Setting Sail

Sea Circle Calendar 1536, the coast of Foosha Village.

The morning sea breeze carried a salty, damp scent as waves crashed against the rocks.

Fourteen-year-old Luffy stood at the edge of the cliff, gazing up with undisguised envy and longing in his eyes.

Standing before him were two imposing figures, as massive as iron towers.

After two final years of intensive Haki training, seventeen-year-old Ace had grown to an astonishing two and a half meters tall. He wore an open, dark red sleeveless coat that showed off his perfectly chiseled, explosively powerful muscles. With his broad shoulders, long limbs, and imposing height, even standing still, he cast a vast, dark shadow over the ground.

Sabo, standing beside him, had also reached a height of just over two meters and forty centimeters. His exquisitely tailored navy-blue tailcoat gave him a unique air that blended aristocrat and outlaw, and the length of pipe in his hand had long since been replaced by a custom-made staff reinforced with high-strength alloy.

"We're leaving, Luffy."

Ace lowered his head to look at Luffy, his voice calm and steady.

"I know! In three years, I'll come find you on the sea!" Luffy clenched his fists and shouted.

Ace nodded slightly, without another word. He reached out and pressed his broad, sturdy palm firmly down on Luffy's straw hat.

"See you on the sea."

Sabo smiled and patted Luffy on the shoulder. "We're off, Luffy. Don't slack off while we're gone."

With that, the two turned and walked away.

There was no drawn-out farewell, nor any loud laughter. Under the villagers' awed gazes, Ace and Sabo climbed aboard a small, makeshift wooden boat moored on the coast and rowed toward the distant horizon.

Half a day later, in a hidden shipbuilding cavern somewhere in the East Blue.

When Ace and Sabo stepped into the vast cavern, the old shipwright, who had been smoking in his rocking chair, jolted so hard that his hand shook.

The old shipwright looked up at the tall black-haired man before him. A cold aura, like that of an apex predator, radiated from him, and the old man felt an intense pressure rising uncontrollably in his chest.

The kid who'd come to pay him four years ago had been serving a monster this terrifying?

"Is the ship ready?" Ace asked calmly, his deep voice echoing through the cavern.

"Y-yes, of course! The finest work of my life has been ready for you for some time!"

As if waking from a dream, the old shipwright hurried to his feet and yanked down a gigantic canvas covering the huge dry dock behind him.

Amid the rumble of turning chains, a magnificent sailboat, a true work of art, was revealed before Ace and Sabo.

It didn't have the bulky frame of a traditional Marine warship. Instead, its shape was sleek and sharp, with a streamlined, teardrop profile. The ship was about thirty-five meters long, with two decks and two masts.

"For the keel and load-bearing structure, I used the densest Iron Pine available on the black market, then covered the outside with specially treated steel plating. It's sturdy enough to charge straight through a field of rocks, and its streamlined hull minimizes both wind and water resistance. With the wind in its favor, it'll be the fastest ship in the East Blue!"

The old shipwright introduced it with feverish enthusiasm.

Sabo stepped onto the deck and opened the door to the living quarters. A look of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

The interior design perfectly matched their desire for comfort. There was a temperature-controlled wine cellar, a spacious hall with soft silk carpets, comfortable leather sofas, and even a bathtub in the bathroom carved from a single block of fine stone.

This wasn't some rickety wooden boat meant for a hard life at sea. It was a floating palace made for the good life.

"Good work."

Ace stepped onto the deck, his tall frame crossing the sturdy planks. He ran a hand along the smooth gunwale, felt the solid craftsmanship, and nodded in satisfaction.

Eighty million Beli well spent.

"Raise the sails. Weigh anchor."

Ace walked to the bow and gave his first command since setting sail.

"Understood, Ace."

Sabo took the helm. The enormous pure-white mainsail filled at once in the sea breeze. Like an arrow released from its bow, the incredibly expensive mid-sized clipper cut through the East Blue's calm surface and slid silently into the open sea.

"Whoosh!"

The sturdy, sharp prow cut smoothly through the churning waves. The enormous pure-black sails swelled full in the wind, driving the graceful, streamlined vessel across the sea at a startling speed that left ordinary merchant ships far behind.

"From today on, she'll be called the Eclipse."

Ace stood on the spacious foredeck, resting his hands casually on the wooden railing.

"She's a perfect ship. Not only is she unbelievably fast, but she's so steady there isn't even the slightest unnecessary sway."

Sabo came out of the wheelhouse carrying two bottles of chilled juice from the temperature-controlled wine cellar. He handed one to Ace.

"For a ship that cost eighty million Beli, if she couldn't manage that much stability, we ought to throw that old shipwright to the sharks."

Ace took the bottle and drained it in one go.

For the past few days at sea, Ace and Sabo had simply sailed the Eclipse aimlessly through the East Blue, letting the wind carry them. Partly, it was to get familiar with their new ship's capabilities. It was also a brief chance for Ace to relax after more than a decade of nerves stretched taut.

"Ace, where are we heading next?"

Sabo spread out a detailed chart of the East Blue and tapped it with a long, slender finger. "With the wind as it is, if we head south, we'll reach the bustling Orange Town in three days. If we go east, we'll enter the waters patrolled by the 153rd Branch."

Ace didn't answer right away.

He closed his eyes slightly and let the sea breeze, heavy with moisture, brush across his face.

On this quiet afternoon, his innate Observation Haki—far beyond that of ordinary people—spread without limit in every direction with the wind, like an invisible radar.

The flapping of a seagull's wings as it passed through the clouds, the currents stirred by schools of deep-sea fish, even the screams of two pirate ships clashing several thousand meters away... The sounds of everything in the world gathered in Ace's mind like fine threads.

Suddenly, Ace's closed eyelids twitched. He heard a faint, distant call.

He snapped his eyes open, his gaze like two sharp blades, piercing toward the uncharted southwest on the map.

"Sabo, turn the ship. Hard to port, southwest." Ace's voice carried an unquestionable resolve.

"Southwest?"

Sabo paused and scanned the chart, his brow furrowing slightly. "Ace, the chart shows nothing to the southwest. According to rumors among East Blue merchants, the currents there are extremely chaotic, and the region is shrouded in fog year-round. They call it 'the dead zone not even birds can cross.' Many ships that wander in there vanish without a trace."

"A dead zone?"

Ace turned around and casually set his glass on a nearby round table, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Then let's go see whether this so-called dead zone can stop the Eclipse Pirates."