"Sabo… Sabo… How is this possible? How could he get captured? He's that strong…"
Luffy sat on the grass with the newspaper clenched tightly in his trembling hands. Disbelief filled his face as he stared at the headline.
To him, Sabo was the same as Ace, an irreplaceable older brother. Ever since they were kids, Sabo had always stood tall in his eyes, someone who could overcome anything. Luffy never imagined that Sabo would end up captured by the World Government, just like Ace once had been.
And now they were going to publicly execute him.
As for the rest of the newspaper, Luffy completely lost interest in reading it.
Margaret quietly stood beside him, stunned by his reaction. Ever since she met Luffy, he had always been cheerful and carefree, the kind of person who could laugh no matter how terrible the situation became. Even when the Straw Hats had been separated across the world, she had never seen him look this devastated.
Right now, he looked like someone who had lost part of himself.
"Luffy… I… I'm sorry…"
She gently wrapped her arms around him, trying to give him some comfort.
The moment she saw the news, she immediately brought the newspaper to him. She knew how important Sabo was to him, just like Ace.
But Luffy remained frozen, still trapped in the shock of hearing that his brother was about to die.
After a long silence, a sharp light suddenly returned to Luffy's eyes.
"I'm going to save Sabo."
Margaret blinked. "What?"
Luffy turned toward her and grabbed her shoulders firmly.
"I said I'm going to save Sabo!"
His voice carried absolute determination.
Actually, ever since setting sail, Luffy had barely paid attention to newspapers or intelligence gathering. Rolan had warned everyone countless times that information was one of the most important things on the sea. With enough information, even impossible situations could be turned around.
But Luffy was still Luffy.
He listened when people talked, then immediately did whatever he wanted afterward.
Margaret finally processed his words.
"You're going to rescue him?"
"Yeah! Sabo's my brother! He's still imprisoned right now, so security probably isn't at its highest yet. If I get there fast enough, I can break him out!"
Luffy immediately stood up and started walking toward the shore.
Margaret quickly grabbed his hand.
"Luffy, I'm coming with you."
Luffy turned around. "No, stay here and wait for me."
Margaret shook her head without hesitation.
"No. I'm going with you."
"It's dangerous," Luffy said seriously. "Even Sabo got captured. The people there are monsters. You can't come with me."
He genuinely didn't want her involved.
Even if Margaret were only a friend, he still wouldn't drag her into something this dangerous. But now their relationship was far beyond that.
There was no way he could allow her to risk her life for him.
Margaret lowered her gaze slightly before speaking again.
"We're together now. If you're suffering, then I should share that burden too."
A faint blush appeared on her face, but her eyes remained firm.
Luffy stared at her silently.
"Precisely because we're together, I can't let you come."
Margaret suddenly hugged him tightly.
"Sabo is your brother, which means he matters to me too. And more than anything… I don't want to just sit somewhere safe while you face danger alone."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"If I stay behind while you risk your life out there, I'll regret it forever."
Luffy froze for a moment.
Then he slowly smiled.
"Alright. Then let's go save Sabo together."
Once they made their decision, the two immediately borrowed a small ship and departed.
...
A few days later, rough waves battered the small vessel as it sailed across the violent sea.
"Margaret, if you weren't here, I probably would've sunk ten times already."
Luffy sat at the bow of the ship, laughing awkwardly.
He had absolutely no idea how navigation worked. Compasses confused him, sails confused him even more, and he nearly flipped the ship several times after leaving Amazon Lily's waters.
The weather on the Grand Line was unpredictable as always, storms appearing without warning.
If Luffy had sailed alone, the sea would have swallowed him almost immediately.
Fortunately, Margaret handled everything perfectly.
What Luffy didn't know was that Margaret had secretly spent a long time learning navigation skills from Nami after realizing how hopeless Luffy was at sailing.
Margaret shook her head softly.
"This is the least I can do. I can't fight like everyone else, so I want to help however I can."
Luffy immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"No, you've already helped me a lot."
Margaret leaned gently against his chest, happiness filling her face.
At that moment, a loud voice suddenly echoed across the sea.
"Luffy?! What the hell are you doing here?!"
Margaret instantly jumped away from Luffy, her face turning bright red.
Luffy looked toward the source of the voice and froze.
An enormous pirate ship approached them.
The ship resembled a giant whale, and the flag flying above it carried a skull marked with Whitebeard's iconic crescent mustache.
Luffy immediately recognized it.
"The Whitebeard Pirates…"
But before he could say anything else, he spotted the familiar figure standing at the front of the ship.
"Ace!!!"
Standing proudly at the bow was none other than Portgas D. Ace.
Ace looked equally shocked.
This was the first time he had seen Luffy since the Marineford War.
As the ships drew closer, ropes were lowered from the Moby Dick, allowing Luffy and Margaret to climb aboard.
The moment Luffy stepped onto the deck, he immediately threw himself at Ace.
"Ace! Long time no see!"
"Oi, idiot, you're crushing me!"
"Hahaha! Sorry!"
Luffy finally let go.
Ace rubbed his neck before punching Luffy lightly on the head.
"You damn brat."
Then his attention shifted toward Margaret, who stood quietly nearby.
"And who's this?"
Luffy immediately grabbed Margaret's hand.
"My wife."
Margaret's entire face instantly turned red.
Ace nearly choked.
"WHAT?! Since when did you get married?!"
The shock on his face was genuine.
Out of the three brothers, Luffy should have been the last person to even think about relationships. His entire brain normally revolved around meat and becoming Pirate King.
Yet somehow he already brought a girl aboard and casually called her his wife.
Margaret frantically waved her hands.
"N-No! We're not married! We're just dating!"
Luffy tilted his head in confusion.
"Huh? But aren't girlfriends basically wives?"
Margaret's face became even redder.
"We're not married yet, so it's different!"
Luffy scratched his head.
"But people on Amazon Lily say that stuff all the time."
Ace finally understood the misunderstanding.
Before he could explain anything, Yamato suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Then I'm Ace's wife too."
Ace immediately froze.
Marco covered his face while the commanders nearby struggled to hold back laughter.
A second later, Jozu burst out laughing first.
"Hahahaha!"
The entire deck erupted.
Luffy looked completely confused, not understanding why everyone found this funny.
Margaret and Yamato both looked like they wanted to disappear from embarrassment.
Ace awkwardly scratched his cheek before forcing himself back on topic.
"Forget that. Why are you two sailing alone?"
Luffy's expression instantly became serious again.
He grabbed Ace by the shoulders.
"Ace, Sabo got captured by the World Government. They're planning to execute him. I'm going to save him."
Ace's expression darkened slightly.
"I know."
Luffy stared at him.
"You know?!"