Then Ace snatched away Luffy's cloak, exposing the name tag on his back that read "Lucy" to everyone.
The people around them were furious.
"Doesn't it say Lucy?"
"You bastard! You tricked us!"
Luffy said with an innocent look, "Oh, right. It's Lucy."
Cavendish looked at Ace. "Didn't you just call him Luffy?"
Ace paused, then laughed. "No, I've been calling him Lucy."
Cavendish gave a cold laugh. "And who are you? You've been acting suspicious this whole time."
Ace answered without hesitation. "I'm Ace."
The moment he said his name, everyone looked stunned again.
Then someone pointed at the name tag on Ace's back and said angrily, "Doesn't that say Saito?"
"Damn it, he nearly fooled us too! Ace died ages ago. How could he still be alive?"
"I bet this guy's such an obsessed Ace fan that he thinks he is Ace."
Ace finally caught on. He scratched the back of his head and burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Right, right, I'm Saito. You caught me. I'm a huge Ace fan. I like Ace more than anyone. So the Flame-Flame Fruit is mine."
Luffy silently stared at Ace, who was still wearing a helmet that hid his entire face.
Ace turned toward Luffy and paused before asking, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Luffy broke into a toothy grin. "I'm glad you like Ace so much. That's great. Thanks."
With that, Luffy bowed to Ace.
Before Ace could react in surprise, Luffy added, "But I won't let anyone else have Ace's Flame-Flame Fruit. I'm taking it!"
Cavendish chuckled. "You two are something else. Everyone knows Ace is dead. I almost thought Straw Hat Luffy had actually shown up. If you really were Straw Hat Luffy, I'd kill you right here."
Luffy blinked. "Huh? Why?"
Ace draped the