Outlook III, dangling in mid-air and under the threat of death, finally, completely let go of his ridiculous noble dignity.
He saw Sabo's pleading. To him, that was the last straw to grasp at.
"Mer... Mercy!"
He squeezed the words from his throat, his whole body convulsing from lack of oxygen.
"I... I was wrong! I was really wrong!"
"Sabo! Save me! Quick, save me!"
"I swear! I'll never come back again! I'll never bother you again! Please, tell him to let me go!"
This pathetic display of begging was a stark contrast to his earlier arrogance.
Ace watched this scene, his expression complicated.
On one hand, he felt it was great satisfaction. On the other, seeing Sabo's pained and pleading expression, his heart felt heavy and uncomfortable.
Blake took in everyone's expressions.
He gave one last look at Sabo's tear-streaked face.
"Tsk."
He clicked his tongue, extremely annoyed.
"What a buzzkill."
As his voice fell.
The eight wildly dancing black tentacles instantly lost all their power, and like phantoms, retracted into his body.
Thud!
Thud! Thud!
A dozen figures, along with the high-and-mighty noble, fell from the air one after another, like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
They didn't even bother to check their injuries.
Outlook III scrambled up from the ground, not daring to even look at Blake again, nor did he bother with his son.
He led the group of terrified, armor-shedding guards and fled like mad into the depths of the woods.
Their wretched appearance was just like a group of street rats scared out of their wits.
The forest returned to its usual tranquility.
Only the mess on the ground, and the lingering scent of blood in the air, proved that what just happened was no illusion.
Outlook III and his guards had already scrambled away, disappearing without a trace.
Ace, Luffy, Sabo.
The three little brats just stood there, stunned.
The wind rustled the leaves.
Sabo's body was still trembling uncontrollably.
He looked at the white-haired young man, who had leaned back against the tree and even bent down to pick up the bag of chips from the ground.
The man casually dusted off the bag, picked up another chip, and tossed it into his mouth.
Crunch.
The crisp sound made Sabo's heart jump again.
The terrifying man from moments ago, who like a descended demon god, had toyed with his arrogant father and the kingdom's elite guards.
And this guy in front of him, eating chips with a lazy expression.
Were they really the same person?
That terrifying power, strong enough to crush anything, those eight ferocious black tentacles...
His mind was blank.
The pain and despair from being cornered by his father, the feeling of being moved by Ace and Luffy's life-risking protection... all of it was now replaced by an even stronger emotion.
Shock. And... deep... confusion.
He turned his head with difficulty, looking at Ace beside him.
His lips moved, his voice dry and almost inaudible.
"Ace..."
"This person..."
"...who is he?"
Ace snapped his gaze away from Blake and looked at Sabo's face, which was full of confusion. In his black eyes, the shock had not faded, but a fire hotter than ever before had ignited! He had only one thought in his mind: Get strong!
He had to get stronger!
He looked over, and Sabo's face, full of confusion, came into view.
In Sabo's swollen, red eyes, besides confusion, there was the daze of having survived a disaster.
"Ace, this guy..." Sabo asked again, his voice still trembling.
Ace whipped around, staring straight at Sabo.
His fists were clenched tightly at his sides.
"He's the boss!"
Ace's voice was loud, every word carrying an undeniable force. "Boss Blake!"
"He can make us strong!"
An unprecedented fire danced in his eyes. It was his thirst for power, his desire for freedom!
Beside them, Luffy also nodded hard.
"That's right, that's right!"
"Blake is so cool!"
"He's cooler than Grandpa!"
Get strong!
These two words slammed heavily into Sabo's heart.
He looked at Ace's face, red with excitement, and at his eyes, which were burning with a fierce flame.
He turned his head again, looking at the white-haired man who had leaned back against the tree and started eating chips again.
Finally, Sabo slowly, slowly lowered his head, looking at his own empty hands.
Powerless.
Today, he was too powerless.
In front of his father, he didn't even have the right to protect his own dream.
Under the guards' swords, he didn't even have the ability to protect his brothers.
His so-called noble status, his so-called dream of freedom... In the face of absolute power, they were as fragile as paper!
If...
If he, too, had even one-ten-thousandth of that man's power...
If he, too, could become stronger...
Would any of what happened today have occurred?
Would he not have had to watch his brothers risk their lives for him, while he could only cry in despair from the sidelines?
Get... stronger?
Sabo's body began to tremble violently.
He slowly, slowly, clenched his fists.
In his swollen, red eyes, beneath the extinguished ashes, a new spark ignited.
He never wanted to experience this a second time.
This helplessness, of having his fate, and his brothers' fates, in the hands of others!
He never wanted to feel that again!
"I'm sorry..."
Sabo's voice was hoarse and nasal, forced from his throat with difficulty.
Ace and Luffy both froze, staring at him.
"I'm sorry..."
Sabo snapped his head up, his dirty little face once again covered in tears.
"Ace... Luffy... I'm sorry!"
He bowed deeply, deeply, to the two most important people in his life.
"Just now... I didn't mean it!"
"What I said... I was lying to you!"
"I'm sorry!"
His shoulders shook violently, his suppressed sobs were heartbreaking.
Ace and Luffy looked at each other.
Luffy tilted his head, his rubber brain still not fully recovered from the shock. He just instinctively felt that Sabo was crying, and he was very sad.
Ace's expression, however, was calm.
He walked forward.
Under Sabo's astonished gaze, he raised his fist.
Then, not too hard, not too soft, he bonked him on the head.
Bonk.
"Idiot."
Ace's voice was gruff and awkward.
"What are you talking about?"
Luffy ran over, too. He tried to copy Ace and bonk Sabo's head, but his arm wasn't long enough, so he could only pat Sabo's back.
"Yeah! Idiot Sabo!"
Sabo looked up, staring at them blankly.
"But I... I said I was a noble, and you were low-class... I even said, being with you was just a game..."
Ace cut him off impatiently.
"So what?"
He grinned, revealing a defiant smile.
"We're brothers who shared a cup of sake!"
Luffy nodded hard, snot flying.
"Brothers!"
The next second.
Two small figures, one from the left and one from the right, lunged forward!
They hugged the still-dazed Sabo tightly!
"We're brothers, Sabo!"
Ace buried his head in Sabo's shoulder, his muffled voice roaring.
"You idiot! For something like this! You don't need to say you're sorry!"
"Waaaaah! Sabo!"
Luffy just hung off Sabo's body, wailing loudly.
"Don't go! Let's be pirates together!"
Boom!
Warmth spread through his thin clothes.
Sabo's body froze completely.
He felt the unreasonable, fervent trust from his two brothers.
The dam he had worked so hard to build to protect them.
At this moment, it was completely shattered by these two hopeless idiots!
His tears burst forth again.
This time, they weren't tears of pain and despair.
Sabo raised his trembling hands and hugged his two brothers back, tightly.
"Yeah!"
Using all his strength, he forced a single, heavy, tearful syllable from his throat.
"We're brothers!"