Chapter Eighteen : Trouble

"Hey, Sabo. You think we can find a telescope?" Luffy asked with a wide smile. He started bouncing back and forth as excitement rose upon him.

"Stupid, you think something like that's gonna fall from the sky?" Ace snorted, countering his idea. But knowing how lucky Luffy can be, it was improbable.

"If something like that will happen, I want a cannon." Sabo grinned, joining in their conversation.

Luffy laughed, enjoying his time with his brothers. After their training with Roger yesterday, rain soon came falling. The storm proved to be huge and powerful. The treehouse that they proudly built was no match for it. To say that their treehouse was ruined, was an understatement. Pieces of wood were missing and were probably blown away by the storm. The planks on the floor were no good either. Luffy slipped into the holes three times much to his brother's chagrin.

And so, Luffy and his brothers have the task to repair the treehouse today. Even if the training was important, their treehouse was some sort of a home for them. They cannot leave it like that or time will only worsen it. They walked towards the Gray Terminal in hopes of finding some usable wood. They need to be quick so they'll have the time to do other things.

"Do you think we can finish the repairs today?" Ace asked with a soft sigh.

"Who knows," Sabo responded with a slight shrug. "The damage was heavier than I expected. It'll probably take us a full day just finding wood."

"But we still have training!" Luffy complained with a pout.

Sabo gave him an apologetic smile. He pinched Luffy's cheeks in which the younger didn't appreciate and quickly backed away. "I know, Lu. We better hurry then."

They had arrived at the Gray Terminal. It was the same as usual. Thugs were mugging everyone anywhere and then the cursing screams of the unlucky victims were heard. At this point, Luffy was used to it. It has been months when he first found this place and met Sabo.

The trio then started rummaging the place. But Luffy only has one thing on mind. He wanted a telescope. He didn't know why but the stargazing has caught his attention. To see the stars shining in the dark was such an awesome sight. He heard from Sabo that to enjoy watching stars more, you need a telescope. After a few minutes of finding, Luffy sighed heavily in defeat. The Gray Terminal was huge but he cannot find what he wanted.

"Ace, I can't find a telescope..." Luffy whined, hoping that his older brother will help him find one. He looked up at him with a small pout.

"Why are you looking for a telescope? Go find some useable wood." Ace replied, scowling.

"But Ace..." Luffy persisted, still adamant. Stubbornness was one of his main traits.

Ace groaned as he smacked his face. "Let's go find Sabo then. Maybe, he found something interesting."

Luffy happily nodded, finally getting what he wanted. Sabo was always good at finding things since he was the most patient out of the three. Ace grabbed Luffy's hand, not wanting the young boy to wander on his own again. The two walked in the trash heap as they silently looked for their other brother.

But after a few minutes, Ace grabbed Luffy by surprise. He put a hand in his younger brother's mouth in an attempt to shut him up. Luffy frowned in confusion. Ace's face showed seriousness then pointed something at the distance.

Sabo was fighting the Bluejam Pirates on his own. He was doing well as far as Ace and Luffy could tell. The enemies could not even touch Sabo as he swung his pipe left and right.

Ace and Luffy entered a barrel and rolled it. The barrel hit a stone breaking it. It revealed the two making a grand entrance to help their brother who was in trouble.

"Ace! Luffy!" Sabo cried out in relief.

Luffy still felt dizzy though. Everything was spinning. He fell down but quickly shrugged it off. They still have enemies to defeat.

"If the three of us work together, then these guys aren't scary at all!" Ace exclaimed with smugness, running next to Sabo to back him up.

Someone had struck Luffy on the head but they should have known better, blunt attacks never worked on him. Grinning, he raised his pipe in the air and hit the man in the face.

The three regroup as they took out everyone except for their captain. Bluejam was prepared though. He revealed a gun and started shooting making the trio hide between the trash.

"I'm not afraid of that!" Ace yelled.

Suddenly, both Ace and Sabo were grabbed from behind. They struggled to get away from their grasp. Luffy tightened his hold of his pipe. But before he could run and help them, someone had seized him and pinned him down on the ground.

"Lemme go or I'll kick your ass!" Luffy threatened in frustration. He tried to move but his attacker only hardened his step on him.

Luffy looked up as he heard heavy footsteps coming. He eyed the small troop of soldiers approaching. He was all familiar with the sight. It was the troops from High Town. They were wearing dark clothing and were carrying shotguns.

"Father..." Sabo murmured, eyes were wide open as he stared.

"Master," Bluejam acknowledged. "He doesn't have a single scratch on him."

Luffy growled. Did that pirate call someone as master? Pirates never served under anyone. They set out to sea to find freedom and not the other way around. These pirates were a disgrace to the name.

The pirate holding Sabo brought him forward with force. Sabo struggled again to get away from his grasp but to no avail.

"It must be because of these two. They led you in the path of evil?" The noble scoffed in disgust, looking down on them.

"Give Sabo back!" Luffy yelled angrily.

"What do you mean give him back? Sabo is my child!" The noble replied. "You have some nerve lying to Sabo and convincing him to run away! Are you trying to steal my fortune!?"

"What was that, bastard!?" Ace yelled as something inside of him snapped.

The man holding Ace grabbed his neck and slammed him hard onto the ground. Blood oozed out from Ace's face. Luffy just watched in horror, unable to help his brother.

"Hey, pirate!" The noble called as he took out a handkerchief and wiped the bloodstain in his cheeks, face disgusted. "Be careful handling that kids! You got some of that inferior's blood on my face!"

"Please stop! Nobody deceived me. It's my choice!" Sabo defended as he slipped from his captor's grasp. He got caught again and this time, two people held him.

"I trust that you pirates will take care of them." The noble stated as he turned around.

"Of course, we will, Master," Bluejam answered. "Rest assured. I'll finish these two off so that they will never bother your child again."

"Wait a second, Bluejam!" Sabo stopped, screaming.

Luffy gulped. He had never heard Sabo like that before. His voice was filled with fear. It made Luffy scared even more.

"It's alright Father. I understand." Sabo breathed out as he tried calming the situation.

"No! Don't do it, Sabo!" Ace screamed, still struggling to get away.

"I'll do what you ask me..." Sabo continued as if he was forced to say the next words. "Just don't hurt these two. That's all I ask. Please, they are my irreplaceable brothers..."

"Sabo..." Luffy whimpered as realization struck him hard.

"Then you should go home now and stop playing pirate."

Luffy's eyes went wide as he watched Sabo turned his back. Escorted by two guards, he started walking away. It was as if he was in a nightmare but it wasn't. This was the reality. He was watching one of his brothers leave.

They made a promise to each other that they will be pirates and become free. But what Sabo was doing right now, was the opposite. In the past months, Luffy had learned a lot from both of his brothers. He knew how much Sabo hated High Town. It was intoxicating him and making him sad. That was what Luffy hated the most. Seeing his brothers not doing what they wanted and just being forced to do things.

"Sabo, don't go!" Luffy begged as he clenched his fists in desperation.

"Just run! Don't worry about us! You want to freely live with us remember!? Are you going to end it like this!?" Ace begged, desperation crawling in.

"SABO!" Both Luffy and Ace screamed.

But their brother never turned his back as he walked away.

Ace had never felt so powerless before. They spend almost all of their time training but it ended up not being enough.

It all happened too quickly for him and Luffy to process. One minute, they were just going on their day finding woods, and then the next, Sabo was taken away from them. Life does have ways of doing things.

The three of them always found themselves in life-threatening situations and in the end, they always find a way to escape. But not with this one. This was probably their worst-case scenario. They had never expected that Sabo's father cared enough for his son to get him back to High Town.

Being tied up did not help with their situation either. It just made him angrier.

Ace reminded himself of one thing. Sabo was not here. Ace knew that Sabo can take care of himself. His brother was strong and will survive in High Town with almost no threat aside from his blood family.

Ace and Luffy were here by themselves, captured by pirates. And as the older brother, Ace had the duty to protect his younger one. Luffy was the reason why Sabo had sacrificed himself in the first place. Sabo will never forgive him if something is going to happen to Luffy. Ace needed to focus on getting away from Bluejam rather than focusing on his other brother.

"One more time! Fight us again! We won't lose this time!" Luffy gritted his teeth as he tried squirming his way out from the restrain but to no avail. The pirates didn't listen to him. They let out a laugh ridiculing the boy.

"Being a noble must be nice don't you think?" Bluejam sneered as he finished drinking. "They look down on others and think everyone is trash. It's such an easy life."

"What are you getting at!?" Ace scoffed, not liking where the conversation was going.

"Being pirates is better! Sabo said so!" Luffy defended angrily.

Bluejam drink again before replying. A small smirk was plastered on his face to gain their sympathy but he was fooling no one. "I'm feeling bad for you guys. Why do you think a brat from a noble family escaped to Gray Terminal? He did it for mockery just like any other nobles."

Ace's glare hardened as he bit down his lips.

"I'm sure he was looking down on you, too." Bluejam tilted his head as he mockingly grinned.

Something inside of Ace snapped at that point.

"That's not true! Sabo isn't that kind of guy!" Ace argued, trying to get away from the ropes that were holding him back. His arms started hurting after being bent in the wrong way but that was the least of his problems. This man dared to insult his brother who meant everything to him. It was something unforgivable.

"Yeah!" Luffy backed up. "We're brothers!"

That was when Ace heard the walls of Bluejam's ship crashing.

Ace automatically turned his attention to it. At first, he cannot fathom who or what it was since there was dirt flying everywhere because of the impact. But Ace should have known better. He always did appear out of nowhere whenever he and his brothers were in the middle of a crisis.

"Roger..." Luffy whimpered, staring at the old pirate with wide eyes.

"Who the fuck are you?" Bluejam demanded as he stood up and get a gun from his holster.

Not just the captain but also his subordinates. Each person who works under Bluejam that was present revealed their weapons to charge the intruder.

They all attack his father at once but Roger was not having any of it. In a second, they all came crashing down unconscious. The only people who kept standing were Roger, Ace, Luffy, and Bluejam.

"What the hell!?" Bluejam yelled angrily.

Roger grabbed the nearest sword and used it to free Ace and Luffy from the ropes that were holding them back. Bluejam then pulled the trigger causing a bullet to be aimed at Roger's face. He dodged it in the last second.

"Ace, take Luffy back with you," Roger said.

Ace looked up at his father. Normally, he would have argued to stay here. He never ran away from a fight after all. He too wanted to fight Bluejam for causing them trouble and taking Sabo away from them.

But something was different about Roger that moment. Ace had never been scared of him before. His father was usually a happy-go-lucky man. And now, Ace cannot recognize the man in front of him. His father's gaze screamed for murder. Inside those eyes, Ace can see the angry emotions dwelling to be unleashed.

Ace was familiar with those deadly eyes. He had inherited it from him apparently.

After recovering from the shock, Ace silently nodded before grabbing Luffy with him. They will just get in his way. He knew Roger was strong. He would not be considered a king if he wasn't.

Ace trusted his father to take care of certain things.

Roger's fury was unexplainable.

Seeing Ace and Luffy tied up while Sabo was not found anywhere was enough reason for that.

The first thing Roger noticed was the panic he was sensing from the two boys. Without any second thoughts, he quickly rushed towards where their presence was located.

"Wh-What do you want...?" By that point, Bluejam was shaking in fear as he still held his gun.

"What do I want?" Roger echoed in a cold tone. "Cut you into pieces perhaps."

"I-I didn't harm those brats!" Bluejam yelled out as he fell on the floor with a loud thud.

"You didn't but you're close to," Roger replied. His glare hardened as he slowly took a step towards the pirate. "You hurt them. The children I swear to protect were scared for their lives."

Jumping quickly, Roger charged in and stabbed Bluejam in his shoulders. He pinned the man into the wall. Bluejam struggled to get the sword away but the more he moved, the more blood he loses. He screamed in pain for all the Gray Terminal to hear his suffering.

"Where is Sabo?" Roger asked but as he noticed that his opponent was not answering, he demanded. "Answer me!"

"H-He's fine! He went back to his family!" Bluejam answered frantically.

"I see..." Roger let out a sigh. At least, he knew that he was fine. "But that doesn't mean I'll forgive you."

And with that, Roger went berserk

A/N: Roger being papa wolf gives me energy :D

Anyway, some of you are asking for how far the story will go. The answer is I have finished writing it up to Summit War so ASL's life on the sea will be shown. Don't worry ^^