Portgas D. Ace has two tattoos in One Piece: "ASCE" written down his upper left arm, and the Whitebeard Pirates' Jolly Roger across his back. The crossed-out S stands for Sabo, the sworn brother Ace believed had died as a child. Below is what each tattoo means, where it appears in the manga, and the two main ways the design was drawn differently.
Key points
- Upper left arm: "ASCE" written vertically, with the S crossed out
- The crossed-out S stands for Sabo, according to the official databook One Piece Green
- Back: the Whitebeard Pirates' Jolly Roger, the mark of becoming one of Whitebeard's "sons"
- The back mark's manji was redrawn as crossbones in chapter 434, and the chapter 596 cover shows "ACE" with no S
Thinking about a lettering or skull piece of your own? Browse lettering tattoo designs and skull tattoo designs on Tattoo Japan.
| Tattoo | Placement | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ASCE (S crossed out) | Upper left arm | His name, plus Sabo |
| Whitebeard Jolly Roger | Back | Whitebeard Pirates member |
Who Is Portgas D. Ace?
- Name
- Portgas D. Ace (born Gol D. Ace)
- Epithet
- "Fire Fist" Ace
- Crew
- Whitebeard Pirates, 2nd Division Commander (formerly captain of the Spade Pirates)
- Devil Fruit
- Flame-Flame Fruit (Mera Mera no Mi), a Logia
- Bounty
- 550,000,000 berries
- Birthday
- January 1
- Height
- 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
- Birthplace
- Baterilla, South Blue
- Formal debut
- Chapter 157 (Volume 18)
(Sources: One Piece Wiki, "Portgas D. Ace" and Japanese Wikipedia. Birthday and height come from the SBS in Volume 48.)
Ace is the son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and the older sworn brother of the main character, Monkey D. Luffy. The Marines reveal his parentage to the world in chapter 550 (Volume 56).
He grew up on Mt. Colubo, where he, Luffy and Sabo shared sake cups and became sworn brothers in chapter 585 (Volume 60).
As an adult, Ace became commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' 2nd Division and fought with the fire powers of the Flame-Flame Fruit. During the war at Marineford, he turned back to fight Admiral Akainu after Akainu insulted Whitebeard, and took a fatal blow shielding Luffy in chapter 573 (Volume 58). He dies in chapter 574, "Portgas D. Ace Dies" (Volume 59).
Ace's Arm Tattoo: What Does "ASCE" Mean?
Ace's upper left arm carries the letters "ASCE," running vertically down the arm. The S is crossed out with an X. The other three letters, A, C and E, simply spell his name.
Ace's arm tattoo when he first appears
Ace is formally introduced in chapter 157 (Volume 18). He is found asleep in the middle of a meal at a restaurant in Nanohana, Arabasta, and the S on his arm is already crossed out.
Sabo doesn't appear until chapter 583 (Volume 59), much later in the series. Until then the crossed-out S went unexplained, and some readers assumed Ace (or his tattoo artist) had misspelled his name and tried to fix it. (Source: Sportskeeda)
Why is the S crossed out?
It isn't a typo. The crossed-out S stands for Sabo, Ace's sworn brother. This is explained in the official databook One Piece Green: Secret Pieces, released in Japan on November 4, 2010. (Sources: One Piece Wiki, "One Piece Green: Secret Pieces" and Japanese Wikipedia)
Sabo shared sake cups with Ace and Luffy as a boy. When he set out to sea alone, a Celestial Dragon fired on his boat, and Ace and Luffy believed he had been killed (chapter 588, Volume 60).
Sabo had in fact survived, but he had lost his memory and never came back to them. Ace died without ever learning that Sabo was alive. Sabo's survival is revealed later, in the Dressrosa Arc. (Source: One Piece Wiki, "Sabo")
We found no scene where Ace himself explains why he crossed out the S. You may also see claims that the C stands for Luffy or that the E means "eternal," but we found no official source for either.
Why does Ace's tattoo say "ACE" on the chapter 596 cover?
The cover page of chapter 596, "SPECTRUM" (Volume 61), shows Luffy, Ace and Sabo as young adults, running out on an angry gorilla's restaurant without paying. In this drawing, Ace's tattoo reads "ACE," with no crossed-out S. (Source: One Piece Wiki, "Chapter 596")
The cover ran shortly after the flashback chapters about Sabo (Volumes 59–60). The three also pulled a dine-and-dash as kids, at a diner in town (chapter 585, Volume 60).
In the main story, though, the three brothers are never together as adults. One Piece Wiki describes this cover as a "what if" image of Ace, Luffy and Sabo together as adults. We found no record of Eiichiro Oda explaining why he drew "ACE" here. (Source: One Piece Wiki, "Portgas D. Ace")
Ace's Back Tattoo: The Whitebeard Jolly Roger
How Ace got the Whitebeard mark
Ace's back carries the Jolly Roger of the Whitebeard Pirates: a skull with Whitebeard's crescent-shaped white mustache, over crossed bones. (Source: One Piece Wiki, "Portgas D. Ace")
Chapter 552, "Ace and Whitebeard" (Volume 57), shows how he came to wear it. Ace set out to take Whitebeard's head and lost. Whitebeard told him that if he still wanted to raise hell on the seas, he should do it bearing Whitebeard's mark, as one of his "sons." Ace kept trying to kill Whitebeard, more than a hundred times, and was beaten off every time. What changed his mind was Marco explaining why the crew calls Whitebeard "Pops." After that, Ace chose to carry Whitebeard's name on his back. (Source: One Piece Wiki, "Chapter 552")
Did Ace's back tattoo change?
Yes. In the manga's early chapters, during the Arabasta and Jaya arcs and the cover story "Ace's Great Blackbeard Search," the skull sat in front of a manji (卍), a Buddhist symbol. From chapter 434, "Whitebeard and Red Hair" (Volume 45), it is drawn with crossed bones instead. (Sources: One Piece Wiki, "Chapter 434" and Japanese Wikipedia, "Pirates (One Piece)")
In his author comment in Weekly Shonen Jump for that chapter, Oda wrote that the Whitebeard flag that wasn't allowed in the anime was now not allowed in the manga either. According to Japanese Wikipedia, the databook One Piece Green explains that the manji was dropped to avoid confusion, because it is also the map symbol for Buddhist temples in Japan. Outside Japan, the symbol is easily mistaken for a swastika.
The anime used the crossbones version from Ace's very first episodes. According to One Piece Wiki, later Japanese printings and digital editions also redrew the earlier chapters with the crossbones.
Getting an Ace-Inspired Tattoo
Ace's arm piece is a lettering tattoo: a name written vertically down the arm. Tattoo Japan has plenty of lettering designs from artists in Japan, including names and words. For any lettering tattoo, confirm the spelling, the font and the direction of the text with the studio during your consultation before you get inked.
For more on tattoos of anime and manga characters, see our guide to anime and game character tattoos. For what to expect on the upper arm or back, see how painful tattoos are by body part and tattoo prices in Japan.
FAQ about Ace's Tattoos
What does Ace's tattoo mean?
His arm tattoo, "ASCE," is his own name with a crossed-out S for his sworn brother Sabo, as explained in the databook One Piece Green. His back tattoo is the Whitebeard Pirates' Jolly Roger, which he took on when he joined Whitebeard's crew (chapter 552).
Which arm is Ace's tattoo on?
His left arm. "ASCE" runs vertically down his upper left arm. The Whitebeard Jolly Roger is on his back.
Does the C in ASCE stand for Luffy?
We found no official source saying so. The databook explains only that the crossed-out S stands for Sabo. The remaining letters spell "ACE."
Did Ace know Sabo was alive?
No. Ace believed Sabo had been killed when they were children (chapter 588), and he died at Marineford without learning the truth. Sabo, who had lost his memory, survived and returns in the Dressrosa Arc.
Which other One Piece characters have tattoos?
Several characters have tattoos or marks on their bodies.
| Character | Placement | Design |
|---|---|---|
| Nami | Left shoulder | Tangerine and pinwheel |
| Law | Fingers, chest and more | "DEATH," a heart |
| Marco | Chest | Whitebeard Jolly Roger |
| Sun Pirates | Back, chest or arm | A sun |
| Dragon | Left side of face | Layered diamond pattern |
- Nami: in chapter 95 (Volume 11), she covers her Arlong Pirates tattoo with a tangerine and a pinwheel, for her adoptive mother Bell-mère and for Genzo. (Source: One Piece Wiki, "Nami")
- Trafalgar Law: our Trafalgar Law tattoo guide covers the "DEATH" on his fingers and his other tattoos
- The Sun Pirates (Fisher Tiger, Jinbe, Arlong and others): the sun is branded over the Celestial Dragons' slave mark, the "Hoof of the Soaring Dragon," so former slaves can't be told apart. This is shown in chapter 622, "The Sun Pirates" (Volume 63). (Source: One Piece Wiki, "Sun Pirates")
- Marco and Dragon: Marco has the Whitebeard Jolly Roger on his chest, and Dragon has a large tattoo on the left side of his face. We found no explanation of what Dragon's tattoo means. (Sources: One Piece Wiki, "Marco" and "Monkey D. Dragon")
Luffy's "3D2Y" on his right arm, with the 3D crossed out, is a message written on his arm rather than a tattoo. It told his crew to meet in two years (2Y) instead of three days (3D), and it first appears in a newspaper photo in chapter 594 (Volume 60). (Source: One Piece Wiki, "Monkey D. Luffy")
Ace's Tattoos at a Glance
Ace has two tattoos: "ASCE" on his upper left arm and the Whitebeard Jolly Roger on his back. The crossed-out S stands for his sworn brother Sabo, and the back tattoo marks him as one of Whitebeard's "sons."
The two main design differences: the back mark's manji became crossbones from chapter 434, and the chapter 596 cover shows "ACE" without the S. If you want a name in lettering or a skull motif of your own, compare designs first and then talk it through with a studio.
*Based on publicly available information as of October 2026.
