A man wearing a cowboy hat, with a tattoo of "ASL" on his arm, laid his unconscious companion flat on the deck. Both of them spat out seawater at nearly the same time.
"We survived… I thought we were done for," the man said, lying on the deck, staring up at the vast blue sky. A few seagulls soared freely above.
It felt good to be alive.
"You know, boarding someone else's ship without permission is quite rude," Weiss said calmly as he sat up and took a sip of coconut juice.
"Ah, sorry for intruding. I'm Ace. We hit a storm—our ship capsized. I saw yours and swam over." As he spoke, he raised a hand in greeting, casual and sincere.
The man on the deck was indeed Ace, and the one beside him was likely Deuce, a crew member from the Spade Pirates. Weiss hadn't expected to run into him so soon after setting sail.
What a fated encounter.
Wait—storm, disaster, Ace just swam up from the sea… That must mean he hasn't eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit yet. Could it be nearby?
In the original story, these two ended up shipwrecked on an island, where Ace discovered the Flame-Flame Fruit.
But now, by sheer chance, they'd ended up on Weiss' ship instead. Which meant...
...
...
"You just jumped aboard—weren't you worried we might be pirates?"
Weiss leaned on the railing, speaking casually to Ace. In truth, his Observation Haki had already spread out, scanning the area for any nearby islands.
Even if it wasn't the one with the Devil Fruit, any island would do for a break. The Chris had taken some damage in the storm, after all.
"You don't look like pirates. You look kind of cool, honestly. Besides, I'm a pirate too," Ace said with a grin, adjusting his hat. Without making a show of it, he subtly stepped in front of Deuce, who was still unconscious.
"Haha! Better save your friend quick," Weiss laughed. "If you don't get the water out of his stomach, he really might die."
"Crap!" Ace jolted at the reminder. Deuce had already passed out in the water—he needed help immediately.
Weiss shook his head with a helpless smile. His search revealed no islands nearby, but he wasn't too bothered. As someone committed to walking the path of the sword, he had no intention of eating a Devil Fruit anyway.
He just wanted to see one out of curiosity. He'd never seen one up close.
Besides, eating one would mean losing the ability to swim. Where was the fun in that?
He didn't intend to do anything to Ace either. After all, he had liked the character in his previous life's anime. And with no enmity between them now, there was no reason for hostility.
(Definitely not because of Garp.)
"Kadun! Is lunch ready yet? I'm starving!" Weiss shouted toward the cabin.
They'd been caught in the storm right around lunchtime. After all that, he was even hungrier than before.
"I'm coming, I'm coming! First I survive the storm, now I've got to cook, and after that I've got to clean up the mess on deck. Why's my life so unlucky?" Kadun grumbled as he carried two large plates of food.
He was starving too.
But when he saw two unfamiliar people on the deck, he paused in confusion. Clutching the plates behind his back, he crept over to Weiss' side and whispered.
"Are those two pirates?"
"Yep. Climbed up out of the sea, probably hit the same storm we did."
Weiss grabbed a spoon and started eating with gusto. Less than two minutes later, an entire plate of fried rice had disappeared into his stomach.
Still unsatisfied, he licked his lips and eyed the plate in Kadun's hands.
Seeing his look, Kadun quickly spat twice on his own food and shielded the plate with both hands. "There's a big pot in the kitchen. Go serve yourself."
Weiss sighed in disappointment. He just didn't want to walk from the deck to the kitchen. That was all. At this point, he could confirm: Kadun definitely wasn't a professional chef. That attitude—tsk.
"Well, it's up to you. But those two over there are pirates. If something happens while I'm gone, I can't save you," Weiss warned.
Kadunn glanced at Ace, who was still tending to his unconscious friend, hesitated, then turned and bolted for the kitchen. "Don't touch my plate!" he shouted over his shoulder.
...
Cough! Cough!
With Ace's help, Deuce finally coughed up the seawater from his lungs and began to regain consciousness. Leaning on Ace's shoulder, he walked over to Weiss.
"Thanks for taking us in," Ace said as he pressed down on Deuce's head and bowed slightly.
As a child, Ace had been wild and rebellious due to his lineage—"feral kid" was a fair description. But after meeting Sabo and Luffy, and later under Makino's guidance, he'd learned a bit of manners.
Especially useful when freeloading.
"Well, now that you're awake, we'll drop you off at the next island," Weiss said plainly.
That was his plan. Even if Ace was a big name in the world of pirates, Weiss didn't see any reason to suck up to him.
His treatment of them was simply the most basic courtesy toward people rescued from the sea.
"Thanks." Ace didn't say much more. He and Deuce leaned against the railing to rest.
At that moment, Kadun came back carrying a big pot of fried rice. Afraid Weiss would make him go back and forth again, he decided to just bring the whole thing.
"Here, I brought the whole thing. Eat as much as you want," he said, then returned to his own plate.
Gurgle~
As Weiss and Kadun ate heartily, two loud, rhythmic grumbles sounded from nearby. They turned to see Ace and Deuce clutching their stomachs—clearly starving.
"If you don't mind, you're welcome to eat with us," Weiss offered.
Deuce looked at Ace, uncertain. They hadn't eaten in two days before getting hit by the storm.
"That'd be amazing," Ace said, already rushing toward the food.
"Captain, you're too shameless!" Deuce followed after him, refusing to be left behind. If the captain wasn't afraid, why should he be?
"One meal costs 100,000 Berries each. That's 200,000 total," Weiss said coolly, still eating his fried rice.
Ace and Deuce, halfway through diving into their plates, froze—then collapsed to the deck in protest. "What kind of robbery is that?! Fried rice shouldn't cost this much!"
"Robbery? Don't be silly—this is way faster than robbery," Weiss said with a wave of his hand.
He knew they had no money. And it's not like Ace could beat him anyway. A bit of extortion wouldn't hurt.
Ace's eyes gleamed mischievously. "Alright then."
Watching the scene unfold, Kadun dug into his food with more enthusiasm. What was supposed to feed two now had to feed four.
As the three scarfed down rice like hungry wolves, Weiss finished off his plate and put it aside. At the moment, Ace was still playing it safe—probably unsure of Weiss' strength.
In the original story, Ace was bold enough to crash pirate parties and eat like a king without permission. But that was when he was the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
With that kind of strength and backing, most crews wouldn't dare mess with him.
But right now? He was just a greenhorn fresh out to sea.
After the meal, the four had gotten to know each other—at least on a surface level. They exchanged names. Deuce and Kadun started cleaning up the Chris, tossing out everything damaged or waterlogged.
Ace, meanwhile, handed Weiss an I.O.U. for 1 million Berries for a one-day stay, then plopped down in a deck chair beside him.
After all, they were both captains.
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