Sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, casting dappled patches of light across the ground.
Figures flickered through the forest as two half-grown boys raced between the trees. In the blink of an eye, they had covered dozens of meters.
"Stop! Don't run!"
"You two little bastards, stop right there!"
A hundred meters behind the boys, seven grown men wielding short daggers shouted as they chased after the two boys heading into the forest.
"Hmph! Catch us if you can!"
"Tell us to stop? What kind of stupid nonsense is that?"
"But..."
"Fine, we'll stop. I'm sick of being chased around by you lot anyway!"
In the woods, the blond boy wearing a round hat and a tattered little suit chuckled when he heard the shouts behind him.
He glanced back at the adults being left farther and farther behind by him and his companion, baring a bright, gap-toothed grin.
"Hehehe! Sabo, pick up the pace and shake them off already."
Just as the blond boy looked back over his shoulder and laughed at their pursuers, the black-haired boy in a short shirt ahead of him turned around and called out.
Then he began running faster.
"Got it!"
"Ace, take the stuff and go first. We'll meet at our usual place."
The smile on Sabo's face did not fade. His feet skidded, kicking up some dirt and sand, and then he turned to face the distant pursuers. He actually stopped and waited for them to arrive.
"Hey, Sabo!"
Ace cried out at the sight. He lightly leaped down from a tree branch, landed swiftly on the ground, then quickly pulled off the long sword slung across his back. Drawing the blade, he followed after Sabo.
"Are you an idiot?"
"Why did you stop?"
Ace quickly reached Sabo's side. The two stood