Dozens of thugs were swarming Ling.
'Finally… I can start now.'
'Ace must be crushed right now. Sabo was his first friend after all and the first one who accepted him.'
A blur caught the corner of his eye.
'That's gonna hurt.'
A metal bat slammed into Ling's side, sending him flying through the air. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
"LING!!" Ace shouted, his voice cracking.
"LING!!" Luffy cried too.
Ling crashed into a pile of scrap, the impact throwing up a cloud of dust.
Bluejam sneered, arms crossed.
"This kid's something else… he actually held out for minutes against seventy men," he muttered, half-impressed.
But Ling got up.
Bruised was visible on him.
And without a second's hesitation, he charged straight at Bluejam.
The captain's smirk vanished.
He felt something.
Bluejam quickly drew his pistol.
Bang!
Ling barely dodged. The bullet hit his shoulder.
"AAARGH!!" he screamed, collapsing to one knee.
"LING!!" Ace and Luffy roared, straining against the guards.
Blood streamed from Ling's shoulder, dripping into the ground.
"You bastard! What did you do to Ling?!"
Ace shouted, his eyes wide with rage.
"Stop it!! Let him go!! You fuckers! All of you ganging up on one guy?!"
He struggled harder.
"Waaahhh!" Luffy wailed, his tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Fight me instead, you pieces of shit!" Ace yelled.
"Ahhh! Ling is bleeding! Waaahhh!" Luffy sobbed louder.
Ace clenched his teeth so hard his jaw shook.
"Damn it… LING!!!"
"Heh." Bluejam chuckled.
"That's what you get for acting tough, brat."
But Ling lifted his head.
And glared.
That glare sent a chill down Bluejam's spine.
"Tch… What the hell is that look…?"
"Everyone!" Bluejam barked.
"Beat him down! I want him unconscious!"
His crew swarmed in.
Ling didn't even have time to stand.
Fists and boots rained down on him, hammering him into the ground.
"NO!! STOP!!" Ace screamed.
"I SAID STTOOOPPP!!!"
A pulse erupted from Ace.
A violent surge of energy burst out from him, knocking everyone within a hundred meters off their feet.
Even Bluejam.
'It worked!'
'He awakened Conqueror's Haki…'
Ling thought before everything went black.
A few hours later...
At the Pirate Cove near Grey Terminal
Bluejam sat with one hand on his chin, fuming.
"How the hell did we all pass out…?"
"And the kids got away too?! Damn it!" He slammed his fist on a crate.
"Let's forget about them for now. We gotta do what we've been ordered."
"Hey! Bring me the Grey Terminal map!" he barked.
Then he pointed at his crew.
"You! All of you! Carry those packages to the marked locations! Now!"
"Yes, Captain!" his crew responded in unison, scrambling into action.
At Dadan's House.
Luffy and Ace sat bedside Ling. He was bandage through and through.
"Ace… I don't like it when Sabo's not here," Luffy said quietly, his head lowered.
"Live with it," Ace muttered, arms crossed.
"I don't like it either. I wanna go after him."
He exhaled.
"But I don't know what's really best for him. Let's see how things play out. If he can't take it, he can come back."
He stood up, stretching his arms.
"So let's save some money for our pirate saving until he comeback."
'Seems like everything went according to plan,' Ling thought, eyes still closed.
'Good thing Ace awakened his Conqueror's Haki. That means the second part of the plan will go smoothly too.'
'But man… what I did back there was risky as hell. I could've died if the bullet hit my heart.'
'I could've easily beaten Bluejam by myself. Fighting seventy thugs is no big deal for me too.'
'I unlocked my Conqueror's Haki a few months ago. All thanks to Naguri when he helped me realize what I truly yearn for. That's why there were two unconscious pigs near where we did the sake ritual.'
'I didn't notice I had it until weeks later. We were in the middle of training when I suddenly knocked out a whole flock of birds training.'
'Since then, I tried practicing on my own, but nothing improved.'
'So I went to Naguri for help.'
'The look on his face when I showed it to him… hahahahaha!.'
'I still can't control it, but I can do intimidation against weaker opponents.'
'And since I'm stronger than Bluejam now, scaring him was easy.'
'It'll probably take years to master it.'
Meanwhile, in the Goa Kingdom.
Sabo sat stiffly, face bruised, as a guard questioned him behind closed doors.
His father loomed nearby, insisting Sabo blame them for the things he had done. He even tried threatening him.
"If you don't speak, Ace, Luffy, and that other brat, they'll all die. I will tell Bluejam."
But Sabo stayed silent.
Outlook III gritted his teeth.
When persuasion failed, he paid the guards to cover it all up.
An hour later.
The sun had already begun to set.
Sabo sat with his mother and newly adopted brother, having just finished a cold conversation with his father.
Now, alone in his room, Sabo stood by the window. The sky also had turned dark.
Then..
Knock knock.
"Hey, Brother! I heard you're stupid."
It was Stelly, his newly adopted brother, voice thick with smug disdain.
Sabo turned, just staring at him.
"Mother and Father always say it behind closed doors," Stelly went on casually.
"But you've got the devil's luck, y'know. They're getting rid of all the burnables tomorrow."
He grinned cruelly.
"If you'd stayed in the Grey Terminal, you'd have been toast!"
Sabo's eyes widened.
He lunged forward, grabbing Stelly by the collar.
"What are you doing?!" Stelly shouted, panicking.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Sabo snarled.
"Tell me! What's going on?!"
Stelly struggled but couldn't escape Sabo's grip.
"It was planned months ago! Grey Terminal is going to be burned down! They're clearing it out!"
The next day, afternoon, at Dadan's House
Ling, Luffy, and Ace returned from training. The day went on as usual, but both Ace and Luffy were unusually quiet.
While everyone was gathered, Dogra approached with a serious look.
"Boss. Did you hear? The World Government is sending observers to East Blue."
"Yeah," Dadan muttered, lighting a cigarette.
"They're supposed to arrive in two days. One of them's even a Celestial Dragon."
That drew murmurs from the bandits.
As they waited for dinner, a shout came from outside.
"Boss! You've gotta see this!"
It was Magra.
Everyone rushed out, Ace and Luffy included.
"What the hell are you screaming about?" Dadan snapped.
One of the bandits pointed north.
"The sky! Look!"
Flames were rising in the distance.
"That's Grey Terminal!" Ace shouted.
"Our money!" Luffy panicked.
"I'll go get Sabo. You and Luffy go save the money," Ling said quickly.
"What?! That's dangerous!" Ace barked.
But Ling was already sprinting into the woods before Ace could stop him.
"Damn Ling!" Ace cursed.
"Come on, Luffy!" he said, and the two of them dashed after him, heading toward the flames.
"Hey! Come back here!" Dadan shouted.
Thirty minutes later...
Grey Terminal
Ling arrived at the outskirts of the burning trash heap.
"Damn… it's so fucking hot in here," he muttered.
He sprinted toward the gate.
Outside, Bluejam and his men were gathered, laughing.
"The king will reward us with titles!" Bluejam shouted.
His men cheered.
"We'll live in the high town! We'll be nobles! Hahaha!"
Bluejam stepped up to the gate and called out.
"It's me! Bluejam!"
No answer.
"Hey! Can you hear me?!" he shouted louder, he felt unease.
"…Did they lie to us?" one of his men muttered.
And then...
"Hahahaha! You're all idiots," came a voice from behind.
Bluejam spun around.
"Who the hell are you?!"
It was Ling.
"You bastards thought I'd let that slide?" he said, stepping forward.
Bluejam's grin twisted into a scowl.
"You again?! You're insane, kid! Do you really wish death?!"
"No," Ling replied calmly, cracking his neck.
"I just came to return the favor."
Bluejam's men rushed at him, weapons drawn.
Skip.
He vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of one of Bluejam's crewmates.
CRACK!
A punch to the gut sent the man flying into a pile of flaming crates.
Another charged with a machete.
SHAVE.
Ling reappeared behind him, sweeping his legs and slamming him face-first into the dirt.
One after another, they came...
And one after another, they fell.
"W-what the hell is this kid?!" one of them screamed.
Bluejam growled, drawing his pistol.
"I'm not afraid of some punk with tricks!"
He fired.
Ling Skipped again.
The bullet missed, striking one of Bluejam's own men.
Bluejam looked around, his crew was being dismantled.
One by one.
Ling emerged from the smoke.
"You're not dealing with the same kid from yesterday," he said, voice low.
Bluejam aimed again, panicked.
But Ling was already in front of him.
One punch.
Just one.
It landed square in Bluejam's gut.
BOOM.
A shockwave rippled through the air, kicking up ash and dust.
Bluejam flew back, crashing into a burning wall and collapsing in a heap, coughing blood.
"That's for yesterday," he muttered.