we really not going to help? There are so many people over there. Can Ace handle it alone?"
Chopper echoed, "This is too dangerous! Ace is standing on such a small boat, and they've got guns and cannons!"
Zoro crossed his arms calmly.
"Relax. Let's see the strength of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander."
Sandy smirked, "This is what I keep telling you guys. Even if you can't fight like him, at least learn how to escape when you're outmatched."
Luffy tilted his head, "Escape?"
Sandy rolled his eyes, "Just watch. Your crappy Second Gear won't even touch a Logia user. If you don't run, what, you wanna die instead?"
Before Luffy could argue, Ace made his move.
He leapt up, crossed the enemy ships, and landed back on his small boat, heat radiating from his clenched fist.
"Fire Fist…!"
A massive flaming punch tore through the enemy fleet, turning the ships into burning debris floating on the sea.
Sanji, Luffy, and the others stared, wide-eyed.
"Hiss... Amazing, Ace…"
"He took them out in one hit!"
"Luffy, his fist is way stronger than yours! Is this the power of a Logia?"
When Ace returned to the Merry, Usopp and Chopper immediately crowded around him, curious and excited.
Sandy snorted dramatically, "Tch. Just a flashy move. I could do that too."
Sanji instantly retorted, "You're just jealous!"
Sandy blinked, "Jealous? Me?"
Zoro sighed, "If you're not jealous, then stop messing with his hair."
Ace gave Sandy a look that clearly said, the hell are you doing?
Sandy grinned, "Relax, I'm giving you a hairstyle. What's with the look? Believe it or not, I'll beat you until you run back to Daddy Whitebeard."
Ace rolled his eyes, "Alright, alright. Can you at least tell me what you're doing to my hair?"
Luffy's eyes lit up, "Ace! Let Sandy do it! He gives the best hairstyles!"
Ace raised an eyebrow, "Really?"
Sandy smirked, "I'm your brother. Don't tell me you don't trust me?"
He quickly pulled out scissors, gel, a hair dryer, and a whole set of tools.
Ace was startled, "Where the hell did you get all that?!"
Then he added with a grin, "We haven't fought yet, Sandy. When we do, you'll be calling me brother."
Sandy started cutting Ace's hair with practiced movements.
"Ace, trust me. I wouldn't dare be too serious with you…"
Ace laughed, "Go ahead and be serious. The question is whether you can hit me. But hey, don't mess up my hair!"
Sandy rolled his eyes.
"Am I someone with bad taste? I'm just making it look cooler. But if it's a fight you want, you're not my opponent. If I went all out, I'd slice you in half."
Luffy chimed in, "Ace, Sandy's right. He's got Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and what was that other one called?"
Zoro added, "Conqueror's Haki."
"Yeah!" Luffy waved his hands excitedly. "Last time there was this huge crab, and Sandy chopped it in half with one slash!"
Ace looked at Sandy in mild surprise, "Conqueror's Haki, huh? Guess we'll have to find out in a fight."
Sandy narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, we'll fight, Ace. If I don't kick your ass later, I'll disappoint myself. Oh, and by the way… I heard when you were with Luffy, you used to sneak off to peek at Dadan bathing. True story?"
"Nani?!!"
Everyone froze.
Luffy blinked, confused. Did I say that?
Ace's face went red.
"LUFFY!!"
Luffy waved frantically, "Hey, hey! I never said that!"
Sandy pushed Ace's head down again.
"Why do you get mad so fast? Careful, or someone's gonna set you up one day."
Ace frowned slightly, sensing a deeper meaning in Sandy's words. But he still shot back, "If I said you peeked at Dadan bathing, let's see how you'd react!"
Sandy laughed, "Go ahead. Say it to her face."
After some final touches, Sandy stepped back. Ace's new hairstyle was done—Chen Haonan style from Young and Dangerous.
Zoro examined it with interest, "Sandy's got a real talent for this."
Sanji and Luffy's eyes sparkled.
"Sandy! Give us the same hairstyle as Ace! It's so cool!"
Sandy rolled his eyes, "Your hair's too short. Can't be done."
Chopper tilted his head, confused, "Cool? Where exactly?"
Sandy burst out laughing, "Chopper, you're a reindeer. You wouldn't understand the romance of us men."
Chopper's fur stood on end, "What did you say!!"
Then—CHOMP!
He bit Sandy's leg.
"Ow ow ow ow! You're a reindeer, not a dog! Let go!!"
And so, Ace's new hairstyle was born… amid chaos, laughter, and the Straw Hats' usual madness.
...
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