One Piece: Invincible Starting From The Fruit Of Words-Chapter 186 Ace Wakes Up And Joins The Whitebeard Pirates!

In Blackbeard's view, when facing an enemy that cannot be defeated, it's wise to retreat and escape in time.

Saving one's life is the most important thing—face and reputation are worthless.

Even if retreating isn't an option, teaming up with the Red-Haired Pirates to fight Lucifer would have been a reasonable choice.

But Whitebeard refused. Not only did he refuse to ally with others, but he chose to fight alone. It was simply foolish!

"What!!!"

Ace woke up with a start, sitting up in bed, screaming in terror.

He was gasping for breath, his body drenched in cold sweat.

"Where am I?"

Ace looked around, realizing he was in a strange room, with bandages wrapped around his body.

"Yo, you're awake?"

Suddenly, a voice broke the silence. Ace turned his head and saw a man with a pineapple-shaped head looking at him with lifeless, dead fish eyes.

"Where am I?"

"Why am I here?"

"Who are you?"

Ace's eyes narrowed, and flames flickered to life on his body as his Mera-Mera no Mi powers activated automatically.

"You fell into the sea, and we saved you," Marco replied flatly. "Do you remember what happened before you fell?"

"Fell into the sea?"

Ace's eyes widened, and a rush of painful memories flooded into his mind.

He remembered.

He remembered encountering a cold-blooded, ruthless man.

That man had defeated them, causing them to flee in embarrassment.

In the end, his companions died one by one at the hands of that man.

"Deuce, Michal, Carl, the In family..."

"What!!!"

Ace gritted his teeth and let out a guttural, agonized roar. His expression twisted in fury, his eyes burning with hatred.

"It seems you've remembered."

Marco remained expressionless, already expecting Ace's reaction.

He wasn't wrong—Ace had likely been hunted by the Nether Pirates, and his entire crew had been wiped out. It was natural for Ace to react this way.

"Shiryu of the Rain... Lucifer!!!"

"What!!!"

Ace's shout was followed by a surge of flames that erupted from his body.

With a loud bang, the flames shattered the cabin.

Ace charged out of the cabin and onto the deck.

"Deuce! Michal! Carl!!!"

Ace cried the names of his fallen comrades, but no one answered.

On the deck, many members of the Whitebeard Pirates were shocked as they watched Ace lose control.

"Hey, someone stop him!"

One pirate shouted.

"Yeah, if we don't stop him, his wounds will reopen!"

"And he'll destroy the ship!"

"This kid's really troublesome. He goes berserk as soon as he wakes up."

Whoosh!

A flash of blue flame streaked across the deck as Marco slapped Ace on the back of his head, pinning him to the floor.

Under Marco's restraint, Ace struggled helplessly, his anger and frustration boiling over.

"Lucifer!!! Lucifer!!! Lucifer!!!"

"I'm going to kill him!!!"

Ace's voice was filled with fury and killing intent. His heart-rending shouts echoed with the promise of revenge.

Lucifer had killed Garp first, and then sent his forces to wipe out the Spades Pirates. Ace hated him to the core.

"Calm down, rookie!" Marco said coolly. "Going crazy won't help you now.

"You can't avenge them like this; you'll only expose your own incompetence."

"Let go of me, b*d! I'm going to find Lucifer!"

"Don't stop me!"

Ace's impulsive nature made him impossible to reason with. His anger and hatred burned too hot for him to listen to Marco's words.

Boom!

A massive explosion of flame erupted from Ace, temporarily forcing Marco back.

Ace seized the opportunity to break free of Marco's grip, launching a huge flaming fist toward him.

"Get out of the way!!!"

Marco's hands transformed into wings, and he shot out a blue flame, which collided head-on with Ace's fiery fist.

Boom!

When the two ultimate moves collided, Ace's flames were instantly overpowered and extinguished. The blue flame hit him in the chest, sending him flying through the air.

At the moment, Ace had yet to recover from his severe injuries, and his combat strength was reduced to less than one-tenth of its usual level. Naturally, he couldn't withstand even a single attack from Marco.

Marco, however, showed mercy and did not worsen Ace's injuries.

"Calm down, Fire Fist. This is not a place for you to run wild."

"Also, don't you think it's a bit much to treat your saviors like this?"

Marco stood before Ace, his expression neutral.

"Cough, cough, cough."

Ace coughed violently, blood spilling from his mouth. The pain from his wounds was excruciating.

After the blow, Ace finally managed to calm down a little.

He realized that neither Shiryu nor Lucifer was here.

Going berserk wouldn't help.

"Where is this place, and who are you?"

Marco gave a slight smile. "Haven't you figured it out yet?"

"What?"

Ace blinked in confusion, but then his eyes widened in realization.

He saw a pirate flag fluttering in the wind.

"Whitebeard! This is the Whitebeard Pirates!"

Ace immediately turned his head and saw a tall figure standing nearby.

Whitebeard—the former number one in the world, the man who once competed with Pirate King Gol D. Roger. He was also Ace's target since childhood.

If Garp hadn't been killed earlier, Ace would have challenged Whitebeard before going after Lucifer when entering the New World.

"Finally awake?"

"The newcomers are really rude."

"Boy, you're the first one who dares to act wild and crazy in the Whitebeard Pirates!"

The pirates looked at Ace, their lips curling into amused smirks.

"Whitebeard Pirates... you saved me?"

"Yeah, what do you think?"

Marco stared at Ace with his dead fish eyes. "Without us, you would've been swallowed by a sea king long ago."

"Also, you said you wanted revenge on Lucifer, right?"

"I advise you to give up on that."

Marco shook his head. "Right now, if you face Lucifer, all you'll do is die. Revenge is impossible."

"Captain Marco is right, rookie."

Another pirate chimed in. "You're lucky to be alive. If I were you, I'd find some isolated island to hide on and quietly escape back to the East Blue."

"In the New World, there's no place for you anymore."

"No one who offends Lucifer can live in peace."

"Escape? Impossible!"

Ace said firmly, his voice full of resolve. "I won't run away. I will never run away!"

"I will defeat him and make him pay the price he deserves!"

"Beat Lucifer?"

"Hahahahaha!"

The pirates on board burst out laughing, even Marco couldn't help but chuckle.

They all looked at Ace with pity, finding the newcomer's boldness both cute and foolish.

Whitebeard, who had been silent for a while, also smiled.

Despite Ace being reckless, ignorant, and impulsive, Whitebeard liked people like that.

Because, above all, Ace cared deeply for his companions. No matter how foolish or naive, such a person was worthy of being his son.

"Hey, kid, come be my son."

Whitebeard suddenly spoke, his voice full of authority. "Carry my flag on your back and roam freely across this sea."

"Wait, Captain, that's not..."

The pirates around Whitebeard were startled by his words.

They had risked their lives to save Ace, but now Whitebeard wanted to recruit him?

This kid looked like nothing but trouble. He didn't seem to know the limits of the world, and if he really joined the Whitebeard Pirates, they would face countless issues.

And it was a critical moment.

The Whitebeard Pirates were already preparing for a conflict with the Nether Pirates, and time was short. If Lucifer knew that Fire Fist Ace was alive and on Whitebeard's ship, it would surely hasten the attack.

They wouldn't have enough time to prepare.

"Gurarararara, it's fine. This kid's got potential."

As for the threat of Lucifer, Whitebeard was calm, as though he didn't care at all.

But Whitebeard wanted to take Ace in, yet Ace had no intention of joining.

"I refuse. I won't be on your ship."

Ace shook his head firmly. "I'm grateful that you saved me, but I won't join this ship."

Ace wasn't the type to live in anyone's shadow.

In the original story, Whitebeard had to spend considerable time and effort to recruit Ace.

Despite the life-saving favor, a few words would never be enough to make Ace join.

"Little brat, don't be so stubborn!"

As soon as Ace refused, all the pirates on board burst out laughing.

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