Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
The Grand Line, a certain sea area.
The Whitebeard Pirates. The Moby Dick.
"I never expected to meet you here."
"Rayleigh, what brings you here?"
Whitebeard, the world's strongest man, narrowed his eyes, regarding the lone figure who had approached his ship with a note of suspicion. Like him, Rayleigh was a pirate from the old era, a man who had earned his own legend.
"Whitebeard, you already know why I've come."
Rayleigh approached with a sword at his side and a smile on his face. The Whitebeard Pirates nearby saw him walking toward their captain and moved at once, stepping forward to block his path, their expressions hard and watchful.
They were already bracing themselves for war against Marine Headquarters, and Rayleigh's sudden arrival only sharpened their nerves. None of them believed he could truly defeat Whitebeard, but he was, after all, a legendary pirate in his own right.
If the two of them came to blows now and Whitebeard spent his strength in the fight, rescuing Ace afterward would become far harder. They were not going into that battle alone this time. Ikki's pirate crew had already promised to lend them their strength in the coming war, which made the stakes of losing Whitebeard's full strength even higher.
None of the Whitebeard Pirates knew that Ace was truly Roger's son. Had they known, Rayleigh's arrival would have filled them with relief rather than suspicion, given the bond between Rayleigh and Ace's father. They would never have simply stood by while Marine Headquarters marched Ace to his execution.
In truth, Rayleigh had come for exactly that reason: to help rescue Ace. But while his crew remained ignorant of the connection, Whitebeard already knew it. So when Rayleigh appeared before him, Whitebeard felt no anger at all. He didn't believe for a moment that the man had come aboard looking for a fight.
And indeed, though Rayleigh carried a sword, he showed no hint of hostility. Under the circumstances, the odds of the two of them clashing were slim to none.
"Let him through."
Whitebeard waved a hand, and his men stepped back to clear the way.
"Whitebeard, it's been a long time." Rayleigh walked up with an easy smile. "You've aged quite a bit, haven't you?"
"Haven't you aged just as much, Rayleigh?" Whitebeard said. "Let's skip the pleasantries. Tell me why you've come."
"Heh. You already know why."
"How could I not come to save Roger's child?"
The moment Rayleigh said it, Whitebeard's expression shifted into something like quiet confirmation, though a flicker of doubt still lingered beneath it. By all rights, Rayleigh shouldn't have known Ace's true identity. If he had known earlier, he surely would have sought out the Whitebeard Pirates long before now to ask after him.
Jozu: "Roger's child? Wait, Roger actually had a kid?"
Vista: "That's quite the bombshell. But why would Rayleigh come looking for Roger's child here, of all places?"
Marco: "Could it be that Roger's child has been with us this whole time? Wait... could it be...?"
Marco looked up at Whitebeard and Rayleigh, utterly stunned, the pieces falling into place in his mind. Rayleigh had spoken of "rescuing Roger's child," and that word, rescue, meant the child was in danger right now. Ace, too, was in danger.
The more Marco turned it over, the more certain he became. Ace's talent had never been in question. It was there in how swiftly he'd risen to become the Whitebeard Pirates' second division commander, and in how highly Whitebeard himself regarded him.
If Ace really was Roger's son, both of those things made perfect sense. Roger had been the Pirate King, so his child's talent would naturally be extraordinary, and Whitebeard's high regard for him would follow just as naturally. Roger had, after all, been something like an old friend to Whitebeard.
Marco had been among the very first to join the crew, so he knew the history between the two captains well. They'd clashed more than once over the years, but it had always been the kind of squabbling that passed between old friends. It was that friendship, more than anything, that had let Roger recruit Kozuki Oden away from Whitebeard to serve as his own second division commander.
Sure enough, what Whitebeard and Rayleigh said next only confirmed what Marco had already pieced together.
"I never would have guessed Ace was Roger's son," Rayleigh said, tilting his head back to look up at the sky, his voice thick with feeling. "That man kept it hidden from all of us awfully well. If I hadn't learned of it by chance, I might have missed my one chance to save my captain's son."
"I knew it," Marco murmured.
Jozu: "What?! Ace is really Roger's son?! Vista, tell me I heard that right!"
Vista: "Don't ask me. I'm not sure I trust my own ears right now."
It wasn't only Jozu and Vista who reeled at the revelation. A murmur of shock rippled through the rest of the crew. As they talked amongst themselves, every eye eventually turned to their old captain, Whitebeard.
They all understood that Rayleigh's words alone weren't confirmation. But if even Whitebeard didn't deny it, then the truth was beyond dispute: Ace was Roger's son.
"So you knew all along," Whitebeard said after a moment's pause. "I'm curious, Rayleigh. Where did you hear this?"
Jozu: "It really is true. Rayleigh wasn't lying!"
Vista: "That's... quite the expression on the old man's face."
Marco: "It's surprising, no question. But it seems Ace's identity works in our favor now."
Jozu and Vista both nodded at that. It was precisely because Ace was Roger's son that Rayleigh had come at all, and if he stood with the Whitebeard Pirates when they marched on Marine Headquarters to save Ace, their odds of success would rise considerably.
Setting everything else aside, having Rayleigh fighting alongside them would lift the crew's morale enormously in battle, while the Marines' morale would take the opposite hit. The Whitebeard Pirates had weathered countless wars since their founding, and Marco and the others knew exactly how much morale could decide the outcome of a fight.
If the Whitebeard Pirates could seize the momentum against Marine Headquarters, the coming war would be far easier to win, and their losses far lighter. At the same time, Marco and the others were burning with curiosity over how Rayleigh had learned Ace was Roger's son in the first place.
Judging by the exchange between Whitebeard and Rayleigh, it seemed Rayleigh hadn't known from the start, and had only just found out. Marco, Jozu, Vista, and the rest all turned to their father with the same curious look, waiting for the answer.
"I once crossed paths with Ikki. That's how I learned the truth. I gave him my sword, for that news. Judge for yourselves." Rayleigh said.