"Well, as for me! I'm going to become the King of the Pirates! I'll get the great treasure, buy the whole world, and throw a worldwide banquet!"
"I'm going to make sure everyone in the world has meat to eat, and that everyone gets along!"
"And ideally, there won't be any annoying bandits around!"
"Hmm... Dadan and her bunch are okay, though!"
"Huh?"
"What did you think you were going to say?"
"You really are interesting, Luffy!"
Ace and Sabo were shocked but also found it funny. They still couldn't believe Luffy had such a grand dream—to buy the whole world!
Throw a worldwide banquet?
In the end, all he thinks about is eating!
Bai Yun was also stunned.
Luffy's dream... one could only say, 'That's so him!' It perfectly matched his personality, especially for a simple, 7-year-old kid.
"Hahahaha!!"
"I have to say, that's definitely you, Luffy. Your wish is truly wonderful!"
Bai Yun was laughing happily. It was natural that Luffy was loved by so many people.
"What about you, Bai Yun?"
Of the four, after Luffy, only Bai Yun remained.
Seeing Bai Yun smiling so happily and supporting his dream, Luffy asked what Bai Yun's dream was.
"Me?"
Stopping his laughter, Bai Yun felt lost inside. He didn't know why fate had thrown him into the world of pirates.
An ideal?
Go down to the docks and get some fries?
Luffy's dream sounded innocent, but it meant making sure everyone in the world got along, had meat to eat, and had freedom.
He currently didn't know about the existence of the Celestial Dragons.
If you looked at his ideal from another perspective, it was a blatant declaration of war against the World Government, against the Celestial Dragons, and against Im!!
In essence, wasn't this the same as the ideal of his father, Dragon, and the Revolutionary Army?
This led to the conclusion that Luffy's dream was to overthrow the World Government and establish a new world.
Even though he himself didn't realize the full meaning of it.
What an incredibly difficult thing to achieve.
"Me? Like you, Sabo, I also want to see this vast world."
"Plus... I want to help Luffy become the King of the Pirates! I also want to feast at that worldwide banquet. I'm already looking forward to it."
Bai Yun didn't shout it out with the same heroic ambition; he just stated it plainly.
He recalled his previous life, where his stomach never went a day without 'beating drums' (rumbling from hunger).
Making sure everyone in the world had meat to eat.
Just based on that sentence, Bai Yun was certain he would sail with Luffy in the future... Four youths—no, not youths yet, just four little brats—declared their ideals to the sea from the cliff edge.
Whether these four would stir up massive waves on the sea in the future was a story for another time... "Hey!"
Bai Yun had stated his intention to sail on Luffy's ship later.
Ace and Sabo were disappointed and immediately started trying to poach him.
"Luffy is so weak! Come aboard my ship instead, Bai Yun!"
"Bai Yun, I want to see the world just like you do. You should come aboard my ship!"
Luffy immediately stepped in front of Bai Yun.
"No way! You can't change your mind once you've agreed!"
"I may be weak now, but I'll definitely get stronger later—the strongest!"
"I will definitely achieve my dream!!!"
Ace and Sabo naturally disagreed; who wouldn't want a (chef) companion!
Bai Yun felt a little flattered watching the three of them argue over him.
"Hahaha, why don't the big brothers let the little brother have his way, Ace, Sabo?"
"Don't forget, Luffy and I are the same age. You two will definitely set sail first."
"I have a weak constitution, and Luffy is the youngest. It's best if the two of us look out for each other."
"You two are the big brothers, right? Brother Ace, Brother Sabo."
Hearing the word 'brother,' Ace and Sabo stopped arguing.
They puffed out their chests; big brothers needed to act like big brothers.
"That's true, haha."
Sabo replied.
When Ace heard the word 'brother,' it seemed to remind him of something. He ran behind a tree and brought out four bowls and a bottle of sake.
"Do you guys know?"
"The legendary pirate ritual—the Brotherhood Sake."
"If we drink this cup of sake, we'll become brothers!"
Ace poured the sake into the bowls as he spoke.
"Brothers? Really?"
Clearly, Luffy was interested in becoming brothers and was happy about it.
"We might not be crewmates on the same ship when we become pirates! But between us, we'll be 'brothers'!"
"No matter where we are or what we do! This bond can never be broken!"
Ace continued speaking, while Bai Yun looked at the four bowls of sake.
Brothers?
Although he had transmigrated, the person from that previous world was already dead once he arrived here. He was alone anyway; that life was now the 'past life.'
In his past life, he had always been alone.
Now!
He had three more brothers.
"That's not bad at all."
Bai Yun smiled and whispered softly, then joined the other three in picking up a bowl.
"In that case!"
"From today onward, we are brothers!!!"
The four raised their bowls, toasted, and drank the sake in one gulp.
Bai Yun thought, in ancient times there was Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei swearing brotherhood in the Peach Garden; now there were the four of them... swearing brotherhood by the cliff!
...
A/N: The journey continues! If you're eager to read far ahead and support this story, consider joining the Eternal Phoenix community. You can find me on Patreon by searching for "Eternal_Phoenix".
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