Chapter 30

Just as Ace promised, he kept an eye on the unconscious Teach at all times. He also kept close to make sure that Teach won't be hurting any of his friends when he wakes up.

As they were sailing towards their first destination in the Grand Line, Teach woke up. Ace felt him stir and went closer to him. He stood over Teach, watching him wake up.

"What the-? Where am I?" Teach looked around in a daze, finding himself in an unfamiliar place.

"Welcome aboard the Ashen Dragon, Edward Teach!" Ace said in greeting.

Teach turned to Ace, still slightly in a daze seeing how his eyes were still unfocused. Then, Ace watched Teach's gaze sharpen. Teach quickly threw a punch to Ace's gut. With one hand, Ace caught the punch. He gripped the fist and threw Teach to the side of the Ashen Dragon.

Ace watched him slowly stand up. Teach assessed his situation. Despite being defeated and captured, he was fine. He felt the bandages on his face and body. Ace asked Vash to treat Teach while he was unconscious.

"Why am I alive?" Teach questioned Ace.

"I told you! I want you to join my crew!" Ace said as if it was something simple.

"And I told you, I'll never join you!"

"Ehh? Why not? Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Shut up! Whitebeard is the only man I'll ever serve!" Teach reiterated his point.

"Joining me doesn't mean you'll serve me, though!" Ace tried convincing Teach.

"That's exactly what it means!" Teach stared incredulously at Ace as if he was looking at someone stupid.

"Nah, it means you'll be my friend. But of course, with the added exception of obeying all my orders."

"You do know how ridiculous you sound right now, don't you?" Teach stared weirdly at Ace.

"HAHAHAHA! You're funny! Hey, Vash! He's pretty great, right?" Ace turned his head upwards to the crow's nest where Vash was watching everything that happened.

"He's strong and loyal. Would be great if he chose to sail with us," Vash said simply.

"I'm glad you agree!" Ace said to Vash before turning back to Teach. "See? My first mate approves of you!"

"I don't care! My decision won't change!"

"What a shame, then," Ace said as he shook his head in disappointment.

He Flickered to Teach. Before using the Technique, Ace turned his inner body into fire. He was much lighter. The speed of his Flicker after making himself lighter was so fast that only Future Vision would see his movement.

And it seemed Teach didn't have Future Vision. Ace didn't try to use Observation Killing just now to assess Teach's accomplishments with Observation Haki.

After Flickering in front of Teach who had his eyes wide open in shock, Ace threw a straight punch on Teach's gut. Teach folded under Ace's punch that sent the wind out of him. Teach kneeled on the deck, his legs won't listen to him after he suffered the force behind Ace's fist.

"If you won't join me, then I guess I'll have to kill Whitebeard," Ace said. "You can be my little bargaining chip or something."

It wasn't a threat. It was a declaration, and Teach felt it. Still, Teach denied the thought that it was possible for Ace to kill Whitebeard. His father was dubbed the Strongest Man in the World, after all.

"ZEHAHAHA! A runt like you wants to kill my father? Keep dreaming!" Teach shouted at Ace. It wasn't very intimidating since he was still kneeling on the deck.

Ace put his foot on Teach's head, pushing his face down on the deck of the Ashen Dragon. He put enough force to make Teach groan in pain.

"I handled you like a baby. His Second Division Commander is nothing in front of me. Do you really think I won't at least stand a chance?" Ace slowly said, watering the seed of doubt and fear in Teach's heart.

"I'll kill you!" Teach shouted. Ace just scoffed at his words.

"Go ahead and try," Ace said before removing his foot on Teach's head.

Teach took that chance to retaliate. He already recovered from Ace's gut punch a few seconds ago and was only waiting for a moment to strike. With a Haki coated hand as he still knelt on the ground with his face on the deck, Teach gripped Ace's ankle.

Ace felt himself lose balance when Teach dragged his ankle forward. Still, he didn't panic. With Ace's ankle on his hand, Teach wanted to slam Ace down on the deck as he swung the young captain by the ankle.

Just when Ace was about to impact the wooden deck, he turned into fire. He freed himself from Teach's grasp by manipulating his form. Ace, who was currently just wisps of fire, reformed above Teach.

Ace had Teach's head between his two feet. He gripped Teach's head tightly with his feet before backflipping. Teach spun a full circle before crashing back down on the deck with a hard thud. Ace landed on Teach's back.

With his feet on Teach's back, Ace flew by turning his feet into jets of flames. Teach screamed in pain as his back burned from the sheer heat of Ace's jet flames. Ace flew up and landed in front of Teach, his back bearing burn marks.

"That's gonna make a nasty scar," Ace commented before kicking Teach on the head. The kick carried enough force to make Teach go unconscious.

"Oi, Vash!" Ace called out to Vash who was still watching the two of them. "Sorry, can you treat him again?"

"Maybe next time, don't give him unnecessary injuries?" Vash reminded Ace. "Our supplies are limited. I'd rather not waste it on someone who isn't one of us."

"Sorry, my bad!" Ace said as he scratched the back of his head.

Vash jumped off from the crow's nest. Just before landing on the deck, he used the Air Jump that Ace taught him to cancel his momentum. He landed soundlessly on the deck.

"You're getting better at that," Ace commented on Vash's technique.

"We're in the Grand Line now. Getting better and stronger is a must," Vash said matter of factly before picking up Teach in a firefighter carry to the clinic which was also Vash's room.

Ace thought it looked funny. Teach was a big man. Seeing someone like him be carried away by someone smaller so easily was amusing.

…

Ace was impressed by Teach's durability once again. Not even an hour after their last clash, Teach got up again. The Royal Aces heard him screaming on the main deck as they peacefully sat around the dining room table to eat their dinner.

"ACE! WHERE ARE YOU? SHOW YOURSELF!"

"I think you hit his head too hard, Ace," Vash said as he munched on his beloved donuts. "He could just use Observation Haki to find you, yet he doesn't."

"Should I go handle him?" Hepha asked Ace, sounding grumpy that their dinner was being interrupted.

"My Doubles can help," Doppol offered. Since it was evening, he wasn't affected by his seasickness.

"No need, I'll go handle him," Ace said before quickly wolfing down the remaining food on his plate.

With a satisfied burp, Ace opened the door to the dining room to go out and greet Teach.

"Oi! Stop screaming! Aren't you hungry?" Ace shouted at Teach below. The dining room was on an elevated level from the main deck.

"Yeah, I'm hungry alright!" Teach raised his claw weapon at Ace. "For your blood!"

As if his body was in agreement, Ace heard Teach's stomach rumble in hunger.

"Can you even fight me in your condition?"

Teach was covered in bandages. He was able to stand up, but it was clear he still wasn't fully recovered from his two previous battles with Ace. Add the fact that he was hungry and tired as well. Teach was in no condition to fight.

"Shut up! I won't rest until you die!"

"Better hope to never rest again, then!" Ace sneered before jumping down to meet Teach face to face.

Teach rushed forward and tried to claw Ace's face off. His metal claws were covered with Armament Haki. Ace easily dodged it by leaning backwards, the metal claws barely missing.

Next, Teach tried stabbing Ace with his claws. It didn't work. Ace caught him by the wrist before sending him flying with a straight punch to his gut once again.

Teach crashed on the main mast of the Ashen Dragon. Luckily, it didn't break. Ace used enough strength to make Teach go unconscious.

"He's a persistent one," Soma commented as he was drying a glass with a clean white cloth.

Ace looked back to see that his friends were watching just outside the dining room's door.

"He is indeed," Ace said with a sigh. "Hey, Doppol. I don't think any of us would like it if our sleep was interrupted by him screaming. Could you send Doubles to put him in the brig and restrain him there? Of course, a mouth gag would be highly appreciated."

"No problem," Doppol said before creating two Doubles to do the job. They carried the unconscious Teach down to where the brig was.

The Royal Aces then slept peacefully after their day was over.

…

"Island! I see an island!" Vash called out from the crow's nest. It was the morning of the next day, and they all already had their breakfast.

The Royal Ace immediately went to the front part of the ship to look at the island that Vash saw and was pointing at.

The island was rather... flat. From what Ace could see, there really weren't any notable features on the island. It was a grassy plain as far as he could see. There was a forest in the distance, but that was it.

Ace was rather disappointed. He expected every island in the Grand Line to be somewhat unique and amazing. Seeing their first island look no different from some of the islands in East Blue was an underwhelming experience.

Still, he immediately perked up. Ace stood in front of his crew and spoke to them.

"This is it, you guys! The start of our journey!" Ace tried hyping them up. "Let's see if we can make this island the territory of the Royal Aces!"

"I think we could!" Vash shouted from atop the crow's nest. "I see fire! There, from beyond that forest! There must be people here!"

"Perfect! Great observation, Vash!"

"Wait, Ace," Terzo said. "Aren't we forgetting something?"

"...no?" Ace tried remembering what it was that they forgot, but couldn't remember anything.

"Edward Teach," Hepha said, and Ace's mind clicked.

"AHH! SHIT! I FORGOT!" Ace slapped his face between his hands. "Soma! Cook something up for him!"

"Ehh? Why?" Soma looked completely caught off guard by Ace's order.

"Well, you're a cook! Aren't cooks supposed to feed the hungry?"

"Damn, you sound like Curly," Soma shook his head. "But, I understand. Roger that, Captain!"

Soma went off to the kitchen while Ace went down below deck to check up on Teach. When he got there, Teach was barely conscious.

Teach's eyes were unfocused, staring blankly in front of him. His mouth was gagged by an iron plate going around the lower part of his head. His body was forced to kneel on the ground as he was bound by heavy chained shackles. Armament Haki wouldn't do him much good since he was too tired and beaten to find the strength to fully use it. It would only tire him more.

"You look like a mess," Ace commented.

Ace's voice was like a wake up call to Teach. His eyes instantly focused. His tired and beaten form excluded more strength than it should as he struggled with all his might to break free from his chains. Ace only chuckled at the sight.

Despite seeing how his painstaking effort was futile, Teach didn't stop struggling. He was like a chained up wild animal as he used all the strength he could muster to break out and kill Ace.

In another time and in another world, their roles would be switched. Ace was supposed to be the one locked up while Teach was free. But, it seems this world was slightly different.

There was no Marshall D. Teach. There was only Edward Teach, a true son of Edward Newgate who is otherwise known as Whitebeard. Instead of Blackbeard being the one with more than one soul, it was Ace in this world.