5 Years Later…
[East Blue, Dawn Island]
In Mt. Colubo, the mountain behind Foosha Village. Three figures were seen in the forest, two of them were fighting while the third one was cheering.
"GOOO!! ACE!!…EMMA!!!" Shouted a 14 years old kid with a straw hat and a scar below his left eye.
The ones fighting are a beautiful white-haired girl with crimson eyes, and a tall muscular young man with curly black hair. Both of them are bruised and battered from fighting each other.
(Emma updated picture)
"Hehe, you've gotten stronger Emma, but…" Ace said with wide grin before he threw a strong uppercut aiming at Emma's jaw. The latter saw that and quickly used both her arms to block his attack.
"You think I'm gonna fall for tha-?!!" Just as Emma blocked his fist, Ace quickly surprised her with a swift yet a strong kick, sending her crashing into a tree.
"Hahaha! I guess that settles it, you're now my first mate…" Ace said with a grin as he approached her offering a hand "But I can't understand why you haven't left to become a pirate yet, you're way older than me"
"That's because I couldn't bring myself to do that before I beat a brat like you…" Emma responded with a scowl as she took his hand and got on her feet again "Seriously you're way stronger than your age"
"Hahaha! You're not gonna back down from the bet now, are you?" Ace said with a playful grin.
"Yeah, Yeah as long as you act like a good captain"
"Sugee! Both of you are really strong!" Luffy exclaimed as he approached the two of them "Are you guys really going to sail together?!"
"It seems to be the case" She casually replied as she brushed off the dirt from her clothes.
"Why are you asking? Are you jealous that you're going to stay here alone?" Ace said, trying to tease him.
"I'll also leave in three years once I'm strong enough!" Luffy responded with enthusiasm.
"Of course, you will Luffy or this onee-chan will be disappointed…Anyway, you said you're going to depart tomorrow, Ace?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, tomorrow I'm turning 17, perfect time to leave!" Ace stated while pointing his thumb at his chest with a smile "We're having a big party at Dadan's so don't think of going back to the village tonight"
"Yeah, Ace is right!" Luffy said as he wrapped his outstretched hand around her.
"Makino is excepting me at the bar, she said she needs my help with something!" Emma exclaimed while struggling to break free.
"You don't need your job anymore, you're leaving tomorrow"
"…"
Next day…in Foosha village port,
"Take care, Ace, Emma!" Luffy said waving at the two figures in the small boat.
"Yeah. See you, Luffy!" Ace responded with a grin.
"You too Luffy, and Mayor thanks for taking care of me in the past years!" Emma said.
"After all these years you chose to take after your criminal father, brat?!" The Mayor Woop Slap looked angry while waving his walking cane, Makino who was standing beside him couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction.
"Uh-huh! I'll be a lot stronger when I leave here in 3 years!" Luffy declared.
"You bet!" Ace said as the boat started sailing away from the Island.
…
[New World, Dressrosa]
In the port of Acacia town, a ship flying the Ashen Pirates Jolly Roger just docked, and from it immerged three prominent figures, Ashen, Enel and Yamato. Calvin and the rest stayed back at Hachinosu to protect the territory.
"So, this is Dressrosa…It's so beautiful!"
"We're here for business Yamato" Enel said.
"Well, it won't hurt if we enjoy ourselves a little while we are here" Ashen said as they made their way out of the port.
Coincidently just as they were walking out of the port and towards the town, the Beasts Pirates lead by an All-Star Jack the Drought were leaving.
'They must be here for business as well' Ashen thought to himself as he cracked a smile at their direction.
"Jack-san, over there" One of his subordinates whispered pointing at Ashen's direction.
Jack glanced at him nervously, it was a well-established fact that Ashen is a battle maniac. You should never provoke the Demon if you're not ready to fight him "What is he doing here?" Jack questioned as his subordinates nervously walked beside him.
Jack clearly remembers Ashen's attack on Onigashima eleven years ago when he was just a child, and he saw how he fought Kaido toe to toe back then.
"Jack...How are you doing little boy?" Ashen said while waving his hand with what it seems an innocent smile. Most of the time Ashen is just laid back and tries not to not take everything too seriously unless he has too.
"That's Jack?!!!" Yamato looked shocked seeing the towering figure in front of her of what used to be just a little kid.
"Yamato?!" Jack looked surprised himself as well seeing her "So you did ran away with Ashen that night, Kaido-sama was very angry when he learned that you left"
"I don't care, I don't consider him as my father anymore…I still can't believe those shackles that he put around my wrist were explosive, that cow-gorilla was gonna kill me for real!" Yamato declared before she wrapped her arm around Ashen with warm smile "I'm happy with Ashen!"
Jack looked taken aback by her response and he stood in his place without answering that until Ashen broke the silence again.
"Oh man, those legs are dog shit!..." Ashen said in amusement while pointing at Jack's disproportioned legs compared to his upper body muscles "You mustn't copy Kaido on everything. Dude, start squatting more and benching less, you look ridiculous" he said before he walked away after that.
Jack looked a little embarrassed and angry at his words, maybe his comment hurt his self-esteem.
"I suggest you don't do anything to mess up Kaido-sama's business with Joker" Jack said, he was basically warning him to not hurt Joker or mess up his recently found SMILE business.
The moment those words escaped Jack's mouth, Yamato suddenly disappeared from Ashen's side and appeared in front of Jack at blinding speed taking him by surprise.
"What are you trying to do?!" One of Jack's subordinates exclaimed, as they all looked surprised at her action.
"HAAAA!!..." Yamato's Kanabō started crackling with lightning as she swung it at his head.
"Raimei Hakke!"
*KA-BOOOM* With a powerful Conqueror's Haki infused blow she sent Jack crashing into a building. Their clash caused a big commotion around the town.
"You're in no position to threaten Ashen!" She declared before she walked towards Ashen again.
"Yahahaha! The kid got stronger for sure!" Enel remarked with a grin.
"Good job" Ashen said, he wanted to pat her head, but the 23 years old Yamato has gotten way taller than him in the past few years.
After that, Ashen and the rest made their way towards the Royal Palace. Unlike what Jack implied, Ashen wasn't here to mess up his business, or kind of…but he was here to start doing business with Joker as well.
…
In the dimly lit private room of Doflamingo in Dressrosa's Royal Palace, Trebol hastily approached him, his voice filled with urgency and a touch of disbelief.
"Doffy, we've got a problem. Yonko Ashen has just set foot on Dressrosa!" Trebol exclaimed, his words laced with a mix of shock and concern.
Doflamingo's typically composed expression momentarily broke at the sudden news. He leaned forward in his couch, his voice lowering to a whisper. "Ashen?...Why is that Demon here?"
Trebol swallowed hard, his nervousness evident as he spoke. "My men saw the Ashen Pirates ship arriving at Acacia's port, and Ashen himself emerged from it"
Doflamingo's features hardened, a hint of unease flickering across his face "That guy is pretty hard to deal with…let's see what he wants first"