"What's going on?"
A small boat sailed toward Loguetown. It was simple and battered, and looked unsteady even on a calm sea. The slightest swell seemed enough to wreck the Small Boat and drown its passenger.
A teenage boy stood aboard. A few freckles dotted his face, but they did nothing to detract from his handsome, friendly looks.
He wore an orange cowboy hat with "smile" and "sadness" badges on the brim. The letters "ASCE" were tattooed on his left arm, with the S crossed out. This perpetually cheerful boy was Fire Fist Ace, who had only recently set out to sea.
Loguetown was almost in sight, but Ace frowned. Along the way, he had passed many pirate ships turning back. He had heard that the Marines had blockaded Loguetown, though no one could tell him why.
The reason was simple: the pirates Ace had met had left Loguetown before Ye Chen arrived. Ace knew nothing about the Marines' operation against him.
But the news that Loguetown was packed with Marines did not frighten Ace in the slightest. It only excited him more. While everyone else turned back in fear, he kept steering his Small Boat toward town.
By then, Ace had already eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit!
(The manga never specifies exactly when he ate it, but two things are certain. First, Ace had not eaten it as a child or when he first set out to sea. Second, he had eaten it before boarding Whitebeard's ship, and he had already obtained the Flame-Flame Fruit when he visited Shanks. Here, he obtained it before reaching Loguetown.)
"Hm?"
As he drew closer to Loguetown, Ace spotted a pirate ship stopped ahead. It was large and impossible to miss. Its pirate flag was bloodred, marked with two crossed Death God's Scythes supporting