Three months had passed since hell training began.
My body had changed dramatically—though still the body of a three-year-old, muscles were beginning to form. Not large like an adult's, but clearly tighter and stronger than any child my age. Stamina had improved tremendously too—five laps of morning running now felt like a warm-up.
Sabo had developed remarkably as well. He sometimes even outperformed me in physical training—his energy seemed completely inexhaustible.
"ACE! SABO! TODAY WE START ARMAMENT HAKI!" Yamamoto shouted from outside the hideout.
We immediately leapt from our beds—waking before sunrise had already become second nature.
At the training area, Yamamoto stood with a thick wooden staff in hand.
"You're both decent enough with basic Observation Haki—able to sense presence within a five-meter radius. That's good for beginners. Now it's time for Armament."
He tossed two wooden staves at us. Sabo and I caught them with reflexes that had been sharpened over months of training.
"Armament Haki is a shield. Also a weapon. It can make your body as hard as steel, and it can make your attacks pierce a Devil Fruit user's defenses." Yamamoto explained while striking the staff in his hand against a tree.
CRACK!
The tree split from within.
"With Armament, an ordinary piece of wood becomes a lethal weapon. With Armament, bare hands can shatter boulders. Understood?"
We nodded seriously.
"But mastering it is far more difficult than Observation. It requires a far higher level of control and focus. First—you need to FEEL the energy inside your own body."
"Energy?" Sabo asked in confusion.
"Yes. Every living creature has spiritual energy within them. Haki is the manifestation of that energy. Now sit. Close your eyes. Feel your blood flowing. Feel your heartbeat. Feel your breath. And search for something deeper than all of that."
We sat cross-legged. Closed our eyes.
I focused according to the instructions. Feel the blood flowing—check. Heartbeat—check. Breath—check. And then... search for something deeper.
At first there was nothing. Only ordinary physical sensations.
But slowly—very slowly—I felt something. Like a current of warm water running beneath my skin. Invisible but FELT.
"I... sense something..." I whispered.
"Good. That is your spiritual energy. Now try to draw that energy into your hands. Imagine it flowing from your chest to your arms, to your hands."
I tried. Imagined that warm energy flowing. From the chest... to the shoulders... to the arms... to the—
HEAT!
My hands suddenly felt intensely hot. I opened my eyes and saw—my right hand had ignited with small flames.
"Eh?! That's not Haki! That's the Devil Fruit!" I panicked and extinguished the fire.
Yamamoto laughed. "Understandable. The Devil Fruit and Haki share the same source of energy—the user's will. You need to learn to separate the two. Try again. This time don't imagine fire. Imagine a SHIELD. Imagine an invisible layer of steel."
I tried again. More carefully this time. Energy flowing but I imagined not fire—but a shield. A hard layer coating the surface of my hand.
Slowly, my hand changed color—darkening. As if coated by something.
"YOU DID IT! Look, Yamamoto-san! Ace did it!" Sabo shouted excitedly.
Yamamoto stared at my hand with widened eyes. "So quickly... normally it takes months before the first manifestation of Armament..."
But that dark coating only held for three seconds before vanishing. My hand returned to normal and I immediately felt drained—energy completely depleted.
"But... only for a moment..." I panted.
"That is already extraordinary. You've only been training for three months and you can already manifest it—even if just for a second. You have natural talent, Ace."
Not natural talent. This was the body of Portgas D. Ace—the son of the King of Pirates. The genetics were simply exceptional.
"Now it's Sabo's turn. You try too."
Sabo tried with deep concentration. Sweating, trembling, completely focused. But no change appeared in his hands.
"Don't force it. Everyone progresses at their own pace. Keep trying every day. One day you'll get there."
Sabo nodded, though looking a little disappointed.
Training continued until midday. I attempted Armament manifestation several more times—sometimes holding it for a second or two, sometimes failing entirely. Each successful attempt drained my energy dramatically.
"Enough for today. Rest. We continue tomorrow."
But rest didn't last long.
That afternoon, while we were playing with Luffy in front of the hideout, a commotion erupted from the direction of the forest.
"DADAN-SAN! OTHER BANDITS ARE ENTERING OUR TERRITORY!"
Dadan's underlings scattered in panic. Dadan came out with a grave expression.
"Other bandits? Who?"
"The Bluejam Pirates! They came with a lot of people!"
Dadan's face drained of color. "Bluejam... damn... why is that bastard coming here?!"
Bluejam. A familiar name. A low-ranking but ruthless pirate captain who operated in Gray Terminal—the massive rubbish heap on the outskirts of the Goa Kingdom.
In the original timeline, Bluejam was the one who burned down Gray Terminal on the orders of the nobles. He was also the one who nearly killed Ace and Sabo when they were young.
"How many?" Dadan asked in a wary tone.
"About twenty. Fully armed."
Dadan bit her lip. Her own crew was only ten. Badly outnumbered.
"Hide the children. Especially Ace, Sabo, and Luffy. Don't let them be seen."
"NO!" I suddenly shouted. "I'm coming with you!"
"HAH?! Are you insane?! You're still a child!"
"I've been training for three months! I can fight!"
"ACE! This isn't training! These are real pirates who will kill you without a second thought!"
"If I hide now, when will I ever be able to protect the people I love?!" I looked at Dadan with unwavering eyes. "I don't want to be a burden! I want to be a strength!"
Dadan went silent. Stared at me for a long moment.
"I'm coming too!" Sabo stood beside me. "We're brothers! We fight together!"
"You two... you stubborn kids..." Dadan let out a long sigh. Then fixed us with a serious stare. "Fine. But you don't leave my side. Understood?!"
"UNDERSTOOD!"
Yamamoto appeared with a sword at his hip. "I'll go too. Twenty low-ranking pirates are no problem."
"Thank you, Yamamoto."
We moved toward the source of the commotion. The sound of shouting and rough laughter grew clearer with every step.
In an open clearing, twenty armed men—swords, axes, pistols—stood with arrogant postures. Among them, a tall man with a blue hat and a scarred face.
Bluejam.
"Dadan! It's been a while!" he grinned broadly. "Nice territory you've got here! Plenty of hunting grounds! Starting today, this is ours!"
"In your dreams, Bluejam! This has been our territory forever!" Dadan shouted back.
"Oh yeah? Want a war? Look at our numbers. Look at yours. The outcome is obvious."
Dadan's underlings looked frightened—understandably so. They were outnumbered and outgunned.
"Unless..." Bluejam's eyes swept over us with a hungry look. "You hand over your plunder from this month. And... those two kids."
He pointed at me and Sabo.
"Pretty-looking kids fetch a good price at the slave market. Nice little bonus income."
Rage exploded in my chest. The slave market. Human trafficking. One of the most revolting things in the world of One Piece.
"Not a chance!" Dadan stepped forward, shielding us.
"What a shame. In that case..." Bluejam raised his hand. "ATTACK! KILL EVERYONE EXCEPT THE TWO KIDS!"
Twenty pirates charged with a battle cry.
"HOLD THE LINE!" Dadan roared.
The fight erupted.
Yamamoto moved first—his sword flashing, cutting down three pirates at once in a single motion. Dadan's underlings fought desperately alongside him.
"Ace! Sabo! Stay behind—"
"WATCH OUT!" I shouted, spotting a pirate with an axe charging at Dadan's side blind spot.
Without thinking, I ran. Energy surged into my hands. Fire ignited—
No! Not fire! ARMAMENT!
My hand darkened for a split second before I slammed it into the pirate's leg.
WHAM!
He was sent flying—leg snapped from the impact.
"A-ACE?!" Dadan stared at me in shock. "You just—"
"DADAN-SAN! BEHIND YOU!" Sabo shouted while smashing another pirate with his iron staff.
The battle descended into chaos. Shouting, blood, and mayhem everywhere.
I fought on instinct—dodging, striking, occasionally igniting small flames to startle enemies. My Armament Haki was still unstable—appearing for a second then disappearing—but enough to catch opponents off guard.
"DAMN BRAT!" a large pirate swung his sword down at me.
I dodged—reflex drilled into me by three months of training—and countered with a fireball straight at his face.
"GYAAAA! IT BURNS!"
He dropped with his face scorched.
"A Devil Fruit?! This kid has a Devil Fruit?!" other pirates panicked.
"SURROUND HIM! DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!"
Five pirates closed in around me with weapons raised.
Damn. Cornered.
"ACE!" Sabo tried to reach me but was blocked by two pirates.
"Give it up, kid. You've got nowhere to run," one of them snarled.
I looked around. Searching for an opening. But they were packed tight. No room to escape.
Alright. If I can't run...
FIGHT BACK!
I drew a deep breath. Focus. Energy surged through my entire body. Fire blazed in both hands—larger than usual.
"HIKEN!" I shouted—mimicking Ace's signature technique—and hurled two large fireballs straight at them.
BOOM!
A small explosion. Thick smoke. Screams of pain.
When the smoke thinned, three of the five pirates were sprawled on the ground with burn wounds. The remaining two stumbled backward in terror.
"A monster... this kid is a monster..."
I was panting hard. Energy nearly gone. But I couldn't show weakness.
"Who's next?!" I shouted in a voice far louder than I felt.
They retreated. Afraid.
On the other side of the clearing, Yamamoto had already taken down ten men on his own. Dadan and her crew were fighting with everything they had.
Bluejam surveyed the situation with a darkening expression.
"You're stronger than I expected... especially that Devil Fruit brat..." he looked at me with dangerous eyes. "But this isn't over. We'll be back. With far more men. And when that day comes... you all die."
He let out a sharp whistle. The surviving pirates immediately fled—carrying their wounded with them.
Within minutes, they had vanished between the trees.
Silence.
Then Dadan collapsed to her knees. Breathing a long sigh of relief.
"They're... gone..."
"For now," Yamamoto said gravely. "But Bluejam isn't the type to forget a grudge. He'll come back."
I stared at the direction they had fled. This was my first real battle. A genuine fight with lives on the line.
And I had won.
But this was only the beginning.
A far greater storm was coming.
And I had to be ready.
The flame of destiny blazed brighter.
There was no turning back.
TO BE CONTINUED