Screw It, I'm Going Out to Find It!

Chapter XXI: The Marine King's Crew

Sabo drummed his fingers on top of the table while resting his chin in his other hand, propped up by his elbow. Laying in front of him was a newspaper that had just come in, and he was busy making sure he hadn't misread it. So he read it a second time, then a third, and a fourth.

After half an hour of sipping coffee and staring at the same article, the only sound to leave him was a soft, "Huh."

"Something interesting?" The man across from him asked. Sabo turned the paper around and slid it across the table. Ace adjusted his haphazard position, dropping his feet to the ground and setting his donut down. He squinted down at the text before grunting. "So, the crow shitting on Sengoku is back?'

"Not that; look lower," Sabo insisted. Sure enough, Ace's eyes landed on the crazed smile of his little brother. The range of emotions depicted by the four people in the photo made it look like a renaissance painting: unbridled joy, absolute terror, wary determination, and indifference. The caption below spoke of his recent promotion.

"Looks like Luffy is rising through the ranks, about time." Ace kicked his feet up again and slid the paper back

Sabo sighed, taking a swig of his coffee. Ace had no idea how he managed to drink it without any milk or creamer. "He should have made it earlier," Sabo retorted. "He's lagging behind his potential because he's so reckless. The higher ups don't want someone so careless having responsibility."

"What about Garp?" Ace asked.

Sabo pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sure there's a reason they kept their two biggest problems in one spot. Though, I don't want to make it sound like I'm not happy for him."

"I get it: it's Luffy. It's a bit odd that there was that big fiasco with him talking about pirates, and now they're promoting him."

Sabo turned the page and hummed. "Well, that would explain it. They're making an exception to his rank and having him under the direct command of the admirals. And since the average person won't see it for what it really is, they're claiming he's a prodigy trained by the hero of the navy since he was a kid."

Ace burst out laughing. That was just like their brother, getting into trouble and needing his every move watched. He really needed to keep an ear out for when Sengoku finally blinked long enough for Luffy to cause pandemonium. Hell, his bet was that Luffy would find the one piece by accident but get disappointed that he can't eat it.

"Anything else that's big?" asked Ace.

Sabo flipped through the pages. "Looks like we'll be receiving those fancy scroll things. They've been delayed due to early thefts of the initial cargo, but the world government is prioritizing getting them to marines."

From there their conversation descended into their usual mixture of small talk and banter. In the back of both their minds, they were eager to see what Luffy would do next.

***

It had been years since he left the Grand Line, and now the vacancy on his head felt greater than ever before. Despite the fits of sneezing and runny nose it gave him, it was a good hat, and he missed it. However, it seemed to bother the other members of team SBYR more than him.

What nobler destiny was there other than for it to help someone in need. He had found a homeless, old man suffering in the heat with no way to protect himself. Shanks had gifted his hat to that old man, and he would never forget the look of gratitude he received. That was the reason he had chosen to become a huntsmen: to help those in need.

Then it all came crashing down. Shanks was in the middle of sailing off with his team, waving to the old man, when a man stumbled out of a bar nearby. No one thought much of it until the man loudly slurred, "Oh shit, free hat!" He then proceeded to full body tackle the old man and run off with the hat.