I was turning three years old when Garp came again.
"DADAN! I'M HERE!"
That booming voice had become an impromptu alarm. All the bandit underlings immediately scattered in panic—hiding stolen goods, illegal drinks, and anything else that could get them arrested.
"DAMN GARP! AT LEAST SEND WORD FIRST!" Dadan shouted while frantically tidying up the hideout.
Sabo and I sat calmly outside. We were already used to Grandpa's sudden arrivals.
Garp appeared from between the trees with his trademark wide grin. But this time something was different.
He was carrying a baby.
A baby with messy black hair and wide eyes full of curiosity.
My heart pounded hard.
Monkey D. Luffy.
At last.
"ACE! GRANDPA'S HERE!" Garp ran toward me and immediately squeezed my cheek with his free hand. "You've grown! Three years old! Time to start training to become a Marine!"
"Don't want to be a Marine," I pushed his hand away. "Want to be a pirate."
"HAH?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?! A PIRATE?!" Garp turned terrifying. "THIS HAS TO BE DADAN'S DOING! DADAN! GET OUT HERE NOW!"
"I DIDN'T TEACH HIM ANYTHING!" Dadan came out with an irritated expression. "That kid's head is as hard as a rock! Always going on about pirates!"
"Grrr... a stubborn kid needs strict discipline!" Garp raised his fist.
"WAIT! Who's that baby?!" I pointed at the infant in Garp's arms—deliberately redirecting his attention before he actually threw a punch.
Garp stopped. He looked at the baby in his hands as if just remembering it was there.
"Oh right! This is my other grandchild! His name is Luffy! Monkey D. Luffy!" he lifted Luffy high into the air. "Starting today he lives here! You two are brothers!"
Luffy looked at me with his wide eyes. Then he smiled broadly—the goofy signature smile that would one day be known across the entire world.
"Aaa... uuu..." he reached his tiny hands toward me.
Something in my chest clenched. This was Luffy. My little brother. The person who in the original timeline would sob his heart out when I died.
That would never happen again.
"Can I hold him?" I reached out my hands.
Garp looked surprised. "Oh? You want to hold your little brother? Good! That's the attitude of a fine older brother!"
He handed Luffy over carefully. The baby was light. So very light. But the weight of responsibility I carried as I held him was immense.
"Hello, Luffy," I whispered softly. "I'm your big brother. Ace. I will always protect you. I promise."
Luffy laughed—the carefree laughter of a small child who knew nothing of the cruel world beyond these trees.
"Ha! He likes you already!" Garp laughed loudly. "You two are definitely going to be close brothers!"
"Garp-san, why is Luffy being left here? Where are his parents?" Dadan asked in a suspicious tone.
Garp's face hardened for a moment. "His parents are... busy. Very busy. So I'm handling things. But with my Marine duties, I can't look after him all the time. That's why I'm leaving him here!"
Busy. That was a gentle way of saying Dragon—Luffy's father—was building the Revolutionary Army to oppose the World Government.
"And this!" Garp pulled out a large money pouch. "For food and living expenses! Two million belly!"
"TWO MILLION?!" Dadan's eyes lit up. "Okay! I'll take this kid!"
"Good! Look after them well! Especially make sure they don't become pirates! Understood?!"
"Yes, yes!"
Garp smiled with satisfaction. Then he looked back and forth between me and Luffy.
"Ace. Luffy. You two are brothers now. Watch out for each other. This world is harsh. But if you two are together, there's nothing you can't face."
Those words were heavy. Full of meaning that even Garp himself perhaps didn't fully grasp.
"I'll protect him," I promised. "Always."
"Gwahahaha! Good! That's a fine older brother!"
Garp stayed briefly—only long enough to eat lunch in terrifying quantities (three full pots of rice on his own) before leaving again on the grounds of Marine duties.
And just like that, Luffy officially became part of our family.
The first week with Luffy was... loud.
Very loud.
"UWEEEKK! UWEEEEKKK!"
"ACE! YOUR LITTLE BROTHER IS CRYING AGAIN!" Dadan shouted from the kitchen.
I ran to the room where Luffy had been put. He was crying hard while kicking at the air.
"What is it? Hungry? Wet?" I checked his diaper. Soaked. "Oh for goodness' sake..."
Changing a baby's diaper with the body of a three-year-old was a challenge in itself. But somehow I managed—perhaps remnant memory from my past life of helping with a cousin who had been a baby.
"There. All clean," I wrapped Luffy in fresh cloth.
His crying stopped. He looked up at me with wide eyes, then smiled.
"Shishishi..."
Luffy's signature laugh. Even as a baby it was unmistakably his.
"What a troublesome kid," I muttered but couldn't hold back a smile.
"Ace is so good at taking care of his little brother," Sabo appeared carrying two bowls of porridge. "Here. Dadan said you haven't eaten."
"Thank you."
We sat and ate while Luffy drifted back to sleep on his mat—babies did sleep most of the time.
"Luffy's cute, isn't he," Sabo remarked. "But how does Garp-san have two grandchildren from different mothers?"
I choked on my porridge. "Ehuk! Ehuk!"
"Are you alright?!"
"Yeah... yeah..." I drank some water. The question was fair enough. Ace and Luffy weren't blood brothers. Not even half-brothers. Just two boys who happened to share the same grandfather in Garp.
"Maybe because Garp jii-chan likes taking in children?" I answered vaguely. "He's kind-hearted like that."
"Oh... that makes sense."
It didn't make sense at all, but fortunately Sabo didn't think too hard about it.
That night, I woke up to Luffy crying again.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming..." I half-asleep reached for the bottle of milk Dadan had prepared.
But when I lifted Luffy, I saw something strange.
His arm... stretched?
Like rubber?
That's impossible.
Luffy hadn't eaten the Gomu Gomu no Mi yet. That happened when he was seven years old after meeting Shanks.
But his arm had genuinely stretched for a moment before returning to normal.
I blinked several times. Maybe it was just an illusion from being half asleep.
"Ace? Why are you just standing there?" Sabo appeared with eyes half open.
"Nothing... it's nothing. Just giving him his milk."
But doubt was starting to take root. Had the timeline already shifted this far? Had my presence changed something deeply fundamental?
I needed to be more alert.
Six months had passed since Luffy arrived.
Our life settled into a comfortable routine. Morning: physical training. Afternoon: help with Dadan's chores. Evening: combat practice. Night: take turns watching over Luffy.
Luffy grew quickly—he could crawl now and was starting to learn to walk. He was very active. Too active. Always wanting to go everywhere, putting everything in his mouth, and causing chaos.
"LUFFY! DON'T EAT THAT! THAT'S NOT FOOD!" Dadan shouted when Luffy nearly ate a shoe.
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed as if it were all just a game.
"This kid..." Dadan let out a weary sigh.
Sabo and I couldn't hold back our laughter.
"He's adorable," Sabo commented while pulling the shoe from Luffy's hands.
"Adorable and exhausting," I added.
"Aaa! Aaa!" Luffy crawled toward me at speed—remarkably fast for a baby—and hugged my leg.
"Aww, Ace is loved by his little brother," Sabo teased.
"Be quiet."
But I couldn't deny it—Luffy was deeply attached to me. Every time he cried, I was the only one who could calm him down. Every time he was scared, he ran straight into my arms.
This was a true bond between brothers.
"Ace! Sabo! Come for training!" one of Dadan's underlings called from outside.
"Just a moment! Luffy hasn't been bathed yet!" I picked up Luffy who immediately started protesting.
"Hurry up! We're teaching a new technique today!"
A new technique?
My curiosity was piqued. Up until now we had only been taught the basics—how to punch, how to dodge, how to use simple weapons.
After bathing Luffy (who protested the entire time) and handing him over to Dadan, Sabo and I sprinted to the training area.
There, all of Dadan's underlings were gathered. And there was a stranger—a middle-aged man with a scarred face and sharp eyes.
"Who's that?" Sabo whispered.
"No idea. First time seeing him."
"Ace! Sabo! Come here!" Dadan called in a serious tone.
We approached carefully.
"This is Yamamoto. Former Marine. Now a bandit like the rest of us. He's going to teach you proper combat techniques—not just the playing around you've been doing until now."
Yamamoto studied us with an assessing gaze. His eyes lingered on me longer than on Sabo.
"You're the one with the Devil Fruit?"
I froze. "Who told you—"
"Dadan mentioned it. Relax. I won't let it slip. But if you want to master that power, you'll need more than just controlling fire."
"What do you mean?"
He smiled—a thin smile filled with hard-earned experience.
"Do you know what Haki is?"
My heart pounded hard.
Haki. The most fundamental power in the world of One Piece. Observation Haki to predict an enemy's movements. Armament Haki for defense and offense. Conqueror's Haki to intimidate and overwhelm the will of others.
I needed that. Desperately needed it.
"I've... heard of it," I answered carefully.
"Good. Because I'm going to teach you both the foundations. It won't be easy. It takes years to truly master. But if you start now—while you're still young—you might become monsters by the time you're grown."
Sabo looked at me with shining eyes. "Ace! This is a great opportunity!"
Yes. This was an opportunity that couldn't be passed up.
"We're ready," I answered firmly.
Yamamoto nodded. "Good. Starting tomorrow morning. Training begins before sunrise. If you're late, no breakfast. Understood?"
"UNDERSTOOD!"
That night I couldn't sleep from excitement. Finally—finally I could start real training.
A Devil Fruit alone wasn't enough. I needed Haki to face the powerful enemies waiting in the future.
And now that chance was right in front of me.
The flame of destiny burned ever fiercer.
And I would turn it into a storm that no one could stop.
TO BE CONTINUED