In the days after, we stayed around the base having fun and playing pirates. Then heavy winds tore through and destroyed part of our base. Our treehouse was modeled after a pirate ship.
"Let's go to Gray Terminal tomorrow to get materials to fix up the base."
"Guys, I think we need more stuff on our ship… like a telescope," said Luffy.
"We are not gonna find a telescope," said Ace.
We searched through the trash for materials. "Guys, I can't find a telescope," cried Luffy.
While Sabo and I were walking around gathering supplies, he spotted a telescope on the ground.
"Luffy's gonna be so happy," Sabo said.
"He'll definitely be jumping up and down," I laughed.
But then a group of pirates walked up and surrounded us. They all grinned.
"Yo, boys. I didn't know one of the four infamous brats was a noble," said Bluejam.
Bluejam was a balding man with long black hair at the back of his head. He wore a long blue coat. One thing about him was certain—his face was ugly. He was missing a few teeth and stood about 8 ft 7 in (261 cm), with a bounty of 14,300,000 Berri.
"Bluejam—how did you know?" asked Sabo as he slipped the small telescope into his pocket.
"Alright, guys, don't leave a mark on the noble boy. I don't care what happens to the other one," ordered Bluejam.
I drew Shiro, ready to fight. A thug tried to grab Sabo; he dodged and kicked the guy in the face, knocking him back.
"You wanna fight?" Sabo yelled.
A barrel came rolling and slammed into one of the thugs. Ace and Luffy popped out. All four of us squared up.
"You guys okay, Sabo, Sora?" Ace asked.
"Yeah," we replied in unison.
"If we fight together, we can easily beat these fools," Ace said with a grin.
"That's right—we beat the big tiger of Mt. Colubo!" yelled Luffy.
We dashed forward—there were about twenty‑five of them. I dashed and stabbed one in the back, then used Slash on another who was about to swing his sword at me. My Slash cut him in half, even surprising me—the most gruesome thing I'd done. It almost made me puke, but I gritted my teeth and kept fighting. Using Slash drained me;"Its proably due this small body" I shouldn't spam that attack.
The boys took out fodder with their metal pipes, then—
"Enough!" Bluejam shouted as he drew his gun and shot the ground by Ace. Gunfire cracked. We dove for cover. Luffy just flopped onto the ground and put a wooden plank over his face.
"Alright, brats—don't move," ordered Bluejam, gun still raised.
"I'm not afraid of that," Ace shot back—just as thugs rushed in and grabbed him from behind, then Sabo, then Luffy.
Before one could grab me, I dashed away. Ten guys closed in around me.
"Come at me," I said with a smirk.
One rushed in, swinging down. I parried and dropped him, then did the same to three more. "Only seven remaining," I muttered—then my Perception screamed. A chip of stone nicked my cheek as I dashed on instinct, falling back—Bluejam's bullet had just missed.
"Damn—I might've been gone if I didn't dodge."
"Escape, Sora!" Ace yelled.
I used Dash, backed off, and hid out of sight.
"Let him go for now. He's not a threat. We have bigger things to do," ordered Bluejam.
Then I saw them: around fifty soldiers in hazmat suits with rifles, marching in with a noble man in a top hat leading the way. A sharp chemical reek hit my nose; rubber suits creaked; their voices sounded muffled behind glass.
"So you're the ones who tempted my son toward evil," he said, glaring at Ace and Luffy.
"Give Sabo back!" Luffy yelled.
"What do you mean 'give him back'? Sabo is my son. A kid has to live the way their parent wants because the parents brought them into the world. How dare you two tempt Sabo to run away? You thug‑wannabe brats—after my money!" he snapped.
"What did you say?!" Ace shouted—and got slammed into the ground.
"Oye, be careful hitting the kid. I got his trashy blood all over me," the noble sneered, wiping Ace's blood off his face.
Sabo broke free. "No one tempted me—I ran away of my own free will!"
"You stay out of this. You pirates will handle the rest, I assume."
"We will, mister. You've already paid us. We'll make sure these boys never go near your boy again," Bluejam assured him.
"Wait a minute, Bluejam! Dad, that's enough! I understand!"
"What do you understand?" his father asked.
"Stop, Sabo!" Ace yelled.
"I'll do as you say. I'll live how you want me to… so please don't hurt these two. I'm begging you. They're very important to me—they're my brothers," Sabo said, defeated.
"Then go home right now. You should stop playing pirate. It's just a waste of time," the noble said.
"Don't go!" Ace shouted, pinned by fodder who slammed his head down and told him to be quiet.
"Sabo, run! You don't have to worry about us! You said you wanna live freely with us! Are you gonna put an end to your dream?!" Ace cried.
"Don't go!" yelled Luffy, broken.
Sabo kept walking, tears running down his face. A guard even stepped on the telescope he'd found earlier, the lens cracking under his boot.
Bluejam and his thugs dragged Ace and Luffy toward their hideout while I watched from a distance.
[DING][SKILL LEARNED] Sneak — Grade F (Proficiency 0%)
I felt my presence dim and my steps grow quieter.
They took Ace and Luffy back to their hideout. From what I remembered of the story, they'd let them go "free" and make them plant explosives all over Gray Terminal. I shadowed them in silence and saw Luffy and Ace come out carrying crates—it looked like they were about to start delivering bombs across Gray Terminal.
A dilemma chewed at me. Do I try to stop the bombs from going off and shift the future—more than I already have by being here? As a person, I'm completely against the nobles' so‑called "cleaning project." The real scum of the world are the nobles who think they're better just because they were born with a golden spoon. People who think they're smart when they were just born rich—thinking that makes them better human beings. Thinking about nobles who act like that makes me sick to my stomach.
For now, I'll meet up with Luffy and Ace and see what they're thinking.
[DING][HIDDEN QUEST AVAILABLE] Inferno at Gray Terminal — Prevent or Survive the Purge