Ace's Was-I-Worth-Being-Born Question To Garp

Status: pending · Technique: chekhov-explicit

The seed

The chapter plants Ace’s existential wound as an explicitly UNANSWERED question, set up to be resolved by the war’s outcome. Cross-link Will of D, Roger, D.

Why this matters

A chekhov-explicit thematic seed: a character literally voices the question the arc will answer, and a second character explicitly defers the answer (“only time can answer that question”). Oda stakes Ace’s entire sense of self-worth on whether his existence was justified — a question the chapter deliberately leaves open so the war’s resolution can close it.