"Yeah... It's hard not to feel a little attached to this place."
"Mm..."
Gradually, the two of them lapsed into silence. Neither could say what the future held.
They hadn't even had the chance to map out their next moves...
"Hey! What are you two doing hiding up here? Luffy's been looking all over for you!" Sabo's voice drifted up from below.
"You guys are up here stargazing? Count me in."
In the next heartbeat, a third silhouette materialized atop the shingles.
All three relaxed into comfortable postures, as though they hadn't felt this unburdened in an age, gradually letting their eyes drift shut.
In that stillness, Drake pondered long and hard what his true purpose had been in crossing over into this world.
Adventure!
The word flashed across his consciousness with absolute clarity. Yes—adventure.
The exhilarating thrill of the unknown drew him so deeply that he found himself entirely unable to pull away; he still intended to witness every corner of the world's untamed majesty in the days to come.
The world was vast, yet his total time spent sailing the open seas added up to barely a few months. Even during that span, he had mostly been dragged from one operational objective to the next, rushing purposefully toward designated destinations.
He had never truly experienced an unscripted, sprawling adventure.
Perhaps... what lay ahead would be the ideal opportunity!
He yearned to witness the grand panorama of the earth, tracing every legendary tale woven by human hands since the dawn of creation.
What sort of men and women were those who had left behind such immortal stories?
The mere thought of it made Drake's blood surge with the urge to cast off into the horizon and launch his own true odyssey.
Perhaps... this was what his soul truly yearned for above all else...
Suddenly, an exquisitely beautiful, proud visage flickered across his mind.
A loveliness unlike anything he had ever beheld—a face capable of putting even the Pirate Empress to shame, leaving an indelible imprint on anyone fortunate enough to gaze upon her even once.
At first, perhaps, it had been mere aesthetic appreciation.
Gradually, however, he had lost the ability to read his own heart, right up until the day that letter arrived.
He couldn't say whether he had simply been captivated by her striking beauty, or if a genuine, nameless affection had taken root in his chest...
He didn't know!
Yet now, he understood his own heart with absolute clarity, especially after she laid bare her soul in those written lines.
The fierce, protective instinct that swelled within him confirmed his feelings. Even toward a woman whose pride was forged into her very bones, the sole impulse he harbored was a desperate desire to shield her from the storm.
If... if it was truly meant to be, he wanted to take her hand and tell her: You can rest now. Leave everything to me...
In that moment—or perhaps the very moment he unsealed that letter—his decision had already been cast in stone.
Suddenly, the corners of Drake's lips curved upward. He smiled.
"Agh! Mercy, have mercy..." A sharp, miserable shriek shattered the quiet, snapping Drake's eyes wide open.
Feeling his heart pounding frantically against his ribs, a warm flush crept across his cheeks.
Recovering his wits, he flicked his gaze downward to locate the source of the wailing.
"Ah... I'm the younger brother of Sabo, Chief of Staff of the New World Government! I'm here to see him! Let me go!"
"What kind of garbage are you barking?! Sabo's only little brother is me! Well... and Drake!" Luffy muttered with an air of supreme disdain, dangling a flailing, panic-stricken figure by the scruff of his collar.
Drake recognized the wretch at a single glance.
Wasn't he the crown prince of the Goa Kingdom—the bloodless foster brother adopted by Sabo's aristocratic parents?
If memory served, his name was... it was...
Whatever!
He wasn't worth the brain cells required to store his name. Drake shook his head dismissively.
Judging by the circumstances, the princeling must have caught wind of Sabo's message and rushed over blindly, only to walk right into a trap by running into Luffy.
"Heh..." Drake's lips twitched. That boy's luck was genuinely appalling; he just had to cross paths with Luffy the moment he stepped out.
"Sabo, your guest of honor has arrived."
"Yeah!" Sabo's eyes snapped open as he sat up smoothly.
"You boys chat, I'm heading out for a moment." The moment the words left his lips, Sabo dissolved into a flash of fire and vanished. Simultaneously, Sterry—dangling helplessly from Luffy's grip—vanished right along with him.
"Luffy, I'm taking that pest off your hands for a second."
"?" Luffy blinked in total confusion, failing to make sense of the vanishing act, before turning his gaze back to find Ace and Drake stretched out lazily across the rooftop tiles.
"Yo! Ace, Drake! So you guys were up here all along. Good... I'm joining in!"
"Rubber... Balloon!"
Ace and Drake: "???"
Watching Luffy inflate himself into a massive spherical bounce-house and launch straight into the stratosphere toward them, the two of them sat frozen in bewilderment.
Did you really have to use an ability just to climb up a roof?!
And at this trajectory...
THUD!
With a heavy, concussive impact, Luffy landed squarely atop the stomachs of Ace and Drake. Caught completely unawares, both brothers let out synchronized gasps of air as their eyes bulged out of their sockets.
Their complexions instantly turned the shade of a bruised plum.
"Oi, Luffy..."
"Shi, shi, shi... Shishishi..." Luffy flashed a row of pristine white teeth, offering his signature carefree grin as he patted them apologetically. "My bad, my bad..."
"I looked everywhere for you guys. Who would've thought you were hanging out up here?"
"We weren't exactly hiding. If you'd bothered to use your Observation Haki, you would've known we were up here the second you walked past," Ace grumbled, shaking his head in resignation.
"Oh! Right!" Luffy realized in sudden enlightenment.
"Didn't you eat a little too much?" Ace chuckled despite himself, slipping his hands beneath his head as he fixed an unblinking stare upon the starlit canopy overhead.
Luffy slumped flat across them.
Stuffed to the brim with banquet food, Luffy hadn't even bothered defusing his Rubber Balloon form, remaining practically as wide as a barrel.
Seeing that, Drake couldn't help but chuckle softly.
The three of them lay side by side, staring into the firmament and tossing casual remarks back and forth.
For men like them, this simple fellowship was the ultimate happiness.
Gathering together like this... really wasn't bad at all.
"How about this?" Drake broke the quiet after a moment, speaking up suddenly. "Let's make a new pledge."
"Ace, Sabo, myself, and Luffy—in the future, let's all live together just like we did when we were kids. Right here, in this very village!"
"Once we've all finished running our respective adventures, we'll return to this exact spot. We can eat meat together every single day and share a few drinks. How does an eternity like that sound to you?"
Hearing the proposition, both Ace and Luffy broke into broad, genuine smiles. Luffy grinned wide. "Deal! Once my crew and I finish our adventures across the whole world, I'm coming right back here to wait for you guys!"
"Huh? Hold on a second, Luffy, the way you phrased that makes it sound like you're planning to finish your adventuring before the rest of us?" Ace raised an amused brow.
"Well, true enough—you're already the Pirate King, so your dream's in the bag."
Ace chuckled warmly as he spoke.
"No, that's not what I meant! We're going to sail to every single place in the world first, and then come back here. That's the kind of adventure I want!" Luffy laughed heartily.
"What are you guys talking about? What's this about coming back and not coming back?" Sabo's voice chimed in as he materialized beside them out of nowhere.
"Yo! Sabo, you're back."
"Did you take care of business?" Drake asked.
"Yeah! Handled it. If we're going to abolish the noble system, we can't leave any loose ends. By the way, what were you guys bantering about just now?" Sabo asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
Ace and the others exchanged knowing smiles, answering in unison: "Sabo! Let's make a pledge!"
"Once each of us has achieved every single goal we set sail to conquer, we'll all return to this place. Just like back then, we'll live right here together..."
Listening to Ace recount the pact, Sabo's eyes grew brighter and brighter until all four of them burst into uproarious, ringing laughter.
Every adventure had to reach its final page someday.
Falling leaves always returned to their roots...
That night, the laughter of the four brothers echoed endlessly through the midnight air, refusing to fade.
They had sworn a new pledge!
One day, they would all return to this very ground. And when that day came, they would sit shoulder to shoulder, trading tales of the oceans they had crossed and the boundless joy they had found along the way...