I have the Flame-Flame Fruit, I'm invincible!

We cannot give up, we absolutely cannot give up.

Great!

Two more punches.

Both Ace and Ace were so angry that they wanted to curse him out.

Did you do this on purpose?

Finally, half an hour later, Dick rubbed his throat, and the heart-to-heart talk was over.

“By the way, where were we?” Dick asked.

Ace, Sabo: ━┳━━┳━

They want to know too. What exactly did you just say?

“Alright, let’s start again,” Dick continued grilling the meat. “I know your situation very well.”

"One of them wanted to escape their decaying family."

Sabo was stunned.

"One is someone with sinful blood, who feels they have original sin and has a tendency toward self-destruction."

Ace was silent.

A huge uproar was brewing in their hearts at the same time.

The person who came here actually knew?

This is the deepest secret in their hearts.

Sabo is understandable.

Perhaps the person who came was sent by their own parents.

But Ace didn't understand.

My identity, my bloodline—shouldn't anyone know that except for the old man?

"How did you know?" Ace asked hoarsely.

“I have my own channels. What you can know is that I know far more than you can imagine.”

“Wait, what bloodline? What original sin?” Sabo asked.

Compared to his desire to escape his family, Ace's self-destructive tendencies sound terrifying.

“I won’t tell you without the secret owner’s permission,” Dick shrugged. “If you want to know, you can ask Ace.”

Sabo fell silent, and Ace remained silent as well.

"What, you're not going to ask anymore? Do you feel like you're having a miserable time? Do you feel like you're having a really hard time?"

“Isn’t that right?” Sabo shouted.

When Sabo thinks about his family of origin, he feels suffocated.

Decay, depravity, darkness.

Dick scoffed, "Have you ever seen your own parents, relatives, friends, neighbors, or even everyone in the country die in front of you?"

Ace and Sabo shook their heads.

"Do you know the situation where your own brother killed your father and then tried to kill you?"

The two were stunned.

Are they family? Are they brothers?

"Do you know what it's like to be a slave since childhood, to have your father killed before your eyes, to have your childhood sweetheart violated and diagnosed with a terminal illness, to not see your lover one last time, yet to have to risk your life to protect the child born to your childhood sweetheart after she was violated?"

The two shook their heads again.

"So, what right do you two have to say you're miserable? To think the world is unfair?"

"You've done very well."

Ace couldn't hold back any longer.

"I can let the others go, but the third one, I don't believe there's such a fool in the world."

Yes, you're an idiot.

"Whatever, what about you, Sabo? Do you believe it?"

“I…” Sabo bit his lip.

"I think it's possible."

Ace: (ˉ▽￣～)

Shouldn't we be united against external threats? Sabo, how could you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, betray us?

"Believe it or not. You can go and see for yourselves. During the Great Pirate Era, the World Government was corrupt and decadent, the Celestial Dragons were tyrannical and oppressive, and there were countless people whose families were destroyed and whose lives were tragic."

“You can go out to sea for a trip, it doesn’t need to be long, just a week. Or you can ask other people.”

The two fell silent. If what the visitor said was true, then they seemed to have no right to complain.

Especially Sabo.

"I'm here today for only one thing. Ace, Sabo, are you two interested in changing the world with me?"

Dick didn't consider himself a good person, nor did he have any grand ideals about saving the world.

He wanted to live forever, enjoy a decadent life, have a huge harem, and live a carefree life.

But who can blame them when the pirate world is about to be submerged by the sea?

Although I don't know what happened, Im, the World Government must be the mastermind behind it all.

In order to survive, Dick had no choice but to let Im and the World Government die.

Dick needs strength. He also needs companions.

"So, Ace, Sabo, be my younger brother."

Essabo: ? ? ?

The two were stunned.

Is this an attempt to recruit them?

Hanging them up and starving while you eat and drink well, is this the treatment you give to someone who recognizes you as a younger brother?

"Don't be kidding."

“Ace, Sabo, you two are very talented,” Dick continued grilling the meat. “I know all about your identities and your problems, so you should also understand the significance of my willingness to be your leader.”

“Especially you, Ace,” Dick stared intently at Ace.

"Getting involved with you means going against the Navy and the World Government, a fight to the death, and constantly putting yourself in danger. You should know this better than anyone."

"However, I don't mind. As long as you're willing to be my younger brother."

Ace fell silent, staring blankly at Dick, his mind in turmoil.

"Alright, the meat's cooked. You have one night to think about it." Dick stood up.

"If you agree, come find me in the windmill village. If you don't agree, pretend I was never here. We have no relation whatsoever."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 25 This is the bond, this is the cycle.

Dick released the rope and vanished without a trace.

He came here hoping to try his luck, even if it meant taking a chance.

Although Ace Sabo has great potential and extremely high future combat power, he also poses a great deal of trouble.

It's mainly about Ace.

Besides facing the dangers of the Navy and the World Government early on, Ace in the early stages was extremely immature in both personality and attitude, and he didn't care about his own life, and could "betray his father" at any time.

Whitebeard and the Whitebeard Pirates knew this all too well.

Sabo is now tied to Ace.

So, Dick really didn't care whether he could recruit the two of them or not.

Yes, that would be good.

No, that's acceptable too.

Even without Ace and Sabo, Dick was confident that he could stand at the top of the world with the Mera Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit) and then kill that damned King of the World, Im.

"Ace, what do you think?" Sabo asked.

What he really wanted to ask was what exactly was going on with Ace, and why he was targeting the Marines and the World Government, and why it was a fight to the death.

That's scary.

“I…” Ace opened his mouth.