On the slope behind the mountain, little Ace's face flushed red as he strained to lift a boulder nearly twice his height. His arms trembled violently, legs shaking as he dragged the massive rock one step at a time up the dirt incline. Sweat streamed down his jaw, falling onto the dry earth and leaving dark, tiny marks behind.
"D-damn it… Uncle Ritter…" he growled through gritted teeth, glaring upward but he didn't see his uncle at all.
Because Ritter was sitting on top of the boulder Ace was carrying.
From Ace's perspective, all he could see was the underbelly of the rock wobbling above him.
"You're definitely doing this on purpose!" Ace shouted, his voice breaking with frustration.
Ritter crossed one leg over the other, casually munching on an apple with an audible crunch. "Come on, little Ace, that's only your first trip up. Don't tell me you're already tired?"
Then he looked over to the other side. "Annie's doing fine though! Look at that steady pace, strong steps… Hey, Ace! You're the big brother, right? How are you supposed to protect your sister like this?"
Annie was quietly hauling a boulder twice the size of Ace's. Her steps were slow but firm, every movement measured. Her golden hair clung to her cheeks with sweat, yet her eyes stayed sharp and focused. Every few steps, she'd pause to steady her breath, then continue forward without complaint.
When she heard Ritter teasing her brother, she tilted her head slightly, raised one hand to balance the boulder, and gave Ace a small thumbs-up.
That simple gesture struck Ace's pride like a hammer.
"Ahhhh! I'll show you!" Ace roared, tightening his grip and sprinting uphill with reckless determination.
Ritter reclined comfortably on the rock, counting lazily.
"Three…"
"Two…"
"One…"
Thud!
The boulder hit the ground hard, and Ace collapsed beside it, gasping for breath. "I… I can't… go on…"
Ritter hopped off the rock, nudging him lightly with the tip of his boot. "Your breathing's all over the place, kid. You can't even control your rhythm, and you want to reach the summit? You're supposed to be the man who'll become Pirate King!"
"Who… said I'm giving up!" Ace grunted, forcing himself upright but his legs wobbled, and he fell right back down.
By then, Annie had already reached the top of the hill. She carefully set down her boulder, then walked back down silently. When she stood next to Ace, her eyes spoke louder than words Need a hand?
Ace's face burned. "No! I can do it myself!"
Ritter chuckled at the heartwarming sibling moment… then ruined it completely. "Oh, by the way I forgot to mention. Annie only has to make six trips. Ace, you're doing eight."
"What?! Why?!" Ace shouted, his voice cracking from disbelief.
Ritter gave him a look of exaggerated pity. "Do you really want to compare your strength to Annie's? You must be out of your mind."
Truthfully, Ritter had noticed something fascinating these past few days.
When the twins were first born, Annie had been the weaker one frail and soft-spoken. But as they grew, that balance shifted dramatically. Annie's stamina and raw strength had begun to outpace Ace's by a wide margin.
If Ace inherited Roger's talent and fiery will, then Annie had inherited both his talent and his raw physical potential. In other words, Annie was closer to being a true copy of Gol D. Roger himself.
Roger's body had been monstrously strong one in a million. Even someone as gifted as Ritter hadn't reached that level until much later in life.
Ace, of course, didn't care about any of that.
"..." He bit his lip and kept moving, dragging the stone uphill again.
"Just… three more steps…" he muttered, panting like a broken bellows. His legs trembled uncontrollably.
Then thunk!
A shadow fell across him. Ritter's boot pressed lightly against the top of his rock. "Your posture's off. Add one more trip."
"Uncle Ritter, you jerk!" Ace yelled, looking up and froze when he saw Ritter casually holding a watermelon in one hand, scooping it with a spoon.
"You… where'd you even get that?!"
Ritter took another spoonful, savoring it. "I can fly, remember? Quick trip home, easy."
Annie wasn't having it much easier. She knelt beside her own boulder, her arms trembling, blue veins standing out on her pale skin. Sweat drenched her fringe, sticking to her forehead.
"Annie can rest for five minutes," Ritter said suddenly.
Ace immediately protested, "Why her and not me "
"Because she's not using her stomach to push the boulder," Ritter interrupted, crouching down to poke Ace's reddened belly. "Look at that, you've rubbed it raw! When I see Garp next, I'm telling him you skipped all your core training. What kind of future Pirate King gets chafed by a rock?"
Annie tugged lightly on Ritter's sleeve and handed him a small water flask.
"For me?" Ritter blinked, visibly touched. "Ahh… I'm not crying, you're crying. Family love is beautiful!"
Annie shook her head and pointed at Ace, who was lying flat on the ground.
"…Fine," Ritter muttered, bonking the flask onto Ace's head. "Drink up! Then back to work! You've still got four runs left!"
Ace sputtered and coughed, wiping his mouth but when he glanced at Annie, she was already back on her feet. The back of her shirt was soaked through, and through the damp fabric, Ritter could see raw red patches on her shoulder blades where her skin had rubbed raw.
"Damn it…" Ace muttered, hanging the flask around his neck as he pushed himself upright again. "No way I'm losing to her!"
A month later, at sunset, Ritter sat in the yard polishing his Black Tide greatsword. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the twins squatting in the corner, whispering conspiratorially.
"Hey, sis," Ritter called to Rouge, who was hanging laundry nearby. "Those two weapons the ones meant for the kids. You haven't given them out yet?"
Rouge smiled softly. "You said to wait until they were a little older, didn't you?" She looked toward the twins, her expression tender. "Besides…"
"Besides what?"
"I don't really understand those things," she admitted with a shy smile. "Swords, guns… they feel too dangerous for children."
Ritter blinked, then laughed. "Come on, sis. You're the Pirate King's wife! Since when were you scared of a little sword?"
Rouge's gaze softened. "Because I'm a mother now," she said quietly. "Every time I see them come back from training with bruises, I…"
"Alright, alright, I get it," Ritter interrupted with a grin. "Leave it to your little brother. I think it's time they tried out their father's weapons."
He stood up and called out, "Ace! Annie! Come here!"
The two children shuffled over curiously. Ritter grinned. "This sword and this pistol belonged to your father. They're yours now."
Ace poked the sword's hilt suspiciously. Annie reached out to gently trace the smooth barrel of the gun.
The silence was deafening.
Ritter blinked. In his mind, they were supposed to scream with excitement maybe burst into tears, overcome with emotion. Instead, both just stared blankly.
"...Ahem!" Ritter cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed. "Guess you don't understand how special these are. Watch closely, Uncle Ritter will show you something amazing!"
He unsheathed Ace's sword in one fluid motion. The blade shimmered with crimson mist that pulsed like living blood.
"Behold your father's signature move… Divine Avoidance!"
Ritter swung. The bloody arc of energy split through the clouds overhead, parting them to reveal a clear night sky bursting with stars.
Ace tilted his head. "But Uncle… does it look cooler than your Black Tide Sword? I think that one's flashier."
Annie nodded solemnly, agreeing without hesitation.
Ritter nearly tripped. Am I getting outshined by myself now?!
"This is 'Divine Avoidance'! It's legendary! When your father "
"But your Black Tide can make mini dragons," Ace interrupted, waving his hands. "And those tiny chibi blood people doing flips? Way cooler!"
Annie nodded again, adding softly, "Yeah. Chibi dragons go whoosh, then pow Ace loses again."
Ace jumped up, red-faced. "Why am I the one losing?!"
Ritter could only stare blankly at the sky, completely defeated.
"…Just average, huh… little bro?" he muttered to himself.
The night breeze carried his laughter and the twins' bickering across the village, echoing faintly beneath the stars.
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