"You guys are pirates!!!"
Here, Ozz saw the protagonist of this world for the very first time.
Monkey D. Luffy.
White short-sleeved shirt, red shorts, a big bump on his head that was probably the result of a certain loving iron fist. He stood in front of the pirate ship without a care in the world.
Well, it was the Red Hair Pirates after all.
Within the extreme range of Ozz's Observation Haki, behind the village in the mountain forest, a black haired brat and a blond brat were standing side by side, locked in a brawl with a bear.
"Well now, if it is not Ace. Been a while, you have grown sturdy."
Ozz's gaze skipped right past Luffy.
Because this time, with his mother by his side, Ace had not been handed over to mountain bandits to raise by Garp. Instead, he lived in seclusion in the forest like an ordinary child from a single parent home.
And the brat next to him, of course, was Sabo, whom Ace had dragged into this.
The arrival of the Red Hair Pirates did not cause any massive disturbance to this peaceful village. If anything, watching Uta and Luffy bicker and play just amused the adults.
"When we were kids, we used to bicker and fight like that too."
Ozz walked through Windmill Village with Shanks and the others beside him, Luffy tagging along as a lonely little shadow.
"Yeah. If I remember right, we first met when we were nine."
Shanks smiled. The three scars at the corner of his eye did little to ruin his air.
Back then, sure, there were fights and arguments, but most of the time it was Shanks and Buggy snapping at each other. They both knew that if Ozz joined in
there would not be any real bickering.
It would just become one sided bullying.
"Let those two kids play."
Shanks was not the type to overthink it. Luffy was very much the friendly type and in no time at all, he had blended right in with the Red Hair crew.
At one point, he looked over at Ozz and asked curiously,
"Uncle Ozz, with hair that long, does it not strangle you when you sleep?"
"What do you know, brat. This is style."
Ozz had worn his hair long and black since he was a kid, but this was the first time someone had asked such a low emotional intelligence question.
He rapped Luffy lightly on the head.
Dong.
"Ow ow ow ow!!!"
It did not look like he used much strength, but to Luffy it felt like a very familiar kind of pain.
"Why does it hurt so much, just like Grandpa."
Ozz only smiled and did not bother explaining.
So that old monster Garp actually uses Armament Haki when he hits his grandson?
Arm in arm, they all headed to Makino's bar, where they drank happily around the counter. Shanks tried to chat up the bar owner, clumsy as ever.
Ozz sat beside them, quietly watching him fumble through his attempt at flirting.
He chuckled, then stood up.
"Excuse me, I will step out for a bit."
Shanks and Makino both froze for a moment when Ozz suddenly rose to his feet. Then they saw him snap his fingers with a smile.
Thud.
A heavy chest stuffed full of Berries and gold coins dropped onto the floor behind the bar, the impact echoing dully.
"This is, way too much, Mr. Ozz!!!"
Makino had never seen so much money in her life. A chest full of Berries and gold coins if someone told her it was a billion, she might just believe them. Even if she sold the whole bar, it would not amount to that much.
"No. This is not just for the drinks. Call it a thank you for taking care of Lady Rouge and her son all these years."
Ozz's handsome face curved into a gentle smile as he nodded to her, which only made Makino blush harder.
And with that much money, she had no idea how she should respond. Before she could even try to refuse again, Ozz's figure vanished from where he stood.
Makino opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her mind kept replaying Ozz's earlier line.
He knew Rouge and Ace?
And he knew that she was close with their family?
Her thoughts were all over the place, so much so that she did not even notice Shanks' clumsy attempts to chat her up beside her.
…
Elsewhere.
Ozz left Makino's bar without saying much, and he did not particularly care why Shanks had not followed.
Looking after Lady Rouge and her son was his own business.
In the original story, he did not believe for a second that Shanks did not know Ace was Roger's child. But even so, Shanks' reaction was not all that intense. At Marineford, he put the bigger picture first, not just Ace's life.
His personal relationship with Ace was decent enough, but that was largely because of Luffy.
Ozz had no intention of criticizing the Roger Pirates for their indifference.
He would simply do what he believed should be done.
Walking through the forest, Ozz swept the area with his vast Observation Haki and instantly located his targets.
Lady Rouge was at home cooking. As for Ace…
Hands shoved in his pockets, Ozz smiled and headed straight toward them.
Deep in the forest, high up in a big tree, two little brats were scheming together.
"Perfect. Once we sell this bear pelt, our treasure hoard gets even bigger!!!"
"Yeah. We will have enough for a pirate ship soon, then we can finally set sail!!!"
Sabo adjusted his top hat. When he heard Ace say that, he hesitated.
"But, Aunt Rouge is never going to let you go to sea when you are this young."
"Exactly. A little guy like you is not allowed to run around wherever you want."
"???"
"!!!"
Thump.
Standing on the branch, Ace reacted the fastest. His steel pipe swung almost on instinct.
But when it smacked into Ozz, it felt like he had just hit an iron wall. His wrist throbbed with pain.
"You bastard, who the hell are you!!!"
Sabo recovered quickly as well. He backed up with Ace and the two of them took up fighting stances, surrounding Ozz as best they could.
Ozz brushed imaginary dust off the shoulder that had been struck. His gaze settled on Ace, his middle parted black hair and nine tenths resemblance to a young Gol D. Roger.
"Relax a little. You would not want Lady Rouge to…"
Ozz spread his hands. He had been about to say, "You would not want Lady Rouge to get mad, right?"
After all, he had saved their mother and son. If Rouge found out Ace was this rude, she would definitely be angry.
But before he could finish the sentence, Ace, this hot headed little punk, heard only the first half of the line and his mother's name.
His eyes went bloodshot.
He charged like a wild beast.
He had grown up with his mother. She was the closest, most important person in his life. He would never allow anyone to touch her.
With a leap, Ace sprang high into the air, eyes blazing red as he raised his steel pipe, bringing it down in a full overhead strike.
Ozz merely turned his body slightly and let the blow pass him by, watching the enraged boy with a helpless look.
Then he snapped his fingers with a smile.
"This should calm you down a little."
One second later, for some mysterious reason
Ace's shorts vanished.
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