"Call the police! Sabo's gone!" Outlook shouted, furious.
After being thrown into a basement and locked inside, Sabo had managed to pry open an old grate and crawl into the sewers.
Running full-speed toward Grey Terminal.
He emerged at the edge of town
Two guards spotted him.
"What are you doing?! You need to evacuate!" one of them said.
Sabo pushed past them.
"Open the gate!" he shouted, desperation in his voice.
The guards grabbed him roughly.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
One of them swung his rifle, cracking it against Sabo's side and knocking him back.
But Sabo got up.
Staggered.
And charged again.
"Ace! Luffy! Ling!" he cried, banging on the gate.
"RUN!"
"Get him!" the guard ordered.
The two began beating Sabo with their rifles until he finally collapsed.
"Throw him to the side," one of them said.
They dragged his limp body into an alley and left him in the dirt.
"L...Ling… Ace… Luffy…" Sabo mumbled, eyes fluttering.
A sudden gust of strong wind swept through the alley.
A man in a green cloak appeared, kneeling beside him.
"What happened to you, boy?" the man asked, his voice was calming.
Sabo turned his head slowly.
"O...old man…"
He reached out weakly and grabbed the man's cloak.
"The royalty… the nobles… they're behind the fire," Sabo whispered.
"Believe me…"
The man said nothing. Just listening.
"This town smells worse than Grey Terminal… it smells like rotten people," Sabo continued, trembling.
"If I stay here, I'll never be free…"
"I'm… ashamed of being born a noble…"
The man's expression changed. Eyes narrowing.
'They've finally made a kid say that… this country… this kingdom…' he thought bitterly.
"I know how you feel," the man said softly.
"I was born here too. But I still don't have the power to change it."
Sabo's eyes welled with tears.
Someone was finally listening.
Behind a nearby wall, a shadow moved.
"Boy," the man said, looking toward the alleyway.
"You there."
Ling stepped into view.
"I'm his brother. Ling."
"You came to pick him up?" the man asked.
"Yes," Ling nodded.
"Our other brothers are waiting. Even though we're not blood-related… our relations are stronger than that."
The man studied him.
Ling raised his eyes.
'Dragon,' he thought.
Even with Dragon kneeling, Ling was still the smaller one. But something about his presence was immense.
Ling clenched his fists.
"I heard what Sabo said…" he began.
"If he stays here, he'll always be trapped by the shadow of his family. Even we won't be able to save him from that. He'll never be free in this country."
Dragon remained silent.
"And you say you don't have the power yet," Ling said.
"I don't know what you mean by that, but based on your words… it sounds like you will free this country someday."
"Can you t..."
Dragon stood, lifting Sabo gently in his arms.
"I understand, Ling," he said, turning away.
"I promise! I'll change this country in the future."
Ling stepped forward, voice firm.
"We shared our dreams, all four of us. Sabo's dream is to see the world and write a book about it…"
"He wants to make sure no one else has to go through what he did!"
Dragon stopped for just a second.
Then he walked into the wind.
And vanished.
Suddenly, a paper fluttered through the air, carried by the wind. It landed at Ling's feet.
He picked it up, and read the contents.
"I gotta go!" Ling muttered, turning and sprinting back.
Back in Grey Terminal, a strong gust of wind surged across the burning wasteland, snuffing out flames and carving a clear path toward the shoreline.
"What just happened?" a man said, coughing through the smoke.
"There's a path!"
"Hey, look! There's a ship!"
Onboard that ship stood Dragon, Sabo lay in his arms.
"How awful… burning down an entire area with all its people!" a large-faced figure grumbled, Emporio Ivankov.
"By the way, Dragon," Ivankov added,
"How did you know about the situation in such an outlying place in the East Blue?"
"Is there something special about this country?"
Dragon stood at the ship's railing, wind pulling at his cloak.
"This country is an example of what the world will become." He said.
"There can be no true happiness in a world where the 'undesirable' are discarded."
He looked down at the unconscious boy in his arms.
"Even in a place like this… there are children who dream of freedom."
He gently passed Sabo into Ivankov's arms.
"Iva. Take care of this kid."
Then he stepped forward, raising his hand toward the survivors staring up from the shore.
"To those who are ready to fight for freedom, come aboard!" Dragon's voice rang out across the smoke and silence.
The next day.
Ling, Ace, and Luffy had returned the night before. The two brothers had safely recovered their buried pirate savings.
But Ling left early, he had one last part of his plan to complete.
"I need a fishing boat," Ling muttered, walking around the Goa Kingdom docks.
'I'll fake Sabo's death… just like in the anime,' he thought.
'I'll find a boat and craft a pirate flag. Then I'll build a scarecrow dressed like Sabo… and let the Celestial Dragon escape.'
He smirked slightly.
'I've spent months collecting clothes that match Sabo's exactly… the top hat, goggles, coat… all of it.'
After searching for several minutes, Ling spotted a small, unattended fishing boat.
"Looks perfect."
He dragged it to the edge of the dock and began preparing.
On a piece of cloth, he drew a simple Jolly Roger. An 'S', Sabo's first initial.
Then he got to work building the dummy.
Soon, a scarecrow dressed in Sabo's clothes stood aboard the boat, lifelike enough at a glance.
"All done," Ling whispered.
"Now… I just have to wait for the right moment."
Then he paused.
"Oh yeah! I need a bird to deliver Sabo's letter to Ace…"
He looked up at the sky, scanning for any news coo or carrier bird.
"One last message… so Ace knows why Sabo decided to leave first."
A few hours later.
Thousands of people had gathered at the dock station, waiting to welcome the arrival of a World Noble.
Far away, Ling sat perched on a tree branch atop a cliff overlooking the scene.
"Three..."
"Two..."
"One..."
"This is gonna be fun," he smirked.
Below, a small fishing boat appeared on the water.
Ling sent the boat into the future after he finished his preparation.
How did he know what time?
It was plastered all over the Goa Kingdom.
"Hey, look! There's a ship leaving the port!" a noble pointed out.
Everyone turned their heads toward the sea.
The small fishing boat was drifting straight toward the government ship carrying the World Noble.
"Hey! Get back here! Don't get in the way of the ceremony!" a guard yelled, running toward the edge of the dock.
On the other side of the crowd, Sabo's family stood together.
"Could it be… Sabo?" Didit, his mother, said, squinting into the distance.
"There's no way that's him," Outlook frowned.
"He's been missing since Grey Terminal burned down," Didit pressed.
Outlook pulled out a telescope.
His eyes widened.
"Top hat… goggles… suit… scarf…" he muttered, his voice trembling with disbelief.
People at the dock began shouting.
"Kid! Get back here now!"
"Stop that boat!"
Aboard the massive government ship, the World Noble stood garishly dressed in a suit that looked like a spacesuit.
He surveyed the crowd with disinterest until he noticed something odd.
"It appears the commoners are sending out a welcome party," he said flatly.
Then he pointed.
"What is that?"
"That appears to be… a fishing boat, sir," his attendant responded.
The World Noble scoffed.
"Commoner filth."
He pulled out a gun without hesitation and aimed it at the small boat...
Bang.
The shot echoed across the bay.
The fishing boat burst into flames.
Dogra, watching from the shore, froze.
His mouth hung open in disbelief.
"…No way…"
High above, Ling stood up from his tree branch, a calm grin on his face.
"Success."
Without another word, he turned and walked away.