The atmosphere instantly froze.
Sabo's father — Outlook III — turned deathly pale. He suddenly lunged forward and kicked Sabo hard in the back. "You ungrateful brat! How dare you look at a man of standing with such disrespect!"
Sabo fell face-first in front of Rhett, his blonde hair covered in dust. He bit his lip, his small hands clenching the dirt, but he didn't make a single sound.
"Mercy, my lord!" Outlook III dropped to his knees, his forehead pressed to the ground, his voice trembling. "This disrespectful son of mine didn't know his place! He has offended you! We meant no disrespect, truly... truly, it's a disgrace to our family!"
He pulled a leather belt from his waist and raised his hand to strike Sabo. "Let me teach this insolent child a lesson on your behalf—"
"SMACK!"
A chain of blood mist suddenly lashed out, sending Outlook III flying.
"What makes you think you're worthy to act on my behalf? Is this really your son?" Rhett stared at Outlook III.
"My lord, spare me! I'll cast him out right now! He has nothing to do with my family! Do whatever you wish with him — kill him, cut him up, whatever pleases you!" Thinking he understood what Rhett wanted, Outlook III felt quite pleased with himself.
Rhett turned to Sabo. "Tell me, are all nobles this disgusting?"
Young Sabo froze. He didn't answer.
Rhett glanced at him again, then decided against it. There was no point. He had given Sabo a chance — if the boy's father had shown any spine, Rhett might have thought twice. But no. He didn't take it.
Still, it perfectly matched Rhett's stereotype of nobles.
Rhett crouched down to look Sabo in the eye. "Kid, what's your name?"
Sabo raised his head. His blue eyes burned with stubborn pride, as if he had made up his mind. "Outlook... no... Sabo. Just Sabo. No last name."
"Good, Sabo." Rhett looked at him. "Remember that look in your eyes today."
He stood up. The blood mist suddenly erupted.
Outlook III was thrown to the ground by an invisible force for the second time.
He stared in terror at the hand he had just used to hold the belt — it was now wrapped in blood mist, and his skin was visibly drying and cracking.
"M-My lord!"
"I hate two kinds of people," Rhett said, his voice cold as ice. "One is the kind of worthless trash who bullies children..."
He glanced at the trembling king. "The other is stupid fools who think they're clever."
The blood mist faded. Outlook III's hand returned to normal, but his pants were already soaked.
Ace suddenly stuck his head out from behind Rhett. "Hey! Those bastards have been bullying you too, haven't they? Want to come with us?"
Ann silently held out a handkerchief.
Sabo stared blankly at the three people before him. Sunlight filtered through the blood mist, gilding their figures with a golden glow.
Rhett reached out and ruffled his messy blonde hair. "Come on. You won't survive here anymore. Let's go into town and take a look."
Sabo stood there, stunned, watching Rhett take Ace's and Ann's hands and continue walking into the city. After a few steps, Ann suddenly turned back and made a "follow us" gesture.
Ace also turned and shouted, "Hey, blonde kid! Want to come pick out weapons with us?"
Sabo looked at his father, still kneeling on the ground, then at the retreating figures of the three, and suddenly ran after them.
"Wait for me!"
Outlook III wanted to stop him. This was his chance to rise in the world. If only Outlook could...
No! Sabo still recognized him as his father right now. He could even aspire to become king someday.
But as soon as he started to get up, an invisible force of blood mist pressed him back down. The sheer terror of death kept him frozen in place. He had a feeling that if he moved one more step, he would die instantly.
Rhett waved his hand without looking back. "Mall the Second? Was that it? I hate people who piss their pants. Let's go, Sabo. I'll answer your questions."
Walking through the streets of the High Town, Sabo's small hands tightly gripped the hem of his shirt. His mind kept replaying the image of his father kneeling and begging for mercy.
The sound of nobles' fine leather shoes clicking against the stone street now seemed unusually jarring.
"Hey, blonde kid!" Ace nudged him with his elbow. "Why the long face? Weren't you pretty cool back there?"
Ann silently handed him a piece of candy.
Sabo took the candy but didn't eat it. He looked up at Rhett. "Sir..."
"Call me Uncle," Rhett corrected without looking back.
"...Uncle Rhett." Sabo hesitated for a moment. "Aren't nobles... no, aren't all people like that?"
Rhett stopped walking. Blood mist in his palm condensed into three miniature blood dragons. The little dragons affectionately nuzzled the children's cheeks.
"See these little guys?" He pointed at the chibi blood dragons doing somersaults around him. "They can turn into swords, and they can turn into toys."
Ace suddenly reached out and grabbed one. "They can turn into grilled meat too!"
"BAM!"
"Idiot! That's my blood mist!" Rhett flicked Ace's forehead, then turned to Sabo. "People are like that too. Your father chose to be a groveling dog —"
"But he's not my father anymore," Sabo suddenly interrupted. "Not since he said 'kill him, cut him up, whatever pleases you.'"
At the end of the street, the setting sun stretched the shadows of four people far and long. Sabo suddenly quickened his pace to walk alongside Ace.
"Hey, Ace."
"What?"
"You said something about picking out weapons earlier... were you serious?"
Rhett laughed heartily and scooped up all three kids at once. "Of course I was serious! We're going right now —"
"But Sabo," he said, his blood-red eyes unusually bright in the sunlight, "remember this: where you stand determines how you think. That's very important. After that comes strength, which determines your future. Once you have strength, you can... hmm..."
"Live a life as luxurious as these nobles. Or keep others from controlling your future. Or you can even act as an agent of justice. Only under those conditions will people take your words seriously. Only then can you make your ideals a reality."
"But..." Sabo hesitated, unsure how to phrase what he wanted to say.
Understandable. Young Sabo was only eight years old. Even though kids in the world of One Piece matured early.
"Do you think this world is sick? That people shouldn't treat each other like this?" Rhett asked.
Sabo nodded.
"Relax. You and that idiot have the same thoughts. He's just found his answer already. One of these days, I'll have him send you his notes. You can figure it out for yourself."
Rhett looked at the three children. "Do you have dreams? What do you want to become?"
"I want to become someone greater than a noble! I want to surpass Uncle!" Ace shouted, trying to be first.
Ann suddenly raised her little fist. "I want to become an Emperor of the Sea..."
Sabo watched the three of them enjoying each other's company and smiled. "Yeah! You guys can do it. I haven't figured mine out yet."
"That's fine. If you haven't figured it out yet, take your time. It took me more than ten years to understand. You've got plenty of time. No rush here. What, are you trying to save the world or something?"
"We need to stock up on vegetables at home anyway. Let's pick up some while we're at it. Then we'll go choose weapons. Lead the way, Sabo."
"Let's go!" All four of them shouted together.