Chapter 83

"That sounds fucking awesome! HAHAHAHA!" Ace was excited. He had faith that what Doppol said was possible. "Can you really do it?"

"Well… no," Doppol said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "There are some techniques in the blueprint I'm not really familiar with."

"Damn it, Doppol!" Terzo whacked Doppol lightly on the head. "Quit getting our hopes up!"

"I didn't say it was impossible!" Doppol said. "I just said that there are some techniques I'm unfamiliar with! I'm already done modifying our ship slightly with the blueprints earlier. The Ashen Dragon can't fly yet, but she'll sail much faster now!"

"So that's why the ship looks different!" Eri said. "Ashen looks much thinner now!"

Doppol indeed made enhancements on the Ashen Dragon based on the blueprints he found. The ship was now more streamlined, allowing for faster sailing speeds.

"That's why I want to make a request, Ace," Doppol said. "I want us to go somewhere."

"That's rare," Ace said. No one in the crew ever made suggestions on where to go. They just followed the Log Pose. "Sure, Doppol. What are you thinking?"

"It's beneficial for the whole crew, I promise," Doppol said. "Let's go to Water 7! All the best shipwrights are there!"

"You want to hire them to build us a flying ship?" Hepha asked. "I don't like that idea, Doppol."

"Of course not!" Doppol said. "The blueprints we got are extremely precious, I know that. I won't ask them to build the ship for us. I just want to go there and study for a while. I'm sure the shipwrights there can teach me what I don't know."

"That's a great idea, Doppol!" Ace said before turning to Burgess. "You were going to Water 7, right? You have an Eternal Pose?"

"It burned with the ship."

"Great. I guess we'll need to find one first."

"Actually, Captain… I may already have the solution," Augur said, getting everyone's attention. "When we raided the marine base on this island, I killed the Vice Admiral leading it."

"Great job," Ace said.

"Thank you, Captain. But more importantly, I gained valuable treasure from his room. Please allow me a few moments," Augur said before closing his eyes. A second later he popped away. Four seconds more, he popped back to where he was with something in his hand. "I believe this is what we need."

"An Eternal Pose to Water 7!" Ace said, after seeing what Augur had in his hand. "That's a great find, Augur!"

"I also found Eternal Poses to Enies Lobby, Impel Down, and Marineford," Augur said with a smirk. "Knowing you, Captain… I'm sure you'll have a need for those someday."

"I sure will," Ace said, his grin wide in elation. "Alright! We have a destination now! Doubles, prepare the ship! We're going to Water 7!"

…

With Terzo at the helm guiding the Ashen Dragon on the path towards Water 7, the Royal Aces tried to relax in their own ways. Enel's death was a massive blow to them, given how small their crew was, but they had to move on.

Tanya spent some time looking at Enel's Nonosama Bo that was displayed on the Ashen Dragon's main mast. It was Ace's idea to put it there so they can have a semblance of Enel's presence always present with them.

"You're really gone now huh, you stupid uncle…"

Ace watched Tanya just stand there frozen as she looked at the last remnant of Enel. Seeing her made pangs of guilt grip Ace's heart. In more ways than one, Ace felt very much responsible for Enel's death. With feet dragged down by guilt and shame, Ace walked to Tanya and stood beside her.

Tanya glanced sideways at Ace and smiled a little in recognition of his presence. Ace said nothing and just stayed with Tanya, a gesture the little girl seemed to appreciate.

"It's funny, you know," Tanya said, breaking the silence between her and Ace. "I'm supposed to hate him. I should be happy he's dead, right?"

Ace said nothing.

"But… why aren't I?" Tanya's fists clenched. "I don't feel happy. I don't feel sad either. I just… feel nothing."

Tanya turned to Ace and looked up at him.

"Tell me, Ace," Tanya said, her breathing slightly hitched. "What am I supposed to think? What am I supposed to feel now that he's gone?"

Ace chose his next words very carefully. What he says could affect Tanya deeply, either in a good or bad way.

"I can't tell you what you should feel, Tanya," Ace said. "No one can. Right now you're just… confused. Don't be in a rush. Come with me."

Ace led Tanya to the side of the ship where they overlooked the wide blue sea. The sun was getting low, but it wasn't anywhere near sunset yet. The winds blew and carressed their faces, calming down Tanya somewhat.

"Here," Ace said, giving Tanya the small bag that held Enel's ashes. "Enel's last wish was to have his ashes scattered to the sea."

"Seriously?" Tanya's eyebrows were slightly squinted. "That… doesn't sound like him."

"We don't really know anyone as much as we would like," Ace said. "I'm just… telling you what he told me."

Tanya stared at the bag wordlessly and listlessly. Ace said nothing and let her be.

"What now?" Tanya asked after a while.

"I think… we should grant Enel his final wish," Ace said. "You first."

Tanya returned her gaze to the small bag she held in her hand. The hand she used to hold the bag started shaking slightly, as if it was feeling the weight of it for the first time.

With slow hands, Tanya opened the bag. She took out a handful of ashes, reached out to the sea, and let go. The first of Enel's ashes scattered to the wide blue sea, just as he wanted.

Without a word, Tanya held the bag closer to Ace. It was his turn. Similar to how Tanya did it, Ace took a handful of ashes and scattered it to the sea. The Royal Aces watched them from behind.

Enel's dying wish was granted.

…

Around three days after the Royal Aces left Karakuri Island, their peaceful sailing was interrupted.

"Captain!" Augur's voice came from the speakers. He spoke from the crow's nest. "Ship spotted in the distance!"

The Royal Aces instantly perked up and gathered on deck. Augur spoke monotonously most of the time, but the Royal Aces spent enough time with the man to detect the little fluctuations in his voice. Right now, Augur spoke with a sense of urgency.

"What is it, Augur?" Ace asked Augur after he warped to where the rest of the Royal Aces were. "Did you identify the ship?"

"I did," Augur said with a small nod. "The ship bears the flag of Espa Kingdom."

"Ahh, that must be the delegates Espa Kingdom sent to watch your execution," Ace said, turning to Burgess. The man was a guest, but he wanted to be more active with helping the Royal Aces to aid his cause.

"Tch! I doubt that," Burgess said. "They're not here to execute me. They're here to capture me!"

"Someone of your stature is more valuable alive, after all," Augur said, to which the other Royal Aces agreed. Burgess was a prince of the kingdom that Espa was waging war with, after all. "What are your orders, Captain?"

"This is a great coincidence," Ace said with a small chuckle. "The sea is unimaginably wide, yet they crossed paths with ours."

"We're gonna be fighting their whole kingdom anyway, right?" Terzo asked, already unsheathing his sword. He instinctively knew what Ace's next orders were.

"Gathering information on the enemy we'll be fighting is of utmost importance," Vash said, readying his guns.

"Doubles, prepare for battle!" Ace shouted his orders. "Let's board that ship!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Augur warped to the Ashen Dragon's wheel to guide it towards where the ship carrying the Espa Kingdom's delegates were. Tanya decided to help out by calling out to the winds, pushing the Ashen Dragon forward at a great speed.

The Doubles worked double time, preparing the cannons for battle. It was a great decision on their part, seeing how they'll be close to their target soon.

Ace stood on top of the Ashen Dragon's metal dragon figurehead with binoculars in his hand. He was peering into it to observe the ship from Espa Kingdom. They were close enough to see the crew of the Espa Kingdom's ship shuffle about on their deck, panicking at the sudden and swift appearance of a pirate ship.

"They're not prepared for us!" Ace shouted to his crew. "Front cannons, shoot down their masts!"

Vash assisted with the aiming part. As one of the three marksmen in the crew, his role in naval battle was to make sure that their cannons are aimed properly.

"Vash, the honor is yours!" Ace said. "Doubles, fire on Vash's mark!"

"Steady!" Vash shouted so that all the Doubles manning the front cannons could hear him. "And…! Fire!"

The front cannons of the Ashen Dragon fired chain shots that were all aflame. The application of Doppol's Ashen Wood formula on the ship made it possible for the ship to not be averse to fire. The Royal Aces used fire as often as they could.

The flaming chain shots flew towards the ship from Espa Kingdom. More specifically, as Ace ordered, the chain shots were flying straight towards the masts that Vash aimed at. The chain shots hit true.

Ace watched with his binoculars. He witnessed how two of the three masts of the Espa Kingdom ship were shot down. The only mast that remained was their main mast, which was thick and sturdy. But, the chain shots from the Ashen Dragon were aflame. The main mast was still standing, but it wasn't undamaged.

With his binoculars, Ace watched the crew of the ship scramble to save their main mast. It was burning, after all. The fire was spreading upwards. Soon, their sails will be burnt to nothing. They were as good as immobilized and had no choice but to fight the Royal Aces.

"Alright! Prepare for-!"

"Captain!"

Augur's shout interrupted Ace. But, Ace wasn't mad or displeased. He looked towards Augur who had his eyes set on the horizon.

"What is it, Augur?" Ace asked, shouting his question.

"The ship we just shot at is not the only ship from Espa Kingdom!" Augur said. "I believe it is a scout! I spotted three more ships on the horizon, one of them bigger than the rest!"

"That must be where the highest official of theirs resides," Ace said, realizing that it made sense for a kingdom to send out not just one ship for a voyage. "Great job spotting them, Augur!"

Ace turned to the ship that they shot at. Some of their crew was busy loading cannons in an attempt to shoot back. Now that Ace knew that the ship in front of them didn't have the person they needed to interrogate, he had no more use for them.

In one quick motion, Ace unsheathed the cutlass on his hip and raised it. The cutlass was imbued with Haki. Ace decided to practice using the ship in front of them.

"Let's see if I'm good enough with the sword…"

Ace sent a flying slash at the Espa Kingdom ship, attempting to cleave it into two. He watched his flying slash soar through the air towards the ship he targeted. But, he was bound to be disappointed.

The flying slash Ace sent flying towards the ship barely tore through the ship halfway. Although it could be argued that the distance made the flying slash lose a lot of its initial power, Ace was not satisfied. He knew that the best swordsmen could split the ship in two from the distance where he was. At least, that was what Ace assumed.

"Tch! Not good enough."

Ace tried again. This time, he used more of his power; both Haki and physical strength. Ace didn't aim to continue where his first slash left off, but rather try again. He aimed for an undamaged segment of the ship.

The second flying slash went straight towards the ship. This time, Ace was successful. His flying slash cleaved the ship into two and watched it sink.

Ace grinned at the result of his attack. At the moment, he was truly glad that they practiced fighting with pipes when they were younger. Edge alignment was the only thing left that they needed to learn to switch from metal pipes to swords.