[One Piece] Isano's Rebel

The desert at night is always dangerous.

I don't know who yelled that it was a sandstorm.In short, before Adelina took any action, Ace, who had been sleeping on her shoulder, had protected her in his arms as early as the first time.The yellow sand danced wildly in the strong storm, and all she could feel was the howling wind in her ears, and the pair of solid arms tightly hugging her.

By the time the storm passed, the sun was already high above the rocks.

Ace propped up his body with both hands, and the thick sand covering his back slid down to Adelina's side.

He rolled over and squatted aside, pulled up Adelina, who was surrounded by sand, and after confirming that she was safe, he ran to help Luffy's companions.

After being tormented by the sandstorm, everyone who had recuperated was exhausted again—so much so that they devoured the meal again at noon.

During this period, Luffy seemed to have seen something, and suddenly regained his energy, yelling "my barbecue" and ran wildly in one direction.By the time the others reacted, the boy in the straw hat had long since disappeared.

Adelina glanced at Ace, and the other party got up immediately.

Ace smiled helplessly, picked up the orange cowboy hat he put on her backpack, and put it on Adelina's head.

Adelina took the plate from his hand, put it on a small clean rock, and waved her hand with a smile, "Go, go."

It didn't take long for Ace and the swordsmen and cooks of the Straw Hat Pirates to bring Luffy back.

When they came back, they were followed by two children who were wolfing down the meat with their dirty hands.Ace told her that these two children were wandering in the desert, who stole their meat and were chased by Luffy all the way.

"They... asked us to find this man." Ace lowered his head and handed an old photo to Adelina.

Adelina, who was originally calm, turned serious the moment she took the photo, "...Bounty Hunter Scorpion."

She looked up at Ace.

And, it was the man who claimed to have fought Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach in Yuba and defeated him.

"He...he's not in Juba, but in this desert!" An older child among the vagrants grabbed Ace's trouser legs, "Please! As long as you can defeat him! I...we I can pay you a million Baileys!"

Looking at the child's begging expression, Ace patted the little boy's head without saying a word——

Even if there is no 100 million Pele, he must see this man.

At some point, Luffy climbed to the top of the rock pile to see the scenery, suddenly turned his head and yelled at Ace on the sand, "Ace, look at that interesting old man with glasses—"

Ace turned his head in response, narrowing his eyes in the harsh sunlight.

Several metal bullets pierced the scorching air and shot toward where Ace was standing.

With a calm expression, he carried the two little boys to Adelina's side.

Adeline, who was sitting on the sand with her back on the rock, straightened up, took a few steps forward, and pulled the little boy behind her.

For those with natural devil fruit abilities, guns and ammunition have always been just scratching the surface.Bullets kept passing through Ace's body that turned into flames, but he was unharmed.

The two little boys hiding behind Adelina stared wide-eyed.

The funny old man with glasses in Luffy's mouth is riding a mount bird and galloping towards the direction of the group of people.A huge iron net rushed towards Ace. He stood there, a prairie fire suddenly burned all over his body, and the iron net was wiped out in an instant.

"Firefist Ace. Try this one—a weapon specially designed for you, a fire-extinguishing compression gun!"

Before the old man shot, Ace moved his body, turned his body slightly and accurately avoided the man's next shot.

It was as if it had been anticipated and calculated.

The color of knowledge.

Adelina crossed her arms and stared at him with the corners of her mouth curled up.

The shock wave that was supposed to hit Ace accidentally hit the rock pile not far away where Adelina and the two little boys were.

"Big sister, be careful—"

When the little boy ran away screaming, the woman stood there without looking back.

Draw the bow and shoot the arrow.

In a few seconds, the falling huge rock block was blown to pieces when a flash of silver light flashed by.

Ace on the other side suddenly got real at this moment, not defending and counterattacking. After a while, the bounty hunter Scorpion was trapped by his gradually shrinking flame enveloping net.Ace squatted on the hot rock in front of the scorpion, with one hand on his knees and the other holding up his hat brim, clusters of flames danced at his fingertips.

The leisurely expression on his face when he dodged just now has disappeared, replaced by a frightening indifference.

The bounty hunter fell to the ground, with no weapons around him.

And the man squatting in front of him looked into his eyes and slowly uttered a sentence——

"You shouldn't have touched her."

The air that was originally scorching hot turned cold at this moment.

Scorpion's face was panicked, and his fingers sank into the sand due to nervousness, "This... is the strength of the Whitebeard Pirates..."

Ace narrowed his eyes.

After fighting several times, he had a lot of questions, such as why the two children lied about having 100 million Baileys to ask them to beat this man, and why this man came after him.

But now, the only thing he can be sure of is one thing.

This bounty hunter had never fought Tiki before.

The fire at his fingertips still hasn't been extinguished.

"wait wait wait--"

At some point, the little boy who ran from Adelina to the bounty hunter shouted, "Please, please don't hurt my father!!"

"Why?????!!!"

Amidst the shouts of surprise from the Straw Hat Pirates, Ace looked at Adelina.

The opponent spread his hands helplessly.

When the two little boys calmed down, they finally explained the ins and outs of the matter to them.

After the two children wept and told the whole story intermittently, they were held tightly in the arms of their father.

"Dib, Qib. Although I am a useless dad who loves to brag, there is one thing I must tell you: even ordinary people, as long as they have determination, can challenge the world's number one hero—I I just want you to understand this, and I want you to see what a great ambition is. A man must have a great ambition, no matter how hard or tired he is, he must not give up, he must face it bravely, and spend every day with a smile."

So he lied, deliberately attracted Fire Fist Ace and fought with him, just to fulfill the expectations of his sons.

As Scorpion spoke, he choked up.

His tears fell on the dry and hot sand, and evaporated in just a few seconds.

"As long as you dare to challenge the impossible, any kind of life can be lived happily, even if it takes my life, I will let you understand this truth."

Probably a—

On the land of Alabasta, where the war is raging, when the people are shrouded in despair, an ordinary father summons up the courage to cry out to his children to live bravely. Such a story.

Quietly listening to the man who is the father finish all this, Ace hooked the corner of his mouth, and suddenly said——

"Then, let's play it upright."

……

Recalling Scorpion's relieved and relaxed expression after being defeated by Ace, and the dignified back when he left with his two sons, Adeline breathed a sigh of relief, "...he is a good father."

"Yes."

Ace stared at the sky, wondering what he was thinking.

After the scorpion matter was resolved, Ace and Adelina had to continue their journey to hunt down Blackbeard.Since the news that Scorpion had fought against Blackbeard was false, they had no reason to stay in Alabasta.Due to different goals, the two of them and Luffy and his party had to part ways.Before leaving, Ace gave Luffy his own life paper.

It says, Life Card for Crybaby Luffy.

Followed by a bright smiley face graphic.

With his back facing the great desert reddened by the setting sun, Ace bumped fists with the boy wearing a straw hat with a bright smile on his face.

——The next time we meet again, maybe we will stand at the pinnacle of pirates.

--Ok!

Such a decisive and firm tone reminded Ace of the deep and quiet forest reflected by the moonlight.

At this time, he and Adelina returned to the port of Nahana where they met Luffy.

The slightly golden smoke dyed by the sun floated into the line of sight of the two of them.

Ace, who was holding Adelina in one hand, narrowed his eyes, staring at Navy sitting on the container directly in front of him, smoking a cigar, and the phone bug sleeping at his feet, "...Ah, we meet again."

Listening to Ace's rambunctious tone, Smoker's gloomy face revealed his irritability.

Obviously, talking calmly with the two pirates was not an easy and pleasant task for Smoker.

Thinking of his purpose of waiting in this port for more than ten days, Smoker was so impatient that he wanted to fight the man in front of him to vent his dissatisfaction.

It was supposed to hunt down the Straw Hat Boys and find out the strange whereabouts of the king Shichibukai.

But now because of that guy's order—for these two brats, it has been delayed for so long.

All he wanted was to finish this trouble quickly and hunt down the Straw Hat Boys, Smoker said bluntly, "Isano Adelina, someone wants to see you."

Adelina, who was suddenly named, frowned, but her face changed when Smoker uttered the familiar name in the next second.

Clutching Adelina's hand without saying a word, Ace could clearly feel the emotional changes in her body.

"Sorry. Can we talk first?" Ace stepped forward, looked at Smoker, and smiled politely, "It won't take too long."

Smoker looked at the polite but alienated expression of the man in front of him, snorted coldly, and said nothing.

With acquiescence, Ace pulled Adelina into the alley closest to them.

In the narrow alley, he looked down at Adelina in front of him.

Almost without hesitation, she said before her, "Go."

She raised her head abruptly, her blue pupils trembling slightly.

"I told you..." Ace pinched her face, seeing clearly the confusion hidden in her eyes, "Go to him and figure it out."

Adeline seemed to be about to open her mouth to say something, Ace put his index finger on her lips, his brows were gentle——

"Although the timing is not right now, it is always necessary to ask clearly."

"Tiki, just leave it to me."

"So...don't worry about it."

Looking at the bright smile of the man in front of him, complex emotions welled up from his heart.

Hugging the girl who suddenly jumped into his arms with his backhand, Ace smiled helplessly, stroking the soft black hair at the back of her head.

Although a little reluctant, this is always something she has to solve.

Lifting her head from Ace's warm embrace, Adelina looked directly into his dark eyes, and said clearly, "Wait for me."

In the next second, a gentle kiss fell on the lips.

In the quiet alley, they kissed very lightly, exchanging breaths from each other carefully.

After the kiss was over, he finally let go of her lips.

He pressed his forehead against hers, rubbing lightly.

"Ah, if I don't see you for a while, I'll miss you a little."

"If you miss and can't see each other, you will probably feel very sad?"

His childlike pure and cheerful smile came into view, and Adelina understood that Ace just wanted to relieve the heavy and complicated feelings in her heart.

She raised the corner of her mouth, poked his forehead with her index finger, and pushed him back a little.

"Well... I probably will too."

"Hey?" Ace tilted his head, and moved closer to her face again, "Then you won't feel uncomfortable with me here?"

Confused by his sudden question, but she nodded, "Yeah."

Ace's eyes fixed.

The smile on the corner of the mouth gradually put away the meaning of the previous joke.

"Then... if I'm not here, will Dinah be troubled?"

As soon as he finished speaking, she nodded, "Yes."

Ace pursed his lips, and an unpredictable emotion flashed in his eyes, too fast to be caught.

The two stood in the shadow of the alley, and suddenly fell silent.

After a long time, Ace's expression returned to his usual cheerfulness. He put the orange cowboy hat on his head on top of Adelina's head, and pressed it gently——

"Then the next time you see me, remember to return my hat to me?"

She raised her hand to press the cowboy hat that held his warmth, and her palm touched a piece of scorched and somewhat hot paper.

……

On that moonlit night ten years ago, three young children narrowly escaped death and took a short rest by the dry stream in the forest.

The freckled boy viciously grabbed the boy in the straw hat who was crying with snot and tears, and asked——

"Are you an idiot?! Why didn't you tell those pirates where the treasure is?! If we hadn't arrived in time, you would have died, do you know!?"

"But, but..." the little boy covered in Band-Aids was sobbing, clutching the brim of his straw hat tightly, crying so hard that he couldn't speak clearly, "If I speak out, I will lose my friend Ace!!"

The freckled boy, who was a little depressed by the crying, scratched his hair irritably, "Damn it, can you stop crying...I hate crybabys the most!"

Hearing this, the boy in the straw hat stopped crying immediately, carefully watching the freckled boy with eyes swollen from crying.

"For example, if there is no Ace, I have nothing..."

"It's worse than death if you're alone..."

The voice was intermittent, but it gave the freckled boy a heart-pounding blow.

I felt a sudden throbbing in my heart.The freckled boy walked up to the straw hat boy.

Against the moonlight, I can't see the expression clearly.

The voice was ethereal.

"With me here, won't you feel uncomfortable?"

The boy in the straw hat sniffed his nose, nodded heavily, "Yeah!"

He was stunned.

"Will you... be troubled if I'm not here?"

"Um!!"

The voice of the straw hat boy's answer became firmer each time.

Without hesitation, the young Ace let out a sound of collapse in his heart.

—If Gol D. Roger had a son?

——The inheritance of the sinful bloodline is a wrong birth in the first place!

——That child shouldn't exist in this world at all! !

"you……"

Wish I could be by your side?

Wish I could exist in this world?

Am I really important to you?

you hope to……

"...wish me to live?"

In that forest, the boy's immature voice with a nasal sound echoed.

What blurted out was the most sincere and firm promise in the world.

"of course!!!!!!"

The author has something to say:

When watching the TV special "The Story of Sabo", the conversation between Luffy and Ace really broke down in tears..