Disclaimer: One Piece is created and owned by Oda Eiichiro. Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

Warnings: Major spoilers. Language. No pairings in mind right now. Mostly friendship. family, adventure, and hurt/comfort genre. Spelling and grammar.

I didn't quite like the way this chapter turned out, and I might change small things here and there later on.

But once again, thank you everyone for your follows and favorites. I'm pretty shocked to see there are people who seems to be interested in this story, thank you for your time reading it. Right now I don't have a constant updating schedule in mind but I hope to update at least once (haha...no promises) a week for now. And as always, thank you to the following readers; adislt, Dragon God of Miracles, Sageofchaos, Guest, Guest, Guest and Reptil for your reviews. There were also some questions so I'll be answering them at the end of this chapter.

Thank you and enjoy.

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Chapter 1:"The Chosen"

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It burns.

It hurts.

I will not die here.

I can't breathe.

I have to protect them.

Surrounded. Ashes. Smoke. Bleeding.

Because the enemy is still standing in front of me.

Why do you hesitate?

If you have the power,

the will to protect,

Don't fear it.

Instead,

Let it become your shield and sword.

(You were chosen to control it from the very beginning.)

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,

I.

"_!"

The wind blows across the clearing, the leaves on the branches dance to its soundless tune and small waves moved across the surface of a beautiful lake. Two shadowed figures hastily exits from the deep forest and calls out the same word again.

Sapphire eyes looks up at the sound of the familiar voices, and the blonde-haired man smiles and closes his book. He raises his other hand in a casual greeting. "Yo."

Noticing the older figure sitting on a tree trunk, Luffy beams brighter than the morning sun above him and runs towards the middle of the clearing. Wearing his usual straw hat on his head, the raven-haired boy was also wearing a green t-shirt, blue shorts, and sandals. Behind him, Ace quickly follows the shorter boy with his usual, interesting choice of t-shirt that read "Willpower" in a single character. He had his hands shoved inside the pockets of his black shorts and his eyes were narrowed like always, as if he was glaring, but anyone can see the slight bounce in his steps. Unlike his younger brother who openly showed excitement and joy, his facial expression was still more reserved and hidden.

It wasn't because he didn't trust the blonde-haired man, but Ace didn't exactly know how to act around this strange yet friendly person. Ever since that day he saved Luffy's life, (which Ace still couldn't figure out how that was possible. Because he always distracted him with food and secretive grins whenever he tried to directly ask him. It wasn't Ace's fault that the meals cooked by the blonde man were always too delicious to ignore.) it became their daily routine to visit this place where the blue-eyed man was staying. The fox named Konoha always appeared when Ace or Luffy called out for the small animal and helped them lead through the weird forest.

Weird as in the entire forest seemed like a big, puzzling maze to the brothers. Despite the fact that they should know the mountain like it was their home.

Once, Luffy tried to go to the place without Ace and the fox, and he got lost again until the blue-eyed man easily found him. His demeanor was calm and collected, even slightly amused by Ace's worried shouts and laughed when the freckled boy started to panic. Out of curiosity, Luffy asked how he knew where he was, and the young man simply replied; "The forest told me." He gave the straw hat boy a small grin and laughed. "Just kidding, I heard you shouting all the way from my place. I bet everyone in the mountain heard it."

(Even to this day, Ace and Luffy doesn't know if the man was joking or not.)

(Ace did kick the man in his shin for laughing at his panicked and worried state though.

The reaction was more than satisfying when the blonde rolled on the ground with a pained, soundless scream.)

The minutes turned to hours, and the hours turned to days, and before the brothers knew it; a month have already passed since they met him.

And during those moments, Ace and (even Luffy, out of all people) noticed the blonde-haired man wasn't a...well, normal human. The reason might be because they saw him grow out trees with different fruits in a blink of an eye, scare away one of the mighty beasts with a single glance, and most of all; his mere presence just felt inhumane. And the feeling of it seemed to influence most, if not all, of the mountains. The forest, the river, and the beasts living nearby seemed more peaceful (and yet so very alive) every time the brothers walked closer to the hidden place. They were never attacked, not even once, by the untamable beasts who always stayed far away from the hidden place.

As if there was something a lot more powerful than them existing in the mountain, and the beasts respected its' presence.

...Ace's and Luffy's sensitive instincts, honed sharply and deeply by the dangerous environment they lived in, told them the "presence" belonged to the blue-eyed man. The same man who looked and acted so very human. The very person who saved both of their lives. Again and again, in the back of their minds, their consciousness told them he was really, really dangerous than he looked.

People say children are sometimes more observant than adults, and perhaps it was true.

But to be honest, it didn't matter to them, because they can also sense how his kindness is genuine. It was odd, how easy it was to trust someone they barely knew about. It felt so natural like breathing in air, however, to trust this man. He acted like a big brother, a guardian, and a mentor. For the past month, he helped them train, showing them a unique fighting style that relied more on defensive techniques, speed, and evasive skills. Ace liked to think he was getting better at it, but Luffy on the other hand, seemed to struggle trying to not attack head-on. The older boy also had a difficult time trying not to be reckless and impatient as well.

Did he also mention they never managed to win any spars with the blonde man so far?

"Shishishi! I'm the first one here Ace!" Luffy exclaims proudly, turning around and grinning widely at his older brother. Ace snorts and reaches forward to pinch and stretch out the other's right cheek.

"We weren't even racing, idiot! So it doesn't count!" He growls and ignores the muffled cries of "Whaaaht! Nwo faiwr!" from the shorter boy.

"What are you guys up to this time?" The blue-eyed man asks with an amused grin, watching how the brothers start to argue loudly and pinch each other's cheeks in front of him, and sees the golden-furred fox sitting on Ace's shoulder. He raises an brow. "Did you call Konoha again to come here?"

"Yep!" Luffy answers cheerfully, finally free from his older brother's grasp and rubs his reddened cheek. Despite the comical tears welling up in the corner of his eyes, the straw hat boy continues to smile brightly.

"We wanted to come see you!" Then his round eyes turns starry and bright, expectant and excited. ""Do you have any ramen for us? Can you show us that cool thing you did again? And teach us how to do it? And-!"

"Wow, slow down." The man laughs, patting the overly excited boy's head. He slightly tilted the other's hat down to cover his eyes while doing so, making Luffy shout in protest. "I'm glad you like my food, kiddo. It's been awhile since I had any good customers who eats a lot like you two," He winks and grins widely. "But you need to eat more different things and vegetables too or else you won't get stronger!"

Fixing his hat in a proper place, Luffy makes a 'yuck' face with his eyes squinted and a tongue sticking out. "Vegetables taste weird though! Meat tastes wayyyy better!"

"I agree." Ace nods sagely.

The blue-eyed man's left eye twitches and sighs. "Geez, you two sound a lot like someone I used to know." He says with a easygoing tone.

But Ace also hears a hint of nostalgia and something else in his voice. The freckled boy tilts his head a little and frowns confusedly; why did he sound like he was remembering something funny but...sad at the same time?

He didn't know what the man was thinking about right now, but Ace didn't really like the way his mood seemed a little down.

"Can I be the first one to fight you today?" Luffy pipes up, not noticing the slight change in the blonde-haired man's behavior, and waves his small arms. "It's not fair that Ace always gets to have a spar with you before me! I wanna show you how much better I got at stretching my arm like a pistol!"

In the blink of an eye, the slightly tense atmosphere around the young man disappeared. Ace inwardly thanked Luffy's obliviousness and sighed in relief, seeing the pair of blue eyes shine with amusement and not the odd, melancholic glaze over them.

"I see." Standing up from the tree trunk, the blonde tucked away his book and gives the straw hat a smile. "Let's see how much you've improved then."

A swirl of wind and leaves suddenly appears in his place, Ace and Luffy widens their eyes in shock when he disappeared without a warning and looks around. They hear a quiet 'thump' behind them and quickly turns around to see the blue-eyed man standing at the other side of the open clearing.

He raises his right hand and made a "come at me" gesture. Anyone can also see the teasing grin on the blonde's face, and Ace comically sweat-drops because he knew the blonde-haired man was doing it on purpose. His taunts always riled up his younger brother (and occasionally himself too) and made him attack without thinking.

Except this time,

It didn't.

Luffy frowns childishly with a visible look of frustration on his face but takes a step back, a determined and (dare Ace say with growing horror and shock and THE-WORLD-IS-ENDING despair) calculating look in his coal-like eyes. Instead of rushing forward like he always did in the previous spars with both the blonde and Ace, the boy maintained his distance from the tall man, which was really surprising and shocking based on his reckless personality.

Then the small boy digs the heels of his sandals into the ground and jumps up high in the air. He moves his right arm back without stretching it, while his other hand gripped his right shoulder to keep his posture steady.

"Gomu Gomu No..."

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'...-WOW!'

Luffy shouted in surprise as his fist completely missed the target and hit the tree next to it instead. Then his body was pushed backwards when his stretched out arm returned back to its normal length, the force of it made the raven-haired boy fall on his back.

'Aw man...not again...' The boy sat up and picked up his fallen hat from the ground, he glared at the innocent-looking boulder in the distance. He was practicing for hours and yet he couldn't even punch it once! Coal-like eyes stared at his fist, the skin of his knuckles red and bleeding slightly. He was made of rubber so it didn't hurt as much but splinters from the trees still impaled through his skin.

'Luffy?'

He blinked and his ears perked up at the sound of a familiar voice, he quickly turned around and saw the blonde-haired man with an exasperated yet entertained expression on his tanned features. 'Are you lost again?'

With a joyful shout, Luffy shot up to his feet and ran towards him; the straw hat boy tackled and then hugged him. The blonde caught him with ease, raising an brow when the boy looked up and grinned brightly. 'Nope! I was training!'

'I could tell.' The blue-eyed man said almost amusingly, then he noticed the injuries on Luffy's knuckles and sighed. 'Let's get you patched up before Ace sees it, he would get mad if he knew that you got hurt again.'

Luffy made a face at the man's words. He didn't like it when Ace got mad, his older brother always gave him lectures and hit his head for making him worried or something. Although Ace would never say the last part out loud.

The straw hat boy shifted his attention to the blonde when he placed a hand above his bloodied knuckles. He watched in fascination and awe as the warm, glowing golden-light appeared and changed its form into thin strings, weaving themselves around his injuries. The sensation was almost ticklish, but comforting, like he was bathing in a sunlight. After a heartbeat of second, the bloodstains and cuts completely disappeared, and Luffy grinned excitedly with sparkling eyes. He said a loud, excited 'THANK YOU!' and 'WOW THAT WAS SO COOL!'

The blonde laughed at the boy's enthusiasm and said, 'Your welcome. So what were you practicing?'

Luffy pointed at the large boulder located on the other side of the clearing. 'I was practicing how to punch like a pistol's bullet!' The raven-haired boy frowned. 'But it never hits! My fist always hits something else and I get pushed back every time my arm returns to normal.'

The blue-eyed man listened to the small boy's pent-up frustrations without interrupting and made a understanding sound of 'Ah.'

'Your body is still too small to completely resist the recoil of your punch,'

The blonde-haired man tapped Luffy's right shoulder.

'Don't just rely on your dominant hand. You have two hands for a reason. Use your other hand like a lock in place to keep your stretched arm from getting out of control.'

Luffy furrowed his brow, he looked down to look at his left hand. 'But...it looks cooler when you only use one hand to punch!'

Blue eyes shined with visible amusement and understanding, the tall man hummed thoughtfully.

'Right now, what you need to work on is control and precision.'

His gaze turned solemn and serious, which made Luffy subconsciously tense and stood a little straighter.

'Even if you do have enough power to destroy a boulder, it will only be useless if your attack doesn't land.' The blonde lowered his voice, but it wasn't threatening or scary, but just honest and straight to the point. 'Ace is strong, but that doesn't mean he is invincible. Your devil fruit ability can easily hurt someone you hold dear by accident.'

The blonde reached out and ruffled the smaller boy's raven locks; he gave Luffy a reassuring grin.

'I know it can feel frustrating, but with practice and time, you will learn how to control it.'

The man continued.

'For your technique, instead of stretching your arm to its limit from the very beginning, how about you...'

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Luffy repeatedly swung his un-stretched arm around, before finally releasing and using the spinning force to stretch his arm back to its current limit, which was long enough to reach several miles above. He tightened his hold on his right shoulder, trying to keep his stretched arm steady and prevent it from snapping forward.

"...PISTOL!"

His small fist shot down, speeding through the air current, the gravity helping it become more faster and stronger. Like a steel bullet shot from the pistol, it was certainly difficult for normal human eyes to follow the movement, and Ace had to stop himself from opening his mouth in shock.

Because even from a distance, he could tell that Luffy's punch was more controlled and powerful than before. Of course, Luffy was still just a kid like him, and he knew his younger brother's punch wouldn't hurt the blonde-haired man at all.

But, as his older brother, Ace couldn't help but feel extremely proud of him.

He also guesses that their 'mentor' felt the same too, if the happy and proud grin on his tanned face wasn't a obvious hint enough. Seriously that man acted so childish sometimes, perhaps even more so than him and maybe on equal level with Luffy.

The target of Luffy's attack remained on his spot, watching the fist shoot down from the sky at a increasing speed, and the blonde-haired man grins.

"Good job Luffy! Your precision and control is much better."

He moves his head slightly to the left, dodging the punch with fluid ease and letting the small fist swish past his cheek, before landing on the ground next to his foot. The impact of it making a small crater.

"But you need to practice controlling your strength more,"

Luffy widens his eyes, noticing how he couldn't pull his arm back, due to his fist being stuck inside the ground. Instead of his arm moving up, his entire body started to descend down to the earth, the straw hat boy let out a panicked shout. He didn't miss the evil smirk on the blonde's face as he was falling closer and closer towards the hard surface.

Watching and hearing his younger brother panic and flail his other arm uselessly as he continues to fall, Ace resists the urge to smack his forehead against a nearby tree. Never mind, his brother was still an idiot.

Taking a step back, a pair of blue eyes watched with great amusement as the sound of loud 'SMACK' echoed throughout the open clearing. Now there was a hole that was shaped oddly like a small humanoid crater; the blonde peers into the hole and says casually. "Do you need help getting back up?"

A loud, stubborn 'Nooo!' was heard from the tiny crater. Then a dirt-covered hand emerges from the ground and hangs on to the edge; Luffy pulls himself up and rolls over to his back, coughing up some dust and dirt. His expression looked slightly disgruntled, but at the same time, nothing could hide his growing smile and a look of joy in his round eyes.

"...I did it."

It was a whisper at first before the words quickly gained volume. "I DID IT!" Luffy shot up with energy, almost looking just as excited and happy like he just ate a full course meal with meats and ramens cooked by the blonde-haired man. "My punch was like a pistol! Did you see it Ace? I finally did it!" He turns around to his older brother and smiles widely.

"Yeah, yeah." Ace grunts, but a small genuine smile tilted the corner of his lips. "Congrats, you finally did it. You're still a hundred years too early to beat me though! You even lost again." He snickers.

The straw hat boy frowns and grumbles loudly, "Nuh-uh! I was close to beating him this time! And I bet I can finally beat you this time Ace!"

Ace's right eye twitches and his smile turns eerily calm, but anyone can notice the angry tick marks appearing on his forehead. "Haha...I guess I'll have to beat you again and shut your mouth."

Luffy sticks out his tongue childishly and starts to make weird, taunting noises which only made the dark aura around Ace bigger as the freckled boy took out his metal pipe.

Watching the two brothers about to fight, the blonde-haired man sighs loudly and takes out his beloved book.

"Oi, stop fighting brats."

He smacks both of their heads once with his book. Maybe it'll help Ace and Luffy become smarter if he hit them hard enough with knowledge. Literally.

"OW!' Ace and Luffy shouted simultaneously, but the latter blinked his teary eyes in realization and shouted confusedly "Ehh! Why does it hurt even though I'm made of rubber?!"

"That's because knowledge always hurts." The blue-eyed man deadpans, half-serious and half-joking. He puts back his book inside the cloak and continues on saying, "Putting aside the joke, you two are still incapable of using it... At least, not yet."

His deep blue eyes, which seemed to momentarily glow bright and knowing, briefly glances over to Ace.

"Well, one of you already awakened it without realizing."

Ace furrows his brow, feeling as if their oldest brother-like figure just revealed something important. But he didn't know what the other meant by 'awakened'.

An odd feeling appears in his chest; a heavy weight that seemed to pull him down, it wasn't painful though, just...

Something felt missing.

But what was it?

His train of thought was interrupted when he feels a familiar warmth land on top of his head, the freckled boy looks up to see the blues eyes staring at him, but this time they weren't glowing. It was the same shade of comforting blue, as if the sky and ocean merged together, just like that day when Ace and Luffy met him for the first time. From the corner of his eye, he also sees his younger brother looking at him with a open, worried expression.

Unknowingly, the tenseness in his small shoulders drains away, as Ace let the tall man ruffle his messy black hair.

"You look a bit dazed there, do you want to train another day?" The blonde withdrew his hand and asked.

Ace scoffs loudly, crossing his arms and glares fiercely. "No way in hell!"

The tall man grins at the freckled boy's determined response. "Thought so."

Then he turns to Luffy and gives him a proud smile. "You really did improve a lot, kiddo. You swung your arm around multiple times so you can use the spinning force to both stretch your arm to its limits, and to maximize the hitting power. Because you released it from above, the gravity made your attack a lot more stronger and faster too. That was a very clever idea, Luffy."

Luffy brightens with a big smile on his face, something warm curling in his chest. No one's ever called his ideas clever before. He decides he likes the praise, especially because the blonde-haired man says it like it's a good thing.

"Can I spar with you again! Pleaseee!" The straw hat boy jumps open and down. "I really wanna practice my new move!"

"It's my turn to fight him!" Ace glares at the shorter boy, "There's no way you can beat him if you couldn't even land a single hit."

"That's why I need to practice more!" Luffy argues back with a stubborn frown on his childish features. For once, the younger boy seemed to say something with a logical reasoning behind it, although it was unintentional and he didn't realize it.

Once again, Ace's right eye twitches.

The blue-eyed man sighs at the two brothers.

It can't be helped, he needed to use his last resort.

"If you two start a fight again, no free lunch today."

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Wow, he never would've thought the entire forest could become silent like a graveyard

II.

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CLANG

Ace let out a loud 'tch' when his metal pipe was deflected away by the other's flick of a wrist. With a quick footwork, he jumps back and catches it with one hand. He charged, simultaneously lashing out with his metal pipe as soon as he reached the blonde-haired man. Dodging the swipes with ease, a pair of blue eyes noted the wide sweep of each reckless strike.

"Focus, Ace." The blue-eyed man called out as he continued to avoid the metal weaponry. "Don't just mindlessly swing at my closest body part. That just wastes both energy and time."

Narrowing his dark eyes, the freckled boy jumped and swung his metal pipe downward; while still in mid-air he also moved his left leg in a quick kick aimed at the other's face.

Dodging the downward strike with a side step, the blonde caught the boy's leg, neatly tossing him away and sending him crashing into the trunk of a tree. Ace coughed slightly from impact, his back stinging a bit. His gaze became sharper and determined, however, as he stood up and readied his metal pipe again.

"Remember what I said about patience." The blonde called out cheerfully. "Aim at openings."

Ace's left brow twitched, he gritted out. "You never show a opening!" He knew he sounded like a sore loser right now and secretly felt glad Luffy was away hunting. Although he couldn't help but still feel worried and protective, he knew the blonde-haired man's friend (the fox) went with Luffy to protect him. Ace inwardly shivered when he remembered seeing the seemingly innocent and cute fox show its true nature during its hunting time. It was downright terrifying.

The tall man raised his hand and tapped the side of his head, a look of humor in his blue eyes. "Think. If your opponent doesn't have openings, then make one."

Cursing in his mind, Ace charges forward once again, but not before he suddenly threw his metal pipe high up in the air. He lashes out with a fist to the other's abdomen. The taller figure immediately blocked it before jumping over the follow-up sweep of Ace's leg.

Suddenly, a small shadow descends over the blonde. The freckled boy grins when he sees the blue-eyed man momentarily shifted his attention to the metal pipe falling from above. He quickly changed his posture and twisted, aiming a round-house kick to the other's chest.

Got him!

"Not bad."

Without looking, the blonde caught the leg that had been aimed at his chest and with a gentle but deft twist only strong enough to throw the raven-haired boy off-balance and spin him around, the blue-eyed man had Ace's arms neatly pinned behind him as he caught the metal pipe and finished the spar by tapping the side of the weapon against the boy's neck.

"But still reckless and predictable."

Growling loudly, Ace craned his head around to scowl up at the blonde. "I believe I win again. Maybe next time." Grinning amiably, he released the freckled boy and Ace scrambled up, shaking out his slightly numb arms.

"...Tch!" Ace frowns, a visible emotion of frustration on his face.

He couldn't even hit his opponent with a decent hit, and he knew the man was holding back and purposefully going easy on him. That frustrated him to no end. He didn't even remember how many spars he had with the blue-eyed man and the progress he'd made so far seemed small.

He couldn't stay weak.

He needed to get stronger.

Everything would become meaningless if he didn't.

"Ace."

"What." Ace snapped, irritated and refusing to look at his older brother-like figure.

"Ace." This time, the voice was firm but still gentle.

The dark-haired boy's shoulders tenses a little. Slowly, Ace looked up and found himself under the blonde's stare. He forced himself to look back steadily, never looking away. For a brief moment, he sees a flash of approval and respect in the other's blue eyes. Inwardly, Ace relaxes with relief. For a reason he had yet to figure out, he didn't want to disappoint the blonde, who became his and Luffy's oldest brother-like figure over the past month. It always made him anxious to have that unwavering gaze on him though; as if the blonde-haired man held nothing but absolute trust on him and Luffy. As if he knew they would become something greater in the future.

He sometimes thought it might be easier to look away when that gaze pierced him, but somehow, he knew instinctively that that would disappoint this man more than anything else.

As long as you can hold your head high and never submit to anyone, not even to yourself, the gaze always seemed to say. There is nothing you could ever do to disappoint me.

"You are getting stronger." The blonde speaks with such confidence and honesty, momentarily making Ace feel shell-shocked. "You have the potential to become a powerful fighter. But right now, you are still inexperienced and young. Mindlessly training every day will lead you to nowhere. Rushing things will only make yet harder for you to notice what is truly important and what is not."

He settles a steady gaze on the boy.

"A mind filled with doubt and hesitation will only become your downfall too."

Ace's right hand twitched, curling his fingers slightly into a fist. The dark-haired boy fights back the urge to look away, because that would not only disappoint the man but himself as well.

"...I,"

His throat suddenly feels dry and tight. This feeling felt familiar, a feeling he wished to never remember. The feeling of helplessness, hopelessness, and grief. That day when he lost his other brother. That day when he almost lost his only younger brother.

Everything was burning,

Dadan was by his side,

Facing against the enemy. The pirate. A captain.

No,

It was a creature with rotten heart and morals, only caring for his own greed and nothing else.

It disgusted him.

"I don't know why but," Ace says with a quiet yet strong voice, "I keep remembering about that day. It was the day when Grey Terminal was burned to nothing but ashes. I was with Dadan to fight a pirate, he was crazy, he almost killed Luffy. I couldn't forgive him. He was the one who took away Sabo from us. And I knew, if I left that guy alive, he will kill Luffy and Dadan and everyone. I couldn't let that happen so I fought. I didn't run, because I never run away from my battles."

He sees the blonde-haired man simply listening to him, his blue gaze honest and patient and knowing, which oddly made the boy feel relaxed.

"There was fire everywhere. Surrounded us like a sea of flames."

Ace's eyes glazes over slightly, digging deeper into the memories that seemed to happen so long ago.

"And yet, I didn't feel afraid."

Each and every word that left his mouth slowly gained strength and volume, the freckled boy speaks without a trace of hesitance and doubt.

"That moment, that time, I didn't feel afraid at the thought of being burned alive. But I knew I had to save Dadan and go back to where Luffy was."

A flicker of orange and red appears in Ace's eyes, his gaze unwavering and almost as if something sparked to life in the depth of darkness.

"Ever since that day you saved Luffy's life, I feel like I've been missing something important. I don't know why but I feel incomplete without it."

Black eyes clashes with blue eyes; the former young, desperate, but not broken anymore. The latter never-changing, ancient, gentle, but still dangerous.

"I want to know what it is."

Golden strands of his bangs fell across the man's blue eyes, his expression eerily calm and collected.

Then the cloaked man sighs deeply and briefly closes his eyes, as if he was tired, but slowly opens them again to reveal two glowing orbs.

"...I never would've thought you'll be chosen so early." The golden-haired man replies with a clear, resonating yet gentle voice. Sky and ocean seemed to be trapped in his eyes, deep yet bright, inhumane and otherworldly. Ace fights back the urge to take a step back, his eyes slightly wide, but not in fear nor terror. His instincts screamed at him to run, but at the same time, to never move his gaze away from the being in front of him.

"It was raining when I visited my friend's homeland, because I felt a little tired of wandering around. Most of the world became a boring place to me, and yet, this certain island called out to me." The man said, his voice casual and easygoing despite the tenseness in the air and the suffocating presence he emitted. It made Ace wonder how exactly old this man was to be able to travel around the world. The boy fought the urge, the rising curiosity, if the blonde ever went to the same place as the Pirate King. That name still brought a feeling of bitterness and hatred, but it was nothing compared to the past. All he needed to do was become the strongest and make the entire world know his name.

"On that same day and place, a child died by drowning. I saved him because I had the power to do so, but not without a cost. The child's body was cursed. The river, no, the ocean tried to steal his life because he was a devil fruit user. The devil fruits are created by the ocean itself, they were created for living beings to eat and gain power, in exchange for their cursed bodies. Once they drown in any body of water, so long as it connected back to the sea, they are destined to sacrifice their souls to maintain the world's balance.

They are the chosen ones."

The blue-eyed man continued, almost like he was telling a story or the future.

"...He was meant to to die because his life should've ended on that specific time, date, and place. However, the child didn't die. I was able to bring him back to life only because he had the will to live, to survive, and it was so powerful that he broke his curse. The spirit of the river took liking to him as well and granted his wish, releasing his soul. But in exchange, a different destiny was created for the child who defied his fate.

In the near future, the child will set out to follow his dream in the ocean.

Again and again, he will face countless number of life or death situations.

And yet, despite all odds and enemies who are far stronger than him, the child will survive many battles, hardships, and challenges.

He will find people whom he can call them his comrades, friends, and family.

He will become one of the candidates worthy of claiming the title.

But someday, without fail,

The child will die by the hands of fury and hatred.

His death will bring grief to the world, and his burning will will be passed on to many people.

The people will fight for revenge.

The people will sacrifice themselves for peace

The people will destroy everything for reputation and glory.

The war, triggered by the child's death, will make the entire world to fall apart.

Because the throne without a King will only bring endless cycle of destruction."

The blonde paused briefly, his blue gaze unwavering and intense, a stare that made the freckled boy incapable of thinking, speaking, and moving. Ace didn't know why but he had the sudden urge to cover his ears and scream, as if he shouldn't be listening to what the man was about to say. He couldn't understand why the blonde-haired man was talking about all of these things. He shouldn't feel bothered by it, he didn't even know who this so-called "child" was. So why did it matter to him?

And yet,

If I can be there, I won't let him die.

Why did he feel something painful and suffocating in his chest when he heard the kid's, a stranger's, fate? His death?

Why did he feel helpless rage and murderous intent towards the one who will kill "him" in the future?

"The child is still alive today." Ace was unable to stop the immense relief that washed over him at the other's words. He didn't have time to question the odd feeling, however, when he heard the next words spoken by the blue-eyed man.

"And he is someone you swore to die in his place one day, Ace."

The eleven-year old boy draws in a sharp breath, his blood running cold at the man's words.

What?

The blue gaze peers into Ace's eyes, who was frozen with disbelief, shock, and confusion. The freckles across his cheeks seemed more apparent; a stark contrast on his deathly pale skin. The boy almost looked like a hollowed shell, incapable of breathing, moving, and couldn't understand a single word the man was saying. But he did. Because slowly yet surely, the dawning realization was making him feel nauseous and suffocated. His mind was already connecting the dots, unable to stop the thoughts that plagued him. Because there were only two people in this entire world that he would sacrifice his life without hesitation. They were his family. One of them was standing in front of him, his older brother-like figure, who was watching him with the ancient, powerful, yet gentle gaze. The only remaining one was...

...Who died that day?

He drowned, I couldn't save him.

But this man brought him back to life.

A cursed body.

Devil Fruit.

I know him, of course I do.

Because he is my-

"...Who is it?"

A deep, animalistic growl crawls its way up of Ace's throat. His small hands reaches forward and grips the other's shirt tightly, his nails digging into the fabric. His coal-like eyes were no longer the color of darkness nor obsidian, they were ablaze with fierce protectiveness and intentions of murdering someone. Over and over again. Until the earth and heaven itself will turn red from the color of their blood. Because the thought of a worthless scum trying to kill one of his most important treasures was unforgivable. He would murder, no, destroy them. He will break all of their bones and burn them alive, until nothing but their ashes will remain.

He doesn't care if he still is a brat, if anyone ever dares to hurt what he holds dear (he didn't want to feel that despair, the crushing grief and hopelessness that choked him and the voice in his mind whispering weakpatheticCOWARD-), he will hunt them down and make them regret that they were alive. "Who is the guy that's going to kill him?! I will fucking rip the bastard limb by limb if they lay single finger on him!"

If everything what the man said was true,

He had prevent it from happening. No matter what the cost.

Seeing the visible change in Ace's presence, the blue-eyed man hides his amused grin at the sight.

Still growing, weak, and inexperienced as a lion cub. Certainly wouldn't survive for long if the boy were to set out to the sea right at this moment. The outside world was a lot more harsher, cruel and merciless; both Ace and Luffy needed to get stronger if they want to survive.

...And if that prophecy, what he saw really was the future and the truth,

Then it would be interesting how things were going to change from now on.

"...What you need to do right now," The blonde man finally replied, unfazed by the boy's rage and meets Ace's eyes, his blue gaze as hard as steel. "Is grow stronger. Prepare yourself for the future, because the one who you want to kill is hiding in the darkness. They will show their true colors once the time comes. Even I don't know what they might look like, what their name is, and where they are. But they do exist."

Gritting his teeth, the boy releases his hands from the other's cloak and takes a step back. The wildfire-like rage and predatory gleam in his eyes never disappearing, as if he was ready to go on a hunt and kill the prey that lurked in the shadows. He opens his mouth to argue-

-Suddenly, Ace feels momentarily blinded by the sunlight peering through the clouds.

And then he feels the sudden heat.

A mixture of oranges and red appears, lighting up his entire face with similar shades and colors.

Ace stares. And stares. Before finally blinking his wide eyes, because right in front of him, the boy sees a burning sphere of flames floating on top of the blonde's outreached hand. He opens his mouth in disbelief and awe, noticing the flames touched the other's palm but it didn't burn him at all. He stares at the fire, almost entranced by it, and feels the same feeling of something in his chest. The unnamed emotion intensified and without thinking, Ace takes a step forward and slowly raises his hand. To reach out and-

"Ace."

A unfamiliar voice calls his name, and the spell-like trance was broken, the boy quickly withdraws his hand. Ace shook his head and stared at the fire with wide eyes. What the hell was that? For a brief moment, he didn't have control over his body and his mind blanked out. He thought he heard someone call his name too, but who? He brings his hand closer to his chest and frowns, frustrated and confused by the tugging sensation of his instincts trying to bring him closer to the flames.

"Don't be afraid, or it will simply react to your