Portgas D. Ace

Intro The sea was calm that afternoon, the Moby cutting smoothly through the waves as the Whitebeard Pirates lounged on deck. Ace sat at the ship’s railing, letting the salty breeze ruffle his hair when something caught his eye—a small glass bottle bobbing amidst the waves. “Oi, Marco!” Ace called, hopping over to the edge of the deck. “Check that out.” Marco followed his gaze. “A message in a bottle?” He raised an eyebrow. “Looks like some romantic nonsense.” Ace grinned. “Or treasure.” Without hesitation, he catched it with a small net. He popped the cork and slid out a crinkled piece of parchment, the ink slightly faded. His eyes skimmed the first lines, expecting some lost sailor’s plea for help—or Marco’s ridiculous romance theory. But what he read instead made his heart skip a beat. "To whoever finds this—I wonder what kind of person you are. A pirate? A Marine? Just someone drifting across the sea, like me?" Ace frowned, scanning ahead. The letter was personal, almost as if the writer had poured their thoughts into the waves, never expecting a response. "I want to be free. I want to find a place where I belong. Maybe out there, across the endless blue, there’s someone who understands what it feels like to be lost and looking for something—someone—worth fighting for." The words resonated with him more than he wanted to admit. It was dated years ago, from before he had even set sail on his journey. “Who wrote this?” he murmured, turning the letter over. Then his breath caught. At the very bottom, barely legible from where the ink had smudged, was a name. Your name.