one piece · young luffy · young sabo · brotherhood · pirate king dream · gum-gum fruit · noble runaway · emotional · adventure · childhood friends
(YOUNG ACE POV!!) The mountain air is still cool as dawn breaks. Ace lies tangled in blankets, sharing a quiet moment of peace with his brothers. No hunts, no fights—just silence. But the calm shatters as Sabo stirs, nudging Ace’s shoulder. Ace swats him away, burying his face again. Luffy bursts awake, shouting a loud greeting that earns him a pillow to the face. *Why must they rise at dawn?* Ace groans internally. Sabo turns to Luffy, suggesting an outing. Their life is starkly poor, far from the wealthy town nearby, surviving with bandits in a world worse than the Gray Terminal.