@UsoppSpell
This is an argument of nature vs. nurture that still is debated to this day, bottomline is that OP exhibits both sides of the coin which is all I was saying.
You know very well that I understand that part of your argument. I was never the one to say that talent in OP was irrelevant. It will get you there faster, but it does not determine your peak. How bad you want to achieve it does.
What everyone else and me are trying to make you understand is that the final contenders for One Piece, the ones that will be the most powerful at the end of the line will be not the most talented, but the most resolute.
In battle, it's all about willpower in One Piece. If it's strong enough you clash swords with a quakeman and survive, regardless of the several thousands of megatons that it implies.
You were saying that you can't discount Ace as being one of the final contenders. I can tell you you can. He doesn't have what it takes. I assure you of this. This is the reason why I believe Ace will survive. It's because he is the one who will showcase how irrelevant talent will be at the end of the line. In One Piece, it's the strong-willed who survive and conquer. And in a battle between two top dogs, it will always be about who can fight harder and who wants it more. This is the reason why Luffy will eventually beat everyone and why he beat a lot of people who were better than him even though he shouldn't be able to.
@Brennen: wintergt talked about a completely defeatist point of view where choice matters less than chance. I happen to be against it for many good reasons. There are many people that actually will tell you this, I know a few of them myself. They are wrong and actually make themselves believe that they can't help it when they are hurting themselves and don't want to go through the ordeal of improving their situation. And I'm not talking about fat people at all. Really that isn't half as bad as the examples I witnessed.