Luffy walked leisurely along the shore, heading back home. As he neared Dadan's house, he saw a crowd gathered outside the front door.
"What did you just say?!"
Ace had just returned from the mountains. His eyes were burning with fury, fists clenched tight, and he roared at the short mountain bandit Dogra, who had also just come back.
Dadan and the other mountain bandits stared at Dogra in shock and disbelief.
Dogra hung his head low, silent and stricken with grief.
"Liar! You're lying! There's no way Sabo is dead!"
Ace grew more agitated by the second. He couldn't believe it. He refused to believe it. In his rage, he swung a fist at Dogra, whose words he saw as nothing more than nonsense.
Smack!
"Ace, calm down." Luffy caught his fist mid-swing. "Sabo was hit by the cannon."
Ace froze, staring at Luffy with trembling eyes that quickly welled up with tears.
"N-No way… Luffy… it's not true, right? This has to be a dream... right?!"
He grabbed Luffy's shoulders and shook him, his eyes red and swollen from crying.
"Tell me it's not true! Tell me it's not real, Luffy!"
"Calm down and listen to me!" Luffy struggled under Ace's grip, finally shaking him off before saying firmly,
"Yes, Sabo was hit, but he's not dead."
Ace stopped. The tears kept falling, but he went still, dazed and slowly regaining control.
Luffy looked around at Ace, and at Dadan and the others, and said clearly:
"Sabo wasn't hit directly by the cannon. He's alive."
"R-Really...? That's... that's great."
Ace dropped to his knees, shoulders slumping as he slowly sat on the ground.
"Ace, there's something else I need to tell you," Luffy said once Ace had calmed down.
"I'm leaving soon. This place can't help me anymore. I've decided to head out to sea, to get stronger."
Ace stayed quiet, head still bowed. But inside, his emotions churned in turmoil.
Why? Why am I so weak? Why...?!
He didn't know what to do. He wasn't strong enough to be acknowledged. He wasn't strong enough to stop Sabo from being taken. When he thought Sabo had died, he didn't know how to respond, so he lashed out at his own people.
Seeing the confusion and sorrow in Ace's expression, Luffy crouched beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Ace, we're still kids. We don't have the power to change the world yet.
I have my opportunity, you'll have yours too. Just... not yet.
Sabo's not dead. But he won't be back for a while. That's his opportunity.
I'll be gone for a long time, but I will come back for your departure ceremony.
So don't be sad.
If you don't know what to do… then just keep surpassing yourself.
That's the best thing you can do.
The day all three of us make our names known on this sea... will be the day we reunite."
─────────🏴☠️─────────
That night.
Surprisingly, Dadan prepared a feast, one of the best they'd ever had. She even brought out a bottle of fine wine she had stashed away for years.
It was a farewell party for Sabo.
Even though he wasn't there, everyone present wholeheartedly wished him a better future.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
The next day,
Ace left again without a word.
Luffy entrusted Zoro to the Dadan family, asking them to let Zoro wait there if he woke up early.
Afterward, Luffy made his rounds in Foosha Village, saying goodbye to Makino, the village chief, and the others.
This time, he would be gone for a long time.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
A few days later, a mountain bandit came running back in a hurry and said:
"Luffy! It's confirmed, the patrol ship leaves tomorrow morning!"
A silver gleam flashed in Luffy's eyes.
"Tomorrow, huh? Got it."
He packed a few larger clothes and slipped away from the Dadan household without a word.
Under the cover of night, he made his way to the port. Using his small frame and stealth, he evaded the guards and snuck aboard the Celestial Dragons' massive ship.
He quickly found a storage room, and hid.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
At dawn.
Goa Kingdom's harbor bustled with noise again.
Dance troupes, marching bands, honor guards, everyone scrambled to send off the world nobles with flair.
The nobles of Goa gathered as well, all hoping to catch one last glimpse of the sacred Celestial Dragons.
Fireworks exploded in the sky. Rose petals floated down from above. The whole harbor was ablaze with celebration.
Saint Jalmack boarded the great ship with a blank expression. He didn't spare even a glance for the king, who knelt behind him.
He brought along a few newly captured slaves, ready to return to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
As the ship slowly departed the kingdom, Luffy remained hidden, perfectly still.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
Days passed.
Then, one day, Luffy heard voices outside the storage room.
"Finally, we're out of the Calm Belt."
"Yeah. These past few days, Lord Jalmack's been fishing with slaves to attract Sea Kings. Looks like they're all dead now."
"Not just that. Yesterday, when there were no slaves left, he threw Tony overboard just to keep playing."
"Good thing we're out now. Otherwise, we'd be next, haha!"
"Serves him right. Last time, he killed that slave girl we were all supposed to take turns with."
The voices grew distant and finally faded.
So… we've passed through the Calm Belt, huh?
Luffy, hidden all this time, began to move.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
There are only two ways to enter the Grand Line from the four seas.
One is through the Red Line, but the entrance is unpredictable and requires expert navigation and a fair bit of luck.
The other is via the Calm Belt, a sea region controlled by the World Government.
But the Calm Belt is infested with massive Sea Kings, lethal to most ships.
The government, however, has a solution: seastone lined on the ship's hull.
Seastone mimics the energy of the sea, rendering Devil Fruit users powerless while also masking the ship from Sea Kings' senses.
That's how Marine and government ships travel freely through the Calm Belt and enter the Grand Line.
"Time to begin."
Luffy grinned with excitement.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
Bored at sea, Saint Jalmack sat in his room, growing tired of fishing and unsure of what to do next.
Outside his cabin, the strongest black-suited bodyguard stood at attention.
Suddenly, his nose twitched, his expression changed instantly.
He rushed from the Celestial Dragon's private quarters.
"Ah!"
The moment he opened the door, he saw a fellow black-clad guard lying at his feet, clutching his throat, dead.
The deck was soaked with blood and littered with corpses.
The Celestial Dragon's cabin had been specially reinforced to block out all sound.
If not for the overwhelming stench of blood that leaked in through the cracks, the bodyguard wouldn't have noticed a thing.
"Oh? You found me already?" Luffy said cheerfully.
No wonder he was happy.
After sneaking out of the storage room, Luffy had first infiltrated the sailors' quarters, ensuring all the resting crew would never wake again.
Then he systematically hunted down the conscious ones, slaughtering them one by one.
The black-suits finally noticed, but they were no match for him.
Even the few strong ones were overwhelmed by Luffy's relentless blows.
After nearly wiping out the entire crew, Luffy's long-stagnant level finally rose.
He poured all his stat points into Strength.
Then came the moment he'd been waiting for:
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. Strength and Stamina requirements met. Armament Haki awakened.]
[Armament Haki]: Consumes a small amount of stamina to concentrate blood force onto the surface of the body or weapon, forming black hardened matter.
Increases Attack = Strength ÷ 2 and Defense = Stamina ÷ 2.
With Armament Haki active, Luffy tore through his enemies with even greater ease.
He had planned to leave the strongest one for last, but it turned out that one had come to him.
The black-suited guard eyed Luffy warily, sensing something ominous.
"Who are you?! Don't you realize this is a Celestial Dragon's ship?!"
"Oh, you don't need to know that."
Without another word, Luffy lunged, Armament-coated fist striking first.
Clang!
A sound like metal rang out.
The bodyguard had also used Armament Haki to block.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fist met fist, hundreds of times in seconds.
Both fighters eventually stepped back, evenly matched.
The ship had already been ripped to shreds by their overwhelming power.
Under the moonlight, waves crashed against the ruined vessel.
Luffy was slightly surprised.
After killing so many guards, he had assumed there was no one truly strong on board.
"Looks like this one might actually be tough."
Though Luffy had just awakened his Haki, he wasn't arrogant enough to believe he had more experience than his opponent.
Still, from their brief exchange, he sensed the man's attack power wasn't much higher than his.
Thoughts flashed through Luffy's mind, then he attacked again, this time aiming straight for the man's head.
The black-suit crossed his arms and blocked, stepping back.
Luffy, airborne, was momentarily stalled.
The man seized his chance, ramming a knee into Luffy's stomach.
Over 1,000 HP gone in an instant.
But Luffy didn't flinch from the pain.
He clung to the man's leg and dropped down, avoiding being kicked away.
Their eyes met.
Luffy's gaze sharpened.
Conqueror's Haki erupted, full force, aimed directly at the man.
The world fell silent.
The black-suit staggered, his mind briefly blacking out.
Luffy took the chance, no fancy moves, just one solid punch.
Straight to the groin.
The guard's eyes rolled back.
Out cold.
Luffy didn't hesitate.
While his foe lay helpless, he struck again, this time at the throat.
CRACK!
The man's body was sent flying, crashing into the ship's wall.
"C-Conqueror's… Haki…" He spat blood and died.
[Ding! Host has slain a Celestial Dragon's bodyguard. +10,500 EXP, +8,000 gold.]
[Ding! Level up! Current Level: 22.]
[Ding! Strength and Agility requirements met. Observation Haki unlocked.]
[Observation Haki]:
Greatly enhances perception of nearby presences.
Sense enemies beyond sight, or anticipate their movements.
Detection radius: Stamina × 10 meters.
Detection strength scales with Agility.
"Hahahahaha!"
Under the pale moonlight, Luffy stood on the deck, laughing wildly.
"Where the hell is everyone?! Someone bring me food!" shouted Saint Jalmack as he stepped out of his cabin.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
A few days later, the world was shaken by a headline from the News Coo.
"Celestial Dragon Saint Jalmack Slain by Unknown Pirate."
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