Hey everyone, and welcome to my One Piece fanfiction. This chapter took a lot longer to finish than I expected. Considering the events of the chapter almost completely diverged from the Canon, it was hard to put everything together. Plus, lately, it's been nothing but bad news after bad news for me, and I just wanted to get this one done and hopefully get myself back together. 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

Terminal Fire; Goodbye, My Brother

The moon and stars shine bright as they light up the sky in the middle of the night. Within the walls of High Town, the roads and streets were empty, and there wasn't a sound, save for the sound of footsteps coming from a duo of night cops that were tasked with patrolling some area of the town during a night shift.

As the two cops walked by—Being able to see through the darkness of the night thanks to the aid of their flashlights, a small sound was heard in the deep deafening silence around them, and one of them took notice of that, causing him to stop and look around.

His partner noticed this and stopped as well. "What's wrong?"

The cop looked around at both sides and spoke. "I think I heard something."

They both remained quiet, but whatever it was he claimed to hear wasn't there, and no other sound besides the sound of their breathing filled the air.

"I don't hear anything?" His partner told him.

"I know, but…." The cop agreed but still didn't feel right.

His partner shrugged and continued his advance. "Must have been your imagination."

"Hey, wait up!" The cop followed after his partner, not wanting to be left behind.

Unbeknownst to either of them, they weren't the only ones awake at the time. If either of them had looked up, they would have seen that the sound he heard wasn't his imagination.

Standing on the roof of the building beside where they were standing was a silhouette that was shrouded in the dark of the night. The only features that could be discerned were his height which was short and lean in stature, the fact that he was carrying a sack almost as large as his body, and the fact that he was wearing a wide, toothy grin on his face.

When the coast was clear the mysterious figure ran towards the edge of the roof and jumped over it, landing on the roof of the neighboring building. With the speed and agile movements that could rival an alley cat, the figure quickly made its way to the wall that surrounded High Town as well as Edge Town that was beneath. After arriving there, he jumped again and landed on top of the wall.

Now Standing atop the wall, the figure walked over to the edge, and there he saw the hook of a grappling rope that was hooked on the edge of the wall, and the rope was tied to a metal pipe that was stuck to the ground at the bottom of the wall. Using the rope to slide down, the silhouette quickly reached the ground and was now in the Gray Terminal. He then pulled the rope and brought the grappling hook down as well.

After that, he wrapped the rope around his shoulder, grabbed the pipe from the ground, held it with one hand, and used the other hand to carry his large sack. After that, he ran through Gray Terminal and dashed away from the wall that covered the only true cities on this Island.

Ignore all the hobos and bums as he ran. The small figure kept running until he reached the forest. He dashed through the trees and vegetation as he made his way to a specific point. It wasn't long before he arrived at a familiar treehouse in the woods that had a light coming from the inside.

As he made his way to the treehouse, he climbed up the ladder and knocked on the hatch door to signal the people inside.

In a moment, the door opened, and the ones standing there were the two boys known as Ace and Sabo.

Ace smiled as said. "Well, hello, sir. Find anything interesting tonight."

With the light from the treehouse to light things up, the silhouette was revealed to be Light, who grinned and played along with his banter as he showed them the sack. "See for yourself, my good man."

Sabo grinned as well and extended his hand. "Ah, get in here already."

[Ahahahahahaha!]

Light accepted his hand and entered the treehouse, and the three of them started laughing.

Once inside, Ace opened the sack, and both he and Sabo gasped when they saw the contents. It was large piles of treasures, enough to make it look like he had robbed a jewelry store or something. They each grabbed a handful and looked very pleased with the valuables now in their possession.

"This is great." Ace proclaimed with satisfaction.

"Late-night theft, it was a great idea." Sabo stated, sounding pleased. "Not only can we avoid causing panic, considering no one would see it happen since the whole town's asleep, but even after some Nobles wake up to find a bunch of their stuff's gone, they'd have no way of knowing we did it." He then looked at Light. "And since Light's so good at stealth and is infamous for doing this stuff, we practically have nothing to worry about."

"I'm not a thief. I'm a burglar. You know that." Light pointed out. "But you're right. This method lets us avoid attention to Sabo's Dad and keep racking up cash for the Pirate fund."

"Which reminds me, how much money do we have now?" Sabo asked with some excitement.

"Even if we had this much, we've got more than enough to buy a ship." Ace answered, counting some of the money. "And at this rate, we're just going to make more."

Light then lifted up his metal pipe and grinned. "To Piracy!"

Sabo and Ace followed suit and lifted their pipes as well. [To Piracy!]

CLANG!

They clicked the tips of their pipes together and enjoyed the rest of the night.

It had been a little over a month since the day they escaped Sabo's Father and Bluejam's crew, who were working for him. And ever since that day, Ace, Light, and Sabo have never been closer. After they had formed a bond of Brotherhood, they started training together again as they did before. They even fought 100 matches a day again. Though, with the advantage of being the only one among them who could use Haki, Light won a lot more now.

They also were able to collect enough parts and supplies from rebuilding their treehouse hideout in the woods. This one was built in a different place than the old one. It was closer to the shore and much further away from Gray Terminal. And with that done, they decided to go back to finding treasure for their Pirate fund. Since they wanted to avoid the possibility of running into Sabo's Father again, they decided to have Light sneak into High Town during the night and rob Nobles of their fortunes while they slept.

While the Nobles loved their money and spent all their time counting their money or making more of it, they clearly weren't smart about protecting it. Not only were the locations in their homes where their valuables were kept easy to find, but the security around it and their living courters, for that matter, were almost ridiculously lax.

Sabo explained to them that nice the Nobility were already ridiculously wealthy. They loved flaunting their wealth whenever they could, so they always made sure to keep them in places where anyone who came in could see them right away. And even if others could steal them, no Noble ever did simply because they believed it was beneath them and their wealth was much more impressive.

Fortunately for the boys, because the Nobles had their heads so far up their asses, they'd never decide to stop leaving their treasures lying around even after a few robberies, and so they always have more stuff to steal.

Anyways, the sun came up over the horizon as a new day began. It was the day after Light had succeeded in yet another heist, and the three Brothers were currently in the woods in the middle of their usual sparring. The fight that was happening now was the last fight of the day—That being a match between Sabo and Light.

After fighting for a while, the two of them charged at each other, aiming for a final punch.

[Aaaahhh!] They both roared.

Once the two reached each other, Sabo was the first to throw a punch, but Light tilted his head slightly and dodged it. Then he smirked as he covered his right hand with Haki and hit Sabo in the cheek with a powerful haymaker that knocked him away and onto the ground.

After that, Ace raised his arm and called the fight. "Light wins!"

"Ah yeah!" Light raised his fist in triumph.

"Gah! Dammit!" Sabo got up and frowned while gasping his swore cheek. "I swear, we really atta make Haki banned in these fights."

"Forget it." Ace rejected that idea. "I'm not letting anyone say I can't win without a handicap."

"Well, it's not you that I'm worried about!" Sabo snapped at him.

"Don't be too upset, Sabo." Light told him lightheartedly. "You guys still win sometimes."

"Tch, I don't need you patronizing me." Sabo crossed his arms and looked away.

"In any case, we're all done for today." Ace proclaimed. "Let's head back to the hideout."

"Hold on, Ace." Sabo objected, having another idea. "Let's head to the Gray Terminal first, a new pile of trash just came in from town, and I say we should check it out to see if there's anything good enough to take this time."

"True, it can't hurt to take a look." Light added, agreeing with Sabo's idea.

"Alright, fine." Ace relented, accepting his proposal. "We haven't checked the place out in a while, so I guess now's a good time."

"All right!" Sabo cheered as they started walking towards the Terminal. "Maybe this time we'll finally find a canon."

"You're still going on about that?" Light asked, surprised. "Seriously, who in town would even own a canon?"

"It could happen!" Sabo insisted.

Later, the three of them arrived at the seemingly never-ending junkyard that was the Gray Terminal. It was the same as it always was. One side had families that were poor and living in poverty, trying to scarp by. The other side had all the riff-raff that made the trash dump so dangerous: thieves, cutthroats, thugs, murderers, bandits, and the usual residents.

As for Ace, Light, and Sabo. They were rummaging through different piles of trash to try and find anything that was considered to be useful. Normally you wouldn't consider anything you find in a trash pile useful, but considering how easily the Nobles can decide to throw something away for something so minor—Even just getting it a little dirty—There was bound to be something good here or there.

"Find anything yet?" Ace asked as he searched.

"I found a telescope." Light held up his finding. "It's a little dented but still useable."

"That's it?" Ace asked, clearly unimpressed. "I was hoping for something good this time."

"Hey, don't give up yet." Sabo urged him as he kept looking. "There are still more places to look around here."

"Well, yeah, but—" Light cut himself off from whatever he was going to say and looked over to his right.

Ace and Sabo noticed that he suddenly became silent and asked about it.

"Light, something wrong?" Sabo asked.

"….…" Light didn't respond and just held up his finger as if to say, "give me a second".

The reason he was quiet was that Light heard a whispered conversation nearby. The speakers were behind several piles of junk that made up both the ground and everything else around them. He held up a hand, flicking his fingers in an intricate pattern, and Ace stopped immediately, with Sabo doing the same thing on the other side of him. Wordlessly both of the older boys moved towards Light. He pointed at them with his finger and then waved his hand towards himself, signaling them to follow him.

As they did and got closer to the whispering, they hid behind another mountain of trash. Light and Ace then signaled Sabo to go on ahead while they waited there, considering Sabo had the best hearing of all of them, and he moved quickly to Luffy's side and up the hill of junk.

Sabo got in closer and arrived nearby, where the conversation was happening. Now that he had closed the distance enough, he could vividly hear every word that was being spoken.

On the other side of a large amount of junk was a small family of four, three men, one older man, and two boys, both older than the three boys currently listening, and an aged woman. Of course, figuring out her actual age would've been impossible under the dirt and grime, but she was bent up with age anyway.

"I don't know what it is." Said the man, shaking his head. "But those Bandits under Bluejam, they've been moving things around everywhere, all around the Grey Terminal, even in areas they don't control!"

"I've told you before not to notice what goes on with that crew. They're bad business!" Replied the woman wagging a cracked and broken ladle at the older man. "I don't care what they're up to so long as they don't bother us. We survive out here by keeping our heads down. Remember that. I don't want a repeat of last year's beating." Her voice had started out stern but ended tremulously, and she reached out to grasp the man's hand staring into his eyes soulfully.

The man nodded quickly but, even so, said. "I understand, but I'm just wondering if we maybe should pick up and move on. Whatever they're doing, it can't be good, can it?"

"That's sensible, at least." The woman said, nodding her head and looking around their small campsite, shaking her head. "It's not as if we have much to move after all. You heard your Father boys. Let's get a move on."

Frowning, Sabo slowly and carefully slid down the large mound of junk, entering the small hideaway Light and Ace had quickly excavated out of the junk pile to hide in while they waited. Reporting what he heard, both he and Light turned to Ace. Both of them knew he was better at figuring out what was going on with small bits of information than either of them.

But even he couldn't figure out much from that small bit, and the slightly older-looking boy shook his head, long black hair falling into his eyes for a moment. "We need to find out what they're moving around. Bluejam might be a bastard, but he's smart. I don't like anything he's involved in."

"You think they're still working for my Dad?" Sabo muttered, shaking his head under his overlarge felt hat, his eyes narrowed angrily as he gripped his pipe.

Light frowned, scratching his head. "But if they were, do you think they'd just randomly go around the Gray Terminal like that?"

"I doubt it; I'm pretty sure something else is going on. Something much worse." Ace deduced as he sounded grim about it.

"So you think we need to look into this?"

Ace and Sabo looked at one another and then slowly nodded.

Sabo then spoke up. "Okay, here's what we'll do then. Will head to our secret base, hide the cash, eat something, then come back here tonight. We'll find one of Bluejam's lackeys and beat the information out of him."

Ace punched his fist into his palm. "Sounds like a plan. Let's go."

And with that decision made, the Brothers got up and prepared themselves for tonight.

At the time, they had no way of knowing how much that night would change their lives.

That night, Light led the way through the Gray Terminal towards where they knew Bluejam was currently using as his base, occasionally stopping as they overheard voices in the distance this way or that. Nonetheless, with Sabo's hearing and Light leading the way, they were able to sneak through without anyone seeing them.

Once nearby, they took up a position outside a large warehouse made of rust-covered steel slats, rotting wood, and junk like the rest of the Gray Terminal. Moving around the back of it, they hid in the shadows of the building near where two of the slats didn't quite meet. There they stared inside, leaning in close to see what they could overhear.

Inside, all three boys were astonished to see a few of the dapper city guards surrounding a man that could only be a Noble. Upon closing inspection, to the shook of the three hiding in the shadows, the Nobleman was none other than Sabo's Father—Outlook III. Outlook held a handkerchief up to his nose while wearing his usual sneer. Before him, the larger form of Bluejam sat.

"You're certain you've moved enough of those barrels around? This has to go off without a hitch." The prissy man was saying, his voice nasally even for the fact that he was holding his nose like that.

"It's done." Bluejam confirmed, looking comfortable throughout the exchange. "We've spread those things as far around the Gray Terminal as possible and hid them well too. So our business is concluded, so long as you have the other half of our money, we will finish our end later today."

"Of course, here it is." The Noble shook his head and gestured to one of the guards, who pulled out a large suitcase. The boys could barely see what was inside, but Light moved a little to the right and could see that it was filled to the brim with money, and judging by the size of the suitcase, it might hold more beri than the trio had taken the other day.

Bluejam nodded to one of his men, who moved over and took it. "In that case, our business is concluded. Just be sure you've told the gate guards to let us in, or else…."

"Of course. Don't worry. Your place in Goa is assured. You'll be met at the gate with a letter of Nobility, just as promised. And about that other job I mentioned? Bringing my son back to his family would double the money I paid you for helping us with this plan." Outlook asked, actually sounding as if he was addressing Bluejam as an equal.

Bluejam shook his head. His eyes narrow over his wide mouth with his odd-spaced teeth. "No. That boy and the two he runs with are too damn good at sneaking around. I'd have to search the whole mountain from top to bottom to be certain of finding them. And unless you're somehow able to change the deadline for when this job needs to get done…."

Ace narrowed his eyes and looked at the others, seeing that they had come to the same conclusion. It wasn't just the fact that Outlook was still hoping to reclaim Sabo, but whatever this job he needed Bluejam to fulfill and the fact that it had some sort of deadline, there were too many questions.

The Noble shook his head, and Bluejam nodded. "Didn't think so. No, there's no way I could capture that brat Sabo alive. Killing him might be easier if we can catch him here in the Gray Terminal. Would that do?" He laughed then, a nasty, cold sound in the warehouse. "Then again, since the Gray Terminal isn't going to be here tomorrow, that's not going to happen."

"Indeed, though his death would serve just as well, the family only wishes for him not to embarrass them further, running around with the rabble." The Nobleman smiled thinly, shrugging his shoulders as Sabo stiffened in rage and, though he hid it well, a bit of sadness. "In that case, I will see you this evening, my fellow Nobleman."

Bluejam actually smiled at that, and the Nobleman turned away, moving off quickly with his guards.

Bluejam then got up from his seat and looked at all of his subordinates. "All right, men, after we finish this job, Gray Terminal will disappear, and we'll all be Nobles."

[Yeah!] They all raised their arms and cheered at that statement.

Bluejam then headed for the exit. "Everybody, head out to all the checkpoints and finish the job."

With that, they all split into groups of three or more and cleared out of the hideout. Bluejam had two grunts with him. They all walked off in several different directions around Gray Terminal, and soon enough, they were out of sight.

With the coat now clear, the boys came out of hiding and addressed the situation.

"What was all that about?" Light questioned, trying to make sense of all this.

"Everything they said was pretty vague, but there were some obvious keywords." Ace pointed out before he listed them. "They were "Becoming Nobles," "Check-points," "Deadline," And "Gray Terminal will disappear".

"There's also the fact that they're still working for my Dad, which means whatever this job that they're doing is, it must be something shady even by Bluejam's standard." Sabo added his thoughts. "But the part about them becoming Nobles, that's what I don't get. There's no way anyone in High Town would welcome a band of Pirates as Nobles."

"What's even weirder is the part about Gray Terminal not being here tomorrow." Light joined in, thinking it over. "What does that even mean, and how would they go about doing something like that?"

"There's really only one way to find out." Ace told both of them. "Bluejam's crew split up, meaning all we have to do is go after some of his grunts and beat the answers out of them. Then we'll know what's going on."

"I guess that's the only option we've got." Sabo agreed.

The trio a direction and ran forth as fast as they could to catch up with one of the groups.

In a secluded part of Gray Terminal, three members of Bluejam's crew stood in front of a barrel placed in the middle of a heap of trash. One of them grinned and pulled out a gun aimed at the barrel.

"Alright, let's get this over with." The grunt said with his hand on the trigger.

But before he could fire his gun, a strong, blunt force smashed into his hand, which knocked him out before he even realized what had happened. But the two behind him saw exactly what had happened, that being Sabo appearing from out of nowhere and hitting him on the head with his iron pole.

"I don't think so!" Sabo yelled before landing.

"It's the kid!" One of the Pirates said, agasped.

"Quick, grab him!" The other one yelled.

BASH!

Before he could even attempt it, Ace and Light jumped out as well and both of them threw devasting punching into the face of one of the Pirates, knocking him out as well. That left only one remaining. Before he could even comprehend what was happening, Light gripped his metal pipe and hit the Pirate in the kneecap with it, effectively breaking it.

"Gugh!" He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground.

Now that he was crippled and alone, the boys knew that he was at their mercy. Thus they surrounded him and got in his face, with Ace going down on one knee in front of him. Of the three of them, Ace was easily the most dangerous looking. He could get a look in his eyes that just would chill your blood. The look on his face right now was a very good example of said. "What the hell did Bluejam mean about the Gray Terminal not being here? What has that Noble been having you doing?"

"Screw you, punk!" The grunt growled.

Ace reached down into the man's pocket. It only took him a second to reach out with the Pirate's gun that was still loaded. Ace pointed it at his forehead with his finger on the trigger to show he wasn't messing around. "Why don't we try this again?"

"I-It doesn't matter anyway!" He growled, though clearly more afraid than before. "You'll never find them all in time!"

"Tell us anyway." Sabo ordered, bringing his pipe down to rest on the man's shoulder.

"You, you're the one, the Noble brat who ran away? Why the fuck, why'd anyone ever want to give that life up!? Hah, but it doesn't matter." Porchemy glared at Sabo for a moment, then sneered like a death's head. "You want to know why? Because the Nobles are going to burn the Gray Terminal to ash!"

As the three boys stared at him in horror, the grunt went on, seemingly not caring about keeping the plan a secret anymore. "They've got some big World Government bigwig coming in, and they need all this trash gone. Bluejam made a deal with the King of Goa. We do their dirty work. No way could they place the gunpowder in the Gray Terminal without everyone here knowing what was going on. Then, we get paid and have a place in the city! Bluejam becomes a Noble, and the rest of us become his retainers. It was going to be so amazing…."

"Where did you put it all?" Light asked angrily, grabbing the man by his throat and lifting him off the ground. All his worries about torturing information out of the man had just left his mind, and he was left with a sense of urgency and growing dread.

"Gah, I don't know; I only know the places where I personally put a few of the kegs. The rest of the gangs followed Bluejam's orders, but I doubt even he knows where they all are buried. And even if you could find them all, you'd never find them all. The party's supposed to start tonight, whether we're at the gate or not!" The grunt confessed in pain again, right up until Sabo smashed his pipe down on top of his head.

Light let the unconscious gangster fall to the ground of the garbage field, looking at his two Brothers with no idea what to do. Ace and Sabo, too, seemed at a loss. Neither of them had the same urge to defend complete strangers, but neither were they heartless, and there were at least a thousand people living in the Gray Terminal. "What do we do now?"

It was Sabo who finally got them over their shock. "We need to stop them. Didn't my Dad say that Bluejam was the one who organized everything? That must mean the other gangs are the ones who are going to light these gunpowder barrels. We have to take them out!" He exclaimed.

Ace nodded with determination and urgency. "Not just that, we have to make sure we also take out Bluejan, no matter what."

"Then let's go already." Light added with the same look on his face. "Time's running out, and we can't afford to waste a second."

They ran. They didn't know how much time they had left, if they would make it in time, or even if where they were going in the right direction. But all they knew was they had to do something, anything. That was all that motivated them right now.

The winds from the ocean blew over the Gray Terminal. It was quiet and rustic as it was every other night, but all that changed so fast it almost felt instantaneous. Without any warning or sign of approach, dozens of explosions went off throughout the Gray Terminal. The explosions were large and potent and from them erupted strong flames.

The fire born from the explosions was the result of all the barrels of oil and gunpowder that were spread all over the Terminal by the Bluejam Pirates that were detonated by that same crew. The fires spread to some of the trash around them and began to grow bigger and more violent, and the gusts of wind allowed many of the embers to travel to more trash and lit them on fire as well.

It wasn't long before the fires blanketed all of Gray Terminal and the endless field of trash became an endless field of fire. It was almost like the Gray Terminal had been replaced by what could literally be thought of as Hell.

All the residents who saw what was happening quickly fell into a state of horror and panic, not that anyone could blame them. Everyone inside a rundown house rushed outside to find out what was going on.

"Everybody get up!" A man shouted, warning anyone who was still asleep.

"We gotta escape!" Another man yelled as his house burned down.

As all the people came together, they looked in every direction to search for a way out, only to be filled with greater despair as they saw that the fires surrounded them at all sides and there was no opening to escape to.

"The fire almost has us surrounded!" A man shouted, vexed.

"Where did this mess even come from?!" Another man yelled in confusion.

Somewhere else, a man was trying to get into his burning house to get whatever was still inside while another man was holding him back to stop him. "Look, it's no use, man! Leave behind, and let's run for it!"

A few others tried running towards the shore to get away from the inferno but were forced to stop when they saw a wall of flames that blocked the way to the ocean. "Crap! The fire's already gotten to the shore!"

"The entrance to the forest is burning too!" Someone else yelled in dismay.

A man screamed in fear. "AAAHHH! We're all gonna die! Where do we go!?"

In a direction area of the Gray Terminal, the trio of Brothers was running through the blazing inferno. Unable to stop the fires from spreading, all they could do was try to escape. As they ran, the fire grazed their skin, the smoke made it hard to breathe properly, and their ears were filled with the sounds of the flames burning and people screaming in pain or horror, making it difficult to focus.

The fire had spread quicker than they thought—The trash surrounding them was burning to the down, and the Trash mountains were quickly being reduced to ash as the smoke picked up, making it impossible to see further than a few yards. The fire melted the scraps into pools of liquid-burning metal, paper, and wood that acted as kindling.

"Gah, we weren't in time!" Sabo cried out, struggling with the heat. "We couldn't stop the fires from starting!"

"This is insane. I can't even tell where we're going anymore!" Light added as he tried to keep his cool.

"There's still a way!" Ace yelled, wiping the sweat out of his eyes as he took the lead and ran down the pathway with Light and Sabo on his heels. "We just need to get to the forest. We'll at least know where everything is from there!"

Even though it was a concerted plan, Ace also had trouble navigating through the Burning Terminal. All the smoke in the air started making them disoriented—It was on the verge of making them so confused that they could have been running in circles for all they knew.

As they kept going, Ace moved back from some burning metal as Light and Sabo were still struggling with the intense heat that was consuming them. Even though they tried to keep themselves calm, even that had limits.

"This heat is insane…." Sabo gasped. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Ace didn't look at them, but he spoke in a voice the two hadn't heard from him before. It was… Oddly gentle. A mix of both determination and emotion, strong and yet also caring. "It's gonna be alright." He told them in a soft yet firm voice. "No matter what, we're going to survive this."

His words were filled with complete assurance, as though he absolutely believed what he said. The other two were a little surprised by his tone and sudden change in attitude but nodded and calmed down a bit as they continued to follow him. As if getting their second wind, they didn't slow down at all.

Onwards they ran, though it was getting harder to tell where they were going. The Gray Terminal fire was growing, and the conditions were only getting worse. It almost felt like they had been running for hours when it hadn't even been more tha a few minutes.

"Run faster!" Ace called out.

"I'm running as fast as I can!" Light responded but still pumped his legs harder.

Soon Ace was forced to jump back as another pile of burning wood almost hit him. Sabo tried looking around to find a path they could take. Then Ace started coughing violently, getting Light and Sabo's attention.

"Ace!" Light went over to him.

"You alright?" Sabo asked with concern.

"Damn…" Ace cursed, struggling for air. "I don't know where I am."

"What are you brats doing here!?"

Before they could go any further, they heard a voice yelling behind them. The Brothers felt themselves freeze, which was ironic considering where they were, but they knew that voice. Slowly turning, they spotted them coming after them from the flames. Like demons from the pits of Hell, they came after them. Each carrying a weapon, their eyes blank, and twisted smiles on their faces—As if they loved every minute of this Hellish world.

"Bluejam?" Light breathed out in shock.

Ace and Sabo were stunned as well, but Ace quickly became angry. "How come you're still here?" He demanded an answer. "We were told you guys were going to escape after the fire got lit! Did something happen?"

"Shut up, you punk!" Bluejam shouted at them, unlike his usual cruel and sadist nature, which always had a calm demeanor. Right now, he looked crazy. Then he put on a grin that sent shivers down their spines. "It's hopeless. You do know that, right?" He chuckled.

Sabo tightened his grip on his pipe and narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Bluejam went on. "Well, there's a sort of irony to this. It's a new perspective, haha! Humans are stranger creatures, haha! I hit rock bottom, and now all I can do is laugh about it, ahahaha!"

As Bluejam kept laughing, the rest of his crew started laughing with him. Their smiles were almost fake now, and their eyes had changed. They were almost… Possessed.

"What's gotten into them…?" Light whispered to his Brothers, not liking this either.

"We've got more problems than that." Sabo whispered back to them, looking around. "The flames have completely surrounded this whole clearing. Now we have nowhere to run."

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you want to try and escape?" Bluejam guessed, slowly lumbering towards them, still smiling. "We're here together, so let's die together."

"We're not gonna die with you losers!" Ace snapped at them. "We don't give up that easy."

"Is that so?" Bluejam still grinned and walked forward. "Actually, that reminds me, you guys have some treasure hidden somewhere, right? Why not tell me where it is? I'll save it before the fire gets to it. All you have to do is tell me where it is."

All three of their eyes widened in shock as Sabo shook. "Your life is in danger, and all you care about is treasure?"

"Well, if you don't want it, might as well tell me, right?!" Bluejam laughed even harder.

Ace's eyes darkened. "You've gone mad."

"I'm just trying to stop another tragedy." Bluejam said in a strangely calm tone, clumsy, moving a little closer. "I already saw my ship reduced to charcoal. It'd be a shame if that happened to your treasure too. All your hard work and for nothing."

"You—"

"Like Hell!" Before Ace could say anything, Light angrily cut in. "You guys are the ones who started this damn fire. There's no way we'll let you have your way!"

"Light…" Ace muttered.

"Hey, come on now, this is a fair trade." Bluejam attempted to reason with them. "If you tell me where your treasure is, I'll let you guys go free."

"Why should we believe that, huh?" Sabo questioned, not trusting him. "You torture and murder women and children without a second thought. As if we'd ever trust you."

"Yeah, we know the kind of people you are." Light added, accusing them. "When some people make a deal, if they don't have to keep their end of it, they won't, so even if we told you, you'd just kill us after you found it."

At that point, Bluejam started laughing again, which surprised them. He then stopped and spoke. "You're right. You runts are actually smarter than I thought. If only I thought that way too, then I wouldn't have let that stupid King play me for a fool."

"What? What's he talking about?" Ace asked, not getting it.

Sabo's eyes widened. "Wait, I get it now. They said they made a deal with the King of Goa to burn down the Gray Terminal in exchange for becoming Nobles. But after they started the fire, the King must have gone back on his end of the deal, and they ended up getting trapped in here with everyone else." He deduced.

"Are you serious?" Ace questioned, perplexed. Then he looked back at the crew of Pirates. "But when you think about it, it's not all that surprising that those scumbags would pull something like that."

"It may be low, but then again, it's also their own fault for believing them." Light added.

At that moment, Bluejam lost all facades and pulled out his gun, pointing it at them. He was angrier than ever, which only served to make him look more twisted than before. "Listen, kids, don't you dare mess with me!" He yelled at them threateningly. "I'm not above stealing from children or murdering them. I'll have my revenge, and believe me. Those Nobles will regret the day they crossed Bluejam." He then turned his glare to Sabo. "And to think you'd call one of them your Brother."

Sabo grit his teeth in frustration, as if he is the most upset about the fact that he was born a Noble, especially after seeing what they had caused. And unfortunately for him, Bluejam wasn't done.

"They act like a little money and influence make them a gift to the world. Like it gives them a right to look down on us like we're trash." He spat out with hatred and animosity.

Every word made Sabo feel worse because he knew they were true, and that was how the Nobles felt. Those were also the reasons Sabo hated them. However, at that point, Light and Ace stepped forward in defense of their sworn Brother.

"Shut up. What makes you think you know anything about it!?" Light yelled in defiance.

"Yeah, Sabo's not like that! You don't know a damn thing!" Ace yelled angrily in Sabo's defense.

Bluejam didn't look bothered by them and kept his gun aimed at them. "Yes, I do, face it. Sure, you stayed together, but he's been looking down on you the whole time." Bluejam argued, rejecting the idea that Sabo was anything but a Noble. "His parents are loaded—He never had to worry about the problems that you or I dealt with. He's been using you to get some kicks. He was just bored. This is all just a pastime for him, that's all!"

"No! You're wrong!" Sabo yelled, not able to hold back anymore. "I-I never looked down on anyone and never pretended or lied about anything I did while I was here. I came here because I wanted to live in the Gray Terminal and Ace and Light are my Brothers. That's the real truth!"

"Don't think you can fool me!" Bluejam yelled back at him, his eyes now almost popping out. "Why would a damn Noble like you ever want to live in this trash dump?!"

"Because I hate the Nobles more than anyone!" Sabo let out all his frustration at those words. "The King, the people of High Town, and even my parents, I hate all of them! Even if they call us trash, the truth is they're the worst trash of them all, and I can't stand being anywhere near them. That's why I ran away. That's why I'm still here." He declared without any doubt.

"Sabo…" Ace breathed out, surprised by the pain in his voice.

Light placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, Sabo. You don't need to try to convince someone who will never understand." He told him before turning to Bluejam. "In fact, we shouldn't even be wasting our time on this guy. Let's just get out of this fire, even if it means going through them."

Ace hardened his expression and nodded. "Yeah, that's right. We don't plan on dying in a crappy place like this, so get out of our way, or else we'll knock you out of the way." He threatened them.

Bluejam just looked amused at their defiance. "Heh, you actually think you'll live through this? What a joke." After chuckling for a bit, the whole crew surrounded the boys, not letting them escape in any direction. "If you won't tell us where the treasure is, then we'll just kill you right now." His face darkened as he gave the order. "KILL THEM!"

[YAAAAAAA!]

The Pirates roared like mad dogs as they raised their weapons and charged at the boys. With no other option, the trio of Brothers raised their metal poles and charged as well to meet this fight head-on.

Light and Ace had jumped forward in the same direction, with Sabo right behind them. Sabo whirled his trusty pipe over his head, bringing it crashing down onto the first gang member turning towards them, while Light leaped up over his head to kick out hard, smashing both of his feet into another man. Using that impetus, Light threw himself sidewise into two more men.

They prepared to counterattack, but sadly for them, Light was just a misdirection. The real attacker was Ace, who appeared behind them and bashed their heads like a kid playing whack-a-mole. With that done, the three of them stood in a circle with their backs against each other. They then dashed off in three separate directions to stay on the offensive.

One of the Pirates tried slashing Ace with his Sword, but Ace used his iron pole to hit the hand that was holding the Sword, making him cry out in pain and drop his weapon. Ace finished him by bashing his face with his pipe. Sabo kept jumping back to dodge the slashes of another foe and then stuck the top of his pipe into some of the flames, hitting it up. He then thrusts it into the man's stomach, giving him a horrible and painful burn. Sabo hit him again and took him out. Light and one of his opponents were charging at each other, and before they came into contact, Light threw his pipe like a boomerang at the Pirate's head, which rattled him upon impact and knocked him back before it hit the ground. Light caught his metal pipe, jumped up, and slammed on the Pirate's head like it was a hammer, knocking him out.

Everything was going well so far… Until it wasn't.

As Light was dashing forth to aim for his next target, his body suddenly halted, and he fell to his knees. He felt as though his body was being weighed down for some reason, and his breathing became more shallow.

"W-What's happening?" Light thought with a bit of a cough. "My legs… They feel so heavy."

[Light!?] Ace and Sabo shouted, seeing him fall.

What was happening wasn't a mystery; actually, it was something that was always bound to happen at some point. Since they were surrounded by a world of fire and blaze, the whole atmosphere was filled with smoke and intense heat; with all that smoke filling a person's lungs and all that heat making a person's body temperature rise, it would be natural for a person's body to overheat and break down.

Light was the youngest and the smallest person there among the entire group. It would only make sense that his young and undeveloped body would be the first to reach its limit in the atmosphere.

Things went from bad to worse as Bluejam smirked and pulled the trigger on his gun.

BANG!

He had his gun pointed at them the whole time as if he was waiting for the right moment to shoot at them, and after seeing Light fall and unable to move, he immediately decided that was the perfect opportunity to take one of them out, which is that made him fire at that instant.

Light saw the bullet hurdling towards him but couldn't muster than strength to get away and could only close his eyes and brace himself for the impending pain.

"GAAAAHH!"

THUD!

The sound of a body hitting the ground was heard by everyone around after a bullet pierced through his flesh, but to the surprise of Light, he felt no pain as the bullet never made contact with him. He opened his eyes and looked in confusion which quickly became replaced with horror as he saw the reason he wasn't hit.

kneeling in front of him with a bloody shoulder that was still leaking was Sabo, who looked to be in serious pain.

What happened was; after Bluejam fired his gun at Light, Sabo acted quickly and ran as fast as he could to reach Light. Being the caring older Brother he was, Sabo shielded Light with his own body, which made him take the bullet instead.

"Sabo!" Ace shouted in horror, looking in his direction.

Sadly, that moment of distraction cost him as the Pirate he was facing used that chance to bring down his wooden club on Ace's head, which was enough force to slam him into the ground and cause some blood to leak out of his forehead.

With that done, the remaining Pirate moved in, and they held the boys down, with one of them pinning Ace to the ground and two others holding up Light and Sabo by their necks. Light was still struggling with the atmosphere, and Sabo was thriving in pain because of his bullet wound.

Bluejam grinned as he lowered his gun and walked towards them, believing everything had been settled. "Well, that's too bad. And you actually did much better than I was expecting." He mocking praised them. "But this is where it all ends."

"You son of a bitch…." Sabo cursed as Bluejam stopped in front of him

The Pirate then drew his Saber from its sheath and raised it directly above Sabo's head, an action that made him, Ace, and Light gasp. He then declared. "I think I'll kill you first. A warm-up before I get my revenge and the rest of the Nobles."

"Stop it! He's got nothing to do with that!" Ace yelled at him, struggling to break free.

"Oh, yes, he does." Bluejam argued, not hindered in the least. "As far as I'm concerned, anyone who's got the same blood as those Nobles inside of them is my enemy." He then looked at them. "But don't worry, I'll kill you two right after him so you won't have to miss him."

"No, don't!" Sabo protested that statement. "If you wanna kill me, that's fine, but leave them out of it!"

"What are you saying!" Light yelled, surprised he would even say that. "We can't let him kill any of us; that includes you."

"But…" Sabo started.

Before he could go on, Ace spoke. "He's right, you idiot! We're all getting out of this alive. That means all three of us!"

"Close, but wrong." Bluejam joined in, still smiling evilly at them. "None of you are getting out of this alive!"

Bluejam then brought down his Saber like the guillotine for execution. Ace yelled out in panic, Sabo widened his eyes in terror, and Light screamed out his name in a heart-stopping moment, thinking it was all over. Until…

"I SAID STOP, DAMMIT!" Ace roared so loud that he might have torn his throat. But at those words, without warning, they all felt it. The shockwave of pure power and authority that was born from a King's willpower shot out of Ace, and for a moment, everything froze. The fire around them died down a bit. The men stood there with stunned looks on their faces… And that was when they fell. Every Pirate, except for Bluejam, fell where they stood—Each one was out cold before they even hit the ground, and even the ones that were starting to wake up fell again. With everyone out, Ace, Sabo, and Light were free. But while Ace hadn't noticed what he had done, the others certainly did.

"That was the same power as Light and Naguri?" Sabo thought in shock.

"The King's power…? Ace has it too?" Light thought in shock.

However, things weren't over yet. Since their full attention was on Ace and Ace's full attention was on them, they failed to notice Bluejam in time as he grabbed Ace by the back of his shirt and pulled him away.

"What the Hell did you do?!" Bluejam bellowed as he slammed Ace back into the ground.

[Ace!] They both called out his name.

Ace slowly tried to get up. "Dammit…"

He cursed when Bluejam stomped down hard on Ace's chest so that he couldn't move, and the gun was pointed at his head. "You creepy little brat!" Bluejam yelled, now almost foaming at the mouth, and they knew that whatever sanity had been there had finally snapped. "Do you want to make a fool out of me too?!"

"Shut up! You scumbag!" Ace yelled at him without a trace of fear.

"You bastard!" Bluejam yelled with his finger on the trigger.

SMASH!

"AUGHHHHH!"

Before Bluejam could pull the trigger to end Ace's life, he felt an intense pain burst throughout his body that erupted from his left leg—The cause being Light's fist that was covered in Haki that he used to punch knee with all his might.

During the banter between Ace and Bluejam, Light and Sabo immediately came to the same conclusion to save Ace, and despite neither of them being in the best condition, they were both able to muster up enough strength to go on the attack again.

The impact of Light's attack was strong enough to completely shatter the bone in Bluejam's knee, forcing him to drop to his knees, release his hold on his gun, and bring both his hands over his left knee to try and ease the pain.

"Haaa!" Sabo roared as he rushed in.

With his guard down and his mind occupied on the searing pain, he failed to notice Sabo appear right in front of him before it was too late. Once Sabo had closed the distance, he swung his pipe at Bluejam and slammed it on his neck, crushing Bluejam's throat.

With the damage done to his throat, it was as if Bluejam had forgotten the damage done to his knee. He wrapped his hands around his neck, struggling to breathe or even stay conscious, for that matter, as the only sounds he could produce were gurgles or pain-filled gasps.

Having no trouble following their lead, Ace went on the offense as well. The instant Sabo finished his strike on Bluejam, Ace moved in to finish the job and jumped up in the air—Above Bluejam's head, and used all of his strength to punch down on Bluejam's head. The force of the punch knocked Bluejam to the ground head-first. After that, his body fell into a slump where he just lay there in the dirt, and he didn't move an inch.

With that, Bluejam joined the rest of his crewmates in being conscious, and the boys all sighed in relief, knowing they were finally rid of them.

"We actually did it." Sabo sighed in relief.

Light nodded, still winded. "Yeah, it's over."

"No, it's not." Ace stated in a serious tone, not relieved at all. "Quit acting like everything's okay now, don't forget we still need to escape this fire." He reminded them.

Light and Sabo immediately came to terms with their situation and quickly returned to an urgent demeanor along with Ace. With that, they stood up, and Ace looked around, having trouble seeing a way out. He could feel his sweat evaporating as he started to feel the effects of the atmosphere himself.

"There has to be some way out of here." Ace declared, still unwilling to give up. "Wherever we go, we can't stay here, so let's just keep running."

After saying that, Ace ran off in the direction in front of him, his two younger Brothers followed after him, and they left behind the bodies of the Bluejam Pirates. The fires spread around the bodies and started to consume them. Whether they lived or died no longer mattered as they were no longer an issue.

After running as far as they could, Ace, Sabo, and Light found themselves running low on air and were forced to stop. It was hard to tell how long the fire had been going on and how far they had run. But the fire had been going on for so long that it felt like it was never going to end, even the rocks and ground were on fire by now, and the walls of flames had risen so high that they had trouble seeing the sky.

Sabo gasped for air. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"Suck it up. We can't stop now!" Ace ordered him, but he was clearly nearing his limit as well.

Light looked up, and his eyes widened. "Hey, I see something."

Light pointed, and they both followed his gaze to see it. What they saw was something that shocked and horrified them as well. It was the great wall that separated Gray Terminal from Edge Town, and what's worse was that it was off in the distance or anything. It was nearby—Close enough that they could see the gate.

"It can't be…." Sabo uttered, hoping it wasn't true.

"We were going the wrong way." Ace confirmed his fears. "We're even further away from the woods."

Sabo looked down in desperation, not knowing what they could possibly do now. That was when an unfamiliar sound rang in his ear, it was something different from the flames, and it made him look to his right.

"Wait, I think I heard something." Sabo told the two of them.

When he said that, they immediately turned their attention to him.

"What is it?" Light questioned.

"This way!" Sabo exclaimed as he ran in the direction of the sound.

As they ran towards wherever the sound came from, they passed by a few hills of burning trash. Fortunately, they didn't have to travel that far as they had already found where the sound came from and what it was.

To their surprise, what they found was a large group of people, all of who were residents of the Gray Terminal who were also trapped in the fire; right now, they were all rounded up in a large clearing.

"People?" Ace realized.

"Yeah, but look at them." Light pointed out.

It was true that there were survivors in the middle of this catastrophe, but they all looked as though they had given up on any hope of surviving or escaping. Rather they all either fell to their knees in despair, accepted their fate, or fell into a state of panic.

"We're all dead!" One man cried out.

"Look around you! There's no way out now!" Another man cried on his knees.

"Everything was fine. How could this happen so quickly!?" Another man asked in despair.

"I'm Burning! I'M BURNING!" Another man bellowed in pain.

"So is everyone else!" A nearby man screamed.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!" Another man screamed, losing rationality.

"Just just let me die already!" Another man pleaded with tears.

All this despair and ruin weighed heavily on the boys' psyche. Now, this didn't just look like Hell. Seeing everyone act this way and all in one place was enough to truly make someone believe that they were in Hell.

Sabo looked almost devastated, feeling as though they were out of options and there was no longer a way out of this mess. He bit into his lips. "…Is this it… Are we really going to… Die?" He asked himself.

"No, there has to be something we can do…." Light said in response, not wanting to accept it. "Don't give up. There has to be some way, some way we can still make it out of this alive. There just has to be." There was a pain in his voice like he was trying to convince himself of what he was saying.

Ace just continued to stare at the flames surrounding them. His eyes were focused and staring daggers. On the outside, he seemed calm and natural, but in his eyes, there was a rage burning as hot as the Terminal Fire itself.

"Death… We're going to die in a place like this…?" Ace hatefully thought to himself. "What for…? For nothing? We're going to die for no reason before I was able to do anything with my life?! I won't accept that! I REFUSE TO ACCEPT SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

WHOOOSH!

As if responding to his thoughts, something that no one had expected or could explain took place.

Out of nowhere, a strong gust of wind was disbursed all over the Terminal. It wasn't ordinary wind. Rather it was like a horizontal tornado that was unleashed, much of the trash and even the people were being blown around, and some had to hang on to not get blown away. Even the boys had to hold onto something to avoid being swept away by the bellowing winds.

Everything shook. The ground, the trees, and even the wall shook a bit from the intensity of the tornado. It felt like a natural disaster had taken shape and was raging around them.

"What the Hell's going on!" Ace screamed through the winds.

"I don't know. I can't see!" Light responded, hanging on to something.

"Just hang tight!" Sabo shouted at both of them.

Then, just as quickly as the wing came, it vanished just the same. Suddenly the wind just stopped, and everything that was blown up and away fell back down to the ground. The three Brothers all fell to the ground in a thud, no longer needing to hold on for dear life.

With that ordeal over, they, along with everyone else in the vicinity, just looked around, confused and wondering what had just happened. However, everyone's attention was captured when one random person shouted.

"Hey! It made a path through the fire!"

Just as he said, the aftermath of the tornado had craved through the ground to create a large and wide pathway that extended all the way toward the shoreline. Not only that, but all the flames around that path were also extinguished, and the scorching hot temperature and smoke were greatly reduced as well. It was as if the wind had cut through all their despair and created a pathway to salvation.

"Who, did somebody do that on purpose?" A random survivor wondered.

"Who cares! Let's just go!" Another man reminded him.

Seeing their way out, Ace looked to the other two and said. "Let's go."

"But we don't know where that wind came from or why it created that path." Sabo pointed out, still curious.

"Stopping worrying about that stuff, and let's go." Ace told them with a more stern tone of voice as if he didn't want to hear any arguments. His voice then softened a bit. "It doesn't matter where or why. All that matter is that we get out of this alive, and we have a way out now."

Sabo and Light looked at each other before they nodded, and Light went over to Ace. "Okay, let's get out of here."

Ace smiled. "Right."

They took off alongside everyone else who wanted to escape the fire. As they stamped down the pathway, more and more people kept appearing to join them, it seemed that the path was so large and wide that it attracted the attention of many others who were elsewhere in the Terminal, and they all rushed towards it. Now it felt like everyone in Gray Terminal was running down this path to safety.

If someone ever found an escape route in Hell, this is probably what it would feel like.

As the boys ran down the path, they felt their bodies cool down, and their consciousness stabilized now that they were no longer surrounded by the blaze. As they kept going, a large shadow became visible at the end of the pathway; it looked like a ship. A ship that was floating on the shore at the end of the path. Sabo was the first one to notice it.

"Hey, look!" He pointed out to them while running. "It looks like there's a ship in front of us."

"But what's a huge ship like that doing here, and who's on it?" Light wondered before he thought. "Do you think they came here to save us?"

"Who they are isn't important. Besides, we'll find out once we ask them." Ace told them both as they continued their advance.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned ship was a large wooden-made ship that had four main masts, a large and spacious deck with an indoor chamber in the center. Attached to the ship were many cannons on both the left and right flanks, dozens of them, and there was a figurehead and theme of an actual dragon, complete with a dragon head on the front of the ship and a small dragon tail at the back of the ship.

Aboard the ship were a large number of individuals who were all wearing cloaks that covered most of their faces and bodies. Standing at the front of the ship, where they overlooked the flames, were three individuals that stood out compared to the others.

One is a large man with an afro of indigo hair and long eyelashes. He also has a noticeably-odd-shaped chin resembling an arrowhead. His afro is large enough to hold people inside it. He has a personal Jolly Roger tattooed just below his chest. He dresses in reddish-purple woman's garments that involve a very exposed leotard with a pointy back collar, reddish-purple rubber gloves, and high-heeled boots along with fish-net stockings, and a garter belt. His face was heavy with makeup. He also wore a cloak, though his face was uncovered.

The second man is an enormous man, 689cm tall. He is the tallest man on the ship. His overall appearance resembles that of a bear, though there are a few key differences. His eyes are strangely covered by either a pair of glasses or clear-mirrored lenses. While initially, he will give the impression of wearing glasses, it seems that those are actually his own eyes.

His hat features a pair of rounded ears and, along with the dark blue fabric of his pants, is covered in brown spots. His jacket contains a large white design reminiscent of a target cross-hair or a coda sign. There are also several white paw prints lining the bottom hem of his coat. He also has a long protruding chin. His hair and jacket are black, and his hat is gray with black paw-like prints. He wears a cloak as well.

The last of the three was the size of an ordinary Human along with his appearance, unlike the other two. But his face was a familiar one. It was the same face as the man who had given the newborn Light to Garp so many years ago. Meaning this man was none other than Light's Father, Dragon.

"Vi've seen Nobles do some pretty dreadful things, but this takes the cake!" The one dressed in drag said with a permanent smile on his face. "Absolutely reprehensible! Anywho, this local is rather out of the way. How did vyou hear the news?" He asked Dragon. "Were vyou keeping an eye on this country? Or perhaps there is something here of interest to vyou?"

"What's happening here will happen in the rest of the world soon enough." Dragon answered in a low but serious tone. "Human beings can't be thrown away. A world that allows that must change. No matter how long it takes, I stop all this misery and injustice." His eyes reflected a burning determination. "The children of this country must have a future that they can believe in."

Dragon then walked forward and stood at the edge of the ship. He looked down at the shoreline where all the survivors had gathered and stood in front of the ship. Seeing them all there, Dragon raised his fist up and addressed the people, which made all of them look up at him, including Ace, Light, and Sabo.

"If it's freedom you want! So long as you have the will to fight for it! You are welcome aboard this ship!" Dragon declared to all of them.

Hearing his declaration made all the people below relieved as they all smiled; some of them even looked at each other to know they were all thinking the same thing. When no one objected, they all raised their arms in the air and cheered.

[YEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!]

As many rope ladders came down from the ship to allow them all to climb aboard, all the survivors flocked towards them to get on the ship. It was like a miracle for them, considering not only were they saved from certain death, they could now leave the trash dump that was the Gray Terminal and hopefully go somewhere much better and livable.

The only ones who weren't rushing to the ship were the three Brothers. They just stood their ground and watched. Sabo turned to Ace with curiosity. "Well, should go too?"

"Well, I guess we—" Before Ace could go on, he looked to Light and noticed he was acting strangely.

Right now, from the moment he heard Dragon's voice, Light stood there shell-shocked and just kept staring and the form of Dragon standing on the ship, almost like he was frozen, while he thought. "Could it really be…?"

Ace grabbed his shoulders and shook him a bit to get his attention. "Light! Snap out of it. What's wrong?"

Light simply ignored him and took a few steps forward. Afterward, he kept his gaze on the man on the ship and shouted the one word in his mind. "DAD!"

Hearing that word come from his mouth made both Ace and Sabo taken aback at how random and surprising it was. But they weren't the only ones who reacted to him; even though it looked like no one else had heard him, Dragon did. He proved that by reacting to his voice and looking down at him; the moment his eyes fell on Light, they widened with surprise as if he was looking at something he never expected to find here.

Without waiting for a response, Light dashed towards the ship.

"Hey, wait!" Ace called out to him.

Light ran to the ship and jumped high in the air, landing on one of the rope ladders before jumping again, this time landing on top of the dragon figurehead, and finally, he jumped once more and landed on the ship, standing in front of Dragon and all those around him.

While everyone seemed surprised that a child suddenly appeared on their ship all of a sudden, they weren't really sure how to respond to this. However, Dragon simply stepped forward and looked directly at him before he asked.

"Light…?" Dragon slowly asked though he sounded as though he knew the answer already. "Are you Light?"

"…Yeah." Light confirmed.

Light calmly faced the man who was towering over him. His expression and his nerves were relaxed, as if he wasn't worried about where he was.

"Light!" Ace's voice called out.

Light turned to see Ace and Sabo climb aboard the ship as well and ran over to him in a hurry.

"What's wrong with you, ya moron?!" Ace asked, clearly concerned after Liht's behavior.

"Don't just run off like that!" Sabo added, also upset.

Light's expression didn't change as he responded. "I know this seems weird, but I'll explain later, right now." He turned back to Dragon.

Dragon nodded. "I understand. There are some things I need to explain to you right now."

Ace and Sabo turned to Dragon, and unlike Light, they felt a strong sense of intimidation from him, not like the kind they felt from Bluejam or Tiger Lord, for that matter. Dragon was a being they couldn't even describe; it was like a force of nature was standing before them; the only thing they could compare him to was Garp when he was angry—Except Dragon felt more, in a word, controlled and surprisingly enough, stronger.

"Who is this guy?" Ace wondered as he saw him.

"Did he… Cause all that wind from before?" Sabo thought curiously.

The two much larger men stepped forward, and the one dressed in women's clothes spoke what most on the ship were thinking.

"Hey, care to explain what's going on here?" He asked, clearly unaware. "Vi feel like Vi'm missing something big. Dragon, why is this kid acting like vhe knows you, and what's vyou're relation to vhim?"

The much larger man answered. "Ivankov, that boy is Dragon-san's son."

"Oh, is that so? Well, why didn't vyou say so, Kuma?" The now-named Ivankov casually responded, as the information clearly hadn't sunken in yet. "Yes, it would make sense that Dragon would know his own son…."

.

.

.

Ivankov suddenly blinked a few times as it slowly registered what he had just heard.

"VYOU'RE S-S-S-SON!?" He shrieked out.

[DID HE SAY, SON?!] All those around them screamed, completely shocked.

Ace and Sabo were also shocked and looked at Light with their jaws dropped to the floor. [LIGHT'S DAD?!]

CRASH!

Ivankov was so shocked by what he had just found that, as if by some gravitational pull, he jumped back so suddenly that he ended up crashing into a wall behind him with his mouth wide open, his tongue extended, and his eyes bulged out. "DRAGON HAS!?" He questioned, sliding down from the crate in the wall he had just made. "A SON?!"

He then fell forward onto his giant face on the floor.

Dragon sighed at the actions of his comrade. "Don't be such a Drama Queen."

"DON'T ACT LIKE THIS IS NO BIG DEAL!" Ivankov exclaimed, his eyes still bulging out. "VHE'S REALLY VYOU'RE SON?! VYOU HAVE A SON?!"

"…Yeah." Dragon casually answered.

"SO CASUAL!" Ivankov snapped.

"Light…" Sabo spoke, having trouble keeping up with everything that was happening. "Is this guy really you're Dad?"

"…He is." Light casually answered.

"VHE'S CASUAL TOO?!" Ivankov snapped again. He then turned to Kuma. "AND WHY DID VYOU KNOW ABOUT THIS AND VI DIDN'T?! I THOUGHT WE WERE PALS!"

Dragon just looked fed up with him at this point. "Would you calm down already? This is why I never tell you anything."

"Well, now vyou're just being mean." Ivankov replied, almost pouting.

"Just hold on a second!" Ace stepped forward, having had enough of all this. "Would somebody explain what the Hell is going on here!? What do you mean you're Light's Dad? If you're his Dad, then where have you been this whole time? Who are all of you people anyways? Why did you come here, and how did you know about the fire? Did you cause that blast of wind before? If so, then how?" He bombarded them with questions, losing his temper.

"Ace, chill out for a second." Sabo attempted to placate him.

CLAP!

Ivankov clapped a few times to get their attention. "Alright, alright, let's all calm down for a second. Vi'm sure we all have a lot of questions, myself included, but first things first. Vwe need to get you boys' some medical attention."

"What are you talking—?" Before Ace could finish his sentence, his body suddenly felt heavy, and he fell to his knees. "Gah."

"Ace…?" Sabo tried to reach for him when suddenly the shoulder that was shot by Bluejam flared up in pain. "Gugh! What the?"

"Hugh!" At the same time, Light felt pain in his stomach area and lost his footing as well.

"Vyou see now?" Ivankov got in their faces as if he knew this would happen. "Vyou all have serious injuries or are suffering from the after-effects of the fire. Before, you felt fine because vyou're bodies were filled with adrenalin caused by your survival instincts to block out the pain, but now that vyou're safe, the adrenalin has worn off."

Dragon turned around and walked away. "Get them to the doctor and have them treated. I'll speak with them afterward."

"Vyou better explain all this to vme while vyou're at it!" Ivankov demeaned as he left.

"Hey, wait!" Ace called out before Light stopped him.

"For now, let's just get patched up first." He suggested.

"He's right. My shoulder's killing me." Sabo agreed in pain. "We'll figure things out later."

Ace clicked his tongue but decided to comply. "Fine."

Kuma walked up to them and looked down at the trio. "Please follow me."

A while had passed since they got aboard the ship. After all the people from the Terminal got aboard, the ship sailed away from the shore and was now drifting around the nearby waters of Dawn Island.

Ace, Light, and Sabo were brought to a medical room and treated by a doctor. After some time and fresh air, they had pretty much recovered from the minor effects of the fire, as for their injuries. The doctor had patched up and bandaged their wounds. Now they were sitting on a couch, waiting for Dragon to arrive.

Ace had a bandage wrapped around his forehead as well as bandages around his stomach. Light had bandages wrapped around his hands, his right arm, a fine wrapping around his neck, and a patch above his left eye. Sabo had bandages wrapped around his arm, all the way to the shoulder that was shot, and a patch over his left cheek.

After that was done, it wasn't long before Dragon, Kuma, and Ivankov entered the room.

"Ah, it looks like vyou three have are all fixed up." Ivankov noted.

"For the most part." Sabo shrugged.

"Now then, let's start with introductions." Dragon began as he stepped forward. "As you've already been made aware, I am Monkey D Dragon."

"I am known as Bartholomew Kuma." Kuma stoically introduced himself.

"He-Ha! And vyou can call me! Emporio Ivankov!" Ivankov introduced himself with a dramatic pose.

"I have some concerns about him." Sabo muttered as a bead of sweat dropped from his head.

Ace stepped off of the couch and had a serious expression. "I'm Portgas D Ace."

"And I'm Sabo, just Sabo." Sabo added.

"Monkey D Light." Light finished the topic.

"Now, let's start from the beginning." Dragon began. "As I'm sure you're already aware, this world is run by the organization known as the World Government. Almost every major country and Kingdom in every sea is a part of that government, including this one."

"Yeah, we know all that." Ace responded with little concern. "And the Navy is a military force that serves the World Government, meaning the Marines are their grunts."

"My, vyou certainly are short-tempered." Ivankov commented before he went on. "What vyou don't know is who exactly stands atop the World Government."

"What do you mean?" Light asked with curiosity.

"In this world, the ones who command the most authority are known as the Celestial Dragons." Kuma explained. "Others call them the World Nobles."

"Nobles?" Sabo honed in on that word. "Like the ones in High Town?"

Ivankov crossed his arms. "Not even close!"

"While the Nobles of this Kingdom preside over this Kingdom alone, the World Nobles rule over the world, as the name suggests." Dragon clarified. "You can think of them as Nobles that preside over every nation in the world. They put the Nobles of Goa to shame."

"The Celestial Dragons were originally the creators of the World Government. Hundreds of years ago, 20 Royal families came together and formed a government and, with it, went on to rule the world. The Celestial Dragons of today are their descendants." Kuma went on. "No one in this world has more power than them."

"But what does that have to do with anything?" Ace asked, still not getting it.

"Everything!" Ivankov replied. "The Celestial Dragons are the reason this fire happened in the first place!"

Hearing those words silenced all three of them as they just looked shocked and taken aback by the revelation they had just heard.

"What…?" Light uttered the one word that was on their minds and the only thing he could muster out.

"You likely aren't aware of this, but recently a news article was announced to the East Blue. It told of a Celestial Dragon that was planning on making an appearance at the Goa Kingdom." Kuma explained.

"Why was one of them coming here?" Light asked again.

"The short version is that vhe is here to inspect the place, every now and then, a Celestial Dragon goes to a certain Kingdom and checks to make sure everything is in order." Ivankov explained it to them. "And these Nobles really wanted to impress vhim. Nobles always fall over themselves to impress those who are higher up the ladder than themselves. And in a Kingdom like this where everyone is a stickler for cleanliness, vyou know they would go the extra mile."

"What are you trying to say?" Sabo asked, not liking where this was going.

Ivankov closed in and got right in their faces. His giant face overshadowed all three of theirs. While he was still smiling, his expression seemed much more serious and harrowing. It almost made them intimidated.

"Think about it, and vyou'll get it. The Goa Kingdom is said to be the cleanest and most beautiful Kingdom in East Blue, and that's all those Nobles want anyone to see. Naturally, they have parts they don't want others to see, like those mountains of trash, for example." Ivankov pointed out. "As vyou saw, their solution was to get rid of it all before the Celestial Dragon arrived, clean up via fire."

"…Y-You mean they burned down Gray Terminal just for that?" Sabo asked agasped. "They were okay with letting all the people there who had nothing to do with this burn to death just to welcome some Noble?!" His voice became enraged.

"To them, people or garbage might as well be the same, just something they don't need and have thrown away. "Dragon informed them, looking a little angry himself. "Their disregard for Human life has become so deprived that they don't see a thing wrong with killing anyone they don't need, be it one person or a hundred. That's their nature."

BAM!

"Damn." Ace grit his teeth in anger as he punches his fist into the floor to let out some frustration. "Damn those rotten Bastards."

"But why are they just allowed to do stuff like that?" Light asked, just as angry as his Brothers. "Killing people is murder, so why don't the Marines do something?"

"There lies the problem; cover-ups." Ivankov pointed out, unhappy about it as well. "The World Government controls the flow of information and makes sure people only hear about what they want and don't want them to hear about. As such. whenever something like this happens, they have the newspapers stretch the truth on certain details, like saying it was an accident or saying the fire was caused by some criminal and the Nobles were uninvolved. That's how they maintain their standing in society."

"But even that's not the main issue." Kuma added, remaining stoic. "The Government's only concern is keeping the Nobles happy, and when incidents like this happen, those at the top of the Navy are often aware of what really happened but are unable to do anything. Otherwise, they would be going against orders and would be labeled as criminals themselves."

"That makes no sense!" Light snapped, not accepting what he was hearing. "You're saying they can go around doing criminal stuff whenever they want, but when someone tries to stop them, they end up being called criminals. That's bullshit!"

"That's the point!" Ivankov silenced him. "What vyou've just described is the World Government in itself entirely."

Light stopped talking but looked down and gritted his teeth as though he wanted to say more but didn't know what else to say.

"Even if the people of the world knew the truth of what happened here tonight, it wouldn't make a difference." Kuma pointed out, getting their attention. "As soon as it would be known that this was done in the name of a Celestial Dragon, no one would be able to do anything but accept it, albeit begrudgingly."

"What? What difference do they make?" Ace questioned, not getting it.

"They would know. This wouldn't be the first time they were responsible for a travesty of this magnitude." Dragon told them before he went on. "Many people all over the world have died because of them. Innocent people have been killed, others have been enslaved, whole Kingdoms have fallen by their actions."

"And that's just the tip of the iceberg. If they hear a person say something they don't like, they kill them. If they see something or someone they want, they just take it, and that's the end of it. If they don't feel like walking, they have someone carry them around." Ivanko elaborated. "They literally do whatever they want because they know no one in the world can tell them no."

"That's crap!" Ace shouted out. "Why the Hell would anyone let someone do stuff like that?! I'd say to Hell with that and beat the crap out of them no matter how much authority they've got."

"Do you honestly believe you're the only one who feels that way?" Dragon asked him, putting him on the spot. "The vast majority of the world would do that very thing if it was that simple. Unfortunately, there's a reason why they don't."

"What reason is that?" Light asked, raising a brow.

"The Celestial Dragons are consistently being escorted by guards at all times. If anyone does anything to directly harm them, the Marines are immediately called onto the scene, and they kill the person responsible on the spot." Ivankov answered, which surprised them again. "No question, no arrest, just instant death penalty."

"You mean the Marines will kill anyone who goes against them?" Sabo asked, flabbergasted.

"Not just ordinary Marines." Kuma added. "If a Celestial Dragon is hurt, they send a Warship crewed by an entire battalion of Officers and led by an Admiral from Headquarters."

"An Admiral?" Light repeated wide-eyed.

"What the Hell? They go that far just from something as small as a hit?" Ace asked, as though he was just told something completely insane.

"That just shows how much power the World Nobles have at their disposal." Dragon reminded them.

"But why?" Sabo asked, now quieter than before. "Even if they can do stuff like this, why do they? How can they just act like this is all no big deal? Those are people's lives?"

Dragon looked at the pained look in his eyes, as well as the hate-filled eyes that Light and Ace had, and looked to the side before he spoke.

"Sometimes, too much power can be a bad thing."

Dragon quoted, which made Sabo look up before he went on.

"When first Celestial Dragons came into power, so did their families, and so every time a child from their family was born, they were given the same power and authority as the ones who came before them." Dragon explained the system to them. "What do you think would happen if someone was given that much power at such a young age?"

Ace and Light thought of Sabo's father and how messed up he was, while Sabo himself thought of the Noble children and how they were no different from the adults.

"Obviously, someone who's never known great power also wouldn't know how to use a great power responsibly. Telling weak people that they can have whatever they want whenever they want and that nothing bad will ever happen to them is a dangerous thing. It'll give them more power than they can handle, and that power will inevitably consume them." Dragon continued. "From the moment they were born, everyone treated them like Gods, and so that's how they live. Naturally, a "God" wouldn't care how Humans die as long as they get what they want." He practically spat out that last part.

"The sad fact is that the world is pretty much theirs for the taking." Ivankov went on. "And with the whole Navy backing them up, no one, not even Pirates, would dare to go against them."

"So nothing can be done?" Sabo asked, his tone sounding almost defeated, and his eyes fell. "I…I always thought that if I could one day leave this country, I could be free from the Nobles and finally find freedom. But now, are you telling me that freedom is impossible? That no matter where I go, I'll never be free?"

"Don't you dare say that!" Ace snapped at him, angry that he would even suggest that.

"But…" Sabo looked up at him.

Ace grabbed him by the collar and glared. "No buts! Gods, Nobles, I don't care about any of that! I refuse to accept that whether I live or die can be decided by someone else on a whim. I'll have my freedom even if it means taking on the whole world!" He declared without a hint of hesitation.

"Ace…" Sabo spoke, a little overwhelmed.

Ace turned to Light. "You think so, too, right?"

Light nodded, not as passionate as Ace but still sure of himself. "I admit this is a lot to take in, but it won't change what I want to do. I'm still going to be the Strongest in the World, and that means being stronger than anything they try to throw at me."

Sabo processed their words and then had a small smile, now feeling better about things.

"The Strongest in the World?" Dragon spoke after hearing their interaction. "Is that what you're aiming for?"

Light looked up at him and nodded. "It is."

Dragon then closed his eyes and chuckled under his breath. "That sounds about right."

"Aside from that, now that I think about it, you guys still haven't told us who you guys are." Sabo remembered.

Ace let go of Sabo and looked at them. "Hey yeah, you told us who started the fire and why, but you still haven't explained what you guys are doing here and why you saved us."

"I was getting to that. I just wanted you to know everything beforehand so you wouldn't have questions later." Dragon explained before he went on. "We are part of a covert organization known as the Revolutionary Army."

"Revolutionary Army?" Light repeated. "What's that?"

"It's exactly how it sounds, vwe're a complete organization dedicated to one goal; overthrowing the government!"

"As we said, the majority of nations in the world are a part of the World Government, and almost no one has the power to oppose them. However, we stand as the sole exception." Kuma elaborated. "The Revolutionary Army is a monolithic organized group that directly opposes the World Government and the Celestial Dragons."

"But before you said, no one in the world has the power to go against the government?" Sabo pointed out.

"No one except vus!" Ivankov proclaimed. "And the one who leads this whole army is none other than Dragon!" He pointed to the man in question.

Light looked at him with a new kind of surprise. "You're the leader?"

"Let me explain, many years ago. I decided that I didn't want to live a life where my whole world was controlled by the World Government. They hurt, oppressed, manipulated, and discarded others, all the while using law and authority to always have their way. I couldn't accept that." Dragon proclaimed in remembrance. "So decades ago, I decided I would stand up against them and find others who felt the same way. Even now, I'm building my forces and gaining power in order to one day topple the government completely. And that includes thwarting their twisted ambitions like the one they did tonight."

"But if that's true, then how come I've never heard of you guys?" Ace questioned with suspicion. "A whole army that opposes the government is something that would definitely be big news everywhere, yet I never heard anyone even mention you guys."

"Well, of course not. Remember, vwe're a covert group right now." Ivankov answered him. "Right now, vwe're working in the shadows outside the public eye. That's how it's been for years."

"The truth is, even if we intend to oppose the World Government, we don't currently possess the power to do so. That is why we are accumulating our power and our influence from the shadows until we become a force that can directly go against them." Kuma explained. "We estimate that we'll be able to do so within a few more years. Right now, we have allies and members all over the four oceans and even in the Grand Line."

"And the things vwe are exactly what you'd expect at this point, saving oppressed countries from tyrants, freeing societies that have been enslaved by others, adding resistance groups that fight against oppressive rulers, etc." Ivankov went on. "Until the day vwe make our move, vwe just help whenever our help is needed."

Hearing all this made Sabo think, and then he stepped forward and confronted Dragon.

"Can I ask you something?" Sabo requested as he looked up at him. "You said you decided to oppose the World Government years ago, but why did you decide that? Why did you decide to become a Revolutionist?"

"You want to know the truth?" Dragon asked rhetorically before he answered. "Like you all, I'm also from this country."

All three of their eyes widened in surprise as he continued.

"From a young age, I was made painfully aware of my place in the world. A great wall divided this country. On one side, people were treated like garbage and had to live off of scraps. On the other side, scum who did nothing were given more than they'd ever need and lived like Kings. It made no sense to me." Dragon described it. "As I grew older, I learned that it wasn't just here. There were so many other countries that operated under the same laws, but what boggled my mind more than that was that no one tried to stand against it, not one person resisted the way things were, and I couldn't understand why." He looked up at the ceiling. "Someone had to do something, so eventually, I decided that I would be that someone. Instead of hoping for things to get better someday, I'd make them better myself."

As the boys heard his words, they almost felt captived by them. They could feel the conviction and determination that flowed from his words. It was similar to how they felt when they declared their dreams or how Naguri declared he was going to set sail again. That's why they knew he meant every single word. After that, he turned to them and reached out his hand.

"Join us." Dragon offered them.

.

.

.

[Eh?] The Brothers replied, confused.

"I offer you a place in the Revolutionary Army." Dragon elaborated. "You've seen the tyranny of the government, and I can tell that none of you have any intention of accepting things like this, so why not work with us to end it."

"But, we're just kids?" Light pointed out.

"That isn't an issue. The Revolutionary Army accepts all those who wish to join regardless of age, nationality, or race." Kuma informed him. "In fact, there are already quite a number of children around your age that have become a part of our ranks."

"That said, vwe don't extend our hands to anyone who comes crawling to vus for help." Ivankov clarified. "To be one of vus, you need two important qualities, vyou have to have the resolve to be willing to fight against the current world and the will to save others and vyouself instead of waiting to be saved. Since vyou three have both, there's no problem in letting vyou join."

"Hold on!" Ace chimed in, not on board with the current topic. "Look, we appreciate you saving us, and we agree that those Nobles are scum. But don't get the wrong idea. We want to be Pirates."

"Pirates, vyou say?" Ivankov questioned in a neutral manner. "And are vyou absolutely sure about that?"

"Of course we are, right, you guys?" Ace responded.

However, even though he was absolutely sure about his decision, he expected Sabo and Light to back him up in the same manner, but that didn't happen. Instead, both of them kept quiet as if they were actually thinking about it and looked unsure.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?" Ace questioned Sabo, narrowing his eyes.

"Well… I mean, you gotta admit it's something to think about." Sabo nervously reasoned.

"Think about?" Ace repeated, surprised, before he confronted him. "What are you saying? You don't want to be a Pirate anymore?!"

"That's not what I said!" Sabo denied his accusation.

"That what are you saying? What's there to think about? We promised we'd become Pirates together, remember, or are you telling me you're having second thoughts?" Ace demanded answers.

Sabo glared and turned things around. "Okay then, what about you? What about those scumbag Nobles who tried to burn down Gray Terminal and us along with it? Are you saying you're just going to forget about it and act like it's not important?" He accused.

Ace was caught off guard by that and stepped back. "No, t-that's not what I meant."

After reaching an impasse, they realized they were deadlocked, and both immediately turned to Light.

"What about you, Light?" Ace asked him.

"Yeah, what do you think about all this?" Sabo asked him as well.

Light looked at them back and forth but still looked unsure.

"I…I really don't know. I mean, you're both not wrong, but I can't just decide these things on the spot." Light admitted, not able to come up with a decision.

"Stop, that's enough." Dragon spoke up, getting between them, and sighed. "I don't expect an immediate answer from you. In fact, take some time to think about it before you decide."

"Time?" Sabo repeated, confused.

"Three days." Dragon clarified. "I'll give you three days to think about my offer. After that time has come, I'll hear the decision you all decide to make."

"And if vyou're worried about getting home, then don't be!" Ivankov assured them. "After the sun rises tomorrow morning, vwe'll send vyou three back to the Island, and that's a promise. Until then, try to get some sleep, vyou still need rest before vyou can make a full recovery." He instructed them.

Hearing all that, Ace, Light, and Sabo all agreed that it was probably for the best, and they didn't really have much of a choice, all things considered. So they complied with Ivankov's instructions and let themselves be taken to a different part of the ship where they could see.

As the night went by and they drifted to slumber, none of them said a word to each other or in general. All they could do was think about everything that happened that night, everything they learned, and how things would never be the same.

Darkness turned to light as the next day arrived and was morning. Aboard the Revolutionary Army's ship, on the ship's lower deck, there was a small room with four wooden walls and three sleeping hammocks hanging around the walls. Resting on each of the hammocks were Light, Ace, and Sabo, all of whom were still asleep.

Before long, they began to wake up and open their eyes. The first to awaken was Light. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before looking around at the unfamiliar room. At that point, he remembered the events of last night and shook himself awake. He then looked over to the other two.

"Hey, you guys awake?" Light addressed.

Ace sat up and yawned. "Yeah, we are now."

Sabo also got up. "Well, now that we're up, do we just wait for someone to show up?" He wondered.

SLAM!

Instead of an answer, they were all alarmed when the door slammed open loudly, and standing in front of the door proudly was Ivankov.

"HE-HA! Vi see that vyou're all awake!" He loudly addressed them. "That's good! Did vyou sleep well!"

"Ever heard of knocking?!" Ace snapped at him, annoyed.

"Ah! Vyou're right. Where are my manner?!" Ivankov lamented. "Ah, well, moving on from that." He immediately moved on. "Since vyou're up, follow me. It's time for vyou three to head home for now."

"Oh yeah right." Sabo spoke as the three of them stepped onto the floor. "Is the ship already docked?

Ivankov simply widened his smile. "Welllll, not exactly."

He then walked off while gesturing for them to follow him. None of them understood what his words or facial expression meant but still followed after him.

After a few minutes, they all arrived on the front deck of the ship, and standing by the port was Dragon, who was waiting for them.

"Good, you're all here." Dragon addressed them.

Sabo nodded. "Yeah, we—" Sabo paused we he felt something was off, both in the sounds he heard around him and the scent of the air. He then ran over to the edge of the ship and gasped at what he saw. "Ehhh!? We're in the middle of the ocean?!"

[HUH?!] Ace and Light gapped at the same time when they heard that and ran over to see for themselves.

Once they looked over the edge of the ship like Sabo, they were able to confirm that they were indeed surrounded by the ocean at all sides. Dawn Island wasn't anywhere in sight. Light turned to Ivankov.

"Did you guys set sail while we slept?" Light asked them, still surprised.

"What were vyou expecting? Did vyou honestly think vwe'd stayed docked in one plus all night long?" Ivankov asked incredulously. "Remember, vwe're a covert organization, vwe have to stay on the move."

"But you said you'd take us back once the sun came up." Ace reminded them, almost accusingly. "How are we supposed to get back from all the way out here?"

"Don't worry. I'll send you back myself." Dragon informed them as he approached them. "Just stay close together and don't move."

"Why?" Ace asked, still suspicious.

Dragon stopped when he was right in front of them. "You'll find out in a moment."

WHOOOSH!

At that moment, all of a sudden, the wind started to pick up and it felt as though a large gust of wind was surrounding the ship. More specifically, it was surrounding Dragon and the boys.

Ivankov smiled and waved at them. "Bye-bye now."

At those words, the wind got even strong, and it was like a miniature twister was surrounding them and Dragon. It became so strong that they had to shield their eyes while Dragon seemed unfazed. After a few seconds, the wind died down, and they got a hold of themselves.

"Gah, what the Hell was that?" Ace cursed, opening his eyes. "It felt like a….…."

.

.

.

Ace froze, and the three of them all became shell-shocked as they looked around and noticed where they were. Currently, they were standing by a shoreline that overlooked the ocean and was near a large forest of trees. In fact, it was the forest of Mt. Corvo. In other words, they were somehow back on Dawn Island.

"T-There's no way…?" Ace muttered, losing count of how many times their minds had been blown.

"We're back?" Sabo looked around, wanting to make sure he was really seeing this.

"But how? We were in the middle of the ocean just a second ago?" Light couldn't understand it and looked at Dragon. "What did you do?"

"When you've been around as long as I have, you pick up a few things." That was all the explanation he gave them as he turned around. "I'll return at this time three days from now to hear your answer."

WHOOOSH!

Then once again, the wind picked up around him in a strong gust before quickly dying down again. And then, like dust in the wind, Dragon was gone without a trace, leaving behind no evidence of him ever being there in the first place.

"He's gone?" Sabo quietly noted.

"How does he keep doing that?" Ace wondered.

After being silent for a few seconds, Light said what was on his mind. "Well, does it really matter how?"

Both Ace and Sabo stared at him before they thought about it and calmly responded.

"Well, I guess we don't really need to know how he can do that stuff, just that he can do it." Sabo compromised.

"It's a big world, and there's bound to be a lot of people out there with all kinds of weird powers like that." Ace reasoned as well. "Probably better not to think too much about it."

That was something they all could agree on. After that, things became quiet. Sabo broke the silence and asked. "So, what do we do now?"

"Let's go back to Dadan's place?" Light suggested. "Now that the fire's over, we should let them know that we're okay and see if they're all okay."

Sabo smiled. "Yeah, good idea, plus we haven't been there in a while."

Ace just crossed his arms behind his head. "Yeah, well, who knows if they're even worried about us."

Even though he said that Ace went along with the idea to go back to the Mountain Bandits' hideout and the three of them went off into the forest to make their way there right away.

It wasn't long until they found the familiar route in the woods that led to the bandits' hun, it had been months since they followed this route, and yet they still knew it like it was a path they walked every day.

Before long, the hut was in sight, and outside they could see the small man known as Dogra, who was outside and putting out some laundry to dry. Seeing him, they ran over to him.

"Hey! Dogra!" Light called out to him.

Hearing his name being called, Dogra turned to see who it was. When he saw them, his jaw dropped, and his eyes widened as if he had just seen a ghost. "Eh?! It's you!?"

Seeing his reaction made the three of them stop, and they became a little confused.

"What's wrong?" Sabo asked him.

Instead of answering, Dogra just turned and ran inside the house while screaming. "Boss! Everyone! It's Light, Ace, and Sabo! They're okay! They came back!"

[EEEHHHHHHH!]

Hearing the surprised voices of everyone inside, the boys saw almost all of the bandits flood out of the house to see them with stunned and surprised looks. Then after getting over the shock, they all started to surround themselves while cheering with happiness that the three of them were safe and made it back.

"Ace… Light… hic Sabo!" Magra croaked out, tears of joy in his eyes as he ran over to them.

"You three…! You're okay. You escaped from the fire!" Dogra cried out in relief.

"What? You guys knew about the fire?" Sabo asked.

"Of course, it'd of impossible not to have seen it." Dogra pointed out. "When the Boss saw it, she decided to go looking for you three in there, even through the burning Gray Terminal."

All three of them were surprised when they heard that. "Wait, you mean? You actually went looking for us last night?" Ace asked, astonished. "Even in the burning Terminal?"

Magra nodded. "It was rough, but the Boss insisted we find you no matter what."

"Dadan?" Light asked, also surprised. None of them expected that from her.

"Ah, that's right!" Dogra cried out as if he had just remembered something urgent and looked towards the house. "Boss! Come quick. You've gotta see this!"

Hearing his voice and all the commotion outside, Dadan appeared from the door with a bottle of alcohol in her hand and a flushed look on her face as if she was trying to get wasted. "Huh? What's with all the—"

Upon coming out through the door and seeing the trio of Brothers standing in front of her outside, Dadan froze. Her mouth hung open as she stared at them while in her stupor. She dropped the bottle of alcohol from her hand and let it hit the ground and break.

Deciding the be blunt, Light raised his hand. "Hey, Dadan."

At that point, the dam broke, and a burst of tears fell from Dadan's eyes as she pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket. "Y-You damn brats! You were alive, after all!"

"Boss, you're crying again." Magra attempted to calm her.

"Shut up! I'm not crying, dammit!" Dadan denied it while still crying.

Seeing her act this way was a surprise for the boys, but then they looked at each other and shrugged with good-natured smiles.

After Dadan had called down and everyone had cooped with the fact that the three of them had returned, everyone went back inside.

Once everyone had quieted down, they all sat down together, and Light, Ace, and Sabo began to explain the events of last night and what happened in the fire.

"Bluejam?" Dogra repeated with his eyes widened.

Ace sighed and nodded as he continued with his explanation. "After we found out he was planning to set fire to the Terminal, we tried to stop him. Unfortunately, not only were we too late to stop the fires, we ended up running into Bluejam and his crew. Though we managed to beat them somehow, we had a lot of trouble getting out of the fire. When we finally escaped and got into the forest, we went back to our base and patched ourselves up for the night. When the sun came up, we decided to head back here."

"So that's what happened?" Dogra crossed his arms and looked down. "Sounds like you three had quite the night." He then looked up at them and smiled. "Well, I'm just relieved you made it back safely."

"Still, I can't believe the Nobles would've hired Bluejam to burn down Gray Terminal." Magra added, still surprised by that fact. "Why would they when they've never bothered with it before?"

"Ah, who cares about that?" Dadan brushed it off. "I could never figure out what's going on in the heads of those windbags. Besides, it's over already."

All the others decided to agree with Dadan's statement and quickly put it out of their minds. With that done, everyone resumed their usual antics. Now that the boys were home safe and the fire was over, they all were finally able to go about how they normally would.

Before everyone here, Ace, Light, and Sabo had all decided that they wouldn't tell the bandits, or anyone else for that matter, most of the events that happened last night. That included meeting Dragon and the Revolutionaries, along with all the other residents of the Terminal being saved by them, the true reason the fire was started, or the offer they were given. It was better that they kept all that to themselves as it would just cause unnecessary concerns. Most of all, they had no intention of letting Garp find out. Knowing how he'd react, it'd be a terrible idea.

But regardless of all that, seeing the happy faces of all the bandits around them and being there in the Mountain Bandits' hideout, it felt like it could finally be said. It was over—The hellish events of last night's fire, the life-threatening moments when facing Bluejam and trying to escape, the bombshells of information that kept coming, one after another.

Being here was like a breath of fresh air, and it finally felt like things were back to normal, and they could put it all behind them now.

Everything just felt… Lighter.

Things went on relatively peacefully after that day. They went back to their hideout first to make sure everything was intact. Fortunately, since they built it further into the forest this time, it was far enough that it didn't get caught in the fire. Meaning their treehouse, their flag, and their stash of treasure were all safe, which made them relieved.

With that out of the way, while waiting out the next three days, they resumed their usual activities, hunting animals, exploring different parts of the woods, and of course, training. One thing that helped them get their minds off most of their concerns was always beating each other to a pulp with blunt metal objects.

Today they were once again sparring. It was Sabo against Ace, and they were going back and forth. It was a pretty balanced match-up. That said, these past few days, it was slightly noticeable that, at times, Sabo's mind would begin to wander, leaving him distracted.

That same thing happened right now, which left him open to one of Ace's attacks.

"Ha!" Ace struck with his metal pipe.

"Gah!" Sabo sneered as his pipe was knocked out of his hand. "Dammit!"

"This'll finish it!" Ace charged forward and swung.

Ace's pipe hit Sabo in the gut, which knocked him back a bit and made him hit the ground. With that, Light raised his arm and called the match. "Ace wins!"

After a moment, Sabo sat up and rubbed his stomach. "Ouch, another loss." He grumbled in annoyance.

Ace walked up to him with a stern look on his face. "What's going on with you?"

Sabo looked up at him but then looked away. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't try to deny it. I'm not an idiot, Sabo." Ace told him, not letting him brush it off. "You wouldn't just drop your guard like that, so what's got you so distracted?"

"He's right." Light agreed, coming over to join them. "You're usually razor-sharp, but lately, it feels like you're always going silent and spacing out."

Sabo stood up and smiled nervously. "It's nothing, really, don't worry about it."

Ace and Light just stared harder at him. "Sabo, we've done this before, and you know how this ends."

Light nodded. "Yeah, we won't stop asking, so make it easier on yourself and tell us."

"So I don't even have a choice anymore!?" Sabo snapped at them. He then sighed before he came clean. "Alright, listen, the truth is, I… I've been thinking about checking out the Gray Terminal."

Both Light and Ace were a little taken aback by his confession, and Ace was the one that spoke. "Why would you want to go back there, especially after everything that happened?"

"Just hear me out." Sabo requested. "I don't want to go there. I just want to see it." He clarified, not looking hindered. "I want to see what it's like now after the fire."

Ace just looked at him. This time Light spoke. "If he's just going to look, then it shouldn't be a problem." He reasoned. "Besides, it'll help him get this thing off his chest."

Ace considered that and soon relented. "Yeah, I guess it's no problem." He then looked back at Sabo. "But we're coming with you."

Sabo nodded. "Sure."

After deciding to go, they set off into the forest. Right now, they were standing at the edge of the forest while looking off into the distance. A little bit away, they could see the great wall that led to Edge Town, meaning they had arrived at Gray Terminal… Or, in this case, what was left of it.

It was a barren wasteland. The ground was covered in nothing but thick layers of ash and burnt pieces of metal. The whole area smelled rich in charcoal—Almost like a giant bonfire. The mountains of trash were replaced with all this… Plains of dust. While it was an improvement on many levels, thinking about what it took to make it this way was enough to make someone sick—Especially those who survived that ordeal.

They just looked around, staring at the wasteland formally known as Gray Terminal. It was almost depressing.

"Hard to believe that this used to be the Gray Terminal." Ace said, looking around, his expression didn't show any emotion, but his eyes were filled with anger at what happened here. "There's nothing left."

Sabo just felt down, upset that the actions of the Nobles resulted in such a travesty. "At least no one died."

"Guys, look!" Light called, pointing a ways away. They looked up in time to see that a few giant carts were coming through the gates. "What're the carts for?" Light asked, not liking this.

"Wait?" Sabo asked, becoming furious. "Don't tell me…."

It seemed that Sabo knew what they were doing. But before he could finish, he was interrupted by the sounds of crashing and bangs if was from when the guards there were dumping garbage back near the front gates.

"They're still dumping trash here?" Light realized, taken aback.

"Are you kidding me?!" Sabo questioned, seething at what he was seeing. "After what they did, they're just filling it back up like it never happened!"

He wasn't the only outraged. "It hasn't even been a week yet, and they're already starting to fill it back up!?" Ace yelled.

"At this rate, it's going to look the same as it did before the fire." Sabo said, thinking of the Trash Mountains. "It'll look just like before."

"And not just like before." Light said, his eyes filled with hatred. "It'll be like the fire never happened. I bet they've already forgotten about it by now."

"That wouldn't surprise me." Sabo agreed, clenching his fist.

"Well, in any case, we should avoid this place as often as we can in the future… Let's not get into another mess like last time. In fact, I think that it's good that we avoid Goa for a while too." Ace advised them as he uncurled his fists. "Just thinking about them makes me want to break something! I mean, just look at this place!"

He held out his arms wide to mean the Gray Terminal, and the two of them nodded. After which, the three of them turned around and went back into the forest, intending to leave this place.

"You'd think they would at least leave it like this considering all the trouble they went to creating that mess." Sabo said with a sour expression.

As they kept walking, Light brought up something. "I think I remember Gramps saying something like that. It was something along the lines of if there's one thing Humans are good at… It's destroying things."

Ace sighed. "That I can believe, but there has to be a limit."

With nothing else to say, they made their way through the woods and completely left that sight behind.

A new day had begun, it was early in the morning, and today was the day Dragon had promised to return to hear their answer. He would arrive in only a few hours, but right now, Sabo had asked Light and Ace to follow him as he wanted to talk to them about something. It was worth noticing that all of their injuries from the fire had not healed, considering they no longer wore any bandages or patches.

Currently, the three of them were standing in an open area in the woods that was beside a cliffside with a great view of the ocean. In fact, it was the same place they stood when Sabo confessed that he was the son of a Noble, and they all declared their dreams.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Ace asked.

Sabo took a deep breath and started. "It's today, remember?"

Light and Ace's eyes widened a bit before they realized what he meant, and Light spoke. "Yeah, today's the day my Dad said he would hear our response."

Ace nodded. "Not that I need to say it, but I'm pretty sure we've all made our decisions, right?"

Sabo looked a little nervous but responded with resolve. "Yeah, and the thing is, I think I want to be a Revolutionary."

Ace looked at him without a change of expression. "You're serious?"

Sabo didn't look away. "It's not that I don't want to be a Pirate. Part of me still wants that… But, after thinking about it for a while, I just—"

"Why are you talking like you need to make excuses?" Ace bluntly cut him off. "We're not mad at you or anything. If that's what you want, then go for it."

"Huh?" Sabo looked up at him, surprised.

Light smiled at Sabo. "Yeah, we actually guessed that you'd decide to do this, so it's no big deal. It was always your choice to make."

"But before, when I said I was thinking about it, you got mad?" Sabo pointed out, surprised by Ace's sudden change of perspective.

"Oh yeah, that, well…" Ace crossed his arms and uncomfortably looked around. "I admit that I… I may have lost my temper back then and… Ah, Hell, I'm just going to say it!" Ace frustratedly snapped. "I wasn't being fair back then and put you on the spot. But after sleeping on it and thinking about it from your side, I decided not to pressure you on this, whatever you ended up deciding."

"As for me, I was in a similar position since I wasn't really sure what to do at the time." Light chimed in, sounding relaxed. "So I decided to try and figure things out on my own and let you guys do the same. I thought that'd be better than just doing whatever you guys might do."

"You guys…" Sabo muttered before looking relieved. "I meant what I said, though. Part of me still wants to be a Pirate, not just because of the promise we made but because I really wanted to be one, but at the same time, I can't deny that being a Revolutionary is something I feel I have to do… No, more like something I always wished I could do."

Ace sighed and spoke. "Look, I really don't mind if you want to be a Revolutionary, but could you explain it in a way we can understand." He requested. "What made you want to join those guys?"

"Well, there were two things actually." Sabo confessed. "The first was when we came back to Dadan's hut, the look on everyone's faces when we came back alive, how happy they were to see us, and how they said they searched for us even through the fire." He reminisced with fondness. "That made me happy. It really felt like I had a home, a place where I was welcomed and had people who cared about me."

"Then why…?" Light asked.

Sabo then frowned. "That's where the second reason comes in. It was after I saw Gray Terminal yesterday, how they were still dumping trash there after what happened." His eyes and tone sounded just like they did when he first saw it. "That fire was like Hell, and they set up that fire without caring how many people would die. I bet they probably feel proud about what they did. It makes me sick."

"Us too, but that's still—" Ace started to say.

"No, that's not what I mean." Sabo interrupted him. "It makes me sick that I was born and raised in the same place as them and had the same blood that they do." He clarified, placing a hand over his stomach and gripping it. "I'm ashamed that I was born a Noble."

Sabo's words were filled with self-loathing and disgust. As he said those words, Ace looked at him with similar emotion because, on a personal level, he could understand the feeling of hating how you were born. Light, however, walked up to him a gently placed his fist on Sabo's abdomen.

"Come on, as if anyone in the world has a say in how they're born." Light told him as if it was no big deal. "Besides, just because you were born a Noble doesn't mean you are one. As if there are any Nobles out there that live with bandits and fight every day."

Sabo looked up at him, slightly dumbstruck by his unreserved blunt response. At that point, Ace smirked and followed up.

"He's right. As if someone as scruffy and out of control like you could ever be a Noble." Ace taunted with amusement. "You're a lot better off being a wild child from Gray Terminal."

"You guys, I'm trying to be serious here." Sabo told them, though he couldn't hide the smile forming on his face, showing he was feeling better compared to a moment ago. "But you aren't wrong."

He then continued. "My point is, I just can't stand the fact that they can do stuff like that and no one can stop them, and not just here, but there are plenty of other countries out there where other people are going through the same. I don't want to just sit back and do nothing after learning that, so I want to do something to stop it. That's why I don't mind becoming a Revolutionary." He explained with resolve.

"But that's not the only reason, is it?" Light asked him with a knowing look.

Sabo gave a peaceful smile and went on. "Yeah, there's one other reason." He then looked towards the ocean. "I want to be free. For as long as I can remember, that's always been my biggest dream; freedom. I feel like if I stay in this country, I'll never be free. And honestly, it feels like. If I go with them, I'll finally be able to find real freedom."

"I get it." Ace said. "Whether you're a Pirate or any kind of sailor, setting sail is all about freedom." He quoted. "It's natural to want to be free when going out to sea."

Sabo nodded. "Yeah, and I want to find true freedom, wherever it is out there. For myself and everyone else out there who yearns with all their hearts to be free."

Light stood beside him. "For what it's worth, I get what you're saying. That's why it was so hard for me to make a decision. But in the end, there was really only one choice to make." Light then reached back and held onto the Straw Hat he wore that was hanging around the back of his neck. "I made a promise, after all."

Sabo knew what he meant and smiled with understanding. "You want to be a Pirate to keep your promise with Shanks."

"Not just that, I don't just want to set sail on any ship. I want to set sail on my own ship, one where I'm the Captain, and I decide where it goes. That's a promise I made to myself." Light proudly proclaimed. "There's no way I'll climb aboard and set sail under someone else flag."

"Yeah, that does sound more like you." Sabo admitted.

"That said, I still agree with what you're saying. That's why even though I plan on becoming a Pirate, that doesn't mean I won't do what I think is right." Light clarified. "If I ever see Nobles, Government Officials, or other Pirates like Bluejam who hurt and abuse the people around them, I'm going to go in and take them out myself." He said determinedly.

"Can you even do that?" Sabo asked, finding it unconventional.

Light shrugged happily. "Being a Pirate means I'm a criminal, so what's weird about a Pirate taking out people who are on the side of the law?"

Sabo saw his point and chuckled. "I guess that's true."

"Heh, just listen to you guys." Ace commented as he came up to join them. "Well, unlike the two of you, I'm no Champion of Justice or anything like that. I just want to be a Pirate." He looked out at the ocean as well. "Like I said before, I'm going to be a Pirate whose name and infamy will spread across the whole world, and that still hasn't changed."

"So I'm going to become a Revolutionary, Ace is going to be a Pirate, and Light's going to be a mix of both." Sabo summarized. "Guess it all evens out."

"But regardless of what we become, it doesn't change the fact that we're all setting sail or that we're still Brothers." Light proclaimed. "It just means we're setting sail on different ships after all."

Ace nodded to that. "Yeah, we'll just do what we want. No matter where that takes us, we're in it together."

"And even if we're oceans apart, we'll always have each other's backs and come running to help out if it's ever needed." Sabo finished.

With that done, they each placed their arms forward and put them on top of each other so they could overlap. This was so they could renew their vow of Brotherhood. Once again, Ace did the honors. "No matter what, we're honest to goodness, Brothers."

As a breeze from the ocean blew past and ruffled their hair, they all threw their hands up and happily declared.

[Brothers!]

After everything was settled, Sabo made his way to the same shore where Dragon had departed before. He stood there alone and completely sure of himself as the designated time approached.

It wasn't long before the wind started to pick up, and a strong gale surrounded the spot in front of him before the cloaked man from three days ago appeared in front of him again, just like before; he appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

Once Dragon arrived, he walked up to Sabo and looked directly at him.

"Just you?" Dragon asked, referring to the fact that he was alone.

Sabo nodded with a change of expression. "Yeah, I thought about it, and in the end, I finally made my decision." He then smiled. "And they made theirs."

Dragon accepted that answer. "I understand. Now then, let's go." He held out his hand.

Sabo reached out and accepted it. With that matter settled, the wind grew around both of them and covered them both in a strong gust that blocked their physical appearance from being seen by anything that might be watching. When it cleared, they had vanished without a trace, and like the very wind itself, both man and child had disappeared.

Meanwhile, back at the cliff, Ace and Light sat wistfully by the edge as they looked out at the ocean now that Sabo was gone.

"Whelp, he's really gone." Ace said to no one in particular.

"Yeah." Light responded. "I'm happy he did want he wanted, but it won't be the same without him."

What Ace said next was in an indifferent tone, as if he couldn't care less about it. "All the treasure we piled up is still in the treehouse. It was ironically the one thing that wasn't affected by the fire." He then shrugged. "But that pile of loot doesn't matter anymore. Sabo and I originally planned to use it as our Pirate Fund, but in the end, Sabo didn't use it, so I won't bother with it either. Guess that means it's all yours now."

Light didn't really respond to Ace's words and was just quiet as he gazed up at the sky.

"…Hey, Ace." Light finally spoke. "….…I want to be the Pirate King."

Ace blinked before he looked at him. "Wel,l that was random. What brought this up?"

"Truth is, I've had this on my mind for a while, but a lot of things happened, and they made me rethink some things." Light admitted as he stared up at the sky. "For so long, I've always thought being the Pirate King just meant being the Strongest Pirate on the sea."

"Isn't it?" Ace wondered, not seeing the problem.

"I'm not so sure anymore." Light told him. "All this time, I just wanted to be strong for the sake of being strong, but then I started to think about what my Dad said. About how having too much power can consume you. It made me think about Bluejam and those Nobles, how they only ever used their power to get whatever they wanted and knocked down or killed anyone who got in their way just because they could." He then looked solemn. "If all I ever do is obsess about power, will I one day end up like that? I can't stop asking myself that."

Ace narrowed his eyes and also looked up. "I never really thought of it like that." He then looked back at him. "So, are you saying you don't want to be the Strongest anymore?"

Light smiled and shook his head. "It's not that. While I was thinking about all that, another thought came to me. I started to think about Shanks, Naguri, and also my Dad. They were all really strong, the Strongest I'd ever seen, and yet they never acted like they were better than others because they were strong. In fact, whether they were alone, or had a crew, or even an army, they all acted like they were no different from everyone else." He remembered. "I think that's the kind of person I want to become."

"Yeah, I get that, but how does that translate to being the Pirate King?" Ace asked.

"Remember what Naguri said about Gold Roger?" Ace stiffened when he heard that name. "He said that Roger was the greatest opponent he ever faced. The Pirate King was the Strongest Pirate in the World, and yet, Naguri instead called him the greatest. So I decided I don't just want to be someone strong but someone who's as strong as he is great." Light reasoned. "That's what I think being the Pirate King really means."

Ace frowned and looked down. "So, you want to be like Gold Roger?"

"Well, not Roger specifically." Light clarified. "I just want to be someone who can be both the Strongest and the Greatest Pirate without losing sight of myself. I think that's the different kind of strength Naguri was talking about, the kinda strength that makes people think you're someone great regardless of how strong you are in a fight. That's the kinda strength I want to have."

His words were eloquent and yet laced with sincerity. Light didn't just want what he said. He talked as though he was envisioning it clearly in his mind and had every intention of making it happen. It was as simplistic as a child who couldn't wait to grow up.

On the other side of things, Ace just looked bitter, not upset, but rather uncomfortable. He had something on his mind but looked as though he really didn't want to say it and yet felt like he had to.

"Light… There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while, but I kept avoiding it because I just didn't want to say." Ace hesitated before he confessed. "The truth is… Gold Roger is my Father."

"Yeah, I know." Light responded casually.

"I know I should've told this sooner, but….…." Ace froze as Light's rebuttal slowly sank in, and he was completely thrown off. "What do you just say?"

"I said I already knew that." Light repeated, as casually as if he was simply admitting he knew what day it was in the week.

"What do you mean you knew!" Ace snapped, his mind going into its default emotion—Anger. "How?! When?! Who told you!?"

"Sabo told me." Light answered, still calm.

"That son of a bastard! I told him that in confidence!" Ace yelled, a tick mark appearing on his head as he clenched his fists and looked ready to break something. "If he wasn't already gone, I'd of broken him in two."

While Ace was fuming angrily about Sabo letting the cat out of the bag, Light just sat there and waited for Ace to let it all out, knowing it wasn't a good idea to approach him when he was like this. After a few moments, Ace cooled down enough to take a deep breath and continue the conversation.

"Alright, tell me, when did Sabo tell you this?" Ace questioned.

"It was that night when we met Naguri." Light told him. "Sabo told both of us shortly after you stormed off."

"Tch, he told Naguri too." Ace complained before he turned back to Light. "Now let me ask you something, and answer me honestly." Ace stared sharply at him. "When I asked you, what if Gold Roger had a son? When you gave me your answer, did you answer that way just because you were trying to comfort me, or was it out of pity?"

He almost sounded like he would attack him based on what kind of response Light would give. Even though they were sworn Brothers, right now, the tension in the air felt like it was enough to cut someone.

But surprisingly enough, Light didn't seem fazed by it in the least and simply answered Ace in his usual tone.

"Before I answer that, let me ask you something." This time, Light stared directly at Ace. "For as long as you've known me, did I ever seem like the kind of person who would say something I didn't think was true just to make someone else feel better?"

Ace blinked at that question as all of his tension fizzled away. He then processed that question before thinking back on it. Finally, he just leaned back, almost looking ready to laugh. "Nah, you always talk in an unreserved and blunt way. I seriously doubt you could be tactful even if you tried."

Light shrugged, being fine with all that. "Then that answers your question."

"Yeah, I had a feeling that was the case. I just wanted to be sure." Ace admitted, brushing it off.

"Then let me ask you something this time." Light rested his chin on his knees. "Why do you hate Roger so much?"

Once again, Ace stiffened up, this time because he knew he actually had to confess.

"Well… How should I put this." Ace struggled to put it into words. "I guess I should start at the beginning. A while before I met Sabo, even though Roger was my Father, I didn't really know anything about him, so I kept going into Edge Town to ask other people what kind of person he was. Delinquents, Drunken bums in bars, even old rich geezers."

"What did they say?" Light asked.

Ace grit his teeth as he angrily remembers. "No matter who I asked, they all said the same damn thing. Roger is trash. Roger is scum. Roger is garbage. And then, I asked, 'what if Roger had a son?' They always laughed about how he should be killed right away and how him being born was unforgivable."

Light was taken aback, not having expected that. "Hmm, that reminds me of something Yassop once told me. Pirates are always hated regardless of where they go, and the more infamous they become, the more enemies they make for the smallest reasons. There'll even be people who hate you for doing nothing or even people you've never met."

"Sounds about right. After all, no one was more infamous than Gold Roger." Ace claimed as he continued. "Every time, no matter who I asked, they all gave the same answer, I doubt any of them even met him, yet it seemed like the whole world hated him. I know it was a hypothetical question, but every time they said it. it made me angry, so angry that I'd beat the crap out of every last one of them. Honestly, if I was stronger back then, I'd of killed them." He admitted.

"I see. Go on." Light responded, sounding like he couldn't care in the least about hearing Ace say he'd killed others in passing.

"I couldn't really explain why it pissed me off back then. I just did it, but now…." Ace looked down with depression. "What got me angry was that it just felt like everyone was sticking a finger in my face and telling me that I shouldn't have been born, and I hated that, sure, but… Somewhere along the way, I started to wonder."

Now Light became surprised. "Wonder? About what?"

"Was it… Good that I was born?" He asked grimly. "Nobody wanted me to be born. After hearing it so many times, I couldn't help but wonder."

Light couldn't believe what he was hearing. Never seen this side of Ace before. "And, did you still think that now?"

"Who knows?" Ace replied, not changing his tone. "I haven't thought about it in a while, so I can't really say."

"What about me?" Light asked.

Now Ace was taken aback as he looked up at Light. "What?"

"You say no one wanted you to be born, but what about me? I want you around. I'm glad that you were born, and do you know why? It's because you're my Brother." Light told him fiercely without a shred of doubt.

Ace's expression changed upon Light's words, but Light wasn't done.

"And not just that, Ace. If you weren't here, I probably wouldn't be alive today." Light admitted, looking down. "There were plenty of times when I could have died if you hadn't been there, against Bluejam, or Tiger Lord, or during the Terminal Fire. In all those cases, you were always the one who made sure Sabo nor I died. If you weren't here, there's no way we could have survived all that."

"But the opposite is also true. If you two weren't there with me, I would have died during all those times as well." Ace pointed out, not trying to deny Light's calm but to make things clear.

"I'm also only as strong as I am now because of you." Light went on. "Every day, I trained harder and fought harder because I didn't want to lose to you, so I always gave it my best every day, believing that I could never beat you otherwise, and I became so much stronger because of that. I even learned Haki." He reminded him. "If I hadn't met you, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be half as strong as I am now."

Ace nodded at that. "It's the same for me, honestly. I was working hard because I didn't want to fall behind you, and because of that, I became a lot strong than I used to be." He admitted. "Plus, I'm pretty sure I also wouldn't have gotten this strong if I wasn't always trying to beat you."

"Ace, you saved me, and I saved you. You helped me get stronger, and I helped you get stronger. And unlike all of those guys, I actually know you, and I know who you are, and I say you being born is something great and if any denies that, I'll beat the crap out of them." Light declared with a smile and genuine care.

Ace took in his words, they were simplistic and sounded like he came up with them on the spot, but the gesture itself was something that really affected him. It was like hearing something you thought you'd never hear but always wished you could, and because of that, Ace smiled back at him. "Thanks, Light, that means a lot."

Light replied by giving him a large, toothy, D-shaped grin.

"But still, as for the reason I hate him." Ace went on. "Gold Roger, Gol D. Roger. That name, his blood, was like getting a death sentence before I was even born. It felt like I was shackled down by something I could never escape from." He described with a sour look. "My life was condemned before it even started, all because he was my Father. I took the name Portgas from my Mother because I owed her my life, and I was proud of that name. But it always feels like there's something dark hanging over me."

Light looked a little agasped from all that. "I guess I can't really say I know what that feels like. After all, I've never hated my Dad, while on the flip-side, I don't really know all that much about my Mother."

"Actually, that reminds me." Ace brought up. "How and when did you even find out about your Dad?"

Light shrugged. "I rather not say."

"Don't give me that!" Ace preserved. "Tell me."

"Okay then, what about you?" Light reversed the topic. "How and when did you find out about your parents."

Ace stopped before he groaned. "Alright, fair enough."

"Anyways, even though I knew who my Dad was, I really didn't know anything about him." Light admitted, sounding indifferent. "Even when I met him, it didn't feel like I was talking to my Father, but some guy who was technically my Father. I guess I just didn't know how I was supposed to act around a parent, so I just treated him like I would have anyone else."

"If I'm being honest, it felt like he was doing the same thing to you." Ace pointed out.

"Probably, the point is whether he was my Father or not, he was his own man, and even if we share the same blood, the way my life plays out isn't connected just because of that. He is him, and I am me. Being Father and Son won't change that." Light explained without reserve. "I think he feels the same way. Even though he was the son of a Marine Hero, he became a Revolutionist and had no ties to his Father at all. Maybe it's just natural not to worry about things like bloodlines or how the world sees you."

Ace sighed and muttered. "I wish I knew what that felt like."

"Either way, in spite of everything, I am grateful that he saved us, and I'm at least happy now that I know what he does, even if it's just for the sake of knowing." Light reasoned.

"But don't you wonder what might happen in a few years?" Ace asked him, more seriously than before. "He said that he wanted to overthrow the government, and they essentially rule the world. Once they start seeing him as a real threat, then he might end up becoming the biggest criminal in history, and if that happens, people will start saying stuff like he's a Demon. They could even go after you if they ever find out he's you're Father."

"Hmm, Yeah, I guess they could." Light responded nonchalantly.

"Don't you even care?" Ace asked, surprised by his reaction, or lack thereof in this case. "You'll be the son of someone everyone in the world hates. Everyone in the world will be your enemy and want you dead or tell you that your existence is a crime."

"You say everyone, but you won't be my enemy." Light pointed out like it was a simple point, which made Ace pause. "You and Sabo, Makino, Dadan, and the Bandits, none of you guys would be my enemy or hate me because of who my Dad is, so it won't be the whole world."

"…That's…" Ace literally didn't know how to respond to that. It sounded so simple yet so true, idiotic yet open-minded. It was the logic of a child, yet you just couldn't deny it.

It was clear that even though he didn't admit it, Ace was telling Light all this because he was worried about him and was trying to warn Light about what would be in store for him if things played out the way he described. He didn't want to world to deny Light like it did for him.

While Light wasn't concerned about it because he genuinely believed things would be fine, and he wanted Ace to believe that as well, and to that end, he treated this matter as though it wasn't something to be worried about and that being worried about it of itself wouldn't change things.

Basically, it was a Big Brother worrying about his Little Brother and a Little Brother telling his Big Brother not to worry. The usual stuff.

"Anyways, even if almost all the world becomes my enemy, it won't matter because I already have a plan for that outcome." Light said with confidence before he closed his eyes and grinned. "I'll just become stronger than the world."

"Eh?" Now Ace was just confused.

"I'm going to King of the Pirates, so I'll have enemies and guys who want us dead wherever I go, so from the very beginning, I had to be someone who could fight against all that." Light then stood up and looked confidently at the ocean. "If my opponent ends up being the world, then I'll become a Pirate King who can take on the world and win. No one beats the Pirate King, not the world or anyone in it."

Ace just looked at him before he smirked and stood up as well. "You're something else, y'know." He commented before gently smacking him on the back. "Okay, I'm in."

"You're what?" Light asked, not getting it.

"I really don't know much about being the Pirate King, but being stronger than the world sounds pretty good." Ace looked at him, still grinning. "Let's aim for that, and I'll help you become the King. A wild animal like you will definitely have a hard time pulling it off, so I'll lend you a hand. Consider it a kindness from your Big Brother."

"Well, I wasn't expecting that." Light commented before he shrugged. "But still, I appreciate it."

Ace stared back at the sea, and his resolve appeared in his eyes. A light breeze picked up as he breathed in. "Listen, Light. We will definitely live without regrets!" Ace looked back at Light. "Sabo once said to me that in this country, Noblemen only become true Nobles after turning 18. That's why he had planned to leave when he turned 17! So that's what we're gonna do!"

Light nodded firmly as they both looked out at the sea together. "He left early because he wanted to find his own freedom, so we'll do the same! Someday we're gonna set sail to, on our own ships, and live with more freedom than anyone!"

"I'm sure we'll make a lot of enemies…." Ace added. "Gramps will also be our enemy. We'll be risking our lives! We'll cast off when we turn 17!" The two Brothers stood there looking proud as two seagulls flew over the waves. "WE WILL BECOME PIRATES!" He declared to the heavens.

"THE STRONGEST! THE GREATEST! THE FREEST OF THEM ALL! THAT'S WHAT WE'LL BE!" Light declared alongside him.

Ace smirked. "And as long as we have no regrets from no one, nothing else matters. From this moment on… We live however we want to!"

"And we won't let anyone or anything stop us." Light finished.

They both watched the ocean waves in the distance, along with the birds that flew through the sky and the horizon that seemed never-ending, longing for the day they could set out themselves. Afterward, Ace turned around.

"Whelp, let's head back." Ace decided. "Now that Sabo's gone, we'll have to tell Dadan and the others about it. Let's tell them that he decided to set sail on his own." He suggested.

"Okay, but I think we have bigger problems." Light reminded him. "Regardless of what we tell him, once the geezer finds out that Sabo set sail, he'll take his anger out on us."

Ace gasped, realizing that Light was right. "Dammit, why didn't I think of that? I can practically hear Gramps yelling his lungs out already."

"Well, no point worrying about it now." Light put the matter aside.

Ace sighed. "True, come on, let's go."

With that, Ace began to leave and started walking toward the woods. Light followed closely behind him before stopping and taking one last look at the ocean as he thought.

"Goodbye, Sabo… My Brother."

With that, he continued his departure, and the trio—Now duo of Brothers made their way through the forest.

And that's that chapter. Did some of you get the wrong idea because of the title?

Because they weren't directly involved with Bluejam, they didn't know about the fire beforehand, but as it's been shown in the series many times, those with the initial D in their names are always very lucky and very unlucky, depending on the situation. So, they were lucky to find out about the fire before it started and were extremely unlucky from everything that happened afterward.

Plus, I decided to put a spin on things and have them be saved by the Revolutionary Army like all the other background characters from the fire were in the Canon, and thus, they got to meet Dragon.

Also, when Dragon said they were laying low and not many people knew about them. If you recall, during a short flashback in the story, around the time most of the Strawhats were kids, the government briefly mentioned Dragon, saying that he wasn't all that big at the time but could grow into a big threat in the future, so right now he and the Army aren't that infamous yet.

Even though Ace already knew who his parents were when he was a kid, it was never explained when or how he found out, so I decided to do the same thing with Light. Plus, I thought it was funny the way both he and Dragon were so nonchalant about the whole thing.

Moving on, there was a lot of dialogue in this chapter, but that's because there were a lot of things that needed to be said. I wanted everything to come out naturally and really show the characters for who they really were. Unlike in the Canon, Sabo didn't lose his memories so I wanted him to go through some turmoil while trying to decide whether he wanted to be a Pirate or Revolutionary before finding his answer. After all, it was literally the most important decision of his life.

And the final heart-to-heart at the end, I considered having Sabo there too, but in the end, I decided it should just be Ace and Light. It was something they needed and could only work if it was the two of them. They were both born in the same position yet came out so differently and were able to find a kindred soul in each other. Though Ace needed it more than Light, their bond was finally able to become something truly special. And this, I can now confidently say they're as close as Luffy and Ace were.

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.