Another purpose

Special little brothers

The day Ace got Whitebeard's jolly roger tattooed on his back was when he sought out Itachi. He hadn't approached him since their conversation from so long ago, only giving him a smile and a wave whenever they saw each other.

Itachi hadn't minded. Letting the young man find his way and rhythm with the crew was quite fun to watch.

The festivities of Ace officially accepting the Whitebeards as his family, was finally winding down, most of the crew passed out or heading back to their rooms.

As Ace came to a standstill, Itachi stared at him expectantly.

"So...what was your life was like before becoming a pirate?" Asked Ace.

Itachi blinked and had a small smile towards him. "...I was a shinobi back in my homeland. A prodigy to be exact. I was supposed to be the next leader for our clad." Said Itachi. "Seem like it was a big deal." Replied Ace. "It was. But when it comes to something valuable, there's always come with a cost." Slicence began to surface between the two until Itachi started to speak again. "Do you have a little brother, Ace?"

Ace perked up after that question. "Yeah, I do. The little idiot name is Luffy." "Mm. I have a little brother also. His name is Sasuke."

Both of them talk about how their little brother can be a bother, but no matter what they do, the eldest will always love them. "So how's sasuke is like?" Asked Ace.

Itachi sighed and proceed to speak about his little brother. "When he was a little kid, he was ever the hothead. Plenty smart, but always tended to do things before he fully thought them out."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He was a crybaby when he was young. So small and naive to the harshness of the world. He was a mama's boy, always pestering her and following her. Our father was a strict man, a clan leader. His love was… hard to understand. Not something Sasuke could figure out, so he always sought out mother for hugs and kisses. She didn't mind though; she loved to cuddle with him. He would always follow me around too. I was his cool, smart, doting older brother. In his eyes, I could do no wrong."

Ace had a hint of a grin on his face as he listened to Itachi talk, thoughts of Luffy coming to mind. Itachi's tone became rather sorrowful, pulling Ace away from Luffy.

"Certain… uh… circumstances forced me to leave our village. I had wronged him the most a brother could, but it was all so that I could save him. You would understand, right Ace? That you would throw away your life in an instant to save your little brother's? I made him hate me. Hate me so much that he would train to become strong. So strong that he could kill me. If he could kill me, then he would have risen to a point where very few people could hurt him. It's a warped way of thinking, but our island is quite cut-throat. Success and survivability depended on your strength and very little of anything else. Quite similar to those who travel the Grand Line. Strength determines a lot. Was it wrong for me to do that to my brother? Yes. But it was the only way to ensure that he could live, so I would do it again without hesitation."

Shocked was putting it lightly of how Ace felt. Getting your own brother to hate you that much. It was unimaginable. He thought back to when Itachi had first told him this months ago, and once again, he could not even fathom getting Luffy to hate him that much. He would...he would have to... kill. Kill someone close to Luffy.

"But in the end, I was made the decision to kill my clan and family for my brother's sake."

Ace stand up and grabbed Itachi by the collar to look at him in the eyes. "W-what the hell is wrong with you!? You kill your own flesh and blood just for your brother?! Why the hell did yo-" Ace stopped mid sentence to stare at Itachi's Sharingan for a moment. Silence reappeared between the two.

"If you learn about the past about my clan and the government that run there, you wouldn't know what I had to do to be a spy on both sides. The reality is that I was tool for their benefits and their dirty work." Said Itachi. "As a pirate, would you take a order from Whitebeard to kill someone close to you?"

Ace stared in shocked hearing a order to kill someone close. Sure, if it's a punishment or a crew member broke a rule, but killing a close friends or family member is unimaginable.

"I-i" mumbled Ace. Then he felt a hand upon his hair and began to ruffle it. Itachi sighed and began to give him a genuine smile. "You don't have to answer. I don't have a right to live. A right to be a part of this family. The sins I carry are heavy and even Whitebeard's love can't ease their burden."

Ace noticed the tears of Itachi started to  roll down upon his face. Ace's face turn into concern. "I honestly thought Sasuke killed me, you know? His killing me would be the closest thing I could find for repentance. And you know the worst of it? He forgave me. With his sword in my chest, he said he forgave me. It honestly just made me feel worse. I am so undeserving of his love and forgiveness, especially after everything that I had done to him. When I first awoke on that island and realized I wasn't dead, I wanted to kill myself, but to do so was to spit on Sasuke's forgiveness. To spit on the efforts of my mysterious 'savior'. So I must live. For Sasuke and to find out why I was allowed to live."

Suicide is something that Ace can relate on. It's never easy upon a person to feel  like your nothing to this world. Ace sighed and proceed to let go of him and started to hug him. Itachi twitch on the action that's happening right now. Ace proceed to talk again.

"I guess… I can understand. When I first learned that Roger was my dad. I thought it was cool to be the son of the Pirate King, but listening to everyone say how glad they were that he was dead and that any children he had deserved to die made me feel worthless. It made me lash out in anger and hate against the world because if the whole world hated me, did I not have the right to hate it right back? I asked my gramps what the point of me being alive was and he replied saying that I would just have to live to find out. You really helped me find my place here and I can't thank you enough for that. Just by continuing to live, I found something that made it all worth it. My little brother, Luffy, and my family here are godsends. The love they have for me is all I need and coming here has made me realize that I have made my way through this world against all odds. Now? I feel alive. Free. So I guess all I have to say, and you've probably already heard this from Pops or Marco, is that you just need to live. Go out and live and find out for yourself why you are still alive. I can't forgive you for killing your family, but I can accept that you right now are a very different person. The crew looks up to you and the commanders all appreciate you. Whitebeard respects you, so there is something redeemable in you I guess."

He let go of Itachi and started to walk away. He stopped and turn around to look at Itachi for a second and then smile at him. "We're both lucky to have little brother that look up to us."

Itachi turned to stare at Ace with a smile of his own. "Yeah, guess we do."