Formation of the Spade Pirates
Washed up on the shores of a deserted island at the edge of the East Blue Sea, two men from different backgrounds unite in their shared thirst for adventure.
One of them, Portgaz D. Ace, will follow in his infamous fa...
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"W-what are you saying?" I asked the ensign, stunned. "Q-quit being pirates? If we're not pirates... then what are we?"
She cut off my stammering. "If you have nowhere else to go, come to the Navy. I can give you a personal recommendation." Isuka was staring at Ace, her eyes passionate and full of intent. "I'm sure you would look good in a Navy uniform. We can take care of all of your friends together . What do you think? It's not a bad deal, is it?"
This lady's crazy...
I was at a loss for words. But lsuka was clearly dead serious. She was seriously, honestly trying to recruit Ace and the Spade Pirates to the Navy.
Since we'd entered the Grand Line, she'd been our enemy at each and every island we'd visited. Navy and pirates could never be anything other than pursuer and pursued, hunter and prey-so how could she possibly suggest such a thing with a straight face?
Perhaps, through our many evasions, Isuka had begun to accept Ace not as a pirate, bur as an individual. Pirates caused the death of her parents, so she viewed all pirates as evil-until she had seen enough of Ace to realize that he wasn't that bad.
Ace maintained his silence throughout her speech.
Then there was a familiar clicking sound.
"Hey, the door's open," Said Ace, turning back with a worried look. Somehow the lock on the gondola had come undone. Air was rushing into the cramped interior from the open doorway.
"You're not supposed to open-I mean, it's not supposed to be open like that!"
The gondola door was wide open at the very top of the wheel. I'd thought Ace had just been looking out the window in silence this whole time, but apparently he'd been tinkering with the door all along.
"Sh-shut the door! It's dangerous!" I told him, but Ace was already rising from his seat.
"Actually, I'm getting hungry, so I'm gonna jump down first."
"Huh?!" I screamed, as Ace leaned his body out of the doorway.
"Wait," said lsuka, "You haven't given me an answer yet." Her arms and legs were crossed, and she wasn't budging an inch from her seat.
"Quit pirating ro be a Navy man? Afraid I can't do that," said Ace, turning back to face her. His eyes were the color of the bottom of the sea, like I'd seen once before. But it only lasted an instant. Just as quickly, a cheerful smile was on his face. "Later, lsuka," he said, and jumped out, landing on the roof of the next gondola down and bounding off of it. In midair, fire erupted from his body.
He bounded from roof to roof down the series of descending cars, like going down a flight of stairs. It was the most dynamic method of descent I could have imagined.
Eventually he reached the ground and waved up at us. Isuka and I watched him rush away in total silence. Our gondola passed the apex of the wheel and began to descend.
