Goa Kingdom, Mt. Colubo.
The 16-year-old Portgas D. Ace moved nimbly through the dense mountain forests, a small sack slung over his shoulder.
With each step he took, the sack swayed slightly, emitting faint metallic clinks from within.
Inside the sack were banknotes and coins—
Treasure Ace had forcibly seized from the criminal underworld of the Uncertainty Terminal.
Several years earlier.
The nobles of the Goa Kingdom had, in their madness, set fire to the entire Uncertainty Terminal, nearly obliterating it completely.
But as the years passed.
Because the Goa Kingdom continued to enforce its oppressive rule—forcibly expelling unwanted citizens and goods to maintain the nation's "beauty" and "purity"—
These discarded people and items, with nowhere else to go, had no choice but to gather once more at the Uncertainty Terminal.
As the number of outcasts abandoned by the Goa Kingdom grew.
The Uncertainty Terminal, reduced to ashes in the fire, had been rebuilt.
Carrying his newly plundered treasure, Ace arrived at his personal stash.
He carefully removed the damp-prone, fragile banknotes one by one, smoothing them out before storing them neatly in a separate chest. The coins, however, were simply tossed into a pile.
The chest wasn't large, but it contained the "fortune" Ace had amassed over the years through his raids.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Ace planned to use this money to buy a small boat—one sturdy enough for solo voyages—and officially begin his life as a pirate.
When he was younger.
Ace had pondered many questions.
Such as the "Father" and "Mother" he had never met;
Or the opinions of ordinary people in Foosha Village about the "Pirate King";
Or whether his existence—the son of the Pirate King—was truly a good thing for this world;
And even the path his future would take—whether he would follow in his father's footsteps or adhere to his "Grandpa's" ideals…
But as he grew older, these small concerns no longer troubled Ace.
Or rather, they had retreated deep into his heart, no longer surfacing easily.
Now, he had only one thought—
Come of age, set sail, become a pirate!
And make the world remember the name Portgas D. Ace!
Ace quickly counted all his wealth, ensuring nothing was missing, then carefully hid each treasure-filled chest away.
Immediately after, he agilely climbed to the top of the nearest towering tree, moving as deftly as a monkey.
This was near the peak of Mt. Colubo.
Seated on a sturdy branch, Ace gazed down at Pirate Bay below.
At the foot of the Uncertainty Terminal and Mt. Colubo lay a small harbor.
Once, the pirate ship of the Blue Gem Pirates had anchored here.
As the years passed, Ace often came here to overlook Pirate Bay.
He fantasized about the day he too would raise his sails and venture out to sea—what kind of scene would it be…
Just as Ace was lost in his usual admiration of Pirate Bay's view—
A white dot suddenly appeared on the distant horizon.
Ace instinctively raised his right hand, shielding his eyes as he tried to make out what the white speck was.
In Ace's vision, the dot grew larger and larger until its true form was revealed.
It was a White Giant Dragon, as if it had flown straight out of myth and legend.
"A dragon?"
Ace's eyes widened in shock as he watched the White Giant Dragon soaring freely through the sky.
"So dragons really do exist on the sea!"
As the son of the Pirate King, adopted by the Navy's hero, Ace had heard many legendary tales from his "Grandpa."
But from childhood to now, Ace had always lived on Mount Corvo.
He knew every tree and blade of grass on this mountain like the back of his hand.
Yet this was still the East Blue.
The "weakest" of all seas.
Ace had heard countless myth-like stories from Grandpa.
But he had never met any of the "protagonists" from those legends.
As for Grandpa?
Ace was deeply grateful that Grandpa had taken him in, but "respect"?
It was hard for him to respect that unreliable old man who was always trying to stop him from becoming a pirate...
It was even harder for Ace to believe that Grandpa was the revered "Navy Hero" in the eyes of the world.
The White Dragon now appearing in the sky.
It was like a flame, igniting Ace's longing for the sea.
How he wished he could sail freely across the ocean too...
As he gazed up at the White Dragon in the sky, Ace daydreamed about his future pirate life.
But as time passed.
Ace's expression shifted from initial astonishment to confusion, then to solemnity.
Wait... was that dragon flying toward him?
Whoosh—
The Blue-Eyed White Dragon flew toward Mount Corvo, its enormous wings flapping gently, yet stirring up a violent storm in the forest below.
Ace wrapped his left arm tightly around the tree trunk beside him, barely managing to avoid being blown off by the sudden gale.
"A dragon!"
Ace shielded his eyes with his right hand, peering through his fingers at the Blue-Eyed White Dragon descending from the sky and landing on the ground.
"Who's that guy?"
Before Ace could get a clear look at the figure.
The massive Blue-Eyed White Dragon dissolved into the earth like water.
A man Ace had never seen before stood where the dragon had just been.
As if the giant beast had transformed into this man.
If not for the storm-ravaged surroundings as evidence.
Ace might have thought the White Dragon was just his imagination...
'Could this be... a Devil Fruit user, like Grandpa mentioned?'
Just as this thought crossed Ace's mind.
The man below suddenly raised his right hand and waved at him.
"Portgas D. Ace? I am Vongola Storm!"
Storm smiled, looking up at Portgas D. Ace perched on the treetop, cutting straight to the point.
"How about joining me and turning this world upside down?"
"The world? Hah?"
Ace stood on the branch, looking down at the man below.
Even though the sight of him riding a dragon had left a deep impression.
Ace had no interest in being someone else's crewmate.
Ace stared down at the unfamiliar man below, letting out a cold sneer.
"Who the hell are you? Get lost!
"This is my territory!"
"This is neither your territory nor your final resting place."
With a slight thought from Storm, the Awakening power of the Clay-Clay Fruit surged forth instantly.
The towering tree Ace stood upon was immediately assimilated by the Clay-Clay Fruit's power, transforming into a "Clay Tree."
The sturdy branches turned soft and malleable in an instant.
Caught off guard, Ace plummeted from the canopy and crashed heavily onto the ground.
But by then, even the earth had been completely assimilated by the Clay-Clay Fruit's power, turning into pliable clay.
Though Ace hit the ground, he suffered no injuries—only a momentary shock.
The clay surged like waves, carrying Ace straight to Storm's feet.
"The sea is where you belong, Portgas D. Ace."
Here, Storm paused before calmly uttering the man's true name.
"Or should I say… Gol D. Ace."
The moment that name reached his ears,
Ace's pupils constricted violently to pinpricks.
This man, riding atop a White Dragon, actually knew his true identity!
The disdain of being stopped by a stranger, the panic of falling from the sky, the shock of having his secret exposed—
A whirlwind of emotions mixed together like a raging fire, igniting Ace's already volatile temper.
"You bastard!"
Without a second thought for the man's identity, Ace swung his fist, aiming straight for Storm's face.
"Who the hell do you think you are!?"
What Ace believed to be a powerful, crushing punch
felt like slow, feeble cotton to Storm.
He didn't even bother blocking it.
Just as Ace's fist was about to connect,
Storm spread his arms and leaned back.
The earth instantly molded into a vast, cushiony clay bed beneath him.
Lying leisurely on his back, Storm effortlessly dodged Ace's attack.
"Haah~"
Storm let out an exaggerated yawn.
Then, another mass of clay rose from the ground, its shape shifting continuously.
In mere moments,
it took the form of the Lizard King, Hanafuda.
Standing over five meters tall, the Lizard King loomed before Ace like a towering giant.
"If you want a fight, play with him for a while."
Storm issued a command to the Clay Golem, which immediately advanced toward Ace.
"I have no interest in playing house with children."
Children… playing house…
Veins bulged on Ace's forehead.
The way this self-proclaimed "Vongola Storm" had dodged his attack was infuriating enough.
But it turned out the man had an endless repertoire of ways to piss him off!
Ace clenched his fists tighter as the Lizard King approached.
No way I'm losing to some oversized brute!
With a furious roar, Ace charged forward, unleashing the combat skills he had honed in the forests of Mt. Colubo.
A punch, a kick, a knee, an elbow—
Ace unleashed his full arsenal of techniques, his attacks raining down upon the Lizard King's body like a violent storm. The dull thuds of "thump, thump, thump" echoed incessantly.
Yet.
The ideal was plump, but reality was bony.
Ace had exerted all his strength, pummeling the Lizard King for nearly half an hour.
His fists were nearly worn raw.
But the Lizard King remained completely unchanged.
Ace's attacks had absolutely no effect on the Lizard King whatsoever.
Thump!
Ace delivered another fierce punch to the Lizard King's body.
This time, the punch finally left behind a few traces of crimson blood on the Lizard King.
But it wasn't the Lizard King's blood.
It was Ace's.
"Tired yet? I'm going to grab some food now."
After a half-hour nap, Storm lazily opened his eyes and looked at Ace, who was still struggling against the Clay.
"Are you coming with me to eat, or are you going to keep wrestling with that clay doll?"
Thump!
Ace threw another punch at the Lizard King, only worsening the injuries on his fists.
At this point, might as well eat first!