The four of them left the restaurant and came to a stop in the town's central plaza.
Gern Reginald Sigmar lounged about like someone out for a post-meal stroll, casually picking his teeth with a toothpick.
Then, without asking for permission, he stretched out an arm and slung it around Ace—who still wore a very clear "don't touch me, asshole" expression of irritation.
With his other hand, Gern casually pointed toward the center of the plaza, where a highly recognizable flag snapped loudly in the wind.
"Know it?" he asked lightly.
"Of course I do."Ace was forced to lift his head. He frowned and shot a glance at the skull flag of the Red Hair Pirates, replying irritably,"One of the Four Emperors—Red-Haired Shanks' flag. What about it?"
"Nothing much."Gern's lips curled into a meaningful smile, offering no direct answer.
Instead, he turned his head slightly and said something quietly to the mountain-like Kuma beside him.
Kuma nodded expressionlessly.
The next instant—under the gaze of Ace and Enel, who was absentmindedly digging in his ear—
A transparent, paw-shaped bubble surfaced on Kuma's massive palm.
He raised that hand toward himself.
Pop.
With a soft sound, Kuma's enormous body vanished from where he stood—gone without a trace—leaving only a small ring of disturbed air trembling in place.
Three minutes later.
Pop.
The air warped faintly, and Kuma reappeared just as abruptly behind the three of them.
In his broad hand, he now held a pirate flag—folded neatly, unmistakably brand new.
Without a word, Kuma handed the flag to Gern.
Gern took it without even looking, then casually stuffed it straight into the arms of the still-dazed Ace.
"Here. Take it."
Ace accepted it on reflex, immediately feeling the crisp texture of fresh cloth.
Frowning in confusion, he looked down and unfolded the flag—
And his eyebrows shot straight up, his face filling with shock.
This flag—
It was the emblem of the Spade Pirates!!!
"Th—this… you—"Ace jerked his head up to look at Gern, completely unable to understand what the hell this guy was scheming.
Gern didn't give him time to ask.
The arm draped over Ace's shoulders tightened slightly.
With his other hand, he pointed once more at the Red Hair Pirates' flag flying proudly in the plaza and said, in a tone that was almost… encouraging,
"Go. Burn it."
"Huh?!"Ace's pupils trembled violently.
But Gern acted as if he hadn't seen the shock at all and continued issuing orders.
"Then hang your flag up there."
Ace: "???"
He was completely dumbfounded. His brain nearly crashed.
He opened his mouth and, after struggling for a moment, finally found his voice.
"Wait—are you insane?! What are you trying to do?!This is a Yonko's territory! You want me to burn his flag?!"
Was this bastard Marine Admiral trying to get him killed?!Or was this some kind of indirect execution?!
Seeing Ace's expression that screamed are you crazy or am I, Gern's smile somehow grew even more… benevolent.
He patted Ace on the shoulder and said with baffling confidence, as if offering reassurance,
"Relax. Don't feel pressured."
Then he paused—and under Ace's utterly confused gaze, calmly dropped a bombshell.
"He owes you."
Ace: "Huh???"
What do you mean he owes me?! What does he owe me?! Do I even know the guy?!
Gern looked at Ace's blank face and nodded in satisfaction, convinced his logic was flawless. Patiently, he began to explain:
"Listen. Red-Haired Shanks grew up on Roger's ship.Roger was very—no, not very—the most fond of him. He personally taught him all the time!"
Ace nodded absentmindedly. This kind of old-era history was something he genuinely didn't know.
"Exactly!"Seeing Ace nod, Gern clapped his hands together, looking at him like see, isn't this obvious?
"So if you put it another way—doesn't that mean Shanks is basically the one who possessed Roger's fatherly love?"
He spread his hands and delivered his conclusion with decisive force.
"He 'stole' your dad's love.Now you burn one of his flags and put up your own—perfectly reasonable. Completely justified. Absolutely fair!"
"He deserves it. He owes you."
Ace: "..."
The hand holding his pirate flag trembled slightly.
He looked at Gern's face, which practically screamed praise my genius logic, then at the Red Hair Pirates' flag waving proudly in the plaza—
Then down again at the brand-new Spade Pirates' flag in his hands.
An overwhelming, absurd sense of powerlessness surged up—a feeling strong enough to drown all reason, mixed with a hollow what the hell kind of logic is this confusion that rooted him in place.
He felt that if he stayed around this man named Gern much longer, his brain was eventually going to break.
And yet—
That ridiculous, bandit-like "owner of fatherly love" logic wriggled into Ace's mind like a tangled knot.
Absurd. Outrageous. Completely indefensible.
And yet, somehow—
In the chaos Gern had stirred up inside Ace's head, it strangely found a point to latch onto.
The man… the one he liked?
The moment that thought surfaced, a nameless resistance and rebellious flame whooshed to life.
Ace didn't want anything to do with that man—Roger.
And by extension, he instinctively rejected anyone that man had "liked."
"If Roger liked him…""…then I'll hate him."
The thought was simple. Direct. Even childish.
But it fit perfectly with Ace's current tangled, stubborn state of mind.
Gern's words were like a seed thrown by sheer accident—and it landed squarely in soil rich with defiance, taking root instantly.
Confused as he was, Ace was an action-oriented person.
Once he found a direction—even a crooked one—his execution was terrifyingly decisive.
He stopped looking at Gern's coaxing, amused smile and snapped his head toward the center of the plaza.
His confusion was replaced by a resolve that screamed, Screw it—just do it first.
"Hmph!"
Ace snorted coldly. His right arm instantly transformed into fire, blazing flames roaring as they compressed and condensed!
The townspeople, who had only been curiously watching these strange outsiders, screamed in terror as the black-haired youth's arm erupted into towering flames and a horrifying heatwave rolled outward!
"Fire Fist!!!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Ace roared—and the searing white pillar of flame, packed with immense power, shot out like a raging dragon straight toward the top of the flagpole!
BOOM!!!
The deafening explosion echoed across the town plaza!
The sturdy flagpole snapped and melted instantly under the extreme heat and impact!
The Red Hair Pirates' flag—
The symbol of a Yonko's authority, the banner that sheltered this island—
Was engulfed by violent flames before everyone's eyes, reduced to drifting black ash and sparks that scattered through the air.
The scorching shockwave whipped Ace's clothes violently as he watched the flag burn, his face expressionless.
Then flames erupted beneath his feet. He leapt into the air, flipped cleanly—
And precisely grabbed the charred remains of the flagpole.
Landing steadily, ignoring the terrified townsfolk around him, he unfurled the brand-new flag in his hands—
The banner that represented his own will—
And with a sharp flap, forcefully hoisted it atop the scorched pole, replacing the fallen flag!
A black background.A white skull.A playful grin marked with the spade symbol.
The flag of the Spade Pirates—
On an island belonging to the Yonko Red-Haired Shanks—
Fluttered wildly and defiantly in the sea breeze!
Ace landed back on the ground, his chest rising and falling slightly as he stared up at his flag.
Within him surged a complex emotion—a mix of rebellion, exhilaration, and a faint, gnawing unease.
He had carried out that bastard Gern's command.
In this extreme way, he had declared his arrival—
And issued a provocation to the man whom that man had loved.
Watching the scene, Gern nodded in satisfaction, rubbing his chin as he smiled at Enel and Kuma beside him.
"See? I told you—this kid's got good instincts."
Enel rolled his eyes, utterly uninterested in commenting on such a twisted teaching method.