The warehouse fell quiet.
In the distance, the noise from Onigashima's main hall continued. The smell of alcohol, roasted meat, sea wind, and lingering sparks from the ruins mingled together.
Ace did not say anything else. He thought of the people he had met along the way.
There were Adventure Groups that had fought until their last breath to protect merchant ships.
There were ordinary villagers who trembled in fear yet still hid their children behind them.
There was Dadan, who had grabbed his ear and cursed him out in Foosha Village.
There was Garp, who had always punched him straight into the ground.
There was Luffy, who smiled as he fought Ace for meat.
There was Sabo, serious enough to be annoying.
And there was Rock.
The man who had stood at the edge of the training grounds and told them that strength was not meant to bully the weak.
None of those people had lived as someone else, yet every one of them had stood upon this sea in their own way.
Ace bit into his roasted meat, but his gaze had become calm.
"Then you can admire that person."
Yamato looked at him.
Ace continued, "If he helped you endure in a place like this until now, then he really must be important to you."
"But, Yamato."
"You don't need to throw away even your own name."
As soon as those words fell—
Yamato froze.
Ace lowered his head and looked at the flames in his hand. The firelight danced quietly in his palm.
"I have a father who shook the world too."
Ace did not say that name either. He merely continued in an even tone.
"Many people think I should hate him."
"Others think I should inherit something from him."
"His name, maybe."
"His will,