Night covered Mount Colubo quietly.
Inside the Dadan Family cabin, firewood crackled softly while warm orange light illuminated the room.
Kahn sat cross-legged beside the fire.
Meanwhile, Monkey D.
Luffy lay asleep across his lap, snoring lightly while a snot bubble expanded and shrank rhythmically with every breath.
Nearby, Portgas D.
Ace and Sabo listened attentively.
Or rather— Sabo listened attentively.
Ace mostly looked confused.
Kahn was simply bored.
This world lacked games, movies, or even proper entertainment.
So occasionally, he passed time by retelling stories from his previous life.
Tonight’s story involved a wealthy young man living within a corrupt city consumed by crime and fear.
The man possessed no Devil Fruit.
No superhuman powers.
No special bloodline.
Yet through relentless training, intellect, and unshakable willpower, he transformed himself into something terrifying.
A symbol.
At night, he wore a mask and cape.
He used fear itself to hunt criminals hiding within darkness.
And despite the city’s corruption, he still considered protecting it his responsibility.
Eventually, the story ended.
Ace immediately frowned.
“…That guy sounds stupid.” “He’s rich but chooses to get beaten up every night instead of eating meat?” Ace fundamentally could not understand the concept.
But Sabo’s reaction differed completely.
The blond boy sat frozen while firelight reflected within his eyes intensely.
His grip around the steel pipe in his hands tightened gradually.
Because Sabo saw himself within that story.
Both born into nobility.
Both disgusted by the hypocrisy surrounding them.
To Sabo, the Goa Kingdom itself resembled Gotham.
The divide between High Town’s nobles and the starving people of Gray Terminal was crueler than most pirate raids.
Kahn noticed the look in Sabo’s eyes immediately.
But he said nothing.
Everyone chose their own path eventually.
He had no intention of forcing Sabo toward any particular future.
Several nights later— Inside High Town.
The inner district reserved exclusively for Goa Kingdom nobility.
The streets were spotless.
Elegant lamps illuminated the roads warmly.
But no amount of light could cleanse the filth hidden within noble hearts.
A portly nobleman walked leisurely through the street while surrounded by guards.
Viscount Charles.
A hereditary noble of the Goa Kingdom.
No bounty.
No pirate reputation.
Yet among the poor districts, his name inspired greater fear than many East Blue pirates.
Because unlike pirates— Men like him held legal authority.
And today, Charles entertained himself exactly as usual.
A thin young boy cleaning sewage gutters had accidentally overturned his basket nearby.
Mud splashed across Charles’s polished shoes.
The nobleman’s expression twisted instantly.
“Filthy trash.” He slowly drew a gold-decorated rapier from his waist.
The guards beside him merely sneered.
Nobody considered this unusual.
Inside Goa Kingdom, killing commoners barely counted as a crime.
The terrified boy collapsed backward while trembling uncontrollably.
Charles pointed the rapier toward his throat.
Then thrust downward.
Bang.
A faint sound suddenly echoed from above.
Not loud.
But enough.
Before Charles could react— A dark figure dropped from the sky.
The descending silhouette moved absurdly fast.
A steel pipe slammed violently against the side of Charles’s rapier.
CLANG!!
The sound of colliding metal exploded through the street.
Charles screamed instantly.
The force traveling through the weapon tore open his palm before launching the rapier spinning into a nearby brick wall.
Blood splattered across the pavement.
The guards reacted immediately.
Swords drawn.
Muskets raised.
They quickly shielded Charles behind them while staring at the sudden attacker.
A small figure stood silently ahead.
A teenager-sized silhouette.
Top hat.
Black cloak.
Face hidden beneath torn cloth.
Only sharp eyes remained visible.
The dramatic cape fluttered through the night wind.
If Ace had witnessed this scene, he would have laughed himself unconscious.
The outfit looked unbelievably ridiculous.
But to Sabo— It looked perfect.
This was exactly the entrance he envisioned.
Descending from the heavens.
Crushing evil beneath darkness.
“Who are you?!” Charles shouted furiously.
Sabo lowered the brim of his hat slightly.
Then deliberately deepened his voice.
“I am the embodiment of the night.” “This city is diseased.” “I came here to cure it.” He directly quoted Kahn’s earlier story almost word-for-word.
Charles nearly laughed from anger.
“What kind of lunatic are you?!” “Shoot him!” The guards instantly fired.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Lead bullets tore through the air.
Against ordinary people, that barrage would have been fatal.
But Sabo was no ordinary child.
He was a monster forged beneath five years of hellish training under Kahn.
Sabo’s leg muscles tightened explosively.
Soru.
Boom!!
The stone pavement cracked beneath his feet.
Then Sabo vanished entirely.
Every bullet missed.
The guards stared around in panic.
“Too slow.” Sabo’s voice echoed from above them.
Everyone instinctively looked upward.
And froze.
Sabo stood in midair casually.
Like someone walking invisible stairs through the sky itself.
Geppo.
Against ordinary East Blue guards who had never even witnessed Grand Line combat— This technique looked divine.
Sabo flipped gracefully through the air before descending rapidly.
His steel pipe swung downward violently.
A thin black aura wrapped around the weapon briefly.
The embryonic form of Busoshoku Haki.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Three heavy impacts echoed consecutively.
The guards collapsed instantly before even screaming properly.
Broken collarbones.
Destroyed ribs.
Their bodies crashed across the street unconscious.
The entire battle ended within seconds.
Charles’s arrogance disappeared entirely.
His legs trembled uncontrollably.
This was not human strength.
This was a monster.
Sabo landed calmly upon the street before twirling the steel pipe once.
Then he slowly walked toward Charles.
Step by step.
The nobleman retreated in terror.
“Stay away from me!” “I’m a noble of Goa Kingdom!” “If you attack me, the Marines will hunt you down!” Sabo stopped briefly.
Nobility.
Those disgusting words again.
He grew up hearing constant speeches about bloodlines, status, and superiority.
He hated all of it.
“The blood of nobles…” “…is still red.” Without hesitation, Sabo swung the steel pipe downward.
Crack!!
The sound of shattering bone echoed brutally across the street.
Charles collapsed immediately while screaming like a slaughtered pig.
His leg bent unnaturally.
Snot and tears covered his face.
All noble dignity vanished instantly.
Nearby, the rescued gutter-cleaning boy still stared blankly at Sabo.
To him, this masked figure resembled a hero descending from legend.
Sabo quietly removed several gold coins from his pocket.
The money came from scavenging and odd jobs around Gray Terminal.
He tossed the coins toward the boy.
“Leave.” “Find somewhere you can survive.” The child grabbed the coins desperately before fleeing into the alleys.
Sabo then looked back toward the screaming nobleman.
He could have killed him easily.
But he didn’t.
Because Kahn once said something important.
Heroes shouldn’t kill casually.
Even within this pirate world.
Even in a sea ruled by violence.
Sabo still wanted principles of his own.
And besides— For a pampered noble like Charles— Losing a leg might actually feel worse than death.