Mt. Colubo, behind the Dadan Family's wooden cabin.
The moon shone bright in a star-speckled sky, and dry logs crackled in a roaring bonfire. A huge wild boar was roasting over the flames, filling the air with the mouthwatering scent of sizzling fat.
"Mmm... This is so good! I was starving!"
Luffy sat cross-legged on the ground, his rubber arms blurring as he stuffed roast meat into his mouth. His cheeks bulged like a pair of balls. Even with several bandages stuck to his face, he didn't slow down for a second.
On the other side of the bonfire, Sabo sat cross-legged amid a pile of glittering treasure, using the firelight to see. He held a small notebook in one hand, his quill racing as he worked out the figures.
"So,"
Ace stood bare-chested, his muscular torso on display. He casually flipped a Pure Gold coin as he watched Luffy, whose mouth was slick with grease. "You're usually a one-track-minded idiot, but those three years of training weren't for nothing. How did a clumsy oaf like Bluejam manage to catch you?"
At Ace's question, Luffy struggled to swallow the meat in his mouth, then gulped down a big mouthful of water. He waved his fist angrily.
"I didn't lose in a fair fight! I was catching beetles near the edge of the Terminal this morning when those guys suddenly came charging out and surrounded me!"
Luffy shouted indignantly, "They said you and Sabo had stolen their business in Black Street several times lately, and demanded to know where our base on Mt. Colubo was and where we'd hidden our treasure! Of course I didn't tell them anything, but then they suddenly threw out this weird net with rocks tied to it. As soon as it touched me, all the strength drained out of my body..."
At Luffy's explanation, Ace's hand paused as he flipped the coin.
Sabo stopped writing, too, and glanced at Luffy with a complicated look.
Plenty of grown pirates would have been scared into wetting themselves and spilling everything under torture from pirates with million-Beli bounties. But this ten-year-old kid had clenched his teeth and endured it without giving up a single word.
"You idiot." Sabo sighed helplessly, though an unmistakable smile lingered in his eyes. "You could've made up some story and led them to the territory of that mutant giant bear in the back mountains. Why did you have to tough it out?"
"But I didn't want to lie to that bunch of trash! And I'd never betray you and Ace!" Luffy shouted as if it were only natural, then lowered his head and went back to his roasted drumstick.
"Hahaha!"
Ace stepped forward, planted a hand on Luffy's head, and ruffled his hair hard.
"Nice work, Luffy. A real man of the sea would never betray his brothers, even if it meant dying."
Ace's lips curled into a smile, but his eyes held a fierce protectiveness. "Still, next time something like that happens, use your head. If you can run, run. Then come tell me, and I'll twist their skulls off."
"Shishishi, got it!" Luffy grinned without a care in the world.
Ace withdrew his hand and walked over to the pile of spoils. He reached back and pulled a weapon from the dirt.
It was an extremely heavy, single-edged cleaver. Its broad blade was a cold, dark blue-green, and its handle was wrapped in black animal hide for a better grip.
Ace had found it in the private chest of the pirate with a million-Beli bounty when they'd taken down Bluejam's hideout. It was so heavy that Bluejam could barely use it, which had made it perfect for Ace.
"The weight's about right. I can use this for a few years."
Ace gripped the handle and gave the weapon a few casual swings. Its heavy blade tore through the air with ease, creating a sharp sonic boom. At his current level, swordsmanship techniques came second. With his monstrous strength, a heavy cleaver like this was perfect for smashing people like a club.
"Sabo, how's the count coming?" Ace rested the cleaver on his shoulder and looked over at their chief treasurer.
Sabo closed his ledger, excitement glinting in his blue eyes. He lowered his voice. "We're rich, Ace! That bastard Bluejam's been robbing merchant ships for years, and he's amassed a fortune. The gold, jewelry, and cash come to about eighty million Beli in total!"
"Eighty million?" Ace raised an eyebrow. "That should be enough to build a good ship in the East Blue."
"Eighty million to build a ship?" Sabo asked in surprise. "If we went to a famous shipyard like the ones in Syrup Village, we could hire the best craftsmen to build a top-of-the-line brig. Do we have to find someone on another island?"
"No, we don't have to go that far."
Ace shook his head decisively, a shrewd yet wild smile tugging at his lips.
"No matter how good the timber and shipbuilding techniques in the East Blue are, they'd be little more than a few extra-sturdy planks in the extreme climate of the Grand Line. We still have four years before we set sail."
Ace used the cleaver to sketch a simple sailing chart in the dirt. "Sabo, take the money and discreetly find a skilled old shipwright in the Goa Kingdom or a nearby port town. Nothing fancy. I just want him to use the hardest wood available in the East Blue and take a few years to painstakingly build us a fast, sturdy black ship!"
"Our first ship doesn't need to be very big. It just needs to carry our first few core crewmates, survive the currents at Reverse Mountain, and get us safely into the Grand Line."
Sabo immediately understood Ace's plan. "You mean the ship we spend eighty million on will only be a temporary vessel to get us started?"
"That's right."
Ace looked up. Through the bonfire's thick smoke, his dark eyes seemed to pierce the night sky and gaze toward the distant, mysterious clouds.
"A ship truly worthy of us, one that can carry us as we rule the world... How could it possibly be an ordinary wooden ship?"
Ace grinned, his smile brimming with the arrogance and ambition to conquer the world. "Once we enter the Grand Line, I'll lead you up into the clouds! There, we'll find not only countless treasures of gold, but also a divine vessel built with the legendary Island Cloud and peerless technology!"
"That's where we'll get our real flagship!"
Sabo sucked in a breath. His hands trembled as he clutched the ledger.
"The clouds... Ace, do you mean the legendary Sky Island?! Does a place like that, something found only in fairy-tale books, really exist?!"
"Of course it does. And soon, it'll be our territory in the sky."
Ace laughed and stood up, casually thrusting the cleaver into the dirt beside him.
"Um, Ace."
Just then, Sabo seemed to remember something. He glanced at the ledger in his hand, then turned toward Luffy, who was still hunched over his meat.
"Luffy's setting sail three years after us. Since we have plenty of money now, should we ask the shipwright to put in a little extra effort and build him a sloop ahead of time, too?" As his big brother, Sabo couldn't help worrying about him.
At this, Luffy finally stopped eating.
He swallowed his food, hastily wiped the grease from his mouth, and sprang to his feet like a coil.
"I don't want one!"
Luffy crossed his arms in a big X over his chest and refused loudly, without the slightest hesitation.
"Huh? Why?" Sabo paused. "Wouldn't a good ship make things a lot safer when you set sail?"
"I don't want a ship you built for me!"
Luffy held down his straw hat. His dark eyes sparkled brightly as he shouted with utter conviction, "If someone else gets your ship ready for you, what's the fun in a pirate's adventure?"
"Listen! When I set sail, I'm starting from scratch all by myself! I'll find ten super-strong, super-fun crewmates with my own strength! Then we'll get a pirate ship a hundred times cooler than yours! I'm going to be King of the Pirates, and I don't need your help!"
The firelit air went still for a moment as everyone watched Luffy, full of energy and stubbornly single-minded.
Then—
"Hahahahaha!"
Ace roared with laughter. He pounded Luffy on the shoulder so hard that he nearly drove him into the dirt.
"Well said! That's a real man's adventure!"
Genuine admiration flashed in Ace's eyes. He knew Luffy well. His little brother might have been an idiot, but his thirst for freedom was second to none on the seas.
Still, praise aside, a big brother couldn't pass up the chance to tease him.
Ace stopped laughing, a mischievous smile on his lips. "But Sabo, you really don't need to worry. With that brain of his, he can't even tell north from south. Even if we gave him a huge ship, he couldn't sail it without a navigator. He'd probably run aground and sink on his first day at sea."
"Ace! Don't underestimate me!" Luffy shouted, hopping mad.
"Just you wait," Ace said, rubbing his chin as he held back a laugh. "When you set sail at seventeen, you probably won't even have enough money for a little wooden boat. You'll have to crawl into some barrel meant for apples and drift along the sea!"
"I'm not crawling into a barrel! I'll have a huge ship of my own! Just you wait and see!"
Luffy waved his arms at Ace in protest.
Watching Ace and Luffy bicker, Sabo shook his head helplessly, but a warm smile spread across his face. He closed the ledger and tucked it carefully away.
Before you continue