Destiny's Encounter

Outside the cabin of the Dadan Family on Mt. Colubo.

The torrential rain had just ceased, and the morning sunlight filtered through the canopy, spilling onto the muddy ground.

"Thud!"

The heavy carcass of a saber-toothed tiger was tossed carelessly onto the clearing in front of the cabin, shaking the entire structure three times over.

The cabin door was kicked open, and Dadan, cigarette dangling from her lips, poked her head out with a group of mountain bandits trembling behind her. When they saw the mountain-like beast and the shirtless, black-haired boy standing beside it, everyone gasped in unison.

"Hey, Dadan, stop staring. Process this big cat; we're roasting it for dinner tonight."

Ace brushed his damp hair aside and spoke to Dadan and the others.

He had set out into the forest at dawn, running and hunting from morning until night, constantly observing and tracking.

If an ordinary ten-year-old tried this, they would have collapsed long ago. But Ace's constitution was different from the norm; it was as if an untiring furnace burned within him. He required little sleep, and his stamina recovery speed was monstrous—much like Marshall D. Teach, the man who once lurked on Whitebeard's ship and was known as a "freak."

"Ace! You brat, you went and provoked a monster of that level again!" Dadan roared in exasperation, though a hint of awe remained hidden in the depths of her eyes.

"Hahaha! Can't help it, ordinary boars aren't enough to warm me up anymore."

Ace laughed as he walked toward the water vat, preparing to wash the blood off his body, but his movements suddenly paused.

His Observation Haki detected a faint yet incredibly tenacious life force inside the cabin, along with a powerful presence that felt hauntingly familiar.

A burly figure emerged from the shadows of the cabin—it was Garp, the Marine hero who had just beaten him up on the back mountain.

In Garp's hand, held like a chick, was a seven-year-old brat wearing a straw hat with a scar under his left eye.

Even though he was dangling in mid-air, the brat's limbs stretched comically like rubber, and he was still shouting defiantly, "Let me go, old man! I'm the man who's going to be the Pirate King!"

Ace's pupils constricted slightly as he looked at the straw-hatted brat, and then the smile on his lips gradually widened.

Luffy.

We finally meet.

In the original story, the ten-year-old Ace was filled with hostility toward everyone due to his deep hatred for his own lineage, even spitting at Luffy upon their first meeting.

But the current Ace would not.

He possessed a mature soul and the ambition to devour the world. Furthermore, in his past life, he had been quite fond of Luffy. In his eyes, this future Child of Destiny would be the most interesting witness on his path to the throne.

"Thud."

Garp dropped Luffy onto the ground and pointed at Ace. "Luffy, from today on, you'll live here. That's Ace, he's three years older than you; from now on, you'll follow his lead."

Before Garp could finish his sentence, Ace had already strode up to Luffy.

At ten years old, due to years of inhuman training, Ace was already much taller than his peers. He looked down at Luffy, who was sitting on the ground, and the terrifying pressure made Luffy instinctively stop shouting, causing him to swallow nervously.

"What... what do you want?" Luffy gripped his straw hat tightly.

"Pirate King?"

Ace looked at Luffy, but instead of mocking him, he grabbed Luffy's elastic, rubbery cheeks and pulled them to both sides, laughing, "Hahaha! Interesting! You're a weak little rubber brat, but you've got a decent look in your eyes!"

"Hey! You jerk!"

"Listen up, brat." Ace let go, pointed his thumb at his own chest, and declared loudly, "Kid, from now on, you're with me! If you want to chase that boring title of Pirate King, go ahead. Because I am the man who will become the King of the World, and the rules of this world shall be rewritten by me!"

At these words, Luffy froze, and even Garp, standing to the side, widened his eyes, looking at the boy radiating such Haki in disbelief.

Late that night.

The Dadan Family were all snoring, and Luffy, exhausted by Ace's welcome ceremony, was fast asleep in the corner with his mouth wide open.

Only Ace remained awake.

He only needed a brief rest to recover his full energy; his vitality was impossibly high.

Ace pushed open the window and leaped lightly onto the roof.

There, a blonde boy with a missing tooth, wearing a top hat and a small blue vest, had been waiting for him.

"Sabo, why did you come over in the middle of the night?" Ace walked over and sat down casually beside Sabo.

"I came to share some intel with you, you reckless guy."

The ten-year-old Sabo sighed helplessly and pulled a crumpled bounty poster from his jacket. "Look, there's a rumor in the black market of the East Blue recently about the discovery of a Devil Fruit... Hey, are you even listening?"

"I'm listening."

Ace rested his hands behind his head, looking up at the starry sky, his eyes flashing with a depth only an adult could understand.

"Sabo, what would happen if someone ate two Devil Fruits?" Ace asked suddenly.

Sabo paused, then answered as if reciting a textbook, "Is that even a question? A person's body can only host one devil; if you greedily eat a second one, your body will explode."

"That's right, that is the limit for ordinary people."

Ace sat up straight, turned to look at Sabo, and the smile on his lips appeared incredibly defiant under the moonlight: "Because their souls only have one 'vessel'."

Sabo's heart skipped a beat. He looked into Ace's eyes, and a frantic premonition welled up in his mind.

"Ace... you don't mean to..."

"Sabo, grow stronger with me."

Ace stood up, the gale whipping through his black hair, and reached out a hand toward his future vice-captain: "Seven years! We will spend seven years pushing our physiques and Haki to their absolute limits! The day we set sail at seventeen, I will prove to this world—"

"Whether it be the high-and-mighty nobles or the remnants of the old era in the New World, they are all nothing but stepping stones for me to ascend the throne! I will make this entire ocean bow at my feet!"

Watching the burning, wild ambition in Ace's eyes, Sabo's heart skipped a beat. He knew that the boy before him was absolutely not joking.

Because of Garp, Ace had once carefully considered the path of the Marines, but due to his own personality, he would inevitably clash with the Celestial Dragons and certain high-ranking officers; besides, the thought of life within that system made him feel weary. He only wanted to live freely in this world and do as he pleased, and in a world where the strong reigned supreme, that required absolute power to back it up. Therefore, to ensure no one could ever ride roughshod over him, he had no choice but to strive and strive again to grow stronger, to not let his talent go to waste, and to climb step by step to the very top.