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"You bastard!" An angry roar echoed through the forest. Atlas, who was greedily devouring freshly roasted meat, looked up with a baffled expression.
What a mess—that was Atlas's first impression.
Tattered clothes, blood and dirt smeared across his body, disheveled hair, and a broken pipe clutched tightly—this was Ace's current state.
Sabo wasn't much better. His once-formal suit was torn to rags, his top hat gone, revealing short golden hair, and his face was smeared with dirt as he gasped for breath, leaning on his knees.
"Luffy's hurt?" Atlas muttered.
Luffy was in the worst condition. At his age, he was naturally the weakest of the three, and without the Gum-Gum Fruit, he had become nothing but dead weight in battle.
"What are you standing there for, you bastard?! Hurry up and save Luffy!" Ace shouted, furious that Atlas had no intention of lifting the boy from his back.
"Meat... roasted meat..." Atlas muttered lazily.
Ten minutes earlier.
"Hey, Ace, I think this thing has its eyes on us," Sabo said, his gaze fixed on the King of Mt. Colubo.
His body was tense like a spring, ready to react the moment the massive beast moved.
"We have to fight. There's no other way!" Ace's expression was grim.
Facing this creature was far too much for them, but their only option was to hold it off long enough to find a chance to escape. Unlike Luffy, neither he nor Sabo charged in blindly.
Luffy, however, was slow on the uptake. Having lived in Foosha Village his whole life, he had no real sense of the danger before them.
With his carefree nature, he was utterly oblivious to the peril of facing the King of Mt. Colubo.
"Whoa! A big tiger! I wonder if it tastes good..." Drool slid from the corner of his mouth as he imagined cooking the beast. "My fist is like a pistol!"
"Wait—!" Before Ace could stop him, Luffy charged recklessly forward, fist raised.
The King of Mt. Colubo stared blankly at the tiny figure rushing toward it. Did this little thing... say it wanted to eat me?
"ROAR!" The furious roar of a king burst forth! A violent gust of wind and sound shook the forest as it surged toward the boys.
"This idiot!" Ace clenched his teeth, but there was no time to scold Luffy. The beast was enraged, and when a king is challenged, its fury is unmatched.
In a flash, the King of Mt. Colubo leaped forward, its massive jaws gaping wide, ready to swallow Luffy whole.
"Help! Ace, Sabo..." Luffy cried, frozen in place, unable to react.
THWACK!
Ace and Sabo had already moved, charging with their pipes. By sheer coincidence, both weapons struck the beast directly in its glaring eyes!
"ROAR!" The King of Mt. Colubo howled, thrashing in pain. Though Luffy had been spared for the moment, the boys now faced an enraged predator.
"Run! Split up toward the summit!" Ace barked. They knew now they had no chance of defeating it head-on. Their only hope was to scatter.
But the King of Mt. Colubo wasn't about to let them escape. Ignoring the pain in its eyes, it locked onto Luffy—the fool who had provoked it—and gave chase.
"It's after me! Ace, Sabo!" Luffy wailed, terror etched on his face.
"It's your fault! Damn it!" Ace cursed, already sprinting. If Atlas hadn't insisted they all reach the summit together, he would've gladly left Luffy behind.
"Luffy, run to the summit! Get Atlas! The three of us can't beat this thing!"
"No! I won't leave my friends behind!"
"You idiot! You'll only drag us down!"
"I won't!" Luffy shouted stubbornly.
Ace gritted his teeth. Forget it...
The King of Mt. Colubo lunged, claws outstretched like blades, its massive body crashing down toward Luffy.
SWISH!
The claws slashed down—but Luffy, bracing for pain, felt nothing. He peeked open his eyes to see Ace in front of him, his pipe shattered, shielding him.
"Get down!" Ace roared. Instinctively, Luffy dropped flat to the ground.
CRASH!
Dirt and rocks flew as the two rolled clumsily away from danger. But the beast was smart—it wouldn't let prey this close slip away so easily.
From behind, Sabo had circled. He lunged with his pipe for a desperate strike.
WHACK!
The tiger's tail lashed out like a whip, shattering his weapon. The impact numbed Sabo's arm, splitting the skin on his knuckles.
"Damn it!" he cursed, refusing to give up.
He darted left and right, dodging its swipes, then drove the jagged pipe into its flank.
SQUELCH!
Blood sprayed as the tiger roared in agony, its body curling from the blow.
"Now!" Ace seized the chance, plunging his broken pipe into its exposed belly.
RIP!
Blood gushed as two fresh wounds tore across the beast. The boys' teamwork was sharp, their instincts honed from the forest.
"ROAR!" The great beast staggered, but its monstrous durability showed.
The pain only fueled its savagery. With a furious roar, its claws slashed again, the air itself splitting from the force.
"Ace, watch out!" Luffy shouted.
His tiny legs pumped as he threw himself onto Ace.
SLASH!
Three deep gashes tore across Luffy's back, blood gushing as his shirt turned crimson.
His flesh was ripped to the bone. Even with his sturdy body, he was still just a child.
"Luffy!" Ace cried, panic rising.
But the King of Mt. Colubo froze suddenly. Its massive frame shuddered, its instincts screaming of danger.
It felt as though something far more terrifying was watching. Without warning, it bolted, vanishing into the forest.
Ace and Sabo stared, bewildered. Then Ace quickly pulled himself out from under Luffy, shaking him desperately.
"Hey! Luffy, wake up!"
"We need to get him to the summit! Atlas will know what to do!"
......
At that moment, on the empty summit, a bonfire crackled, filling the air with the lingering aroma of roasted meat. Ace and the other two were feasting.
Aside from looking a bit battered, none of them had any serious injuries, all thanks to the power of the Horse Talisman.
Luffy's wounds had been severe; for an ordinary person, they would have been life-threatening.
Yet the moment he caught the scent of roasted meat, he sprang back to life, wriggling to jump off Ace's back.
If Atlas hadn't restrained him and used the Horse Talisman to heal him, Luffy probably would have tried to recover on his own by eating.
"Mmph... How did you guys beat that tiger... mmmph, Ace, Sabo?" Luffy asked, gnawing on a chunk of meat clutched in both his small hands.
"It was probably... Mr. Atlas, who intervened," Sabo replied quietly. This Marine was far too mysterious.
He had appeared out of nowhere, and every ability he revealed was astounding—terrifying, explosive power, miraculous healing, and the skill to drive away the King of Mt. Colubo without even engaging directly.
The three of them still didn't know what his true purpose was. Although he had shown no real hostility, Sabo couldn't shake a sense of unease.
Ace didn't disagree. Intervention from this Marine was the only explanation. Otherwise, that tiger never would have spared them so easily.
"Are you full? We'll begin the next training session soon," Atlas said, cutting into their conversation.
He didn't have much time to linger; Sengoku hadn't granted him an extended vacation.
Although the seas seemed calm now, pirates were never a peaceful lot.
Sooner or later, the world would be restless again.
"You should understand, the outside world is far more exciting than you imagine. All kinds of races, Devil Fruits, breathtaking scenery, and food beyond anything you've tasted..." Atlas explained, casually firing Finger Pistols at the three brothers.
"But to live truly free—whether as a Marine or a pirate—you need strength. Great strength is the only path to freedom. In this world, there are countless ways to grow stronger, but all of them start with a powerful body."
"Hey! Slow down!"
"Relax. With me here, you won't die!" Atlas ignored Ace's protests, his hands moving faster as he unleashed a barrage of air bullets.
This training not only sharpened their reflexes but also began nudging them toward awakening Observation Haki. And with the Horse Talisman, there was no risk of permanent injury.
What Atlas wanted to instill in them now was the idea that physical strength was the foundation. He wanted them to understand Haki early on.
That way, no matter what path they chose, Ace in the future wouldn't fall so easily to Blackbeard.
The Flame-Flame Fruit was powerful, but depending on it alone would only waste Ace's true potential.
"And about Haki—everyone has a hidden power within them: Observation, Armament, and Conqueror's. You don't need to understand too much yet."
"Just remember this: all the strong possess Haki, but not everyone with Haki is truly strong."
"My training is meant to guide you toward awakening Observation Haki. Of course, whether you succeed or not depends on you..."
WHOOSH!
"Waaah!"
As the attacks sped up, Luffy quickly fell behind. One Finger Pistol grazed his cheek, leaving a shallow, bloody line.
In an instant, his flesh knit itself back together, leaving only a faint scar.
The Horse Talisman could have erased it, but Atlas didn't bother. Scars were a man's badge of honor.
Seeing Luffy without any hair had always felt strange. Perhaps... Atlas's gaze drifted toward Luffy's chest, and he fell into thought.
"Huh?"
Luffy, who had just cried out in pain, suddenly shivered, as though he had felt someone's sinister intent directed at him.
Bonfire, roasted meat, and a beautiful girl—well, maybe not the last one... Although Atlas's cooking wasn't perfect, the quality of Mt. Colubo's ingredients more than made up for it.
For a while, the three boys ate with unrestrained enthusiasm.
"Tell me, why do you want to go to sea as pirates?" Atlas asked with a faint smile.
After these few days, he believed Ace and the others had lowered their guard around him considerably.
Besides, he already knew Ace's biggest secret; what else could they possibly hide?
"I'm gonna be a Marine!" Luffy shouted first.
Although he sometimes dreamed of becoming a pirate with Ace and Sabo, the lure of roasted meat—and the chance to punch his grandpa—was too strong to ignore.
"I wasn't asking you!" Atlas roared, though he was long accustomed to Luffy's antics.
"Freedom. I want to be free. This place is too suffocating," Ace said at last, sadness flickering across his face.
"You should understand, there's no such thing as absolute freedom. Even Roger, hailed as the freest man on the seas, was never truly free."
"What you need to find is what your heart truly desires. Freedom? Family? Or friendship?"
"Family..." Ace fell silent, lost in thought.
(T/N: Please give me some power stone, I hope it can at least reach the top 100)
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