Early morning, deep in Mt. Colubo.
"Ha ha ha! You big dummy, did you forget to eat yesterday? Put your back into it!"
Amid a burst of laughter, an astonishing scene unfolded in a clearing in the woods.
Ten-year-old Ace, bare-chested and well-muscled, was locked in a primitive test of strength with a giant bear from Mt. Colubo that stood four meters long.
He wasn't using a weapon or any tricks. He simply clamped both hands around the bear's shoulders and dug two deep furrows in the mud with his legs. With his monstrous strength and seemingly endless energy, he was overpowering the king of the forest.
"Grr!" The bear let out a frustrated growl, clearly almost out of strength.
Thud!
Ace executed a shoulder throw and slammed the enormous beast into the mud. The bear was left seeing stars. It rolled its eyes, then rubbed itself against Ace's leg as if to curry favor, before flopping down beside him like a giant, dejected dog.
"Not bad. I'll reward you with half a grilled fish later." Ace patted the bear's head and plopped down on its soft belly.
"Ace! You're picking on the mountain animals again!"
The bushes nearby parted, and Sabo, also ten, and seven-year-old Luffy came running over, panting.
Each had a massive log slung over his shoulder. They were drenched in sweat and so exhausted they collapsed on the ground.
"Hey, hey, what do you mean, picking on them? This is called 'training together.' They're sparring partners."
Ace grinned and pointed around the clearing. Several more beasts—tigers, giant crocodiles, and Masira—were sprawled at its edge, their faces bruised and swollen. These East Blue predators, once fierce and fearsome, now acted like a flock of lambs around Ace.
"Give me a break. You clearly beat them into submission with your fists..." Sabo grumbled helplessly, then rubbed his sore shoulders. "But seriously, that 'Marine Headquarters elite recruit training regimen' you pestered Grandpa Garp into telling you about is downright murderous."
That was right. Ace hadn't come up with any bizarre training methods.
He knew that the most scientific physical conditioning, the kind that pushed the human body to its limits, was all part of the Marine Headquarters' training system.
Starting when he was eight, whenever Garp returned to the East Blue, Ace would find ways to pump him for information. He'd managed to pry out the entire set of brutal training methods used by the Marines, from weighted cross-country runs to resisting waterfalls and deep-sea swimming.
Then this regimen, originally designed to train adult elite Marines, became the daily routine of the three brothers—mainly Ace and Sabo.
"If you don't hone every inch of your muscles to perfection, how are you going to rule the seas one day?"
Ace got to his feet and stretched. His body crackled like popping beans.
"Luffy, had enough rest? Go on, practice taking a beating with that giant ape!" Ace kicked Luffy toward the giant gorilla, who was rubbing its fists in anticipation.
"Waaah! Help me, Ace!" Luffy shrieked as the gorilla tossed him into the air like a ball.
Watching Luffy's plight, Sabo swallowed and turned to Ace. "What about you? You finished today's basic training in the middle of the night, didn't you?"
"Me?"
Ace's lips curled into an eager smile as he looked toward several enormous wooden posts standing in the middle of the clearing.
"Today, I'm going to try breaking down the old man's footwork."
As soon as he spoke, Ace's figure blurred where he stood.
Bang!
A faint burst of air sounded beneath Ace's feet. His body shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, vanishing in an instant. The next second, he appeared directly in front of a post ten meters away.
"What was that...?" Sabo's eyes flew wide. "That instant movement Grandpa Garp uses whenever he beats you up?!"
"The old man calls it 'Soru.'"
Ace turned and laughed. "You move at high speed by stomping the ground dozens of times in an instant and using the reaction force. It's one of the Six Powers."
Ace had picked up the technique for generating power through his muscles after taking countless beatings from Garp. His innate Observation Haki and Voice of All Things had let him sense it keenly.
If he was going to build a foundation under Garp's tutelage, he wasn't going to settle for just the basics.
Ace wanted to secretly learn all six techniques and eventually master Life Return.
But the three moves he was most interested in, and wanted to learn first, were Soru for explosive speed, Geppo for aerial combat, and Kami-e, which let him dodge attacks like a sheet of paper and worked perfectly with Observation Haki!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Ace kept practicing in the clearing. His movements were still awkward, and he couldn't stomp nearly as many times as a Marine Headquarters officer, but his astonishing physical talent had already allowed him to grasp the rudiments of Soru.
"What a complete monster!"
Watching Ace leave afterimages all over the clearing, Sabo couldn't help but marvel. He'd thought he was pretty talented, but next to Ace, he was in another league.
"Quit standing around, Sabo! Come on, let's trade a few blows!"
Ace flashed in front of Sabo and threw a punch.
"Whoa! You're actually serious, you bastard!" Sabo hurriedly raised his pipe to block.
"Ha ha ha! If you can't even take one of my punches, how are you going to be my first mate?"
As the sun set, the mountain echoed with the boys' bright laughter and the roars of wild beasts.
That night, the three brothers sat around the campfire, eating grilled bear meat the giant bear had "offered" them and talking about the future.
"Ace." Sabo took a bite of meat and suddenly asked, "I heard Grandpa Garp say when he was drunk that the strongest people in the world have a power called Haki. When are you going to get him to teach you?"
At the mention of Haki, even Luffy, who'd been busy grabbing meat, perked up his ears curiously.
Ace swallowed his food and casually wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. His gaze lingered on the dancing flames.
"It's way too early for that."
Ace smiled, a clear look flashing in his eyes. "Haki is basically the will and life force hidden inside people. Without a body strong enough to serve as a vessel, training in Armament Haki too soon will only drain your potential."
"What we need to do now is turn our bodies into sponges, absorb nutrients like crazy, and keep honing our muscles until we push our physical limits to the peak of this mountain!"
Ace raised his greasy fist and gave it a firm shake in front of Sabo. "When we turn fifteen, and our bodies have finished growing and taken their final shape..."
"I'll personally pry open the old man's mouth and squeeze every last drop of his Armament Haki and martial arts mastery out of him!"
"And then, when we're seventeen."
Ace stood up and spoke into the night wind.
"We'll set sail and turn this boring world upside down!"
Before you continue