Outside the Dadan family cabin on Colubo Mountain.
The heavy rain had just ceased, and the morning sunlight filtered through the canopy, spilling onto the muddy ground.
Bang!
The massive corpse of the saber-toothed tiger was tossed carelessly into the clearing, the impact shaking the entire shack. The door was kicked open, and Dadan poked her head out timidly, a cigarette dangling from her lips. When she and the bandits saw the mountain of fur and scales—and the bare-chested boy standing beside it—they collectively gasped.
"Hey, Dadan. Don't just stand there. Process this cat and roast it. I'm hungry."
Ace brushed his damp hair back and grinned. He hadn't closed his eyes for a day and a night in the forest. An ordinary ten-year-old would have collapsed, but Ace's physique was a furnace. His stamina recovery was a freak of nature, reminiscent of the man known as "Blackbeard" who never slept.
"Ace! You brat, you went and provoked a monster of this level again!" Dadan roared, though her eyes betrayed a deep, hidden awe.
"Hahaha! Can't help it. Wild boars don't even count as a warmup anymore." Ace laughed, heading toward the water vat to wash off the blood, but he suddenly paused.
His Observation Haki detected a new, weak yet tenacious life force inside the cabin. Beside it was a powerful presence he knew all too well.
A burly figure stepped out from the shadows. It was Garp, the Marine hero who had just finished beating him in the back mountains. In Garp's hand, held aloft like a scrawny chicken, was a seven-year-old boy in a straw hat with a scar under his left eye.
Despite dangling in mid-air, the kid's limbs stretched comically as he thrashed. "Let go of me, old man! I'm the man who's going to be the Pirate King!"
Ace looked at the kid, his pupils shrinking slightly before his smile widened.
Luffy. We finally meet.
In the original timeline, the ten-year-old Ace would have met this boy with hostility and a spit to the face, fueled by a hatred for his own bloodline. But this Ace was different. He possessed a mature soul and an ambition to devour the world. To him, this future child of destiny was the most interesting witness he could have on his path to the throne.
Thud.
Garp dropped Luffy onto the dirt. "Luffy, from today on, you live here. That's Ace. He's three years older. Follow him."
Before Garp could finish, Ace was already standing over Luffy. Years of inhuman training had made Ace taller and broader than any peer. The sheer pressure he radiated made Luffy stop shouting; the younger boy swallowed nervously, pressing down on his straw hat.
"W-what do you want?"
"Pirate King?" Ace burst into laughter. The sound startled a flock of birds into the morning sky.
He didn't mock him. Instead, Ace reached out, grabbed Luffy's elastic cheeks, and pulled them wide. "Hahaha! Interesting! You're a weak rubber brat, but your eyes aren't bad!"
"Hey! Gerrout of it!"
"Listen up, kid." Ace let go, pointing a thumb at his own chest. "Be my little brother. Follow me. If you want that boring 'Pirate King' title, go ahead. But on this sea, there is only one man who will establish the rules. The 'King of the World' will be me."
Luffy froze. Even Garp widened his eyes, staring in disbelief at the boy radiating such raw, unbridled arrogance.
Late that night.
The Dadan bandits were snoring loudly. Luffy, exhausted from Ace's "hellish welcome ceremony," was fast asleep in a corner with his mouth wide open.
Ace remained awake. He only needed a few hours of rest to fully recharge. He slipped through the window and leaped lightly onto the roof. A blond boy in a top hat and a blue vest was already waiting there.
"Sabo. Why the midnight visit?" Ace sat down beside him.
"Sharing information, you reckless guy." Sabo sighed, pulling a crumpled bounty poster from his vest. "There are rumors in the East Blue black market. A Devil Fruit has been found... Hey, are you listening?"
"I'm listening." Ace leaned back, hands behind his head, looking at the stars with eyes far too deep for a child. "Sabo, what happens if someone eats two Devil Fruits?"
Sabo blinked, confused. "Is that a trick question? The encyclopedia says a body can only house one devil. If you eat a second, you explode. Everyone knows that."
"That's the limit for ordinary people." Ace sat up, his expression unyielding under the moonlight. "Because their souls only have one 'vessel'."
Sabo's heart skipped a beat. He looked into Ace's eyes and felt a surge of cold premonition. "Ace... you aren't thinking..."
"Sabo, get stronger with me." Ace stood up, the night wind whipping his hair. He reached out a hand to his future first mate. "Seven years. We use seven years to push our bodies and Haki to the absolute limit. The day we set sail at seventeen, I'll prove it to the world."
"Whether it's the high-and-mighty nobles or the old monsters in the New World, they're all just stepping stones. I'm going to make this entire ocean submit."
Looking at Ace's burning eyes, Sabo knew he wasn't joking. Ace had considered the Marines because of Garp, but his personality would never survive that system. He wanted to live freely—and in a world where the strong survive, that meant reaching the very top so that no one could ever ride on his back again.