Several months later.
East Blue — Goa Kingdom border.Behind Windmill Village, deep in the forested hills.Near the edge of a cliff, in a small clearing swallowed by dense jungle—
Three boys, still young, sat side by side at the very edge of the high precipice. Their legs dangled freely as they gazed out at the boundless blue sea stretching to the horizon.
They were Monkey D. Luffy, Portgas D. Ace, and the later addition—Sabo, a noble-born boy who longed for freedom.
At first, Ace had been extremely annoyed by this kid Garp had forcibly shoved onto him—this self-proclaimed "little brother" named Luffy.
In Ace's eyes, Luffy was a crybaby, a walking disaster who'd eaten the Gum-Gum Fruit by accident, and a sticky, clingy nuisance who followed him everywhere.
But at some point—no one could say exactly when—
Maybe it was when they fought off ferocious beasts in the forest together.
Maybe it was when they were chased and beaten half to death by the bandit Dadan.
Or maybe it was simply because of Luffy's indestructible, impossible-to-shake, idiotically bright smile—
Ace gradually grew used to having this rubber-brained little brother by his side.
And with Sabo—who also desperately wanted to escape the suffocating cage of nobility—
The three boys, wildly different in personality yet perfectly aligned in spirit, shared a life-and-death ordeal together.
Afterward, they drank sake and swore brotherhood, officially becoming brothers.
Now, facing the vast ocean before them, they shouted their dreams toward the sky.
Sabo jumped to his feet first, planting his hands on his hips and facing the sea breeze. His voice rang out, full of longing and excitement.
"I'm going to make tons and tons of money! Then I'll buy the best ship there is!"
"I'll become a free pirate—one who's bound by nothing—and sail to every corner of the world!"
Almost immediately after—
Luffy and Ace sprang up from the ground at nearly the same time.
Both thrust their arms toward the sea, pouring every ounce of strength into their voices as they roared in perfect unison:
"I'M GOING TO BECOME THE PIRATE KING!!!"
The two voices overlapped, echoing endlessly between the cliffs.
Sabo, who had been fully immersed in his dream of becoming a "free pirate," froze on the spot.
He whipped his head around, eyes wide, staring in disbelief at the two brothers who were now glaring at each other like fighting roosters. His voice shot up in panic.
"W-Wait! Hold on!"
"You two… both want to be Pirate King?!"
"There's only one Pirate King!"
"Obviously I'm the one who'll be Pirate King!" Ace snapped back first.
He reached out and grabbed Luffy's absurdly elastic cheeks, yanking them hard to either side. His tone carried the "authority" of an older brother—and undisguised disdain.
"And this idiot, who can't do anything except stretch and shrink—why would he get to be Pirate King?!"
"Ughhh—mmphhh—! I'M GONNA BE IT!"Luffy's face was stretched flat like dough, his words slurred and unclear—but his eyes were unwavering, blazing with stubborn determination.
He even tried to counterattack with his rubber arms, only for Ace to dodge easily. Ace then grabbed Luffy's arm instead—
Swung him around in the air like a giant rubber band—
And slammed him into the ground with a loud wham, where Luffy bounced a few times like a ball.
"See that?" Ace crossed his arms smugly, looking down at the tangled heap that was Luffy."You can't even beat me, and you think you can be Pirate King? Keep dreaming!"
"Damn it! Just you wait, Ace!" Luffy scrambled back to his feet, shouting furiously."I'll get stronger than you someday—and I'll become Pirate King!"
He flailed wildly with his rubber fists, completely uncoordinated, only to be effortlessly toyed with by Ace again.
Sabo watched the two of them—now arguing, now outright fighting over the title of "Pirate King"—and rubbed his forehead helplessly.
Just as he was about to step in to stop his two brothers—who were red-faced with argument and had escalated straight into physical "communication"—
A low male voice, carrying a faint hint of amusement, suddenly spoke from extremely close behind him, without any warning at all.
"Pirate King… is it really that tempting?"
"—Huh?!"The voice, practically brushing his ear, made Sabo jolt violently.
He hadn't sensed anyone behind him at all.
Startled, he instinctively lunged forward—but his foot caught on a stone.
"Thump!"
He pitched forward and hit the ground hard, face-first.
But Sabo reacted quickly.
Almost the instant he hit the ground, he rolled and sprang halfway up, already crouched. The metal pipe he always carried was in his hands with a sharp whoosh, its tip leveled straight at the man who had somehow appeared behind him—
A man who was still calmly holding a half-crouched position.
"Y-You… who are you?!" Sabo demanded. "When did you get here?!"
The commotion instantly alerted Ace and Luffy, who were still "sparring."
They stopped at once.
Ace dashed forward, positioning himself protectively in front of Sabo.
Luffy followed, his face still marked from the beating he'd just taken, but his body tensed all the same. He lined up beside Ace and Sabo.
The three boys stood shoulder to shoulder, staring down the intruder as if facing a mortal enemy.
The man wore a simple black shirt, the collar casually open, paired with loose white trousers.
He remained in a relaxed half-crouch. A long black sword hung at his waist, wrapped in white bandages and shaped in an unusual, almost archaic design.
His face was handsome, his features sharp and defined. A faint, unreadable smile curved at the corner of his mouth.
Gern Reginald Sigmar looked at the three boys who had instantly shifted into combat mode, their eyes sharp with vigilance.
His smile deepened slightly.
He casually pointed at himself with his thumb and said in an easygoing tone,
"Me? I'm your gramps'—I mean, your grandfather's—friend."
"An old man's friend?" Ace frowned, not relaxing his guard in the slightest.
"Garp's friend? Then you're a Marine too?""That doesn't feel right…"
He subconsciously shifted, shielding Luffy a bit more behind him.
Sabo tightened his grip on the pipe, clearly unconvinced.
Only Luffy tilted his head, leaning closer to study Gern with wide, curious eyes. With his usual innocent bluntness, he asked:
"Eh? You're Grandpa's friend?""Someone like Grandpa actually has friends?"
Gern burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! You're not wrong—Garp really doesn't look like the kind of guy who has friends."
"But…" His gaze swept over the three boys, lingering for an extra moment on Ace and Luffy.
"Me and him—we're… a special kind of 'friends.'"