Brothers

As he got closer, he could hear Sabo talking to someone he never heard before. When he came into sight, he saw someone wearing what had to be the stupidest clothes he had ever seen in his life. He couldn't help it when he burst out laughing.

'Shishishishi!!! You look hilarious!! Sabo, who's this guy? His clothes are amusing!" Luffy said as he laughed, drawing their attention to him, making Sabo smile and the funny-looking guy scowl at him. That was until he saw who Luffy was dragging, which promptly slapped a look of horror onto his face.

"Hahaha!!! You're right, Luffy!! This guy looks hilarious!!!" A voice sounded to Luffy's right. Everyone looked over to see an unhurt Ace dragging a bloody and unconscious Porchemy. Once the funny-looking guy saw this, he had lots of cold sweat on his forehead and his legs started to shake.

"Luffy, Ace!! I'm glad you guys are alright!" Sabo said with a smile. His face morphed into cold indifference when he looked at the funny-looking man. This made Ace and Luffy look at the guy with glares, which scared the man.

"S-Sabo!! H-how dare y-you interact w-with t-these peasants! This l-little rebellion h-has gone on l-long enough!" The man said, practically unable to get through a sentence with Ace and Luffy glaring daggers at him. Sabo only showed emotion after his friends were insulted.

"Don't you dare insult my friends! They feel more like family than you, that old lady and the snotty brat ever felt like!!" Sabo shouted at the man, glaring daggers at him. The man was sufficiently surprised. He looked down on Sabo.

"Come back home now, Sabo! I demand you as your father cease these foolish actions with these dirty bottom-dwell-" The man now known as Sabo's father held back the rest of his words as Ace and Luffy appeared next to Sabo, who was looking enraged before going back to a cold emotionless mask.

"Leave. Never come back. If you do, I'll kill you." Sabo said, staring into his so-called 'father's' eyes. The man started shaking and when he saw Ace and Sabo start to reach for their pipes, he turned away.

After he was gone, Sabo immediately took off back towards the forest, Ace and Luffy glancing at each other before grabbing the 2 unconscious pirates and following after him.

They kept running through the forest until they reached a clearing with a cliff overlooking the sea. When they got there, Sabo immediately started screaming.

"God Damn it!! Why the hell can't he just leave me alone? Fuck him and fuck that family!" Sabo yelled out as he finished with a punch the the ground.

*BOOM!!!*

The ground shook a bit from the punch as Sabo took a deep breath and turned around to face his friends who were just letting him get his anger out.

"Sorry you had to see that, I never thought someone like him would ever leave the noble district." Sabo apologized to which Ace and Luffy shook their heads saying it was no problem. Sabo looked at them with a mixture of hesitation and reluctance.

"So now you know. I was born a Nobel." He closed his eyes in expectation of an outburst, but when there was none, he peaked his eyes open. He saw both his friends digging for gold with their pinkies without a care in the world.

"So?" "So?" The two echoed as they looked at Sabo with complete indifference, which completely baffled Sabo.

"'So?' You don't care? Ace, you are always talking about how shitty you think the Nobels are." Sabo pointed out as both Ace and Luffy flung their gold to their left, unfortunately landing in the fur of a monkey in the bush who was observing the conversation.

"Yeah I do hate those shitty Nobels, but you're not like them, Sabo. You told me you want to be a pirate to be free. That was probably because you wanted to escape doing all that dumb Nobel shit right? Ace asked, shocking Sabo further than he was. He looked over at Luffy, who was striking for more gold in the other mine.

"Sabo, it's your life. Who am I to tell you what to do with it? In a way, I'm glad you were born a Nobel. If you weren't, you might have never run away and we might not have ever met." Luffy said with a smile that made Sabo break out of his shock to smile back. Sabo looked back out at the sea.

"Thanks, guys!! I wanna set sail to see the world someday! Maybe I'll write a book about it too." Sabo said with a smile that made the other 2 smile as well.

"Well, I wanna set out and be a pirate too! I wanna become a famous pirate and prove that my life is worth something! Ace declared proudly. Luffy ran up to the end of the cliff with a massive grin on his face.

"I'm gonna…"

"Wha?" Ace was shocked, never expecting something like that. Sabo on the other hand,

*Pfft* "HAHAHA!!! Ahhh… I can't wait to see how you turn out in the future, Luffy." Sabo thought it was a great dream. He went to say something else before they heard something.

*COUGH* *COUGH*

The three boys turned towards the sound and saw Bluejam trying and failing to stand up with a manic grin on his face.

"You lucky little brats…" He muttered out as the life was fading from him. They looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean, lucky?" Sabo asked. Bluejam looked at him with a smile that sent shivers down their spines.

"I mean, your dear old daddy and the rest of the Nobels have set the entire Grey Terminal to blow up!!" The dying pirate revealed, shocking all three to their cores.

"You're lying!!" Ace shouted at him, making him laugh and in turn, cough up more blood.

*COUGH*

"Hahaha!! It's too late!! It'll be going off any moment now!! There's nothing anyone can do now!!" Bluejam shouted out with the last of his energy, dying from blood loss shortly after.

As Ace went to tell the other two not to worry…

*BOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!!*

They all heard a massive explosion behind them. They sprinted towards the woods and reached the clearing with a view overlooking the grey terminal in moments.

Just as Bluejam said, it was too late to do anything. There was a massive fire encompassing the entirety of the Grey Terminal with screams of suffering and pleas for the pain to end.

This affects the three boys greatly. Ace was horrified by the massive amount of suffering happening in front of him without being able to do anything. Sabo was completely shocked still, the idea that his family caused this repeating in his mind over and over again, drawing out everything else. Luffy was the worst of all.

Luffy was horrified, listening to all of the pain caused by the greed of the people in power. No one had any idea, but during his fight with Bluejam where he learned to listen to the so-called 'Rhythm' of the blade, he also started tapping into a power that Shanks had explained to him as 'Observation Haki'.

In this horrifying moment that wouldn't leave his head for a long time, Luffy was subconsciously listening to the countless voices screaming in pain as a couple of them went quiet every second.

While this was defiantly one of the worst times to start to tap into the basics of 'Observation Haki', the benefit of this came from Luffy, unknown how he knew this to himself at the moment, felt how there were people who were going to try to stop the fire and help people. This made a smile grow on his face which confused his brothers.

Just as they were about to ask what he was smiling about, a massive wind blew through the entire island. Luffy stabbed his cutlass into the ground with Ace and Sabo hanging onto the right and left sides of his body.

The wind suddenly stopped. Ace and Sabo landed on the ground and sighed with relief. Luffy grinned at them.

"Well, I guess that takes care of that!" Luffy said as he helped them get up. Suddenly, a massive shadow towered over all of them.

Ace and Sabo gulped as they saw the cloaked man looking down at them. Luffy, who had his back turned to the man, looked at his friends with a confused face.

"What's wrong, guys?" He asked them. He saw Sabo raise a shaking hand and point behind him.

"T-t-turn around!!" Sabo shouted. Ace nodded rapidly. Luffy turned around and was met with a very tall man who had taken off the hood of his cloak, revealing his black hair and bright red tattoo on the left side of his face. The man grinned down at Luffy who was looking at him confused.

"Hey kid, are you Monkey D. Luffy?" The man asked. Luffy grinned at him.

"Yeah, that's me! Who's asking?" He asked the man as he saw the man's grin widen after hearing his answer.

"I'm Monkey D. Dragon, your father." The now-introduced Dragon said to his son. He could see how his son's friends stiffened up upon hearing his name, but his son seemed like he didn't even know his name—damn old man.

"Oh, I see. Nice to meet you, Dad!!" Luffy said with a smile before he froze.

*Blink* *Blink*

"EHHHHH!!!! MY DAD?!!"

.

.

"You know... I was expecting something more… secretive." Dragon said as he was crammed into the boy's treehouse. The three didn't seem too happy about having their base talked down on.

"Who needs secretive when you can beat up everyone who wants to mess with you?" Ace asked as he crossed his arms and looked away, which made Dragon chuckle.

"Roger's son right? I thought the old man would've forced you into the Marines by now." Dragon said with a smirk.

"No way! I'm. A pirate through and through!" Ace responded before blinking at him realizing what he just said. He braced for the eventual lashing he was used to whenever he indirectly asked if it was a good thing for him to be born. He jumped when he heard his friend shout.

"WHAT?!! YOUR DAD IS THE PIRATE KING?!!" Luffy shouted at Ace as he got right up in his face. He immediately got shoved away by Ace who responded with a scowl.

"Shut up. Stop talking about him. I hate that bastard!" Ace said as Luffy pouted at him and went to say something else, but was cut off by a cough from his dad. He looked back at him to see him looking down at them with a grin.

"Do you mind if I have a minute to talk to my son alone?" Dragon asked the two older boys. Ace went to say something but Sabo covered his mouth, looking apologetic.

"Sorry, he can be very insensitive," Sabo said making Dragon chuckle and wave him off. Sabo dragged Ace out of the treehouse. Dragon looked at his son who was looking at him curiously.

"So, what's your dream, Luffy?" Dragon asked, making Luffy gain a massive smile on his face.

"I'm gonna be the Pirate King and start a new age of freedom! And after that, I'm gonna…" Luffy continued, making Dragon look astonished for a second before breaking out in joyous laughter.

"Hahahahaha!!! I'll be looking forward to that day, Luffy." Dragon said with a smile. He kept a grin on his face, but his eyes showed how serious what he was about to say was.

"Take some fatherly advice from me, Luffy. You have to become unbelievably strong if you want to do what you want to do. Everyone will be trying to stop you from achieving that goal. I'm not saying you can't do it, I'm saying always look for ways to get stronger. After all, strength is the only thing that can protect the people you care about." Dragon told Luffy. He thought this might discourage his son and he might need some nice words to help out, but he was pleasantly surprised when he saw his son look at him with a determined smile.

"Don't worry Dad, people have already told me I need to be crazy strong so I can protect my friends. I'm going to keep getting stronger no matter what!" Luffy shouted out, making his father smirk at him.

"You can call your friends back now if you want," Dragon said as Luffy immediately smiled and ran to the lookout portion of the treehouse.

"Ace!! Sabo!! You guys can come back up now!!" He shouted out and soon he heard them climbing back up. He grinned at them, Ace seemingly relieved once he saw him and Sabo looking at Dragon with curiosity.

"Do you have something you want to ask, kid?" Dragon asked Sabo after he felt his gaze. Sabo jumped a bit before asking what had been jumping around his mind since he learned who this man was.

"What exactly does the Revolutionary Army do? My parents always told me the Revolutionary Army was dangerous and that I shouldn't ever go near them, but you just saved those people in the Grey Terminal. I don't understand." Sabo said with a confused expression. Dragon looked at the boy for a few seconds making Sabo feel like every secret he had was laid bare. Eventually, Dragon answered his question.

"The Revolutionary Army is the only force in the world that is directly opposing the World Government. We are particularly against the World Nobels of Mary Geoise who control and benefit from the corruption of the World Government. Our primary goal is the fight against the World Government's rule over the world by defying political oppression and corruption. There are thousands of people within the organization, and I am the Supreme Commander of it." Dragon explains his purpose and why he does what he does.

He also indirectly explains that if he was involved in Luffy's life, he would be put in danger.

Not that Luffy understood that, he just thought it was cool his dad was following his dreams.

"Woah… that's pretty cool!" Luffy was happy about how passionate his dad was, even if the only thing he understood was that the guys called the 'World Nobels' were defiantly shitty people, the ones his grandpa would want him to punch.

Ace looked pretty confused but was happy that Luffy's dad didn't seem like a bad person.

Sabo, on the other hand, felt like he found his life's purpose. He had always hated everything to do with nobility and always felt that it was a cross he was forced to bear, even after he sailed out to sea. But with this, he can directly oppose any form of nobility, help people who went through similar things in need, and help people who need it the most like the people in the grey terminal.

Sabo squared his shoulders and set his eyes on Dragon, who turned to him again with an expectant smirk. Sabo gathered his courage, got on his hands and knees, and shouted out.

"Can I please join the Revolutionary Army?! I promise I'll do everything in my power to try and make that goal a reality." Sabo said with fierce eyes as he started up at the most wanted man in the world. The man's face went blank and looked over to Luffy, silently asking for his opinion. Luffy smiled at him.

"Sabo used to be a Nobel, but he ran away because he hated it. He wants to become a pirate to see the world and write a book about it. At least, that's what he wanted to do. Now, I think he wants to try to help people and fight against the nobility he hates so much." Luffy explained his friend to his dad, hoping that this would help both of them achieve their dreams.

The answer looked like it satisfied Dragon. He looked down at the still-kneeling Sabo.

"The ship will be waiting at the eastern port starting in 1 hour and we will be leaving in 2 hours. Go get whatever you need ready." Dragon smirked at Sabo, who started thanking him profusely. Dragon looked over at his son and smiled. Luffy smiled back at him.

"It was nice to meet you, Dad!!" Luffy said to his father who nodded back to him. Dragon looked at the three of them before settling back on Luffy.

"We will meet again, my son..." Dragon said with a smirk before a massive gust of wind blew through the forest, forcing the 3 boys to cover their eyes. By the time they opened their eyes, it was only the three of them in the treehouse.

.

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The three boys are sitting around a tree stump with a bottle of sake sitting on it and three empty sake cups. Ace grabbed the bottle and popped the cork.

"I don't know when the next time the three of us will be able to be together, but with this cup of sake, we will always be tied together, no matter where we are on the sea," Ace said as he filled up the sake cups and gave one to both Sabo and Luffy. He grinned at them and they grinned back at him.

"Did you know? If you share a drink, you can become brothers. We won't always be together, but this will bind us together as brothers, no matter where we are, or what we do nothing can break this bond!!" Ace shouted out as the three clinked their glasses together and downed the sake, each grimacing at how it tasted before they all burst out laughing.

.

.

Ace and Luffy were waving goodbye to Sabo, on board the Revolutionary Army's ship, who was crying while waving back at them. All three of them had massive smiles on their faces.

"WE'LL REUNITE ONE DAY!!!! THAT'S A PROMISE!!!" Sabo shouted.

"YEAH!!! WE'LL NEVER FORGET!!!" Luffy yelled back.

"I'LL REMEMBER, LUFFY WILL PROBABLY FORGET!!! Ace shouted with a mischievous smile on his face.

"OI!!!"

"Hahahaha!!!!" Sabo was laughing as the images of Ace and Luffy were getting smaller and smaller. Dragon was looking at Luffy.

"We will meet again, son." He whispered.

Luffy looked over at Ace when he could no longer see the boat at all. Ace looked over at him.

"What do we do now, Ace?" He asked his brother. Ace smirked at him.

"We train!!" He shouted at his little brother with a grin who grinned back at him.

"I have the perfect place for us to train! Though, I might need to ask Grandpa how to get back there..." Luffy said with a confused head tilt that made Ace burst out laughing.