Hey everyone, and welcome to my One Piece fanfiction. This chapter will contain a large amount of story progression and character progression, so look forward to it. A lot of this chapter will contain parts of the story that only appeared in the Anime, but I wanted to put it in anyways. Also, by the end of this chapter, there'll be a big event that will stray from the canon. Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody. One Piece is owned by Funimation, Eiichiro Oda, Shueisha, Toei Animation, and Fuji TV. Please support the official release.

"Pirate" Regular speech.

"Pirate" Thoughts.

Finger Pistol Attack names.

(Pirate) Words said previously.

"PIRATE!" Shouting speech.

[Pirate!] people talking at the same time.

"Pirate" people talking over communication.

The Three Sworn Brothers

Time goes on, and the seasons change. Months have passed since the day the boys built their hideout in the woods, and Summer has now become Winter. The boys were making their way through the same forest, but right now, it, along with everywhere else on the Island, was covered in a thick layer of snow.

Right now, the three of them were running through the woods as Ace shouted. "Sabo! He's coming at you, don't let him escape!"

"No problem!" Sabo yelled back. "I got this!"

Clearing past the brush of trees and now in open space, the two of them were revealed to be chasing something that looked like a panda bear… Only its fur patterns are the opposite of that of a usual panda. It's dark where pandas would be white and white where pandas would be dark-colored.

"Good!" Ace yelled, both boys sprinting after it. "We've got it surrounded!"

Sabo laughed, the wind almost blowing his hat off. "Okay, Light!" He yelled up ahead. "You're up!"

They chased the panda all the way to a wall, where Light was standing at the top, looking prepared. "Leave it to me!" Light exclaimed before he jumped over the edge. Falling down in a straight-line descent, he plummeted down towards the danda and clasped his hands together while raising them above his head. "This'll finish it!" He yelled, right on top of it.

With that, he smashed both his right on the top of the danda's head. Right after that, Light landed on the ground on his feet, with the snow softening the impact. While the danda looked shaken from the blow to the head, it slowly fell and hit the ground with a resolving thud.

THUD!

Light let out a breath and then smiled at his victory. "It's done. We caught it."

Sabo and Ace walked over to him, and the former congratulated him. "Great work, Light."

"Alright, that's two in one day." Ace noted with satisfaction. "We're gonna eat good tonight!"

"Yeah." Light agreed before he gasped all of a sudden. He could feel his instincts warning him of danger. And when he turned around, he knew exactly why. "…That's!"

Sabo and Ace looked up and saw it as well, becoming horrified. Standing on top of the cliff where Light had been standing a moment ago was an enormous tiger… A tiger of giant proportions… And looking hungry as it looked down at them.

"…It's that tiger from before." Light recognized, gritting his teeth.

"He must have smelled our dinner and came running." Ace said, gulping as he slowly backed away.

"Well, looks like he just wants the danpa." Sabo noticed, trying to stay calm. "We should just go."

The tiger pounced down from the cliff—Landing gracefully in front of the fallen danpa, but with enough force to make the ground feel like it was shaking. It went up to the danpa and started sniffing it before the tiger licked its giant lips, showing it was satisfied by the quality of the prey in front of it.

"Okay, he hasn't noticed us." Ace noticed, trying to stay inconspicuous. "Let's go while he's distracted."

"Yeah, I agree." Sabo agreed, still nervous. "Let's get out of here."

With that settled, the boys all turned back towards the woods and quickly took their leave—Walking instead of running for now in an attempt to stay quiet to make sure they weren't heard by the giant tiger. Though as they were leaving, Light turned his head back and took one last look. He saw the tiger pick up the danpa with its mouth and leave with it.

Light looked frustrated at how things were playing out and clenched his fists.

A bit of time had passed after that incident, and day had become night. The trio of boys was now walking across the rope bridge that led to the other side of the jungle. Ace and Sabo were walking ahead, carrying a second danpa with Light walking behind them, still looking unsatisfied and keeping his head down.

It wasn't long before they arrived back at their hideout, started a fire to cook the danpa meat, and devoured it completely—Bones and all. Once dinner was over, they went inside and got ready for sleep.

"We're finally back." Sabo sighed, sounding tired, and just ended up falling onto the blankets. "All in all, today wasn't too bad. Let's go to bed."

"Yeah, I'm tired." Ace added they all did what Sabo suggested and were all nested in blankets.

"Whatever." Was all Light said as he lay there.

"Hey, Light, you've been pretty quiet ever since this morning." Sabo brought up while sitting up. "You still upset about losing your catch to the Tiger Lord?"

"It's not that." Light responded, looking up at him. "I just hate the fact that I couldn't beat it, that all I could do was run."

"Well, it couldn't really be helped, right?" Sabo tried to reason with him. "That thing's a monster."

"To tell the truth, though." Ace sat up and joined the conversation. "I get where he's coming from. Running away always leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

"Come on, you two, be reasonable." Sabo told them, suddenly feeling like the odd one in the room. "It's not like we can beat that thing anyways, so running is better than being eaten."

"Maybe, but still…." Light looked down at his fist. "I don't surrender, I don't run away, and I don't look back. That's the kind of Pirate I plan to become." He told them, determined. "And to that end, I need to be as strong as possible. When I first saw that thing knew it was the Strongest creature on the Island and so I made it my goal to defeat it. But even though I've gotten so much stronger since then, I'm just running from it."

"True, that would be annoying. You can't be a Pirate if all you ever do is run." Ace added with a nod.

"But you definitely have gotten stronger than before. We all have." Sabo pointed out before crossing his arms and thinking about it. "But still, I honestly can't think of a way for any of us to be able to beat that thing."

"There is a way." Light brought up. "If I could just learn how to unlock my Haki, then I could defeat beat that tiger."

"You still going on about that?" Ace questioned, skeptical. "You've been trying to do that 'Haki' thing for months now, and yet nothing's come of it. Are you sure it's even real?"

"Of course it's real!" Light insisted, irked that he would even suggest that. "I saw it myself. The Red Hair Pirates showed me demonstrations while telling me about them. And they even told me different kinds of training to unlock it!"

"Even if they can do it, they're real Pirates, and you're just a kid." Ace reasoned, not convinced. "Odds are they give those training exercises to keep you busy but never really expected you to actually succeed."

"Jeez, all you ever do is think the worst. Would it kill you to just be a little optimistic for once?" Light reprimanded him. "Besides, I think I'm actually getting close to learning how to use it. I just need one more push."

"Well, personally, I think the problem is having to figure it out yourself." Sabo suggested. "Maybe you'd have an easier time if you had a teacher or someone to show you how in better detail."

"Even if that were true, it's not like there is anyone like that. The only person I know who can use Haki is the geezer, and God knows I'm not asking him." Light explained to him. "The only way he'd say yes is if I agreed to become a Marine."

"In other words, it's impossible." Ace decided, lying down again. "Guess you won't be learning Haki anytime soon."

"Pfft, there you go again, being negative all the time." Light scoffed at him. "Besides, it's not like you could do any better."

"Okay, then how about this? I say I could beat the Tiger Lord without Haki." Ace proclaimed, confident.

"There's no way you can." Light immediately denied him. "If I can't do it, none of us can."

"Not that I'd phrase it like that, but he has a point." Sabo agreed. "Right now, we're all around the same level of strength. So if one of us can't beat the Tiger Lord, then obviously the other two can't either."

"Don't you two get it?" Ace asked before putting on a grin. "If that is the case, then that means that whichever one of us actually ends up pulling it off will undeniably be the Strongest one, right?"

Sabo and Light were surprised and a little taken aback by Ace's reasoning, then they thought about it for a moment.

"I guess that makes sense." Sabo responded.

"Yeah, there'd be no denying it then." Light agreed.

"Then let's put this on the table." Ace continued. "Whoever does bring down the tiger will become the Captain."

Now the two of them were really surprised. If and when they all set sail and become Pirates, they all agreed it would be ideal if they all sailed together on the same ship. But then the issue of who would be the Captain soon came up, and once they reached that point, it became a topic of great debate that they could never agree on. A deadlock.

"Are you serious?" Sabo asked, now interested.

"Yeah, the Captain has to be the Strongest right?" Ace reasoned. "So whoever proves there the Strongest will be the Captain, no arguments, and no hard feelings."

[I'm in!] They both agreed, sitting up excited.

Night became day as the morning broke, and the boys were now walking through the snow with fish tied to their backs and metal pipes in their hands.

"Everyone ready?" Ace asked seriously.

"Remember, we're not going to fight him today." Light reminded them. "This is just a test to see if we'll be able to draw him out like this."

"Yeah, and once we're sure we can, we'll know we can draw him out whenever we want." Sabo added. "That way, when we do want to face him, we can do so whenever we choose."

Just at that moment, there was a deep growl of something big coming through the trees.

"It sounds like he's on his way." Sabo said, holding up his pipe.

"Let's do it." Ace whispered, determined.

They all stood shoulder to shoulder, holding up their pipes to be prepared for what was coming. Another roar was let out. There was no doubt it was a roar. But when the beast came out of the haze, to their surprise, it wasn't a tiger but rather a bear with a jagged scar over its right eye.

"Oh, oops, that's not a tiger." Sabo said, obviously disappointed. "So now what, do we fight him instead?"

"I've seen that bear before." Light brought up, remembering it. "That bear fought Tiger Lord once. I can tell based on that scar it's got."

"Then this works out." Ace said at once, his face deadly serious, and he held up his pipe—Looking ready for a fight. "This might be as strong as the Tiger Lord, either way, if we can't beat him, we won't stand a chance against our real target."

"Alright then." Sabo said, grinning at the idea. "Let's see if it makes for a good warm-up."

"Uh, guys—" Light tried to say something.

But before he could, Ace charged forward and yelled. "Keep yapping. I'm gonna beat him!"

"Hey, no fair!" Sabo cried out, following him.

"Wait, the plan wasn't to fight this time!" Light chased after them, trying to warn them.

Ace jumped and struck the bear a few times in the head, but it didn't seem to be doing any good as he landed and backed away. Now aside from a small bump on its head, the bear looked uninjured and had an angry look in its eye as it growled at them.

The boys yelled as they were left with no choice but to drop the fish and run for it. The bear was right on their heels. As they kept running, they soon entered a clearing outside of the woods.

Sabo looked back and screamed. "He's not going to stop chasing us, is he?!"

"I knew this wasn't going to work!" Light shouted.

"WELL THEN, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL THE REST OF US!" Ace yelled, snapping at him.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CHARGED IN WITHOUT THINKING!" Light yelled back, snapping at him.

"STOP ARGUING AND RUN, YOU IDIOTS!" Sabo snapped at both of them.

While they were screaming, the bear got even closer to them. But just as he was about to catch them, something with flying over the trio's heads and struck the bear in the stomach. The bear was hit was such force that it was sent flying backward, skidded a few feet, and lay there motionless.

When they looked back to saw, what they saw was a hammer… It was an enormous wooden mallet, about as tall as a normal man, that hit the bear. That was when the one who threw the hammer jumped over the boys to face the bear.

He is an elderly man with long, gray, unkempt hair that goes down to his shoulders. He is missing a tooth and has thick eyebrows that almost completely cover up his eyes. He is wearing a long, brown hat that is slightly frayed along its brim. He wears sunglasses with orange lenses and a black rim on top of his hat. He wore what appeared to be a dark blue cloak that trailed along the ground. In the end, the cloak actually turned out to have been the flag of his old pirate crew. He also has a beige smoking pipe along with him.

"What, who's that?" Light asked what they were thinking.

The bear, however, was now getting back up to its feet—And they realized that the hammer merely stunned it—Not finished it. Now it was looking angry as it went charging at the old man, who was calmly walking towards it.

"Wait, what's he doing?" Light looked panicked.

"His name's Naguri. I've seen him around Gray Terminal." Sabo recognized him before getting up and screaming. "Runaway! He'll kill you!"

But he didn't move as the bear came closer. And at that moment, Naguri held up his hand and just said the word. "Noshi."

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNN!

In that instant, an explosion of power burst out from his body. It was like a mix of a shockwave and some kind of repulse that was born from his own will. This power caused the snow around them to pick up and create a cloud so thick that they couldn't see through it. By the time it had cleared. However, Naguri was standing with his hand held up, the bear about to strike. Then very slowly, it lowered its paw… Suddenly calm.

"Leave these boys alone. It's time to return to the forest." Naguri ordered it, giving it a look to show he wasn't messing around. "I said turn around and leave us be."

And almost as if it was in a trance, it slowly turned and went back to the cover of the trees. The boys stared after the bear, stunned by what they had just witnessed. Among the three of them, however, Light was the only one who knew what had just happened.

".….T-That's." Light thought as his eyes went wide with shock and amazement.

Naguri then turned around to face the boys and asked. "Are you three alright, Noshi?"

Light ran up to him and looked at Naguri with new respect. "Old man, that was Haki—Colors of the Supreme King, wasn't it?"

"Oh, you know about Haki, Noshi?" Naguri asked, mildly surprised while smiling. "I didn't expect that."

Ace and Sabo stood where they were, still trying to wrap their heads around all this.

"That the Haki-stuff actually is real." Sabo noted, without emotion.

"….Yeah." Was all Ace said in response.

Soon the afternoon faded until it was replaced by the night, and the three boys were sitting by a fire with Naguri, cooking up the fish that they had earlier.

"What?! You used to be a Pirate, Naguri!?" Sabo said loudly, in an awed voice. "And a Captain?!"

"Indeed." Naguri confessed.

"That explains a lot." Light noted, clearly still impressed. "Still, you must have been a crazy strong Pirate, considering you're also a Haki-user."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far." Naguri chuckled while scratching his hat.

Sabo looked down at the cooking fish before he began whispering to Ace. "He never seemed tough enough to be a Pirate, not to me. He was just weird." Even though he was whispering, the other two could hear him. "'Course, lots of people at Gray Terminal, are weird, but this guy would grab junk all day and then hammer it together to make… Well, I don't even know what. The other guys or Bluejam's crew would pick on him, but he'd just sit there and take it, never fought back or said a word…" He sighed, giving Naguri a suspicious glance. "Seemed pretty pathetic if you ask me."

"Heh, must be some kind of theme." Light started, looking at the fire while Ace stood up. "The last Pirate Captain I met was pretty much like that as well."

"You mean Shanks?" Sabo asked for confirmation, having heard about him from Light before.

"That's right. He'd always act laid back and never got upset. Even when people tried picking a fight with him, he'd just sit back and take it. Saying it was better not to fight people that much weaker than you." Light elaborated, thinking back. "Though honestly, if it were me, I'd definitely fight back regardless."

After checking out the fish, Ace said. "Hey, here." He quickly cut it up into four pieces and dropped them on their laps. "Eat."

When the pieces of fish landed, both Light and Sabo cried out in pain because they were hot. However, Naguri didn't look bothered at all. After a few seconds, they stopped, and Sabo took a bite out of his fish.

"You could have warned us, you know." Light told Ace, annoyed, before biting into his fish as well.

Ace turned to the old man and said. "Hey don't hold back, Naguri. You did save our lives."

"Thank you, but it was no trouble." Naguri assured him and started eating as well.

"So, you're obviously no pushover. What are you in a dump like Gray Terminal?" Ace asked, finding it hard to believe.

Light and Sabo looked curious about that as well though Naguri looked down.

"It's hardly a charming story." He told them.

"Well, if you don't want to talk about it, it's not like I can force you." Ace responded.

"No, I don't mind, Noshi." Naguri said, softly stroking the fire. "I assume you know the famous Pirate, Gold Roger?"

Light and Sabo looked up at Naguri, surprised—The look on Ace's face, however, was completely rigid, and eyes widened in surprise.

"Uh-huh." Sabo answered.

"Well, obviously." Light shrugged. "It'd be weirder if there were people who haven't heard of him at this point."

Naguri smiled and raised his pipe, feeling reminiscent. "My men, at the height of our strength, challenged Roger to a fight." But then his smile faded. "A fight that we lost. Put in our place, we all split up." He smoked some of his pipe. "Everything went downhill after that, one thing led to another, and here I am. Frankly, it makes me wonder if I was worth anything to begin with."

"I don't think that at all." Light argued with his claim. "You're still crazy strong, and even though you lost back then, you're still alive—Meaning you survived a fight with the Pirate King. How many others can say that?"

Naguri didn't look convinced. "I'm not so sure about that, Noshi. We got beaten pretty badly. And at any rate, I certainly didn't feel very strong. The only reason I lived was that I was spared." He admitted.

Light became silent and stared into the fire. "So even though you have the Kings' Power, you were still no match for him?" He sounded like he was trying to picture it. "Was Gold Roger really that strong?"

With an angry look on his face, Ace turned and walked away from them all. They were so busy talking they didn't notice him leave.

Naguri nodded to Light's question. "Yes, but one man alone can only be so strong. It was his crew that truly made him unstoppable." He explained to Light and Sabo. "Or rather, it was their teamwork, their comradery, that impressed me. It was an honor to see them in action."

Light pondered on those words. "A good crew? Teamwork? Never really thought about those things before."

While Light was thinking about that, Sabo got up and finally noticed Ace was leaving—The look on his face was not pleasant, and this made Sabo look worried.

Light then sighed and stroked the fire a bit. "I guess being a Captain won't be as simple as I thought."

"Is that so? You plan on being a Pirate someday?" Naguri asked him, pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah, you bet I do." Light answered, proudly looking at him.

"And a Captain, like me?" Naguri asked again.

"I won't accept anything else." He told him before standing up. "Which reminds me, there's something I wanted to ask you.

"Oh, what's that, Noshi?" Naguri asked while taking a smoke.

Before Light answered, he noticed something was off. Because of that, he looked around for a second and realized there was one less person around. "Hey, where'd Ace go?"

"Ah, yeah…" Sabo said slowly. "About that?"

And so he told them the truth.

".….…Are you serious right now?" Light asked, completely agasped at what he was just told. "Ace is the Pirate King's son?" He said it like it was a question, still trying to wrap his head around all this. Naguri also looked surprised.

"Yeah, well, it's a big secret, so keep it that way." Sabo told him while tying the rest of the fish to his back. "And while you're at it, don't mention it to Ace either—He'll kill the both of us."

"Really, how come?" Light asked, not getting the problem.

"It's a mystery to me too." Sabo explained quietly. "But I do know that he hates Roger."

"Hates him?" Now Light looked puzzled. "But they've never even met. Why would he hate him?"

Sabo looked away before he said. "Well, I guess some people in this world just weren't meant to get along."

Light noticed the expression on Sabo's face was different. It was almost as though he was talking about himself rather than Ace. Light slowly said. "…Maybe that's true, but is that all?"

"I know you wanna ask him some questions, and, to be honest. There are some things I'd love to know myself." Sabo said seriously. "But you mustn't say a word, okay…Do you promise?"

"Alright." Light agreed. "I won't say anything."

Sabo then looked to Naguri and asked. "Oh, and you too, Naguri."

"I won't say a word, Noshi." Naguri said thoughtfully before he started to think. "But to think that Roger had a son, and he was right here all this time."

Once the fire was out, Sabo turned to leave. "Alright, let's go."

"Hold on." Light turned back to Naguri. "Before that, there's still something I wanted to ask you…."

Once they were finished with their conversation with Naguri, Sabo and Light made their way back to their hideout. Neither one of them spoke until they reached the treehouse. When they arrived, they could see Ace was already inside and was leaning against the sill—Staring out into the night sky.

"Alright, there he is." Sabo said, pointing to Ace from afar. "Looks like he calmed down, but play it cool just in case, got it?"

"I know." Light answered him.

"And do not mention Roger." Sabo warned him again.

"Don't worry; I won't." Light reassured him.

Soon the two of them climbed up the tree and went inside to greet Ace. Sabo went first.

"Hey! Ace! There you are!" Sabo called, a little too happy, as they entered the hideout. "Didn't know you came home already."

"Hey, Ace." Light came in, and sounded more relaxed. "How come you just left so suddenly?"

"I just didn't feel like staying." Ace responded simply, though it was clear from his tone that he was still upset.

"Well, I just came to see how you were doing. I'm gonna head out again after a bit." Light said nonchalantly.

Now Ace became puzzled. "What? Where do you plan on going?"

"I'm going back to Naguri's place to train for a while." Light answered, smiling.

"Before we left, he asked Naguri if he could train him." Sabo explained to help Ace understand. "He said he wanted him to teach him how to use Haki, it was kind of out of the blue, but Naguri accepted anyway."

"You guys said I might have an easier time figuring this out if I had a teacher to show me how." Light reminded them. "So, it should be fine if it's Naguri. In fact, I'd say I hit the jackpot." He said excitedly. "Not only can he use Haki, but he's also a Pirate, and he even faced the Pirate King."

Upon hearing the word 'Pirate King,' Ace had a stony expression—His body tensed up, and his shoulders were shaking. On the other side of the room, Sabo had a panicked expression—Like he was worried things were going to end horribly. Light, on the other hand, seemed to pay it no mind and continued.

"I know I'll be able to bring out my Haki this time." Light said, looking determined, then he turned. "Well, I'll see ya."

"Wait…" Ace called, stopping him. He then looked directly at Light and said quietly. "Can I ask you something?"

Light changed his direction and looked back at Ace. "Sure thing; what is it?"

Ace looked hesitant like he was trying to contemplate the right way to put this. After a while, he just came out and said it. "Tell me, what kind of person do you think Gold Roger was?"

Light just stared back at Ace. His expression didn't waver at all as he answered. "Hmm, what kind of person? Well, if I'm being blunt, I think he was basically what his title suggests—A Pirate King." He said in a simple manner. "He was strong and overwhelming, and he'd never lose a fight no matter what, and nobody could ever boss him around. What else is there to say about him?"

Ace didn't look too surprised on the surface after hearing Light's answer, but his eyes showed two different emotions. One showed that he accepted Light's answer but didn't know how to respond to it like this was the first time he'd ever heard someone answer like that. The other emotion was buried much deeper, it wouldn't be surprising if even Ace wasn't aware of it, but it was a sense of relief. Like some part of him was relieved after hearing Light's answer.

"Then let me ask you this…" Ace continued—Pausing before he answered. "What if Gold Roger had a son?"

Light now knew what this was all about but feigned ignorance. "A son?"

"Yeah, what would you think?" Ace questioned, his eyes going cold.

Sabo looked at him with a look of empathy. "Ace."

"What would I think, huh?" Light repeated, trying to think of an answer. "That's a tough one, but if I had to think of an answer." Light grinned before he said. "I think it'd be pretty cool if he did."

Ace's eyes widened after hearing that, and his expression completely changed like he had just heard something completely ludicrous. "Cool?"

"Yeah, don't you think so?" Light began to elaborate. "Just picture it, I bet he'd be someone brave and courageous, and It'd be pretty obvious that he'd be crazy strong too." Light then looked upwards. "And if ever decided to become a Pirate, then I bet he could become one of the biggest Pirates out there in no time at all, maybe even bigger than Roger was."

His words sounded sincere, as though he truly believed what he was saying. Because of that, Ace was having an even harder time comprehending it all, it was like Ace was expecting to hear the complete opposite of what he was hearing now, and he had no idea on how he was supposed to respond to it.

Light then shrugged his shoulders. "But, this is all a 'what if' after all. We all know Gold Roger never had a son." He turned back to Ace. "So, did that answer your question?"

Ace turned away from him and went back to the edge of the railing. "…Yeah." Was all he said in response while his eyes were covered by his bangs.

"Well then, I better get going." Light went over to the door. "See you later!" He called as he left.

Once he was gone, Sabo looked off to Ace, concerned. "Hey, Ace, you okay?" He asked.

But Ace didn't respond. Instead, he just looked out at the sky before looking down at the floor. He gritted his teeth while gripping the wooden railing with his fingers. Right now, there were so many different thoughts and emotions swirling around in his head that he didn't know how to feel. All he could say was.

"…Dammit."

A week had passed since the day the boys met Naguri, or more accurately, it's been 10 days. In that time, Light never returned to the hideout and has been spending all his time with Naguri. Meanwhile, Ace and Sabo continued with their attempts to hunt down Tiger Lord. Right now, they were in the woods and in the middle of such an attempt. And it was not going well.

[AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!] They both screamed while running for their lives.

The reason they were running was that the tiger they wanted to hunt was chasing after them and was currently hot on their tails. The tiger was chasing them so ferociously that it tore its way through any trees in front of it as though they were twigs.

"How did you think that was a good plan?!" Sabo yelled at Ace while running. "We could have snuck around behind it, or I don't know anything!"

Sabo was referring to how Ace's last idea for taking out the tiger involved just rushing in and attacking it directly on the head with his pipe. Unfortunately, the tiger didn't even react to Ace's attack, and Ace's metal pipe snapped upon impact. The tiger then simply batted him away like a fly.

"Yeah, 'cause your idea worked great!" Ace sarcastically yelled back while running.

Ace was referring to how Sabo's last for hunting taking out the tiger involved using a trap wire made of vines and tying many sharp-edged objects to it before snapping the wire and making the trap swing itself at the tiger. Unfortunately, it worked just as well as Ace's attempt, and the tiger didn't even react to being hit by the trap. It also proceeded to swat Sabo away.

After yelling, the two of them kept on running for dear life as the tiger was closing in. They ran and ran and kept running, making their way to the edge of the forest. After a while, they were finally able to lose the great beast, and it stopped its pursuit of them. Once they were safe, Ace and Sabo let out a sigh of great relief and leaned against a tree.

Shortly after that event, the sun started to set, and it was evening. At that point, the two boys were walking through the snow-covered forest and making their way back to their hideout. While doing so, Ace walked a few steps ahead of Sabo.

Sabo let out a groan. "Okay, not our finest hour. Let's put some poison mushrooms in the bait tomorrow. That should slow him down." He suggested, but Ace didn't respond. "Hold on a sec, that tiger may be big, but in the end of the day, he's still a cat, right? So what do you say we give catnip a try?" He suggested again.

".….…" Ace still chose not to respond.

Sabo then frowns—Becoming annoyed with being ignored. "Hello?!" Still being ignored, Sabo changed the subject. "I wonder how Light's doing with his secret training. I don't know if you've noticed, but it's been over a week since he left. We should probably pay him a visit, don't you think?" Sabo brought up.

".…." Ace still didn't answer.

So Sabo continued. "Ah, you know how he can be. When it comes to training, he always forgets common sense and just jumps right into it. He'll probably keep going even if he was hurt…." Then suddenly, a look of panic appeared on Sabo's face. "Wait? What if we haven't heard from him because he's dead already!?"

".….." Ace continued to remain silent.

Sabo then looked fed up with Ace and stopped walking. After taking a few steps, Ace noticed that Sabo had stopped and turned around to face him.

"What, Sabo?" He finally spoke, acting as if he had never heard him.

"Oh, come on, don't you care about him at all?" Sabo asked Ace, sounding upset. "Stop playing cool."

Ace turned around and crossed his arms. "Shut up. He's the one who left. It's not my problem if something happens."

"Listen, I don't know who you're trying to impress with this, but Light's our friend. Are you just going to pretend that doesn't mean anything?" Sabo asked, still not letting this go. His expression became calmer. "Or do you just not know how to face him after the conversation you had before he left."

Ace didn't respond and just put his arms down.

"I get that it must have been a surprise for you, but why to ask the question if you weren't prepared for the answer?" Sabo continued. "Light always speaks from the heart. When you ask him stuff like that, he'll always tell you exactly how he feels, you know that."

"It's not that." Ace told him. "Truth is, I was a little surprised at first, but after a day or so, I stopped letting it get to me. On some levels, I should have expected that kind of response from him. So I decided it was a waste of time worrying about it."

"Then what is this about?" Sabo asked.

"It's like you said, when it comes to training, he never holds back. Instead, he gives it 100% every time; that's how I know he's probably working harder than ever to get strong, so he can become the Captain." Ace explained, looking up with determination in his eyes. "And I… I don't want to lose to him, so I'll also give it my all. Whatever it takes, I'm going to beat that tiger."

Sabo seemed surprised by Ace's response. "Ace, you—"

TUMBLE!

Sabo was cut off by the sudden sound of a loud breaking-like noise a few feet away. Looking in the direction of the noise, they see a large tree falling over and hitting the ground, creating a large crash upon impact. Curious, the two boys run over to see what happened.

When Ace and Sabo arrive, they are surprised to see the one who chopped down the tree was Light—Who was carrying an ax, and standing next to him was Naguri.

Once they saw him, they both became surprised. [LIGHT!?]

Light heard them and looked over to see Ace and Sabo. Once he saw them, he looked pleasantly surprised. "Ah, Ace and Sabo too. What are you guys doing here?"

Sabo just smiled uncertainly. "Oh, you know, just hanging around.

After that, Ace and Sabo went with Light and Naguri. When the sun went down completely and night had arrived, they all arrived at a small alcove near the shore, while the four of them were by a small campsite.

Right now, Ace and Naguri were standing beside the campfire. The fire had a pot of water that was boiling over the fire. Meanwhile, Light and Sabo were closer to the shore, Light had told Sabo there was something he wanted to show him. Light held up his right arm, clenched his fist, and focused really hard, then suddenly, from his fist to his wrist, Light's arm was coated in a shiny black metallic-like substance.

Sabo gasped in shock. "No way, is that?"

Light nodded. "Yeah, it's Haki—Colors of Armament." He confirmed, although Light looked like he was straining to keep it up. "It took a while, but I finally learned how to bring it out." He then let it fade.

"I didn't think you'd learn in just a week. That's pretty impressive." Sabo admitted, praising him.

Ace was leaning against a large bolder and could see their interaction. He then addressed Naguri. "What kind of special training have you been giving him?"

"To be honest, we haven't done anything too special." Naguri admitted, rubbing his chin. "Every day, I had him chop some wood. It helped him grow some extra muscle, though he didn't really need much help in that department. So after that, I'd do a little sparring." He explained before smiling. "But I was surprised. Before long, his Haki manifested. Light certainly is a fast learner. He picked it up much faster than I had expected."

Ace had a small smile as well, though he tried to hide it. "…Yeah, Light does pick things up fast." His smile faded, and he asked. So, can he use that Haki stuff whenever he wants now?"

"Unfortunately, it's not that simple." Naguri told him. "Haki is will made manifest, his willpower was already strong, and he also had the potential. All he really needed was to get a clear grasp of it in his head, and he now does. But the truth is he hasn't fully awakened it yet. I'd say he's only partially awakened. He still needs one more step, some kind of push to completely bring it out."

"And how does he do that?" Ace asked.

Naguri breathed in some smoke. "Well… Who can say, really?"

After that, they both went silent, and the only sound was the crackling noise of the wood burning in the campfire. At that point, Ace's mind wandered somewhere else as he thought back—

("My men, at the height of our strength, challenged Roger to a fight." But then his smile faded. "A fight that we lost. Put in our place, we all split up.")

After remembering those words, Ace decided to ask. "You hate him too, don't you?"

Naguri looked at him, puzzled. "I don't follow?"

"Because he defeated your old crew." Ace elaborated.

"Oh, you mean Roger, I see." Naguri now understood; he then grinned. "I was rather devastated. That much is true. But the only reason I lost to Roger was because I wasn't strong enough." He admitted without shame. "In that respect, he taught me a valuable lesson."

Ace looked surprised by that answer and frowned. "What, by kicking your ass?"

"In a way, yes." He answered before looking up at the sky. "Gold Roger was a man of extraordinary character indeed." Naguri proclaimed proudly. "And that's why I say he—"

"Stop lying!" Ace shouted angrily, interrupting him. "If he's so great, then why does everybody hate him, huh?" He questioned, frustrated.

"…Did those men fight with Roger?" Naguri simply asked. "Did they even meet him, face to face?" His questions silenced Ace. "In the world of Pirates, if you lose a fight, you lose your life. And yet, Roger chose to spare mine. So, if those Pirates did face him, they should be grateful, complaining like that is a luxury, you know? One they only have because their lives were spared."

As Sabo and Light came over to them, Ace began to glare even harder at Naguri. Ace then shouted. "If Roger had a son, you think he should be grateful too?!" He questioned him angrily.

Naguri merely smiled and answered. "Actually, I'd feel sorry for him. Regardless of his path, his father's name would haunt him wherever he went. With a legacy like that, I wouldn't blame him for resenting the man, and it's not like he could talk it out with him, either. At any rate, if I were his son, I wouldn't want to be a Pirate. His name could scarcely do me any favors, and more likely than not, it would put a target on my back."

"What the hell do you know, huh?" Ace demanded, looking furious—Angrier than he had ever been as of yet. "I'm sick of hearing your crappy lectures. You really think you're some great Pirate. Prove it! Fight me!"

Ace charged forward to attack, but Naguri easily stopped the metal pipe with his hammer.

"Woah-What!?" Sabo cried out, surprised that Ace would lose it so completely like that.

"I'd be careful, boy." Naguri told him quietly. "Like I said: you lose a fight, you lose your life."

"I'm never gonna lose to you!" Ace proclaimed, charging his pipe like a Sword.

Watching them begin, Light frowned. "This won't end well."

"How do you know that?" Sabo asked.

"Because, in all the times I spared with Naguri, I was never able to make him fight seriously." Light explained, which made Sabo become worried.

Ace swung his pipe like a club while Naguri kept dodging without trouble, finally knocking the pipe out of his hands, causing it to go flying in the air, hitting the pot of water over the fire, and putting it out, leaving them in the darkness. Naguri held the hammer to Ace's face. "You've still got some growing to do."

"Damn it!" Ace screamed out, closing his eyes as if truly thinking that he would kill him. "Spare me another lecture and just finish me off!"

"I'll spare you the lecture and a violent death if you'll come with me, Noshi." Naguri said agreeably.

Ace looked up at him, surprised. Even Light and Sabo became confused.

A few moments later, the three of them followed Naguri through a small cave in the wall and along a pathway that stretched out over the ocean. Light now realized where they were going and grinned. Ace and Sabo looked around.

"Oh, wow. I didn't know there was a cove down here." Sabo said, looking around with amazement. "This place is pretty cool."

Light walked ahead. "If you think that's cool, just wait until you see what's up ahead."

"What is this thing you want us to see anyway?" Ace asked once they caught up.

"Take a look." Light answered, pointing to where Naguri was standing… And there it was, built in the shadows of the side of the cliff was a ship.

Yes, indeed, it was a small wooden Pirate Ship, about the size of a caravel… And it looked entirely homemade, built entirely from lumber and steel.

"Ahh…" Sabo gawked, looking at it amazed.

"Holy crap…" Ace stared at the ship with surprise. "It's huge."

"Yeah, I thought the same thing when I first saw it." Light admitted, looking at the ship with pride. "That's a Pirate Ship."

"Wait, that's crazy!" Sabo exclaimed in wonder before he turned to Naguri and asked. "This is why you collected all those parts?"

He smiled as he looked at it proudly. "Since I've been working all alone, it's gone a bit slow." He admitted. "Anyhow, you boys are pretty tough. You think you can lend me a hand?"

Ace and Sabo's faces fell.

"Why would I do that?" Ace asked as he could think of a million other things he'd rather do.

"Did you forget that I spared your life, Noshi?" Naguri reminded him. Ace looked like he wanted to kick himself.

"That's fine for Ace, but how did I get looped into this mess?" Sabo cried out hurriedly.

"You might as well as long as you're here." Naguri added.

"What kind of reasoning is that?!" He snapped, not accepting this. "I'm too busy hunting the Tiger Lord to waste time on some ship!" He finished.

"I can train you to fight the tiger if you stick around, Noshi." Naguri offered, ready to make a deal.

"Yeah?" Sabo said before thinking it over. "Hmm, okay, maybe."

"I've got one question." Ace said, still in a bad mood. "What are you gonna do when the ship is done?"

Naguri pulled his pipe out of his mouth and answered. "I'm taking it to sea, of course. To find my crewmates that split all those years ago."

Sabo looked surprised and asked. "You sure you're up to that?"

"And why not?" Naguri asked, still grinning. "I was a Captain once; I'm hardly some Rookie."

"I know…" Sabo muttered awkwardly. "That's kinda what I'm saying."

"No matter how old you are, you can always chase your dream, Noshi." He proclaimed, smiling. "I'm sailing again, and no one can stop me! Once a Pirate, always a Pirate!" He pointed his hammer at them and asked. "You kids got a problem with that?"

Light smirked at him. "'Course not; age doesn't matter as long as you're strong enough."

Sabo had a small smile. "Well, I'm not gonna stop you…" He said before he realized that Ace was walking away. "Ace?" He asked.

"What's wrong?" Light added.

"You spared my life; what can I say?" Ace said crossly. "I'll help you build your ship. For now…" He looked back and proclaimed. "'Cause I'm beating you tomorrow!"

"That's Ace for you…" Sabo said, watching him leave.

Light crossed his arms behind his head. "Yeah, but I get where he's coming from." He admitted. "Losing is… Frustrating."

Naguri just smiled.

And so it went…. Thus began their training with Naguri. The boys spent the next few months working hard to build the ship. They would haul wood from trees they would cut down and carry them through the snow. Not to mention training under Naguri's watchful eyes, going to the trash mountain and finding supplies, sowing the sails, and hunting for food. Day in, day out, with every heavy log they lifted, they grew strong. With every sparring match, they honed their skills. Although the work was intense, bit by bit—They learned what it truly meant to be a Pirate. Spring always seemed to arrive late in Gray Terminal, but even the most stubborn of snow eventually gives way to warm weather.

Right now, the boys were in the middle of a three-person spar while Naguri was on a small nearby hill—Watching them and letting out a yawn.

"I'm not losing!" Ace proclaimed, swinging his metal pipe.

"Yeah, well, neither am I!" Sabo responded, blocking Ace's strike.

"I'm the one who's going to win!" Light proclaimed, striking at them.

The three of them kept on relentlessly attacking each other, fighting, dodging, parrying. It felt like it would always be a stalemate whenever they thought at the same time. Whenever one would land a hit one another, the third one would use that opening to attack them. It was almost coordinated.

This time though, Light charged at Sabo and struck at him, Sabo quickly defended, and their metal pipes clashed. Light then released one of his hands and coated it with Haki, which he used to punch Sabo across the check—Knocking him away.

Before he could follow up, though, Ace charged in from the side at attacked Light. To completely block Ace's pipe, Light had to hold his with both hands. By that point, his Haki faded, and this caused Light to get pushed back.

After getting pushed back a few feet from Ace, Sabo got back up and looked ready to fight some more.

After a while, Naguri got up and stepped forward. "Alright, that's enough for now."

On his call, the trio stopped and lowered their pipes. They then looked at him, confused as to why he suddenly told them to halt.

Naguri sighed at them. "Listen, boys. You've done this enough already. There's more to being a Pirate than just whacking everyone with a pipe." He told them while rubbing the back of his head. "Surely you want more strength?"

They looked as though they didn't understand or they'd never even thought about it, and Sabo said. "Yeah, all that stuff can wait right now, we wanna be strong 'cause the Strongest one of us gets to be the Captain. Why do you think we're training so hard, huh?"

Light nodded in agreement. "That's right, and we can't decide who the Strongest is until one of us beats the tiger."

"The tiger again, huh?" Naguri said slowly as if they had given him the answer to a difficult question he had been wondering. "I agree that a Captain needs to be tough, but there's something more important than that, you see… A different kind of strength that can triumph over any foe."

They all stared at him. "Can you teach us that?" Sabo asked, wanting to know what it was.

"Oh, curious, are you?" Naguri said before pausing for dramatic effect. He kept silent—Not saying a word. While the boys waited with bated breath to hear the answer, Naguri soon finally spoke. "…It slips my mind." He confessed with a laugh.

Both Light and Sabo face-fault, not expecting that response at all and looking at him with annoyance.

"There's no secret. You're making stuff up!" Sabo accused him.

"No, I really forget." He insisted while he continued to laugh.

Ace, however, didn't say a word and just looked at Naguri while thinking. As if he was truly thinking about what Naguri's words might mean. This might of been the first time Ace's thoughts involved anything besides how to become stronger.

A while later, night fell—The only source of light were the moon and stars, and the boys decided to call it a day. Right now, the three of them were resting in a tent inside the cave. Despite the time, Naguri was still working on his ship. Proof of that was the dull sounds of a hammer bating into steel that was echoing throughout the cove. While the other two were resting, Ace was still awake and looked like he still had something on his mind.

Before long, he decided to get up and opened the tent to leave. By that point, Light also woke up and saw Ace leaving. Curious, he got up as well and decided to follow him.

Once he got out of the tent, he called out to Ace, who was a few steps ahead. "Hey, Ace." Upon hearing his call, Ace turned back. "Where are you going?"

Ace turned back and kept walking. "Nowhere; I just need to take care of something."

Still wanting to know what, Light continued to follow him. Ace and Light came out of the cave and walked down the pathway in order to reach the shore. There they approached the ship, where Naguri was still hammering away.

They stopped right in front of it, and Naguri soon stopped hammering when he noticed their presence. Thus he turned around and saw them.

"Can't sleep?" He guessed. "I'm sorry if my hammering is too loud." They both just stayed silent. Light looked at Ace, while Ace just stared at the ground, looking like he wanted to say something, which Naguri took notice of. "What is something the matter?"

"What does it take to be a Captain?" Ace finally asked, looking up at Naguri seriously. "If there really is a way for me to be stronger, I have to know what it is, so just tell me!" He demanded, truly wanting to know.

Light looked mildly surprised by Ace's outburst but quickly calmed himself. "Now I get it. Why wouldn't he ask this?" With a new understanding, Light faced Naguri as well. "I want to know too. If you know, then tell us." He requested.

Naguri uncertainly looked down at them, like he was trying to figure out how to explain it.

Until he said. "Alright then." He then jumped down from the ship and stood in front of them. "I'll be honest…" He leaned in and said. "Even after all these years, I'm still not sure." The two boys looked surprised by that answer. Naguri continued. "Frankly, I don't think I was a very good Captain, but my crew, they still followed me. Right to the end, they called me Captain, without any doubt. And so, in a way, I'm still Captain of the Naguri Pirates, not because of my strength, but because of the approval of my crew. That's the test of a true Captain."

Hearing his words, Light thought back to the only other Pirate crew he had met before—The Red Hair Pirates. He remembered how they all acted around one another, how they treated Shanks, and in turn, how Shanks treated them. They were always having fun, acting like every day was a party, but when Shanks ever made a real Captain-like decision on something, it always felt like the whole crew backed up his decision—Not because they felt like they had to, but because they seemed genuinely willing to follow the choices he made.

"So, to truly be a Captain, you have to be acknowledged by your crew?" Light asked as though he had a small grasp on what he meant.

"That's right." Naguri answered with a smile before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Or so I always say."

Light then started to think about it. "…Could that really be it?"

Ace, however, didn't look convinced in the least. "Ha, bunch of crap." He brushed him off and left.

Light moved to follow him. "See ya." He told Naguri before leaving.

With that, the two boys went back to the tent and went back to sleep. Naguri, meanwhile, decided to work on the ship a bit more.

Time went by, and it was now a bright sunny day by the shore. As Naguri cut a rope to release a ramp which caused the ship to slide forward, and with a great crash, the ship slid down the slope and landed in the sea. This all meant one thing; the ship was finally complete.

The boys all stood on the shore, looking proudly at the ship that they had helped build.

Light smiled and let out a sigh. "We finally finished."

Sabo laughed, grinning proudly. "Okay, not bad, if I'm being honest."

"I couldn't have done it without all your help!" Naguri called aboard the ship with a beaming smile like they had never seen before. "Thank you, boys. I really mean that."

"So, is this it?" Sabo asked. "Like, are you leaving now?"

"Not yet…" He told them, still smiling. "I have one last loose end. I think it's about time we finish that training of yours, huh?" They all looked at him in confusion as he reminded them. "So, are you boys ready to go tiger hunting or what?"

Now they all looked excited after hearing that.

"Wait, for real!?" Sabo called excitedly.

"I'm gonna kill him and put this crappy training behind me for good!" Ace declared.

"Yeah, except I'm gonna kill him!" Sabo argued with him.

"Get real. I'm the one who'll make the kill!" Light yelled at both of them.

Before long, they all made their way into the forest of Mt. Corvo. Right now, the boys were standing in the middle of the clearing, just outside the forest, staring into the darkness of the trees. Armed with only their metal pipes and looking ready for a fight. "…Here it comes." Sabo had just said. And sure enough, there it was…

THUD!

RUMBLE!

Eyes glowing gold, knocking over trees with its large feet, making its way closer and closer to its small prey… The Tiger Lord.

Standing atop a large rock cliff behind the boys was Naguri. He was watching them—And possibly was ready to jump in should something happen. "He certainly hasn't gotten any smaller."

"ROOOOOAAARRR!"

The tiger roared ferociously at them, and of course, Ace was the first one to charge ahead. "I got this!" As Ace quickly closed in, the tiger raised its paw and struck at Ace. "I'm a lot faster now!" Ace yelled as he dodged it in midair as he continued forward, and struck it in the face. The tiger howled in pain as Ace taunted it. "And stronger!"

But unfortunately, the tiger wasn't done as its tail came around and hit him like a whip so that Ace was flown feet away and landed painfully on the ground. As the tiger went for him, Sabo pulled out a fishing rod and used it to wrap its neck up. "Over here!" He called to it, now pulling hard on the pole. "You gotta pay attention, big guy! Just give up already!"

Predictably, the tiger pulled its head back at Sabo and was launched forward so that the tiger was able to strike him away just like it had done with Ace.

"Now it's my turn!" Now the only one left standing, Light charged forward and tried making his own attempt at bringing down the giant beast.

Already forming a plan in mind, Light rushed in at a breakneck pace toward the tiger and clenched his fist—Coating it with Haki. The tiger stuck its paw at him, but like Ace, he dodged in midair, though, unlike Ace landed on its paw and ran up in order to reach its face.

Then when he was right in front of it, Light swung his fist to aim at its weak spot. The one universal weak spot that every creature in nature has… He hit the tiger's right eye.

"GRRRRROOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLLLL!"

Right after the impact, the tiger howled louder than ever before and started thrashing around like it was in a frenzy, which knocked Light away. Light's fist completely crushed its eye. What remained was a bruised, swollen mess that was oozing blood that leaked out from its socket. It wasn't a pleasant sight.

Light smirked, glad that his idea worked, while the others stared with different reactions.

"No way; how'd he dish out that much damage!?" Sabo gawked in disbelief.

"He was able to score a huge hit like that?!" Ace gasped incredulously as he looked at him. "How'd he do that?"

Naguri had a small smile. "Not a bad idea. He used his wits." He spoke, watching the battle. "Since he couldn't do much damage to the body, he aimed for the spot that's always vulnerable." But then, Naguri's smile faded. "But…"

"ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!"

Then before long, the tiger unleashed a roar so loud it hurt the ears of those close by. Its remaining eye became bloodshot, and its claws sharpened. The tiger looked like it had gone completely mad and immediately turned to Light, unleashing a burst of killing intent and charging at him in a berserk rush.

Light, in turn, dashed away as fast as he could. Knowing he'd be killed otherwise if he faced the tiger in this new state. Unfortunately, the tiger was able to close in almost immediately and kept striking at Light with its claws, while Light kept dodging as without looking back. Sadly though, he was too focused on the tiger that he didn't focus on his surroundings, and before he knew it, he was now facing the stone cliff that served as a dead end.

Now that he was trapped, the tiger leaped into the air, determined to pounce on, and finish off its prey. Ace and Sabo saw this and became horrified.

"LIGHT!" Ace screamed, jumping to his feet.

"HANG ON!" Sabo called and also ran.

As the tiger came down, it thrust its paw at Light, intending to use its claws to cut him to shreds.

RUUUMMMMBBBBBBLLLLLEEEE!

Upon impact, there was a crashing sound, and a cloud of dust that was created by the tiger's claw hit the wall of the stone cliff where Light was. When the dust cleared, it was revealed that the claw hadn't touched Light as he used his metal pipe to push against it. But while Light was struggling with all his might, the weight behind the tiger's paw was so heavy that he wouldn't hold out for long.

"Grr… Damn…" Light kept struggling. He felt like his body was going to be crushed. "I can't… Hold on."

After a few seconds—That felt much longer to Light. The tiger growled and pushed harder. Light felt like he was about to be overwhelmed until suddenly, it felt like the weight had reduced slightly. That was because… Ace and Sabo had arrived and were struggling to push back the tiger's paw as well.

"You guys?" Light said apprehensively, seeing the stress on their faces as they struggled to stay on their feet.

"So heavy…" Sabo muttered while his arms were shaking. "Why's it some much stronger now?"

Naguri continued to watch and knew why things were harder than they should have been. "That tiger is undoubtedly the Strongest creature on this Island, but because of that, its never truly been cornered, nor has it ever had a serious wound." He summarized. "That's why when its eye was destroyed, for the first time, it felt danger and great pain that, along with all that blood, made it go into a blind rage. Right now, it's only acting on pure instincts, making it much more dangerous." He looked down at them with concern. "Be careful, boys."

"It's too much…" Sabo said, still struggling. "I thought we were strong."

"No, there's still one thing none of us have…" Ace realized, thinking back—

(Not because of my strength, but because of the approval of my crew.)

Now having a better idea of what Naguri meant, Ace came to a decision. "We've come too far to give up now! Alright, you guys, teamwork!" He declared.

When Naguri heard that, he looked pleased. "Ah, seems things are finally getting interesting."

At that moment, they all gave one big push against Tiger Lord's paw and were able to push it back a bit. Using that opportunity, they all moved away just in time. Sabo went one way, and Ace and Light went off in another. "Hey, Light, do you think you can use your Haki again?"

"I can probably use it one more time, but that's it!" Light answered him while they were running.

"Good, we're not strong enough on our own, but with your power, maybe we can end this!" Ace then hollered over his shoulder. "Sabo! Keep him busy!"

"I'm on it!" Sabo called back, turning as he began taunting the tiger to come to him.

While the tiger was chasing Sabo, Ace and Light made all the way to the trees and turned around. "Okay, you ready?"

Light nodded determinedly. "I am."

They both faced the direction the tiger was in and ran quickly toward it. "Go as fast as you can. We need a running start!" Ace commanded before yelling at Sabo. "Sabo, this way!"

"I hope this works 'cause I think I'm about to die!" Sabo yelled as he sprinted towards them with the tiger hot in pursuit.

"You'll be okay, just a little bit more, and he's history!" Ace called and went back to Light. "You know what we're doing, right?!"

"Yeah, leave it to me!" Light answered back.

They all ran towards each other. Light and Ace ran towards the tiger that was chasing Sabo, while Sabo ran towards Light and Ace—While gasping for air. Once they were only a few feet away from contact, they began their plan.

The tiger jumped into the air to pounce again, and Ace and Light jumped into the air as well to counter it. At that point, Ace held out his metal pipe and Light stepped onto it, using it as a springboard to jump again. Now, he was even higher up than the tiger and moved in to attack.

[GOOOOOO! LIIIIIGGGGGGGHHHHHHTTTTTT!] Ace and Sabo roared on the ground for him to finish it.

As Light clenched his fist and closed in on the tiger's head, his mind went back to previous thoughts.

(My goal, for now, will be becoming the Strongest creature on this Island, and that means taking down both the tiger and the bear. If I can't do that much, then I can't very well say I'll be the Strongest in the World.)

"The goal I made on that day…" Light thought back before he struck. "Today, I will achieve it!" He thought before he said out loud. "I'LL KILL YOUUUUUUU!"

Right in that instance, Light fist flared up, and it became coated in Haki—Colors of Armament. But this time, it was different. It was more stable and solidified. A more concentrated Haki compared to before… But that wasn't all.

Bursting out from Light's entire body was something else, something even more powerful and of much greater magnitude. This power that was like the mix of a shockwave and a repulse erupted from Light and shot out in every direction, encompassing the tiger as well; when the tiger felt this power, it froze—A stunned look appeared on its face as if it felt the weight of this force.

Not noticing what he had done, Light swung his fist down with all the strength, speed, and willpower he could muster.

BANG!

Once his punch crashed down on the tiger, it crushed its neck. And with a giant crash, the tiger's body fell backward and hit the ground like a giant boulder… Where it didn't move. Its eyes were closed, and its breathing stopped, no doubt—The Tiger Lord was dead.

A second later, Light came down and landed on the deceased tiger's body. While Ace, Sabo, and even Naguri were looking at him, surprised.

"That power?" Sabo said flabbergasted. "That was the same as Naguri?"

I know…" Ace said, taken aback. "It was crazy."

Naguri looked down at him, slightly impressed. "So he does have it, Noshi."

By that point, knowing that he had one. Light took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"AAAAAAARRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!"

Light looked up at the sky and roared at the top of his lungs as a sign of his victory. To those looking at him from a distance, it felt as though something was wrong with their eyes, but even though the one standing on top of that dead tiger was a young boy, it felt like in his place was a proud Lion.

Once the fighting was over, they all decided to head back to the shore. Right now, they were in the middle of an important conversation that led to a debate.

"Yeah, but I was the one who did the most damage to it, and I finished it off, remember?" Light pointed out.

"But remember that I was the was who led the tiger away and had the guts to face it by myself to buy you guys enough time." Sabo rebuked.

"You're both forgetting that whole thing was my plan, and I was leading the group when we were finishing off the tiger." Ace finished.

Currently, the three of them are in a heated debate regarding which one of them should be the Captain. Since the Captain position was supposed to go to whichever one of them defeated the tiger, they couldn't really make that call because they had to work together to win in the end. So now the question was who did the most in that fight, deciding that would decide who should be the Captain.

Unfortunately, that was something they couldn't come to an agreement on, and they have been stuck going back and forth discussing this. Naguri, who was nearby, just yawned.

After a while, the trio of boys turned to Naguri and approached him as Ace said. "Naguri, you decide."

"Hmm, what?" Naguri asked, confused.

"We can't decide ourselves, so you choose which one of us should be Captain?" Sabo requested of him.

"Yeah, you're an unbiased tie-breaker, so it should be fine." Light added, wanting him to decide.

Naguri uncomfortably rubbed the back of his head. "Good grief, you're certainly putting me on the spot." He muttered before going silent. He kept looking at them, trying to think of an answer, while they just stared back at him with serious expressions, wanting to hear his response. After a dramatic pause, he smiled and said. "…Honestly, I can't decide."

With that, all there of them face-faulted, and then they all snapped. [WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T DECIDE!?]

Sabo then shouted in annoyance. "Are you trying to screw with us, or is this just a running gag to you?"

"Just hear me out first." Naguri calmly told them before he continued. "The truth is, after watching that fight, I saw each of you show qualities that are worthy of a Captain. You see, when a person's life is in danger, they reveal what they're truly made of in a struggle to survive." He explained, looking at them. "Courage and grit." He looked at Sabo. "Leadership and insight." He looked at Ace. "Strength and determination." He looked at Light. "All those things are important qualities for a Captain to have, but if you ask me to choose which are the most, I, well, I really just can't decide."

After hearing his explanation, the boys calmed down a bit and gave it some thought.

"I guess you have a point." Sabo relented. "Those are all things that a Captain should have."

"But then, what are we supposed to do now?" Light asked, completely stumped. "If we still can't decide which one of us should be the Captain, then what was the point of hunting that tiger in the first place?"

Ace thought about all this and finally said. "…Don't worry about it. We don't have to decide that anymore."

His words surprised the other two.

"What do you mean?" Sabo asked.

Ace smiled. "If we're stumped on an answer right now, then let's just stop worrying about it. After all, we don't know what we'll do when we become Pirates or even if we'll all be on the same ship, so let's just take our time figuring things out and let things just run their course." He reasoned.

Sabo and Light thought about it for a moment, looking at each other before they both shrugged and smiled, showing they were okay with going along with that idea for now. Naguri smiled as well, satisfied with this outcome.

"Well then, that leaves only one last thing." Naguri said, turning to Light. "Light, do you think you can try using your Haki one more time?"

"Well, okay?" Confused by his sudden request but not seeing any problem, Light complied. However, to his surprise, when he coated his fist in Haki, he immediately noticed the difference compared to before. For example, he no longer felt any struggle in keeping it activated. "What the? What's going on?"

Naguri grinned. "Looks like I was right, Noshi. You've fully awakened your Haki."

Not just Light but Ace and Sabo also became wide-eyed when they heard that. "I did…?"

"Does it feel any different?" Sabo asked, looking closely at his hand.

Light nodded. "Yeah, before, whenever I used my Haki, it felt like picking up a heavy piece of weight, and I had to keep it up until the struggle became too much, and I had to put it down to catch my breath." Light described how his Haki previously felt. "But now, it feels light and natural, like I could keep this up for a while."

Ace looked over to Naguri. "You said he still needed one last push before he could fully awake." Ace reminded him. "So what did it turn out to be?"

"It's actually quite simple." Naguri began to explain. "As I said, Haki is measured by the power of your will, and when you're pushed to the brink and yet still have the will to keep going, your Haki will respond and show itself. That final blow against the tiger was the moment your Haki truly awoke and came out, though you were so absorbed in the fight that you didn't notice at the time."

Light processed those words and looked down at his hand, staring at it before he deactivated the Haki that was covering it.

He then smiled proudly, clenched his fist, and muttered. "I finally did it."

Sabo smiled as well. "Great job, Light." Sabo praised him until he suddenly realized something. "Wait… Gah! This means that Light's the Strongest now!"

"So what?" Ace immediately responded, not looking fazed. "Even if you can use Haki now, it won't change anything. I'll just keep getting stronger until I leave you two in the dust." He confidently proclaimed.

Light smirked back at him. "Go ahead and try it, but I won't lose."

Sabo grinned now too. "Well, you both better watch out, or I'll beat both of you."

Naguri watched the three of them and looked continent with how things played out. "I couldn't have asked for a better ending. My work here is done." He thought as he turned to leave. "So long, boys."

"Naguri!" Ace called, making Naguri stop. "I know your old, but you can't die yet. I still want a rematch, so don't let anyone beat you until then."

"Take care, okay?" Sabo added his own parting words.

"We couldn't have done it without you. Good luck out there." Light told him with gratitude.

Naguri didn't move for a moment before he smirked. "I'll be waiting for you at sea, Noshi."

He then pulled off his cloak and tied it to his hammer, revealing the cloak to be a flag. Yes, it was an old Pirate Flag, with two hammers for the crossbones and a fist for the skull. He held it high and proud… His way of saying goodbye. The boys were all impressed by it.

After that, the sun began to set, and the sky turned into a bright shade of orange. It was at that time that Naguri chose to finally set sail. He set the sails on his ship, and the boat took off into the waves while the boys all stood on the shore waving goodbye.

Thus they bid farewell to their teacher, Naguri. A little stronger and a little wiser, they continued on their path to be Pirates. It wasn't long until Naguri's ship was completely out of sight and sailed over the horizon. Once that was done, the trio decided to leave and made their way back to their treehouse in the woods.

Two days passed after parting ways with Naguri. It was a bright and sunny day as Ace, Sabo, and Light were walking in the direction of the Gray Terminal. On the way, they walked passed trees that had broken branches, and there were layers of rainwater around them. The reason for that was because the day before, there was a large storm that hit the mountain. The storm was so strong that it blew away their treehouse hideout, which was why they were going to the Gray Terminal to find parts to rebuild it.

"Well, let's look on the bright side." Light suggested staying positive. "At least our treasure stash and Pirate Flag didn't get blown away."

Sabo sighed. "Yeah, too bad we gotta build a new hideout, though."

Ace shrugged, unconcerned, and said. "No biggie, we just gotta grab some new parts."

"This time, I say we should find some steel rope." Light suggested.

"Steel rope?" Ace repeated. "What would we need that for?"

"Simple, we can tie the treehouse down more sturdily with steel rope and give it a stronger hold. That way, we won't have to worry about another storm." Light reasoned, thinking it made sense.

"Where the heck are we supposed to find something like that?" Ace asked, not agreeing with him.

Light shrugged. "There are mountains of trash everywhere. It could happen."

Sabo sighed. "I think I'd rather have a cannon."

"Where the heck are we supposed to find something like that?!" This time Light snapped at Sabo.

"Why are you suddenly trying to be the rational one?!" Sabo barked at him.

"Oh, come on, as if anyone would just leave a cannon lying around." Light elaborated. "My idea at least made more sense."

"Would you two give it a rest." Ace rolled his eyes. "Let's just focus on finding parts. Your things can wait until we have a new base."

Before long, the three boys arrived at Gray Terminal and began rummaging through the mountains of garbage, looking for anything useful. At some point, they split up and kept searching; Ace and Light were nearby each other while Sabo was further away.

Light threw some junk aside and turned to Ace. "Find anything good?"

Ace picked up a few scraps of wood as he spoke. "Just some lumber."

Light picked up a few boards as well. "Me too, but not enough for what we need."

"Well, let's go find Sabo; maybe found some more?" Ace suggested.

"Yeah, okay, let's…" Light started before he paused abruptly and stared off in the direction behind him.

Ace noticed he was acting strangely and asked. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Light continued to stare for a bit until he responded. "I don't know how to explain this, but I think we've been followed."

Ace became alert. "What? By who?"

"I'm not sure…" Light admitted, sounding serious. "But I can just tell something's not right. I can feel something over in that direction, it's like when I feel a bear or a pack of wolfs are nearby, my body sends me warning signals and I can just tell." He explained. "It feels like that right now."

"So, it's instincts?" Ace asked, also serious.

Light nodded, which made Ace think.

"He's got the instincts of a Wild-Cat. Odds are he's right, and there's something bad over there…" Ace thought until he suddenly realized something, and his eyes widened. "Hold on, that's the direction Sabo went in."

Light's eyes went wide as well, and then he became alert. "We'd better go."

They both dropped the parts they were carrying and ran off to where Sabo was.

A few minutes earlier, Sabo was walking around the trash hills and carrying a few planks of wood. As Sabo was looking around, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps and turned to see grown men dressed like thugs approach him from the front, three from the sides, and two more from behind. Thus surrounding him—They all had venomous smirks on their faces—As though they had just cornered a defenseless prey.

Finally, one more appeared from the front, and judging by his clothes and demeanor, he was the leader of this group. He was a rather tall man with short hair on the top of his head that was fashioned in a striped manner, while the hair flowed down long and unkempt down his sides. And as he smiled, it seemed half of his molars were missing in an alternating pattern, and he wore a traditional captain's jacket over a white shirt. But what really stood out was the air of malevolence that surrounded him. It was like you just needed one look to know he was bad news.

"Well, hello there." He spoke to Sabo in an intimidating tone. "Who would have thought that one of the three Gray Terminal brats was from a Noble family?"

"Bluejam, how do you know that?!" Sabo yelled cautiously.

Instead of answering, Bluejam signaled his crew. "Alright, men, try not to leave a mark."

Sabo knew he was in trouble, but he couldn't run with so many Pirates surrounding him on all sides. One of them tried to rush in and grab him from behind, but Sabo kicked him in the face—knocking him down, and yelled. "You jerks want a piece of me?! Come on!"

[AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!]

They were interrupted by the sudden sound of yelling. Looking toward the source, they all saw a barrel rolling down a hill of trash, speeding toward them. At once, the men were all distracted by the sight of the barrel, and before the nearest Pirate—The one standing behind Sabo—Could react, the went slammed right into him, knocking him clean off his feet, and he was out cold before he hit the ground.

At the same time, when the barrel hit him, Light and Ace broke out and charged ahead to join Sabo.

"All right, nice shot!" Sabo cried out, grinning wildly, and turned back, ready for a fight now that his backup had finally shown up.

"Looks like your instincts were right on the money, Light." Ace realized, looking around before turning to face Sabo. "You ready to take them on, Sabo?"

Sabo just nodded with a relieved smile. "Yeah!"

Ace turned to face the Pirates, still grinning—Clearly not afraid at all. "Nobody can take on all three of us at once. I don't care if they are Pirates."

Light stepped forward with the same expression. "Let's show them they picked the wrong guys to mess with."

But the Bluejam Pirates were now looking angrier than ever as they slowly advanced toward them.

"Yeah? Just try me!" One of them yelled threateningly, holding up his Sword.

Ace just kept smiling. "I know how we can wrap this one up fast." He said to the others. "Let's go straight for the leader!"

"Sounds good to me!" Light yelled in agreement, and they ran together.

Sabo dropped the supplies he gathered, and they took care of business. The three of them were dodging out of the way of the blows and counter-attacking with their metal pipes, easily knocking away every opponent that appeared in front of them with one strike each.

Once the boys took out all the underlings, they ran at Bluejam—Looking ready to finish the job.

However, Bluejam's face didn't look worried at all—Even with all his lackeys taken down and the trio of boys charging at him with blunt objects. The reason for that became clear when his hand went flying for his gun that was tucked into his belt.

BANG!

Bluejam pulled it out and fired. Thankfully it missed them, but it was a narrow miss… Just inches from Ace's foot—It was enough to make him and Sabo stop dead in their tracks—But not Light as he continued his charge.

Bluejam fired again but missed again as Light quickly reached him and jumped forward. "One lousy gun won't stop me!" He roared as he raised his fist.

Now in a position to attack, Light coated his fist in Haki and launched his fist forward, burying his punch into Bluejam's cheek, which knocked him back a few feet and knocked his gun out of his hands. Light landed back on the ground in front of Ace and Sabo and looked pleased with his success.

Ace grinned, also pleased. "Good shot, Light."

Light nodded, still smiling. "Yeah, now let's finish this!"

But suddenly, they heard more footsteps—This time, it was loud enough to be a large group of people. As they all looked to see who was coming, Sabo stopped dead, staring horrified in the direction the group was coming from. The scared and shocked look on Sabo's face made the other two look as well. What they saw made them freeze too. A large group of men was approaching them, each one wearing what had to be gas masks, and each one was carrying loaded rifles as they marched. But standing there with them was a man that only Sabo recognized…

He was a man that had black hair, and much like his Sabo, he wore a top hat with the only differences being the feathers, a flower, and what appears to be a silver-lined band on the hat. He has a thin black mustache and wears a suit with a flower on each lapel, with the one on the left having feathers similar to the ones seen on his hat. He also wears an ascot underneath his suit jacket.

As they arrived at the scene, the man spoke, looking over at all of them with a cold look in his eyes, as if he could think of a million things he'd rather be doing than being here. Strangely enough, he was looking at Sabo with disappointment as he spoke. "It appears I arrived just in time."

"Father…" Sabo whispered in shock, too scared to move.

At that one word, Ace and Light looked at Sabo with shock as well, unable to believe what they had just heard.

"Father? What are you talking about?" Ace questioned him, though he didn't get an answer.

Unfortunately, at that point, more of Bluejam's men came out and surrounded them again. This time they grabbed the boys and held them up, keeping them in place.

Bluejam looked over at Sabo's apparent father and said in an oily voice. "Master, he's caught, and he doesn't have a scratch on him." Bluejam turned towards the man that was holding Sabo and gestured for him to come forward. "Bring him."

"Don't you dare!" Sabo yelled, suddenly remembering how to move as he struggled to break free.

"Hey, no!" Ace yelled.

"Those other boys?" Sabo's father looked over at Light and Ace as if examining a pair of stray dogs before turning his nose up at them in disgust. "They're the ones who tempted Sabo into a life of debauchery and wickedness."

"Damn it!" Light cursed, struggling to break free. "Let him go, you bastard!"

"What do you mean 'Let him go,' you filthy rat? Sabo is my son!" Sabo's father yelled at him as if he was arguing with someone over a piece of property. "Which means that he's obligated to live under the path that I have prepared for him." Sabo's father went on by pointing a finger at them. "You should be ashamed, steering him towards the life of a petty thief! You're both nothing but wannabe thugs! Why did you do it? For my money?!" He went on to ask.

"Don't lecture us, you piece of shit!" Light roared, his eyes burning with rage.

"Yeah, screw your damn money!" Ace yelled as well, looking almost as angry as when he fought Naguri that first time. But then, the Pirate holding him slammed him into the ground in order to silence him. Ace's face was cut by something sharp, and blood splattered everywhere, including hitting Sabo's father's cheek.

As if getting hit with mud, he yelled as he wiped the blood off with his handkerchief. "You foolish Pirate, quit knocking that kid around so carelessly! You'll get that Delinquent's disgusting blood on my nice clothes!" He finished, throwing the cloth away onto one of the garbage piles like it was something disgusting.

Ace looked up, glaring daggers at Sabo's father. On the other side, Sabo had finally broken free and ran to his father, standing between him and his friends. "Stop this, okay!" He demanded in desperation. "Nobody tempted me to do anything! I only ran away because I wanted to!"

Sabo's father just glared at him with irritation. "I'll be dealing with you later, Sabo! Take him!" He ordered as two soldiers grabbed him and pulled him back. Once Sabo was out of the way, he turned back to Bluejam and said. "Deal with the other two however you see fit."

Bluejam merely grinned at the idea and continued to speak in an oily voice. "Not a problem, master. You've already paid us quite handsomely." He went on. "We'll make sure these two never bother your son again. I'll spare you the gory details."

Sabo gasped as his eyes widened in horror. Ace also became worried as he kept struggling to break free.

Light, on the other hand, was wracking his brain, trying to think of a way to get out of this seemingly hopeless situation. He kept thinking, looking over at the Pirates, the soldiers, and Sabo's father, doing everything he could to think of a solution.

"Is this it…? Am I really going to die in a place like this? No! I refuse to accept that. I have to think of a way out of this. If I don't, they'll kill Ace and me, and Sabo will be taken by these people." Light thought it over. He kept processing every option in his mind in order to find the answer… Then like a blow to the head, it hit him—

(I know how we can wrap this one up fast." He said to the others. "Let's go straight for the leader!)

After remembering those words, Light immediately thought of an idea. "I've only got one shot at this. I'll need to move fast."

Quickly beginning to plan he came up with, Light pulled out a small pocket knife from his sleeve, and with the same speed, he thrust the knife downwards and stabbed it into the arm of the Pirate holding him.

"GGGAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Even though it happened out of nowhere, the man immediately felt the pain of being stabbed and screamed in pain. He dropped and gripped his open wound, the sound of his sudden scream alerts everyone there, and they all turn to look at him in surprise. This causes everyone to be momentarily distracted and gives Light the opportunity to continue with his plan.

On the ground where he stood, near his foot, was a gun—The same one that Bluejam dropped when he punched him. Light swiftly picked it up and aimed it at the one person he knew would get the attention of everyone should he be shot.

BANG!

With a pull of the trigger, Light fired the gun, and the bullet hit the stomach of Sabo's father.

"AAAAGGGGHHHHHH!"

This time, Sabo's father screamed in not only pain but terror as well. Never did he expect to be injured when he came here today. Thus the fact that he was shot and in danger shook him almost as badly as the pain itself. Seeing him get shot made all the guards and Pirates horrified as well, and they all ran to him, completely forgetting about the boys enough that they dropped Ace and let go of Sabo.

"Master!" Bluejam shouted, concerned.

"Sir, Outlook!" A guard yelled with visible fear.

This was the chance they needed. With everyone keeping their attention on Sabo's father, Light began the final step of his plan; Escaping.

"Let's go!" He shouted towards Sabo and ran.

At that moment, Sabo and Ace—Who were also distracted and staring at Outlook, snapped out of their stupor and followed Light as they all made a mad dash toward the forest. As they ran, one of the guards saw them escaping and aimed his rifle at them, but before he could shoot, another guard stopped him.

"Don't shoot!" The guard stopped him in a hurry. "You might hit Sir Outlook's son."

A third guard spoke to both of them. "Never mind them for now. Our main concern should be getting Sir Outlook to safety."

And with no one chasing after them, the trio of boys was able to reach the woods, where they escaped off into safety.

After the boys escaped that ordeal, they were now standing on a grassy hill cliffside that was outside the forest and had a perfect view of the ocean. Light stood while stretching out his arms, Sabo had his back against a tree, and Ace was just sitting on the grass.

"Ha, that was a close one." Light said, relieved, relaxed now that they were safe.

"That was amazing, Light." Sabo praised him with gratitude in his voice. "How'd you do all that?"

"I remembered what Ace said about taking out the leader to finish things quickly." Light began, taking out his knife. "All I had to do was get free, and then, I knew once I argued with that guy, they'd all focus on him, giving us the chance to get away." He explained. "Since he was really important to them, they'd care more about saving him than killing us."

"Whoa, you thought up all that on the spot?" Sabo asked, somewhat impressed.

"Well, it sounds simpler than it actually was. That was a real do-or-die moment." Light admitted, looking at his knife. "One thing's for sure if I didn't have this thing, none of that would've worked."

Sabo looked at it and realized something. "Hey, isn't that the same knife you used on Porchemy all those months ago?"

Light nodded. "Yeah, I didn't take it with me when I left to train with Naguri, but I found it in the wreaking of the hideout yesterday." He explained before he smiled. "Still, though, that's the second time this knife saved our necks."

"You're right. Maybe it is lucky?" Sabo guessed humorously.

"Quit changing the subject." Ace got up and narrowed his eyes at Sabo. "You've got some explaining to do, Sabo."

Sabo then looked like a deer caught in the headlights and backed up against the tree.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not hiding anything!" Sabo exclaimed even as he shifted nervously and couldn't bring himself to look at either of them.

"Don't think you can pull that crap?!" Ace shouted, not buying his lie for a second. "We almost died back there, so we have a right to know what all that was about. Tell us!"

"I agree with Ace. Tell us—What happened back there?" Light demanded, also wanting an explanation."You called that guy 'father', and yet he was definitely a Noble from High Town, that was obviously by the way he looked and acted, so what's going here?"

Both boys were standing in front of him and said together. [Tell us, Sabo!]

Sabo frowned and looked extremely uncomfortable. "…Alright, I'll tell you everything." He said quietly.

Ace and Light backed off, and Sabo back leaned against the tree behind him. He looked between his friends for a moment before turning his gaze to the ground.

"I'm sure you already figured this out, but that Noble was Outlook III…" Sabo started, looking hesitant to say the next part. "He's my father."

Ace's eyes went wide. "I hear that, but I can't believe it. I thought both your parents were dead?" He brought up, confused.

Sabo sighed, sliding down the tree until he was sitting on the ground. "I know that's what I told you, but it was true." He said softly. "The truth is, both of my parents are still alive. So yeah, I'm not an orphan. That means I lied about growing up in Gray Terminal too." Sabo glanced up at them. "I'm sorry. I know I've been lying to you guys for a long time now…" He said sincerely.

"It makes sense now…" Light said, thinking back. "That time we went to that restaurant, you showed the owner that pendant, and he thought you were a Noble. You didn't steal. It was yours, to begin with."

Sabo nodded, remembering that. "Yeah, that was my family's crest. I kept it with me in case I'd ever need it."

"But if your parents are still alive, they why were you in the Gray Terminal in the first place?" Light asked, not understanding it.

Ace frowned at him and also asked. "Yeah, tell us the whole story. If you're really from a Noble family, why would you wanna live in some crappy junk heap?"

Sabo angrily grits his teeth. "'Cause I ran away from home, that's why!" Sabo confessed loudly, and the boys looked at him in surprise.

Sabo sat there with an angry look on his face as he came clean and told them everything. "I realized they love their money, their property, their status, but not their son. If I couldn't marry into a Royal family, I was useless to them." He told them, narrowing his eyes in resentment. "They tried to teach me culture and literature and all that stuff… But I guess I didn't learn fast enough because they were always arguing and getting mad. That family had no place for someone like me." Sabo sighed as he stopped shaking from anger and said. "I know you guys have it worse, but if I had parents, I was still alone."

"But why Gray Terminal, of all places?" Light asked, a bit shook by all this.

"Because at least the people in Gray Terminal know what it means to be free." Sabo said, crossing his arms. "If the Nobles in High Town didn't spend their whole lives licking the boots of the Royal family, maybe they'd look up and see there's more to the world.

Light and Ace at Sabo with new understanding as Ace muttered. "Man, I had no idea."

But like magic, the gloomy look on Sabo's face disappeared, and he jumped to his feet with an excited grin on his face. "Ace! Light! Listen!" He said, smiling, taking them by surprise. "The three of us, we're gonna leave this country. We're gonna sail the seas and see the world! And once I've done it all, I'm gonna write a book for kids like me! 'Cause studying is fun when you're learning about adventure, and we're gonna have lots of 'em! We're gonna be Pirates!" He called out, at last, punching the air with his fists.

Ace and Light started grinning with Sabo.

Ace laughed. "You don't gotta tell me." He told them as he walked out to the edge of the cliff. He gazed up at the bright blue sky and said determinedly. "I'm gonna be a Pirate anyway. I'll be so tough that all the other Pirates and all the Marines will bow at my feet! Everyone in the world will know my name! That's gonna be the legacy I leave behind when I die!" He held up his pipe and declared. "I don't care if people hate me, I don't care if they wish I'd never been born, but they won't ignore me! That's what it means to be strong, to be a great Pirate! I won't ever lose, and I won't ever run away! Who cares if the world fears me or respects me or whatever, I'm gonna be a legend!"

Light smirked with determination. "Then, it's my turn." He stepped forward to stand beside Ace and made his own declaration. "I'm gonna be a Pirate that rises higher than anyone else! I'll sail on a great ship with a strong crew and carve my name into history!" He then proudly raised his fist in the air. "No matter how many enemies stand in my way or how many obstacles block my path, be they Pirates or Marines, I'll tear through all of them with these Knuckles o' mine and keep moving ahead! And then, I'll be the Strongest Man in the World!"

Light turned back to the other two and smiled, they both smiled as well, and the three of them started laughing together.

Sabo suddenly stopped laughing and asked. "But wait, even though we all want to be Pirates, we never really figured out who's going to be Captain."

"Actually, I think I have an idea regarding that." Ace brought up, looking sure of himself.

A little while later, they moved away from the cliff and were in the forest; they the fact that the sound of waves could still be heard suggested that they weren't too far in the woods. Light and Sabo were waiting around by a tree stump and watched as Ace came towards them with a bottle of sake. Then Sabo put down three red sake cups, using the stump as a table.

"We'll figure it out when the time comes. Maybe we'll leave on one ship, and maybe we'll leave on three." Ace said, walking up to them and putting the bottle down next to the cups. Ace grinned and opened the bottle. "Let me tell you guys a secret; all it takes to become brothers is to share some sake." He told them, pouring a generous amount of the drink into each cup.

"Are you serious?" Light asked with a wide, beaming grin on his face. Sabo was grinning just as widely next to him.

"We may sail on different seas, with different crews, on different ships, but wherever we go and whatever adventures we have, we'll always be brothers, and no one can take that away!" Ace exclaimed, now smiling as widely as the other two as he picked up his cup.

Sabo and Light copied him, each taking their own cup.

"From now on!" Ace proclaimed firmly, holding his cup up. "We're honest-to-goodness brothers, cheers to that!"

The trio clinked their cups together.

[Brothers!] They cheered, affirming Ace's words—And as the sun shone down on the cups, the drinks in them seemed to sparkle as they tilted their heads back and drank.

On that day, a bond of brotherhood that was all but unbreakable was forged.

And that's the chapter. As you all saw, most of this chapter covered the time they spent with Naguri and the tiger hunt. I added it in for several reasons, mainly because I felt it would only make sense for Light to truly learn Haki after receiving the aid of a teacher, not to mention training with Naguri and fighting the tiger was a great foil to all of their characters, it made them stronger and closer, and Naguri taught them so much about what Pirates are really like, so I felt I just had to add all that in this story.

For those who are wondering, when I described Light trouble with controlling his Haki early on, think of it like how Luffy was at the beginning of the special 3D2Y where he had trouble using his Haki, but by the end, he finally got the hang of it, I used that same concept here to better emphasize Light's growth.

Then when it came to the part at Gray Terminal, as you saw, the outcome was different from the canon—Sabodidn't get taken away, and they all escaped. I had always planned to make things go in that direction, and in the next character, more things will be different from the canon, but I won't say what.

Anyways thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. If you want more, leave a review. If you like the story, click the follow/favorite, and as always, have an awesome day.