"Wanna fight?"
Kicking a pirate aside, Sabo stood firm, his grip steady on his pipe as he glared at Bluejam.
"Charge!"
Dozens of pirates roared, surrounding the blond boy in a tightening ring. Yet Sabo didn't flinch.
Then, from above, a wooden barrel crashed down, splintering apart—Ace and Luffy burst out, landing beside him.
"Ace! Luffy!" Sabo let out a breath of relief.
Thirty pirates were too many for one person, but with his brothers here, the odds looked better.
"Sabo, you okay?" Ace asked, his eyes sharp and determined.
"I'm fine."
The three boys stood back-to-back, forming a triangle, pipes at the ready.
"As long as we fight together, there's nothing to fear," Ace declared, his tone fierce.
"Yeah! We even beat that big tiger on Mt. Colbo!" Luffy shouted, flashing his trademark grin beneath his straw hat.
Watching them, Lucien Graves stayed quiet at the edge of the encirclement. He held his saber loosely, studying the situation with calm detachment.
"You brats…" a pirate snarled.
"If we take down the Captain first, this will end fast," Ace whispered.
"Right!" Sabo and Luffy nodded.
The three charged as one, aiming straight for Bluejam. The pirate captain pulled out his flintlock pistol and fired—but missed.
"Kids, don't move," Bluejam growled, cocking the hammer again.
"Hmph, that thing's useless! Luffy, Sabo—let's go!"
Ace darted forward, while his brothers flanked him.
But they'd forgotten about the rest.
Gunfire erupted. Bang! Bang!
A handful of pirates dropped, but the sheer number overwhelmed them. Before long, the three were pinned down, struggling under the pirates' weight.
"Looks like we arrived just in time."
Over thirty uniformed security guards appeared, rifles raised. Leading them was Sabo's father, Outlook III.
"Father…" Sabo's face paled as two pirates dragged him forward.
"I didn't hurt a hair on him," Bluejam said smoothly, gesturing toward Sabo. "Those two—Ace and Luffy—are the ones who led him astray."
Outlook III didn't even glance at Bluejam. His cold gaze settled on the boys. "I'll be taking Sabo."
Luffy clenched his fists. "What do you mean by that? Sabo's our brother!"
"Sabo is my son," Outlook III said, voice dripping with disdain. "You two riffraff just want our family's wealth, don't you?"
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Ace shouted.
Outlook III's expression didn't change. "Kill them."
Sabo's heart froze. "Father—wait, I left on my own—"
Schkk!
A blade pierced through Ace's chest.
Blood sprayed across the dirt. Ace's eyes widened, disbelief twisting his face as he looked down at the crimson-tipped saber jutting from his heart.
"...Ace?"
"ACE!!!" Luffy screamed, his voice raw, eyes wide with horror.
Everyone—pirates, guards, even Outlook III—stared in shock at Lucien Graves, who now stood behind Ace, expression unreadable.
As soon as Outlook III had given the order, Lucien acted without hesitation.
"Damn it! Let me go! Ace!!" Luffy's cries tore through the air.
"What are you doing?!" a pirate yelled, stepping back.
Lucien yanked his saber free, coldly watching Ace collapse into the dirt.
"Didn't the nobleman order it?" Lucien said quietly, wiping the blood from the blade.
Ace's breaths grew shallow, his vision dimming. "Luffy… Sabo…"
He hadn't even begun his journey. His dream—unfinished.
"ACE!!!" Luffy's voice broke, tears streaming down his face.
Lucien turned to him, eyes like ice. He thrust his saber forward again.
"Ah—!"
Luffy screamed, blood soaking his shirt as he fell limp beside Ace.
Sabo struggled helplessly, his throat raw. "No! Luffy! Ace!"
"Forget it," Outlook III muttered, turning away. "We're leaving."
The guards dragged Sabo off as he kicked and screamed, his voice fading into the distance.
Lucien stood in silence, watching the brothers' blood soak into the ground.
A Child of Destiny, he thought grimly. Valuable or not, the task was done.
Still… the chill running through his spine reminded him of what was to come. Garp. The Revolutionary Army. If he wanted to survive, he'd need to leave Goa Kingdom immediately.
"Well done," Bluejam said, clapping him on the shoulder. "You've earned your reward."
Lucien said nothing.
Moments later, the sky darkened. Clouds gathered above the Uncertainty Terminal, lightning cracking through the heavens.
A cloaked figure appeared beside Ace and Luffy's lifeless bodies.
The air trembled.
A Haoshoku Haki wave surged outward—so vast, so furious—that all of Goa Kingdom trembled beneath its pressure.
People across Edge Town, Central Street, and Mt. Colbo fainted instantly.
Bluejam and the others, celebrating aboard the pirate ship, froze as the invisible storm hit. Pirates dropped like flies.
Lucien gritted his teeth, clutching his head in agony—but he endured. His willpower kept him conscious.
"This… must be Dragon," he muttered. "Or maybe… Garp."
Either way, Goa was no longer safe.
When the suffocating aura faded, Lucien staggered upright, drenched in sweat. Around him, everyone lay unconscious.
He drew his saber once more.
He needed this ship. And no witnesses.
One by one, he cut the pirates down, sparing only the helmsman.
"Set sail," he ordered coldly, pressing a pistol to the man's temple.
The ship slowly pulled away from the coast as the storm raged behind them.
"Wanna fight?" Lucien whispered to the wind, a faint, bitter smile curving his lips.
---