Summary:
Luffy is lying face down on the cliff where Ace was reading Sabo’s letter. He cries and Ace punches him in the head, scolding him for his behavior and saying that their hidden treasure is gone and that there is no point in having the treasure if it cannot be protected. Luffy tearfully calls out his will to become stronger to protect those he loves, and then begs Ace to survive, with Ace’s response being another blow. Ace then promises him that he won’t die because he has a weak little brother to take care of. Ace and Luffy then swear to live without regrets. He then says that what killed Sab was “the opposite of freedom” and that the two remaining brothers must gain their freedom and become pirates, even if it means making a lot of enemies along the way, including Garp. The two then agree to set sail and become pirates at the age of 17, as Sabo told them that children born to noble families actually earn their title at 18 and he wanted to leave Goa at 17. Elsewhere in the night when the World Noble reaches the kingdom of Goa: in the village of Shimotsuki there are two short scenes of Zora and Kuina training, and on the coast the Dragon boards his ship, with one of his men saying that he noticed that he brought someone badly injured, and his men quickly took care of it. and Drak then asks about rations and his men say dojo who was told about getting new supplies. He then orders his men to sail back to Baltigo.
As the months go by, Gray Terminal is being reconstructed with waste dumping continuing as usual. Ace and Luffy train again and Luffy tries to develop his “Gomu Gomu no Pistol” technique, but ends up hitting each other, to which Ace laughs and remarks that rubber is not for fighting. The two begin to argue about the usefulness of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, but are interrupted by someone who they think is Sabo but is actually nothing more than a stone; they are just remembering their beloved brother. Luffy says that Sabo was a really good brother, to which Ace angrily responds in a comical way, asking the brother if he wants him to die instead. They return to Dadan’s hideout and build two basic huts, which they name “Ace’s country” and “Luffy’s country”, much to Dadan’s surprise, as they want to survive on their own and grow stronger. After this adventure in the jungle and Luffy encounters a wild bear. Ace refuses to help him as they have to get stronger on their own, but when the beast badly injures Luffy off-screen, he cries desperately for him. Ace managed to bring Luffy back to the Bandits hideout where he was treated by Magura. Ace huddles against the wall and tells Luffy he’s sorry. Some time later, Makino visits Ace and he tells her of his intention to meet Red Haired Shanks and introduce himself to the man who once saved his brother’s life. Ace then asks her about the proper way to introduce herself. He is irritated because Makino keeps smiling.
Ace and Luffy are then seen running away from the owner of the restaurant after eating without paying the bill (an attitude Ace will show again in the future). Then they stop in the middle of the street and thank the owner of the restaurant for the food. They are later seen training together again. They fight and defeat a bear, then chase the hoodlums and fight a giant centipede. Garp is seen again, beating his grandsons once more. The two “brothers” are seen together once more, happily jumping off a building.
Seven years later, Ace, aged 17, finally sets sail: he is in a small boat with a triangular sail and carries many of his signature items: a hat with two smiley faces, an orange belt with an initial on the buckle, a band on his left arm, and his green bag with a black pattern. He happily says goodbye to the people on the shore: Luffy, who is now 14 years old, Makino, Woop Slap, Dogura, Magura, and the other bandits, who wish him good luck in return. Dadan is not there, she remains in the hideout where her subordinates inform her that Ace is already gone, which she seems to ignore, stating that Garp will be angry with her and that Ace is always a “little ungrateful pissant”. However, when the bandits tell her that Ace left her a note saying “Thank you”, she bursts into tears, showing her sadness.
Luffy tries his “Gomu Gomu no Pistol” move again, this time against a rock. Finally, he shows off his skills and smashes the rock into pieces with his powerful rubber punch. He rejoices, strengthened. Then he is visited by Dogura, who shows him the newspaper: it is Ace, his crew and his ship, already famous. Luffy is happy and says he won’t let Ace outdo him.
Another three years pass and finally 17-year-old Luffy is ready to set sail on his own. They say goodbye to the bandits, who cannot go to the village of Foosha because its inhabitants are afraid of them. She thanks them and tells Dadan that she hates mountain bandits, to which he gets angry and yells at him, but he then says that he likes them, the woman then breaks down in tears like she did 3 years ago because Ace left. Luffy is then seen on a boat in Foosha Village. One of the citizens asks him to take one of their old fishing boats, but he refuses, content with his boat. To which they then call him an idiot for going on a dirty spree. Luffy then looks up at the sky. He then shouts Sabo’s name and tells his late brother about his departure. He then marks each of them in the order in which they left. He then says he won’t lose to them. The villagers (wondering who Luffy is talking about) ask what he’s talking about and he says it’s a challenge. After saying goodbye to his friends, he sets sail and (off-screen) quickly defeats the Coast Lord with a single punch, a feat commented on by Dadan and Dogura, who are hidden behind a wall. Luffy then exclaims that he will become the pirate king and so the flashback ends and the story of One Piece begins from there…
On Amazon Lily, in front of a tearful Jinbe, a distraught Luffy says “Pirate King…..yeah sure” and screams that he is weak, falling to his knees and putting his hands to his face.