"Ace, you're so lucky," Sabo said, smiling at his friend.
They played and spent every day together, so Sabo knew Ace inside and out.
He knew Ace's dream was to beco a pirate.
But not to beco the Pirate King.
In fact, Ace hated Gol D. Roger. His identity, combined with his upbringing, had made him despise the man who started the Great Pirate Era.
The whole world hated Roger, and Ace had grown up hearing it constantly. The hatred had sunk deep into his heart.
Sabo understood Ace's dream.
He wanted to be a pirate.
He wanted to be a pirate like Kuke, a pirate who was loved and respected by others.
Ever since a couple of months ago, when Ace first heard of Kuke's exploits and listened to ordinary people's admiration for him, a dream had blossod in Ace's heart.
Sabo could see it—it was almost an obsession. Ace had gathered every newspaper, every wanted poster related to Kuke, ticulously placing them in their secret base inside a mountain cave.
No one was allowed to touch them.
"Ace, what are you going to do?" Sabo asked.
"I'm going to board his ship! I'm going to sail with Kuke!" Ace's eyes burned with excitent as he watched Kuke fighting in the distance. "That's what a real pirate looks like!"
His dream was fully taking root.
...
anwhile, several miles away...
On a mountain peak, a group of journalists crept to the top, setting up caras and telescopes aid at the distant battlefield.
"It's Red-Haired Shanks and Kuke!"
"It really is them!"
The reporters were gaping in awe, barely able to contain their excitent.
Whether it was the Red-Haired Pirates or the Radiant Eclipse Pirates, both were at the center of attention in the world of pirates.
"Get the footage now! We have to release this imdiately—Shanks and Kuke are fighting in the East Blue!"
They scrambled to be the first.
In the news industry, speed was everything.
Miss your window, and you'd get nothing.
...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Kuke and Shanks crashed down onto the shattered ground, abandoning the grandiose strikes in favor of sheer speed.
Their swords moved so fast they were nearly invisible to the naked eye.
Before them, a dense screen of blade strikes appeared, far more dangerous than anything they had shown earlier.
"Are you underestimating ? Use your Devil Fruit powers—I can handle it," Shanks grunted, sparks flying from their clashing swords as he locked eyes with Kuke.
"I'm no Devil Fruit user."
Kuke applied more pressure.
Behind Shanks, the ground continued to crack and explode, a fan-shaped crater forming, only to collapse further under the strain.
"In that case, I'll go all out." Shanks had been holding back a bit of his strength, prepared to counter whatever Devil Fruit power Kuke might unleash.
But now that he knew Kuke wasn't a Devil Fruit user...
Shanks used Kuke's montum to leap backward like a teor. He planted his feet firmly on the ground.
Advanced Armant Haki enveloped his entire body, crawling up his arm and onto his famous sword, Griffin, causing the blade to glow with a fiery red light.
And it didn't stop there.
Black lightning crackled around him, jumping across his body.
Both Conqueror's Haki and Armant Haki gathered on his blade, his sword becoming as radiant as the sun, which had already sunk below the horizon.
The sun fell: "Divine Recoil!"
A devastating strike of overwhelming power.
Even before the attack connected, the ground beneath them twisted like a rag, unable to withstand the force, sinking ever deeper.
"Bring it on!" Kuke laughed heartily.
He gripped his sword with both hands. "One-Sword Style: Heaven's Divide!"
A massive, earth-splitting wave of sword energy shot upward, eting the falling sun head-on.
BOOM!
The explosion of force resembled a mushroom cloud.
A colossal tornado connected the heavens and the earth.
"Huff... huff..." Shanks landed, his breathing ragged. He glanced at his missing arm, noticing blood seeping from the old wound.
It did affect him a little.
Before Shanks could steady himself, he felt another powerful presence surge from within the explosion.
Looking up, his sharp eyes locked onto Kuke, who had leaped high into the sky.
"God Strike: Golden Crow Ascends!"
Kuke's sword glowed with blazing flas as high-level Armant Haki coated the blade.
Golden lightning crackled around Ace, the Supre Grade Sword.
Armant Haki and Conqueror's Haki fused together.
A blazing sun descended toward the earth.
"Good!" Shanks laughed, holding his sword at the ready.
Kuke had already mastered the Conqueror's Haki infusion technique.
What a terrifying opponent.
Maybe he would lose this fight, but it didn't matter anymore—he was thoroughly enjoying the battle.
Boom!
The golden sun expanded rapidly upon impact, and the enormous shockwave reduced trees and rocks to ash.
"They're terrifying. They're both nearing that level... monsters," Gaban muttered to himself, even using his Haki to shield himself from the shockwaves.
Both of them were clearly growing stronger as they fought.
Gaban was certain now.
These two were the closest to becoming Yonko, and they were still so young. It was inevitable—they would both beco emperors of the sea.
As of now, they might not be able to defeat a Yonko.
But one-on-one, no one could stop them from leaving if they wanted to.
The battle raged on.
Day turned to night, and night gave way to morning.
Three days passed.
For three full days, the two fought without tiring.
In that ti, word of the battle spread like wildfire thanks to the efforts of the press, reaching even the Grand Line.
...
In the first half of the Grand Line, just ten kiloters from Reverse Mountain, a massive pleasure ship had been anchored at sea for nearly two weeks.
It belonged to Stussy, Queen of the Pleasure District, who had co from the New World.
Her mission: infiltrate the Radiant Eclipse Pirates and beco a spy.
But the World Governnt and the Navy had lost track of Kuke.
How was she supposed to find him?
Instead of wandering the seas aimlessly, the ever-clever Stussy preferred to wait for him to show up.
"Kuke is most likely sowhere in the first half of the Grand Line, followed by one of the four seas. The New World is the least likely. Given his fa, he'll be spotted sooner or later. Once I know his location, I can get to him quickly."
Beep beep beep!
Her Den Den Mushi rang. It was the World Governnt's intelligence agency.
"Kuke has been sighted in the East Blue, in the Goa Kingdom. Head there imdiately."
"The East Blue?"
Stussy rose from her chair with a lazy stretch, her lips curling into a seductive smile. "So, little brother, you've finally shown yourself. Let's go!"
...
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