Sabo was unconscious for two full days.
Dadan took his care seriously—cleaning wounds, changing bandages, feeding him by spoon every few hours. I watched from the corner of the room, not daring to get too close.
This was Sabo. The appearance of Sabo. One of the three brothers who would change the world.
But why was he here? Badly injured? In the original timeline, Sabo ran away from his noble family because he couldn't stand the false life they lived. But he had never been wounded this severely.
"Ace, are you worried?" Dadan asked while changing Sabo's bandages.
I gave a small nod.
"He'll be fine. His wounds aren't too deep. Looks like he was beaten, but not by adults—the injuries are too light for that."
Beaten by other children? Maybe young bandits? Or...
"Dadan-san, his clothes are expensive," one of the underlings commented while holding Sabo's torn garments. "Silk fabric. Gold embroidery. These are noble's clothes."
"Noble?" Dadan stared at Sabo with a complicated expression. "Why would a noble's child be wandering alone in the forest? Running away from home?"
"Or kidnapped and then escaped?" another underling suggested.
"Who knows. We'll wait until he wakes up and ask."
The second night, I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about Sabo's arrival, which was far too early. Was this a butterfly effect from my own actions? Or was this how it was always supposed to be?
I got up from my bed and walked slowly to the room where Sabo was being cared for.
Moonlight through the window illuminated his pale face. He looked fragile. So different from the Sabo I remembered—the strong, confident Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army.
"Who... are you..." a weak voice suddenly spoke.
I startled. Sabo had opened his eyes. He was staring at me with an unfocused gaze.
"Ace," I answered softly. "My name is Ace."
"Ace..." he repeated. "Where... am I?"
"Dadan's place. You collapsed in the forest. Dadan's been taking care of you."
Sabo was quiet for a moment, as if trying to remember. Then his eyes widened—sudden panic.
"They... they'll come looking for me! I have to go! I can't go back to that place!" he tried to sit up but his body was too weak. He fell back with a groan of pain.
"Don't move! Your wounds aren't healed!" I stepped forward, trying to push him back down.
"But they—my parents—they'll—" Sabo looked terrified. Tears began to flow. "I don't want to go back! I hate them! Hate that place! Hate all those lies!"
Ah. Just like in the original timeline. Sabo running from his noble family.
"You're safe here," I said in the calmest tone I could manage. "Dadan won't give you back to people you hate."
"Is that true...?" Sabo looked at me with hope-filled eyes.
"It's true. Dadan is kind. Even if she's rough about it."
Sabo smiled weakly. Then his consciousness drifted away again.
I sat beside him until morning. For some reason I felt I had to keep watch.
This was my future brother. And I would not let anything bad happen to him.
Sabo finally came around properly on the third day. More stable this time—he could sit up and eat on his own, though still weak.
"So your name is Sabo?" Dadan sat across from him with a rice ball in hand. "Eat this. You're too thin."
"Thank you..." Sabo accepted it politely—remarkably polite for a child of five or six.
"You're from a noble family, aren't you? We burned your expensive clothes—they were too torn and too conspicuous."
Sabo looked relieved to hear that. "Good. I don't want anyone to know where I came from."
"Why did you run? Living as a noble is comfortable, isn't it—good food, a fine home, no need to work hard."
Sabo gripped the rice ball tightly. "All of that is a lie. They don't care about anything except status and money. Poor people are treated like garbage. Even within the family itself, we don't care for each other—we only use each other."
His voice trembled. Full of anger and grief.
"I don't want to become like them. I want to be free. I want to live my own way."
Dadan was quiet for a moment. Then she patted Sabo's head gently.
"Foolish kid. Do you know how harsh the world out there is? Harsher than you can imagine?"
"I know. That's why I have to become strong." Sabo's eyes lit up with determination. "I'll become a pirate! Sail across the whole world! Free!"
I smiled hearing that. This was the Sabo I knew. Still so young, but his spirit was already the same.
"A pirate? Ha! You can't even fight properly!" one of the bandit underlings laughed.
"I'll learn!" Sabo stood up despite still wobbling. "Teach me! You're bandits, aren't you? You must know how to fight!"
Dadan studied Sabo for a long moment. Then she smiled—a smile she rarely showed.
"Alright. But you follow our rules. Help with the chores. Train hard. No special treatment. Understood?"
"UNDERSTOOD!"
"Good. Welcome to the Dadan Family, Sabo."
And just like that, Sabo officially came to live with us.
Sabo's first week at the hideout was... loud.
The kid had extraordinary energy after recovering. Running here and there, asking about everything, trying to help with chores—though he more often caused problems than solved them.
"Dadan-san! I washed the dishes!"
"WHY ARE THEY ALL BROKEN?!"
"Ah... my hands were slippery..."
"YOU CLUMSY KID!"
But everyone liked him. Sabo had a personality that made friends easily. Cheerful. Sincere. Very different from me, who tended toward quiet.
"Ace! Come play!" Sabo came to find me where I was sitting outside the hideout.
"Play what?"
"Anything! Tag? Hide and seek? Or..." he looked at me with sparkling eyes. "Teach me how to fight!"
"I'm... still small. Can't fight yet," I answered honestly. My body was only one year and eight months old. What could I possibly teach?
"But you seem smart! You must know something!"
I let out a sigh. "Alright. But not fighting. I'll teach you how to... focus."
"Focus?"
"Mental focus. Body control. That's the foundation of all strength."
Sabo looked at me with confusion—understandable for a child his age. But he nodded eagerly. "Okay! Teach me!"
We sat facing each other on the ground. I tried to explain the concept of meditation and breath control—something I'd learned in my previous life as Arya when I took yoga to relieve work stress.
"Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Feel the air going in and out."
Sabo followed the instructions seriously.
"Empty your mind. Don't think about anything. Just focus on the breath."
He tried. But five seconds later—
"Ace, I'm hungry."
I almost laughed. "You're not focused."
"But it's hard! My thoughts keep wandering!"
"That's exactly why you have to practice. Every day. Until it becomes habit."
Sabo looked at me with admiring eyes. "You're so smart, Ace! Even though you're still little!"
I just smiled awkwardly. If only he knew what I actually was...
"Oh right, I heard from Dadan's crew—you have a special power?" Sabo suddenly whispered quietly.
I froze. "Who told you?"
"They didn't say it directly. But I heard whispers. Something about fire and a Devil Fruit."
Damn. The secret had leaked after all.
But this was Sabo. My future brother. Should I be honest?
"Yes," I finally admitted. "I ate a Devil Fruit. The Mera Mera no Mi. I can control fire."
Sabo's eyes went wide as saucers. "FOR REAL?! Show me! Show me!"
"Ssshhh! Not so loud!" I covered his mouth. "This is a secret!"
"Sorry... sorry..." he whispered. "But show me! Just a little!"
I looked around. No one nearby. We were far enough from the hideout.
"Alright. But stay quiet."
I raised my hand. Focus. A small fire appeared in my palm—the size of a marble, stable, controlled.
Sabo stared at it with his mouth hanging wide open. His eyes shone like someone beholding buried treasure.
"That's amazing... SO AMAZING!" he nearly shouted but I quickly covered his mouth again.
"Quiet!"
"Sorry! But that's genuinely incredible! You could become an incredibly strong pirate with that power!"
The fire in my hand went out. "That's exactly why it has to be a secret. If bad people find out, they'll come after me."
Sabo nodded seriously. "I understand. I won't tell anyone! I promise!" he raised his pinky finger.
I hooked my pinky with his. Our first promise.
"Ace, let's be best friends, okay?" Sabo smiled widely.
Friends? No. We would be more than that.
"Not friends," I answered.
Sabo looked disappointed. "Huh...?"
"Brothers. We're brothers."
His face lit up brilliantly. "BROTHERS! Yes! We're brothers! Ace is my brother!"
He hugged me tightly. Too tight for a small child. But warm.
I returned the embrace. This was Sabo. The Sabo who in the original timeline would "die" and lose his memories. The Sabo who would suffer not being able to remember Ace and Luffy.
But not this time.
This time I would make sure he stayed alive. Stayed safe. Stayed with us.
"Brothers forever!" Sabo declared.
"Forever," I echoed.
And I meant it.
The months passed quickly.
Sabo adapted to life at the hideout. He learned to fight from Dadan's underlings—how to grip an iron staff, how to dodge, how to read an opponent's movements.
I continued training my control over the Mera Mera no Mi. By now I could produce fireballs the size of my head and throw them with accuracy. I could even transform my entire arm into fire—though only for a few seconds before running out of stamina.
We often trained together. Sabo with his iron staff. Me with my small fireballs.
"ACE! WATCH OUT!" Sabo charged at me with his staff raised.
I dodged sideways—my body's reflexes were beginning to sharpen. Then I lobbed a small fireball toward him.
Sabo leapt aside nimbly to dodge. "Almost got me!"
"You almost got my head with that staff too!"
We laughed together.
"You two are getting stronger," Dadan remarked, watching from the hideout porch. "Ace's fire control has gotten good. Sabo can handle the staff like one of my grown crew."
"Of course! We're going to become the strongest pirates!" Sabo declared proudly.
"Pirates, huh..." Dadan smiled with a touch of resignation. "Garp is definitely going to kill me when he finds out I trained his grandchild to become a pirate."
"Jii-chan wants me to become a Marine," I said. "But I don't want to."
"Why? Marines are cool, aren't they? Heroes who protect the weak?" Sabo asked.
"Marines follow the orders of the World Government. And the World Government... isn't always right."
Sabo looked at me in confusion. "What do you mean?"
I couldn't explain about the Void Century, the Celestial Dragons, or the atrocities committed in the name of justice. Too complex for children.
"Someday you'll understand. What matters right now is—we become strong. Strong enough to protect the ones we love."
Sabo smiled. "You're talking like an adult again, Ace."
"Because I'm smart," I answered with a grin.
"Arrogant!"
We wrestled on the ground—playful but also training. Dadan watched us with a warm smile.
A life like this... peaceful. Comfortable.
But I knew it wouldn't last forever.
The storm would come. Fate would move.
And we had to be ready.
The fire was already burning.
Now it was time to turn that fire into an inferno.
TO BE CONTINUED