Two days later in a certain place in the East Blue above the seawater.
A certain tall muscular young man on a waterproof, one-man, yellow raft shaped like a half crescent. It had an engine in the back, two paddle wheels on the sides, and a small sail in the back. Everything is linked to the main seat in the middle of the raft.
He had jaw-length curly black hair, sporting rather childish freckles. He wore black boots, black knee-length shorts with an eyelet-studded orange belt, and a blue pouch belted around his left leg. He also wore a short second belt with a large red "A" on the silver buckle over his right hip but left it unfastened, and threaded the free end along the back of his shorts. A dagger in a green sheath hung at his left hip.
He had tattoos as trademark features one on his back of the Whitebeard symbol—purple bones formed in a cross behind a purple skull with a white mustache, and another tattoo on his upper left bicep that spells "ASCE" vertically. The "S" crossed out is a tribute to Sabo as that's his Jolly Roger.
On his left arm, he wore a Log Pose and a red and white striped bracelet around his wrist, an orange elbow guard, and his "ASCE" tattoo. He wore a red beaded necklace and an orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling, and a string of red beads sitting above the rim. Two long orange side straps hung down the sides of his hat and met at a large medallion of a bull's skull with orange tassels.'
Two days later in a certain place in the East Blue above the seawater.
A certain tall muscular young man on a waterproof, one-man, yellow raft shaped like a half crescent. It had an engine in the back, two paddle wheels on the sides, and a small sail in the back. Everything is linked to the main seat in the middle of the raft.
He had jaw-length curly black hair, sporting rather childish freckles. He wore black boots, black knee-length shorts with an eyelet-studded orange belt, and a blue pouch belted around his left leg. He also wore a short second belt with a large red "A" on the silver buckle over his right hip but left it unfastened, and threaded the free end along the back of his shorts. A dagger in a green sheath hung at his left hip.
He had tattoos as trademark features one on his back of the Whitebeard symbol—purple bones formed in a cross behind a purple skull with a white mustache, and another tattoo on his upper left bicep that spells "ASCE" vertically. The "S" crossed out is a tribute to Sabo as that's his Jolly Roger.
On his left arm, he wore a Log Pose and a red and white striped bracelet around his wrist, an orange elbow guard, and his "ASCE" tattoo. He wore a red beaded necklace and an orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling, and a string of red beads sitting above the rim. Two long orange side straps hung down the sides of his hat and met at a large medallion of a bull's skull with orange tassels.
Ace abruptly lifted his head, wiped his eyes, and became more alert upon seeing a massive tidal wave approaching.
"Not good!"
With no other escape in sight, he propelled his raft, Striker, to slice through the crest of the wave as he hoisted himself over it. After passing the peril, his eye twitched upon noticing more similar tidal waves converging on his location.
"MOTHER FUCKER!"
Panic set in.
"The seas are incredibly tumultuous. When will I reach Hector? Perhaps he's not at the Baratie anymore? Well, there's only one way to find out."
"Just a few more hours... Huh?"
Suddenly, Ace sensed an overwhelming presence entering his detection range, akin to a sun emerging in the dark night, impossible to overlook.
"What's that?"
He gazed upward in shock, towards the source of the waves, at that very moment.
Boom!!
The sea erupted as he caught sight of the Baratie, with a figure on its fin platform elevating the sea with his swordplay.
It all transpired in an instant, from detecting the intrusive aura with his raw, untrained observation Haki, to glancing towards the ship's location. In that brief movement, he propelled himself forward, arriving face-to-face with the figure.
The restaurant's outer fin platform crumbled under his landing, and the food nearly tumbled off the table before Sanji secured it. A sword was now at Ace's throat.
"So fast!!!"
Ace continued the motion of raising his arms, frozen for a few seconds before abruptly returning to his senses, his keen eyes locked on the group on the fin platform. As the dust settled, the figures became clearer. There were many of them, including two men, and numerous women in swimwear basking in the sun, and he finally spotted Leon playing with children giving them rides?
The man in swim trunks wielded his sword, guarding the women. Remarkably, despite Ace's rigorous training, he realized he was no match for him. Ace's mouth fell open in awe, his eyes slowly lifting, taking in every detail of his very tall opponent's presence.
"Hector?"
His eyes widened as he instinctively called out Hector's name. The man before him bore a resemblance to Hector from his memories, yet he was different. Hector had always been of similar height, his frame frail, as if he was perpetually on death's door. This man, however, while sharing Hector's facial features, stood at 3.5 meters tall and was built like a fortress.
"Is it really you?"
Ace exclaimed in disbelief, and Hector was just as astonished to encounter him.
"Captain Hector, who is this?"
Kaya inquired in a hushed tone, visibly unsettled by his entrance. It was only when she spoke that Ace finally turned his attention to her. He nodded, and she returned the gesture.
"Is this my sister-in-law?"
Ace, initially taken aback, couldn't help but grin.
'After weeks, his foolish older brother had found a woman, or rather, a woman who fancied him?! Astonishing!'
With that thought, he promptly stood and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
"Hello, my name is Ace. It seems you've been caring for my older brother, despite his peculiar fixations."
Kaya, looking perplexed, instinctively waved her hand and said blankly.
"Actually, it's Captain Hector who has been taking care of us."
After speaking, she gave Hector a puzzled glance, noticing he still had his sword pointed at his brother, as Ace was silently pleading for her help.
"Us?"
Ace queried, confused.
"This is Ace. I hadn't mentioned him because he's known to be a bit troublesome in the family."
Hector clarified to Kaya first, then introduced Ace after sheathing Yubashiri from his neck.
"She's Kaya from Syrup Village. The girl with long light purple hair, styled in a chignon, is Carina, whom I rescued from another pirate crew. The girls with orange and the other with purple hair are sisters from the Conomi Islands, where Arlong was masquerading as a deity. It was revolting, so I put an end to them. And then, I eradicated all of the Marines at the sixteenth branch upon discovering they were colluding with Arlong."
"I discovered Arlong and his weak crew terrorizing several islands in the East Blue, enslaving the inhabitants. They demanded 50,000 beri a month from children and 100,000 from adults; those who couldn't pay were killed by his pathetic crew."
"Long time no see."
Ace tried to hug Hector, but he slapped his hand and they shook hands instead. Immediately after, they began a contest of grip strength. Clearly, Ace was no match for Hector's newfound strength.
"You've gotten stronger, bro. What happened to your appearance?"
"It's a long story, one I doubt you'd be interested in. The short version is I had the poison that was killing me removed from my heart. I recovered from the poison, and this is how I would have looked if I hadn't been sick all the time."
As Hector said this, Kaya was taken aback to learn that Hector had also been suffering from poison. Ace did not inquire further.
"I sort of left without permission when I thought you were dying, so I wanted to drop by to see you."
Hector shook his head.
"I don't have time to chat right now. I'm busy with something important."
With that, he glanced over at the girls.
RACE: Human■■■■■■
NAME: Hector Barbossa■■■■■■
Level: 48
Health Points: 30,200
Mana Points: 26,520
Stamina Points: 15,100
Attunement: 1,327
Vitality: 756
Endurance: 756
Strength: 1,256
Dexterity: 1,361
Perception: 756
Skill: 756
Safe Rewards From Daily Quest:
+Stat Points: 120
+Skill Points: 21
+Status Recovery: 3
Skill Tree:
+Haki:
-Observation Haki: A Rank
-Armament Haki: A Rank
-Conquers Haki: EX Rank
+Rokushiki
-Moon Step: S- Rank
-Iron Body: S Rank
-Tempest Kick: S+ Rank
-Shave: S+ Rank
-Finger Pistol: S Rank
-Kami-e: S- Rank