Mt. Colubo, a paradise for beasts.
"Let go of me, you bastard old man! I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"
A little brat in a straw hat was being dragged up the mountain trail like a sack of potatoes by the Marine Hero, Garp. His legs flailed in midair, and his yelling sent the birds in the forest scattering in every direction.
"Shut it!" Garp slammed a huge hand onto Luffy's head, pressing down so hard the kid looked a whole head shorter. "From today on, this is your new home! Train properly and become the strongest Marine!"
That damned Kael. It was all that guy's poisonous influence that made Dragon become a Revolutionary. Next time I see him, I'm gonna beat him senseless!
Outside the mountain bandit Dadan's cabin, Garp tossed Luffy onto the ground and bellowed into the house, "Dadan! I brought you another headache!"
A heavyset woman with a cigarette in her mouth stormed out, fury written all over her face. "Garp! I'm a bandit! Do you think this place is a daycare?!"
"This is my grandson. Take good care of him!" Garp picked his nose, completely shameless.
Ignoring Dadan's protests, Garp delivered one iron-fisted punch full of "love" to the still-struggling Luffy. Then he laughed loudly and sauntered back down the mountain, looking ridiculously pleased with himself.
Inside the cabin, a black-haired boy was wiping down a steel pipe. His face was sprinkled with freckles, and his smile was bright as sunshine.
Ace.
He often stayed at Dadan's place so it was easier to sneak out on adventures.
"Hey! I'm Luffy! Let's be friends!" Luffy shuffled over without a hint of self-awareness, a huge bump on his head and all.
Ace didn't even look up. Even though his mother Rouge often worried that he had no kids his age to hang out with in the village, Ace had zero interest in this straw-hat idiot who looked stupid as a brick.
"Hah?"
Luffy clearly didn't have the word "give up" in his dictionary.
From that day on, Mt. Colubo hosted a chase that lasted for months.
Luffy was like gum you couldn't peel off. No matter how Ace rejected him, threatened him, or set traps, Luffy always came back the next day, battered and bruised, still shouting the same words.
"Let's be friends!"
Until one day, by sheer accident, Luffy barged into the world's trash heap, the Gray Terminal, and stumbled onto Ace's secret with another blond-haired boy named Sabo.
They were counting the treasure they'd scavenged from all over, stockpiling it for the day they would finally set sail.
And trouble came with it.
The Bluejam Pirates, who ruled that place, caught them. The pirates demanded Luffy tell them where the treasure was.
Luffy was beaten until his whole body was a mess, but he clenched his teeth and refused to say a single word.
There was only one thought in his head.
If I talk, I'll never be able to be friends with Ace.
That night, when Ace and Sabo arrived, what they saw was Luffy hanging there, barely alive.
"Why… won't you tell them?" Ace's voice trembled, a shake even he didn't realize was there.
"Because…" Luffy bared his teeth. Blood and mud mixed across his face, yet his grin was so clean it almost hurt to look at. "I don't want to be alone anymore… Being alone… hurts more than getting beaten!"
Something slammed hard into Ace's chest.
That night, the paths of three boys finally collided for good.
They built a secret base deep in the forest. They hunted massive wild boars together. They bathed in the river together. They shared whatever they managed to catch.
Dadan's cabin felt more like a place to crash and recover.
The flower shop in the village felt more like the harbor they returned to after an adventure.
Rouge had plenty to say about three bear-cubs constantly running into dangerous mountains, but she always quietly mended their torn clothes when they came back covered in dirt.
When they returned injured, she would pull out the medicine kit, scolding them with her mouth while her hands treated them with the gentlest care.
In front of her, Ace would tuck away all his thorns and become a sunny, kind, ordinary kid.
And Garp's "Fist of Love" would drop by on a regular schedule, leaving fresh lumps on all three heads.
"You three are gonna become the strongest Marines someday!"
"I'm not!" Luffy clutched his head and shouted the loudest. "I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"
"What did you say?!" Garp's fist came down again.
"Ace, what about you?" Garp turned to the silent boy.
Ace didn't answer. He only lowered his head and clenched his fists.
That night, in their secret base, the only sound was the crackling of the campfire.
"I hate that bastard father I've never even met," Ace said quietly to the flames. It sounded like he was talking to Sabo, but it also sounded like he was talking to himself. "Mama says he was a free man… But to me, he was just irresponsible."
"Leaving Mama all alone… A father like that… I'll never acknowledge him."
"So I want to become a Marine." His voice was soft, but the resolve inside it was sharp. "The complete opposite of him."
Sabo watched him in silence, then glanced at Luffy beside them, already asleep with drool at the corner of his mouth.
One wanted to become the Pirate King. One wanted to become a Marine. And Sabo himself wanted to escape the prison called "nobility" and seize real freedom.
Their dreams pointed in totally different directions, yet they all met at the same destination.
Setting sail.
"Hey. Let's become sworn brothers!" Sabo suddenly said. "That way, no matter where we go in the future, no matter what we become, we'll still be brothers!"
Somehow, he produced a bottle of stolen booze and three bowls.
"As long as we drink this, we're brothers!"
Luffy snapped awake instantly, practically vibrating. "Brothers! Yeah!"
Ace looked at the two of them, and a smile finally rose on his face, genuine and unguarded.
He lifted the bottle and poured seriously into all three bowls.
"No matter what happens."
"No matter where we are."
"This bond will never change!"
"From today on, we're brothers!"
The three small cups clinked together with a crisp sound.
They raised their heads, ready to down the booze in one gulp.
And then a gentle but absolutely unyielding hand pressed down on all three of their heads.
"Oh dear. Stealing grown-ups' alcohol isn't something good kids should do."
A warm woman's voice sounded above them.
The three boys froze, then slowly looked up.
A woman with soft features and long pink hair that reached her waist was smiling down at them.
It was Rouge, who had come from Foosha Village to visit Ace.
Now she went by "Luna."
"L-Luna Auntie!" Luffy yelped so hard he dropped his bowl.
Ace's face went bright red, eyes darting away. "Mama, we… we were just…"
"Just becoming sworn brothers, right?" Rouge's smile stayed gentle, but her words made cold sweat prickle down their backs. "Swearing brotherhood is a good thing. Stealing alcohol is a different thing entirely."
The next second, three ears were twisted at once.
"Mama!"
"Ow ow ow! Luna Auntie, I'm sorry!"
"My ear's gonna rip off! It's gonna stretch, aaah!"
Across Mt. Colubo, three future troublemakers who would one day shake the world filled the air with lively screams.
"Come on," Rouge said, already turning toward the cabin down the mountain. "Dinner's going to get cold. I made your favorite roasted meat at your Aunt Dadan's."
Moonlight stretched her shadow long across the ground.
Ace, Sabo, and Luffy looked at one another, all equally miserable, and then they started laughing at the same time.
They abandoned the bottle they'd placed so much hope in, rubbed their burning ears, and chased after that gentle figure as she walked away.
"Wait for us!"
"Meat! My meat!"
"Mama! Slow down!"
Through the forest, three small figures ran close behind Rouge. Under the moonlight, their shadows overlapped and stretched, as if they had already become one.
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