As tempting as it was to search the entire island for the 'treasure of the beast' his stomach disagreed and so he found himself looking for a place to feast, but since everyone seemed to be readying for the Kemono no Enkai no one was open. Ace's stomach grumbled impatiently as he walked down the bustling streets of Touda. Finally deciding to ask a passerby to spare food their conversation was interrupted by a commotion near the border that separated the jungle from the community. Curious, Ace thanked the man for his time and excused himself heading towards the crowd of people.

"The Beast! The Beast is hundred feet tall and has teeth sharper than a sea king's! It has wings as white as the moon and the head of a wolf!"

When he finally broke his way through the people he saw a boy, out of breath and no older than ten, who seemed to be telling tall tales of the Beast. About to leave Ace was suddenly stopped by a question he also wanted the answer to.

"How would ye know all this child? The Beast is long dead and there has been no record of what it looks like?"

Everyone nodded and voiced their agreement. The boy's eyes became wide in wonder,

"I know because I've seen it! It's in the jungle right now!"

Voices of disapproval and booing began.

"How dare ye make up such stories of our savior not slaying the Beast!"

"Your just a boy!"

"Go back to your mum Ame!"

With a couple more insults thrown at the boy the crowd dissipated and all that was left was the boy and Ace. The boy, Ame, sniffled then angrily kicked at the ground. 'No one believes me! But I know what I saw, and it was the Beast!' He started towards home but was stopped by a voice.

"So, where'd you see this 'beast' kid?"

Ame turned around to see a man with a yellow unbuttoned shirt, shorts, and heavy boots. And to top it all off he wore a hideously orange cowboy hat. With wide eyes the boy immediately began yelling out,

"PERVERT! HE HAS NO SHAME!"

"OI! WAIT! BRAT!"

After chasing the brat around town, catching him, and finally calming him down enough to explain he meant no harm and was NOT a pervert Ace encouraged him to talk about the Beast he saw in the jungle which in turn made the boy ecstatic that someone wanted to hear more of what he saw. Then of course his stomach interrupted their conversation and Ame invited Ace to his house to grab something to eat. Because Ame's mother was busy helping with the festival it was easy to sneak Ace into the humble abode and snatch something from the kitchen.

"So, what were you doing so deep in the jungle kid?" Ace asked after finishing the load of food that was given to him and gulping some freshly squeezed orange juice.

"My name is Ame, Pervert-san!" Ame huffed before answering the pirate's question.

"I was just planning on going into the jungle to bring more flowers for my Papa's grave but wondered too far. Then, I saw it! It was as big as a small building and had feathers that shined in the sunlight!" He looked down trying to recall as many details as he could, "And it didn't have any arms just wings and back legs, but it looked like it was having trouble. Like something attacked it."

When the boy looked up to see the man's reaction though,

"EHHHHHHHHH?! WHY ARE YOU ASLEEP?!"

After waking up the man, he learned was named was Ace, Ame retold him everything he could about the Beast. And waited to see what he would say. For a few minutes, Ace simply sat with a troubled look then he spoke,

"If what you saw was real then this whole festival is for nothing and the villagers have been living a lie for five hundred years. Because of you this could ruin the entire balance of things and throw everything into chaos."

Ame looked like he was about to cry. Ashamed of what he had caused and worried for his island he asked the pirate,

"What do I do Ace-san? I know I can't tell anyone what happened, but I can't just pretend everything's ok!" Everything was silent. The weight of Ame's words hanging in the air. Seemingly unaffected by the scale of the situation at hand Ace simply ruffled Ame's hair.

"Don't worry kid I'll make sure that Beast doesn't come near your island ever again. However, in exchange you've got to tell me how I can find the 'treasure of the beast' ok?"

Ame kicked Ace in the shin. Hard.

"Greedy pirate!" Ace held his shin in pain before explaining himself better.

"What I meant was, if there is a reason why the Beast is still on this island it's because something it wants or loves is still here right? So, if I find the treasure and take it then the Beast will leave you and everyone on this island for good!"

Ame thought about Ace's plan. Then asked,

"But what if it's not the treasure it's here for?" Ace contemplated his words before he finally spoke,

"Then I'll have to take care of the Beast myself then, won't I?" And with that Ame finally told him the truth,

"No one knows where the Beast's treasure is. And it's been that way since our savior supposedly killed the Beast. But I can show you where I last saw the Beast!" With new found energy the boy went into his father's old study and brought out a map of the island of Touda. Drawing what looked like nonsense and scribbles he handed the map to Ace.

"There, now there's no way for you to get lost!" Before Ace could question him another voice interrupted from outside.

"Ame! Come help me with these bags!" Ame's mom was home. Ame shushed Ace and brought him into the study before ungracefully shoving him out the only window and running to the front door to help his mother. Ace landed face first much to his dismay but to his relief he hadn't forgotten the map. And so, dusting himself off he calmly strolled through the busy streets and past buildings until he got to the border of civilization and jungle.

"Treasure here I come."