Time slipped by like a white horse leaping a gap; months passed in the blink of an eye.
On the surface nothing much changed, every morning the three boys trained deep in the forest, rummaged through Gray Terminal for anything useful, and occasionally dashed into town for yet another "free" meal.
Only Luffy knew what really shifted: long after midnight, when everyone else slept, Ace and Sabo would rise silently and vanish into the darkness to push their bodies even further.
Luffy merely smiled and pretended not to notice.
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Trash‑Mountain Trouble
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!"
Deep inside Gray Terminal a swarthy, bull‑necked thug suddenly lunged from the junk piles and wrapped a beefy arm around Sabo's throat. Ace leapt forward, but half a dozen men in gas‑masks leveled rifles at him.
The gunmen opened ranks and a rotund, silk‑clad noble stepped through Sabo's father.
"What do you mean what?!" the man sneered, jabbing a jeweled finger at Luffy and Ace.
"Sabo is my son, of course he obeys his father! You riffraff dared lure him away!"
Ace's fury ignited. He drove a fist at the noble, but another pirate captain caught Ace's punch, cocking his free hand to strike.
A chill pricked the pirate's spine; some primal instinct warned If I throw this punch, I die.
Luffy's voice was low and flat. "I'd let go if I were you."
For an instant Luffy hesitated, should he even save Sabo? If Sabo returned home now he might still meet Dragon one day and become the Revolutionary he was meant to be.
No! Luffy caught himself. Since when did I start hesitating just to keep a "plot" intact? If I have strength, it's to protect my brothers.
A red glint flickered at his fingertips.
"Splurt!"
The pirate's throat opened in a neat red smile. He staggered back, clutching his neck as blood fountain sky‑high, spattering everyone present.
Sabo's father blanched, scampering behind the soldiers.
"K‑kill him! I paid you, didn't I? Kill him now!"
None of the hired cut‑throats moved. They'd just watched the second strongest man among them die in a heartbeat, money wasn't worth that.
Luffy walked forward, Haki leaking like a tightening vise. Soldiers melted aside, terrified to meet his eyes.
"Sabo is my brother. I won't meddle with his choices," Luffy said, voice soft as steel.
"But if anyone forces him, I'll step in."
Pressure piled atop the noble's shoulders; his legs trembled, heart hammering like a caged bird. Luffy advanced, each footfall a drum of doom. The man's noble dignity crumbled, replaced by naked terror.
Then,
"Luffy." Sabo's clear voice cut through the tension. "I've decided. I'll go home with him."
Luffy halted, surprise flickering across his face; the Haki died away.
Ace spun on Sabo, eyes wide. "Are you crazy? You hate the nobility!"
"We're brothers, Ace." Sabo managed a smile. "Big brothers protect little brothers, not hide behind them. I'll settle this myself."
Luffy grinned. "I trust you, Sabo‑nii."
Ace clenched his jaw, then turned away without a word and headed for home. Luffy clapped Sabo's shoulder once, "Good luck", and ran after Ace, leaving behind a still‑quivering noble, cowering pirates, and pools of blood.
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A/N: I swear, writing emotion is harder than writing murders.
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