In mid-air, Otriluk III, under the threat of death, finally completely abandoned his ridiculous noble dignity.
He saw Sabo's plea, which for him was the last straw!
"Mer... Mercy!"
He squeezed out two 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 for mercy was in stark contrast to his previous arrogance.
Ace watched this scene, his eyes complex.
On one hand, he felt incredibly relieved, but on the other, seeing Sabo's pained, pleading expression, his heart felt heavy.
White Night took in everyone's expressions.
He took one last look at Sabo's face, which was on the verge of tears.
"Tsk."
He clicked his tongue in extreme displeasure.
"How disappointing."
As his voice fell,
the eight wildly dancing black tentacles instantly lost all their power, retracting into his body like phantoms.
Thud!
Thud! Thud!
More than a dozen figures, including that high and mighty noble, fell one after another from mid-air like dumplings.
They didn't even bother to check their injuries.
Otriluk III scrambled to his feet, not daring to look at White Night again, and not even bothering with his son.
He fled like crazy into the depths of the forest with his group of disheveled, terrified guards.
Their disheveled appearance made them look exactly like a group of scared street rats.
The forest returned to its usual tranquility.
Only the mess on the ground and the lingering scent of blood in the air proved that everything that had just happened was not an illusion.
Otriluk III and his guards had already scrambled away, disappearing without a trace.
Ace, Luffy, Sabo.
The three little rascals stood there, stunned.
The wind blew through the leaves, rustling.
Sabo's body was still trembling uncontrollably.
He looked at the White-haired Youth who had leaned back against the tree, even bending down to pick up the bag of potato chips from the ground.
The other party casually brushed the dust off the bag, then picked out a chip and put it in his mouth.
Crunch.
The crisp sound made Sabo's heart jump again.
That terrifying man who had just descended like a demon god, toying with his arrogant father and the kingdom's elite guards in the palm of his hand.
And this guy in front of him, eating potato chips with a lazy expression.
Were they really the same person?
That terrifying power capable of crushing everything, those eight hideous black tentacles... his mind went blank.
The pain and despair of being cornered by his father, the move of Ace and Luffy risking their lives to protect him, were all replaced by a more intense emotion.
Shock.
And, deep... confusion.
He turned his head with difficulty, looking at Ace beside him.
His lips moved, his voice hoarse and almost inaudible.
"Ace..."
"This person..."
"...Who exactly is he?"
Ace suddenly averted his gaze from White Night and looked at Sabo's confused face. In those black eyes, the shock had not faded, but a fiercer flame than ever before ignited! Only one thought was in his mind: become stronger!
He must become stronger!
He looked over, and Sabo's perplexed face came into view.
In Sabo's swollen red eyes, besides confusion, there was also a sense of dazedness after escaping death.
"Ace, this guy..."
Sabo asked again, his voice still trembling slightly.
Ace suddenly turned around, staring intently at Sabo.
His fists were clenched tightly at the seams of his pants.
"He's the Boss!"
Ace's voice was loud, every word carrying an undeniable force.
"Boss Bai Ye!"
"He can make us stronger!"
In his eyes, an unprecedented fire flickered.
That was his craving for power, his longing for freedom!
Beside him, Luffy also nodded vigorously.
"Exactly, exactly!"
"White Night is so amazing!"
"Even stronger than Grandpa!"
Become stronger!
These two words heavily struck Sabo's heart.
He looked at Ace's face, flushed with excitement, and at his eyes burning with fierce flames.
He then turned his head again, looking at the White-haired Man who was leaning back against the tree, eating potato chips again.
Finally, Sabo slowly, slowly lowered his head, looking at his empty hands.
Powerless.
He was too powerless today.
In front of his father, he didn't even have the right to protect his own dreams.
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 a piece of paper!
If... if he could also possess one ten-thousandth of that man's power... if he, too, could become stronger... would none of today's events have happened?
Would he not have had to watch his brothers fight for him while he could only cry in despair?
Become stronger...?
Sabo's body trembled violently.
He slowly, slowly, clenched his fists.
In his eyes, red and swollen from crying, a spark rekindled beneath the extinguished ashes.
He didn't want to experience it a second time.
This feeling of helplessness, of putting his own destiny, and his brothers' lives, into someone else's hands!
He never wanted to experience it again!
"I'm sorry..."
Sabo's voice was hoarse, thick with a nasal tone, as he squeezed it out of his throat with difficulty.
Ace and Luffy both froze, looking at him in unison.
"I'm sorry..."
Sabo suddenly looked 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.
"I just... 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 to hear.
Ace and Luffy exchanged glances.
Luffy tilted his head, his rubber brain not fully recovered from the shock, he just instinctively felt that Sabo was crying, and he was very sad.
Ace's expression, however, was very calm.
He walked forward.
Under Sabo's astonished gaze, he raised his fist.
Then, not too lightly, not too heavily, he thumped him on the head.
Thump.
"Idiot."
Ace's voice carried a hint of exasperated awkwardness.
"What are you talking about?"
Luffy also ran over, imitating Ace, he also wanted to thump 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 commoners... I also said that being with you was just a game..."
Ace impatiently interrupted him.
"So what?"
He grinned, revealing a defiant smile.
"We're brothers who've shared a toast!"
Luffy also nodded vigorously, even snot flying out.
"Brothers!"
The next second.
Two small figures, one on the left and one on the right, suddenly pounced!
They tightly, tightly hugged the still-stunned Sabo!
"We're brothers, Sabo!"
Ace buried his head in Sabo's shoulder, roaring muffledly.
"You idiot! This kind of thing! Do you need to apologize for it?!"
"Waaah! Sabo!"
Luffy even directly hung onto Sabo, crying loudly.
"Don't leave! Let's be pirates together!"
Boom!
Warm body heat passed through their thin clothes.
Sabo's body completely stiffened.
He felt the irrational, fervent trust from his two brothers.
The dam he had so painstakingly built to protect them.
At this moment, it was smashed to pieces by these two incorrigible idiots!
Tears, once again, broke free.
This time, it was no longer pain and despair.
Sabo extended his trembling hands and tightly, tightly hugged his two brothers back.
"Mm!"
He used all his strength to squeeze out a heavy, tearful syllable from his throat!
"We are brothers!"
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