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[RNZO] Ch 307: Punch of Love
🕑 Added 2025-06-25 18:04:17 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
"It's us!"
Renzo smiled and nodded. "We came here especially to catch up with you! And also to introduce you to a couple of people."
"You're not gonna make us stand here without a drink, are you?"
"Eh?... Oh! Right, drinks!"
Ace froze for a second, then grinned and quickly nodded. He turned to shout at his crew, "Alright! Put the weapons away! These are my friends! Get out the good stuff—food, drinks, everything! Let's have ourselves a party! Move, move, move!!"
"Oh? So they're not enemies after all?"
"Friends? Then we're good! Party time!"
"Haha! Welcome aboard!"
Hearing that, Ace's crew all relaxed and started preparing a feast with smiles on their faces.
In no time, they'd brought out all sorts of delicious food and drinks.
Renzo and the others took their seats at a long table, blending right in.
"Man, it's been years since we last saw each other, huh? What brings you guys here today? Don't tell me you really came just to reminisce?"
Ace spoke with his mouth full, glancing between Renzo, the older man beside him, and the woman puffing on a cigarette.
He didn't buy it—not one bit.
"Well... he really does look like him," Rayleigh suddenly said, his eyes fixed on Ace's face, full of emotion.
"Yeah," Shakky agreed with a nod, smoke curling from her lips.
"Huh? Look like who? Wait, you still haven't introduced them yet, Renzo!" Ace asked, clearly confused.
He was getting weird vibes from these two. The way they looked at him felt… complicated. Almost like an elder watching their own child.
But he was sure he didn't know them.
Renzo chuckled and started the introductions. "This uncle here is Rayleigh—Dark King Rayleigh. He was the first mate of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Your father's right-hand man."
"…Huh?"
"Dark King Rayleigh?"
"Roger Pirates?"
"Pirate King?!"
"Our captain is the son of Gol D. Roger?!"
"You're kidding, right?!"
Before Ace could even react, his crewmates were already freaking out. Eyes wide, jaws dropped.
Was their captain really that much of a big deal?
Meanwhile, Ace's face darkened. He turned a sharp gaze toward Renzo.
"How do you know about that?"
He took a breath, his tone low and heavy.
"And for the record—I've never considered that man my father. Do you know what it cost me because of him? I lost my mom before I even had the chance to meet her."
"My name is Portgas D. Ace, not Gol! Don't bring up that man to me again, or I won't hold back."
He stood up, clearly ready to leave.
"Whoa, hey, hey!"
Renzo quickly reached out and pressed a hand on Ace's shoulder. "Relax, man. I'm not telling you to accept him or anything. I just wanted to let you know—you don't have to worry about that anymore. The Marines aren't gonna come after you for that bloodline again. Actually… you might want to start thinking about a career change soon."
"…Huh?"
Ace looked genuinely lost. "What are you talking about? What do you mean I don't need to worry about it anymore? And what's this about me changing careers? Can you stop being so mysterious?!"
He was totally confused now.
"Well, here's the deal…"
Renzo patiently explained everything—what he'd done, what was happening in the world, and how things were going to change in the future.
By the time he finished, both Ace and his crew were frozen in place, stunned.
Ace just stared at Renzo like he'd grown a second head.
"You can't be serious… You took down the World Government and the Celestial Dragons?! And in the future, pirate crews won't even be allowed to exist—only registered adventuring groups?!"
"That's right," Renzo nodded. "It won't happen overnight, of course. Might take five years, maybe ten. But eventually, pirates will vanish from the seas. The age of piracy is ending. You'd better start planning for it."
He gave Ace a friendly pat on the shoulder.
Ace: "…"
Can he curse now?
He could tell Renzo wasn't joking. Which meant… this was all real.
What the hell?
He hadn't even gotten far in his journey and the road was already blocked?
"…Whatever. We'll deal with that later," Ace muttered irritably, tearing into a piece of meat. "You said we've still got five or six years, right? I'll deal with it when the time comes. For now, we'll just take it step by step."
"Sounds good," Renzo nodded. "Just make sure you don't go too far. No crimes against innocents, no senseless killing. And maybe cut down on all the dine-and-dash antics while you're at it."
"Who said I dine and dash?!"
Ace's face turned red as he shouted, embarrassed.
(How the hell does he know about that?!)
"Heh." Renzo chuckled. "You and I both know the answer to that one. Honestly, you're one of the lucky ones. You haven't done anything too evil, and your journey's just getting started. You've still got time to turn things around, even go legit."
"Most pirates in the future? They won't get that chance. The system's coming for them, and they'll be wiped out—no second chances."
After all…
Everyone has to pay for their choices eventually.
"…Fine," Ace muttered. "But taking out pirates who attack us or hurt others… that's still fair game, right?"
Ace wasn't too bothered. Honestly, what Renzo described as an "adventuring group" didn't sound too different from his Spade Pirates. He was never the kind of guy to go around causing senseless trouble.
Still, if someone came after them, he sure as hell wasn't going to sit back and take it.
"Fair game," Renzo nodded. "And honestly, even now, if you did go around causing trouble, you'd probably be fine for the time being—as long as the Navy doesn't catch you. But when the reckoning comes? Yeah, things will get ugly."
"I told you before—now that your identity as Roger's son is out, the Navy's not going to target you for it anymore. But if you go full villain after this, it'll be a different story."
Renzo left it at that. No point pushing the topic further.
Instead, the conversation shifted to other things—like Luffy and Sabo.
Rayleigh and Shakky didn't interrupt. They just sat nearby and quietly listened.
They could tell Ace wasn't comfortable with them—probably because they were connected to Roger. That was understandable.
After all, Ace's mother, Rouge, had suffered a tragic fate because of Roger… and Ace himself had grown up under the weight of that legacy, hated for something he never chose.
His resentment toward Roger? Totally justified.
All they wanted was to confirm that he was truly Roger's son—and that he was safe. And with Renzo backing the claim, along with their own observations… it was pretty clear.
Ace was Roger's kid. No doubt about it.
The resemblance was there—especially in his eyes and brow. A son couldn't look more like his old man if he tried.
"Say… the World Government and Celestial Dragons were supposed to be ridiculously powerful, right? You took them down solo? Just you?" Ace asked, still trying to wrap his head around it. "You must be insanely strong now, huh? So how come I've barely heard your name out on the seas?"
Ace had a decent bounty himself by now—he was no small fry. So how had Renzo done all that without making waves?
"Oh, that's 'cause you don't know the full story," Kuina chimed in with a grin. "One of the Five Emperors, Uchiha Madara? That's one of Renzo's clones."
"…What?"
Ace raised an eyebrow and stared at Renzo in disbelief. "You can make clones?! And that guy's just a clone? Alright, alright—let's go! Fight me, right here, right now!"
"Oh? You wanna spar? Sure, I'll play with you."
"Play?! Don't look down on me! I'm no pushover!"
"Fire Fist!!"
"Punch of Love!"
"THE HELL YOU MEAN 'PUNCH OF LOVE'?! Don't start copying the old man! That attack is a freaking firecracker punch!"
"..."
"Super Punch of Love!"
"…Don't be ridiculous. That's not some Garp-style punch. That's just basic New World pirate combat—Armament Haki. You seriously haven't even learned Armament yet? And you think you can survive in the New World? Bro, give it up while you're still alive."
"Damn it! Fire Fist!!"
"Punch of MAX Love!"
"Aww, why always my face? Dammit!"
...
Ten minutes later…
Ace stumbled back onto his ship with a swollen nose, bruises all over his face, and a deadpan expression.
He glared at Renzo, who looked way too pleased with himself.
"Seriously?! Why'd you keep aiming for the face? That's just bullying!"
Yep. This guy was always like this. And it didn't look like he'd changed at all.
Ace regretted challenging him almost immediately.
"Hahahaha!"
Renzo laughed cheerfully. "Hey, I just wanted to leave a lasting impression—let you feel the gap between you and the real monsters of the sea."
"Besides, I was holding back. What I used just now was about the level of a mid-tier Marine Vice Admiral."
"You got wrecked that badly by that level? Maybe keep a low profile for a while. There are a lot of pirates out there stronger than you."
"Oh—and another thing. I think you've been going about your Flame-Flame Fruit all wrong."
"Huh?" Ace blinked.
"The key to your fruit isn't fancy attacks or flashy explosions—it's temperature. If you can push its heat potential to the max, your flames could surpass even Akainu's Magma-Magma Fruit."
"If you keep going that way, you're gonna get hard-countered."
Even though Ace probably wouldn't run into Akainu now, Renzo still hoped he could avoid making the same mistakes.
"Temperature, huh? I get it now."
Ace nodded seriously.
Renzo wasn't the type to give bad advice. If a guy that strong said something, it meant something.
— — —
In the Mental Space
Finally, two new Renzos have joined the group.
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