good brother

"Hold it, this is 3000 Baileys."

"Okay, thank you."

Angor found out that the boss gave him a small purse, checked it to make sure it was correct, and then looked back at Sabo who was staring at a pair of goggles.

"What? Want the goggles?"

"Ah, that..."

Sabo was a little embarrassed to admit it, after all he knew that Angel was not rich.

Angel smiled knowingly and turned to look at the boss.

"How much are those goggles?"

"300 Baileys."

"Give."

Angel took out the money without saying a word.

"Angel! I..."

"You should help me figure out what to buy for Ace now."

Angel took off the goggles and put them on Sabo's top hat.

"Well, perfect~"

Sabo raised his hand to touch it, but the cold touch warmed his heart.

"Sabo Sabo! See if this Ace will like it!"

"what."

Sabo came back to his senses and looked at the things Angor brought over, and smiled slightly.

"Absolutely love it!"

"Bang!"

The sound of fighting suddenly came from the bar next door.

"Tooth white!"

Angel looked at the price tag, quickly counted the money and threw it at the boss, then pulled up Saab and ran to the next door.

"Ace!"

As soon as he entered the bar, Angel saw Ace fighting with three or four drunks with his bare hands.

But before it was Angor's turn to make a move, Ace had already knocked the opponent down.

These drunks who hang out in taverns all day are not as strong as those gangsters on the street, only three or four, so naturally they can't beat Ace.

However, Ace also got hit a few times, and his nose was still bleeding.

What worries Angel the most is not Ace's injury, but Ace's eyes.

As if dead.

"Ace, let's go."

Angel walked over silently, without giving any glances to outsiders, and directly pulled Ace to the street outside.

"Sabo, keep up."

Angel turned around and called Sabo, who was still standing beside him, and dragged the two little ghosts out of the city without looking back.

On the way back, Ace walked ahead in silence, while Angel let it go, and followed alongside Sabo.

"Sabo, can you go back by yourself? I'll go talk to Ace."

"it is good."

Halfway through, Angel, who had been meditating, suddenly whispered to Sabo that Sabo also knew that the current situation was special, and he couldn't participate at all, so he could go back by himself.

Ace didn't pay attention to the movement behind him at all, and still walked with a gloomy face.

Until Angel walked a few steps quickly and grabbed Ace's hand.

"Ace, come with me."

The familiar cliff, the sea of ​​attributes, but the familiar boy no longer shows a familiar expression.

Angel pulled Ace to sit on the floor facing the sea, and asked Ace seriously and calmly.

"Ace, tell me what's going on."

Ace remained silent, holding his knees and standing still, as if completely ignoring Angel's words.

"What did Capusan tell you?"

"..."

"About your life experience?"

"!"

Ace was obviously clever, and his dead eyes showed a look of fear, but he still stubbornly said nothing.

"What are you afraid of?"

Ace pursed his lips tightly, and this resistance also made Angel a little angry.

"Answer me! Gore D. Ace!"

"……you know?"

Ace's trembling voice came, and Angel never thought he would see that fearful look in Ace's eyes.

In the anime, Ace has always been sunny and handsome, and he never showed a look of fear when facing death.

And Ace, who Angor faced, was even more daring under his care, and he didn't know what to be afraid of.

But now, Ace is scared.

"I know."

Angel smiled and said to Ace.

"Sure enough, what Kapusang told you is these things, that's right, after all, you are five..."

"...Why are you so calm!"

Angel hoped to stabilize Ace with a cheerful tone, but he didn't expect the opposite.

Ace broke out without warning, and he stood up suddenly, with an abnormal blush on his face, and the eyes he looked at Angel were full of anger he had never seen before.

"Why are you so calm! I am the son of the Pirate King! I have devil's blood in my body!"

"I eavesdropped on Dadan and the others last night! As long as I am discovered, you will all be killed! Dadan's family will! You will too! Even Sabo will!"

"Just now I asked those people in the tavern! They said I was a sinner! They said I shouldn't be in this world at all!"

"That's the truth, isn't it! My existence will only bring misfortune to you! Why do you still stay by my side even though you know who I am!"

"why!"

"You are my brother."

"Eh?"

"Because you are my younger brother!"

Angel also stood up. Because of his height, Ace needed to raise his head slightly to meet those firm silver eyes.

"I don't care if your surname is Gor or anything else, because you are still Ace! You are still my brother!"

"Brother stays by my brother's side, do you need a reason?"

"..."

Ace didn't dare to meet those eyes that seemed to be looking straight into his heart, so he simply lowered his head not to meet Angor's gaze.

"But I shouldn't have been born at all, should I!"

"I do not know."

"!"

Ace raised his head in surprise, and even panicked. He expected in his heart that the omniscient Angel would give him an answer, but unexpectedly, Angel didn't even have a possible answer. This can't help but make the current Ace felt even more hesitant and uneasy.

"I don't know if you were born right or wrong, good or bad."

"But there's one thing I know very well!"

Angel stepped forward slightly, hugged Ace in his arms, and whispered in Ace's ear.

"It's great that I met you."

"Thank you, Ace, thank you."

Thank you.

It was the first time Ace heard someone express their sincere gratitude to him so sincerely.

Ace's pupils dilated slightly, and the tears of grievance that he had endured for a day finally slowly flowed out of his eyes.

"I really don't know if it's right for you to be born, Ace, because that's a question only you can answer."

Angel held Ace's head, felt the slightly wet shoulders, and smiled reassuringly.

"The sea is vast and boundless, Ace, there is always a place, there is always a group of people who can help you find the answer to this question."

"Until then, live stubbornly."

"……Um!"

Ace buried his face on Angor's shoulder, and responded with a nasal voice, telling the boy's grievances and unwillingness, and also witnessed his growth.

"Oh, how long are you going to cry? Are you hungry without lunch?"

Angel saw that Ace had basically calmed down, so he teased him again as usual.

"I didn't cry!"

Ace left Angor's embrace, his eyes still red were not credible.

"I know, I know, I got sand in my eyes, right?"

Angor expressed his understanding.

After all, Ace has a hidden tsundere attribute, which is also cute~

"...Portgas D. Ace."

Ace turned his head aside to look at the sky and the sea, but he didn't look at Angel.

"My full name is Portgas D. Ace."

"Portgas?"

Angel put on a questioning expression from time to time.

"Well, my mother's last name."

Speaking of his mother, Ace looked a little lonely.

"Karp said that my mother kept me in her womb for [-] months to protect me, and then I died after giving birth."

"I hate Roger, so I took my mother's last name."

"Well, is that so..."

Angel took out the gift he bought earlier from his pocket.

"This is a gift to celebrate the birth of Portgas D. Ace."

It was a delicate little elbow pad. The material was not top-notch, and the workmanship was not top-notch, but Ace looked pleasing to the eye.

Angel lifted Ace's left arm and helped him put it on.

"Well, perfect~"

Feeling the solidity of his left elbow surrounded by fine fluff, Ace moved his arm.

"That's right! Sabo's goggles!"

Ace suddenly remembered the brand new goggles that Saab had on his hat when he was out of town.

"That's right~ That's a gift from Sabo~"

Angel took Ace's hand and walked to Dadan's house.

"Tomorrow I have to apologize, Sabo is very worried about you!"

"……I see."

The silhouettes of the two talking and laughing cast long shadows under the setting sun, step by step, disappearing into the quiet forest.

On this day, a boy named Portgas D. Ace was born.