When Ace slowly awoke in the sky, he saw himself enveloped by clouds, and a tall figure was sitting beside him.
"Bass..."
As Ace's consciousness gradually returned, he jumped up, trying to get away from the figure.
Whitebeard Newgate was taken aback for a moment, then immediately burst into laughter.
"Be careful, this is high in the sky, falling down would be fatal."
"Who are you, and why are you arresting me?"
Ace wasn't a child anymore; he had developed basic understanding. Although he didn't know whether they were friend or foe, his instinct was to get away from the place.
However, glancing around out of the corner of his eye, he saw that besides these few people, there was only the sky behind Flame Clouds, making escape impossible.
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out.
"Little Ace, it's alright, don't be nervous."
Ace was taken aback, as he hadn't seen Naguri because he had been blocked by Whitebeard Newgate.
Seeing familiar faces filled Ace with immediate excitement.
" Naguri, what are you doing here!"
Over the years, Ace and the old man in front of him had become very close, and Ace knew that the other was a man of great hidden talent.
Although his strength has improved a lot over the years, he still feels like he can't reach his opponent's limit.
"Hehe, little Ace, come and sit here. They're not bad people, and they don't have any ill intentions towards you. On the contrary, your dream will soon come true!"
Ace looked at the people around him with some doubt, then walked over to Naguri's side.
" Naguri, who are they? Why did they capture me? And were you captured too? How is Luffy now?"
Seeing that he recognized someone, Ace relaxed a bit and blurted out a series of questions.
Naguri glanced at Lin Yuan, seemingly indicating that he should answer, since he had no idea why they had captured Ace.
" Ace, full Portgas D. Ace, taking your mother's surname. Your father was the Pirate King Roger, and because you knew the cause of your mother's death, you hated your father and vowed to surpass him!"
Lin Yuan's voice rang in Ace's ears, causing him to clench his fists involuntarily.
He is not my father!
"Oh, really? But regardless, at least in terms of bloodline, he is. You don't need to deceive yourself; after all, you can't change that."
"I told you, he's not my father!"
Seeing Ace looking like an angry little rooster, Lin Yuan smiled but didn't get angry.
Whitebeard Newgate sighed softly, his eyes filled with pity.
" Ace, since you don't acknowledge Roger, why not join my pirate crew? With me here, you can roam freely throughout this world."
"Hmph, who exactly are you? Why should I join you!"
"Oh, so what are your dreams for the future?"
Whitebeard Newgate spoke as gently as possible.
Ace gave Whitebeard Newgate, a strange look that sent chills down his spine.
"I'll naturally set sail from now on. We made a promise: when I turn 17, I'll set sail and become the Pirate King!"
Lin Yuan was naturally aware of the agreement between the three brothers, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy.
However, Ace now believes that Sabo is dead, and he is also somewhat stubborn.
"Hey old man, this kid's a bit stubborn, let me handle this! Ace, if I can make you really strong, incredibly strong, how about you join this old man's team?"
"Besides, to become the Pirate King, you need a lot of crew, right? I can guarantee that if you join them, you can take over the pirate crew after this old guy dies, how about that?"
Whitebeard Newgate glanced at Lin Yuan, but said nothing.
"I will become the Pirate King through my own efforts!"
Lin Yuan always crushed the dreams of those who were blindly confident and had high aspirations.
"Clang..."
Almost instantly, a terrifying blade of light appeared, and several terrifying cloud streaks, tens of meters wide and seemingly endless, appeared in the clouds above, as if the sky had been combed into a parted style.
"Old man, give him one of those Air Quake, show him what's what."
Whitebeard Newgate seemed to understand Lin Yuan's meaning. He stood up abruptly, grabbing Murakumogiri with one hand and raising the other to his chest.
"Oh..."
With a punch that slammed into the air, cracks appeared in space beneath Whitebeard Newgate's fist, and an invisible shockwave erupted outwards.
The clouds that Lin Yuan had just shattered were completely obliterated, forming a fan shape as the clouds were swept away!
A glint flashed in Lin Yuan's eyes. As expected of Whitebeard, this guy's strength is truly monstrous.
However, seeing Whitebeard Newgate's slightly disordered breathing, Lin Yuan curled his lips. For the sake of his own face, this old guy had actually covered up all of his slashes.
Lin Yuan glared at the Whitebeard Newgate with annoyance, but said nothing.
Turning to look at the astonished Ace, Lin Yuan and Whitebeard Newgate stood side by side. The two were very different in height, but their imposing auras seemed to be equal.
Yamato and the others looked at Lin Yuan and Whitebeard Newgate with admiration, and even Naguri couldn't help but marvel at how monstrous the two were.
" Ace, this world is vast, and dreams alone are not enough to make you the Pirate King."
"You know what? The Pirate King you're talking about, the two of us could handle him. If the two of us teamed up, even Roger would have no choice but to run away."
Ace opened his mouth, unsure of what to say. His mind was filled with the sword strike and the punch he had just received; it was the first time he had witnessed the power of one of the world's top experts.
Although Garp often told him he was very strong, Ace had never seen it. But the scene before him shocked him and he could hardly believe it.
Just watching it, Ace felt that if he were to face that sword or that punch, the aftershocks alone would tear him apart.
"Is this the strength of the world's top experts?"
Ace spoke in a hoarse voice, his body somewhat stiff.
"You guys are so strong, compared to the world's number one, Whitebeard Newgate, who's stronger and who's weaker?"
Although Ace was only 14 years old, he had already planned that after setting sail, he would form his own pirate crew, improve his strength, and then challenge the Whitebeard Pirates.
He believed that if you're going to challenge someone, challenge the World's Strongest; that's the only way to become the Pirate King.
But seeing that sword and that punch almost filled Ace's mind, and he realized how insignificant he was.
Could such devastating power truly be caused by humans?
Fortunately, this is in the sky. Ace estimated that if it were on the ground, those two attacks would have been enough to cut the entire Foosha Village in two and then blast it to pieces.
Upon hearing Ace's words, Lin Yuan and Whitebeard Newgate exchanged a smile, and Whitebeard Newgate said proudly.
"Hahaha, Ace, I am the world's strongest man, the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, Edward Newgate!"