The next morning, I went out with Dadan to talk to Ace, who was still tied to the tree, while Luffy slept after crying all night.
"Have you come to your senses?" Dadan asked, staring him down. He stayed quiet.
"Untie him," Dadan told one of the bandits.
A News Coo pigeon fluttered in and dropped a letter. Dogra jogged over to grab it.
"Boss—you're not gonna believe this. It's a letter from Sabo!" Dogra shouted.
The envelope read: To My Brothers at Mt. Corvo — from Sabo.
"He must've sent it before going out to sea," Dogra said.
"Give it to me. I'm not going to town. The letter's for us, isn't it?" Ace said.
Ace took the letter, glanced at me. "It's for us." I nodded, somber.
We walked into the forest—Ace read aloud while I followed a step behind.
Ace, Luffy, and Sora,
I hope you guys weren't hurt by the fire. I'm worried about you, but I believe you're okay. I'm sorry to say this, but when you get this I'll already be at sea. One thing led to another, and I decided to set sail before you. My destination is anywhere but this country. I'm going to get stronger—and I'm going to be a pirate. The four of us have to become the freest pirates ever. One day, let's meet again—somewhere on the wide open sea.
By the way, Ace—who do you think is the "bigger brother"? Sora, you're not in the competition—you're the middle child for sure. Maybe if you get stronger than us, you can argue it. Until then, Ace and I are your older brothers: two big older brothers, one middle brother, and one little brother. It's odd, but our brotherhood is my treasure. Luffy's still a crybaby, but he's our little brother, so take good care of him!
— Sabo
By the time we finished, Ace and I had reached the shore. He stared at the sea. The tears he'd held back finally fell; he let go of being the "older brother" for a moment and cried with his whole heart. Watching him, my own eyes burned—and I sat behind him, curling my knees to my chest.
Life pressed forward. I trained every day and hunted gators for dinner. Luffy didn't eat as much as before and stayed quiet—still twice a normal person—but he often lay on the hill by the water, face down, hat pulled over his head.
"Follow me," Ace said as I was swinging Shiro. I nodded, and we walked to Luffy's hill.
Ace gave him a fist of love to the head. "How much longer are you gonna lie there? The treasure we hid in the forest is all gone—except what we gave Sora. Maybe Bluejam's leftovers took it, maybe the military. Doesn't matter. I don't care about that treasure anymore. That was pirate savings I was gonna share with Sabo—but Sabo didn't need it at all. I'll let it go. There's no point in treasure you can't protect."
Luffy gripped his hat, crying. "Ace… Sora… I want to get stronger—more and more and more and more. I want to get so strong I can protect anything and anyone. I won't lose to anybody. So I'm begging you—please don't die!"
"Cut it out. Worry about yourself first. You're way weaker than me," Ace barked—then softened, leaning in. "And listen carefully, Luffy—and you too, Sora—before you say something like that: I'll never die. I promise."
"I'll make sure you won't die either," I said calmly, smiling. "And don't worry, Luffy—I won't die until I see you achieve your dream."
Luffy pushed up to his knees, tears still running. "Uh-huh."
"Sabo told me and Sora to take care of you," Ace said. "I promise I'll never die. And how could I leave two weak, wimpy brothers behind? I'm not smart, so I don't fully get what killed Sabo yet—but it had to be something against freedom. Sabo died before he knew freedom. We exchanged cups of sake with him, and we're alive. So listen, Luffy, Sora—we have to live without regrets."
"Uh-huh," Luffy and I said in unison.
"We're going to sea someday and live how we like. Freer than anyone."
"Uh-huh."
"That means we'll make a lot of enemies—even the old man might be against us. We'll risk everything. Let's set out at seventeen—and become pirates."
—"By the way, I forgot to say I took all the treasure to keep it safe, it's in my inventory, I forgot that I took it with all the craziness." I stated.
"Huh !!! Just keep it, no one can get it from your space anyway! sated Ace as he let out a sigh.
South of Dawn Island — Shimotsuki Village
A blue‑haired girl snapped her shinai (a bamboo training sword) through forms while, nearby, a green‑haired kid squatted under a giant rock—on his 580th rep. Offshore, a ship with a dragon figurehead rocked at anchor.
"You're late, Dragon! I got tired of waiting!" boomed the big‑faced Ivankov.
"Sorry," Dragon said, striding up with a badly injured boy in his arms.
Ivankov's eyes widened. "That's bad! Treat him, now!"
"Where were you?" Ivankov asked.
"I was watching the ceremony for the Celestial Dragon," Dragon replied.
—
Back on Dawn Island — Mt. Corvo
Two months have passed since everything that happened in spring. Summer was almost over as I hunted down crocodile dinner by myself.
[DING][LEVEL UP] Lv 10
[DING][MONARCH SKILL AVAILABLE — Choose one]
Monarch of Death
Fusion
Dungeon Domain