Warning: This article contains spoilers from the One Piece manga! One Piece has introduced dozens of beloved characters, but not many of them left the same mark as Portgas D. Ace. One of the high-ranking members of the Whitebeard Pirates, Ace was not only Gol D. Roger’s son, but also Luffy’s older brother. Since his introduction, he has been searching for Blackbeard, someone who betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates for a powerful Devil Fruit. He reunited with Luffy in the Alabasta Saga, and it didn’t take long for him to become a fan-favorite character. His humor, charm, strength, and even the same stubbornness he shared with Luffy immediately won fans over. Not long after he parted ways with Luffy before the fight in Alabasta began, Ace found his target and swore to make him pay.
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Unfortunately, he underestimated his opponent and was defeated before the villain handed him over to the Marines. The World Government announced his execution to the entire world in hopes of luring out one of the Four Emperors of the Sea. Ace’s impending execution triggered the Summit War, after which the story took a drastic turn. Despite the efforts of countless people, Ace died during the war while trying to protect Luffy. However, the latest Chapter 1166 revealed that Monkey D. Garp may have saved him after all.
One Piece Creator Always Wanted to Kill Ace
After the God Valley Incident, Dragon was imprisoned due to his insubordination during the Native Hunting Competition. He easily freed his son and helped him escape, but didn’t do the same for Ace. Even though Garp refused to save Ace’s life out of his sense of duty, the young pirate had many chances to be saved. Unfortunately, the only reason Eiichiro Oda created this character was to kill him later on. The creator needed a major tragedy to help Luffy push himself and trigger the time skip.
Seeing that Ace became unimaginably popular during the Alabasta Saga, Oda was advised by his editor not to kill the character. However, things turned out exactly the way the creator wanted, and Ace’s death did help Luffy grow and become more powerful. However, while Oda didn’t want Ace to survive, Garp’s decision to let Ace die turned him into one of the most controversial characters in the series. Even though the God Valley flashback gave a better idea of Garp’s intentions, it still didn’t properly explain why letting Ace die was so crucial to his goal of protecting people while being one rank lower than an Admiral.
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