Laughter rang through the forest, wild and bright, weaving through the tall trees and thick canopy above. The sun hung high in the sky, its rays filtering through the leaves, scattering golden patches of light onto three boys tangled in a chaotic scuffle that was more noise and limbs than an actual fight.
"I gotcha now, Sabo!" Luffy yelled, lunging forward with unrestrained excitement, but his foot snagged on a root, and he crashed face-first into the dirt.
Ace howled with laughter. "Pfft! HAHAHA! You're so clumsy, Luffy!"
Sabo hopped back just in time, grinning from ear to ear as he watched Luffy groan and roll onto his back. "Seriously, Luffy, you really gotta work on that footwork," he teased, voice light and playful, before extending a hand to help.
Luffy pouted up at him, dust smeared across his face. "I am working on it! My body's all weird now!"
Ace snorted. "That's just an excuse. You were clumsy even before that."
"That's different! I didn't trip all the time before!"
Sabo chuckled as he pulled Luffy to his feet. "Well, to be fair, you're not wrong. Your body is different now. Must be tough adjusting to all that new strength," he admitted, patting Luffy's shoulder with a sympathetic smile.
"It's stupid," Luffy grumbled, crossing his arms.
"You're stupid," Ace shot back instantly, smirking like a mischievous cat.
Luffy gasped dramatically. "Take that back right now!"
"Nope," Ace said, grinning wider.
Sabo sighed in exaggerated exasperation. "Are we gonna fight each other or spend the whole day name-calling like toddlers?"
Ace cracked his knuckles, his grin wicked. "Why not both?"
Luffy's face lit up again, excitement reigniting like a spark to dry tinder. "Yeah! Let's fight again!"
And then, just as he charged forward, gravity betrayed him once more, and he met the dirt again with a thud.
"Ahahahahahaha!"
The forest filled with laughter, loud and messy, brimming with life. It was the kind of laughter that made the trees seem alive, swaying happily with them. They roughhoused, teased, and talked over each other, trading playful punches and planning what kind of feast they'd devour later for dinner.
It was perfect.
Until it was not.
From the edge of the clearing, something cold crept in, slicing through their joy like a knife through silk. Ace's laughter faded first. He froze, eyes narrowing as every muscle in his body went rigid. Sabo followed his gaze, and his stomach twisted painfully.
From between the trees stepped a group of men dressed in immaculate black suits that clashed horribly with the forest's untamed color. Their movements were precise, mechanical, dripping with authority and danger. But it was not the men who made Sabo's blood run cold.
It was the one leading them.
Outlook III.
His father.
Sabo instinctively stepped back, his heart hammering as his father's sharp, disapproving eyes locked on him.
"It's time to stop this foolishness," Outlook III said, his tone colder than the wind that cut through the trees. "Your childish games end now. You are coming home."
Sabo's hands curled into fists so tight his nails dug into his palms. He had feared this moment for years, but now that it was here, fear was not what he felt. It was fury.
"No," he said, his voice trembling with anger. "I'm not going back."
Outlook III's sneer deepened.
"Do not be absurd. You are my son. You have duties. An important destiny waiting for you. You were born to rise above this filth," he said, waving his hand dismissively toward Ace and Luffy, as though even acknowledging them sullied his air.
"Responsibilities?" Sabo's voice cracked, shaking with rage. "You mean being locked in that cold prison you call a home? Living like a puppet, doing whatever you command? That's not a life, it's a cage!"
Outlook III's eyes darkened. "It is a future you are too young to comprehend," he said in a low, dangerous tone. "You were born for greatness, Sabo. Not to crawl in the dirt with peasants."
Ace stepped forward, fists clenched, his voice burning with fury. "Who the hell do you think you are?" he shouted. "Sabo doesn't belong to you, you pompous bastard! He belongs here with us!"
Luffy stomped his foot beside him, cheeks puffed in anger. "Yeah! Go away, you creepy old man!"
Outlook III's eyes slid over them like one might look at ants, utterly indifferent. His gaze returned to Sabo, cold and sharp. "You will come home."
"I WON'T!" Sabo shouted, his chest heaving, voice cracking with emotion. "I hate it there! I hate everything about that place! No one cares about me! No one ever did! I was just something for you to show off, to control! That's not a family, it's a cage!"
Outlook III's eyes narrowed, and before Sabo could speak again, a sound cut through the clearing.
Click.
The sharp noise echoed like thunder in the silence that followed.
Ace's and Luffy's bodies went rigid. Sabo's breath hitched.
The men in black had drawn their guns.
One grabbed Luffy roughly, forcing him down, while another pressed the cold barrel of a gun to Ace's head.
Everything froze.
Ace trembled with rage, his jaw clenched so hard it could have shattered. His body was ready to fight, ready to die if he had to. And that terrified Sabo.
He knew Ace would fight. That was who Ace was.
Reckless, protective, fearless.
But if he fought now, they would all die.
Sabo's heart pounded violently against his ribs. Seeing Ace and Luffy held hostage because of him crushed something deep inside. This was what his father did best. He chained others to control him.
His mind raced through every memory.
The two years with Dadan's rough love, the laughter by the fire, the teasing, the warmth of being part of something real. Ace's scowls, Luffy's endless energy, Naru's tired scolding that always hid her affection. He had been happy. Truly happy.
But somewhere deep down, that whisper had always been there. The whisper that he didn't really belong. Ace and Luffy were brothers by blood and bond. And Naru, she had been theirs first, long before Sabo ever arrived. He was loved, but perhaps he had never truly fit.
Maybe this was how it was always meant to end.
Sabo swallowed hard, his hands shaking at his sides. "...Fine," he said softly, the word cutting his throat like glass. He lifted his chin, meeting his father's eyes with everything he had left. "I'll go."
Ace's head snapped toward him, horror in his eyes. "Sabo, NO!"
Sabo forced a smile, fragile and trembling.
"It's okay," he lied. "Just… take care of the others for me, alright? And tell Naru that I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
"Sa…bo?" Luffy's voice wavered, eyes wide and wet.
Sabo turned away so they would not see the tears that blurred his vision. The men shoved Luffy down and pulled the gun away from Ace's head. They were free, yet completely powerless.
Sabo walked forward, every step heavier than the last. Outlook III turned and began walking without a word, confident his son would follow like an obedient hound. And Sabo hated him for it.
He did not look back.
Ace and Luffy stood frozen, hearts breaking as they watched him disappear into the distance, swallowed by the shadows of the trees.
Luffy wiped his tears with a trembling hand. "Ace… what do we do?"
Ace gritted his teeth until pain shot through his jaw. "...Naru will know what to do," he said, his voice raw.
Without another word, they sprinted toward home, desperation clawing at their heels.
But when they arrived, the house was empty.
Naru had already left minutes before, and they had no idea where she had gone.
Panic gnawed at their insides, but Dadan caught them before they could bolt after her, refusing to let them leave the house at nightfall.
And so, helpless and furious, the night closed in around them like a heavy, suffocating curtain.
.
.
.
The city loomed ahead, its towering walls stretching high into the fading light of the evening, casting long and ominous shadows beneath the twilight sky. Naru moved swiftly through the outskirts, her sharp gaze sweeping across the winding streets below. She had suspected that the nobles would not rely solely on the Bluejam Pirates to handle their filthy business, and when she caught sight of the distant flicker of orange light glowing against the horizon, her suspicions were confirmed.
The fire had begun.
Smoke billowed upward, thick and suffocating, staining the darkening sky as the scent of burning wood, fabric, and despair filled the air. The district ahead was a scene of chaos of people shouting, stumbling through the streets, some clutching what little they could carry while others fled with nothing but fear in their eyes. The relentless crackle of flames devouring homes mixed with the hollow crash of collapsing walls.
Naru's lips thinned as she surveyed the devastation. The nobles had gone further than she expected. They had sent more men to set the Gray Terminal ablaze. They wanted to erase everything, to leave behind nothing but ashes and silence.
She clenched her fists tightly.
This was not just cruelty. It was precision. It was calculated. The most merciless kind of efficiency.
As she moved quickly across the rooftops, her movements were smooth and silent until she suddenly stopped, her eyes catching sight of a small, familiar figure standing not far away.
There he was.
Earlier, she had been informed that Sabo had been forcibly taken by the man he called "father." That alone had been enough reason for her to come here. She had one purpose, which was to bring him back.
Now, she had found him.
But Sabo was not alone. The boy clung desperately to the cloak of a tall man, his small hands trembling. His eyes were wide and red from crying as he spoke in rushed, desperate pleas. Narrowing her eyes, Naru focused on the man, then her eyes widened slightly as recognition struck. Without hesitation, she resumed her movement and landed silently behind the man.
"Father."
Dragon turned his head just enough to glance at her, his expression unreadable, before giving a small nod.
"Naruuu!" Sabo cried, his voice breaking as he launched himself into her arms. Tears streamed down his cheeks, his words tumbling out incoherently as he tried to explain everything between sobs.
"Everyone is fine, Sabo," she said softly, her tone calm and sure. "Ace and Luffy are fine. We have already warned everyone else about the fire."
He blinked up at her through watery eyes, sniffling hard. "R-Really?"
She smiled gently, her hand ruffling his messy hair just like she always did with Ace and Luffy. "Of course. Have I ever lied to you before?"
He sniffled again and shook his head.
"Then trust me," she said firmly. "Everything is fine now. You do not have to worry anymore."
Sabo nodded, his small body trembling as he pressed his face against her stomach, exhaling a shaky breath of relief.
Naru lifted her gaze toward Dragon, who had been silently observing the entire scene. "As I mentioned before, we have already warned most of the people about the fire, but there are still many who cannot escape in time. I hope you can assist them."
"That is to be expected," Dragon replied with a slow nod.
After one last lingering look at her father, Naru shifted Sabo onto her back. "Then, we'll be leaving first."
And in the next instant, she vanished, swift and silent, leaving nothing but a whisper of wind behind her. The empty street seemed to breathe again in her absence. Dragon's gaze followed the drifting leaves that stirred in her wake, his eyes softening with quiet pride.
"She has grown so much," he murmured to himself, before turning and striding toward the burning horizon to do his part.
That night, there were those who rested peacefully in their beds, unaware of the inferno that had almost reached them, and there were those who could not close their eyes at all, haunted by the flames that devoured everything they once called home.