Starting with two Kamui, they raised the flag of rebellion in One Piece.

Chapter 99 Recruitment Successful! Portgas D. Ace (Seeking first subscription!)

Faced with Ace's somewhat conciliatory attitude, Li Mingyuan sighed again.

This time, however, he did not respond to Ace's words. Instead, he changed the subject, looked directly into Ace's eyes with a calm gaze, and continued speaking.

"Although the topic is now closed, I will still reserve my right to the invitation for the time being."

"No need to rush to reply to Ace. I will invite you again next time we meet. You haven't been a pirate for very long, and your thoughts may change in the future."

As soon as Li Mingyuan finished speaking, Ace covered his head in pain and was about to refuse a second time.

"Don't forget Ace, you still owe me a bet. As the pirate you admire, after rejecting my invitation, can't you even accept this kind of future promise?"

Li Mingyuan immediately interrupted Ace and said in a deep voice.

A bet?

Upon hearing the keyword, Ace was momentarily stunned.

Soon, after realizing that the only remaining bet between the two of them was their conversation about gold, Ace was first surprised, and then somewhat amused and exasperated.

"What? How come you're also thinking about the bet? What a coincidence."

Ace found it quite amusing.

"Oh?"

"Actually, I was just thinking about this bet and was about to bring it up with you."

Ace rubbed his hair and couldn't help but say, "Seriously, I never thought you would use a bet like this. There are so many more meaningful ways to use it."

"Fine, fine, since we've come this far, I'll just agree."

Ace stepped forward, glared at Li Mingyuan with annoyance, and complained, "Even though it's just a verbal bet, it's such a waste that you're using it on such a verbal agreement. The answer won't change no matter how much time passes—just how much do you want me to join your group!?"

Upon hearing Ace's reply, Li Mingyuan smiled without saying a word.

But at this moment, after confirming that Ace had indeed agreed to the second agreement, a barely perceptible glint flashed in his eyes.

With that, the topic of the invitation finally came to an end.

When Ace saw that Li Mingyuan stopped talking, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, if he had continued the conversation with Li Mingyuan, he wasn't sure what the outcome would have been. Fortunately, Li Mingyuan postponed the agreement to the future and used the bet as a way to back down, which allowed the two of them to end things peacefully.

If he continues to refuse Li Mingyuan's second invitation, it would be too harsh to refuse him all at once, which would be a bit embarrassing for the other party. After all, this kind of invitation is not a big deal after Li Mingyuan explained it clearly earlier.

He still had questions to ask Li Mingyuan.

"Anyway, it's the same as today; it's an invitation that can be declined at any time. It won't be a big deal to refuse it then."

With that thought in mind, Ace walked to Li Mingyuan's side.

After the surge of Conqueror's Haki, although Ace himself didn't know what this power was, he could clearly see the consequences of its rampage; trees all around him had fallen.

In what should have been a lush, dark forest, a faint light could be seen through Li Mingyuan's back.

That was the flame of a campfire on the beach.

Although the two of them hadn't been walking very fast, they had finally reached the shore.

"Without realizing it, we've already arrived at this location. Wow! I can almost smell the barbecue. It smells so good."

Ace's eyes lit up, and he smiled.

"Speaking of which, if we get to the shore and people ask us what happened here, what should we say?"

Esmo stroked his chin, glanced subconsciously at Li Mingyuan, and couldn't help but ask, "Saying they were attacked by a wild animal—that can't be a lie, can it?"

"This matter is up to you."

Li Mingyuan replied casually.

At this distance, his eyes could clearly see the situation on the shore.

Of course, you can also clearly see Nami and Karina running towards this side.

Li Mingyuan squinted his eyes in a good mood.

He set off again, ready to welcome his companions.

"This guy, I just turned him down, why does he seem so happy?"

Ace stared at Li Mingyuan's retreating figure with a strange expression.

I really don't know what's wrong with this man. His thoughts and ideas are completely unpredictable.

However, after reflecting on his overall responses today, Ace couldn't find anything wrong with them.

There was nothing he could do; since Li Mingyuan had already left, there was no reason for him to stay any longer.

In the end, he had no choice but to give up thinking and follow Li Mingyuan step by step toward the beach.

Not long after.

They ran right into the group of people who had come out of concern.

"What? Everyone's come to pick us up?"

Ace said with a chuckle.

"Captain! We just saw something really strange on the other side. What happened?!"

The pirates surrounded Ace, bombarding him with questions about what had happened.

Ace hadn't figured out how to make up a reason yet when he subconsciously glanced at Li Mingyuan beside him.

Unfortunately, Li Mingyuan seemed to have completely forgotten about what had just happened, and was currently talking to the two female crew members on his ship.

Recalling Li Mingyuan's previous reply, "Look at yourself."

"Judging from Li Mingyuan's reply, this shouldn't be anything that needs to be kept secret, so there's no harm in saying it, right?"

Ace seemed to be deep in thought.

At the same time, Li Mingyuan was surrounded by Nami and Karina.

"They actually came all the way here to look for me. Are they worried something might happen to me?"

Li Mingyuan spoke in a relaxed tone.

"This isn't the time to laugh! Honestly, you—"

Karina and Nami looked Li Mingyuan up and down, and only felt a little relieved after confirming that there were no obvious external injuries.

At that moment, the two looked at each other.

Immediately afterwards, Nami subtly glanced at Ace, a hint of worry appearing on her face.

"So, you all came together from the cliff top?"

Nami hesitated before saying, "Could it be?"

"Don't worry, what you're thinking hasn't happened. In fact, it's a good thing for me."

Li Mingyuan was still in a good mood, and replied with a smile.

However, he did not elaborate on the specifics, but simply gestured to Nami and Karina that if they had any questions, they could go to Ace and he might be able to answer them.

After that, Li Mingyuan did not linger at the beach banquet venue, but went straight back to the ship.

Seeing this, Nami and Karina were still somewhat confused, but since Li Mingyuan didn't seem to have any intention of answering, they reluctantly gave up the idea of ​​continuing to ask him. Instead, they quietly moved closer to the focused pirates to listen to their whispers.

As for what happened next, when the two of them were shocked to hear Li Mingyuan invite Ace to join the group, that's another story.

Back in the captain's cabin.

Li Mingyuan leaned back in his chair, listening to the increasingly faint voices outside.

As time went by, he should have calmed down and returned to normal.

However, no matter how hard Li Mingyuan tried to control his expression, he couldn't suppress the smile that spread across his face.

"Haha, hahaha!"

In the end, Li Mingyuan burst into laughter.

Facing the room where he was all alone, Li Mingyuan laughed heartily and thoroughly.

I never dreamed that things would go so smoothly tonight.

Portgas D. Ace.

He is the posthumous son of Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, and the grandson of Garp, the Marine Hero. He is also the sworn brother of Monkey D. Luffy, the future awakened user of the Nika Fruit.

Unbeknownst to them, they had fallen into his plan and would become a member of his grand fleet in the future!

Is there anything in this world more joyful than the success of such a wise and calculated scheme?

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

"Ace, Ace, perhaps you can't understand at all what this promise between us means, right? But it doesn't matter. Even if you know nothing, even if you don't understand anything, as long as I know, that's enough."

Li Mingyuan lay completely back in the chair, gently rocking it, appearing completely calm and composed.

Even if it's a scheme that can only be achieved through foresight into the plot, a good scheme is one that achieves its goal, regardless of the means used.

He wasn't worried at all that the butterfly effect would cause the plan to go astray.

It is precisely because Ace is so resolute towards him today, and because Ace's personality is so stubborn, that he will inevitably embark on that path to surpass his father, Gol D. Roger, and thus challenge the Four Emperors just like in the original story!

Yes.

In fact, Li Mingyuan knew better than anyone else from the very beginning that Ace would absolutely never accept his invitation.

For Ace, being a pirate is far more than just a title. All his love and hate are contained in these two words. The deeper his desire was to surpass Roger, and the more he doubted whether he should exist in this world, the more profound the meaning of the title of pirate was to him. He would never give it up easily, no matter what.

Not to mention that Ace's journey has not even officially begun yet.

Without experiencing setbacks or understanding his true feelings, even if Li Mingyuan were currently a pirate, it would be impossible for him to successfully recruit the other party into his crew under the guise of a pirate.

Why would he bother with such a sure-fire invitation?

"Sometimes, the most important things are the things that seem insignificant."

"Ace, you probably didn't expect that, did you? All those straightforward offers before were just a feint, a way to get you to accept a compromise. That was my real purpose. To secure this, I even used a bet as insurance—it wasn't for nothing that I laid the groundwork for so long. If any step hadn't gone smoothly, this agreement wouldn't have been possible."

Li Mingyuan then took out his diary from his pocket.

It wasn't the nautical logbook, but the plot diary that only I could understand.

Li Mingyuan's gaze lingered on one of the pages, a record he had been repeatedly reviewing for the past ten days.

Portgas D. Ace was defeated in battle against the Whitebeard Pirates and captured along with his crew. Afterwards, he relentlessly challenged Whitebeard, even resorting to assassination attempts.

In the side story manga, Ace showed great remorse for the incident, believing that it was his stubbornness that led to the crew's tragic fate, and that he had an obligation to save them no matter what.

No one remains unchanged.

Just like Ace now, he could never have imagined that one day he would give up his dream, decide to support someone else as king, and become a member of someone else's pirate crew.

The most significant turning point in Ace's future life was undoubtedly his experience after failing to challenge Whitebeard. Not only did he ultimately choose to join the Whitebeard Pirates, but the series of changes in his mindset along the way were also unprecedented.

This is the opportunity that Li Mingyuan has set his sights on.

At this stage, it is impossible for him to recruit Ace immediately, but if he goes to rescue Ace during the time before Ace is defeated by Whitebeard and taken in as his son, when Ace is desperately trying to save his comrades but is powerless to do so, based on the current agreement between the two of them to join the party, Ace will almost certainly not refuse this invitation.

This favor is not only enough to get the Spade Pirates to join his large fleet, but it would probably be no problem to get them to join his ship directly.

Given this situation, what reason did Li Mingyuan have not to burst into laughter?

After all, Ace joining the team might be even more important than Yamato joining the team!

Winning over Ace was not as simple as just winning over Ace alone. Although Roger's original crew members did not pay much attention to Ace, and even during the Marineford War, no heavyweight figures joined forces with the Whitebeard Pirates to rescue him, there was one person who truly participated in the entire Marineford War, even though others ignored Ace's perilous situation.

That is Ace's sworn brother, the only protagonist in the One Piece world, and a symbol of freedom.

Monkey D. Luffy!!

"Normally speaking, as the absolute symbol of freedom, the possessor of the Nika Fruit, the Sun God, Luffy's character and experiences, as set by the author, make it impossible for him to join anyone else's ranks. Therefore, even though I know Luffy is in Windmill Village and will awaken the Nika Fruit and become a super pirate in the future, I would never recruit him, because it would be as pointless as recruiting Ace at this stage."

"I will not do anything that is meaningless."

"But in the world of One Piece, only Ace could make Luffy take action for him. If I really recruited Ace and a major event like the Marineford War happened in the original story, could Luffy really remain completely unmoved when he saw that Ace might die?"