Chapter 62

Ace opened the cell holding Nimbus. The Vice Admiral was badly beaten and bruised.

Despite his condition, Nimbus looked up and glared at Ace. He was held down by seastone cuffs and steel chains.

Ace set down the food in front of Nimbus. Then, he squatted in front of the Vice Admiral.

Nimbus didn't stop glaring at Ace. It was an unblinking look of pure hatred, but Ace wasn't affected at all.

Ace looked straight into Nimbus's eyes with a smile. He then picked up the spoon and bowl of soup meant for Nimbus.

"Open up! Aaaaaah!"

Ace tried feeding Nimbus. Nimbus said nothing and just kept glaring.

"You don't wanna eat?" Ace asked. "Your loss."

Ace started eating in front of Nimbus. Similar to the Vice Admiral, Ace stared into Nimbus's eyes as he ate.

"Soma is an amazing cook!" Ace said. "You're missing out!"

At that moment, Nimbus retaliated. His mouth wasn't gagged.

Nimbus spat on the bowl of soup Ace was eating.

"Ahh, man. What a waste!"

Ace poured the remaining contents of the bowl over Nimbus's head. The soup was still very hot since it was freshly cooked.

Ace grinned at seeing Nimbus try to hold back a scream of pain as the hot and scalding soup poured on his head.

"What a marine!" Ace said. "No wonder you're a Vice Admiral!"

"Y-You'll regret this!" Nimbus said. "I'll kill you!"

"You're welcome to try," Ace said, not at all threatened. "But before you try to kill me, tell me. How many Vice Admirals are there in the marines?"

"Fuck off!" Nimbus shouted. "You think I'll tell you anything?"

Ace sighed.

"Strong men are really annoying! They're usually unbelievably stubborn."

"Damn right!" Nimbus laughed. "You won't kill me! You need what I know!"

Ace stared at Nimbus. Vash, who was standing outside the cell, did the same.

Then, they laughed.

"You think we need you?" Ace said after laughing. "Ohh, Nimbus. You sweet innocent child."

Ace grabbed Nimbus by the jaw.

"There's a thousand other men and women out there who could tell me what you know," Ace said. "What I want isn't your knowledge. I want your power."

"I'll go and get a gag," Vash said before going away to do what he said.

"Do you have a god you pray to, Nimbus?" Ace asked.

"If there's a god out there that wants to kill you, I'm praying to him now," Nimbus said.

Ace chuckled at the response.

"Good. Pray hard to that god."

Ace raised a finger. Flames formed over the finger he held up.

The flames took the shape of the Royal Ace jolly roger.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ace burned Nimbus's forehead and cheeks with the flame brand he made with his power.

In the end, Nimbus had the mark of the Royal Aces burned into his forehead and cheeks.

…

The Royal Aces gathered on the deck of the Ashen Dragon. Augur called out to the speaker system of the ship that he spotted their next island a minute ago.

Usually, that means they're around 20 minutes away from their destination.

The Royal Aces huddled around near the figurehead of the ship where a big blazing fire burned brightly inside the dragon's mouth.

Doppol's design of the ship suited Ace very well. His Ashen Wood formula makes wood highly resistant to fire. Their ship won't be burning anytime soon.

The Royal Aces, except Ace, were already wearing winter clothes. Because of his power, Ace wasn't bothered by the cold.

Despite being covered up in layers of clothes and blankets, not everyone could take the cold.

"I fucking hate winter," Second said as he covered Doppol in thick blankets. "That must be what he's saying right now."

"Seasick and shivering from the cold. You sure you don't want to be inside the ship to warm up?" Vash asked Doppol.

"I'm fine, Vash. Th-Thank you," Doppol answered.

"Look at you! You can speak while you're on the ship now!" Terzo said.

"Uncle Doppol is getting better!" Eri said, before making a weird face. "Achoo!"

"You should head inside, Eri," Mihar said to his de-facto daughter.

But, to be honest, Eri was like everyone's daughter.

"Meow!"

Eri turned to Kotatsu who was snuggling with Ace. She walked to them and snuggled between the big cat and Ace.

"Much better!" Eri said with a satisfied sigh. "Captain is so warm!"

"Oi, I'm not a heater," Ace said. But, she was interrupted by Hepha.

Hepha also walked to where Ace was sitting. She sat down beside him, shoulder to shoulder. She picked up Eri and sat her on their laps. Kotatsu was like a big backrest for them.

"Eri-chan is right!" Hepha said. "You make for a great heater!"

"...whatever."

Ace let them do what they want.

"You're very pale," Vash said to Doppol as he examined their sickly shipwright. "You really should head back inside and rest."

"N-No way! I have a job to do in this crew!" Doppol argued.

"That's what your Doubles are for," Vash argued back.

"I'd have to agree with Vash," Augur said.

"Come on, guys! Doppol is doing his best to overcome his… weirdness!" Terzo chimed in.

"Y-Yeah! I w-won't be seasick for-"

Doppol stopped. His face went green. He immediately took his bucket.

"BLEUUURGH!"

"Way to go, Thirdy," Vash said, lightly knocking the back of Terzo's head with a smirk.

"Oi, what do I have to do with him barfing all over the place?" Terzo was chagrined.

"ZEHAHAHA! Man, you guys are a fun bunch!" Teach said. Except for Ace, he looked the most comfortable with the cold.

"What interesting weather," Enel said as he looked up, watching the snow fall from the sky.

"In any case, this is problematic."

Everyone turned to Augur.

"We can barely see what's in front of us," Augur said, referring to the low visibility they have ahead of them.

"Let me try something," Tanya said, stepping up to the head of the ship.

Everyone watched closely at what she was about to do. Tanya stood on top of the dragon figurehead. She wasn't bothered by the heat of the fire coming from underneath her.

Tanya closed her eyes and focused. She raised a hand in front of her.

The wind surged around Tanya. It encircled her and gathered on her outstretched palm.

A few moments later, a strong blast of wind shot out from Tanya. The wind blew away the snow and the mist preventing them from seeing what was in front of the Ashen Dragon.

"Nice work, Tanya!" Ace said. "You see an island in front of us?"

"No, not yet!" Tanya answered.

"But I do!" Augur announced, his voice echoing all around the ship.

The Royal Aces looked at where Augur was a few moments ago. To their surprise, he wasn't there anymore.

"Okay, now I'm a little jealous," Vash said as he shook his head.

"Yeah, his Devil Fruit really suits him!" Terzo agreed with Vash.

"HAHAHAHA! Don't worry, Vash!" Ace said. "As the First Mate, you get priority when we find Devil Fruits!"

"Well, let's hope we find one suitable for me," Vash said.

"Really? You plan on eating one?" Hepha asked Vash.

"Well… why not? If ever I drown, you guys are there to save me," Vash said with a shrug.

"You bet I will!" Terzo said as he patted Vash on the back. "But, you'll owe me!"

"Everyone!" Augur suddenly shouted. "We're crashing!"

"What?"

…

"HAHAHAHA! Well, that's a first!" Ace laughed at their current situation.

Because of the sudden snow and mist that limited their visibility, the Ashen Dragon was currently beached on the island they were going to.

"I'm surprised she held on!" Vash said as he inspected for potential damages on their ship.

"Of course she did!" Doppol huffed with pride. "I told you guys, she's very strong now!"

Despite having a rough landing by skidding on the stony beach of the island, the Ashen Dragon didn't have a single scratch on her.

"In any case, we're here!" Terzo said as he looked at the expanse of trees covered in snow. "Wherever this is."

"There's no one here," Enel said.

The Royal Aces turned to Enel.

"How could you possibly know that?" Terzo asked.

"Mantra," Enel answered. "Or as what Captain told me, it's known as Haki down here in the Blue Sea."

"Enel has an incredibly strong Observation Haki," Ace said to his crew. "His Haki should be strong enough to cover the whole island."

"And more," Enel said, looking proud at being praised by Ace.

"If that's the case, then this island really is empty," Augur said.

"Still, let's look around," Ace said. "Mihar, Eri, Kotatsu, Augur, Terzo, Enel, Tanya, stay here with the ship."

"Aye!"

"Aww man. I really wanted to explore this island too," Terzo whispered under his breath, but still obeyed Ace's order.

"The rest of you, let's split up. We'll scour the whole island." Ace then raised a hand to show the Baby Transponder Snail on his wrist that Hepha bought in Loguetown. "You find anything interesting, call."

…

"What a boring island," Soma muttered to himself as he wrote down the measurements he took to create an accurate map of the nameless island they were on. "No wonder no people live here."

The island they landed on was a difficult place to live in, as Soma discovered soon after he went off in his own direction. He was sticking to the edge of the island to map out what it would look like when viewed from above.

Soma discovered that the island was rather barren. The trees were basically just tall, dark, protruding sticks covered in snow. The island didn't even have soil. If it did, it was buried under a thick layer of snow.

What was stranger was the clear absence of life. The forest was silent and as dead as the trees that made it. Soma heard no call nor saw a sign of animal life.

"Winter islands. Never a happy place." Soma scoffed.

Just as he was about to set down his equipment, Soma noticed something in the distance. He squinted his eyes to try and recognize what he saw.

"A village?"

With his curiosity piqued, Soma walked to what he thinks is a village. Enel told them that there wasn't anyone on the island.

But the column of smoke rising from a big fire wasn't helping his case.

Soma remained alert. He trusted Enel since Ace trusts him. Soma didn't think for a second that Enel made a mistake.

But, there is definitely something wrong.

With eyes darting to every corner in his vision, Soma kept his guard up as he went to investigate the small village he saw.

Once he got closer, he realized that it was definitely a village. However, it was rather destitute.

The houses that looked like simple wooden cabins were rather run down. There were no roads or pavement. It looked as primitive as a village can be.

"No tracks," Soma whispered under his breath as he looked at the snowy ground. If there ever were tracks that served as signs of human life, it was buried underneath by the falling snow.

Soma walked to the big fire that seemed as if it was in the middle of the village. He raised his hands toward it and enjoyed the warmth it brought him.

Suddenly, Soma's ear perked up. Although it was muffled by the snow, he definitely heard movement behind him.

In one quick motion, Soma turned around and raised his arms in his signature fighting stance.

After seeing who it was behind him, Soma almost let his guard down. But, he didn't do so. Underestimating a potential opponent is deadly.

In front of Soma was an emaciated old man in long black robes. He looked completely harmless, but Ace always told them that looks can be deceiving.

"Who are you?" Soma asked the old man.

The old man didn't answer immediately. His white and clouded eyes stared deeply at Soma. It was rather creepy for Soma, giving him all the more reason to keep his guard up.

"Sunset is many hours away," the old man said, his voice hoarse and raspy as if he hasn't used it in forever. "Run, run, to see another day."