"Bellamy from the Sapphire Pirates, eh? They call him the Skinner because he likes to scalp his victims. The Sapphire Pirates have always worked for the nobles of Goa Kingdom..." The bandit muttered as they stepped over Bellamy's pale, lifeless body.
Uta, lifting the hem of her dress, gave the body a little kick. "Pirates serving the nobles… that's a joke," she scoffed.
They didn't walk far before Ace jumped down from a tree, with a blond boy in a black top hat and a missing tooth beside him.
"What are you all doing here? And who fired that shot?"
"Bellamy's dead," said the bandit, and both Ace and the blond boy's faces fell.
"The pirates will come charging into Mt. Colubo!" Ace gasped.
"What a disgrace, Ace! Grandpa taught you better than that, and you're older than me. How could you not handle someone like him?"
Luffy waved casually. "Yo."
"Yeah, well, Garp didn't teach me how to punch with fire." Ace retorted, crossing his arms. "Guess you're his real grandson."
"That's my own technique. Grandpa doesn't know about it." Luffy replied coolly. "Come live with me in Foosha Village. You can have the life I have too."
"Are you crazy? I'd be jealous of you?" Ace spat back.
The blond boy beside him spoke up, "I'm Sabo. We should get moving—Bellamy's backup will be here any moment."
"Too late!" Two more pirates appeared, brandishing machetes as they charged the bandit.
Hearing the gunshot earlier, they'd come running, convinced that an adult must have killed Bellamy with such precision. Now they ambushed the only adult in sight.
Ace and Sabo both moved, mouths opening to shout—but another gunshot cracked the air.
The two pirates crumpled, each with a bullet cleanly through the eye, the tiny flame trailing from the shot fading into smoke.
"Quick draw… amazing," Sabo murmured, stunned.
The bandit, shaken, watched the two pirates collapse.
"Step aside, Bandit. This is a kids-only talk now," Luffy said, tapping the bandit's waist with the hot gun barrel.
With a shiver, the bandit hurried out of the way. "Of course, Lord Luffy. Whatever you need…"
With the nuisances handled, Luffy turned back to Ace.
"Ace, you're jealous of me, aren't you? Why?"
"You reeked of jealousy from the moment we met," he continued. "You could have the same life I do if you wanted."
Ace sneered. "You're imagining things. Let's go, Sabo." He turned on his heel, ready to leave.
Luffy sighed and fired a shot into the ground beside Ace's foot.
Ace froze, looking down at the smoking patch of dirt.
"If you were some stranger, then sure, do what you want. But Grandpa cares about you, so I have to care too. That's what family and friends do."
"When something bothers you, you have to ask why."
"So why do you want to be a pirate?"
Luffy's gaze shifted to Sabo. If Ace was one of those fiercely loyal types, maybe he could get him to talk by pressuring his friend.
Luffy leveled the gun at Sabo. "The bandits wouldn't oppose Garp, but he would, wouldn't he? The stranger you've known for a while? He's the one encouraging you to be a pirate."
"My aim is pretty good, so it'll be a quick death. No pain."
Truthfully, flintlock guns weren't that accurate, but Luffy had coated his with Haki, ensuring every shot hit its mark with laser precision.
Ace's face went white, stepping between Luffy and Sabo. He clenched his fists.
"If you've got the guts, shoot me instead!"
"Then answer my question: why do you want to be a pirate?"
Ace's emotions bubbled over, and the tension in the air brought everything to the surface.
"Um… he's the Pirate King's son. Isn't it normal for him to want to be a pirate?" Uta asked innocently.
"So you admire the Pirate King?" Luffy prodded.
"Admire him? That bastard…" Ace hissed.
"Captain Roger was a good man! Shanks said everyone on his ship was happy!" Uta chimed in.
"What does that have to do with me?!" Rage boiled in Ace's chest. "That bastard left all his pain for me to carry and just laughed as he went to die! Damn him!"
Ace's fists trembled as he let his anger and resentment spill out, unfiltered.
"You wouldn't understand this burden I carry. My blood is tainted by the sins of the Pirate King. From the day I was born… I was hated. How could someone who's had a hero for a grandfather ever understand that?"
Tears streaked down Ace's face, his voice breaking.
"What Pirate King? I'll destroy everything he left behind. I'll become the Pirate King myself, just to announce to the world that the One Piece doesn't exist!"
Luffy watched him, unfazed. "Carrying the blood of sin, huh? That's a dramatic way to put it. You must really love him, huh? The Pirate King's son."
Ace's fury surged. "Love? Are you deaf? I'm going to become Pirate King out of hatred!"
He emphasized, over and over, that it was pure hatred that drove him.
"Then why? Why would hatred make you want to be the Pirate King?"
Ace's mouth twisted in a scornful smile.
"Where else am I supposed to go?"
He looked down, thinking of the weight he carried, the dark memories that always seemed to crush him. It felt as though his very existence was a mistake, a constant reminder of his father's sins.
Ace lowered his gaze, watching ants scurry along the ground. They don't have a care in the world, he thought wistfully.
"My mom… Portgas D. Rouge. I never knew her. All I've ever heard is that she had long pink hair and was beautiful."
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