Was My Birth a Good Thing? / Mighty Heavenly Dragon

[Cover serial: Executive Vice President Miss All Sunday 12 — "An eerie atmosphere"]

[Cannon fire raged outside, but everything in town was normal, and the residents went about their lives as usual. Olvia sat by the roadside, pulling her Cowboy Hat low. Robin gave nothing away, while her eyes and ears, formed from petals, had spread along the entire street.]

[Ongoing mission: To the summit]

[Mission objective: Help Portgas D. Ace attain first-rate strength and renown, and stand at the summit of the world.]

[Client: Portgas D. Ace]

[Distance: Near]

[Estimated difficulty: ★★★★★★]

Taking advantage of a long, heart-to-heart chat between captain and crew member, Ruidio had easily squeezed this mission out of the unsuspecting Ace.

If you came aboard my ship without coughing up a mission, wouldn't your trip have been wasted?

"I'm going to make the whole village... make everyone in the world acknowledge my existence!"

Ace had been chatting with Ruidio from their hammocks in the wheelhouse when he suddenly heard him say that, and couldn't help but pause. His captain knew him inexplicably well.

Ruidio said, "Does everyone wish you'd never been born? I wouldn't be so sure. The Pirate King didn't have much time left back then, so why did he insist on having a child? Your mother knew your birth wouldn't be welcomed, but she still miraculously endured twenty months of pregnancy while evading the World Government's search, giving her life to bring you into the world. Garp the Hero was right there. If Garp hadn't wanted the devil's son to be born either, he could easily have killed you while you were still a baby who knew nothing of the world."

"Like Whitebeard, Garp was both friend and foe to the Pirate King back then."

Ruidio looked up at the ceiling. "Roger entrusted you to Garp before he died. Garp kept it from the World Government and Marine Headquarters and chose to let you live.

"He didn't do it so you could suffer in this world, and he certainly didn't want you to think life was meaningless and throw yourself headlong toward death.

"A person's birth and their life in this world are meaningful in themselves."

When it came to that sense of emptiness that seemed to devour a person's heart, no one understood it better than Ruidio had when he was first reborn into this world.

His parents in this life had died long ago, and he couldn't even remember what they looked like. He had lived all alone in a corner of this strangely familiar world. No one knew of him, no one knew him, and no one loved him. No one cared whether he lived or died.

Everything in his previous life had faded into the past, too...

Why do you look even more depressed than I am?

Ace was stunned. He couldn't tell at all. This guy clearly loved making nasty jokes, always talked over others, and did whatever he pleased...

"Of course, that said," Ruidio added with a laugh, crossing his legs, "getting to the top someday and giving a big middle finger to everyone who doesn't want you alive would probably feel pretty great too. What do you think?"

"..."

Ace rested his head on his hands and asked, "What about you, then? Ruidio, since you're going to sea as a captain, do you have a goal?"

"I want to fulfill all my crew members' dreams. Though that sounds a little corny."

Ruidio smiled. "Whatever the case, now that I've got a little ability, I think... at the very least, I should leave some mark on this world. Let the world know I was here! And the best way to do that is to go there."

He pointed in a random direction. "The final island, Laugh Tale."

Ace laughed. "So you want to be the Pirate King too?"

Ruidio said, "Pirate King or not, I don't care. But some people don't want the secret hidden on that island uncovered, so I'm going to try anyway."

"Some people?"

"You'll find out when the time comes."

"Oh... but where are we sailing now? Why do I get the feeling the direction's wrong? It doesn't seem like we're headed for the Grand Line."

"You don't know navigation, so how can you say where we're sailing?"

"I don't. Don't you know navigation?"

"Do I know navigation just because I'm sailing?"

"..."

"Come back with me first. Once we've made preparations, we'll set sail properly."

"Back where?"

"Shimotsuki Village."

Early the next morning—

"How long until we get to this Shimotsuki Village you mentioned?"

After washing up, Ace rubbed his eyes and yawned as he found Ruidio on deck, facing the rising sun over the distant sea and doing who knew what.

Ruidio was trying to activate his Armament Haki. But out of ten attempts, at most one or two gave him a clear feeling of "I did it, so that's what it is."

First glimpse level, not bad.

He breathed out and glanced at the three Radar Searches he'd used up early that day. Once again, they'd turned up a few trivial zero-star missions.

"It's close."

Ruidio gazed out at the sea and smiled. "The course should be right now, so in about... ten days or half a month, or maybe a month, we should get there!"

"How is that close?" Ace complained.

"Because before that, we're going somewhere else."

Ruidio flicked a gold coin to him. "When I said we needed to prepare, I didn't just mean finding a navigator. Without Haki, you won't get far on the Grand Line."

Ace caught the gold coin. Before he could react, Ruidio pressed a hand on his shoulder, and everything went black before his eyes...

The Calm Belt, the island of women—

Kuja Castle, the palace's grand balcony—

Hancock, dressed in red silk pajamas, leaned against the railing, rubbing the gold coin Ruidio had given her as she thought about something, her face flushed. Suddenly, two figures appeared out of thin air beside her.

It was Ruidio!

Beside him was a black-haired boy about his height, wearing a strange hat and sporting a few freckles.

"Why did you blindfold me?" The freckled boy pulled the strip of cloth from his face and immediately saw Lady Snake Princess before him. Stunned, he exclaimed, "This gorgeous woman—"

Bang! Ruidio punched him in the head.

"—isn't she the Shichibukai, the Pirate Empress?!" After taking the punch, Ace snapped, "What was that for?!"

"I was being petty, and I'm annoyed," Ruidio said.

"If you're annoyed, punch yourself!" Ace bared his pointed teeth, rubbed his head, and asked in confusion, "Is this that ability of yours, the one that makes you disappear and reappear? Could this be..."

"This is Amazon Lily, the island of women," Hancock said coolly. "Are you Ruidio's crew member?"

"Oh, hello." Ace held his hat and gave a slight bow. "I'm Portgas Ace. I did just become this guy's crew member. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Hancock: "..." Why is he so polite?

Although she liked Ruidio very much now, she had to admit that he really did as he pleased and could hardly be called polite to others.

"You look like you're thinking something very rude." Ruidio walked over, grabbed her devastatingly beautiful face in both hands with a smack, and gave it a vigorous rub.

Hancock immediately turned bashful. Her big, watery eyes looked pitiful as she mumbled through his hands, "Weren't you bringing him... to train his Haki...? I've already arranged for Sanda and Mari... to teach him..."

"Is this the person we're supposed to teach Haki?"

Before long, Ace followed them outside Kuja Castle, not far from the jungle where Ruidio and Hancock had trained the day before. The empress's two younger sisters were already waiting there.

Each had a Poké Ball, and they were having the time of their lives releasing and recalling a hawk and a big black panther, over and over... When they saw their sister arrive, they hurriedly put them away and composed themselves.

"Hello, I'm Ace..."

Ace bowed politely again, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right, this Haki thing!" He turned to Ruidio. "Didn't you say before that I'd used something called Conqueror's Haki? Is it the same thing?"

"Conqueror's Haki?!" "Conqueror's..."

Sandersonia and Marigold were shocked. "You? You have the qualities of a king, one in a million, just like our sister?!"

Are you two random bystander commentators?

Ruidio smiled. "Is it really surprising that the Pirate King's son has those qualities?"

"Whaaat?!!"

Chapter 63: Mighty Heavenly Dragon

[Cover serial: Executive Vice President Miss All Sunday 13 — "Robin discovers the truth"]

[In a deserted courtyard at the edge of town, two soldiers laughed as they exchanged their royal army and Rebel Army uniforms. They decided to swap guard duties and go out to play a game of civil war.]

"Whaaat?!!"

"He's the Pirate King's son?!"

Hearing this, Sanda and Mari were naturally stunned.

"..."

Hancock wasn't interested in the Pirate King, but she was a little surprised that Ruidio had managed to recruit his son. Then she thought of what Ruidio could do, and she was no longer surprised.

"Sanda, Mari, you will teach him Haki from now on, until he's learned the basics of both Armament and Observation Haki."

After issuing her orders in a thoroughly commanding manner, Hancock's expression changed in an instant. She gave a gentle smile, took Ruidio's hand, and led him away.

"So what exactly is Haki?" Ace's puzzled voice grew fainter behind them. They could just make out Sanda shouting, "It's this!" Then came a bang, which sounded like Ace being sent flying...

It seemed the two younger sisters were tough teachers.

The older sister was softer.

Ruidio and Hancock smiled at each other, spread a blanket among the trees, and sat down. As they had the day before, they pressed their palms together. Hancock's Haki slowly flowed into Ruidio's hands, arms, and body... gently stimulating him to activate his own Haki.

And so Ruidio and Ace settled down to train with the Kuja.

Ace was no fool. After Sandersonia's Observation Haki, which seemed to foresee the future, saw through every one of his attacks, and Marigold's Cloud-Dispelling Palm left him completely disoriented as though its force had passed through a mountain to strike an ox, he had naturally come to understand exactly what Ruidio meant when he said, "Without Haki, you won't get far on the Grand Line."

He put aside his impatient thoughts and focused on this special training...

The second day—

With a bang, Ace was sent flying by a lash of Sandersonia's tail for who knew how many times. She had turned into a giant green python, and Ace slammed into a tree hard enough to snap it.

"Do you have to hit that hard?!" Ace rubbed his back as he emerged from the dust.

Marigold's hair formed into a hand and deftly slapped the bewildered Ace flying. She shouted, "If you don't feel enough danger, you won't awaken your Observation Haki!"

"If you can learn how to defend yourself with Armament Haki while you're getting hit, that would be good too." Sanda flicked her snake tongue and grinned. "Isn't that killing two birds with one stone? Stop complaining. Your captain put you in our hands, and I guarantee this is the best way to train."

"..."

Ace, covered in dirt, got back to his feet and pointed unhappily at Ruidio and Hancock, who were sitting opposite each other holding hands. "Really? Then why aren't they doing this?"

"How could that be the same?"