The uneasy quiet didn't break that day.
Instead, the four boys ended up sprawled on a grassy hill overlooking the village, recovering from their training trip. Luffy was lying star-shaped on the grass, Ace was carving tiny marks into a stick, Sabo was reading a worn book, and Ravian was watching the clouds drift slowly across the sky.
For once, no one was screaming.
No one was fighting a wild animal.
No one was being thrown off a cliff by Garp.
It felt… weird.
Luffy suddenly sat up. "Hey, hey! Since we're stronger now, let's talk about what we wanna be!"
Ace scoffed. "Why now?"
"Because!" Luffy said proudly. "I figured out mine!"
Ravian blinked. "Isn't yours already obvious?"
Luffy puffed out his chest. "I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"
Ace smirked and flicked a wood chip off his stick. "You'll never make it if you keep tripping everywhere."
"I don't trip!"
"You tripped this morning."
"That root attacked me!"
Sabo sighed and closed his book. "Ace, don't bully him. Luffy's dream is his dream."
Luffy grinned. "Yeah! And what about you, Sabo?!"
Sabo hesitated only for a second. "I want freedom. To see the entire world. To go places nobles never let me go. I want… to choose my own life."
Ace nodded. "Good dream."
"And you?" Luffy asked Ace.
Ace's shoulders stiffened. His voice dropped, quieter than usual. "I… want to prove I deserve to be alive."
Ravian looked at him sharply.
Ace didn't look at anyone when he spoke — he stared ahead like the horizon was judging him.
"I wanna become strong enough," Ace continued, "that no one ever thinks of the name 'Gol D. Roger' when they look at me. I want people to know me for who I am. Not because of him."
Sabo and Luffy didn't tease him this time.
They just stayed beside him, silent but supportive.
Ravian understood that.
The weight of expectations.
The fear of being compared to someone you never asked to be tied to.
Then three pairs of eyes turned to him.
"So what about you, Ravian?" Ace asked.
"Yeah!" Luffy leaned close. "What do you wanna be?"
Sabo smiled softly. "You've gotten a lot stronger, you know. Don't you have a goal?"
Ravian froze.
He opened his mouth… then closed it.
What did he want?
He'd been focusing so hard on surviving Garp's training, surviving the island, surviving fate itself… that he never really thought about anything beyond the next day.
"I… don't know yet," Ravian admitted quietly.
The wind brushed over the hill.
Ace scratched the back of his head. "That's fine. People figure it out."
"Yeah!" Luffy added. "Dreams don't gotta be picked fast!"
Sabo nodded. "Some dreams come to you slowly. You'll find yours."
Ravian let out a slow breath.
He wasn't sure if he belonged in this world.
He wasn't sure how far the plot would push him.
And he wasn't sure what he wanted to become.
But sitting here, with these idiots who were now closer to brothers than anyone else…
maybe figuring it out didn't need to be rushed.
"Thanks," he said.
Luffy grinned and flopped back down. "When you decide, you gotta tell us!"
Ace smirked. "He'll probably pick something weird."
Sabo nudged Ace. "Don't tease."
Ravian smiled faintly.
Even without a dream, he didn't feel lost.
Not with them around.
Down in the village, Makino stepped out of the bar and looked toward the forest. For a moment, her brow furrowed.
Far away, on the dock, a ship with a black-inked boar emblem was quietly approaching the island.
Trouble was moving closer.
But on the hill, four boys kept talking, arguing, dreaming — unaware of how soon everything would change.