Portgas D. Ace Dies

Ace draws Luffy close as his strength fades, begging forgiveness for failing to let his brother save him fully. Beside them, Marco asks Mr. 3 to mold a key for his Seastone cuffs while the rest of the crew and their allies turn back Akainu's assaults. Sengoku has to restrain Garp, who would otherwise charge the admiral. Ace's crewmates cry out for a doctor, but he tells them it is futile, his organs already melted away.

A flood of memories rises, voices from his youth declaring that any child of Roger ought to simply die. In place of despair Ace offers his parting words, admitting how he will miss them all and how thankful he is to have been wanted and given a family, and he speaks of a cherished person, Sabo, for the very first time. A closing memory shows a younger Ace assuring a tearful Luffy that dying is impossible for him so long as a little brother still needs watching over. His Vivre Card burns out entirely as a vision of his mother naming him Gol D. Ace appears. Whitebeard and Garp break into tears, and Ace dies in Luffy's lap, leaving the boy hollowed and ending the Gol D. line.

Marco and Vista are both confirmed to wield Haki. The chapter delivers the first reference anywhere to Sabo. Ace, Second Division commander and the offspring of Pirate King Gol D. Roger, perishes, the first major figure and Will of D. bearer to die outside a flashback. In keeping with the traits of those who carry that will, he passes away smiling, and Roger's bloodline ends with him.

The final flashback discloses that his birth name was Gol D. Ace before he adopted his mother's surname. The cover, part of the Straw Hats and Animals series, shows Nami landing a hit on Luffy during a round of Whack-a-Mole.