Hey everyone and welcome to my new One Piece fanfiction. I'm glad I finally finished this chapter and I know that a kept you all waiting for a long time but it just feels like I'm always busy lately. That said, I'm always excited about progressing this story which is what this chapter is about. 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.
Bond Of Brothers
The day began like any other day at Mt. Corvo, except a little bit quieter, the days always started quieter lately, ever since Sabo departed. It has been a few weeks ever since Sabo left Dawn Island and Light and Ace broke the news to the others. The Mountain Bandits were upset at the fact that he was gone but were able to accept it knowing he left of his own accord and was doing what he truly wanted, though that didn't stop them from missing him. Especially Dadan, no matter how much she denied it.
As far as they all knew, though, Sabo had simply set sail on his own, and they didn't mention a word of Dragon, the Revolutionary Army, or anything else they learned after surviving the fire that night. It was a secret they planned on keeping for as long as they could.
This brings us to right now. In the woods, Light and Ace were leaning up against some trees in the clearing, but surprisingly enough, they weren't alone. Garp was there with them, drinking heavily.
Garp pulled the bottle from his lips and sighed heavily. "I see." He said in an unusually soft voice. "So that squirt really left, huh?"
Light nodded to confirm it. His eyes were calm. "Yeah, he said he just couldn't stay here anymore."
"Especially after what happened with the Terminal Fire." Ace added crossly.
Garp gazed at his Grandsons. Normally he'd tell them off or hit them for their rudeness, but given the circumstances, it seemed as if he would let it go for now. "Yeah, I can imagine, but I never would have guessed that he was some Noble's kid."
"He never acted anything like those scumbags, it would've been impossible to believe unless you heard it from the horse's mouth." Ace noted, crossing his arms.
Garp put down the bottle and sighed. "True, I still have trouble believing it. Gah… looks like it's just the two of you now, ah well, things won't be as fun."
Light stood up straight now. "Aside from that, you still haven't answered our initial question yet."
"Yeah, hurry up and tell us already." Ace told him impatiently.
"Oh yeah, why do you want to know about that anyway?" Garp asked suspicious of them.
"Because we want to know who's the Strongest in the World, how much simpler could it be?" Ace responded heatedly. "Now tell us, you're supposed to be some bigshot Marine Hero right?"
"Not supposed to be! I am, you brat!" Garp snapped at him. He then sat back down and looked at them. "I guess there's no real problem in letting you know."
"So you'll tell us?" Light asked hopefully.
"Sure, but it's pretty complicated." Garp informed them. "Truth is the question on who's the Strongest in the World is up for debate right now, there are a few candidates who are worthy of calling themselves that."
"There's more than one Strongest?" Light asked as both he and Ace were surprised by this revelation.
"Right now, I'd say there are two that come to mind." Garp started. "The first one is Whitebeard, he's called the Strongest Man in the World. Actually back in the day, he was considered to be the Arch-Rival of Gold Roger."
Both Ace and Light went wide-eyed upon hearing that. "Roger's… Rival?" Ace whispered.
"Truth is, he fought against Roger almost as many times as I did, but none of their fights were decisive." Garp went on as he leaned his head back. "But unlike Roger, Whitebeard has a good head on his shoulders which in my opinion made him harder for us Marines to deal with than Roger. When Roger died, everyone expected him to be the next Pirate King, he still could any day now too."
"He's as strong as Roger…" Ace thought, narrowing his eyes.
"There's already a Pirate who could be the Pirate King right now…" Light thought with the same expression. "But wait, if he's that strong, then who else could possibly be considered the Strongest?"
"That's where it gets complicated, unlike Whitebeard, the other one isn't Human." Garp told them.
Now they both looked confused.
"Not Human?" Ace repeated. "So what, he's an animal or something?"
"You're not on the right track." Garp went on. "His name is Kaido, I have no idea what kind of monster he is, but he's called the Strongest Creature in the World. He's a Pirate from the same generation as Whitebeard, but the two of them couldn't be any more different. There's actually a common saying these days; Land, sea, or sky, Kaido is the Strongest."
"So either Whitebeard or Kaido is the Strongest?" Light spoke as he mulled over it. "And there's nobody who can compete with them?"
"Well, I didn't say that." Garp added which got their attention. "There is one more."
"There is?" Light asked, not expecting that.
"Who is it?" Ace asked, demanding to know.
"She's a Pirate from the same generation as the other two, her name is Big Mom." Garp answered them. "Like Kaido, I have no idea what she is other than the fact that she's not Human. But she's no less strong than Kaido or Whitebeard, their Devil Fruit powers give them an edge in destructive power but in a head-to-head fight, not even I could predict who would win." He admitted. "So, while those two have more power than her, she could still beat them depending on how it goes."
"Whitebeard, Kaido, and then Big Mom." Ace quietly listed down. "Those guys are this World's Strongest."
"Yep, ever since the Great Pirate Era started, those three have been ruling over the seas without competition, not just Pirates, there aren't even any Marines or Bounty Hunters who could even dream of challenging them." Garp informed them, seemingly begrudgingly. "Hell, even I'm starting to fall behind."
"What about Shanks?" Light asked curiously. "Where does he measure up."
"Huh, Red Hair?" Garp asked before taking another drink from the bottle, after that he put it back down and sighed. "Don't give him too much credit, he's good but that kid isn't there yet."
Light blinked. "Yet?"
"I mean don't get me wrong, he's a brat, but even I have to admit he's pretty ridiculous." Garp admitted, looking upwards. "I've never seen someone grow in both strength and influence as fast as him. Maybe not right now, but even though no one seems to have any chance of catching up to those three, in a few more years, Red Hair just might be the first."
"Seriously?" Light seemed awed as he reached back to touch his hat and thought of Shanks. "I guess that means Shanks is actually pretty amazing."
"But a few years means he's not as strong as them right now." Ace pointed out. "So as of right now, those three are the Strongest."
"In a nutshell." Garp answered as he put down his empty bottle and stood up. "So now you know." He said, turning back and heading through the trees where they could just make out the bandit's house. "I'll leave things off here but next time I come here, we'll begin training again!"
Light waited until his gramps was out of his sight before he went over to Ace's smirking form.
"Did you hear that, Light?" Ace asked, looking pleased.
"Yeah, but why did you want to know all that?" Light asked his Brother.
"Don't you get it? You're going to be the Pirate King and I'm going to be the Strongest in the World." Ace proclaimed, sure of himself. "So all we have to do is take out those guys that the Old Man was talking about."
"All of them?" Light asked.
"Yeah, all of them." Ace confirmed. "It's all a part of my plan."
"Well, I wish you could explain it to me." Light tilted his head a bit. "I mean, I get why you want to beat them, but how does me beating them make me the Pirate King?"
"Just think about it for a second, Gramps said that Whitebeard was at the top of the list of people who could be the Pirate King and those other two are on his level." Ace explained. "Even if you find the One Piece, people won't just accept you as the King if there are people stronger than you, but if you're strong enough to beat one of those three, nobody will complain about you being the King."
Light nodded as if he agreed with that logic. "Yeah, that's true."
"So it's settled!" Ace grinned. "I'll take down Whitebeard and you can take down Kaido, and I guess we can flip a coin to see who gets Big Mom." He then went up to Light and crossed his arms with a smug look. "Of course, if it ends up being too much for you, you can always call me for help."
Light immediately heated up after that. "Like Hell! If you can beat one of them by yourself then I'll bet I can beat two!"
Ace glared at him, heating up as well. "What did you say?! You think you're stronger than me!?"
"I know I am!" Light shouted in his face.
"Oh yeah?! Then why don't we find out!?" Ace shouted back, also in his face.
Later, they both moved to the clearing where they usually went to train—In fact, the scoreboard was there too with a bit of chalk next to it, and a large number of wins and losses were already on the board.
Light and Ace were going back and forth, attacking each other with their metal pipes in quick succession. With one final push, Ace knocked the pipe out of Light's hands and smashed his pipe into Light's body, knocking him to the ground.
"Hell yeah!" Ace cheered. "I win!"
"Gah, that hurt." Light groaned as he sat up.
"That proves it. I'm stronger." Ace proudly declared.
"Yeah right, last time I checked, I still have more wins than you!" Light argued.
"Yeah, well I had more wins than you yesterday!" Ace pointed out.
"By that logic, I'm stronger because I have more days where I had the most wins!" Light shot back.
"Don't give me that crap, there's no way you could have counted the total wins of every day!" Ace denied his claim.
At that point, they stopped arguing and Light just went over to the scoreboard as he placed another win under Ace's name. The final tally was 53 wins for Ace and 47 wins for Light.
"That's all 100 fights." Light noted. "This whole thing feels completely different without Sabo."
Ace let his metal pipe hit the ground and frowned. "Yeah well, pretty much everything lately feels different without Sabo."
They both became silent after that, not an awkward silence but one where they were both taking in their emotions and finding time to decide what to say next.
"I said I didn't have a problem with his decision and I still don't." Ace calmly insisted. "But, not having him around is going to take some getting used to."
"I know." Light agreed. "Now that I think about it, we've never really been just the two of us, until I met Sabo, you and I hardly ever spoke. And after that, it was always the three of us."
"As for me, way before I even met you, I and Sabo were always together." Ace admitted. "In fact, the two of us have been working as a team for so long, I almost can't remember a time when he wasn't with us."
The duo of Brothers was stumped. It was one thing to say goodbye to a loved one and see them off with a smile. But, it was an entirely other matter when it came to adjusting to life once they were gone, it was practically impossible to stop yourself from missing them.
Ace ruffled up his hair a bit before gritting his teeth. "Enough, what are we even doing sitting here sulking?"
Light shook his head a bit before changing his expression. "Yeah, Sabo would laugh at us if he saw how lame we were being."
"Not just that, we can't afford to be sitting around on our asses like this." Ace stated. "Sabo's already set sail, he's probably going to see all kinds of crazy things and fight even more opponents, meaning he's only going to get even stronger every day. If we don't find a way to get stronger too, then by the time we finally set out to sea he'll have already left us in the dust."
"I know, but what can we do?" Light asked him. "The only kind of training we can do is sparring or hunting animals, we don't have any other way of getting stronger."
"Yeah, and there's no way I'm asking the Old Man for training." Ace scowled. "He'd probably kill us before we could set sail."
"So, all we really know is what we can't do." Light added as he picked up his pipe.
Ace picked his one up as well. "Well, I don't see you coming up with anything."
"Actually, I think I have an idea." Light acclaimed as he turned around. "Gotta go." He then walked off deeper into the woods.
Ace raised a brow in confusion. "Where's he going off to?"
The sky was darkening overhead, and a distant rumbling echoed. There was a storm coming and judging by the density of the gray clouds in the sky it was going to be a big storm.
While the sky was darkening, Ace was walking through the forest and making his way through the trees. It was a few hours after Light went off on his own, and Ace decided to go looking for him after he didn't come back in all that time.
"That guy, what could he be doing that's taking so long?" Ace grumbled annoyed.
Before long, Ace made it past the woods and found himself in a large clearing. There he found what he was looking for—Light. But his eyes widened, and he gasped when he saw what was in front of the young boy.
Towering over his little Brother was the giant hulking form of the savage predatory beast dubbed only as The Bear King—The Tiger Lord's Rival—That was looking ready to kill as it already bared its sharp fangs and claws.
Light stood tall but it seemed like he had been fighting the bear for a while. He was already injured as his body had dirt grain all over it and he was breathing heavily, most notably his right arm was bleeding from the shoulder, and he had an open cut on the left side of his torso. Yet, Light never lost his smile.
"Haha, you're not making this easy." Light commented as he tightened his grip on his metal pole. "The Tiger was a lot easier to beat, you know?"
The Bear King roared as he brought down his claw, intending his secure Light and rip him open. Light reacted faster though and jumped up, dodging his strike and following up by throwing his staff at the Bear's forehead, which surprisingly hurt it.
"I know where your weak spot is!" Light roared as he took out his trusty pocket knife.
Using the knife, Light got right into the Bear's face and slashed it on the nose causing a trail of blood to shoot out and the Bear's head to aim upwards as it cried out in pain.
"You might be huge, but you still have all the weaknesses of any other Bear!" Light shouted as he landed on Bear King's arm and jumped up even higher. "Which means you won't be able to handle this!"
Light raised his fist above his head and coated his arm in Haki. Now armored with the strength of his Haki, Light came down and smashed his fist into Bear King's biggest weak spot, his forehead. His punch packed enough power to knock the Bear out as his eyes rolled back into his head and his body collapsed, hitting the ground in a loud thud.
Light landed on the ground next to him and had a satisfied expression. "I should've warned you; they hurt extra hard these days: these Knuckles O' Mine."
On the sidelines, Ace couldn't hide his surprise and amazement at watching his little Brother single-handedly bring down The Bear King. The only animal that was equal to Tiger Lord, a beast that could only be beaten with the combined strength of the two of them along with Sabo. It was so unbelievable that his jaw dropped.
After the fight was over, Light stumbled a bit and Ace decided to put away his surprised face and went over to Light.
"Light, you okay?" Ace asked, now seeming calm.
"Ace?" Light turned to see him arrive. "I didn't know you were here."
"I just arrived." Ace lied before he glared at him. "What do you think you're doing fighting the Bear?"
"What you talking about?" Light brushed off. "There's nothing wrong with that, besides, I'm fine—Ah?"
Before Light knew what was going on, he suddenly lost his footing and fell to his knees. Not only that, his bleeding injuries started bleeding again and were dripping on the ground as Light noticed he couldn't get back up.
"You're obviously not fine! Moron!" Ace snapped at him. "You're clearly injured!" He then grabbed Light's none injured arm and helped him stand, and he placed his arm over his shoulder. "Come on. I'm pretty sure Magra knows how to patch up wounds and injuries."
"Okay." Light didn't argue.
With that settled they walked away from the fallen Bear King and trudged back through the woods as rain began to fall from the cloudy sky.
After arriving back at the Bandits' hut, Light was being bandaged up by Magra, and his upper body from his shoulders to his hips was covered in bandages while his forehead had a bandaid, Ace was sitting in the corner of the room watching with a scowl.
It was dark and gloomy outside as the storm raged on and some of the windows shook with how heavy the rain was. On the other hand, the inside was quiet and spacious as it seemed like they were the only ones there, and Dadan and the rest of the Bandits were away right now.
"Well, that ought to do it." Magra confirmed as he moved back. "Now, all you need to do is take it easy and wait for your wounds to heal."
Light put his shirt back on and cringed. "Do I really need all these bandages? It's hard to move like this."
"Light, this is serious." Magra insisted in an alert manner. "Your injuries may not have been fatal, but it was dangerous to just leave open wounds like that, not to mention you lost a dangerous amount of blood."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Light brushed off, obviously not caring about the danger he put himself in. "Can I go now?"
Magra just sighed, realizing this was going nowhere he just left. Now Light and Ace were alone, and Ace decided now was a good time to ask what was on his mind.
"Alright, spill it." Ace demanded of him. "What made you decide to go after the Bear by yourself?"
"You said we needed to find a way to get stronger." Light reminded him.
"Don't give me that!" Ace didn't believe him and narrowed his eyes. "You said this was an idea you had before you left, so you were clearly planning this before I said that."
Light merely messaged his shoulder as he spoke. "There's no big reason, really. I've just been planning to take out Bear King for a while."
"Oh yeah, since when?" Ace asked with interest.
"Ever since I first saw him and Tiger Lord." Light answered him truthfully. "I decided back then that I would get strong enough to beat both of them one of these days. Tiger Lord is already dead, and I couldn't beat him by myself, so I focused my attention on the Bear this time."
Ace processed his words, seemingly believing him. "Even so, that was a stupid idea. It took all three of us to beat the Tiger, so where was the logic in thinking you could beat the Bear alone?"
Light threw his head back a bit. "Makes perfect sense to me. There's no way a Lion would lose to a Bear." He stated with confidence.
"What Lion? All I see is a Wild-Cat." Ace argued his claim dismissively. "At best, you're a Lion-Cub."
"But you can't deny that I won." Light reminded him, looking proud. "That means I'm now the Strongest creature on this Island."
"True, as long as you don't count me." Ace pointed out, leaning his back against the wall.
"Huh? There must be something wrong with my memory because I don't remember being weaker than you." Light glared at us.
Ace glared back. "You're right. There is something wrong with your memory because I've always been stronger than you."
After that, they both tackled each other, and—Ignoring the state Light was in or that he should be recovering—They started wrestling.
"Think we should go back yet?" Asked a familiar voice.
As we pan upwards in the sky, what could be seen were the forms of the two Brothers who were sitting on a thick branch high in a tree. It appeared to have been a few days since the Bear attack—though Light was happily sitting atop the branch like a migrating bird, he was still bandaged up a bit.
"Wow!" Light said, gazing out at the view. "No matter how many times I see it, I never stop loving the view from up here.
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Ace agreed. His face seemed to smile as he gazed out at the sea. There was a brilliantly Golden sunset, bright and warm, spreading a pretty Golden red color across the ocean.
Light sat there happily as he watched it with Ace right beside him as always. Suddenly a gust of wind came blowing and blew his trademark Straw Hat around, even though the strap broke and the hat was blown off his head. Gasping out, he almost fell down as he made a wild snatch for it. Thankfully, he tightened his grip on the branch before he slipped and was able to catch the hat as Ace caught him and pulled him back up.
"Dammit, Light!" he said in annoyance. "What's wrong with you?"
"My bad." Light said, scrambling up to sit and putting his hat back on.
"What's with that hat anyway, Light?" Ace asked as he watched Light shove it back behind his neck. "You never take that thing off."
"Shanks gave it to me!" Light said proudly, smiling happily at his Brother.
"Shanks again?" Ace asked him, leaning his back up against the tree trunk as he gazed out at the sea. "He's the first real Pirate you met, isn't he?"
"Yeah." Light informed him. "We made a promise that I'd bring it back to him someday after I become stronger than him! He also said it was his most important treasure!"
"An old hat?" Ace teased lightly.
"Shanks once said that someone really important to him gave it to him." Light explained to him. "Said that the man he admired most gave it to him as a present. He said that it was his old Captain back when he was starting out as an apprentice on the crew."
"So that's why you're so protective of it?" Ace asked, reaching over and tilting the hat back so that it was now on Light's head. Light nodded. Ace was probably one of the only few people he let touch his precious treasure.
"And he's also the guy who had a Devil Fruit lying around with you?" Ace went on, his eyebrows raised.
Light smiled and confirmed. "Yeah, he said it was called the Gum-Gum Fruit, it has the power to make anyone who eats it into a Rubber-Man, meaning they can stretch and deflect blows and all that stuff." He described, flailing his hands around. "Shanks offered it to me, but I turned him down."
Ace shook his head at Light's antics. "You say all that, but don't forget Devil Fruits can only be proven real if someone eats it and gets the power. And since you never actually saw a person made of rubber, I'd say you don't have proof."
"Always with the doubt, Ace. But, you said the same thing about Haki, and yet—" Light held out his hand and summoned his Haki. "Look what turned out to be true."
Ace leaned back again. "Fair enough; still, even if that fruit is for real, I seriously doubt most people would want it. I mean, it's not going to be easy going through life like that. Take it from me. Most people won't take well to those who are different."
"Shanks said people who are different can also be called special and that others would make fun of me for it, there are all kinds of different people out there like I wouldn't believe." Light said, thinking back as he merrily kicked his legs out.
"Well, Shanks was definitely right about that." Ace yawned as he gazed out at the sea. "If nothing else… You're definitely different… But that's good. But you gotta toughen up too ya know? After all, Sabo's gone now, and I'll be leaving here in seven years. You'll have to wait a few more before you go out…."
"I know that, but don't forget I'm already tougher than anything on this crazy Island." Light said proudly, leaning his back a bit. "And by the time I leave, I'll already be stronger than anything on this side of the world."
Ace rolled his eyes with an amused smile. "Sure…"
"Besides, the same goes for you." Light reminded him. "You're also weird—In a good way. But you'll also need to toughen up. I know it's okay for you to have fun sometimes, too, but when you're at sea, anything can happen, and sometimes, even just a bit of bad luck can lead to something terrible."
Ace's eyes opened a bit as he responded. "Ah, come on, it's not like a bit of bad luck is anything to worry about."
Light rolled his eyes up and wistfully said. "I don't know. I mean, our luck has always been the worst for as long as I can remember."
Ace thought back and remembered all the disasters and catastrophes they had been involved with lately, and in most cases whenever it felt like anything could go wrong it always did. Leading him to realize he couldn't argue with Light's statement.
"Aside from that, I can't stop thinking." Light admitted.
"About what?" Ace asked.
"Remember when the Old Man was telling us who was the Strongest in the World?" Light brought up.
Ace looked a little confused as to why he bringing up a question they already had the answer to.
"Yeah, Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom, what about it?" He asked.
"I'm wondering about the people he didn't mention." Light told him.
Ace's eyes widened a bit.
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, I've been thinking. Gramps told us about them because they were the Strongest as far as he knew, but what if there are others?" Light told him the possibility. "What if there are even Stronger people out there but no one knows about them or they stay hidden, and if there are some who are stronger than Whitebeard or Kaido?"
"You really think that's possible?" Ace questioned, not so sure. "I mean, if someone that strong did exist, do you really think they'd be able to stay under the radar so much that even the Navy wouldn't know about them?"
"They might. Remember, Naguri has been living here for years yet no one on this Island knew how strong he was." Light gave an example. "And the geezer has been coming here for years, yet he never found out a strong Pirate like Naguri was still around."
Ace saw reason in his argument. "Yeah, I guess you got a point."
"That's why you ought to be careful out there. One day you might find yourself in a situation that's too much for you." Light warned him before grinning. "Then again, if that day ever does come, you can always ask me to come and bail you out of trouble."
Ace looked away, but a thoughtful smile was playing around his mouth. But when he spoke, he sounded as cool and as calm as always. "Yeah, right… It'll be a cold day in Hell when I need you to rescue me."
The next morning came, and things started out with Ace standing in front of the bandit's house with Makino while Light was playing around with the bandits' pet dog behind the house. While behind Makino was a bag filled with bottles of alcohol she had brought from the bar.
"Hey!" some of the bandits were calling from inside the house. "Makino brought us some Sake!"
After hearing that, they cheered as they took the boozes and brought them inside to drink. Some of them thanked her, but Makino had her eyes on Ace.
So." she said, crouching down to talk to him face-to-face. "What was it that you wanted to ask me?"
Ace smiled at her and said resolutely. "I want you to teach me how to greet people properly."
"How to greet people properly?" Makino repeated in great surprise.
"Mm-hmm." Ace nodded with a smile on his face.
"What brought about this change in attitude?" Makino asked him curiously, and they were all burning with the same question.
Ace proudly folded his arms in his usual smug manner as if everything was his idea. "As a Pirate and as Light's Big Brother. I need to pay my respects to this Shanks guy. Light says the man did a lot for him, so it's kinda the least I can do."
Makino was looking surprised but was now smiling widely at him. As if she could see that he was becoming a different person.
"Got something to say to meeee!?" he demanded, his cheeks a bright red color when he noticed the look.
Makino only laughed at the look on his face as she said. "Sorry, sorry. Okay, I think I can give you some tips."
Ace grinned back at her, glad that she wasn't laughing anymore, just as Light came running over to see what they were talking about.
"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Light asked, always happy to see Makino.
Makino greeted him with a beaming smile as she sat down on a crate. "Ace-kun here wants to learn lessons on how to greet someone."
Light just waved his hand back a bit as he smiled. "Oh, that's bull."
"No, it's true okay!" Ace snapped at him.
Makino chuckled at their antics. "Okay, since you asked so nicely, let's learn some manners today." she clapped her hands as Light sat down to watch.
Ace bowed his head low and said. "Thank you for the lesson."
"Ha, you nailed it, Ace!" Light said next to him as Ace grinned.
"Well, close." Makino said, arguing with him. "Since we haven't actually started, you should say, 'Thank you' in advance."
"What? Come on, what was wrong with that?" Light asked in surprise. "That was easily the most polite he's ever been."
She merely smiled and answered. "That may be true, but it's a special situation, so every detail has to be perfect. After all, Ace-kun wants to learn how to pay his respects to Captain-san one day."
"You want to meet Shanks?" Light asked in surprise.
"Yup." Ace said, his hands at his sides and a grin still there. "But by the time I get to meet him, I'll be a Captain myself. As a Pirate and as your Big Brother, I gotta thank him for being there for you, or we're both going to end up looking bad."
"Kay." Makino said, bringing them back to the lesson. "So let's pretend that Shanks is here with you right now. What do you say?"
Ace frowned a little, clearly imagining hard as he said forcefully. "Hi. I'm Ace. Who the hell are you?"
Makino crossed her fingers and made a buzzing sound, signaling that was wrong. "I know you're Pirates, but I don't think he'd be impressed." she said good-naturedly, "'Who the hell' is too rude."
Light shook his head. "I don't know? I think that'd be a standard greeting for Pirates."
Ace tried again. "Fancy meeting you here?"
Again Makino crossed her fingers and made the buzzing sound.
"I think you should have said 'Nice' instead of 'Fancy,' right?" Light offered helpfully.
"Hey punk, what's your deal?" Ace tried again.
Again with the buzz.
"'Mister'? What's your deal?" he tried again.
Again he got it wrong.
"Wait, so 'Punk' was actually right?" Light asked, running out of ways to greet someone rudely.
And this time Makino laughed as well. "All wrong." she said. "Are you even trying?"
Ace turned to Light and snapped at him, trying to vent some of his frustration. "Go be stupid somewhere else. We're learning here! You punk!"
"I've got a better idea." Light offered, interrupting their fight. The look on his face was of pleasant surprise, as if remembering something, and stated excitedly, "Listen up yesterday, I found this nest of a giant anaconda, filled with huge eggs just ready for the taking! Let's go and grab them right now!"
"Huh?" Ace asked excitedly, suddenly looking hungry. "What? Man, that sounds awesome." For a moment, he looked as if he was going to run off and get them, but he suddenly shook his head. "No, not right now!" he said, frowning. Light looked confused, and Ace explained. "I'm gonna learn some manners even if it kills me!"
"Now, why can't we just talk like dirtbags?" Light complained, finding the whole thing redundant. "Seriously, what is the problem here?"
"Because Light! Because! It's important to learn manners when addressing certain people!" Ace barked at him, angry that he needed to explain this.
Light crossed his arms and stayed sitting. "Well, I've never met a Pirate that was a stickler for manners, and I don't care to."
Makino quietly laughed as she closed her eyes and placed a hand over her mouth.
A great deal of time passed by, and the following days were mostly different instances of saw Light and Ace running wild through the Middle Forest, training with one another in the clearing, and as usual, the duo were even defeating most wild animals that they would come across—Before they cooked them and made them into food. But as the days went by, it was clearly noticeable that the boys were working hard on staying away from the Gray Terminal and Goa. But through the eyes of those that experienced those events, it wasn't hard to guess why. It had only been a few months since the fire, and the Gray Terminal was soon back to normal as if the fire had never happened and new residents were now living there just as it had been before.
Seeing it made the two of them furious again… It was like spitting in the faces of all the people who had died here. It only made their hatred for the Nobles grow.
The latest scene was one where Ace came running in to aid Light after the latter was on top of the head of a giant centipede. After using the staff to stab the beast's belly, Light used his staff to smash apart its skull, which led to the creature falling to the ground.
"That takes care of that." Ace commented as the giant bug lay dead on the ground.
"Should we fry it up and eat it now?" Light suggested.
"We can't eat that, it's poisonous." Ace reminded him. "We'd die if we ate that."
"You sure?" Light asked, not seeing the problem. "I've eaten the smaller kind before, and I'm still alive."
"I didn't need to know that." Ace told him with a deadpan expression.
Light shrugged and went over to some of the trees.
Ace sat down and watched as Light suddenly spotted a few large rocks underneath a tree. Ace suddenly said. "Listen up, Light. There's something we need to talk about."
Light lifted up the rocks to see if anything was underneath them. "What would that be?"
Ace sighed. "Listen, Light. I've been doing some thinking." He started once again, finally getting the boy's attention. "And I think I've been setting a bad example for you with the way we're always stealing food."
"What about it?" Light asked, frowning at him as he put the rocks back down after finding nothing. "After all, everybody needs to eat, and those stupid Nobles always throw away most of their food after a few small bites, so we finish what they don't."
Well, it's rude." Ace said thinking it over. "At least that's what Makino says."
"It is?" Light asked, never seeing it like that. "How come." Light rolled his head back and thought about this topic. "But we can't pay for it, and I'm not okay with using the Pirate Funds to buy their overpriced food. Besides, most of the time we just hunt for our food."
True." Ace said proudly, "And it's good for us… We can survive on our own. And I agree that it would be wrong to waste our treasure on buying their food. But we're not going to just steal the food anymore."
"I don't get it. How are we supposed to not steal and not pay at the same time?" Light asked as Ace got up.
"You'll see…." He grinned before he whispered softly into his ear, and Light's eyes widened.
"Wait, Makino actually said that?" He asked him.
"Yeah." Ace said, grinning. "Just follow my lead."
Light seemed to be on board with whatever Ace said, and he jumped up as the two of them went running off in the direction of Goa.
They made their way through the mounds of junk in the Terminal before they went running through the gate that led to the back streets in Edge Town. Sneaking into High Town was no problem for these two.
When they arrived, they couldn't help but glare around at the Nobles, each one all going about their lives as if they had nothing to be guilty about.
"It sure has been a while." Light said, looking around at the clean streets.
"Yeah, it's hard to believe that it's already been almost a year since the fire." Ace agreed. "But it's good that we stay away from this place for even that long."
Once, as they were passing an old man walking some froufrou dog dressed in ridiculous clothes, stop to stare intently at Light—As if trying to remember where he'd seen him before. Ace managed to suppress a growl that threatened to escape through his throat as he glared at the man threateningly while Light asked. "What? Why are you looking at me?"
"Got a problem, buddy?" Ace demanded, sounding more like a protective Brother.
"Oh, nothing." The man said, jumping back away from them. "It's just that I feel like I've seen this boy before… And you too now that I think of it…."
"Well, obviously you haven't, now goodbye." Light ended their conversation as they moved away from that man.
Once he was out of sight, they whispered to each other.
"He really didn't recognize us." Light noted. "You'd think they'd remember the guys who used to cause so much trouble."
"Doesn't surprise me." Ace replied, not sounding like he cared. "They have their heads so far up their asses that they probably don't notice anything. Some things never change."
Looking around as they walked. As if to prove Ace's claim, the Nobles gave the boys disgusted looks, some of them covering their mouths and noses as they moved away; as if they smelled the same as garbage, they threw away. The exact same looks they gave them the last time they were here.
"It's a dine and dash! Someone stop them!" Ace and Light now running away and up the road, a chief chasing after them, screaming at them to stop running and pay for their meal.
But as they almost got away, Ace blinked, as if remembering the same thing. "Wait a second. We almost forget, gotta pay our respects!"
After saying that they stopped running to look at the man, he looked briefly surprised, apparently wondering if they were going to pay up. But instead, Ace just bowed and called out.
"Thanks for the meal!"
Light followed with a thumbs up. "Could've used some more salt, though."
"What? Keep your thanks!" The chief yelled. "Are you brats going to pay me or what?!"
"MORONS!" Thundered a familiar voice. There was Garp, fuming as he yelled at both of his Grandsons, who stood there in front of him, all of them back in the forest.
"After these last few months of working tirelessly for the Marines, I finally get a chance to visit my grandsons, and what do I find? You brats were causing trouble!" Garp hollered at them. "I'm not going to let my Grandsons to be some such low thieves!" Garp yelled. "You're going to be honest Marines!"
"What was that?" Ace demanded. "Oh, I do plan on leaving this wretched kingdom behind when I go out to sea alright, but not as a Marine!"
BOINK!
"You imbecile!" Garp yelled, punching Ace hard enough to knock him down.
Light stood on the sidelines and watched them go back and forth. "Wow, they're actually getting along worse than usual."
"What're you doing, Gramps?" Ace demanded hotly.
"What do you mean, going out to sea?" Garp bellowed out. "I'll never let you!"
Ace looked away, rubbing the bruise on his cheek. "You're not my father! So quit acting all high and mighty! Why should I listen to you, Old Man?"
"Call me 'Granddad'!" Garp snapped.
"Old Man!" Ace retorted.
Garp held up his fist. "You want another taste of my Fist of Love?" he threatened.
At that point, Light stepped forward. "Since we're on the subject of yelling at each other, not only am I not going to be a Marine, I've decided that I'm going to be the Pirate King!" Light confessed with fear of his Grandfather.
Ace smirked, proud of Light's declaration. "That's telling him, Light."
Garp, on the other hand, looked like he was going to blow a blood vessel. "You Idiot!"
BOINK!
This time Garp brought down his 'Fist of Love' on Light, knocking him back a few steps.
"Light!" Ace went over to see if he was alright.
"Pirate King?! That'll happen over my dead body!" Garp shouted at them.
Light sat up and glared at him. "Then hurry up and die already! You stupid geezer!"
"Yeah! Hurry up and make all our lives easier!" Ace shouted, too, in agreement.
Garp clenched both of his fists this time, looking angrier than ever as he bellowed. "YOU BRATS!"
BOINK!
After a long-winded lecture from Garp that took the form of punching, they were suddenly standing near a small campfire with Light, Ace, and Garp piling food into their mouths like men who hadn't eaten in days, or maybe savage animals.
"Listen up!" Garp called to them both, swallowing a mouthful of food. "You never know when you'll be called into battle! So when you eat, you have to eat as much as you can! This is another important part of being a Marine. Remember it well, you two!"
Ace, who finished pulling out a fish skeleton from his mouth, demanded. "What do you mean 'Marine'? That's not for you to decide!"
What?" Garp yelled.
"I'm gonna be a Pirate!" Ace challenged him, no longer paying attention as Light started stuffing his face with more and more food.
"No!" Garp yelled back. "You're gonna be a Marine!"
And so they began arguing back and forth between Marines and Pirates.
"Pirate!"
"Marine!"
"PIRATE!"
"MARINE!"
WHOOSH!
Both of them were silenced when they were suddenly slapped across the cheek with—Strangely enough—A cooked fish that was held by Light, making them both look at him confused as he took a bite out of said fish.
"Would you two stop arguing and eat?" Light—With his mouth full, ordered the two of them. "Or do I have to finish all this food by myself?"
[Like Hell!]
They both angrily responded, knowing that Light was serious and in a way asking for permission to eat it all by himself, they both sat down and started devouring everything edible in front of them.
In what felt like a few minutes, they finished eating all the food, and then in unison, they each laid down with their backs on the ground and let out a satisfied sigh.
"I'll give the Marines credit where it's due. That was a great meal." Light happily admitted.
"That's the first time you said something smart." Garp added.
Ace yawned and rested his hands under his head. "Well, nothing to do now but sleep it off."
Garp sat up and looked at him, annoyed. "Don't you think of anything besides eating, fighting, and sleeping?"
[Do you?] Both boys asked at the same time.
Garp then looked like someone who was just caught telling a lie and then laughed while rubbing the back of his head. "You got me there! Hahaha!"
Even more, time passed as Garp left and came back briefly as he often did. It was another day in Mt. Corvo as the morning sun shined outside the Mountain Bandits' hut, and we now see that Garp was there, sharing a heavy drink with Dadan.
"You think that a Grandfather would at least try to visit his Grandsons more than just a few times a year." Dadan spoke to him gruffly.
"I do try. But I'm surprised here. I don't hear you complaining about them as usual." Garp told her as he drank more Sake.
"I don't mind it so much anymore." Dadan confessed. "That Ace certainly has changed since you brought that second monster here. If you had told me back then that he would be like this now, I'd have said that you were drinking too much. I didn't see any hope for him."
"That is good to hear." Garp confessed. "To be honest, even I was starting to grow worried about him."
Suddenly, Garp reached into his front shirt and pulled out a wrinkled sheet of paper. "The reason I came here tonight was so that I could show you this. I think you might find this interesting."
"What's this?" She asked in annoyance, taking the sheet from him and looking over it before staring at it with wide eyes. "So this is…?"
"Just the latest wanted poster issue from the World Government." Garp said softly. "He may not be a Pirate, but he's just jumped up to the top of their most-wanted list. In fact, did you hear what they're calling him? The 'Most Wanted Man in the World'."
"So…" Dadan said, giving the paper back to Garp. "Dragon's officially on the top of the Government's hit list?"
"Ha! Right now, he is the list." Garp sighed with a bitter laugh. "But I say good luck trying to track him down. Already, they consider him the biggest demon to have ever lived since Roger. The World Government thought that the Era of Pirates would end with Roger's death, but in the end, it backfired on them. Now Dragon's causing trouble in the world. The World Nobles have already demanded that we use all our resources to hunt him down. HA! As if it would be that easy! It's almost impossible to find that man if he doesn't want to be found." He leaned back against the wall and said. "If they can figure out how to catch the wind… Then maybe they have a chance."
"I still can't believe that's your kid they want dead!" Dadan snapped. "On second thought, I can believe it. I guess we know whose side that Dragon takes after." She stared at her bottle of Sake before she said. "And I guess that makes him…?"
"Light's Father." Garp nodded. "He may not act like it, but I already see a lot of Dragon in him."
"So now it's like with Ace?" Dadan asked. "If the government finds out about Light's birth?"
"They'll hunt him down." Garp sighed, throwing the empty bottle over his head and reaching for another one. "Believe me. It wasn't easy keeping this secret at HQ. It's the main reason why I want them both to become Marines! If word ever got out…."
"It wouldn't matter, though, will it?" Dadan asked him, "We both know that all the Government needs is proof, and they'll kill them both! You don't honestly think that they'll let this go simply because they join the Marines, do you?"
Garp was silent for a moment. "No." he confessed. "But I don't see any other way out of this. Right now, as far as the world is concerned, the two of them are just a couple of Delinquent orphans. Which they are now that you think of it. But no one could ever imagine otherwise… And I intend to keep it that way."
Dadan sighed. "Boy, of all the children that you had to bring here… The sons of the two most infamous criminals that the world's ever known! Just why did you bring them to me?"
"We've known each other a long time." He grinned at her. "And I know how soft you are on kids."
"SHUT UP!" She barked at him.
She drank some more Sake before asking.
"You gonna tell Light?" Dadan asked suddenly. "About his Father?"
"Right?" Garp said, rolling his eyes. "He already knows about his Father, not that I know how he found out. Not even Ace was supposed to know about his Father, and I still don't know how he found out about it. Fortunately, Light isn't the type that goes around spilling secrets at the drop of a hat. No, I'm pretty sure I'll leave this one alone."
Dadan finished her drink as she cleaned her mouth. "You leaving for the Marines tomorrow again?" she demanded. "That Ace is already almost thirteen now, you know."
Garp laughed. "Right… But I'm afraid that Navy HQ can't do anything on its own. I have to stay with them a little longer, though I often wonder if it's worth it." He raised his eyebrows at her and asked. "You won't tell anyone about this, will you?"
"About Dragon?" She asked irritably. "Why should I care about who their Fathers are? It's no business of mine."
Garp gratefully acknowledged her response, and the two of them went back to blissfully chugging down a large supply of booze. But soon afterward, the two adults passed out where they lay; their faces red from all the drinking.
Because of that, they didn't hear another door open, and Ace, with Light, stepped in. They were certainly much older, though still young. They were quickly leaving their preteen bodies behind and looked more mature than they had last been seen. Ace was thirteen, and Light was eleven.
Not wanting to wake the two adults up, they both went back inside and went into their room, where they sat down. Ace looked like he was deep in thought. His eyes stayed down, processing what he had just heard. Light, on the other hand.
"Man, what is wrong with those two?" He complained, staring upward. "How drunk are they to go around talking about that stuff out in the open where anyone can hear them?"
Hearing his complete disregard for their conversation got Ace's attention. "This means that your Dad is the biggest criminal in the world."
Light smiled. "I know, cool, right?"
Hearing that made Ace smile as though he expected that kind of response. "I knew you'd say something like that."
As time continued to fly by. The boys both grew older and continued to grow stronger while living in the forest. They'd go into the trees to hunt and train for days on end before they came back for some rest before running off again. The seasons came and went, and things continued to change around them. But nothing changed more than Ace… The angry child was no more, and a patient and a more polite young man was emerging.
Light remained the same personality-wise, but the stronger he got, the harder he trained. He was growing confident in his abilities.
Right now, the two were running from guards in Goa after they pulled another dine-and-dash. Ace looked to be about fifteen here, and Light couldn't have been more than thirteen. But this time, the guards had rifles with them that they pointed out the duo of Brothers.
BANG!
One of them fired a shot at the two of them, which missed and only hit a bit of the sidewalk next to them. They both responded quickly by jumping to the side and into an alleyway that blocked them from sight as they continued their pursuit and surrounded the alley.
"Kinda overkill to bring guns, don't you think?" Light noted, not sounding worried.
Ace was in the same state of mind. "Well, guess they don't want us to keep giving them the runaround. Let's escape from the roofs."
Before Ace could start climbing, Light grabbed him by the arm and shook his head. "No, wait, I have a better idea." Light had a grin that showed he was excited about whatever he had planned.
As the guards had gathered around the alley, Light walked out with his hands behind his back and a casual smile on his face.
"Hey, looking for me?" Light asked nonchalantly.
"You're under arrest!" The guard announced, still holding his gun. "Don't move, or we'll shoot!"
Light's smile became a smirk. "Then I won't move."
DON!
Light's eyes lit up as a burst of electronic-like power and authority shot out from his body and blew past the guards like a strong gust of wind, though they didn't have time to question it as they felt their minds crumbled before the force that consumed them and in a second their consciousness faded as they fell to the ground in a heap.
Seeing that made Ace walk out of the alley and stare at Light's handiwork with a surprised expression.
"That power?" Ace breathed out. "That was Haki."
"Haki—Colors of the Supreme King." Light specified. "Worked like a charm."
"When did you learn how to do that?" Ace curiously asked. "I mean, willingly?"
"I've been practicing for a while on some of the wild animals." Light explained. "It took me like half a year, but I finally figured it out. Now I just need to work on the range."
Ace shrugged. "Well, let's leave before they wake up."
Years continued to fly by, and the boys continued to change and grow up in the future days. They both became tall and lanky, completed with messy, wavey hair and wide eyes—Both were big eaters and strong fighters. It was near impossible for anyone not to recognize them as brothers.
Now the day finally came when Light was fifteen and Ace was one day away from being seventeen.
"So tomorrow is finally the day?" Light asked, asking the same question.
"Yep." Ace grinned back. "I'll be seventeen, and then I'll finally be able to set out."
"Then I guess this'll be the last birthday you'll have out here." Luffy said contentedly.
"Guess so." Ace agreed.
The two were sitting outside in front of Dadan's house. They were sitting up enjoying their dinner as they gazed up at the sky, Ace pointing out the names of several stars as Light pointed out the constellations. It was funny how the littlest thing seemed to capture their interests like a child for hours.
The night was asleep, snoring lightly as her darkened skies allowed veiled clouds to pass by, occasionally blocking the moon and its stars. Yet, as if in retaliation, they seemed to gleam more brightly, as if to spite the clouds.
"Brother?" Light suddenly said as he finished another leg of meat.
"Yeah?" Ace asked, looking at him.
"Where do you plan on going after you set sail?" Light asked with clear interest. "Do you have someplace specific in mind?"
Ace, actually swallowing a bone from the meat he was eating, put a hand on his chin. "First thing I'm gonna do is find an Island that can build or sell ships. That's what every Pirate needs."
"And a flag." Light added. "Have you thought of what you're Jolly Roger will look like? Or what you're going to call your crew?"
Ace nodded. "Yes to both. Keep an eye out for the newspapers. Before long, you'll see my crew and me on the front page.
Light grinned as he laughed to himself. "Then, just make sure it's intimidating."
"Hey, Light?" Ace suddenly said, sitting up.
"Yeah?" Light asked, mimicking his every move.
Ace paused as if trying to find the right words to say. "Take care of yourself for me, all right? While I'm gone?"
Light paused as well, surprised by his brother's change in demeanor. "What? Where'd that come from?"
Ace shrugged. "I know it's not like me, but this'll be the first time since we met that we'll be parting ways, so I just wanted to tell you this much."
"It's not like we'll never see each other again." Light reminded him. "And when we do, I'll also be a Pirate too."
Ace laughed. "Yeah, you will. But still… I can't help but worry. So promise me that you'll take care of yourself for me? I'm not worried about leaving you here alone. Hell, you can pretty much take care of yourself against anyone. But when you do set out… It'll be like starting over from square one."
"I know that." Light said, assuring Ace that he knew what he was doing. "I'll be a lot stronger in two more years. Once I leave here, I'll find my own crew, one greater than any other crew in the world. I'll start small with quality over quantity, having only the best I can find. Then we'll set sail for the Grand Line. After that, I'll gain even more crewmates, dozens, hundreds, no, even thousands of them."
"You want thousands of crewmates?" Ace asked, smiling, almost ready to laugh. "You sure that isn't a bit much? I mean, where are you even gonna find that many people willing to join you?"
"They're out there somewhere, just waiting for me to find them." Light answered as if he had no doubt that he was right. "And one day, I'll be a Great Pirate with a huge crew under my flag."
Ace laughed. "Well, If you say so. I'll tell you what. Once you get your first bounty, I'll come and meet up with you and your crew."
"Think it'll be bigger than your first one?" Light asked excitedly.
"Are you kidding me?" Ace asked, rolling his eyes. "As if I'd let you outshine me like that."
"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Light decided. "For now, let's just enjoy the night.
"Good plan." Ace said before he and Light sat back down into the dirt and started eating some more.
It was the next morning when the next memory came, and now they were standing near the ocean. Ace was standing in a small fishing boat, finishing packing a sack and swinging it over his shoulder as he looked up at everyone. Light, Makino, the bandits, and even the mayor were all there to say goodbye.
Now Ace wore a yellow open-front shirt. He also wore black boots, black knee-length shorts with an eyelet-studded orange belt, and a blue pouch belted around his left leg. He also wore a short second belt with a large red "A" on the silver buckle over his right hip but left it unfastened and threaded the free end along the back of his shorts. A dagger in a green sheath hung at his left hip. On Ace's left arm, he wore a red and white striped bracelet around his wrist, an orange elbow guard, and an "ACE" tattoo. He wore a red beaded necklace and an orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning, and one smiling, and a string of red beads sitting above the rim. Two long orange side straps hung downside of his hat and met at a large medallion of a bull's skull with orange tassels.
"Take care, buddy!" Light called, beaming at him proudly. "We'll be seeing you!"
"Yeah!" Ace called happily. "See you later, Light! Keep training hard!"
Light nodded eagerly. "Just give me two more years, and before you know it, I'll be on the wanted list everywhere!"
Ace merely grinned and had a look that said he was completely ready for this. This was how it all truly started for him as he shoved off, all of them waving goodbye.
"Take care of yourself!" Dogra called, waving a handkerchief after him.
"Try not to catch a cold!" Makino added.
"Look for me in the papers!" Ace declared, "It won't take long, okay!"
"The world has gained a new Pirate!" Light called, grinning as he stared long after his older brother until he was out of sight.
"I'm gonna miss him." Makino sighed. "He really has come a long way since I first met him."
The Mayor huffed, clearly the only one not happy about this. "Honestly, if Garp were here, think of what he'd say."
Light didn't say a word as he went running off on his own. After all the time that was spent between him and Ace together, it was a little lonely to see Light by himself now. But he was still smiling as he went along the now-familiar path to the old fighting ground.
"Only two more years for me." Light said to himself, turning to face the giant rock. He then charged forward and punched that rock with so much force that it was reduced to pebbles in an instant. "By then, I'll overtake them both; Ace and Sabo!"
And that's how life was for Light now that he was on his own. It was hard for him, at first, to train on his own, but he soon got used to it as he went running through the forests, challenging every beast he saw. Only occasionally would he go to Goa… since everyone there knew his face, he couldn't walk the streets without someone crying out and guards coming.
The world did not know that the son of Gold Roger had grown up in secret, nor did it know that he set sail that day, determined to make a name of his own.
Two years had passed, and now, standing in front of the tree where the trio's old hideout was. It looked completely run-down, now covered with a thick layer of moss. It couldn't have been clearer that one hadn't been here for a long time. But Light was standing there, inside of it, quietly looking at two different papers.
One of them was a sheet that said 'WANTED', meaning it was a wanted poster and on it was a picture of Ace with the words 'DEAD OR ALIVE' belief it, and beneath was his name Portgas D Ace. The other one was an article from an old newspaper that was about a country that was liberated from a tyrannical ruler by the Revolutionary Army, and Sabo's face could be seen on a small print at the bottom of the front page beneath a picture of Dragon.
Light smiled and placed both papers down on a box next to three empty Sake cups and had wide smile. "Looks like I have some catching up to do."
Light picked up a large sack, then he walked out of the treehouse and jumped to the ground.
Now seventeen, Light was ready to set sail as well. His purplish-black hair was still scruffy but longer now and reached his shoulders. He wore a black, long-sleeved, open jacket and no shirt, which showed off his well-trained muscular torso. On his hands were light-brown gloves that went up to his wrists but were tucked into his sleeves. He also wore long blue jeans and black soft-soled shoes that only had one strap on each of them—As always, hanging on the back of his neck was his signature Straw Hat. His appearance, while still looking a bit wild, looked more controlled and capable. He could even be described as handsome.
Walking over to the side, Light saw a worn-out scoreboard that they used to score their sparring matches when they were kids, and three metal poles jammed into the ground forming a three-way cross.
"We never did decide who had the most wins." Light noted idly. "Well, not that it matters."
Now, making his way through the clearing where the Bandit's Hut was, Light stopped by his fort, where he grabbed a duffle bag and threw it over his shoulder. Standing back and smiling long and hard at the fort, he turned and called to the bandits inside. "All right, I've got everything I need."
He leaned in the front doorway so that he could see inside. "Well, I'm heading out. Guess I'll be seeing you guys."
All the Bandits sat inside, and all smiled at him, showing they were happy for him. Dadan merely sighed. "Don't make it awkward. Just go already!" she snapped.
Light happily sighed. "I figured you'd say that…." He brightened up. Nothing could dampen his mood here. "Take care, you guys; try not to get killed or anything!"
They all rubbed the backs of their heads and said. [Yeah, the same to you!]
Dogra said with an awkward laugh. "You don't need to worry about us!"
"Now, now…" Magra added, rubbing the back of his head as he raised a hand in farewell. "Take it easy!"
Light only smiled. "Hmm, I will!" he turned to leave before he stuck his head back in one more time as if he remembered one last thing to complain about. "Oh, right!" They all stopped, as he said. "Dadan, living here these past few years, it was… Fun."
Dadan gasped a little, and she pulled out a handkerchief from her blouse and began crying. "It's not enough you ruin my life. Now you had to break my heart too. You're awful!" The other bandits merely smiled. "All of you are good for nothing! Ahahaha!"
"You're crying again." Light informed her
"Shut up, or I'll make you cry!" Dadan rebutted.
Light finally shoved off, waving goodbye to them all as he made his way down the road that he hadn't used since he came to this house the first time. The direction he was going would surely take him down the pathway that would undoubtedly lead him to the village. The trees grew smaller and spread out farther as he slowly turned to farmlands, and soon, they could see the familiar windmills in the distance.
It was almost a culture shock to see the village again after all this time. As Light went down to the town, the people there saw and quickly gathered around, happy to see him again after all this time.
And finally, the moment came. The next stage was when they were standing on the same dock that Light once stood on to wave goodbye to Shanks and his crew. It was truly coming full circle because, this time, it was Light setting out on his own. Light was in an old fishing boat and putting in a large barrel that was filled with what looked like the sack that he had brought with him. He had just closed the lid as he started saying goodbye to what looked like the whole town.
"I appreciate you letting me use your old fishing boat." Light told one of the townspeople.
He smiled and waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I stopped using that thing anyways."
"That aside, what's in that huge sack you were carrying around?" Someone else asked.
Light happily answered. "It's my Treasure stash, all the money and valuables and gathered up these past few years in preparation for my journey."
His eyes widen in surprise. "You mean all of that is treasure?"
Light nodded, then he turned to face the ocean and had a determined look in his eyes as he whispered to himself. "Brothers… It's finally time for me, you at sea. I'm the third and last one to go. But I'll still be the Strongest." He then cried out at the top of his lungs. "Look out, world. My time has come!"
"Why are you shouting, Light?" A villager asked as the rest of them all looked at each other, completely lost. "Shouting and muttering to yourself like that. Is it some kinda Pirate ritual I don't get?"
"No." He answered, turning back to him, holding his fist up proudly. "It's my challenge to the world."
He untied the rope and soon was rowing out as the town waved goodbye.
"I knew this day would come, but I'm still a bit sad." Makino said sadly, her hands on her hips like how an older sister, or maybe even how a mother, would look to see him going off on his own. "I'll sure miss him."
"Satisfied? Like the world needs another Pirate…." The Mayor muttered to himself.
Though many didn't notice, if you looked in the shadow of one of the nearby buildings, you could see Dadan, Magra, and Dogra all peeking out from behind a building. But soon, the happy waves turned into gasps of terror, and a giant roar was coming from beneath their feet.
A new face suddenly burst out from beneath the sea… The glowing red eyes, the long eel-like body of the Sea King that was always swimming around the coat of this Island.
Light was standing calmly in the boat and tilted his head up while his eyes were covered by his bangs. "So, you're the infamous Lord of the Coast?" He said with a wide smile, glancing up at him. "Hate to break it to you, but you don't know who you're messing with."
ZIIN!
Light's eyes cleared up, and he glared at the Sea King as he prepared to bite down at him. It immediately froze when it felt the weight of Light's Haki pierce through it. It merely stayed there, frozen right in front of him with its mouth open as it was too afraid to make a move.
"Two things, first; don't tell anyone you saw me doing that, and second…." Light smirked as he clenched his fist, raised his arm, and threw a punch. "They really hurt; these Knuckles O' Mine."
And it was here that the attack hit the beast perfectly, knocking it with such force that it was knocked out of the sea and fell backward in the water with an enormous tidal wave.
The villagers from the shore were now cheering and whistling loudly in pride as he gazed out at the sea, sitting down to relax and to see that clear, blue sky.
"First, I gotta gather a crew." Light said to himself as he felt himself becoming more relaxed at sea. "I'll take my time finding them, and then I'll need both a ship and a Pirate Flag…" he beamed at the thought. "All right… Here I come!"
To finally declare it official, Light stood up again, punched the air, and screamed out at the top of his lungs. "SET SAIL!"
This was a day that shook the world, though, at the time, no one had any way of knowing this was the end of the prologue and the beginning of the journey of the one who would one day become the Greatest Pirate the World has ever seen.
And that's the chapter. Let this chapter wasn't easy to put together, but I'm glad how it turned out. We're now officially done with the growing-up Saga on this story. The next chapter will finally be the start of Light's Pirating Adventure. All the bonds have been established, everything is now in place, and the story is ready to move.
Because Light is now a capable and powerful Haki user majority of his opponents in the early parts of the story aren't going to be a threat, but I'll still try to keep it entertaining. And now, I have a question for all of you and now that we've reached this point, I can ask. This is a question I've had on my mind ever since someone asked me about it.
Should Light have a Harem?
I'm asking because, personally, I don't mind either way, and Light is the type of character who wouldn't mind either way as well. Plus, he's a Pirate, so it's not like laws and ethics matter either. What matters to me, though, is if you, the readers, want that. Do you think he should or shouldn't have one? I'll make my answer based on your response.
Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. If you want more, leave a review. If you like the story, then be sure to click the follow/favorite, and as always, have an awesome day.