This power...
This light yet powerful energy that surged into his body from the cyan ornament...
What was it?
Sabo stared blankly at the cyan stream of air swirling around his arm.
He could feel it. This power was filled with the aura of freedom.
Unbound, undefined, following one's heart, just like the self he had always dreamed of becoming!
This wasn't his father's disgusting control, which was built on power and status.
It wasn't the guards' cold violence, which only knew how to obey orders.
This was... wind!
It was the wind that blew over the high mountains, the wind that brushed the sea!
It was the freest thing in the world!
"This..." Sabo's lips trembled. His blue eyes, reflecting the cyan airflow, were shockingly bright.
He subconsciously lifted his hand.
With a thought.
Whoosh!
A clearly visible whirlwind formed out of thin air in his palm!
The whirlwind spun faster and faster, pulling in the grass and dirt from the ground, making a whoosh-whoosh sound!
"Waaaaah!" Luffy's jaw nearly hit the ground. He pointed at the whirlwind in Sabo's hand, so excited he was jumping up and down. "That's awesome! Sabo! You're so awesome!"
Ace was also completely dumbfounded.
He stared at the small whirlwind in Sabo's palm, his black eyes wider than saucers!
Wind!
That was real wind!
This guy... Sabo... he could control the wind?!
"No way..." Ace murmured. He even rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.
Sabo felt the power in his palm grow clearer. He slowly, slowly opened his hand.
Whoosh
The whirlwind didn't disappear. Instead, it turned into a gentle stream of air that circled him, blowing his blond hair.
This power felt like a part of his body.
No!
It felt like an extension of his soul! It was the complete embodiment of his cry for freedom!
Sabo snapped his head up, his blue eyes bursting with a radiance he had never had before!
He turned, looking at Ace's and Luffy's shocked faces.
He grinned, revealing a smile so bright it was dazzling!
"Ace! Luffy!"
His voice, no longer trembling with despair, was filled with a new-found joy and strength!
"Look! It's wind!"
"I can... I can control the wind!"
The initial shock faded.
It was replaced by a much stronger emotion.
Jealousy!
"Waaaaah! Unfair!"
Luffy was the first to protest!
The bright smile on his silly face instantly collapsed. His mouth drooped, and tears were about to burst out!
He rushed over to Sabo in three steps, poking the still-glowing cyan ornament.
"Why do you get one!"
"Boss Blake is playing favorites!"
He stomped his feet in anger, then tilted his head back, yelling at the empty sky.
"Hey! Boss Blake! Are you watching!"
"You're playing favorites! I want one too! I want one of these glowing things too!"
"I want a red one! With a meat pattern on it!"
After shouting, he looked down and began frantically searching his own body.
He lifted his little red vest, revealing his round belly.
Nothing.
He tugged at his blue shorts.
Still nothing!
"Waah! Why don't I have one!"
Luffy spun in circles, looking exactly like a monkey that hadn't gotten a banana.
"Idiot!"
Ace's suppressed, angry growl cut off Luffy's pig-like squealing.
He looked at his idiotic brother, who was rolling on the ground, his face a mess of snot and tears. The veins on Ace's forehead throbbed.
Was he envious?
Of course he was!
Who wouldn't want a cool gadget that glowed and could control the wind!
But!
Looking at Sabo's face, which was radiant once more, and at the light of hope re-igniting in his blue eyes.
An emotion even hotter than envy surged from the bottom of Ace's heart.
It was joy!
It was genuine joy for his brother!
This fool, he finally didn't have to carry those heavy things that didn't belong to him!
"Shut up, Luffy!"
"It's just a glowing thing! What's the big deal!"
He sounded tough, but his black eyes couldn't help but steal another glance at the cyan ornament on Sabo's waist.
Damn. It glows, and it makes wind. It is... pretty cool.
"I don't care! I want one! I want one too!"
Luffy's wailing, combined with Ace's roaring, was particularly piercing in the quiet grassland.
And it was this noise that alarmed something that shouldn't have been alarmed.
"Yika!"
"Dala kucha!"
A series of strange, unintelligible shouts came from the nearby woods.
From the waist-high grass, a few strange figures slowly shuffled out.
They were short, wore comical masks, and held simple wooden clubs and rocks.
They were making unintelligible, yaya sounds.
Ace's pupils shrank!
He didn't know what these things were, but he was all too familiar with that undisguised malice!
"Luffy! Sabo!"
Ace growled, his muscles tensing instantly as he dropped into a fighting stance.
"Enemies!"
Luffy, who was still throwing a tantrum, stopped crying immediately.
He scrambled up from the ground, his silly, tear-streaked face turning toward the slowly approaching Hilichurls.
His expression switched instantly from "aggrieved" to "curious."
"Whoa! Monkeys with masks!"
Sabo also quickly shed his joyful expression.
He shielded the faintly glowing cyan ornament, warily watching the uninvited guests.
He could feel the primitive, chaotic hostility coming from these strange creatures.
"Yiya!"
One of the closest Hilichurls seemed to be angered by Luffy's shout.
It screeched, raised its wooden club, and charged at Luffy on its short legs!
"You're asking to die!"
Ace's eyes turned fierce. He didn't even wait for it to get close!
He pushed off the ground, shooting forward like an arrow. He delivered a vicious side-kick, slamming it right into the Hilichurl's head!
Bang!
A dull thud!
The Hilichurl didn't even have time to react. It was sent flying, rolled several times on the ground, and stopped moving.
"So weak."
Ace shook his leg, pouting with disdain.
But the next second.
"Ya! Ya! Ya!"
The remaining four or five Hilichurls were like a disturbed hornet's nest!
They shrieked at the same time, waved their weapons, and swarmed the three brothers from all sides!
One Hilichurl even grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it straight at Luffy's head!
"Luffy! Watch out!"
Sabo's expression changed!
He didn't even think. He instinctively shot his hand out, swiping at the incoming rock!
Whoosh!
A visible blade of cyan wind appeared from thin air!
The wind blade precisely struck the rock in mid-air!
Smack!
The rock split in two and fell at Luffy's feet.
Luffy stared blankly at the broken rock on the ground, then looked up at Sabo's hand, which was still held in a swiping motion.
"Whoa..."
His eyes started to sparkle with stars again.
"Nice one, Sabo!"
Ace laughed, turning and punching another charging Hilichurl to the ground.
But he couldn't laugh for long.
Because more yaya yaya sounds were rising up from the grass in all directions!
One, two, ten, twenty...
A dense crowd of Hilichurls was pouring out from the grass and from over the hills!
They formed a huge encirclement, trapping the three brothers in the middle!
"Hey, hey..."
A drop of cold sweat ran down Ace's forehead.
"Are you kidding? Why are there so many!"
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