The Dadan Family...
Ace narrowed his eyes as he watched Luffy being dragged along by Garp like a sack of potatoes.
There was no denying it—before he'd grown up, Luffy really looked like a total scatterbrain.
"Luffy, this is the Ace I told you about. Get along with him, alright?"
Garp pointed at Ace, voice booming as always.
"I'll visit again next time I'm on leave."
And with that, Garp casually tossed Luffy onto the ground and strolled off into the forest.
"You're Ace? I'm Luffy! Let's be friends!"
As soon as Garp was out of sight, Luffy grinned from ear to ear and ran up to the base of a large tree, shouting up at Ace.
"Friends? You want to be my friend?"
Ace leapt down from the tree and gave Luffy a wicked little grin.
"Yeah!"
Luffy chirped excitedly.
Ever since the incident with the Red-Haired Pirates, Luffy had grown to despise mountain bandits.
Out here, aside from the bandits, the only other person was Ace.
To Luffy, being completely alone was worse than death itself—so he was desperate to make a friend.
"Well then, follow me."
Ace gave Luffy a quick glance before bounding off into the dense woods.
"Ace! Wait up!"
Luffy shouted, scrambling to chase after him.
Whoosh!
They darted through the forest, weaving between trees and over roots, until Ace finally stopped at a deeply hidden clearing.
"Ace! You're back?"
Not far away stood a blond-haired boy with a chipped front tooth, grinning brightly.
"Sabo,"
Ace greeted, offering a small smile.
"Look, Ace! We've saved up this much already—we're one step closer to setting sail!"
Sabo popped open a few treasure chests, revealing a sparkling haul of jewels, gold, and stacks of berries.
All of it had been stolen from the Gray Terminal near the end of the junkyard slums—no man's land.
At Ace's current strength, the Goa Kingdom posed zero threat to him. They were raking in treasure at a rate far beyond what they used to manage.
Still, the Gray Terminal was dirt poor. Even now, Ace and Sabo had only managed to save about ten million berries.
But Ace wasn't overly focused on treasure right now. His real plan? Before setting sail, he'd just hit up some noble estate and snatch a cool hundred million.
After all, he'd need that kind of money for the navigator he was planning to recruit in the future.
"Hey! Ace—huff—wait—pant—wait for me!"
Just as Sabo was lost in dreams of life at sea, a clumsy, stumbling figure burst through the brush—
And immediately collapsed from exhaustion.
"Who—who the heck are you?!"
Sabo jumped in alarm, quickly slamming the treasure chests shut and glaring at the newcomer.
"I—I'm Luffy! Who are you?"
Luffy panted, catching his breath before shouting back.
"I'm Sa—who says I have to tell you?!"
Sabo snapped, clearly flustered.
"Don't be like that! Let's be friends!"
Luffy beamed with a toothy grin.
"This brat's Garp's grandson. I thought I shook him, but guess not."
Ace said offhandedly, looking at Luffy with an annoyed sigh.
"No way!"
Sabo shouted, incredulous.
At Ace's speed, there was no way some runt could keep up. Ace had to have let him follow.
"Hey, Ace… what now? He saw our treasure."
Sabo's voice turned low, eyes darkening.
"Did he now? Well… no helping it then. Guess we'll have to kill him."
Ace said it like he was talking about the weather.
"That's… probably our only choice."
Sabo nodded grimly after a pause.
"Eh?!"
Luffy yelped at their serious faces.
"D-Don't kill me! We can just be friends, right?! Please don't toss me in the sea to drown!"
Collapsed on the ground and out of energy, Luffy wailed in panic, tears streaming down his face.
"Drowning's not a bad idea actually,"
Sabo muttered, deadpan.
"But why would he say that himself…"
"Go on, Sabo. Do a clean job of it."
Ace clapped Sabo on the shoulder like a coach hyping his player.
"I—I've never killed anyone before. You do it."
Sabo's hands were visibly trembling.
"You were the one who suggested it. If you say it, you do it."
Ace pressed.
Sabo let out a breath and began walking toward Luffy, shadowed in doubt and dread.
"No! Don't kill me! I don't wanna die!"
Luffy screamed, squeezing his eyes shut.
…
But nothing happened.
No pain. No attack.
Slowly, he peeked one eye open.
"I… I can't do it."
Sabo dropped to the ground, gasping for breath, drenched in sweat.
"If you can't, then we've only got one option left."
Ace didn't look surprised at all. He patted Sabo on the back.
"Huh?! Ace? Sabo? You're not gonna kill me? Does that mean… you wanna be my friends?"
Luffy's eyes sparkled with hope.
"Not so fast. Before we let you join us, there's a ceremony."
Ace grinned darkly, not answering directly.
Hearing that, Sabo flinched as if he'd seen a ghost.
"I'll do anything—if it means we can be friends!"
Luffy declared loudly.
"Then don't move."
Ace said, a flicker of crimson flashing in his eyes.
And then—he punched.
BANG!
"OWWWWW!!!"
Luffy's scream echoed through the clearing.
[Your comprehension is unparalleled. Through the recoil from striking your target, you've gained new insight—your Conqueror's Haki has grown stronger!]
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TL/N:
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