Year 1517 of the Sea Calendar, January 1st.
Though the depths of winter had not yet passed, the weather was unexpectedly clear for reasons unknown.
On the docks of Foosha Village in the East Blue stood a seventeen-year-old boy on a small boat. He wore a beige jacket, revealing his toned chest, and a foolish grin lit up his face as he waved to the crowd seeing him off on the shore.
"Hey! Luffy, Sabo, sorry, but I'm heading out first!"
Today was his birthday, the day he turned seventeen, and also the day he would set sail.
Among the villagers, standing right in front, were two other boys. The one on the left, slightly younger than Ace, wore a blue vest and short pants, and had a straw hat on his head. He shouted, "Shishishi, be careful, Ace!"
The other, on the right, was a young man the same age as Ace but a few months younger. He wore a blue shirt with a neatly tied cravat at the center of his collarbone and had slightly curly blond hair. He also waved and shouted, "I'll be setting sail in a few months! Don't let me catch up, Ace!"
"You bet! Luffy, Sabo!"
As the oldest of the trio, Ace had finally successfully set sail at seventeen. Sabo, the second oldest, would follow in three months when he turned seventeen.
"I won't lose!"
"Take care!"
"One of the three naughty brats is finally gone, now we can have some peace and quiet."
The residents of Foosha Village shouted their blessings. Makino, who understood the dangers of piracy due to the Shanks incident, forced a smile and prayed silently, "Please be safe, Ace."
Watching Ace's small boat gradually sail into the distance, Sabo suddenly turned to Luffy and held up a fist. "Luffy, today's training hasn't started yet."
Clap!
Luffy punched his two fists together with a clap, took a fighting stance, and exclaimed excitedly, "Bring it on! Sabo!"
Meanwhile, Ace, already drifting on the ocean, looked at the newspapers he had collected from Foosha Village—some recent, some from years ago.
He hadn't had the habit of reading the papers while messing around with Luffy and Sabo, but he'd asked Makino to collect them for him as intelligence a few days before sailing.
"Yonko Alucard leads the Immortal Pirates to attack the first half of the Grand Line, capturing Revolutionary Army leader Dragon and handing him over to the Government. Reason unknown."
"Kaido, World, and Dragon, three of history's most wanted criminals, escape Impel Down. The second major escape of top-tier convicts since Shiki the Golden Lion."
"Beasts Pirates' Wind Calamity Queen battles the Immortal Pirates' Empress Boa Hancock and is defeated."
"The Whitebeard Pirates lift their state of alert. Their fleet of nearly four thousand battleships begins to disperse across the New World and various regions of the Grand Line."
Looking at these newspaper articles, some published years ago and some very recently, Ace's heart filled with yearning. This was the life of a top-tier pirate.
"Alright! First, I'll gather some like-minded comrades, and then I'll go pay a visit to that man who looked after Luffy." Ace tossed the newspapers into the sea, unaware that the man was long gone.
Three months later.
The scene was strikingly similar. Sabo stood on a small boat, its flag emblazoned with the initials of his name, "Sabo." Just like Ace before him, he waved to Luffy and the villagers of Foosha Village, including Makino, on the shore.
"See ya! Luffy! I'll be waiting for you out on the high seas!" Sabo shouted, waving his hand.
"See ya! Sabo!" Luffy shouted, jumping up and down.
"You take good care of yourself! Run away from any enemy you can't beat!" Makino yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth.
"Ah... thank you, Makino-san." Despite the slightly strange nature of the blessing, Sabo hesitated for two seconds before deciding to accept it.
Sabo set sail three months after Ace.
Compared to Ace, Sabo was much more meticulous about collecting information. He had asked Makino to gather newspapers from three consecutive months for him and slowly organized them while he sailed.
"Yonko Alucard and Kaido clash over a hundred times. Kaido is defeated again and vaguely regards Alucard as his nemesis."
"The Immortal Pirates' Trash Disposal Unit ace, Z, annihilates the former great pirate crew, the World Pirates, killing everyone except the Vice-Captain, Byojack, who is sent to Impel Down."
"Former Red Hair Pirates crew members Yasopp and Lucky Roux form the Whitebeard Pirates' 17th Division. Lucky Roux is rumored to be its commander."
"Great Financier Gild Tesoro teams up with Warlord of the Sea Donquixote Doflamingo and Treasure to build the world's most magnificent entertainment city, Gran Tesoro, becoming a major power in the New World outside of the Yonko."
"Revolutionary Army leader Dragon overthrows three nations governed by the World Government. His bounty is rapidly approaching that of the Yonko."
Looking at these headlines detailing real world-shaking events, Sabo developed a strong interest in the last one. "The Revolutionary Army overthrowing World Government nations, huh..."
…
"This is an invitation written personally by Tesoro-sama. Please do him the courtesy of attending."
In the New World, in the Arderay Sea, Tanaka, one of Tesoro's confidants, handed a gilded invitation to Ivalis, the captain of the Golden-Haired Pirates, who was patrolling nearby, before quickly departing.
Ivalis looked at the gilded invitation and said, "Isn't Tesoro the original owner of the Devil Fruit we stole a year ago?"
"He built the world's largest battleship, which is also the world's premier entertainment city. He probably wants the Yonko's approval to buy influence and be allowed to conduct his business," Beckman analyzed from the side.
Ivalis flicked the invitation and slipped it into his cloak pocket. "We're turning back. We need to tell Captain Alucard."
Meanwhile, Alucard had received word from Law in Alabasta: the Swap-Swap Fruit was now in hand.