The two brothers stood on opposite ends and each one was equipped with an iron staff. They had no other weapons or powers, because this was a match to see who would be the last one standing.

The blond grinned as he gotten into an attack position. His tongue stuck out where he was missing a tooth. His goggles glinted in the sunlight. The iron staff was cold compared to his heated body. "This time I'm not going easy on you."

"That's what you always say," the black haired boy snickered. He took the staff in both of his hands. A bandage was taped onto the bridge of his nose. His foot shifted into the dirt as he braced himself for this brawl.

Unlike other fights, this one had a prize that they both sought for; neither wanted to lose and rather fight for it.

They have been training for this fight for weeks; each went on their own training paths and kept it hidden from the other.

Even Magra and Dogra couldn't help themselves from coming to see the outcome. They hid behind the trees while staring intensely at the brothers. Neither knew who would win in this match, they could only guess. "Five on Sabo," Dogra mumbled.

"Now, now, now," Magra started, "We shouldn't be betting on them."

"Ten on Ace," Dadan uttered from another tree. The two followers turned to see their leader hiding farther away from the match with a cigar in between her lips.

"Boss!" the two of them gasped.

"Quite, you morons!" she snapped back. The ash from her cigar fell onto the ground. "I only came here to see the punks get their medicine! Nothing else!"

"Same here," Dogra lied, while Magra nodded his rooster head with the small guy. In truth, they all wanted to see who would win in the end.

Even though they tried to keep hidden the duo already knew of their presence, which only boasted their egos even more. A piece of straw in Sabo's mouth jiggled as he smirked at the hidden trio. He felt bad for Dadan who was going to lose her money in the end. He wasn't going to let Ace win this battle, not this time.

This wasn't a training battle. Not even one over a quarrel the two had.

It was to see who would be the captain of their ship.

"One," Sabo started the countdown. His shoe shifted into the dirt. Trees surrounded them and the sunlight shined through the branches.

"Two."

Sabo took a breath, "Three!" He charged for it.

Ace's eyes widen as he jumped out of the way, "You were suppose to say Go!"

"Go," the blonde grinned as he swiped the ground with his staff. The boy did a handstand and jumped out of the way before the iron could touch him; this was what he's been training for. He knew of Sabo's moves, and Sabo knew of his moves. They had to give it their all to win this match.

"Come on, Sabo," Dogra mumbled as he watched the match.

Ace finally gotten back onto his feet while his opponent was hidden in a gust of dirt. The black haired boy attacked the gust without getting too close. "See if you can dodge this!"

After several attempts, his staff finally contacted his opponent. Once the dust cleared, Ace grunted in irritation. His staff only impacted the blonde's staff.

"Maybe it will end in a tie?" Magra suggested as he scratched his head.

"Shut it," his leader snapped. "They've been training too hard for a tie!"

Dogra and Magra glanced at each other before staring at their leader. She barely noticed their gazes as she watched the battle intensely. By now, Ace took a step away and stroke Sabo's side; who took the chance to slam his staff against Ace's thigh.

The strawhat wearer, Ace, stood on one leg as a grunt escaped his lips. His eyes narrowed as Sabo tried attacking once more. Their staffs clashed and it rang throughout the clearing. "When I win, you're becoming my navigator!"

Sabo snickered, "When I kick your ass, you're becoming my cabin boy!"

Or firstmate, the blonde hasn't decided yet.

The mountain bandits raised their eyebrows at Sabo's declaration, but then they understood. Any other jobs for Ace would only lead to destruction. Helmsman, he would crash the ship. Gunner, friendly fire. Navigator, guide the ship into a whirlpool. Doctor, let's not get started on that.

The battle raged on.

For five days with no break.

Even by now, their fight was old news to the mountain bandits; who retired a few hours after the fight started.

Ace stood in the clearing with his fist into the air. "Looks like you lost, Sabo! Dogra!" He grinned with delight until he noticed he was the only one there. He glanced at the trees where the bandits were hiding at the start, but they were nowhere to be seen. His head dropped down as a grunt escaped his lips.

The blond boy lay down on the ground; knocked out. He had patches covering him head to toe, as did Ace, from their brawl.

"Can't even rub it in your face..." he scratched the back of his head.

...

"She isn't watching us off?" Sabo wondered out loud. The two brothers stood in their small ship. Ace was waving at those who came to see him off, Makino, the mayor, Dogra, Magra and a few other bandits. Dadan was nowhere to be seen.

The breeze shifted along the waves. Leaves sparkled down from the trees onto the ground; some of them lay on top of the Mayor's hat.

"She got her money," Ace gave a small shrug.

"Dogra, Magra," Sabo called out, "Give her a message for us, alright?"

They nodded.

Ace glanced over at his brother and grinned. The two said in unison, "'Thanks for taking care of us'!"

Magra nodded with tear-filled eyes as he listened to each word. He repeated the words inside of his mind over and over; hoping he wouldn't forget any when he gives his boss the heartfelt message.

"She's still a man among men!" Sabo grinned. He repeated the first thing he said to the mountain bandit on their meeting several years ago. Dogra stood there with his jaw on the ground as she stared at the blonde seventeen year old.

The rope, which tied their ship to the island, was untied as their ship drifted along the waves. The wind pressed on their single sail and sent the ship along the waves. Each one of them was waving goodbye to their good friends, "Bye everyone!"

"Don't catch a cold!" Makino stated as she waved her cloth.

"Pirates..." Woopslap uttered under his breath. He could only imagine Garp's reaction, even though the boys were going to become pirates anyways. And then there was their last sibling.

The new captain of the ship sat back and tilted his strawhat over his eyes, "Lu...watch over us."

The navigator patted Ace's hat.

"What was that for?"

"For good luck," Sabo grinned, and added "Captain" as if to mock him. Ace copied the action back on the other boy, which caused the blonde to narrow his eyes. "For real?"

He nodded with a smile. "Course, cause I'm Captain! Captain of the Spade Pirates!"

Sabo shove the strawhat over Ace's face and snickered as he took a step back to look at the display, "Still say we should have used AS."

Ace took Sabo's tophat, "Ass?"

He kept it away from Sabo's reach as the boy tried to grab it back from him. "You know that's not what I meant!"

And the two started fighting once again.

This was only the beginning of the Spade Pirates.

TBC

For those who read my Marine Girl then you already know what's going to happen. This is a...prequel focusing on Ace's journey. Ace has a slight temper, while Sabo likes to annoy him.