Chapter 28: What Lies Beneath

For a second, when the water rippled, Ace thought it was just a trick of the light. Nothing more than the ocean breeze skimming off the waves and making them catch the afternoon sun. But when it rippled again, a new hope took hold: this was victory, finally taking the bait.

Grinning, he leaned forward on the railing, gripped his fishing rod even tighter, and waited for the perfect moment to yank his trophy from the ocean. Another tug, a shadow under the surface—

"HA!"

Ace whipped his head around to see Sabo, seated on the opposite rail, heaving something out of the water with a cry of triumph. His fishing line glistened for a second before the shadow of a massive sea king eclipsed it. For almost four seconds the fish was arcing over their small craft, the water cascading from it creating a gentle rain.

And then it was crashing into the sea on the other side with a wave that nearly tossed Ace overboard. He held the railing for dear life and cursed as his own quarry, spooked by its brethren coming down, fled.

Grumbling, he reeled in the line while ignoring that Sabo was getting a fresh line for his own.

"That makes six," Sabo called, the smug bastard.

"Five," Ace bit back. "You only have five."

"No, you only have five. I have six."

"Then I have six! You were one back. At most we're tied."

"The hell we're tied."

"The hell you're winning!"

"I was winning at the start!"

"And now you're not! We're tied, you idiot! And that one got away like all the rest so quit acting all high and mighty about it!"

Sabo scoffed. Line repaired, he hopped back onto the railing and cast his lure. "Fine, I'll fix that, just you watch. Dinner's going to be on me."

"Big words from the guy who was losing until a minute ago."

"You know, it's going to be very embarrassing for you to lose to me right before introducing me to the rest of your family. You could always back out now and save face."

"The only face I'm saving is the look on yours when I hook the biggest sea king in Paradise."

"Ha! You're on."

Passion literally burning along his shoulders, Ace threw his own fishing line out far from the ship. There was the faintest splash in the water when it landed, then silence. He had about a minute before he'd have to reel it in and re-cast it thanks to the wind filling the ship's sail.

Impatience left his flames flickering. Twice he recast his line, his shoulders getting more hunched each time. He kept glancing behind him, but Sabo wasn't having any better luck.

Good.

And then, on his third cast, a shadow bloomed beneath the waves. He straightened, worries about Sabo forgotten. There was a tug on the lure. Another tug. A yank.

"You're MINE!" he roared as he hauled the beast into the air with so much force he tumbled backward onto the deck. The sea king, a striped and spiny beast, shrieked and twisted in defiance but couldn't stop itself from getting tossed up.

Straight into the other sea king Sabo had just caught and thrown.

Ace froze. Sabo froze.

Rather than arcing gracefully across the width of the ship, the sea kings collided, their shadows meeting in the center of the ship deck—and then they began to fall. Straight toward the ship. Which was, at best, a quarter of their size.

Ace tossed his fishing rod aside and leaped into the air, Sabo right there with him. He tensed, braced himself, and then spun a wicked roundhouse kick into a fleshy bit of the sea king between all the spines. A shockwave burst out of the fish's other side, its eyes popped nearly out of its head, and then it was nothing but a distant memory skipping over the waves to the far horizon before sinking down.

Gravity took hold and Ace dropped back down to the deck. He landed in a crouch, one hand on his hat to make sure it stayed with him. Sabo landed a second later, his pipe in his hands. A glance around showed no sign of his catch; he must've batted it far away.

"Well," Ace reflected, "there goes dinner."

Sabo chuckled and stowed his pipe. "It's not like this ship is big enough to bring a sea king on board without capsizing us anyway."

"I figured you'd catch a small enough one that it wouldn't matter."

"Funny, I was expecting the same from you. We'll just have to get food at Sabaody. We can't be more than an hour away at this point."

After a quick check of his log pose, the ocean, and the sky, Ace nodded. "Yeah, we're close. I'm thinking we can start at Grove F—"

Badabadabada. Badabadabada.

"—are you gonna get that?" Ace pivoted when Sabo made no move to answer the ringing Den Den Mushi presumably in his pocket.

"It's probably not important. You were saying?"

"It's still ringing, though."

"It'll stop."

Ace cocked an eyebrow and waited. And waited. And waited.

With a self-conscious cough, Sabo fished the snail out of his coat. "Okay, maybe it's important. Hello?"

"Sabo!" The snail all but leaped out of Sabo's hand.

"Rusty? What is it?" To Ace, he mouthed: "Sabaody operative."

Leaning against the railing, Ace wondered why the Revolutionaries had operatives on Sabaody Archipelago. Then he reconsidered; with all the human and fishman trafficking that went on there that the government pretended didn't exist, there was plenty of work for them to do. Plenty of potential recruits, too, and marines and pirates to spy on.

"Sir, they put me in contact with you as the person likely to be closest, and, well, Koala said you had a special interest in the pirate involved."

Ah, Ace reflected. Sabo had called to check in for the first time in weeks the previous day, saying—in addition to the fact he'd recovered his memory—that he was headed for the New World and would be passing through Sabaody shortly. Koala's lecture about timely updates had been audible even from where Ace was lounging on Striker at the time.

"Pirate?" repeated Sabo. "Which pirate?"

"It's Straw Hat Luffy, sir. He—he punched a Celestial Dragon!"

Ace choked. Sabo went pale.

"He what?" they asked at the same time, voices strangled by shocked disbelief. That disbelief, for both of them, just as quickly got muddied by pride, and then worry.

"The news is reporting it as a hostage situation. Admiral Kizaru is here, and—and I haven't had it confirmed yet, but it sounds like Kuma sent the entire Straw Hat crew away!"

The ocean was calm, the waves as peaceful as they got in the Grand Line, and still Ace felt the deck threatening to drop out from under his feet. Luffy could take care of himself, sure, but against an admiral? When confronted with the same, Ace had barely escaped with his life—hadn't even managed that, the first time.

He opened his mouth but nothing came out. There was a block stuck in his throat, something thick and heavy and choking, one he hadn't felt since the Gray Terminal was turned into Hell's best day.

"Tell me everything," Sabo demanded.

There wasn't much else to tell. Dark King Rayleigh was there too, and the Navy was one big kicked hornet's nest, but many of the other rookies—eleven of them had been there at once, what were the odds—had managed to escape in the chaos.

"Rogers's first mate was involved?" Ace whispered when the call ended. His heart was pounding in his chest, too loud, too heavy, too much. "What the hell did he do to our brother?"

"Not Rayleigh," Sabo said distractedly. "Kuma. We need to get there now."

Ace didn't need telling twice. While Sabo furled the sail, Ace changed Striker from being tied to the back of the craft to being tied to the front. Standing in his bright yellow vessel, he poured flames into its specialty engine until it was dragging the other ship through the water far faster than the wind would ever manage. Better to put his energy toward that than the anger bubbling up in his stomach. Better to do anything than give into the fear, into the reflexive animalistic don't touch my family that demanded he rip and tear through everything in his way, damned be the consequences.

But if they'd hurt Luffy, he'd damn the consequences, himself, and the whole fucking world if it meant Luffy would be okay.

"Hey!" Sabo yelled over the wind. "The navy's going to be all over the archipelago, but I know a way through the roots that should keep us hidden. I'll take us to Grove Thirteen!"

It took Ace a second to remember how to speak. "Why there?"

"Rayleigh was there, and I know where he works. Odds are he went back to his bar!"

"How do you know where he works?"

"Rogers's crew is worth keeping tabs on. Last I heard, he was a coating craftsman. Sabaody is probably the best place in the world to keep tabs on up-and-coming pirates." Sabo had one hand lightly holding the brim of his hat in place as the wind whipped around them. "Can you go any faster?"

In answer, the flames from Striker's engine surged. Ace knew he couldn't maintain the faster pace for more than a few minutes at a time—he'd have to rest the engine at the original pace to keep it from overheating the paddles—but it would shave off a few minutes in the end. Besides, putting more into his fire was a good distraction.

It couldn't distract him completely, though. Unable to keep it to himself anymore, he had to ask the question: "They said Luffy was sent away. What the hell does that mean? He's not dead, is he?"

"He's not dead."

"How do you know? How do you know?"

"Kuma is…He may have saved Luffy, actually. When he hits a person with his paw, he can repel them to just about anywhere. That must be what he did to Luffy and his crew. Otherwise, there would've been bodies."

Ace's chest wrenched at the thought, then wrenched again when he considered Luffy, all alone, beaten and—if Kuma's power worked one person at a time—having just watched his entire crew vanish one by one. Luffy was alone. "We need to find him."

"We will."

When roaming the forests of Mount Colubo, Ace had dealt with several big cats over the years. The tigers had been the worst: cunning, ferocious, deadly up close, and way too good at getting close without being noticed. In the days before Luffy, before they'd ever taken on the king of the mountain, it had been even worse. Once, though, he and Sabo had managed to outsmart one that had been hunting them by luring it into a three-walled canyon and then triggering a rockslide to seal it in.

They'd sat on the edges of the canyon, trying to hurt it with thrown rocks rather than risk close-quarters combat with their pipes, and finding that the most they could do from a distance was annoy it. Even with all its strength, though, and the gleaming sharpness of its fangs and claws, it couldn't leap high enough or get enough grip to clear the walls.

So it had paced, its hungry eyes never straying from Ace and Sabo for long. Back and forth, the width of the canyon, hour after hour and day after day. Nothing but restless hate in that gaze. Nothing but violence that knew it had no outlet. Nothing but the creeping fear of the inevitable undermining all that came before.

Sitting and watching, Ace had found it fascinating. Sabo had been…less enthused about trapping it, but more than happy to not have to worry about the beast getting the drop on them again.

Now, as an adult, Ace was that tiger and he hated it. He was pacing back and forth on the shores of Grove Thirteen, the shadows of the mangrove's canopy forever distracting in his peripheral vision, the stupid sap-ridden grass squelching under his boots, and the faint popping of bubbles just loud enough to drive him mad. Luffy was the snot-nosed kid sitting just out of reach and every time Ace looked at him the sun was in his eyes and he couldn't fucking see. Was that a hole in Luffy's chest? A shadow? Who knew? Not him, that was for fucking sure.

What was he even good for right now besides wearing a rut in the ground? Nothing. Nothing at all. He was watching the ships but Grove Thirteen was one of the calmest in lawless territory with one of his crewnearby, and Ace would boil every ocean for a goddamn fight right now because he was, actually, truly, without a doubt, losing his fucking mind.

He couldn't even wave some marines over because there weren't nearly as many as there should be and they were all distracted in other groves, and if Ace left the ships Sabo might just give him the fight he was looking for and then they could both waste their time while Luffy was in trouble for maximum stupidity.

The tiger's escape was starvation. Ace knew a relaxing swim in the ocean lapping at the roots below would be faster than succumbing to the riot in his brain.

All this and it had barely been an hour since Luffy disappeared.

Three more steps, turn, and pace back the other way.

Sabo had better make it quick.

Tugging his cravat a little looser to let some of the stifling air cool the sweat building beneath it, Sabo pushed open the door to Shakky's Rip-Off Bar. To his surprise, it was unlocked. He'd never been inside this place before, not personally, but more than once the revolutionaries had tapped its proprietor as a useful source of information. When they could afford her and they were sure Rayleigh wasn't around, at least.

But right now, price was no object and Rayleigh was absolutely around, sipping beer from the bottle and sitting in one of the wooden stools at the half-moon bar taking up the far wall.

Yeah. Convincing Ace to stay with the ships had been a really good idea. Sabo hadn't missed the way Ace's responses had gotten shorter and shorter as time ticked by, his attention more and more focused on the straight line that separated him from Luffy and whatever bullshit he had to carve his way through to stay on that line. There was no getting through to Ace to yank him out of that mindset; that was Luffy's talent. All Sabo could do was point Ace in the direction of least destruction. And right now, that destruction was firmly away from his biological father's crew and anyone who might recognize him as Rogers's biological son. Ace was not at all in the right headspace to handle that.

Sabo hadn't said anything to him, but what had been a warm day on the archipelago had slid very firmly into hot territory when they reached shore.

On the other side of the bar, a woman with dark hair—Shakky, had to be—was leaning on her elbows, eyes fixed on Sabo like she'd known he was coming from the second his boot fell on the bottommost stair leading up to her door. Maybe she had; Rayleigh had probably clocked his arrival the second their boat docked.

The biggest surprise was to Sabo's left. In front of the red couch that took up most of the left-hand wall, two tables had been dragged together to make a platform upon which laid an octopus fishman absolutely drowning in bandages. He was unconscious, fitfully groaning while sweat gleamed on his brow. A young mermaid with green hair and a…sentient starfish? They were tending to him, but they both paused when he glanced at them.

Rayleigh grunted and took a swig from his bottle. "First Kuma, now this. What a strange day."

Shakky shushed him and gestured Sabo farther inside. "You've picked an interesting time to stop by. What can I get you?"

He didn't have time to waste on pleasantries. He strode up to the bar and placed a bounty poster on its sticky surface. By the grace of a decade's training, his hand was steady and his voice didn't shake. "Information on Straw Hat Luffy's whereabouts."

He unhooked a pouch from his belt with his other hand and dropped it on the bar next to the poster. The jewels he'd liberated from that crazy sprint through High Town jingled within the canvas, cutting off Shakky's comment about pricing. Ace had lightened their winnings to repay Dadan for the damage he'd caused to the hideout and the injured bandit, but even after that and their journey to the archipelago, there was still more than enough left for this.

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife and only got thicker while Shakky took a thoughtful drag from her cigarette. "Why do you want to know about Straw Hat? You don't strike me as a marine."

Sabo laughed but it had no humor in it. "Never. I just need to know where he is. I know you," he looked directly at Rayleigh, who was pointedly examining the label on his bottle, "were there. I know you saw what happened."

Rayleigh released his bottle. "I was, was I?"

Outside, Sabo knew, Ace was one strong breeze away from exploding into a fiery inferno. Even without a devil fruit, Sabo felt like doing the same. "He is my brother," he bit out instead, "so I would appreciate if you didn't bother trying to waste my time. I know everything went down in Grove Twelve and I know Kuma was there but you, Rayleigh, are the only witness I can reach right now."

Rayleigh finally looked at Sabo, his gaze alone as heavy as Dragon's had ever been. "You seem to know plenty."

The bartop splintered under Sabo's fingers. He didn't even know when he'd grabbed its edge. Maybe he was just trying not to throttle the Dark King. One strong breeze indeed. He took a deep breath and held onto the dregs of his composure for all he was worth. "While I respect you as the former first mate of the Roger Pirates, and while I know my little brother was over the moon to meet you, don't think I'm above destroying his idols if it means saving him."

Rayleigh's gaze turned dangerous and, despite his anger, Sabo felt a chill run down his spine. Rayleigh looked ready to throw him out on his ass and Sabo was just as ready to force answers out of him. Ace would back him up. Together, they could probably—

"Enough," Shakky interrupted, stubbing out her cigarette in a nearby ash tray. "Your name?"

"He's—" Rayleigh started, but Shakky held up a hand to forestall him. Sabo scraped together the shreds of his patience so his voice didn't sound quite so close to furious.

"Sabo."

"And you're Straw Hat Luffy's brother."

He nodded. "We met when we were kids. It was after Luffy decided to stab himself in the face to prove a point to Shanks, he already had that scar."

It was the most significant thing he could think of in the moment to prove that he knew more about Luffy than any bounty poster could communicate. The number of people who knew the origin of Luffy's facial scar had to be miniscule…which meant Rayleigh might not either, he realized with a sinking heart.

To his surprise, though, the darkness evaporated from Rayleigh's face. He even laughed. "Ha! I heard that story from Shanks himself. Impulsive little brat, scared the hell out of him pulling a stunt like that. Fine, fine. Brother, huh?"

"We swore it over sake." Sabo's glare dared Rayleigh to challenge that, but the elder pirate merely nodded and tapped his bottle. After a beat, he offered,

"Kuma didn't kill him."

Though he'd already suspected as much, having it confirmed robbed some of the strength from Sabo's legs. He sank into a stool.

"I don't know exactly where he sent all the Straw Hats," Rayleigh continued, only for Shakky to follow up with:

"I have a few ideas."

So caught up in his spiraling thoughts, Ace didn't notice Sabo's return until the other man was starting to untie their ship.

"What?" Ace asked, realizing Sabo had been saying something.

"I said he's probably alive."

"Probably? What did probably ever do for us? Either we find him or he's probably dead, so let's go."

Literally steaming in Sabaody's moist air, Ace was left fuming at nothing when Sabo, recognizing the sight of an Ace who only wanted to pick a fight, didn't reply and instead set to prepping the ship to sail. With a frustrated tsk, Ace went to check that knot holding Striker was secure. That didn't take long, and soon enough, he was back to pacing on the main deck, which was only a marginal improvement from pacing on the damp ground.

"Turns out Whitebeard kicking up trouble all over the Grand Line was useful for more than just news fodder," Sabo said while he set to weighing anchor.

"So?"

Sabo waved a hand at their surroundings briefly before he went back to pulling up the anchor. "We're in the lawless area of Sabaody right now, but didn't you notice on the way in? There weren't very many marines at all, even with all the chaos Luffy kicked up. Thanks to your extended family causing problems on the whole of the Grand Line, the navy's stretched thin trying to keep things under control. We won't have any trouble getting out of here."

"That's fucking great," Ace snapped. "Care to share the weather report while you're here? Maybe update some maps?"

The solid metal chain link in Sabo's left hand shattered. The anchor, thankfully already gripped in Sabo's other hand, wasn't left to fall.

"Ace," Sabo said, face hidden but voice pleasant enough to make even Ace's anger reconsider itself, "please don't mistake my observations about our ability to leave here at speed for idle chitchat. I am very well aware that we are on a mission to save our little brother. I am painfully aware of that, in fact, and it's starting to get rather distracting. So distracting that I'm having a hard time keeping myself in check, and if I join you in flying off the rails, who do you think is going to make sure we stay focused on the best way to rescue him? Can you tell me that, Ace?"

Mouth dry, Ace had to swallow a couple times before he could speak. "N-no, I don't—I mean, it's good, that we can leave. Easily."

The anchor thudded to the deck and Sabo strode over to the sail. On the way, he flashed Ace a bright, violent smile. "I agree. Now, Shakky was kind enough to provide information at a discount once I told her our relation to Luffy, and that information points to Luffy being sent in the direction of Amazon Lily."

"The island of women in the Calm Belt? Why there?"

"When I find that out, I shall endeavor to inform you. Now, Luffy could be there, or he could be on any of the islands between here and there. It's best we hurry, don't you agree?"

Sabo was still speaking formally. He was pissed.

The right thing to do right now was apologize, Ace knew. But those words got stuck in his throat somewhere behind Luffy's name, and so he and Sabo struck out from the archipelago amid a tense, simmering silence.