Portgas D. Ace


 * The subject of this article is sometimes called "Portgaz D. Ace" and "Portgaz D. Trace".

Portgas D. Ace (ポートガス・D・エース), born as Gol D. Ace (ゴール・D・エース) and nicknamed "Fire Fist Ace" (火拳のエース), was the adopted older brother of Monkey D. Luffy and Sabo, and son of the late Pirate King, Gol D. Roger and his lover, Portgas D. Rouge. He was adopted by Monkey D. Garp as wished by Roger to him before his birth. Ace was the 2nd division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and one-time captain of the Spade Pirates.

Hunted by the World Government for his lineage, Ace ultimately met his end two years ago after being captured and sentenced to death, which resulted in the Battle of Marineford in an all out clash of powers. Ace was freed, but he sacrificed his life to protect his younger brother from Akainu, who was a Marine admiral at the time.

Appearance
Although they were not blood related, Ace looked remarkably like his foster brother, Luffy. However, Ace was more serious looking than Luffy's lighthearted design, and was also slightly taller and more muscular. He also sported rather childish freckles (inherited from his mother), and tended to make an incredulous facial expression by raising his left eyebrow. Interestingly, his facial features were almost akin to his biological father Gol D. Roger in his youth without his mustache.

Ace's tattoos were among his most remarkable, trademark features. He had a tattoo on his back of the Whitebeard symbol — purple bones formed in a cross behind a purple skull with a white mustache — that he described as his pride and joy. Ace had another tattoo on his upper left bicep that spells "A S CE" vertically. The "S" crossed out is a tribute to Sabo as that's his jolly roger. On the cover of Chapter 596 indeed, Ace's tattoo is written as "ACE" instead of the original "A S CE" as the cover is a "what if" image of Ace, Luffy, and Sabo together as adults with the latter being still alive.

Ace wore an open-front shirt until he received Whitebeard's tattoo - afterwards, he stopped wearing anything over his upper body except when on winter islands. He wore black boots, black knee-length shorts with an eyelet-studded orange belt, and a blue pouch belted around his left leg. He also wore a short second belt with a large red "A" on the silver buckle over his right hip, but left it unfastened and threaded the free end along the back of his shorts. A dagger in a green sheath hung at his left hip. On Ace's left arm, he wore a Log Pose and a red and white striped bracelet around his wrist, an orange elbow guard, and his "ASCE" tattoo. He wore a red beaded necklace and an orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling, and a string of red beads sitting above the rim. Two long orange side straps hung down sides of his hat and met at a large medallion of a bull's skull with orange tassels.

Unfortunately, Ace lost his trademark hat, which he already had when he began his journey as a pirate, on Banaro Island as a result of his duel with Blackbeard. His knife was also apparently confiscated, as he no longer had it in his next appearance as a prisoner at Impel Down. The tattoo upon his back that he took so much pride in was later destroyed by the same blow that eventually led to his death. However, at his grave, Ace's hat and knife were placed at his tombstone — either they were retrieved, or they were duplicates in Ace's possession.

During the ending credits in the second movie, Clockwork Island Adventure, previews of upcoming characters from the Baroque Works Saga were featured. Ace was also included amongst the many characters, but while his clothes were almost identical, he boasted a very different color scheme to the one he was given in his official appearance in the anime.

As a child, Ace is shown to have often worn t-shirts with two-kanji phrases on the front (such as "innocence" and "violence"). On some occasions they are linked to the scene in which they were worn, like "independence" when the three brothers built their own tree house to live in. He often wore knee-length shorts and a black elbow guard on his left arm. Ace was always seen wearing dark brown, flat, slipper-like shoes, and in the winter, he wore a green cardigan over his normal clothes.

Personality
Ace was much more intelligent, polite, and generally more bearable than Luffy, which prompted the Straw Hat Pirates to question whether he was truly related to their captain. While several people who knew Gol D. Roger noted Luffy is quite similar to the late Pirate King, Whitebeard himself claimed that Ace's personality was not at all like his father's. It seems that among the very few things the brothers shared was their recklessness as pirates (and their near-bottomless stomachs). In addition, Ace liked to party as much as his brother does. When he boarded Buggy's ship, he was drawn by the smell of food and decided to enjoy himself while he was there.

There were two running gags about Ace. The first was his rather extreme narcolepsy. He tended to randomly fall asleep while eating and conversing, leaving strangers around him wondering if he had died. This was first seen in Alabasta when they thought he died in the middle of eating. The second was that he did a "dine and dash" routine wherever he went. This went back to his younger days with Sabo and Luffy, when they would often dine and dash in the city of Goa.

His "politeness" is due to Makino's teaching after Ace asked her how to introduce himself to Shanks (being his brother's savior). Before that, Ace was rather cold and rude to anyone he was not familiar with.

As the son of Roger, he lived in his shadow and is to date the first D. depicted to truly question his own right to exist, while displaying the fewest commonly seen D. related traits. Ace seemed to have life-long problems dealing with his parentage, even after denouncing Gol D. Roger and accepting Whitebeard as his only father. This was in direct contrast to Luffy, who accepted his father's identity immediately upon learning it and did not seem to care when he was told how dangerous of a man he was. However, Luffy did not grow up with knowledge or identity (or even existence) of his father. Ace believed that it was natural if he were to really die as nobody in the world wanted the son of the devil (Roger) to live. Ace commented upon his own death that he had never sought fame or fortune - all he had wanted was the answer to his lifelong question of whether or not he should have been born, as this was the only thing preventing him from dying with no regrets as he and Luffy had vowed to do so and the fact he had a younger brother to look out for. Ace's only regret was that he would not live to see Luffy achieve his dream, which he believed Luffy undoubtedly would accomplish as he was his little brother.

Ace had a tendency to never back down from a fight, saying that he would never run once facing an enemy. Because of this, some people believed that Ace had a death wish, but in truth he wanted to prevent people he cared for from getting hurt. Dadan stated that he inherited this tendency from his father, Gol D. Roger, despite loathing him. While Ace emerged victorious over enemies he refused to run from, such as Porchemy and Bluejam, his stubbornness hurt him on a number of occasions, particularly when he refused to back down against Blackbeard or Admiral Akainu.

Ace was also easily provoked by and became violent towards anyone who insulted or harmed people close to him. In one of Garp's conversations with Curly Dadan, this was revealed to be a trait of Roger as well. During his childhood, Ace had a tendency to severely injure anyone who insulted Roger, though he himself disliked his biological father. After hearing about Sabo's presumed death at the hands of a World Noble, Ace quickly became bent on killing the Noble and Dadan had to pin Ace down and tie him to a tree to stop him.

Ace's temper got the better of him, especially in cases when Whitebeard, proclaimed by Ace to be his only father, was insulted. Believing that this was the case when Blackbeard broke the iron rule of the Whitebeard Pirates and fled after murdering a crewmate, Ace pursued his traitorous subordinate despite his crewmates' efforts and even Whitebeard's orders to stop him. Ace later came to see that his stubbornness had gotten him into the ordeal of being scheduled for execution. Even though he managed to escape death on the scaffold thanks to the pirates' and Luffy's efforts at Marineford and was well on his way to freedom, Admiral Akainu got to him by insulting Whitebeard. Ace quickly turned back to face him, ignoring his crewmates' warnings to not become angered over Akainu's provocations. Unwilling to let him get away of speaking ill of Whitebeard, Ace attacked him out of fury only to have his arm burned by Akainu's Devil Fruit powers. Akainu then took the opportunity to attack Luffy on the sideline, leading Ace to jump in, sacrificing his life to shield Luffy from the attack. While saying his last words, Ace sadly admitted to Luffy that he (Ace) wasted away all of his efforts to rescue him.

Spade Pirates
Ace was extremely loyal to the Spade Pirates, the crew that he formed himself. When he knew that they stood no chance against Whitebeard, he formed a firewall to allow them to escape, leaving himself behind to hold Whitebeard back alone. The Spade Pirates also share this loyalty. Despite their earlier thrashing at the hands of Whitebeard, they challenged the Whitebeard Pirates in the hopes of retrieving their captain, but were soundly beaten and abducted along with him. The Spade Pirates who are now a part of Whitebeard's crew mourned his death.

Whitebeard Pirates
Ace initially intended to take Whitebeard's head but was defeated. Whitebeard invited him to be one of his sons, which Ace vehemently refused; despite this, Whitebeard abducted the entire Spade Pirates onto his crew.

After trying to assassinate Whitebeard many times, Ace was eventually drawn in by Marco's description of the love the Whitebeard Pirates bore for their father. He decided to give up on his struggles and take up Whitebeard's symbol on his back; this tattoo became his greatest pride and joy.

Ace held great respect for his captain. As far as Ace was concerned, Whitebeard was the greatest pirate alive, and even went so far as to describe Whitebeard as a type of father figure.

Ace was a loyal crewman and commanded the 2nd division of the Whitebeard Pirates. It is revealed that Thatch was one of the first of Whitebeard's crew to interact with him and they appear to have been good friends. Ace and Marco also seemed to have a close friendship due to Marco explaining the bond between Whitebeard and his crew. Marshall D. Teach, who later became Blackbeard, once served as a member of the 2nd division under Ace and they are shown eating together in flashback with Blackbeard encouraging Ace to become 2nd commander. The Whitebeard Pirates were revealed to be very fond of Ace and unhesitatingly vowed to rescue him from his execution, as seen when they shouted out that they would not forgive anyone who hurt him.

Whitebeard seemed unconcerned about Ace's hunt for Blackbeard, and remained grounded that it was Ace's duty to execute the traitor, regardless of the heavy warnings he received from Shanks. It was revealed however that Whitebeard himself was troubled about Ace hunting Blackbeard and gave him no such orders, but Ace stubbornly set out anyways to hunt down his traitorous former subordinate. Even so, Whitebeard took responsibility for Ace's decision and claimed that it was under his orders that Ace went after Blackbeard.

Whitebeard immediately mobilized his crew and his allies after hearing about Ace's imminent execution. The Whitebeard Pirates have reached Marineford, along with many allied powerful pirate crews, and were at war with the Marines and World Government. In fact, one of the reasons why the Whitebeard Pirates would defend Luffy is because he is Ace's beloved brother.

Monkey D. Luffy
Ace and his brother, Luffy, were very close as children and remained so as pirates, even after more than three years of separation. As a child, Ace was initially aloof and hostile towards Luffy. Such an example was when Luffy innocently followed Ace onto an old rope bridge and Ace (being greatly annoyed by his prescence) knocked Luffy off the bridge and into the ravine. After learning how lonely Luffy was, Ace warmed up to him, but got annoyed whenever Luffy cried. Ace later grew protective of him particularly from Garp, even insulting their grandfather in an attempt to stop his abusive behavior towards Luffy. This protective streak continued into the current storyline. Ace first intervened to protect Luffy from Smoker in Nanohana. Later, when he discovered that Blackbeard meant to kill Luffy and hand him over to the World Government, Ace immediately warned him that he would not let him lay a finger on his little brother. Despite their closeness, Luffy often made Ace angry and frequently worried him by doing reckless things. It was because of this that Ace did not doubt Boa Hancock when she informed him that Luffy had infiltrated Impel Down to rescue him. Another instance would be when Ace was being transported to Marineford. He was however, constantly worrying about Luffy's welfare, repeatedly saying his name and thinking about him.

Though frequently worried by Luffy's extravagant recklessness, inwardly Ace seemed quite proud of his brother's past exploits; in the anime, he was shown grinning slightly as he listened to Garp, visiting him in prison, discussing Luffy's ruckus-raising on Enies Lobby and Sabaody. Apparently, Ace had been known to frequently share stories about Luffy with the other ranks of the Whitebeard Pirates and the Shichibukai, Jinbe. He was quite overjoyed when he learned that Luffy had gained his first bounty and wasted no time showing the wanted poster to Whitebeard himself. After Luffy's unceremonious entrance into the fray at Marineford, Marco had no trouble identifying him as the brother Ace was always talking about, even prior to Luffy loudly declaring it for all to hear.

Ace tended to portray a typical good-big-brother behavior, such as asking the Straw Hat crew to keep an eye on his little brother. He also ensured Luffy had a way of meeting up with him by giving him a Vivre Card. They respected each other's choices despite their differences and understood that the other was strong enough to look after himself. Luffy believed that if he grew worried about Ace and rushed to his aid, Ace's ego would not allow it, so he initially left him alone even after discovering that Ace was hurt via the Vivre Card. However, when he learned that Ace had been captured and was due for execution and saw that Ace's Vivre Card had burnt down to a tenth of its original size, Luffy decided take a side trip and save Ace instead of sailing directly from Amazon Lily to the Sabaody Archipelago to reunite with his crew.

It was revealed at Ace's execution that Ace was actually Gol D. Roger's son, not Monkey D. Dragon's as previously assumed, and that he was taken in by Garp. This makes Ace and Luffy brothers only through adoption, but brothers nonetheless. A flashback shows Luffy and Ace first meeting as young children, which means that Luffy is aware of this fact. It also shows Luffy with his trademark straw hat and scar under the eye, indicating that Ace first met Luffy after Shanks left Luffy's home island. A later flashback shows them officially declaring one another as their brother by drinking sake from each other's cup. In a conversation with Ivankov, Luffy reveals he is also aware that Ace's father is Gol D. Roger.

Though the Whitebeard Pirates and Luffy had invaded Marineford in order to save him, Ace did not even hesitate to throw his life away to save Luffy; fully aware that he would be burned, Ace leaped in the way to shield his brother from Akainu as the admiral struck. Ace's only regret was that he would not live to see Luffy achieve his dream, which he believed Luffy undoubtedly would. Ace passed on smiling, while Luffy collapsed into mindless grief over his beloved brother's death.

Sabo
Sabo was Ace's good friend and "brother" from ten years ago. They had planned to become pirates by saving money to buy a pirate ship, a joint endeavor that began five years before Luffy followed Ace to the Gray Terminal and to Sabo. Sabo was one of the two people Ace considered a "brother" along with Luffy. They drank sake together to prove they were brothers. When Sabo sacrificed his happiness to save Ace's and Luffy's lives from his father's wrath, Ace decided to forget Sabo for the moment, thinking that if Sabo would be happy, then he and Luffy should be proud. However, after Sabo was assassinated at the hands of Saint Jalmack, Ace regretted his previous decision, flew into a rage, and attempted to kill the noble in revenge, but was stopped by Dadan, and later wept at the loss of his brother, despite earlier claiming to Luffy that men should not cry. Ace, mentioned Sabo before dying, as one of the reasons that ever made him want to live in the first place.

Portgas D. Rouge
Rouge was Ace's mother, who carried him in her womb for 20 months in order to protect the innocent child from the clutches of the World Government. Ace was born one year and three months after Roger's death, therefore Rouge was five months pregnant when she resorted to some unknown method (assumed by Marines to be sheer willpower) to postpone birth. Just before passing away, Rouge gave him the name Gol D. Ace. However, Ace, grateful to his mother for her sacrifice, chose to take her name instead.

Gol D. Roger
It has been revealed that Ace's father was the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, contrary to the previous belief that his father was Monkey D. Dragon.

Because Roger died before he was even born, Ace felt that he did not owe him anything, which is why he preferred the name of his mother, who died protecting him. Strangely, although Ace seemed to dislike his father, flashbacks from Ace's childhood reveals that he brutally beat up anyone who spoke ill of him.

In another flashback, it shows Luffy and Ace meeting as young children, revealing that Luffy is aware of the fact Ace was not his blood-related brother, and that Luffy is aware of the identity of Ace's father. According to Sabo, Ace did not like talking about him.

To this date, Ace was the one of the few pirates shown to speak ill of Gol D. Roger, along with Squard, though many unnamed pirates on Level 6 of Impel Down were known to have grudges against the late Pirate King.

Monkey D. Dragon
Prior to Sengoku making it public to the world, Ace knew that Dragon is Luffy's father; other than that, it is unknown what Ace thought about him and vice-versa. It is also unknown if Dragon knew that Ace was the son of Roger (before this fact was made known to the world by Sengoku).

Monkey D. Garp
Vice Admiral Garp adopted Ace as a favor to Roger to give Ace a life free of the prejudice of being born from a family of pirates.

Though he did come to see Garp as family, he did not approve of his violent behavior towards Luffy. At one point he warned him to stop abusing Luffy going as so far to call him an "old piece of crap". Garp, who'd promised to make fine marines out of the two brothers, was furious when he discovered that Ace had gone ahead to become a pirate instead.

Though respectful of his "grandfather", Ace announced that he and Luffy would never have become Marines. He disagreed with Garp and remains grounded on the idea that becoming Marines would not have been possible when both of their fathers were world class criminals. Garp, in return, showed extreme sadness about Ace's execution, and cried about Ace's choice in a life of piracy. Garp was also willing to kill Admiral Akainu for killing Ace.

Curly Dadan
Curly Dadan, a mountain bandit who was blackmailed by Garp, became the foster mother for Ace and Luffy. Whenever Ace would nearly kill villagers for insulting his heritage, Dadan would get angry at the boy for his actions, to which Ace would snidely remark that he regrets that his victims did not die. Dadan also shows weariness at dealing with Ace, and gives the impression that she would refuse if not for Garp holding her gang's crimes over her head. However, when the Nobles of Goa burned the Grey Terminal, Dadan led her bandits into the inferno to find Ace, Luffy and Sabo and when Ace refused to back down from confronting Bluejam, Dadan had the bandits take Luffy to safety while she stayed behind to stand beside Ace. The two really care for each other as Dadan saved Ace from being burned and Ace was willing to steal medicine from town in order to treat Dadan's wounds. When Ace set out to become a pirate, she was sulking when she heard Ace's message that he was grateful to her. Ace seemed to like Dadan, and prior to his death, asked Luffy to tell her goodbye on his behalf and that he misses her. When Garp returns to East Blue after the Whitebeard War, Dadan hits him furiously because he did not save Ace.

Red-Haired Shanks
The Yonko Shanks, was on relatively good terms with Ace, who seemed to greatly respect him primarily for his role in saving his adoptive younger brother, Luffy, from the Lord of the Coast during the incident with Higuma. After setting out to begin his life of piracy, Ace immediately sought out Shanks to meet the man in person and thank him on Luffy's behalf. Shanks showed some concern for Ace upon learning that he was in pursuit of Blackbeard. He personally sought out Whitebeard to vocally disapprove and attempted to persuade Whitebeard to recall Ace. After the announcement of Ace's execution, it was revealed that Shanks personally intercepted Kaido, another of the Yonko, as the latter attempted to take advantage of the crisis and attack Whitebeard. It is unknown if Shanks ever discovered that Ace was the son of his late captain Gold Roger (before this fact was made public by Sengoku).

Buggy Pirates
During his pursuit of Blackbeard, Ace happened across the Big Top while Buggy and his crew were partying. Attracted by the "very strong and sweet scent" of food, Ace boarded the ship unnoticed and proceeded to help himself - Buggy did not notice his presence until, upon hearing Buggy and Alvida say that they were in pursuit of Luffy but had no clue where he was, Ace offered to give them some helpful information. Ace, being Ace, fell asleep moments later. Though Buggy's crew wanted to capture him, Buggy forbade it, knowing that Whitebeard would not hesitate to take revenge. After Ace woke up, the entire crew apparently immensely enjoyed the rest of his momentary stay (though it seems Buggy continued the party mostly out of fear). When the Buggy Pirates approached Impel Down with the intention of rescuing Buggy, Cabaji exclaimed that their captain could be sentenced to execution just like their buddy Ace. Buggy himself seems to like Ace. After meeting Luffy on Level One, he mentions that Ace, unlike Luffy, happened to be a very swell guy - they were apparently drinking buddies for a while. Buggy also told Luffy that he was very upset when he heard the news of Ace's scheduled execution. Like so many at the time, Buggy was shocked to see Ace fall to Admiral Akainu.

Jinbe
Ace and Jinbe were once enemies, as Ace wanted to kill Whitebeard, who Jinbe regarded as a hero for protecting Fishman Island. The two dueled for five days until they both collapsed from exhaustion. Despite this scuffle, the two eventually became friends who deeply respected each other. During their time in Impel Down, Ace asked Jinbe to take care of Luffy after he died, a wish that Jinbe at first refused despite their friendship as Jinbe did not feel like protecting anyone who he considered to be a stranger. This changed when he developed respect for Luffy and when Ace truly did die. Jinbe was more than willing to forfeit his status as Shichibukai to battle for Ace's freedom, and shed tears for Ace's demise.

Marshall D. Teach
Ace's main enemy was Marshall D. Teach, also known as "Blackbeard", whom he chose to hunt down for killing Thatch. However, as Shanks stated, Ace was strong and young, but the fact that he was appointed as Whitebeard's Second Division commander worried Shanks due to "that trust and reputation" getting in the way. Shanks concluded that now was not the time to pitch the two against each other. This suggests that Ace was not ready to face Blackbeard yet.

Smoker
Ace also fought evenly with Smoker for a few moments, who even Luffy has yet to beat. The elements of their Logia Devil Fruits canceled each other out, and neither of them were able to gain the upper hand even though Ace was just trying to gain some time for the strawhats to get away.

World Government
The World Government, after discovering that Ace was the son of Gol D. Roger, was unable to touch him because of Whitebeard. When Blackbeard defeated and turned him in, they seized the chance and made Ace's execution their highest priority. It appeared that Ace shared a similar fate with Nico Robin and Luffy - his sole existence was a sin to the World Government, being the child of the "world's greatest evil".

Akainu
Admiral Akainu earned Ace's scorn for badmouthing Whitebeard as Ace and Luffy were making their retreat, provoking Ace to turn back and let his chance to escape Marineford slip away. He attacked Akainu in fury over the insult, but discovered that his fire was inferior to that of Akainu's magma. Akainu was able to burn Ace and eventually kill him.

Abilities and Powers
As commander of the 2nd division of the Whitebeard Pirates, Ace had authority over the lower-ranking subordinates. In addition, as one of the top commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates, he was one of the strongest and most highly-regarded pirates on board under Whitebeard himself. At one point, while being captain of the Spade Pirates, he was even asked to join the Shichibukai but refused.

Physical Powers
Aside from the powers granted by the Devil Fruit he consumed, Ace possessed immense physical strength. Signs of his great physical potential were already evident at his early childhood, where he was able to beat some local thugs who spoke ill of his father "half to death", and was also shown sitting on top of a huge animal (possibly a bull) he killed with his staff, during his first meeting with Luffy. Also later the same day he was shown to easily break a giant tree with ease. Ace was already very strong when he left his hometown, three years before Luffy did the same.

Luffy comments on how he never defeated Ace in a single fight, despite Luffy already having the power of the Gomu Gomu no Mi (Ace did not consume the Mera Mera no Mi until after he left: Luffy was surprised by Ace's new power when Ace stopped Smoker from capturing him in Nanohana). Ace was trained by Garp, who had hoped to turn him into a fine Marine, and possibly Dadan, the two of whom were responsible for training Luffy to the level of power he held before becoming a pirate. Ace demonstrated his strength during his battle with Blackbeard: he was able to take Blackbeard's punches, which were so powerful that the first made Ace cough up blood and the second nearly broke his neck, and retaliate. Van Augur noted that, as expected of the Whitebeard Pirates 2nd division commander, Ace's basic combat skills were quite formidable even without his Devil Fruit powers.

He fought equally with Jinbe in the past; they nearly killed each other in a fight that lasted for five days. Ace then survived a battle with Whitebeard that took place immediately after, showing immense stamina and durability. He was one of the few people to be able to take a "baptizing" in boiling water in Impel Down without flinching, which is considered an impressive feat.

Ace also held a fearsome reputation. It was revealed that Ace received an invitation to join the Shichibukai while he was still captain of the Spade Pirates, though he refused the offer. After he joined the Whitebeard Pirates, a civilian was seen commenting on how Ace's strength was supposedly "outta this world". The World Government granted Blackbeard the position of Shichibukai after he successfully defeated and captured Ace. His overall reputation and abilities had earned him a bounty of 550,000,000 prior to his capture and death.

He was also a capable navigator, as he was seen wearing a Log Pose on his left wrist, while traveling island to island in search for Luffy and Blackbeard on a simple raft.

Devil Fruit
Ace ate the Devil Fruit Mera Mera no Mi, a Logia-type fruit that allows him to become the element of fire and control the flames from his body, giving him his reputation as "Fire Fist Ace". Ace displayed his immense power by destroying a handful of Baroque Works ships with ease. His main style is to launch columns of fire by punching, with his signature "Fire Fist". He is also immune to normal physical strikes, all of which will simply phase through his fire-composed body.

For some reason, Ace did not seem to mind his inability to swim. He traversed the seas in a one-man boat that seems to have been specifically designed for him, propelling it with flames from his feet.

He skillfully sent his boat underwater as he leaped over the Billions fleet, timing it precisely so that it emerged underneath him just before he hit the water on the other side. Also, when he turned up on Drum Island, no snow fell at all on the island for an entire day.

Haki


While not portrayed in the main storyline, it was revealed in a flashback that Ace possesses Haoshoku Haki, which at the time he had no conscious control over. Ace first demonstrated the ability at 10 years of age, when he knocked the Bluejam Pirates crew unconscious after an outburst of rage (only Bluejam himself remained conscious from the Haki release, and he was a high-tier of East Blue at the time). Much as Luffy used his Haki to knock out a crowd of Kuja warriors, Ace used his Haki to knock out the attacking members of Bluejam's pirate crew.

Ace was first shown to have knowledge about it when during the Battle in Marineford, he witnessed Luffy unknowingly unleash his Haki and remarked "You too?". He was never seen using it as he only relied on his Logia Devil Fruit powers.

Weapons
Ace carries around a knife but is never seen using it. However, in flashbacks of attempts to assassinate Whitebeard, Ace was shown using various weapons, including an axe and a knife. As a child, he used a long bo staff made from pipe as a weapon.

Growing Up with Luffy and Sabo
Gramps… do you think… I should have really been born?

Bound as Brothers
Ace's father, the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, was executed while Ace's mother, Portgas D. Rouge, was still pregnant with Ace. She carried him for a full twenty months to protect him from the World Government as they sought to erase every last trace of Roger's blood. A year and three months after the execution, Ace was born in Baterilla in the South Blue. His mother only lived long enough to name him. Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp adopted Ace in secret as a favor to Roger, and Ace was moved to Foosha Village in the East Blue.

Ace was left in the care of Garp's friend Curly Dadan. Ace would travel around town causing trouble and beating people up to those who spoke ill about his father, which annoyed Dadan. At some point Ace befriended Sabo who was the same age as Ace at the time.



Later, when Garp got fed up with Luffy due to the influence of Shanks on the boy, he left his grandson in Dadan's care as well. Upon first meeting Luffy, Ace merely spat at him and gave him a sinister glare, which the agitated Luffy returned.

After having a meal, Ace went out of the house and Luffy decided to follow him. Luffy said that he is not angry that Ace spat at him (since it is not something to get worked out about) and also wanted to be friends. Ace responds by knocking a tree down at Luffy. Ace then crossed a bridge and Luffy followed. Ace charged at Luffy and knocked him off the bridge. He returned to Dadan's house without Luffy and without any concern for him. Luffy returned a week later. When Ace goes out, Luffy followed after him wanting to start a friendship only to get shunned by Ace.

Ace went to the Gray Terminal and meets up with a friend named Sabo. Ace and Sabo had been collecting money for a pirate ship. Ace handed over his share and Sabo put it in a secret spot. Luffy then showed up and both Ace and Sabo tied Luffy to a tree. Ace said that they should kill Luffy to keep their secret safe and Sabo agreed. However, both Ace and Sabo had a hard time deciding who should complete the task since both of them never killed anyone before. They heard someone coming so they took Luffy and hid. Ace then realized that the person he stole money from was Porchemy of the Bluejam Pirates. Ace and Sabo notice Luffy missing and then see Luffy get caught by Porchemy. Both Ace and Sabo watched as Luffy was taken away.

Fearing that Luffy might tell Porchemy, Ace and Sabo collect all of their money and treasure and move them to another location. They managed to move all the money and treasure to a new hiding place by sundown. Sabo, who went to check on the old hiding place, informed Ace that Luffy has not told Porchemy anything much to Ace's surprise. Ace and Sabo then came to Luffy's rescue and defeated Porchemy. Ace then learns from Luffy that Luffy has no parents with him and the reason he follows Ace is because he does not want to be alone. After that, Luffy joined Ace and Sabo and together, they start making a name for themselves.

Ace, Sabo, and Luffy sparred with each other, hunt gators, and beat up thugs. In the Central Town of the Goa Kingdom, the trio did a dine-and-dash and while running, they heard a man calling Sabo's name. Back in the forest, Sabo revealed that he was born in a noble family and the man calling him was his father.



Regardless, Ace and Luffy still considered Sabo as their friend. After the trio made a declaration of what they want to accomplish in the future, they shared a drink of alcohol and became brothers. They continue having adventures, hunting animals, and at one point had a party with Dadan, Wood Slap, and Makino, and also get a beating by Garp whenever he visits.

One day, the trio found themselves confronted by Sabo's father and the Bluejam Pirates. To spare Ace and Luffy, Sabo willingly go with his father and Ace cried out to Sabo as Sabo walked away in tears.

Ace and Luffy were then in the custody of the Bluejam Pirates. Ace and Luffy joined the Bluejam Pirates at the request of the captain and then carry cargo to marked locations in the Gray Terminal with the other pirates. Later, Bluejam revealed to Ace and Luffy that the cargo they had carried was oil and gunpowder and that the Gray Terminal will by engulfed with flames. Ace and Luffy reacted in outrage and were quickly apprehended by the pirates. Bluejam then informed them that they can no longer be left alive and asked them the location of their hoard of treasure. Later that night, the flames started and Ace and Luffy managed to cut themselves loose after they were tied up. Ace and Luffy then run for their lives, but come across Bluejam and his crew, who demand to know where Ace and Sabo hid their loot. Ace briefly demonstrates Haki when Bluejam tells him that Sabo was just using him. Dadan comes to the rescue and tries to get Ace and Luffy to safety. Ace refuses to run away from the fight and Dadan stays with him while Luffy and the rest of the bandits escape.

After the events of the the fire but before Sabo's fall at the hands of the Tenryuubito, Ace came back with an injured Dadan on his back. Luffy greets him crying and Ace is annoyed that Luffy really thought he was dead and punches him in the head telling him not to 'kill people'. He then explains how he and Dadan managed to defeat Bluejam and luckily escape to the "Middle forest" and hide themselves in the riverbank he carries on to tell them that he stole some medical supplies from town and desperately stabilized Dadan's life.



A few hours later, he explains to Dadan why he did not run back when they fought Bluejam, he told her how sometimes blood rushes into his head and he gets worried, that if he runs away then he will lose something big and goes on to tell her at that time Luffy was behind him. Later on, Dogura tells them about what happened to Sabo and an outraged Ace jumps on him stating that he would not forgive him even if it was a joke. Luffy and Ace then realise that Sabo was never happy when he left them and while Luffy breaks out in tears, Ace goes out to beat up whoever killed him. Dadan stops him and yells at him telling him that Sabo's murderer was the world, the country they lived in. To calm him down, the bandits tied Ace to a tree while Luffy spent the whole night crying. The next morning a letter came that was sent by Sabo before he left to become a pirate, explaining that by the time they read it he would already be out at sea, that he hoped they would meet again and that he wished for Ace to take care of their younger brother. As Ace reads the last of the letter, he breaks out in tears.

Some time later, Ace finds Luffy lying face down mourning Sabo's death. When Luffy tells Ace not to die like Sabo, Ace makes a promise that he will never die no matter what. Ace then reminds Luffy that they made a vow that they will become more free than anyone. The two then continue their training and get stronger. Ace asks Makino to teach him how to greet someone properly because Ace plans on thanking Shanks. Ace and Luffy continue with their hunting and fighting until the time has come for Ace to set sail.

The Path to Piracy
At the age of 17, Ace set out from Mt. Colubo and began his life as a pirate, becoming captain of the Spade Pirates a year later - as the Spade Pirates' Jolly Roger shows flames, Ace likely consumed the Mera Mera no Mi sometime during this year.

As his fame rose, he was invited to join the Shichibukai, though he declined. He arranged a meeting with Shanks, as he had heard much from Luffy about him and wanted to see him in person.

As he searched the seas for Whitebeard, he ran into Jinbe, who was aware of Ace's strength and decided to fight him in order to keep him from challenging Whitebeard, the man he owed debt to for protecting his home of Fishman Island. After five days of battle, both collapsed from exhaustion, giving the battle no victor.



Whitebeard, who had heard that Ace intended to take his head, suddenly arrived with his crew and the Moby Dick just after the battle between Jinbe and Ace. Whitebeard told his crew that he alone would be enough, and proceeded to attack Ace's crew. After a fierce battle, Ace got to his feet and cut off Whitebeard from his crew with a wall of flames. Though his battered crew protested, he commanded them to run while he stalled Whitebeard (prompting Whitebeard to call him a cheeky little brat). On the brink of death, Ace was offered by Whitebeard to join his crew, becoming one of his "sons". Ace fiercely refused, but was knocked out and dragged onto Whitebeard's ship nonetheless. Ace's crew later came to retrieve him, though they were beaten up by his captors and abducted onto the ship with their captain.

When Ace came to, he was already acknowledged as one of Whitebeard's crew. To make sure that his crewmates stayed alive, Ace remained on board of Whitebeard's ship; however, on many occasions (counted to be at least a hundred), he attempted to murder the old man, though each time was repelled with little effort from Whitebeard. Eventually he gave in, tempted by Marco's description of the crew's father-son relationship with Whitebeard, and accepted Whitebeard's mark on his back.

After defeating Doma and forcing him to surrender, he was promoted to the position of 2nd division commander. One of his subordinates, Marshall D. Teach, and he were on relatively good terms. One day, Ace decided to reveal his lineage to Whitebeard, who merely laughed it off, saying that his personality was nothing like that of Roger. (According to Sengoku, Whitebeard already knew.) When Ace asked if Whitebeard would kick him out due to him and Roger being enemies in the past, Whitebeard simply stated that his past does not matter, as everyone is a "child of the sea".

Then one day, Teach murdered his crewmate Thatch in order to obtain the Yami Yami no Mi Devil Fruit, which he had had his sights on, and fled. Since Ace was his commander and the Whitebeard pirates live by a code which means they must avenge a fallen comrade, Ace would have been sent after the murderer. Whitebeard, however, felt apprehensive about the situation and protested, acknowledging that Teach may have become too much for the boy to handle with his new powers. Despite this, Ace demanded that he go after Teach, saying that Thatch could not rest in peace if his murderer was not brought to justice, and that Teach could not get away with dishonoring his "father". Admiring Ace's dedication to both his captain and his duty, Whitebeard allowed his "son" to go, later claiming that it was he who told Ace to leave for the sake of Ace's honor. With this, Ace began his journey to find Blackbeard and finish him off.

Reunion with Luffy
Ace is first seen in the storyline on Drum Island, where he leaves a message for Luffy to meet him in 10 days in the city of Nanohana, Alabasta. In the anime, the reason he was in Alabasta in the first place was to gain information from Scorpion about Blackbeard, something which Scorpion was lying about to draw him out. Alabasta is where he is formally introduced; he is seen sleeping in the Spice Bean restaurant (giving the impression to everyone present that he had dropped dead from eating a Desert Strawberry). As he finishes his meal, he is spotted by Smoker, who attempts to arrest him. However, shortly before he and Smoker begin to fight, both men are sent flying into the wall behind them by Luffy's attack as the latter launches himself into the restaurant.

After picking himself up, he spots Luffy eating, only to be knocked down by Smoker, who then attempts to arrest Luffy. After Luffy dashes out of the restaurant with Smoker in hot pursuit, Ace catches up with Luffy in time to save him from being arrested. His interference allows Luffy to escape while he deals with Smoker himself.

After throwing the Marines off his trail, Ace catches up with Luffy on the Going Merry to offer him a chance to join Whitebeard (which Luffy refuses). Ace leaves them a piece of paper, later identified as a Vivre Card, which apparently will allow the two to meet up again.

On Buggy's Ship


Ace later appears during the Jaya arc, where he hopped on Buggy the Clown's ship for food and promised to show him the way to Luffy.

Ace was also later given a mini-arc in the chapter titles of the manga where, after parting ways with Buggy's crew, he infiltrates a Marine base to deliver a letter to the parents of a milk maiden who saved his life and despite being exposed, is able to escape with vital information on Blackbeard that he took from the Marines along with successfully delivering the letter indirectly that led the parents to reunite with their daughter.

The Banaro Incident


Despite all the efforts from Shanks to convince Whitebeard to recall Ace, Ace finally intercepts Blackbeard on Banaro Island shortly after the Blackbeard Pirates ransack one of its towns. Blackbeard welcomes Ace and offers him to join his crew. He announces he has a plan to bring Whitebeard's rule to an end, and that he is heading to Water 7 to capture Luffy and hand him over to the World Government. Ace tells Blackbeard that he can't let him go now, because he is Luffy's brother.

Van Augur shoots at Ace sparking a fight between him and the crew. Ace attacks back but then Jesus Burgess picks up a house and throws it at Ace. Ace summons a pillar of fire and erffortlessly destroys it, and unleashes Hikan, badly burning Blackbeard's front. Blackbeard laughs, admitting he did kill 4th Division Commander Thatch of the Whitebeard Pirates. He tells Ace he had no other choice because he had the Devil Fruit he wanted. That the ships' rule was anyone who found a Devil Fruit could eat it. Blackbeard had spent several decades under Whitebeard's service, believing it would be the best chances of finding the one he wanted with them.

He then reveals the power of the Yami Yami no Mi, believing it to be the most powerful of all Devil Fruits and he is invincible. Just as the two are about to fight, Blackbeard's crew run away to not get caught in between the two. Blackbeard uses Black Hole, and sucks up the entire town of Banaro around them and then spits it out as a pile of destroyed rubble. Ace uses Firefly Light, as many green orbs of flames gather around Blackbeard and then engulfs him. Ace questions why Blackbeard is not dodging his attacks if he is a Logia user now. Blackbeard then absorbs the flames and tells Ace he cannot fend off attacks the way other Logia users do. However, due to the unique ability his darkness can suck in anything, including pain.

Blackbeard then shows off another ability, using Kurouzu to pull Ace towards him and is able to grab him and nullify his Devil Fruit ability. He then sends Ace flying with a strong punch. He attempts it again but Ace hurls long lances made out of fire into Blackbeard's chest. This doesn't stop Blackbeard who hand chops Ace, almost breaking his neck sending him back. Ace puts his index fingers together in a cross shape before launching a cross-shaped column of fire directly at Blackbeard's face but he once again stops Ace's attacks.



Blackbeard then offers Ace one more time to join his crew, but Ace still refuses stating if he gives up now there would be no point to him living. That he wants to life his life free of any regrets, even if it means dying. He then tells Blackbeard he will make Whitebeard the Pirate King, as he summons up a gigantic fireball resembling the sun. The two clash one last time, almost destroying the entire island with fire and darkness clashing together. In the end, Blackbeard is victorious. He successfully captures Ace and hands him over to the World Government, rewarding him with the title of Shichibukai.

Imprisonment at Impel Down
Although he did not at first find out precisely what happened to Ace, Luffy discovered part of the truth in another way. After learning about Vivre Cards from pirate Lola the Proposer, he realized that the piece of paper he received from Ace was in fact one such Vivre Card. But, as Luffy took it out, he saw slowly it burning away - a sign that Ace's life-force was fading. Unaware of the urgency of Ace's situation, he assumed that he could deal with it himself, and that he would not want any help from Luffy.

It was revealed that Ace was sentenced to a public execution in the plaza of Marineford, the home of Marine Headquarters. The execution is scheduled to take place a week after Luffy's triumph over the Gorgon Sisters on the island of Amazon Lily.



He is next seen with seastone chains on his feet and arms, in his holding cell in Impel Down. There he is visited by Garp, who notes that Ace is in terrible shape and asks if he is still alive. Ace asks Garp to kill him, but much to his grief is told that even with his death, Whitebeard will not stop his advance. Garp states that they had angered the "Ruler of the Seas".

He recalls that he had wished Ace and Luffy would become great Marine officers instead of doing the exact opposite and becoming terrible criminals. Ace replies that with the blood of world renown criminals running through their veins, becoming Marines would have been impossible for the two of them.

He goes on to say that he took the name Portgas from his mother, to whom he owes a great debt, but he does not care one bit for the half of his blood that came from his father - his only father is Whitebeard.

Ace is later seen talking with the Shichibukai Jinbe, who happened to share the same cell with him. Jinbe explains that he owes a great deal to Whitebeard, because in the past, his home, Fishman Island, came under continuous attacks by pirates and slave traders. However, when Whitebeard declared the island his territory, the attacks and kidnappings stopped. Thus, Jinbe wishes to stop the war for fear of Whitebeard's safety. However, they are interrupted by Crocodile, who apparently was placed in a cell opposite theirs. He chuckles that many "Silver Medalist" pirates have a grudge against Whitebeard and the late Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, after being defeated by them, and wish to kill Whitebeard or see him killed. Boa Hancock later visits him in his cell and (while causing a scene) cryptically informs Ace that Luffy is in Impel Down trying to save him, much to Ace's dismay. Ace is later seen muttering for Luffy to stay away. During Luffy's fight with Magellan, Ace shakes his chains to draw the attention of the guards outside his cell and demands to know what is going on upstairs. They blankly tell him that nothing is happening.

In several of Jinbe's flashbacks, during their time in Impel Down, the two talked about Luffy, that when Ace met the Straw Hats, that he was no longer worried about his brother because he had friends he could rely on now. He also asks Jinbe to look after his brother if Ace should die. Jinbe refuses, claiming he has no loyalty to people that do not interest him (though he would later protect Luffy anyway after being impressed by his character).

It is revealed that Ace is actually in Level 6, Eternal Hell. Jinbe mentions that Hancock might have been lying about Luffy, but Ace angrily denies that she came all that way just to lie to him, and then apologizes. He explains that Luffy has always done crazy things to make him worry, and what is happening right now is exactly the sort of thing Luffy would do.

When the time for Ace's execution arrives, the jailers begin to make preparations for his transfer. He is shown to be with Magellan and Domino and a few other jailers. Magellan takes Ace to Level 1 with the lift before Ace, hearing a report that Luffy is on Level 6 and about to be assaulted with sleeping gas, attempts to escape back to the lift. Magellan immediately recaptures him and tells him to stop resisting since Luffy, as a pirate, was doomed the minute he stepped into Impel Down. Ace reveals that he had been hoping that Hancock was lying and silently asks Luffy why he came.

Ace is seen being handed over to the Marines and is evidently en route to Marineford, since the Vivre Card no longer points directly up from Level 6. As six hours approach to Ace's execution. Ace is seen on the deck of the Marine battleship escorting him to Marineford, chained to a chair and given one last chance to look at the sky before his execution. The battleships arrive before the Gates of Justice, requesting permission to enter and advance to their ultimate destination.

Execution at Marineford
As Ace is led to the execution platform, he remembers a childhood promise that he made with Luffy: that they would both go out to sea and live their lives without regrets.



Afterwards, Fleet Admiral Sengoku reveals that Ace's mother was Portgas D. Rouge and that his father was Gol D. Roger. As Sengoku continues, he declares that it was Whitebeard's intention to make him the Pirate King, despite Ace's desires to give this title to Whitebeard. Just after this revelation, a massive armada of pirate crews from the New World allied with Whitebeard appear, much to the surprise of the Marines. The Whitebeard Pirates's fleet, including the Moby Dick, suddenly rises up from under the water in the middle of the bay, revealing that the ships were coated and had approached Marineford from beneath the sea. Whitebeard himself appears to greet Sengoku and ask Ace to bear with them as they prepare for battle.



His past with the giant Little Oars Jr., an ally of the Whitebeard Pirates, is revealed when he fights his way towards him. He pleads for Little Oars Jr. to stop since he is such a large target and is injured by Bartholomew Kuma as Ace could only helplessly watch. Ace was deeply saddened watching his friend dying for him. When Little Oars Jr. is finally brought down by Gekko Moriah, his outstretched hand lands a few yards from him in a last vain effort to free him.



As the battle continues, Garp comes to sit near Ace and admits that, while he will not interfere with the execution, he can not help his feelings in this matter as he considers Ace family and tearfully asks why Ace did not lead the life that Garp wanted him to. At that moment, however, there is a huge commotion that has Ace looking up to the sky, from which he sees a ship falling down.

When the ship falls into the sea, Luffy climbs out and Ace spots him. As Luffy fights past several Marines and Gekko Moriah in an effort to reach Ace, the latter can only watch helplessly. He finally snaps, demanding Luffy that he go home and that he should not have come to save him. Ace, in his desperation to keep from dragging Luffy down with him, even attempts to drive him away by shouting that it is humiliating to have a "weakling" like Luffy coming to his rescue, and that he would never forgive him for this. Luffy responds by yelling that he is Ace's younger brother and, after going into Gear Third to defeat a Marine giant, states that he will save Ace even if it kills him.

Ace contemplates Luffy's words, along with those of his comrades that they will not let anyone who hurt Ace live and their determination to save him. Ace comes to an important decision. He will take whatever fate the future brings: If he sees a hand reach out to him, he will grab it, but if the white blade of justice falls on his head first he will accept it. He will not struggle anymore because it would just be disrespectful to everyone if he did.

The fight continues and Ace, incapacitated, can do nothing but stare horrified as Whitebeard is stabbed by Squard. Later, when Marineford's walls raised up to prevent the pirates from further penetrating the plaza, Luffy devises a plan to bypass the siege walls with the help of Jinbe's water-launching abilities. Ace is horrified as he sees Luffy standing face-to-face with the three admirals, believing that he does not stand a chance at taking down all three of them at the same time.

Sengoku orders Ace to be executed; as Ace braces himself, he is saved by Crocodile, who knocks the two guards away, much to everyone's shock and surprise. He later watches as Whitebeard and Little Oars Jr. successfully enact their plan, which brings almost all of the Whitebeard Pirates into the plaza, not far from the execution platform. He is horrified when Little Oars Jr. is brought down for a second time by cannon fire. He is later seen noticing that Garp has joined in the battle after Garp punches Marco while the latter is in his Phoenix form while attempting to rescue Ace.

Ace flashes back to his past when some thugs whom he knew insulted Gol D. Roger. Ace beat them until they were half dead because of what they had said. He went on to remember being scolded for his actions and continuing to ask about Roger, only to hear many horrible things about his father. Ace is then seen sitting on a shore, along with Garp, asking if he should really have been born. Garp's response is that he could only find out by living.

Back in the present, Ace, seeing how his comrades, little brother, and father are risking their lives to save him. In tears, he finally realizes that he desperately wants to live.

The battle takes a turn for the worse; Marco, caught by kairoseki handcuffs, is shot through the chest by Kizaru; Jozu is frozen and his right arm shattered by Aokiji; and Whitebeard suffers several serious wounds, including a molten punch to the chest by Akainu. Ace stares in horror as Whitebeard states that he cannot die until he secures a future for his sons. Sengoku then orders the execution of Ace once again and Ace closes his eyes in resignation as the executioners prepare to decapitate him. At the last moment, Luffy releases a huge burst of Haoshoku Haki; the executioners, as well as a number of pirates and marines, lose consciousness. Ace stares in disbelief at his little brother, as he had no idea that Luffy possessed such a powerful kind of Haki.

Freedom and Death
As Luffy approaches the scaffold, Garp blocks his path. Luffy is at first reluctant to engage his grandfather, but when it becomes clear that Garp will not move, he activates Gear Second. Just as he throws a punch at Luffy, Garp suddenly recalls the images of Luffy and Ace as young children, and the sight of Ace tearfully realizing his desire to live. Garp's hesitation allows Luffy to counter-punch, sending him flying away from the execution platform and crashing into the ground. Just as Luffy is about to unlock Ace's handcuffs, Kizaru destroys the key with a long-distance laser. Meanwhile, Sengoku has activated his Devil Fruit ability and is determined to carry out Ace's execution himself with a massive punch.

Suddenly, Mr. 3, disguised as one of the executioners, regains consciousness. He then forms a huge Candle Wall while Luffy goes into Gear Third and to take Sengoku's punch with his Giant Fuusen. The force of the blow causes the execution platform to collapse. With the help of Mr. 3, who makes a duplicate key out of wax, Luffy frees Ace in mid-air moments before the other Marines fire at the platform, causing it to explode.



Now able to use his Mera Mera no Mi powers, Ace escapes the explosions with Luffy and Mr. 3 in tow by wrapping his flames into a tunnel, all the meanwhile scolding Luffy for never listening to anything he ever says, for always being so reckless and inconsiderate to his advice, and for always overdoing things. His newly-gained freedom causes a considerable morale boost amongst the survivors of the assembled pirate army.

Witnessing the two brothers' coordination as they fight off the Marines side-by-side, Vista remarks that Ace and Luffy have perfect teamwork. Ace comments that Luffy has gotten stronger, to which Luffy replies that a day will come when he surpasses Ace. Ace tells Luffy to let him cover for him until that day, and leaps forward to block Admiral Aokiji's Pheasant Peck attack. He and Luffy are shocked when Whitebeard announces that he is staying behind as he yells his captain's final order.



Ace seems to accept the fact that Whitebeard is determined to stay behind; Whitebeard asks Ace if he was a good father, and laughs heartily when Ace answers "of course". He and Luffy begin to escape with the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates, but when Admiral Akainu provokes him by insulting Whitebeard, calling him a failure, Ace stops and turns back. He clashes with Akainu in fury, but Ace's fire is outmatched by Akainu's magma, so much so that his arm is badly burned. Akainu attempts to strike down the defenseless Luffy, but Ace leaps in between them and takes the hit. The remaining fragment of the Vivre Card that he gave to Luffy rapidly disintegrates into ash as everyone looks on in shock.

Thank you for loving someone like me, who is good for nothing.. with such bad blood in his veins. Up to today.. Thank you!!



While in Luffy's arms, Ace apologized to Luffy for making his own rescue a failure. Knowing that his innards had been charred to cinders and that he was beyond saving, Ace thanked his family and friends for loving him with his last breath. He dies smiling, satisfied with his life. Later, he is seen surrounded by Marines with his body covered by a sheet.

Postmortem
Later, when the Red Hair Pirates appeared, Shanks managed to organize a ceasefire and asked that the bodies of both Whitebeard and Ace be handed over to the pirates so that they could depart from the location peacefully, a request which Fleet Admiral Sengoku allowed, despite Vice Admiral Doberman's desire of putting their heads for viewing as a symbol of the Marines' victory.

Ace, along with Whitebeard, was buried on an unknown island somewhere on the second half of the Grand Line. His trademark hat, necklace, and knife were made into a grave marker, which was placed beside Whitebeard's and covered with flowers and swords left behind by his fellow crewmates, with the members themselves standing on either side of the island, paying their last respects.

Two Years Later
Two years later, the grave markers have become tattered with age. It also appears to have been visited recently, as a bottle of sake has been placed on a crate next to Ace's grave, with the recent newspaper article of the Straw Hats' return pinned onto Ace's grave as a message to him indicating that Luffy is doing fine.

Legacy
Ace's death left many heartbroken, including his younger brother, who fell into a coma only to awake in complete and utter despair, but proved to be the final debacle for Luffy's resolve to become stronger, next to his crew's defeat and seperation. Two years after his death, Ace continues to aid his brother's desire to fulfill his dream, evidenced by Luffy briefly remembering Ace's final words moments before entering the New World. His death also appears to have affected Luffy's drive to protect the people he holds dear, due to Luffy's words to Hody Jones during the Fishman Island Arc, proclaiming that he would protect everything, and that he spent two years training for that very reason. Luffy also showed Hody great hostility when he learnt that he had been blackmailing Surume by threatening his brother in the North Pole. Luffy then told the kraken that he understood the feeling of wanting to save his brother all too well. Ace's fame also seems to have rubbed off on Luffy, as members of Brownbeard's crew recognized him as "Fire Fist's brother".

Ace's Devil Fruit, the Mera Mera no Mi would later resurface two years after his death, and come into the hands of Donquixote Doflamingo who plans on using it to lure Luffy to him.

Filler Battles

 * Portgas D. Ace vs. Naguri
 * Portgas D. Ace, Monkey D. Luffy, and Sabo vs. a giant tiger
 * Portgas D. Ace, Monkey D. Luffy, and Sabo vs. Bluejam's men
 * Portgas D. Ace and Thatch vs. Decalvan Brothers (offscreen)
 * Portgas D. Ace and Monkey D. Luffy vs. Billions (Nanohana)
 * Portgas D. Ace vs. Scorpion
 * Portgas D. Ace vs. Impel Down guards (Impel Down)

Alabasta Arc
When Ace first meets Luffy's crew, he tosses them a piece of paper and leaves. However, in the anime, his time with the Straw Hats was extended and he journeys with them for a while. During the journey though, Ace's bead necklace kept appearing and disappearing in-between scene changes, most likely due to mistakes from the animators.

Mera Mera no Mi
In the manga, it is unknown if Ace can light things on fire from a distance without spouting flames that make direct contact. However, in the anime, he is shown lighting a cigarette for Sanji simply by pointing his finger.

Ambition
During his meeting with Shanks in the anime, Ace stated that he would become the Pirate King. At no point in the manga did Ace show this ambition, but rather he aims to make Whitebeard the Pirate King. Also in the anime, Ace stated that he wanted to show the world his power by taking Whitebeard's head. Ace's reason for going after Whitebeard's head was never explained in the manga.

Marineford Arc
In the anime, the Ace's and Luffy's fight against the marines (after Luffy unlocked his handcuffs) was expanded and Ace showed more of his attacks.

In the anime, when Ace was struck through by Akainu, his beaded necklace broke apart and fell all over the ground, and one bead ended up rolling to Whitebeard's foot, who picked it up tearfully; in the manga, the necklace remained intact. Ace also was covered in less blood than in the manga, and the smoke coming from his wound was absent. Other oddities include most of the artwork being largely uninspired by the manga.

Merchandise
Ace has been a choice character in many forms of merchandise. He has been featured in the Portrait of Pirates Figuarts Zero, One Piece DX Figure, S.H. Figuarts One Piece, One Piece High Spec Coloring Figure, Master Stars Piece, One Piece Styling Figures, One Piece Digital Grade and One Piece Super Effect Lines.

He is also in the One Piece Full Color R Gashapon, Anichara Heroes, Ichiban Kuji, One Piece Logbox World Collectable, One Piece Attack Motions, Super Modeling Soul One Piece, Half Age Characters One Piece, Chibi-Arts One Piece, One Piece Super Deformed Figures, Deformeister Petit One Piece, One Piece Gashapon Grand Battle, One Piece Super Effect, One Piece Full Color R Gashapon, One Piece Amazing Log Collection, One Piece Full Face Jr. and CharaColleCan series.

Ace has also featured on several keychains/cellphone straps sets, including the One Piece Desert Kingdom Mascot Keychain/Cellphone Strap collection, alongside his brother Luffy. He even appeared in crossover Merchandise like Dragon Ball Capsule Neo - Weekly Shounen Jump 40 Years Limited Edition with One Piece and Co-Starring of Dream!! Dragon Ball Z x One Piece.

Early One Piece
In One Piece Green: Secret Pieces, it is revealed that Ace was planned to have the name of "Portgas D. Lang" (ポートガス・D・ラング) in the early concepts. His looks apparently have not changed much from the original, except for his hat design and the fact that he was supposed to wear sunglasses.

Translation and Dub Issues
Ace's manji is very similar to a swastika. To avoid confusion between the two symbols and avoid slander for being a Nazi, this was changed to crossbones in the shape of a "cross" in the original Japanese anime and later in the manga also. This change was also done in the Shonen Jump serialization of the English manga, but was left unedited in the actual volumes. Because of the increase in the number of anime and manga being adapted for sale outside of Japan, this has become a common occurrence amongst mangaka and publishers alike to avoid the manji symbol.

Ace's back tattoo is left intact in the English dub, despite 4Kids previous edits to crosses. At the same time, Ace also promotes his tattoo to Luffy, something which is truly considered odd by 4Kids standards. In the 4Kids version of the anime, Ace's shoulder tattoo signifying his name is edited out, as he is referred to there as "Portgaz D. Trace". However, in the edited for TV FUNimation dub it is retained; they reverted his name to the proper "Portgas D. Ace" for the DVD dub. He appears in One Piece Grand Adventure, once again without the tattoo on his arm.

Trivia

 * Universal Studios of Japan has built a replica of Ace's and Whitebeards tombs. Ace's epitaph says: "Ace, may you soul be eternal. Your brave soul will always be with us."
 * Ace being captain of the Spade Pirates, is a pun on the "Ace of spades", or "spadille".
 * Had Ace been a girl, he would have been named "Anne".
 * Ace shares the same birthday as the creator of the series, Eiichiro Oda (January 1).
 * Ace would have been 21 if he were born on time. Instead he is 20 because his mother held him in her womb for eleven months past his due date, meaning he spent a total of twenty months inside her womb, instead of the usual nine.
 * The hunt for Ace's mother with the intention of preventing his "criminal blood" coming into the world is a form of eugenics.
 * Though not considered canon, a scene of Ace ditching Buggy can be seen at the end of Ace's ending for the game One Piece: Grand Battle 3. After entering a bar and feasting on food, Ace (currently asleep) wakes up and realizes he has forgotten something and runs out of the bar - leaving Buggy with the 380,000 bill.
 * In the 4th Japanese Fan Polls, Ace ranked as the fifth most popular character in One Piece making him the most popular of the Whitebeard Pirates and the second most popular D. carrier, Luffy being the first. Also Ace was elected as the most popular "non-Straw Hat" character in the series.
 * His bounty, being at 550,000,000 before his death, is the highest amount revealed so far in the series.

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