"Rosan, I want to talk to you about something," Mod said seriously. She had been deeply contemplating this and after how well the talks with the virus went, she decided her son was old enough to hear this.

The 4 brothers were currently in his mindscape and at Mod's call, they had quickly given the Devil Fruit their attention.

"What is it, Mod-chan?" Rosan replied calmly. He was sitting upright with Ram, as usual, resting her head on his lap. He idly stroked one of her silver twintails and she purred in bliss.

There was something else she wanted to tell him? It was unlikely that it was as bad as the virus but he could never be too sure, considering she had chosen to hide that from him in the first place. Who knew what else she was hiding from him?

Mod took a deep, nervous breath and steeled herself. She was psyching herself out for no reason. This wasn't nearly as bad as the virus and Rosan had been more than reasonable on that discussion.

"You know how I have access to all your memories, correct?" Mod asked softly and he nodded in confirmation. According to her, she could view any memory of his due to having a mindscape. It was incredibly useful to have and allowed her to remember even the smaller details of his life. That's why she had known so much about him when they had first met.

"If you have access to them, then I should as well right?" Rosan questioned and she nodded in return. The redhead didn't really think about looking back at his memories and that was something that probably would not change.

When he was younger, the thought of remembering would hurt too much so he shied away from it. Now, he saw no purpose in doing so. Memories were just that, memories and he had enough things in the past to think about.

"Yes. It's stored in an area inside your mindscape but that's for another time... If you're interested in viewing it!" Mod confirmed. She knew about his general disinterest with memories but Ram was not the same. She had demanded to see memories of times where she didn't exist and had wanted to know more about Meiko.

"I love watching your memories!" Ram gushed happily. Her and mother looked so alike but acted like two completely different people! She actually acted more like Father when he was younger and that made her giddy!

"Hm… I suppose we can show these 3 my memories from long ago," Rosan decided and his brother's eyes widened in interest. "My life was rather... hectic and I can't show you everything because you are all still young but maybe when you're older and still interested."

"Yeah!" Sabo nodded cheerfully. "That sounds fun!"

Ace nodded in agreement. Rosan's past was an interesting topic of interest that they didn't have many details about. To see with their own eyes what he had been doing? It sounded like it could be fun!

Luffy didn't really care about Rosan's past but Ace and Sabo were interested so he'd watch it too!

"Sorry to interrupt," Mod said quietly, causing them all to go silent. "Like I said, I have access to all your memories, even the ones you can't remember because I went back to look at them," she informed them all.

"That… includes memories of when you were a newborn," the purple haired woman told him hesitantly and Rosan immediately nodded in understanding, getting what she was implying.

Everyone else only looked confused.

"So you do know of my birth parents," the redhead hummed. How interesting, he had speculated that Mod had some information on his parents but he didn't care about them, that's why he refused to prod her.

Sabo and Ace's eyes went wide at that revelation. Rosan's birth parents? The Devil Fruit knew about them? But hadn't he been abandoned?

"Not exactly," Mod whispered. "I know a little bit about your mother, but I have no clue who your father is or could be. I wanted to tell you what I did know about the woman who gave birth to you."

"You hate her," Rosan pointed out and his surrogate mother locked eyes with him.

"Yes. Abandoning you to your fate is completely unforgivable and if I ever get my hands on her..." Mod had a dark look in her eyes at the thought of the woman who had so cruelly left him. Her only saving grace, was that her abandoning Rosan, allowed the two to meet.

"Ah, so she did abandon me. I guessed as much," the redhead said but he didn't look at all bothered by it. The teen remained silent and indicated for her to continue.

Mod took another deep breath.

Where to begin?

"Your mother's name is Iris D. Raisa and she is the queen of an island in the South Blue," Mod said bluntly.

Ram's jaw dropped.

"W-w-WHAT?!" She stammered at the revelation and looked up at her Father in awe. "Father is… Father is royalty?!" The teen gaped in disbelief.

When she had said Rosan was practically royalty, she didn't mean it literally! This was too much information to take in and Auntie Mod had only said one sentence!

"SHE'S A QUEEN?!" Sabo gaped. That mean two out of four of the brothers were of noble heritage and the redhead was of even higher status then the blonde had been!

Rosan hummed but didn't comment. So he was a prince? Even if he had emotions, he wouldn't have really cared. His birth mother meant nothing to him and he would never call her his mom.

It was interesting that she was a D. though. That explained who he got his middle initial from.

"Yes, I think Rosan was her first child and based on what few words I heard… he was not meant to be born," Mod said gravely and the redhead instantly pieced together the information.

"Ah, she was likely raped by my father," he said bluntly. If he wasn't supposed to be born and he was abandoned by her, it was likely that someone had forced their way onto her. That was understandable.

"That's what I think as well but she didn't say much of anything around you. She didn't even wait a day after your birth to abandon you," Mod growled lowly. The woman was merciless, leaving a newborn in the forest like that. How she could move so soon after giving birth? Mod would never know but she hadn't even hesitated to leave.

Rouge had thought Rosan was a couple weeks old when she found him, but the woman had been wrong. Rosan hadn't even been a day old.

"The only reason I know her name, is because her personal doctors called you Iris D. Rosan and referred to her as Queen Raisa while making sure you were healthy. Iris could be the surname of your father but I heavily doubt it," the woman finished and they all digested that information.

"Bitch," Ram muttered venomously. Who did she think she was? Abandoning her father?! She should be grateful that she gave birth to him! The weapon was right there with Auntie. If they ever met, there would be hell to pay.

"How does she look?" Ace asked in curiosity. It was clear that Rosan didn't care whatsoever about his birth mother so they would ask the questions instead.

"I was seeing through Rosan's eyes and he was color blind at the time so I'm not too sure," Mod muttered with a frown on her pretty face. "I believe that Rosan inherited mostly everything from her though. Her features were strikingly similar to your female form and the doctors said "He inherited your red hair and purple eyes," before going quiet and apologizing profusely, presumably from her glaring at him."

"How did I end up in Baterilla?" Rosan suddenly asked, filing that information away from later. Besides Angel and Demon, he doubted anyone looked like him.

It was unlikely that he'd ever meet her, seeing as he didn't sail through the South Blue anymore, but just in case it ever happened.

Mod hummed. "You slept for most of it but I suspect it was by flight. That was the sensation it felt like and I heard wings flapping but when you woke up, the flight had already been finished and she only stared at you for a brief moment..."

Baby Rosan must have known something was going to happen because as Raisa tucked him in a tree, eyeing him all the while with a neutral expression, he had begun to cry. The only sign that it had affected her, was the sight of her brows furrowing slightly but she had immediately banished it and had taken off without looking once.

Mod truly hated her. Memories of baby Rosan sobbing always tore at her heart strings and she wanted nothing but to hug the infant.

Rosan tilted his head as he digested her words.

So she probably had a Devil Fruit. Some type of Zoan that granted flight by the sound of it. He wondered what it was because that could likely be the reason that he loved flying so much...

"My birth father is probably powerful," Rosan commented. If it was true that she had been raped, then that meant the man who contributed, was a strong individual.

Raisa was a queen and she would probably have security. Coupled with the fact that she was a Zoan Devil Fruit user and his birth mother…

Hm.

To be so bold in his actions and go after a queen. Perhaps Rosan had inherited some of his personality from the man who had helped birth him.

What a sickening thought.

"I didn't want to tell you about her because I really do hate her and she serves absolutely no purpose to you," Mod frowned. "But when Sabo was telling us about his life and you called me out, I felt like I needed to for the both of us."

"You didn't but I'm happy you came to the decision on your own," Rosan placated her with a rub of the shoulder. It was good for her to be able to come to these decisions on her own, even if it came at the expense of withholding information from him.

"I truly don't care about learning more of the people who birthed me. My name is not Iris D. Rosan. It's Portgas D. Rosan and I am the son of Portgas D. Rouge," he said bluntly and Mod couldn't help but smile brilliantly at him. Even at such a young age, he had known he was adopted and his stance on who his mother was, never once changed. Even with the knowledge that his real mother was still alive, he still thought the same thing and she loved that.

"The fact that I am a prince, means nothing to me. Though, Maro will be happy to hear that we share something else in common."

They all sweatdropped at his nonchalance but decided this was probably the best way to go about it. If Rosan didn't care, why should they?

"I'm probably never going to meet her and I think the both of us are fine with that. There's no reason for me to put any stress on a person who I barely knew for a day," Rosan commented and Ace looked at him strangely.

The two were far different with how they approached their parents. Ace detested Roger despite never meeting the man while Rosan was completely indifferent to his mother. Even if the circumstances were different...

Maybe he could take a page out of his book? Roger didn't have to rule his life the way he was allowing it too and he had his brothers now.

It would be hard to undo years of work but what better time to start, than now.

"Good," Rosan said, patting Ace on the head and getting his hand slapped in return. "I hate father too but I don't let him weigh me down," the teen explained and the freckled boy snorted in amusement.

"Seems like we all have parental issues," the redhead hummed. He idly wondered about the fate of his birth father. Mod-chan knew nothing about him but someone like that, who would so brazenly assault a queen, couldn't have been good for the world.

Maybe he was currently in a prison? Or maybe he was dead? Eh, he didn't care.

The two ten year old's laughed at that comment before they all looked at Luffy. The boy was currently being chastised in a motherly tone by Mod for picking his nose and she was pinching his cheek for good measure.

"I wonder who Luffy's parents are..." Sabo mused. Anyone related to Garp, had to be a monster in their own right.

"Gramps and Luffy are enough for me," Ace snorted and Rosan nodded in agreement. "I don't wanna meet anyone else like those two."

An older version of Luffy, sounded like a complete disaster in the making.

The little seven year old just stared at them all in confusion. He was about to pick his nose again but Mod slapped his hand away and began to threaten him with no food.

That successfully cowed him.

"What are you guys talking about?" The youngest boy asked.

"Nothing at all, Luffy," Rosan answered immediately, not willing to explain it to the boy. His youngest brother was hopeless at the best of times.

Sabo and Mod nodded sagely.

Ace and Ram snorted in amusement.

----------------------------------------

Rosan could not stress enough, how little self preservation (Rouge would let out an unladylike snort if she heard Rosan say this) Luffy had. He wasn't sure if it was bravery or stupidity but it really could have been either or both.

The redhead's bet was on stupidity.

"Luffy, we stand no chance against that tiger!" Ace complained as he and Sabo dragged the struggling boy away.

"HE TOOK MY FIRST CATCH!" Luffy screeched indignantly and he waved his little arms in anger.

Rosan understood but sometimes it was best to just cut his losses.

They had been hunting a Danpa (Rosan was simply watching from above) and after cornering it, Luffy had successfully taken it out.

His victory had been short lived though because a huge tiger had quickly come to claim their prize, heedless of the effort the rubber boy had just put in.

Luffy, in his ever present wisdom, tried to fight the tiger and he failed spectacularly but he wasn't one to give up and that led to the situation now, with Ace and Sabo dragging the squirming rubber boy away.

The boy then proceeded to lose the first Danpa they captured, by jumping incessantly on a bridge and falling through it, leading to the Danpa falling and Rosan having to grab his brother lest he fall in the ravine.

Now they had no food.

"All the food on my ship has been eaten as well," Rosan told them, as they all lay down on the comfy large bed. When Maro and co visited, they had made sure to eat everything on the ship with the amount of parties they threw.

The redhead saw no point in restocking it so now the White Rose had no more food on it.

"I'm starving," Luffy whined and Ace punched him on the head in anger.

"It's your fault!" He roared.

"Can you blame him for getting upset about losing his first catch though?" Sabo asked thoughtfully.

"It's too reckless to fight such a big tiger though," Ace told the blonde.

"That's something you would do!" The former noble chuckled.

"Ace still doesn't think he and Luffy are similar," Rosan commented and he deftly dodged a punch aimed for his skull.

"Shut up! Both of you," the freckled boy grumbled and they all lay down to get some rest.

Luffy chose this moment to wake back up.

"Ace! Sabo! You guys gotta come aboard my ship! Okay? Say yes!" The youngest child exclaimed.

"This again?" Rosan commented, closing his eyes. He was already trapped with the little boy so this had nothing to do with him.

"All of you want to be captains and none of you will listen to the other. It won't work," the redhead said.

"He's right and I'm especially not taking orders from you, Luffy," Ace confirmed snidely. There wasn't a chance in hell he'd take orders from his useless little brother.

"But it would be fun to travel together! Rosan and I are gonna have the most fun so you should join us on my ship!" Luffy exclaimed in excitement.

"I don't like the sound of that," Mod sighed. Luffy was insanely reckless on the best days and she could already see the amount of effort Rosan would need to put in to keep him alive.

"I do!" Ram beamed. The rubber boy's omen sounded like a lot of fun!

"I'm not taking orders from anyone," Sabo said decisively.

"It's not gonna work," Ace smirked in amusement.

"Honestly, you're lucky you managed to recruit me, Luffy," Rosan added his two cents. "Normally, I would have never even thought twice of joining someone's crew. I have no interest in leading a group but I would rather do that then listen to someone else."

Ace snorted at that. The brothers had seen some of the teen's earlier memories and they readily agreed with that statement.

He was as chaotic as Luffy was! It was surreal to see the stone faced redhead, so hyper and unhinged. They felt sympathy for Mod and that Robin girl. Rosan seemed impossible to deal with.

"Oh yeah!" The seven year old said as an idea struck him. "How about this? The one who beats the big tiger can be captain!" He exclaimed with a huge grin.

"The big tiger? Are you serious?" Ace questioned with a raised brow.

"The chances of you becoming captain are pretty low," Sabo pointed out.

"That tiger is gonna eat you," Rosan said bluntly.

"That's not true! None of us can compete against him right now," Luffy whined in annoyance.

"That's a good idea!" Ace and Sabo exclaimed at the same time.

"Hm. Maybe I should go defeat it and have all of you come aboard my ship," Rosan mused, cupping his chin as he thought about it.

"NO!" The three yelled at him in unison. "This is between us!"

"Rude," Rosan commented before closing his eyes again. "Since this has nothing to do with me, I'll be going to sleep now."

The three brothers discussed their idea more, before following the oldest boy to sleep.

----------------------------------------

"Will today be any different from the others?" Mod hummed curiously, glancing at the three boys facing off against the giant tiger.

"Maybe. It's been a couple of months since they've begun doing this and they've gotten stronger from all the losses," Rosan commented, staring evenly at the tiger.

He was currently on top of a tree, glancing down at his brothers. Not once did he interfere with their battle but if they were in a situation where they were certainly about to die, he would step in.

As expected, Ace charged in first and delivered a blow that the tiger easily weathered. It responded with a swipe of its tail that sent the freckled boy crashing into the floor with a pained grunt.

"If they only plan on fighting it one on one, they'll all lose," Ram frowned in contemplation. Those three were extremely strong for their age but this Tiger was utterly massive and could weather a lot of blows.

"Teamwork makes difficult battles a lot more tolerable," Rosan agreed. He preferred fighting one on one but he knew the merits of having a partner well. Traveling with Robin, had taught him the importance of having an ally to watch your back.

That's why he trained Maro to be his right hand. On the off chance that he ever slipped up, she would be there to give him time to recover. It didn't happen often but they had saved each other's life during their fight with that Logia.

It seemed that Ace was realizing this too. The tiger had effortlessly dealt with Sabo and Luffy and when it went to land a killing blow on the little seven year old (Rosan was just about ready to intercept it), the ten year old's had intercepted it.

Rosan loosened his muscles as they teamed up and sat back down.

They didn't need him for this.

Good.

Sabo was tasked with luring the tiger into Ace and Luffy's waiting arms. The seven year old grabbed two trees with his arms and began stretching backwards.

Once he reached the max distance, Ace stepped in front of him and Luffy rocketed forward, launching the freckled boy through the air from the momentum.

"Gomu Gomu no Rocket!"

The freckled boy crashed into the tiger with unforgiving force and smashed his pipe against its head, cleanly knocking it out.

"So they can work together!" Mod beamed at seeing them win the battle through teamwork.

"So I guess Ace is the captain now," Sabo frowned in disappointment. Rules were rules. Ace had landed the finishing blow, so that meant he won.

"Ah, but I worked so hard for this!" Luffy whined.

"I'm not gonna be the captain," Ace waved them off. "I didn't beat it alone. We worked together to take it out."

The brothers smiled at that and began joking around with each other.

"I hate to interrupt," Rosan's dry voice rang out from the top of the tree. "But you have company."

They looked at him in confusion before freezing, at the low growling sound behind them.

The three slowly turned around and gaped at the sight of another equally massive tiger snarling at them. It did not look pleased with what they had done whatsoever and it's growling was increasing in frequency.

"RUN!" Sabo yelled and they took off with the tiger hot on their heels.

Rosan watched this from the comfort of his tree and Ram cackled hysterically.

"I doubt it will happen, but please make sure they don't die," Mod sighed and the teen nodded before hopping through the trees to pursue his brothers.

They were hopeless.

----------------------------------------

"I should lay low in the upcoming days," Rosan suddenly said, while reading a newspaper.

His brothers looked at him in varying degrees of confusion so the redhead decided to elaborate.

"There is a Celestial Dragon coming to Goa," Rosan started off. "For the sake of everyone on this island, it's imperative that I don't meet him."

"What's a Celestial Dragon?" Luffy asked and Sabo looked at him.

"They're the ones who rule this world," the blonde explained with a frown. "I've heard their even worse than nobles and they can do whatever they want without repercussion."

"It's true," Rosan confirmed. "If you even strike one, a Marine Admiral will pursue and deal with you," he told the three.

They looked at him in surprise at that information. An Admiral? One of the strongest powers in the World Government?"

"What did you do?" Ace asked with a bead of sweat on his head. He knew his older brother. The redhead definitely did something.

Rosan hummed. "The reason Reaper's first bounty is 500 million, was because I killed one of the World Nobles," he told them bluntly.

…

"W-W-WHAT?!" Sabo screeched in disbelief. He was the only one of the three that seemed to understand the gravity of what Rosan had just said.

"I was sailing one day when he attacked my ship," Rosan informed his brothers. "After I confronted him, he began talking nonsense and then tried to have me enslaved for his sick pleasure."

"The fact that people like that get to rule the world… The ability to do whatever you want with zero consequence... I do not believe anyone should be allowed to live like that and he learned that first hand," the redhead finished.

"He tried to make you a slave?" Luffy growled in a surprising amount of anger.

"What type of sick bastard just gets to decide that on their own?!" Ace snarled with a deep frown.

"Nobles… they really are the worst," Sabo muttered with a dark look in his eyes. Every day he regretted more and more that he had been born with their blood.

"People who are handed everything, will never have the life changing experiences needed to rule," Rosan said coldly. "If I meet another Celestial Dragon, I might not be able to resist killing them and knowing what I did, they probably have much stronger guards with them. So for the upcoming days, I'll keep a low profile and stay away from the Gray Terminal and Capital."

Sabo nodded immediately at that. He wasn't sure but if news got out that a Celestial Dragon was killed on Goa, this island would become a target for the World Government's wrath and it would be completely destroyed.

Rosan said he might not be able to resist killing him, so that meant the redhead would very likely do it.

"Alright," Ace nodded at that.

"Try to stay out of trouble. If you need me, I've modified my Save Point so just pull on the red part of Luffy's hat and I'll be notified that someone is trying to use it," Rosan instructed, pulling the part he was talking about to emphasize his point. He had thought of this after Luffy had gotten caught by Porchemy and he hadn't known.

His brothers were stubborn though so even with that information, they probably wouldn't use it.

That was fine with him.

"Have fun, I'm off to visit some of my... friends," Rosan called before vanishing from his brother's sight.

----------------------------------------

Sabo rummaged around in the pile of trash and grinned in excitement after finding a telescope. Luffy had wanted one for their hideout so he would be happy to see that the blonde had managed to find one.

He needed to make sure and thank Angel for helping make their base so sturdy. There had been freak storm but it had admirably weathered a lot of it! It would still need some repairs but not nearly as much as it would need if the female redhead didn't help.

Rosan had some really cool friends! He was glad that they had joined their circle and was eager to see them again, especially Maro!

His musings were cut short, at the sudden presence of others and he tensed up.

Sabo glanced warily at the influx of pirates surrounding him and recognized their hostile energy.

"Hey boy!" A man walked up and Sabo instantly recognized him. "I didn't know that one of the infamous little brats was from a noble family."

Sabo scowled at that and placed the telescope in his coat. "Bluejam! How did you know?"

He didn't go around advertising his nobility. So how did Bluejam know he was one? Just what was going on right now?

The blonde took a quick glance around and verified that he was completely surrounded.

"Alright remember, don't hurt the kid," Bluejam ordered and the ten year old dodged an incoming dive, responding with a hellacious kick that took the offender out of the equation.

"So you wanna fight?!" Sabo asked threateningly, only to look back in confusion at the sight of a rolling barrel descending to his level.

The barrel crashed into someone and Ace and Luffy burst out of the wreckage with battle cries and landed right in front of the blonde.

"Ace! Luffy!"

"D-dizzy," Luffy swirled around at the momentum.

"You okay, Sabo?" Ace called with a confident grin and the blonde grinned back.

"Yeah!"

Ace gauged all his opponents with that ever cocky grin of his. "If the three of us fight together, we can easily beat these bastards!"

"That's right! Not even the big tiger stood a chance against us!" Luffy yelled confidently.

Bluejam kept glancing around though, almost as if he were searching for something. "Isn't there a fourth one? Where is he?" He demanded.

"We don't need him to deal with guys like you!" Sabo said confidently. Rosan would be overkill so they refused to have him help with something like this.

The pirates looked aggravated at the idea that they were being underestimated and they positioned themselves far more aggressively.

"You little shits!" They snarled.

"Let's just finish this quickly by killing their captain," The freckled boy commanded and they were off.

Sabo sidestepped a wild blow and leapt into the air to deliver a strong kick to a pirate's side and a stomp to his back.

Ace leapt over a swing of a sword and responded in kind, with a devastating strike of his pole to the head of the man. He brutally hit him again just to make sure he was down.

Luffy effortlessly tanked a blow with his rubbery body and retaliated with a vicious headbutt to the chin.

The brothers were making quick work of the pirates and soon, they all charged Bluejam at once. If they managed to quickly take out the captain, they would win this fight easily.

The men stepped back in surprise, and a bit of fear, at the strength of the children and hastily pulled out his gun.

The brothers immediately stopped what they were doing, at the sight of the firearm, and dove for cover.

"So that's how you managed to deal with my boys following you," Bluejam muttered and they looked at him confusedly.

Boys following them? What was he talking about?

"Alright brats, don't move!" the pirate captain demanded.

Ace glared at him. "I'm not afraid of that!"

His words were cut short at the feeling of being grabbed and he immediately began struggling in the offender's grip.

Sabo was no better but they both failed to escape. Luffy's head was being smushed into the ground and he was heartily threatening the one doing it.

The blonde's struggles stopped as he saw a sight that made his blood run cold.

"Dad…!"

----------------------------------------

"You were right. They were going to get attacked soon."

Rosan stared at his brothers, from his place in the sky, with a blank gaze. He was out of sight from everyone there and his draconic wings flapped idly.

"It was obvious. After I dealt with those pirates stalking us, it was only a matter of time before Bluejam struck," the teen replied.

He had naturally noticed that they were being followed and observed. The redhead hadn't told his brothers but he had dealt with them personally.

Now the pirate decided to strike.

Rosan watched his brothers fight the group valiantly only to scatter at Bluejam pulling out a gun.

Rosan watched Sabo give his own freedom up for the sake of his other brothers safety.

Rosan watched Sabo turn around and walk back into the capital.

Rosan watched the pirates take Ace and Luffy away.

Yet Rosan did nothing.

"You won't help?" Mod asked in confusion.

"I already told them how to access me. If they wanted my help, they would have asked. I'm not going to help people that don't want help. Brothers or not," Rosan replied rather coldly.

Their stubbornness was beginning to cost them. The boys were clearly in trouble and all they needed to do was call on Rosan and he would have solved this all.

Yet, they didn't want to and Rosan was not the type of person that would offer his assistance. He didn't like helping people who thought they could do it on their own. It made them ungrateful and spiteful.

"They will have to do this on their own until they call on me. I won't offer my assistance anymore," the redhead told his inhabitants.

Mod frowned but nodded in understanding. Rosan detested helping people that acted like they didn't need it. Even as a little child... he would only offer once. His little brothers were very headstrong and even after Rosan told them explicitly how to summon him, they refused to do so. "At the very least, make sure Ace and Luffy don't die."

The redhead already thought of that. He sent a bug after the pirates and instructed it to notify him immediately if their life was in danger.

Done with that, the teen stealthily flew after Sabo, blocked by the white clouds.

He wanted to know what the boy was thinking right now.

----------------------------------------

"Ace... shouldn't we call Rosan? He could get us out of this easily!" Luffy whispered to his older brother. The two brothers were currently working for Bluejam and he had them carrying some crates around to some specified locations.

"No," Ace whispered harshly. The thought of accepting his older brothers help, when he couldn't do anything at the moment, left a sour taste in his mouth. It was like he was acknowledging his own weakness at the moment.

He couldn't stand that thought, they'd find a way out of this.

"Why?!" Luffy asked in confusion. Rosan was super strong! He would take these guys out in an instant and go get Sabo too!

"We can't fall back to Rosan when one thing goes wrong, Luffy," Ace hissed. "If we can't do this, we might as well make him the captain and sail under his ship."

Luffy frowned but nodded at the logic. Rosan was his crewmate! He couldn't be the captain because he was the scout of his ship!

"Lets just do what Bluejam wants for now and see what happens," Ace finished and he continued walking.

Luffy said nothing but followed after.

The bug watched all the while.

----------------------------------------

"Your family is pleasant."

Sabo jumped in shock at the familiar dry voice and hastily turned towards the source.

"R-Rosan?!" The blonde called towards the teen sitting lazily on his bed, eyeing the stuff in his luxurious room. "What are you doing here?!"

"I've been tailing you this entire time," Rosan replied easily.

"B-but I didn't even sense you? And how did you even get inside?!" Sabo asked in disbelief. This whole time, Rosan had been following him and not once had he known?

"I've done my fair share of breaking and entering as well as assassinations that require me to be silent… Also, I modified a hole into your wall and flew through," Rosan informed him bluntly and Sabo sweatdropped at that information.

His oldest brother was pretty scary.

Sabo shook his head and immediately asked "Are Ace and Luffy okay?!"

"They are alive but with Bluejam," Rosan told him and Sabo shot him a confused look, prompting him to continue. "They never called me and when I sent a bug, I learned that they still don't want me to help them."

"What? Seriously?!" Sabo muttered to himself. "What is Ace thinking right now by not calling you?! They definitely need your help…"

Even Rosan knew that and if he didn't want to help…

"You two are too stubborn for your own good," Sabo sighed in defeat but he knew where Rosan was coming from.

Sabo wasn't as nearly as against the idea of the redhead helping them out as much as Ace was but his best friend seemed to despise the idea of receiving any help from their oldest brother. It was probably from the lingering resentment he felt due to Rosan having left him behind but he had claimed that they were good now...

Of course it was never going to be that easy.

Rosan hummed, not denying the statement and instead asked, "What do you plan on doing now? Would you like me to break you out?"

"Even if you break me out… If I go back with you guys, I'll just be attracting trouble. My father won't give up on searching for me," Sabo muttered sadly.

"I could deal with him. That way he won't bother us," Rosan suggested, showing off Ram for good measure.

Sabo shook his head rapidly. "You don't have to do that! I don't want you to kill him," the blonde assured him and Rosan nodded. That was still his father! He would feel terrible if his brother killed Outlook on his behalf.

"No one in the capital can really hurt me so why don't you just let me protect you?" The teen wondered and he tilted his head to the side. It seemed like a pretty easy solution to the redhead. He was more than strong enough to deal with whatever was sent his way.

Sabo remained silent for a moment.

"As long as I stay here, the four of us can't do what we normally do and it'll be my fault," the blonde spoke up after a while. "Dad is paying people off to get me too and he might get even more desperate. You leave a lot to deal with your business and I don't want that to stop because of me..."

"I don't want to be a burden," Sabo said seriously. Besides, if he wanted to be a pirate he couldn't rely on Luffy's scout until it was time to set sail. It would be embarrassing as a captain to rely on another crews member.

"We're brothers, I would never consider you a burden but I understand," Rosan nodded. He wouldn't argue against him because he understood where he was coming from.

"So what will you do? It's obvious you won't remain here. Where do you plan on escaping?"

Sabo was touched at Rosan's words and he began contemplating the question. Just what would he do... He had no intention of staying with his terrible family but he needed to find a way to escape.

Suddenly, Rosan held a finger to his lips and vanished from his sight.

"I'm camouflaged," a voice whispered in his ear, making Sabo jump. "Someone is coming, pretend like I'm not here," Rosan commanded and he linked with his brother so that they could continue communicating.

The former noble nodded imperceptibly and a hand suddenly rapped on his door.

The identity of the person was soon revealed to be his new brother, Sterry.

Sabo regarded him with thinly veiled disgust and the camouflaged Rosan stared blankly at him.

"I don't think I want to claim this one as my brother," Rosan said quietly and Ram burst out laughing.

"Kahahahaha!" The weapon cackled. "I don't blame you! He's got quite the face!"

"I think we're all in agreement," Sabo snorted.

"Don't be rude," Mod tried to reprimand but there was a smile on her face that she failed to hide miserably.

"Hey, brother! I heard that you're pretty stupid," Sterry greeted snidely. "Mother and father were always saying that behind the curtain."

Sabo's glare deepened.

"What a polite boy," Ram praised sarcastically.

"But you have the devil's luck cuz they're gonna take care of the burnables tomorrow night."

"What?" Mod muttered in confusion, not liking where this was going. There was no way he was implying what she thought he was implying.

Sabo was equally confused and he gave Sterry his undivided attention.

The boy soaked it all in and continued with a smug smile. "If you had stayed in the Gray Terminal, you would've died tomorrow."

The blonde's eyes narrowed at that information and he quickly closed the distance between the two.

Sterry began panicking as Sabo grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. "W-W-What are you doing?! I'll tell father!" The boy threatened in terror.

"What were you talking about?! What's going on?! Tell me everything!" Sabo demanded with a deadly look in his eye.

"Th-There's gonna be a fire in the Gray Terminal tomorrow!"

Sterry began telling Sabo about how the World Government was going to visit Goa and the nobles were in a panic because a Celestial Dragon was with them. They didn't want the World Noble to see the horrible state of the Gray Terminal so they were planning on burning it down… With everyone still in there.

And it was intentional. They wanted to burn up all the shame of the kingdom and that included the people.

It was…

"Disgusting," Rosan whispered and Sabo finally understood completely why his older brother had attacked one of the Celestial Dragons.

This was beyond cruel! How could they even think about doing something like this? Surely this must have been some sick joke!

"We need to do something," Sabo said, completely ignoring Sterry now. He donned his regular clothing and grabbed his pipe from under the bed.

The blonde opened the window and immediately leapt through.

Rosan was quick to follow and the moment they were out of sight of the building he undid his camouflage.

"He has to be lying," Sabo said in a panic. "It's not possible to burn down such a large area."

Rosan didn't reply for a moment, deep in thought before he let loose a small breath.

"I think I know how they're going to do it," the redhead replied.

"What do you… oh no," Mod said as it finally dawned on her. "Ace and Luffy."

"What?!" Sabo whispered in shock. "What about them?!"

"Bluejam and his crew are doing a job," Rosan explained. "They were placing crates down all over Gray Terminal. There's a chance that there could be oil and explosives inside of them."

Sabo felt his heart stop at the revelation. "But that's ridiculous! There's no way that's true!"

Rosan said nothing. Sabo was in denial right now and didn't want to see the obvious truth.

"Tomorrow morning, I'll check by observing the citizens tomorrow and see if there really will be a fire. We'll group again when I finish," the blonde told him.

"Okay," the redhead replied simply. "I'll find you when the time is right."

Sabo nodded at the plan and told Rosan to go make sure Ace and Luffy were okay.

The redhead hummed and vanished.

"I feel bad for Sabo. He's a kind boy so he refuses to believe it," Mod sighed sadly. He was far too kind to be anything like those nobles that his father wanted him to be like.

"Sometimes, the best way to find out the truth is to be directly hit with it," Rosan replied. It had happened to him many times and he was infamously stubborn without it.

His brothers were the same way.

Only when facing the truth themselves, would they be able to acknowledge the current issues without being in denial.

That's why Rosan wouldn't interfere unless necessary.

"It's harsh…" Mod began.

"But necessary," Ram finished.

----------------------------------------

"We're going to move crates for Bluejam today," Ace declared and Luffy looked a little doubtful but he nodded his head.

Rosan glanced at his brothers and tilted his head. "Bluejam? I thought he was your enemy. Why would you willingly go back to him?"

"He's paying us for a job," Ace said simply and his older brother hummed.

"Okay," was all he said. "I trust you know what you're doing."

The freckled boy was glad that he didn't try harder so with a stiff nod, he grabbed Luffy and began the trek to Gray Terminal.

"Try not to stay out too long today," Rosan suggested but Ace didn't outwardly acknowledge him.

Luffy looked back and Rosan didn't miss the apprehensive expression on his face but his youngest brother obediently followed after.

"Despite what he said, Ace still somewhat resents you," Mod frowned. His stubbornness could be risky in the future and if it persisted, something bad could happen to him.

"Yes, that's why he will refuse my help no matter what. Anger and resentment are not something that can disappear so easily. Even if you can come to terms with the reasoning why you feel that way," Rosan said knowingly.

It had taken a long time for his anger and resentment towards Robin to vanish. Even with the knowledge that she couldn't possibly save him (he owed her an apology), he was still upset and hurt with her...

Ace had been suffering like this for ten years. It was expected for him to still be angry at the redhead. He had gotten much better but it was not possible to get completely rid of that fast.

Rosan summoned one of his bugs and had it follow after the two.

Bluejam was a greedy man so his brothers lives were in danger today. He would ensure that they didn't die.

That would take place later tonight though. For now, he would do other things.

----------------------------------------

The nobles of this kingdom were crazy.

That was the devastating conclusion Sabo came to, as he gauged the reaction of every person who knew of the fire happening tonight.

Rosan was right. There was going to be a fire and the nobles didn't care one bit. They were treating it like a normal everyday occurrence and some were even happy about it happening.

This place was disgusting. He couldn't stay here. He couldn't become like these people. People who wouldn't even bat an eye at the death of innocents.

He needed to meet up with Rosan and warn Ace and Luffy while he were at it! His oldest brother knew about it but there was no guarantee that he would take action.

Sabo knew his older brother. He probably knew him the best out of the three! Rosan was surprisingly stubborn and he would not interfere until he felt like he needed to.

That probably meant to prevent Ace and Luffy from dying.

He needed to warn them now or else! Sabo didn't dare try and risk waiting until the last moment.

Would Rosan even be able to stop a fire big enough to take out the entire Gray Terminal? Would he even try?

Sabo didn't think so.

So he ran. He ran like his life depended on it to go warn Ace and Luffy.

"Stop!" The voice of a guard called and Sabo sucked his teeth in annoyance. "That's the runaway boy! Get him!"

The boy sped up as he heard the footsteps of multiple people chasing him. If they caught him now, he wouldn't be able to warn them in time. He couldn't get caught. He needed to make it to Gray Termina —

In his panic, he lost his footing and tripped onto the unforgiving ground but he wouldn't let that deter him.

"I-I have to tell them!" Sabo said through grit teeth and he pushed himself back up. He set off again and immediately crashed into a noble.

"Ow!" The blonde said, holding his head and he made to move again but the guards finally caught up to him and restrained the boy.

The boy struggled immensely but it was 3 on 1 and they managed to finally subdue him.

He was dragged back to his home and into the unforgiving arms of his father.

"Get in here!" Outlook growled, tossing Sabo down the stairs and into the cellar. "You've given me nothing but trouble! You're such a bad son!"

"I was right to adopt another child just as I thought," the man finished and he shut the door on the ten year old.

Realization hit Sabo's eyes as he realized he had been locked in the room and he began banging on the door.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"Open up, dad! I gotta go!" The child begged but no one answered him.

Tears began welling in his eyes at the hopelessness of his situation and he collapsed on the cold floor.

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A tied up Ace and Luffy struggled heavily in their binds.

Well, Ace struggled while Luffy cried.

He couldn't believe what he had learned today. Those crates that he had been carrying around for Bluejam, had been filled with oil and explosives and they were going to be used to set the Gray Terminal aflame!

Ace didn't want to be the cause of this! He never wanted it to turn out like this.

After refusing to tell Bluejam where the treasure was, the pirate had tied the boys up to be caught in the fire.

Ace had managed to get his hands on a sharp piece of glass and now he was rapidly tearing away at the ropes. He only sped up, at the sight of the Gray Terminal catching fire.

He was not going to die here. Not until he found the answer to his existence...

"Try not to stay out too long today."

Ace's eyes widened as a startling realization hit him. Rosan never suggested that they come home earlier. He let the boys do whatever they wanted and only felt the need to search for them after it go too late at night.

But all of a sudden, he tells them to not stay out long today? Bullshit. He had to have known something was going to happen!

"I trust you know what you're doing."

Ace scowled. If he did know, then he chose to say that on purpose. As if he knew his little brothers were going to be in trouble soon.

His scowl deepened.

Fine. He would show his older brother that he didn't need his help.

The freckled ten year old broke free and dragged the sobbing Luffy with him.

"C'mon Luffy! If you keep crying, I'm gonna leave you behind," Ace barked and the seven year old immediately shut his mouth.

The fire was everywhere! Ace was finding it difficult to breathe with all the smoke in the air.

The ten year old looked left and right before deciding on a path and he quickly set off with Luffy hot on his trails.

He would not die here.

----------------------------------------

Rosan hummed.

"Sabo is not here."

The here in question, was his younger brother's home. The boy was nowhere to be seen and Rosan was sure he had learned that the fire was very real.

The redhead walked out of Sabo's room, in camouflage, and began his search for the blonde.

He was pretty sure that he didn't even need his camouflage to navigate around the noble home without being caught, but one could never be too careful.

The sound of a commotion caught his ears and he quietly made his way to the source to see if he could get any hints.

His sharp hearing managed to pick up Sabo's father complaining.

"Sabo did it again! Call the police," Outlook growled in annoyance and Rosan saw that a vent had been kicked open.

Ah, so he had been locked away and managed to escape. He had no reason to be here then.

Rosan saw the open window and made his way through it into the cool air. The heat of the flames didn't reach this place, unlike the glowing brightness.

"Sabo will probably be heading to the front of the gate. Let's make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Rosan nodded. His bug was still watching Ace and Luffy so that meant Sabo was unattended too.

The teen quickly dashed to the front of the gates of Gray Terminal and came across the sight of guards assaulting a helpless Sabo. The boy was desperately trying to open the gates to Gray Terminal and they were bludgeoning him with the butt of their long guns to dissuade him.

Ram snarled in fury at their actions.

Rosan vanished.

Sabo looked on in confusion, at the fact that he was suddenly being hoisted up and a guard let out a pained yell, before going unconscious, as he was slammed violently into the wall, via kick.

He was in the arms of someone and their identity was soon revealed.

"Rosan?!" Sabo whispered in shock and the redhead glanced down at him.

"Ensure your target is absolutely safe first," Rosan thought to himself and he withdrew from the guards that Ram so desperately wanted to kill.

He took Sabo and vanished into an alleyway before the guards could fire at the two of them. He would not die, but he couldn't say the same for his little brother.

"Are you alright?" Rosan whispered to the boy who looked near comatose. The blonde was going to pass out any second now from the harsh beating inflicted onto him.

The sound of footsteps alerted the two and Rosan immediately turned to face the threat, while Ram transformed into his double barrel pistol. He aimed it directly at the man and made it very clear that he would shoot. The man, sensing the threat stopped and held his hands up in a gesture of peace.

He was a tall, near three feet taller than Rosan, middle-aged man who was dressed in a long green cloak that covered much of his body.

Underneath the hoodie, he could see a red tattoo on the left side of his face and some black hair.

The two sized each other up but Rosan's attention was grabbed, by his little brother desperately grasping him with tears in his eyes. He kept one eye on the stranger but focused on the boy.

"R-Rosan," Sabo gasped, tugging his long sleeved shirt desperately. "You were right… The nobles… are behind the fire."

"You're exhausting yourself, Sabo," Rosan whispered softly but he would not dissuade the boy from talking. He needed to get this off his chest before the call of sleep lulled him.

The blonde shook his head and tears began forming in his eyes. "This town smells worse than Gray Terminal… It smells like rotten people!" He gasped out.

Rosan noted that he was trembling from exertion and soothingly rubbed his arm.

The man was content to watch but Rosan didn't miss the grave expression on his face.

"If I stay here... I'll never be free!" The blonde admitted and he began to sob in earnest. "I-I'm ashamed of being born a noble!" He cried, causing Rosan to wrap both arms around him, careful not to aggravate his injury. There wasn't much he could say to his little brother but he'd be a source of comfort.

The man's eyes had gone wide at Sabo's words. Rosan didn't miss the look of shock and dread on it and couldn't blame him. It's not every day you hear a noble denounce their own heritage.

"Do what you have to do, Sabo," Rosan said, giving him his full support and the boy continued to cry.

"Please, Rosan! Save Ace and Luffy! They're in the fire aren't they?! Ignore what Ace wants and save them both!" Sabo begged and finally Rosan saw something alarming in the man's gaze.

Recognition.

The moment Sabo had mentioned Luffy, the strangers face had lit up in recognition and hearing of their fate, he couldn't keep the uneasy expression of his features.

Ah.

Interesting.

"Okay Sabo. I'll save them," Rosan whispered back.

"I know how you feel," the man suddenly said. "I was born in this country, too. But, I still don't have enough power to change this place."

"What is the leader of the Revolutionaries doing here?" Rosan asked calmly and Dragon regarded him with a cool gaze. Sabo looked up at the redhead in confused shock.

"So you know who I am," Dragon praised but the redhead was not impressed at all.

He had recognized him instantly. Of course he did, Rosan often looked at Bounty Posters and this was the most wanted man in the world. Every bounty hunter worth their salt would know about him.

"You've come to the same conclusion as I have then?" Mod questioned.

Rosan nodded. He had pieced together some things based on the mans expressions and the few words he said.

"What business do you have with Luffy? Not that I don't already have my guesses."

Dragon was impressed. The kid had been observing him the whole time and he no doubt noticed his slight reaction at hearing Luffy's name.

Not only that, the leader of the revolutionary had admitted he was born in Goa. If the teen was as smart as he acted, then he had already connected the dots.

"I'm not fond of parents who willingly leave their children behind," Rosan said quietly.

So he did know.

Dragon didn't deign to acknowledge that part. "Aren't you supposed to be in the North Blue? How did you manage to end up in the East?" He asked in return. Traveling between the seas was no easy feat. What made it more impressive was that he had gone from the North to the East. That was especially difficult considering they weren't at all close to each other like the South/East or North/West.

"?!" Mod's eyes widened.

Ram's eyes narrowed.

Sabo fought hard to stay awake due to the interesting conversation.

North Blue? Wasn't Maro a queen in the North Blue?

"On what basis are you so sure I'm supposed to be in the North Blue?" Rosan countered with a tilted head.

"On the basis that a red haired teen with heterochromia was reported to be helping the new queen of Celadon overthrow the old one," Dragon grinned. It was one of the islands on the revolutionaries radar but due to having a Logia protecting him, they couldn't just send anyone to deal with the corrupt king and there were higher priorities that the people, who could deal with them needed to handle.

"Tch," Ram muttered in annoyance. "He's good. Are we sure this is Luffy's dad?"

"He has to be," Mod replied softly. Too many things lined up for him not to be and he hadn't denied the claim.

"So the revolutionaries were there and they allowed two teens to clean up what should be their mess? Aren't you all supposed to be changing the world and dealing with corruption?" Rosan hummed, sounding utterly unimpressed.

"Resources are finite," was Dragon's reply. "I thank you for assisting that country. We would have eventually gotten to it but you helped us immensely."

"Thank me by not interfering in Maro's business. I would rather the revolutionaries not bring harmful attention to her."

By now, Sabo had fallen unconscious, succumbing to his wounds, and Rosan idly adjusted him to give him more comfort.

"I won't ask you why you abandoned Luffy and I don't really care but are you an enemy or not?"

Dragon, without hesitation, replied, "No, you can consider me an ally."

"Truth," Rosan verified and he nodded. "Okay, I'm going to trust you to watch over Sabo for me, Dragon. I need to go save my dumb little brothers."

"Save my son, please," the world's most wanted man requested and Rosan glanced back at him.

"You still consider him your son?" The redhead wondered momentarily.

Well, that didn't matter to him. Maybe Dragon just didn't want to drag Luffy into the life of a revolutionary due to how dangerous it was going to be.

It was far more noble then what his parent's likely did.

"I don't care if Luffy is my little brother, don't walk around and tell people he's your child, Monkey D. Dragon. You could bring great harm onto us if that's revealed," Rosan finished before he vanished from the man's sight.

Dragon stared at the spot where the boy with the lifeless gaze had been for a moment, before crouching down to make sure Sabo was okay. He had assured the teen that he was an ally so it would be best if he didn't break that trust.

The look in his eyes spoke of unspeakable hardship.

"What an interesting boy," Dragon mused to himself.

He had been slightly interested based on the reports he had read. After all, it wasn't every day, that two teens overthrew a king and usurped his position. Not only that, they had ruthlessly set up the man wielding the earth Logia and eliminated him with brutal efficiency.

Now, Celadon was shaping up to be an important island and it was largely thanks to the mysterious redhead who didn't even live there. Knowing that he considered himself his son's brother, made him all the more interesting. He also had a Devil Fruit that the leader of the Revolutionaries couldn't identify...

But what was definitively the most interesting thing about him, was the uncanny resemblance he shared with a certain woman he knew...

Dragon would be keeping an eye on him.

----------------------------------------

Ace hadn't expected Bluejam to still be here but he was and he had lost his goddamn mind in the process.

He had gone completely insane and it was clear that he was content to let his crew along with Ace and Luffy, die together in this fire.

Not on his watch.

Even if it meant giving up his treasure of 6 years, that didn't matter more than Luffy's life.

So he showed Bluejam the location of the treasure and sent the man on his way.

Or, that was supposed to happen but the pirate had other things in mind. He had his crew grab the boys and started spewing nonsense about how they couldn't be trusted and that they would need to follow him.

There was no way he was following the man to the treasure! They would surely die in the fire if he did that and it went against their deal in the first place! Was he fucking insane?!

Now, he was forced to watch his youngest brother screaming in pain, from a cut on his head, as a sword got ready to impale him where he lay. And there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

He couldn't let Luffy die here. He just couldn't. This was his little brother and it was his job to protect him!

Sheer panic and rage flooded his body at the sight of his brother laying helplessly there. Without even thinking, the boy screamed at the top of his lungs.

"DON'T TOUCH LUFFY!"

Ace wasn't really sure what happened, but one by one everyone barring Bluejam and Luffy fainted.

He landed upright and immediately ran over to his little brother to check up on him. "Luffy, are you alright?!"

There was blood leaking down his forehead from the nasty cut and Ace balked at the gruesome injury. He had never intended for it to turn out like this. It wasn't supposed to go like this.

"You never wanted it to turn out like this? So why did you never call me then?" A familiar voice uttered and Ace froze in shock.

Rosan glanced around, face utterly blank despite the raging inferno surrounding them and locked eyes with Ace.

"You two are in dire need of assistance and yet, I had to come here on my own because you refused to call me," Rosan sighed, shaking his head.

"Your stubbornness is going to get you killed, Ace."

----------------------------------------

His brother had Pressure… or at least some variant of it.

Rosan watched calmly, as Ace unknowingly utilized his pressure to knock everyone unconscious.

"I figured it wasn't exclusive to us since I've never heard of it so I wonder what it is?" Mod said curiously. There was nothing in her memories about the pressure Rosan and Ace exhibited.

"I never thought of using it to knock a person unconscious… Can I even do that?" Rosan wondered. Maybe Ace had a special variance of it that allowed him to do that?

He wasn't sure but what he was sure of, was the fact that his little brother would have very likely chosen to die before calling him.

"This goes past resentment," Mod muttered. "He even dragged Luffy into it," she said in disappointment. The woman didn't think he'd have gone this far to prove his stubborn point.

"You must be Bluejam," Rosan greeted the nervous man. Ace's display had left him shaken up and he was looking rapidly between his men before finally focusing on the surprise arrival.

"W-who the hell are you?" Bluejam growled out, eyes bugged in annoyance and from the heat.

"…I'm the demon that Porchemy tried to warn you about," the redhead replied softly and his icy gaze landed on the captain.

"What business do you have with my brothers? Did Ace not give you the location of the treasure? Why are you still bothering them?"

Ace looked at Rosan in disbelief. "Y-you've been tailing us?"

"Naturally. I won't let you die here," the redhead responded.

"I can't just trust their words," Bluejam snarled. "I need insurance to make sure they aren't just lying to me! I need that treasure now so that I can get my revenge."

"Greedy. Even in the face of death, money is all he can think about," Ram muttered with a shake of her head. If you cared about money so much, become strong enough that you could take it on your own, not rely on some shitty nobles to keep up the end of their bargain. What a fucking moron.

Rosan hummed. "If you won't trust their words, then trust mine," he offered.

"The treasure is not there."

Ace's eyes bugged in confusion at what his brother was saying. "What are you talking about?! Yes it is!" He retorted, glaring at his brother in annoyance.

"No, I moved it," Rosan told him. "This morning, I relocated the treasure to an area that Bluejam won't reach no matter how hard he try. It's gone and you aren't getting it," he finished coldly, turning towards the pirate this time.

Bluejam felt as if he were floating at the revelation that his only way to get revenge on the nobles, was no longer an option.

He grit his teeth so hard, he drew blood and the man held his pistol up.

"You… fucking... BRATS!" Bluejam roared and he began shooting at the redhead indiscriminately.

Rosan glanced lazily at the man, raid suit already donned and it effortlessly tanked all the bullets meant to harm him.

"That won't work but it was a good effort," the redhead complimented and Bluejam paled at seeing him completely unscathed by the hail of bullets.

"W-what the fuck?" Bluejam whispered, trembling slightly in fear. Was… was he immune to bullets?! How did that work? This was who Porchemy had tried to warn him about?

The redhead tilted his head slightly, before his ears picked up the noise of running over the roar of flames.

"Ah, I didn't expect to see you here," Rosan said, completely ignoring Bluejam and focusing on a spot in the fire.

Ace watched in shock, as the entire Dadan family burst through the flames. They were all geared to fight and the worry on their face at seeing the boys, filled him with a strange feeling.

They were here… for him?

"Keep your hands off my boys," Dadan growled threateningly. None of them would be dying on her watch, even if she had to fight this pirate to keep them safe!

Rosan appraised her after that statement and nodded approvingly. "I misjudged you Dadan. You do care about us."

"S-SHUT UP!" She roared with a blush at the utterly unbothered child.

Seriously, he wasn't even sweating in this immense heat!

"Take Luffy and Ace and leave," Rosan commanded and Dadan saluted at the order. If he had this handled, he had this handled. The redhead was stronger than they were and he would solve this issue easily.

"No need to tell me twice. Boys, let's go!" Dadan roared and they carried the injured Luffy away.

Ace did not move.

"Stay out of this, Rosan," Ace snarled, causing the teen to actually raise a brow at him. "I don't run from a fight and I don't need your help!"

"This is unbelievable, he's even worse than you as a child!" Mod gaped. What was he even thinking right now?! They were in the middle of a fire, against an opponent the little boy would struggle against immensely and he still wanted to fight?

Was he a maniac?!

"I assumed you didn't need my help either and look where that got us," Rosan countered, indicating all the flames surrounding the group. Even now, they were barely avoiding getting licked and the immense heat had them all sweating.

Everyone actually gaped at the snide words coming out the teen's mouth. They hadn't expected him to talk back. He hardly ever talked back!

"I let you do things your way and it turned into a massive disaster. Now, we do things my way and my way doesn't need you to be here," the redhead finished. Rosan didn't need Ace to win this fight

Ace actually looked like he was about to come to blows with his older brother, if the way he tensed up meant anything. "Stay. Out. Of. It," the freckled boy warned one last time. He clenched his pipe tightly and glared darkly at the redhead. He'd take him and Bluejam out if he had to.

"…" Rosan glanced at him with those dead eyes, contemplating his demands before nodding his head.

"Okay," he agreed and he vanished from their sight.

Ace thought that was the end of it, but a presence suddenly appeared behind him and before he could whirl around, a gentle but firm hand rested on his back, preventing him from moving.

"You can talk to me later when there's not a fire surrounding us, sucking the oxygen out of you," Rosan's cold voice echoed.

"Modification: Rest Mode," the redhead thought to himself and Ace felt the lull of sleep calling.

He tried to resist and would have succeeded, but Rosan was merciless and the long duration spent in the fire, had already sapped him of his energy. Ace shot the teen a deep final glare before passing out from the technique.

This wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

"He's going to be very upset."

"Good. That means he's alive."

"Will you be alright?" Dadan asked worriedly, as Rosan handed the sleeping Ace to her. "The fire is spreading everywhere and you might get caught in it!"

The redhead didn't even look at her. "Thank you for your concern, but flames these cold, will never burn me," he informed her and then he shooed them away.

After a moment's hesitation, they left, but not before shooting more worried looks back at the fourteen year old.

"Don't think you can run, Bluejam," Rosan whispered to the terrified captain. "You didn't let my brothers escape, so I'm not about to let you."

"Then we'll die here, together!" Bluejam roared. "We'll both die in these flames tonight! I don't care anymore if I die but I'm taking you with me for ruining EVERY FUCKING THING!"

"How delusional." The redhead shook his head and his dead gaze landed on the captain.

"Someone like you could never kill me. Now come and die. Join me for your last performance; I will make sure to kill you before these flames do."

----------------------------------------

The two stared at each other. One the perfect picture of calm and the other, a hysterical insanity.

"A sword and a gun," Rosan mused. "Very well, I will fight you with the same weapons. I do think the sword is a bit boring though, maybe you should consider getting a more unique weapon."

"Stop fucking with me," Bluejam snarled. This boy was talking to him like he were discussing the weather and that irritated him beyond belief. He was captain Bluejam, some snot nosed brat had no right to be underestimating him!

"I don't really think I'm "fucking" with you," Rosan said idly and his ring transformed into a long silver and purple katana, that made Bluejam's eyes widen in surprise.

"I think I'm executing you."

The teen dashed forward and clashed blades with the much taller man and they remained like that for only a moment, until Rosan started overpowering him.

Bluejam's eyes widened at the sight of the shorter teen effortlessly pushing him back and he hastily broke contact to make distance.

"How old are you, boy?" The man asked hesitantly. There was no way he was a child like his reports suggested.

"Fourteen," Rosan replied, transforming his katana into a gun and shooting a hole through the hand reaching for a gun. "You can't distract me, Bluejam. You have my undivided attention. I know some people in a bar that would love that honor."

The captain howled and grabbed his injured hand. He looked down at the wound and nearly threw up at the gruesome injury. "W-what are you brat?! How are you able to do that? Do you have a Devil Fruit?!"

"Now why would I waste my breath answering a dead man's questions?" Rosan wondered.

Bluejam saw red. Combined with the lack of oxygen, suffocating heat from the flames and the agonizing pain of getting a hole put through your hand, it was natural that the pirate captain fully lost it.

The insane captain let out an unhinged roar and sprinted at the redhead, ignoring all the signs that he would almost certainly not win against the monster staring lazily at him.

"Driven insane by a request that you so foolishly believed would be granted to you," Rosan hummed. "Did you really think someone like you could become a noble? Well, I don't blame you, you sure do have the face of one."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Bluejam roared.

"We should trash talk more often," Ram grinned giddily. Bluejam didn't even look human right now with all the veins and soot riddling his face!

"You're a bad influence on everyone you interact with, Ram," Mod chastised fondly. Leave it to her to make fun of a dying man.

"But isn't it more fun this way?!" She cackled in joy, enjoying watching her father's treatment of this waste of space.

Rosan effortlessly sidestepped the man's wild attack and stuck out one foot to trip him. The man collapsed and groaned in agony due to the blistering heat of the floor. He couldn't breathe. Everytime he inhaled, his lungs burned hot.

"Are you finding it hard to breathe? Is thinking becoming more difficult? Is your vision becoming spotty? Do you want some water?" The redhead asked quietly and it finally occurred to Bluejam that this brat before him was torturing him.

"Is it too hot? Are you thinking to yourself "I need to hurry up and kill this brat so that I can escape from this fire?" I bet your also wondering why it isn't affecting me, right?"

Rosan exposed his sharp fangs and let loose a massive burst of flames from his mouth, that made Bluejam collapse in surprise. H-Had he just let out a breath of fire?! He... He couldn't kill this monster! There was no way! If he kept attacking... he would just die!

"You didn't think flames like this, could really affect a dragon, right?" Rosan snarled and the captain finally began begging for his life.

"You won't die to the flames that you created, but you'll certainly be dying to some flames. It's fitting don't you think?"

Rosan began slowly walking towards Bluejam, who desperately tried to crawl away from the demonic sociopath in human flesh.

"Wait wait! I didn't mean to mess with your brothers and I don't want the money anymore! I promise!" Bluejam begged. It only increased in frequency as the flames began to lick his skin from the close proximity.

"I don't believe in promises anymore," Rosan uttered and the area around him began getting hotter and hotter.

"Do you have any last wish?" The redhead asked kindly, shifting from that guttural growl to his neutral, human, tone. It was jarring to see how quickly he could switch between the two and only added more to his inhuman air.

"P-please let me live!" Bluejam requested and Rosan actually paused in his steps.

The redhead tilted his head and said, "Okay."

Bluejam let out a gasp of disbelief. Was he seriously going to just let him live?! All because it was his final wish? Just who was this guy?!

"You can live on in my memories, despite how disappointing you were, Bluejam. Trust me when I say, I will never forget you," Rosan acquiesced and his flames roared to life.

Bluejam's eyes bugged in terror and the man looked for anyway to escape.

There was none.

"Goodbye, Bluejam."

"Annihilation," Rosan growled and a massive wave of fire formed from his mouth.

"WAIT PLEASE LET ME LI — AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The flames moved and Bluejam's screams were drowned out by the fire.

----------------------------------------

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO GET IN MY WAY!"

Rosan grabbed the pipe out of midair and stared evenly at his seething brother, not budging an inch.

Ace looked pissed. There was a dark look in his eyes and he was gritting his teeth so hard, that they began to creak.

Injured little Luffy, was staring at his two older brothers with a worried look at the exchange.

The redhead had just gotten to the bandit's hideout after dealing with Bluejam and his, now awake, younger brother decided to graciously greet him.

"You need to know when to step down from a battle," Rosan suggested quietly. "Some things are more important then winning a fight."

"Shut up," Ace snarled. "I never run away from a fight and you got in my way when I told you to stay out of it!"

Rosan hummed. "I did stay out of it, Ace and look what that got us. I let you run things and now Sabo is with the parents he hate, Luffy is seriously injured and you both were about to die in a fire. If I continued to stay out of it, who knows what would have happened."

Ace let out a savage growl. "I had it under control until you butt in when I didn't want you to. I told you stop trying to act like I need an older brother but you don't listen!"

"You think this is me trying to act like an older brother?" Rosan asked in disbelief and he actually began to feel something from his brothers stupidity.

Annoyance.

"You put Luffy's life at risk, Ace. He is my captain and he could have died because of how stubborn you chose to be. All of this is happening because of your stupid pride," the redhead said and his eyes were narrowed slightly.

"It's fine to not want my help, but dragging our younger brothers into it, is where I draw the line."

Ace was seeing red and he wildly swung at the teen again, but Rosan had enough. He grabbed his younger brother out of midair and pinned him onto the floor viciously, knocking the wind out of him.

"Guys! Please!" Dogra begged but Rosan glared at him and the rare sight, made him yelp and fall backwards in fear. He had never realized how intimidating the redhead's gaze could be.

Satisfied that he wouldn't interfere again, the redhead focused back on his freckled brother and fixed him with that same glare.

Ace was stunned to see actual anger on Rosan's face and stopped struggling as much in wake of his surprise.

"One pull," Rosan said lowly. "With just one pull, I would have resolved all of this. Gray Terminal would not have burned, Luffy would be fine and Sabo would be here."

"But you chose to make it difficult on purpose. Do you want to know why?" The redhead asked and he didn't even give his little brother a chance to speak.

"Because you still resent me."

Ace's eyes narrowed and he growled. "I already said I don't resent you —"

"I do not like liars," Rosan interrupted coldly. "Fine then. I'll spell it out for you."

"Rosan don't you think this can be settled another way?" Mod asked nervously.

"No."

His answer was short and to the point and Mod knew he wouldn't be changing it.

"All of this could have been avoided if you had just called me, but you refused my help until the very end," Rosan repeated and Ace glared at him. "Do you know why? Because the thought of me helping you out, fills you with disgust. The thought that the brother who abandoned you to at birth, is here helping you, is sickening. That is called resentment, Ace."

"Like I said," Ace snarled lowly. "I don't resent you. I didn't want you to get in my way and you did just that. Because of you, I had to back down from a fight. I never back down from a fight."

Rosan's eyes narrowed at that line of thought. "Thinking like that is going to get you killed, you little idiot," he growled. Fighting to the end wasn't the end all be all. Ace's reckless style of thinking was bound to get him in trouble eventually.

He learned first hand that some battles were not worth finishing until everyone was safe.

"Maybe I wouldn't have had to think like that if you taught me earlier in my life," he snarked violently before his eyes widened.

There was a pregnant pause as everyone registered the words until Rosan broke it.

The fourteen year old closed his eyes and said, "Throwing one of my biggest regrets back into my face is low, Ace. Nobody knows how much I messed up more than I do but I didn't think you'd stoop to that to win an argument."

The teen abruptly got up and released the ten year old from his grasp. "Some things are more important than finishing a fight. Keeping the ones you love safe, should always be a higher priority," he whispered knowingly before shaking his head.

"Never mind, I'll be leaving for a few days."

Ace couldn't even say anything as Rosan vanished from his view but in that brief moment, his older brother had sounded sad.

It made the freckled boy feel guiltier than he could imagine.

"That was mean, Ace," Luffy said bluntly and the boy sighed.

"Shut up, Luffy."

----------------------------------------

Sabo couldn't stay here any longer. Every moment spent here, felt like he was becoming less of himself.

His parents wanted him to live for them and not himself simply because they birthed him. They didn't care about what he wanted or what his goals were, Sabo was worthless unless he did what they wanted.

That was no way to live.

"Ace... Luffy… I know that fire didn't kill you two," Sabo sighed to himself. There was no way the fire killed them, Rosan would make sure that the two made it out alive.

Rosan… he so badly wanted to take up the teens offer so that he could be with the three again but the constant harassment (he knew it would be coming) against the redhead, would make him react in a way that was not favorable for anyone.

He did not want Rosan to go on a murder spree. Terrible they may be, the nobles didn't deserve to die and that's what his brother would eventually do.

Besides, his eldest brother already had too much on his plate right now and Sabo didn't want to add even more. He didn't want to restrict his freedom, when that was one of the few things he still had, by keeping him rooted to this island. He had friends like Maro, Angel, Demon and Makino and he deserved to visit them...

"So what will you do? It's obvious you won't remain here. Where do you plan on escaping?"

The teen had seen through him like a book. Sabo was going to leave the Goa Kingdom because he would never be free if he stayed here.

The nobles were rotten to the core and they sickened him to a nauseating degree.

He wouldn't be Sabo if he remained here so he needed to escape.

The blonde thought about asking Rosan for help but the teen had done enough already and as a captain, he needed to be able to do this on his own and not overly rely on another captains crewmate.

It was a little early but he had no choice.

Sabo would escape this island and become a pirate.

----------------------------------------

"Master… you look a little gloomy," Maro commented, blue hair bobbing as she looked him up and down. They were sat in the Princess' office and she was using this as a great opportunity to avoid looking at her paperwork (she hated paperwork).

Angel hummed as she cut another strand of Rosan's hair. It was getting past his shoulder and she decided to trim it down for him.

This had the added effect of allowing her to see him with his hair down. She liked when his hair was down.

"Maro's right, you seem a bit upset," Demon agreed. It was hard to tell but he had become super observing of his Master and all his tendencies. He was skillful enough to tell that Rosan was currently feeling something and the doctor in him was a little worried.

He had promptly showed up, without warning, and they had immediately jumped him in happiness but after a day of allowing him to brood in peace, they decided that something was up with him.

"Ah yes, I am a bit upset," Rosan admitted easily enough. "I got into an argument with Ace and he made me feel annoyed."

Their eyes widened at that and so, Rosan told them everything. They listened with varying expressions and nodded along with everything he said.

"All of this sounds like you could have easily resolved it," Maro pointed out with a slight frown. "Is Ace really that stubborn?"

"It's not only Ace, Master is incredibly stubborn too," Angel chastised and she momentarily stopped trimming his hair to place her hands on her hips. "Ace is in the wrong for endangering all of their lives but you should have put up with his anger and just stopped it before it could become problematic! These are your brothers Master, not little playthings to prove your point!"

Maro squeaked at the tone Angel took with Master. "W-when did you get so attached to those kids?!"

Demon's brow was raised in surprise. "You like other people? Since when? What did I miss while you were still there?"

Even if they were Master's brothers, that wouldn't have given them that much of a free pass with his antagonistic sister. They must have really left a good impression on her.

Rosan moved his head to stare back at Angel and she flinched as his gaze bore into her. So maybe she shouldn't have snapped on him like that... ugh, she knew being separated from him for so long wasn't a good idea. Now she was reprimanding him!

"You're right," he admitted softly and she froze in surprise. "I unknowingly treated them not as brothers but as subjects to prove a point too. I'm not used to all of this."

Their eyes softened at his honesty and Angel sighed. "You both need to apologize to each other but you two are way too stubborn. Though, I'm glad you retained at least some part of your personality traits."

The redhead finished cutting the oldest triplets hair and was satisfied to see it back to it's shoulder length level. She tied it the back half of it into a bun, leaving his front spikes free and sighed sadly at the sight.

"Alright! Let's go apologize!" Angel declared suddenly. "I'm coming with you to make this right!"

"Alright, I need to visit Sabo soon anyways and make sure he's okay," Rosan agreed.

"I won't be able to come this time," Demon said apologetically. He liked the kids but his job as a doctor took a lot of his attention. He was due to go in soon and just wanted to spend time with Master before he did.

"There's no need to apologize. I'm proud of you," Rosan smiled softly and the younger twin blushed in happiness.

"Aww I'd love to come but I'm busy dealing with this," Maro whined and she glared at the cursed papers.

She was too young for this! She needed an assistant to do this for her or else she'd go insane!

"Next time," Rosan reassured, patting her on the head.

"I don't see you doing paperwork ever," Maro grumbled in indignation. Sure there was nothing that he needed to do paperwork for, but he didn't even do it around Aiko!

"Because I don't want to do paperwork," Rosan said blandly. "If you don't want to do it, hire an assistant. It's what I would do after verifying they are trustworthy."

Maro glanced at her teacher in disbelief at his words. "You wouldn't just do it on your own? What…?"

"Of course not," the redhead replied. "I don't need such responsibilities, even if I were royalty."

Then Rosan paused. "Oh speaking of which, Mod-chan told me that my biological mother is a queen so I have royal blood."

…

"Huh?" Maro asked intelligently. What the hell did he just say?

"W-wait, what?!" Angel stammered in shock at the casual bombshell. Did he just say what she thought he said?

"You're a prince?!" Demon gaped in disbelief. Why would he just tell them that so casually? This seemed really important!

"Yes," Mod said calmly.

"I'm dating an actual princess?!" Maro squeaked, looking at Angel in fear. She wasn't worthy! She was only a queen by name! She didn't have royal blood flowing through her veins.

"Is that all your thinking about?" Ram wondered in amusement.

"You were dating an actual princess before you knew that information," Angel sneered in a superior manner.

"Yeah, because I'm a queen! Look at you riding my coattails!" Maro smirked smugly.

"Smug little shit," the redhead growled.

"Ironic!" Maro barked.

As the two began to inevitably devolve into an argument, Demon, being the only normal person, instead asked Rosan to elaborate on the information he just told them.

The redhead nodded and told them about what Mod had informed him and they momentarily remained silent to digest the information.

"If I ever meet your birth mom, I might assault her," Maro said lowly, eyes glowing orange momentarily.

"She would abandon you as a newborn? That's inhumane... bless Rouge for being able to find you because you would have died otherwise," Demon muttered. That was disgusting behavior, newborns needed their mothers and she had left him behind without a second thought... Rosan really could have died if he hadn't been found so quickly.

"You say I might look like her?" Angel frowned. "That sucks. I don't want to look like her."

"You don't look like her, you look like me," Rosan said simply, instantly making her feel better. "I don't care about her so you three shouldn't either."

"Fine," Maro grumbled. "I'm still gonna hit her though. It shouldn't be difficult to tell who your mother is."

"She is not my mother," Rosan told her truthfully. "The bond we have is nonexistent and so you should not hate her on my behalf."

"That's rather mature of you, Master," Angel smiled and Rosan hummed.

"Make no mistake, this is just what I'm saying because we have never met. It's easy to say something when you aren't actually in the scenario but things may change if I ever meet her personally."

"It's good that you are keeping an open mind on this. That way, you won't be caught off guard in case you do get angry," Mod praised.

Her little boy was growing up way too fast for her!

"You're too cool, Master," Maro sighed fondly and then she waved them off. "You two go while I deal with this nonsense. I'm coming to visit next time, though," the bluenette finished, glaring at the paper.

Angel laughed at the look and planted a gentle kiss on her cheek. "You'll be fine, I'm seriously proud of you for taking this so seriously," she told the younger teen and Maro turned beet red.

"Ah, stop embarrassing me!" The goblin girl beamed, completely contradicting her words. "Go! Get outta here!" She demanded.

"Okay okay!" Angel agreed and she grabbed onto Rosan with an amused expression on her face. The redheads waved at her and they promptly vanished.

Maro grumbled to herself and Demon patted himself off as he stood, so that he could go to work.

"KANNA!" She suddenly screamed and the footsteps approached quickly.

It was a good thing Kanna was never far from her!

"Yes Princess?" The black haired girl called. Ever since her talk with Rosan, she had gotten much more comfortable around the castle and as a result, much more confident in herself.

Maro had no clue how Rosan did it so easily. She was honestly jealous.

"I want you to look into potential candidates for a secretary position. I'm sick and tired of doing all this paperwork and it's getting in the way of my training." Maro definitely didn't whine saying that.

"What about me?" Kanna blinked in confusion. It seemed like an obvious choice to her, considering how much she hovered Maro.

"You want to?!" Maro replied in surprise. Kanna did a lot for her so she was surprised the girl was offering to do this too.

"I think she's a good choice," Demon nodded, patting the small girl on the head. She nodded enthusiastically with a bright smile.

"Princess Angel has been teaching me a lot recently! I can filter the type of things you get so you don't have to do too much!" She beamed with a rosy blush on her face that Maro immediately picked up on.

"Hey wait a minute… d-do you have a crush on Angel?!" Maro asked in shock, looking at her assistant. "Back off! She's mine!"

Demon sighed fondly. Maro was as much of a social idiot as Master had been. Those two were way too similar for their own good.

Kanna waved her hands frantically and said, "N-no! It's the same thing I feel for you! I thought it was a crush but it's just admiration! I promise!"

"Oh, okay!" The bluenette accepted the explanation easily and Kanna sagged in relief.

Princess Maro was rather possessive of Angel and she for one, did not want to get on the Dokkaebi's bad side.

"Wait… you have a crush on me?!" Maro suddenly asked in disbelief. She didn't even realize! She fully thought that Kanna liked Rosan!

Kanna moaned miserably.

Angel was right, Maro really was an idiot.

----------------------------------------

"Alright you two!" Angel declared, glaring harshly at her stubborn brothers. The teen was all business right now and she would not let either of them escape, lest they face her wrath.

Luffy was standing right next to the clone and he grinned eagerly at the reluctant look in Ace's eyes.

Rosan, as usual, looked completely unfazed by the events and his emotions had long tapered off. As such, he was the first to take initiative.

"I'm sorry," the redhead suddenly said, making Ace snap his head towards the teen in shock.

"I treated you two like an experiment and I was trying to prove a point. But, that's not what brothers should do," Rosan said quietly. "I will not apologize for helping you against Bluejam though. I don't doubt your ability and I'm sure you would have defeated him but the fire was too much of a problem at that point and I didn't need you to needlessly injure yourself."

Ace almost protested but a firm glare from Angel, silenced it and instead he began to digest the information.

Eventually, the freckled boy sighed and conceded. "I'm sorry too," Ace grumbled so lowly, they strained to hear him.

"I thought I got over what you did, but I didn't and it put us all in danger because of it. I ran with the excuse that having you help, was too much and it turned into this…" he admitted reluctantly. It was incredibly stupid of him and in the future, he would try to not do that.

"And that's okay," Rosan informed him. "I understand your need for growth and having me help with everything, will only negatively harm you in the long run but it's okay to ask for help."

Luffy nodded happily along with Rosan and Angel had a smile on her face. She had expected that to go way worse but these two were surprisingly self aware.

The bandit's, sans Dogra, watched all this with a relieved look. If Ace and Rosan were mad at each other and it came to blows, no one would be able to stop the two.

Only Sabo had a chance of calming them both down.

"Why don't you ever run from a fight?" Rosan asked curiously and Ace sighed.

"I can't help getting fired up sometimes and I'm always afraid that if I run, I'll leave something important behind," he admitted.

Mama had said that same thing about Roger one day.

It figured that he was like the late Pirate King in many things. Ace and Mom, besides the freckles, were almost nothing alike.

Based on the look on Dadan's face, he was right that Ace had gotten it from Roger because there was no way Garp knew anything about his mother.

Rosan nearly let out a sigh. He wouldn't be telling Ace how similar to Roger he was. That would only serve to infuriate the ten year old when they seemed to finally be making progress.

"I understand why you feel that way. I would never run if it potentially meant I would put my loved ones in danger," Rosan responded.

"So... do you two forgive each other?" Angel asked tentatively. This was far easier than she expected.

Rosan and Ace nodded in unison and she grinned.

"Perfect! That means I don't have to get violent," the teen beamed.

"You'd hit me?" Rosan asked curiously. Angel would never put her hands on him before so for her to so boldly say that, was surprising to him.

"If I have to!" His fellow redhead nodded without hesitation, not even seeming to realize what she was saying.

Seems it was a good idea that he made them stay with Maro. His clones were already growing independent from him and that pleased him.

"Good, we all need someone like you to keep our heads on straight," Rosan praised and Angel blushed beet red at it.

"Oh you!" She gushed, jumping into Rosan's arms from happiness.

Luffy cheered at the outcome and he joined the pile.

Ace thought they were overreacting and let out a strangled yelp as a rubbery arm dragged him into the pile.

Luffy's laughter turned into a scream as Ace punched him right on the skull.

----------------------------------------

"Oh Dogra!" Luffy called happily. He was currently having two beetles fight each other as the diminutive man approached. "Where were you today?!"

"Are you alright?" Rosan asked calmly, looking at the man intently. He and Angel (who didn't want to leave yet) were watching over the seven year old as they chatted about anything.

The bandit looked like he had seen a ghost and he was nervously sweating.

"I-it's uh... best if I tell you all at once," Dogra told him and he promptly made his way into the house.

Rosan and Angel shared a glance before following after the man. Luffy quickly made his way too and soon the only one outside was the dog.

----------------------------------------

"W-what?! Sabo's…"

"STOP LYING YOU BASTARD!" Ace roared, tackling Dogra onto the ground. The boy was poised to strike him and had cocked his fist back. "Don't even joke about something like that!"

Angel had a look of horror on her face at the news and when she chanced a glance at her Master, she went pale.

"I'm not lying or joking about it! It was so sudden!" Dogra choked out in fear. "I could barely believe what I saw! I thought I was dreaming!"

"Shut up! Sabo went back to his family's home!" Ace growled. "How could he be at sea?!"

"Where do you plan on escaping?"

"That's right! He went home!" Luffy agreed loudly.

"A hoodlum like me can understands how he feels! People don't wanna always go back home!" Dogra exclaimed and he shoved Ace off of him.

"It's obvious you won't remain here."

"If he was really happy, he wouldn't go out to sea…! He wouldn't go out to sea by himself with a black flag on his ship!" Dogra screamed and the tears began falling from his eyes.

Luffy teared up immediately as the realization hit him hard. "Sabo… H-he wasn't happy!" The boy sobbed in agony.

"Why?! Why didn't we go there to take him back?!" Ace said in a near whisper before rage overtook his features.

"Where is the bastard who killed Sabo?! I'm gonna kill him!" Ace roared, shaking Dogra back and forth.

"K-Kill the Celestial Dragon?! That's not possible…!" Dogra choked out.

"I'll make him pay!" Ace declared and he was off but Dadan immediately tackled him to the floor.

"Stop, you little shit!" Dadan growled and she harshly slammed the boy into the wood.

"Get outta my way!" Ace grunted, struggling against her grip.

"How can you be so confident even though you're not that strong?!" The bandit leader scowled harshly and she slammed him into the wood again to prove her point.

"What can you do?! They'll kill you! You'll die and people will forget you by tomorrow! Sabo was killed by this country! This world! What can you do about it?!"

"You're father changed the world with his death! When you become a man that important, then you can do whatever you want!"

She jostled the ten year old back and forth and Angel was about to step in, to stop her from further injuring her younger brother.

"A Celestial... Dragon. Again?" A voice whispered but everyone heard it as if it had been screamed. The older twin froze in fear, as she hesitantly looked over at her master again.

Rosan's face was unbearably blank at the moment and it portrayed nothing at all. It was the same face he almost permanently had adopted for the last two years so it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Ace and Angel suddenly remembered the reasoning Rosan gave them on the bounty of Reaper.

The teen suddenly moved to the front of the door and left without warning.

"Oh fuck…," Angel whispered, as she realized what he was about to do. Based on the look in all the other inhabitants eyes, they probably had a clue too.

"L-Let me deal with Master," Angel hastily told them. "I'll talk him down from doing something that will get this entire island destroyed!"

They could only stare with wide eyes, as the tall redhead followed after her older brother.

Dadan hoped Angel could talk to him because she didn't dream of being able to stop the teen.

"Tie this fool up," the bandit leader ordered and she tossed Ace to the other bandits.

Ace struggled but there was too much and soon he was tied to the tree, reduced to only helplessly flailing his legs.

Luffy meanwhile, cried and cried.

"SABOOO!" He sobbed.

----------------------------------------

"Rosan."

"Mod-chan."

"Please reconsider what you're about to do."

"But isn't this all I can do? This is what I'm best at so this is what I should do."

"..."

"Eventually, Rosan but not now. You need to remember that a Celestial Dragon has already died in the Blue Seas. There's a very solid chance that they are now being guarded by legitimate threats that are strong enough to deal with Reaper. You will put everything at risk and Sabo wouldn't want that. That's why he chose not to come back with you."

"I shouldn't have given him an option."

"You know giving him an option was the right thing to do. Don't ever blame yourself for giving someone the freedom of choice."

"…"

Rosan stopped walking at her words and that gave him enough time to hear a rapid set of steps behind him.

"Master, please wait!" Angel called and she crashed into his back. His clone wrapped her arms around him and held him for dear life.

"You don't have to do this, Master," the redhead whispered into his hair. "I understand why you want to do it. I wouldn't normally stop you but you have so much to lose if you attempt to kill that Celestial Dragon."

"This isn't the middle of the ocean like the last one. If he dies here, this island will cease to exist," Angel murmured and she felt hot tears forming at the thought that Sabo was really gone.

"I… I know it hurts but we can't throw away what we still have left," she reassured the older teen and Rosan let loose a deep breath.

"Angel… I don't feel anything," Rosan said, finally glancing at the haughty clone.

She froze at the revelation and hesitantly looked up at him. His face, as always, was set in that neutral expression of his.

"I thought I cared for Sabo but news of his death, filled me with nothing. I'm not sad or angry and that's why I can still be reasoned with."

"If I can't even mourn for my little brother, the least I can do is avenge him. But, I can't even do that yet because I stand to lose even more without gaining anything."

Ah. This was the worst. Every time it felt like they were making progress, reality reared its ugly head.

"You do care for him, Master."

Angel wouldn't let that bring her down though.

"I saw the way you interacted with him, with all of them. You care for our little brothers and I refuse to accept anything else!" She exclaimed with angry tears now. Because of his lack of emotions, he couldn't see things the way others did, so his judgement couldn't be too reliable. Her older brother didn't have a high opinion of himself so of course he wouldn't be able to see it!

"It's true. You visited Sabo when he was alone and he cherished your company. If you really think you didn't care for him, then you deserve actor of the year," Mod said softly.

"So then, why don't I feel anything?" Rosan asked with a tilted head.

"I think… the castle is making an effort to especially make sure the negative emotions don't seep through," Mod said. It was also very possible that the virus could somewhat manipulate what emotions seeped through and for whatever reason, they chose not to let out negativity.

Just what was their plan?

"That... makes sense," Rosan hummed, picking up what Mod meant, and he finally relaxed his muscles. "Thank you Angel and Mod. I can always rely on you all," he said softly and he turned to face his clone.

"Of course Rosan," Mod said softly, smiling sadly.

"Anything for you, Master," Angel whispered and Rosan looked into her purple eyes.

He scooped her into a hug and said, "Let it all out, I'm here for you."

Rosan stroked her ponytail and Angel let loose a shaky sob into the crook of his neck, as the tears finally flowed freely.

She really did like Sabo...

"I know," he soothed and the two remained there, in the dark of the night. Even if he could feel nothing, he would still be here as emotional support.

For all of them.

----------------------------------------

"Boss! You won't believe this but we got a letter from Sabo!"

Ace's eyes widened at that. "Give it to me! I won't go to the town and it's for us, right?"

He had been tied up all night to a tree but this was a message from Sabo and he had to read it.

"Ace, Luffy, I hope you guys weren't hurt too bad in the fire. I'm worried about you guys but Rosan told me he would save you all so I know you two are safe."

Ace began walking through the forest, a torrent of emotions running through his body, as he read the last link to his blonde brother.

"I'm sorry to say it, guys, but when you get this letter, I'll already be out on the sea. Things led to things and I decided to set out to sea before you. My destination will be anywhere but here."

Ace paused for a moment to tear his gaze away from the paper, steadfastly holding back his tears, before diving back in.

"I'm gonna become stronger and become a pirate! The four of us have to become the freest pirates ever so one day, let's meet up again somewhere."

"Somewhere on the wide open sea! Definitely, someday!"

Ace made it to the area where they had declared their dreams all those months ago. The expansive, beautiful sea gazed back at him and he stood there.

"By the way, Ace, which of us do you think is the bigger brother? I know Rosan is the oldest but between us two, who do you think?"

It was definitely the freckled boy but Sabo would have argued with him about it, even despite knowing that Ace was born on January 1st.

"It's weird, but our brotherhood is my treasure. Luffy is still a weak crybaby and Rosan still needs a lot of help but, they're our brothers so please take care of them!"

Tears welled up in Ace's eyes, as the harsh reality of what happened finally caught up to him.

"One pull. With just one pull, I would have resolved all of this. Gray Terminal would not have burned, Luffy would be fine and Sabo would be here."

It was his fault.

"SABOOOOO!" Ace threw his head back and sobbed to the world. He didn't know how long he cried for but it must have been hours.

Rosan watched from the top of a tree, as his little brother cried.

"Won't you speak to him?"

"No. Ace loathes the sight of crying so if he were to get caught in the act, he would close himself off and let it build up. He needs this."

"He truly is your brother."

"...I just hope his reluctance to accept help will wear off when he grows older."

"Only time will tell."

----------------------------------------

Rosan sat next to a Luffy who was lying face down in the grass. The seven year old had been crying nonstop and the redhead just offered his presence.

His future captain had been rather unresponsive as of late.

Angel was with Makino, talking to the nineteen year old to distract herself from the pain and he told her to call him immediately if she needed support.

The sound of footsteps alerted the redhead and he glanced back to make eye contact with his freckled brother.

Ace held his gaze for a moment before looking at Luffy in annoyance. He blew a breath on his fist and punched the boy right on his head.

Besides grabbing his hat, the child made no move to react and the ten year old let out a sigh.

"Rosan, you said you moved all the treasure in the forest, right?" Ace asked the redhead, who nodded in confirmation.

"That's right, I did it just to be safe and it seems like it payed off," the redhead replied. He had stored it in his Pocket Dimension so it would be simple to get. "One moment, I can go retrieve it —"

"Don't bother. I don't care about the savings anymore," the freckled boy cut him off. "That was the pirate savings I was gonna share with Sabo but Sabo didn't need it, so I'll let it go and leave it to you."

"Are you sure? I don't need it, I have more than enough treasure already and it's for your pirate funds," Rosan pointed out and Ace snorted.

"If you didn't get it, it'd be gone and I'd have nothing anyways," the boy stated with a shrug.

"...Alright, I'll hold onto it," the redhead responded eventually. He would just sneak some of it on Ace's ship when the boy set sail and the freckled boy would have to get over it.

"A-Ace… R-Rosan… I...," Luffy finally spoke up and the two brothers regarded him with curiosity.

"...I wanna become stronger! More, and more… More and more, more and more," the child constantly chanted.

"I wanna become even stronger! Then, I can protect anything or anyone! I don't have to lose anybody!" He sobbed and Mod's eyes softened.

It was the same goal as Rosan's...

"I beg you! Ace, Rosan please don't die!" The small child requested.

"Oh Luffy…" Mod sighed sadly. He really was so similar to Rosan in so many ways.

"Cut it out! Worry about yourself first! You're way weaker than me!" Ace roared, hitting Luffy again.

"I know how it feels, Luffy," Rosan spoke up and the teen looked out at the sea. "It's a terrible feeling, to feel powerless but all you can do is keep moving forward. One step at a time, until you can achieve your goal."

Mod smiled sadly at his words and she sent him a burst of love.

Ace stared at his older brother in respect before looking back at Luffy. "Listen carefully, Luffy! I'll never die!"

The words slammed into the little boy and he slowly moved himself up into a sitting position. "Uh-huh!" He choked out, hiding his face desperately with his straw hat.

"Sabo told me to take care of the two of you too," Ace said and Rosan tilted his head at that.

"Take care of me?" Rosan questioned and he pointed at himself before shrugging. "I'm in your care."

"S-shut up!" Ace barked in embarrassment, before clearing his throat. "You two… I promise that I'll never die! How can I leave a wimpy little brother and a robot older brother like you two behind?"

"Too many people care for me and I know they'd be destroyed if I died," Rosan said softly. "You have nothing to worry about because I will live for as long as it takes."

Luffy sniffed and nodded even harder.

"I'm not smart so I don't quite know what killed Sabo but Rosan has a clue, right?" Ace asked.

"The corrupt system of this world," Rosan answered immediately. "A system that allows utterly unfit animals to rule this world."

"I can see now why you killed the Celestial Dragon," Ace growled. He had been about to do the same thing after all. "People like them, are opposed to freedom and Sabo died before he knew freedom."

"We exchanged that same cup of sake and we're alive! So listen, Luffy, Rosan. We have to live without leaving any regrets!"

"Right," Rosan said immediately. "Anymore regrets," he internally corrected.

"Uh-huh!" Luffy agreed.

"We gotta go out to sea someday… and live as we like. Freer than anyone else and that means we'll make enemies everywhere."

"Uh-huh!"

"I have many enemies already," Rosan hummed. Those were Reaper's enemies though and well, Reaper was basically dead to the world now.

"That means we get to make new enemies!" Ram cheered excitedly.

"Never change, Ram, never change," Mod sighed fondly.

"Let's go out to sea when we're 17!" Ace declared and Luffy nodded without hesitation.

"I turn 17 in three years," Rosan pointed out and Ace waved him off.

"Your apart of Luffy's crew so you leave when Luffy turns 17," he said.

The redhead nodded. So he'd be 24 when they set sail.

"Oh no…" Mod said in worry. 24 was more than enough time for those grabby woman to get their hands on her little Rosan.

B-but she wouldn't dissuade him when he was of age. He was a growing boy and… hormones would affect him even despite the castle, so she couldn't just interfere with that… no matter how badly she wanted too.

"What is that miserable look on your face, Auntie Mod?" Ram cackled and it really spoke on the girl's behalf that, despite knowing how this was going to end, she still chose to poke the woman.

"Ram… come here for a second please," Mod said in an unnaturally calm voice and the teen froze in terror.

"I think that's a bad idea so I'm just gonna go this way," she declared but after Rosan, Mod had absolute control of the mindscape.

"No, I don't think you are," she smiled gently, appearing right in front of her and pinching her cheeks.

"F-Father! Save me from this monster!" Ram begged.

"M-Monster?!"

Rosan closed his eyes and expertly ignored Ram's plea for help.

There was no way he was getting dragged into this.

----------------------------------------

"Angel? Are you alright?!" Maro asked in concern at the gloomy look in her girlfriend's purple eyes. "H-have you been crying?! Master what happened?!" The princess demanded.

Master or not, if he hurt Angel, he'd be in a world of pain!

"I'm happy that you'd so boldly threaten me for her sake but I did nothing," Rosan informed her quietly and Angel nodded in agreement.

"Master was being my emotional support," she whispered and the computer teen rubbed her back soothingly.

"What's wrong?" Demon asked in concern and Rosan told them everything, after Angel gave him the go ahead.

The horror in their eyes as he finished his tale told him everything he needed to know. Tears had already sprung up in Angel's eyes again and she collapsed in a worried Maro's arms.

"A… A World Noble just… struck his ship down…?" Demon asked in dazed confusion.

"If he's anything like the one I met, he probably struck his ship for daring to cross paths with him," Rosan informed them slowly.

"That's… bullshit!" Maro snarled and her skin began turning green from the anger she felt. Hot, angry tears formed in her eyes, at the revelation that Sabo was dead and the only thing stopping her from raging, was the emotional girl in her arms.

"I will get my revenge, eventually," Rosan said quietly.

"I'll help," the Goblin Princess growled. She would get back at those World Nobles at all costs no matter what.

"Don't jeopardize what you have, I wouldn't want the World Government to converge on this island. You'd be sitting ducks," Rosan gently chided his student.

Maro frowned but he was right. If she made an enemy of the World Government, this island would be in grave danger and it wasn't like Germa. She couldn't just move it as she pleased.

"They just won't know I'm their enemy then," the princess grinned viciously. "In fact, I'll let them think we're allies!"

"Oh?" Rosan raised a brow at the bluenette.

"It'll be the best infiltration mission you've ever seen!" Maro beamed. "Buuuut, it might take a while to bear fruit."

Rosan was impressed with his student. "That's going to be quite dangerous but it could be immensely useful if it works out. It may also mean contact between the two of us will limit when I become a pirate."

"Maybe but that won't stop me from visiting you! Life is full of risks and I love you too much to limit our visits more than they already are!" The Dokkaebi grinned.

"What exactly are you planning on doing?" Demon asked warily, already having a clue.

"Isn't it obvious?! We're gonna become bigger and bigger and we'll get so great that the World Government will have no choice but to want to ally with us," Maro let loose a sharp smile at that.

"Then we'll accept and that will be their biggest mistake because Master is my most important ally!" The Goblin Princess declared. It was genius!

"Be careful," Rosan whispered. "I wouldn't forgive myself if something bad happened to you so approach this cautiously and give away no clues."

"Your my precious student and I won't accept you dying on my behalf."

Maro, after carefully placing Angel to the side, glomped Rosan immediately. "S-stop embarrassing me Master! Your gonna make me super happy and then I won't let you leave!"

"My apologies," Rosan apologized and Angel's eyes flared to life.

"Don't make Master apologize for no reason, Maro!" Angel reprimanded, grabbing the girl by her ear and making her whine.

"S-stop embarrassing me in front of Master! I have an image to upkeep now!"

"Master has seen you at your lowest! Your image was ruined since you were 11!"

"Oh yeah?! You don't seem to think that!"

"I can show you exactly what I think!"

Rosan watched the two bicker, with a tilt of his head.

"You know, they only really get like this when it involves you," Demon told him in amusement. "Those two are normally in sync with each other."

"I wonder why I have this affect on people?" Rosan stated calmly, content to just watch them.

There was no way he was getting dragged into this.

----------------------------------------

"Hey, Mei."

Rosan stared at her body with an expressionless face. She was as beautiful as ever and she looked the exact same as any other day.

The redhead visited her every single day without fail but recently he hadn't been able to, due to news of Sabo's death. Whatever he did that day, he would tell her while speaking his mind on whatever else he was thinking of.

"One of my little brothers, Sabo, died due to the Celestial Dragons," Rosan began and he sat on the bed next to her. The fourteen year old (they were the same age now) grabbed a strand of her lustrous blonde hair and idly stroked it.

"I could have saved him… but he didn't want to burden me any further and requested that he do it on his own. Maybe I should have ignored him and just helped him set sail."

"But it was ultimately his choice and I won't take choices away from someone I… care about," the teen spoke. Angel was right, he did care about his blonde brother. He would be stupid to not acknowledge that.

"Ace cried, Luffy cried, even Angel cried… but I didn't and I thought because of that, I didn't care for Sabo. But Angel and Mod-chan helped me realize that I do care. I'm learning to rely on all of them more and more when it comes to things like this."

Mod sent him a burst of affection to show her support.

"I won't lie, It's hard to accept others as emotional support when you were the best I could ask for, but I'm slowly progressing and I think you'd be a little happy."

The redhead sighed softly and dropped the strand of hair. He removed his earrings and just stared at them with a vacant expression.

"Ace wants us to live as we like, with no regrets and I think you'd want that too so that's what I'm going to do. I think… I think I'll regret living a life without my emotions so until I find them, I won't die. I'm sure you'd be happy to hear that."

He placed the ruby red earrings back on and stood up. "I'm going now, Mei. I want to keep living for the both of us so, please continue to support me."

"Even if the whole world turned against you, Meiko would always be on your side," Mod assured him.

"Mother loved… No. Mother loves you and nothing will ever change that!" Ram agreed.

"Yes, no matter what our love is one that can never be broken," Rosan said softly. "That includes you two as well. I love you both and want to thank you for remaining by my side."

"We love you too, Rosan," Mod's voice came out in quiet elation. The woman was overjoyed that he had said it on his own accord. "You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried! We're together until the end."

"Yeah! We're not as shitty as your birth mother. We will never abandon you, Father!" Ram beamed and Rosan hummed at their truthful words.

Yes, they also had their own bond that couldn't be broken.

Eventually, he smiled and said —

"I'm glad to hear that."

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Raisa(Rosan's mother's name) means Rose in Yiddish

Iris (Rosan's mother's surname) are purple-blue flowers that symbolize Power and Majesty.

----------------------------------------

Bonus

"I didn't expect to ever receive another call from you, Monkey D. Dragon," a majestic voice said. It was a deep and feminine voice that commanded respect from all, despite how soft spoken they were. "I trust you are using a means to avoid this call from being traced? I would rather not have to explain myself to the World Government."

"Hello to you too, Raisa," the leader of the revolutionaries replied. "No need to worry, I have a White Den Den Mushi."

"What are you calling me for? I thought I made it clear that I no longer wish to have any ties with your army. It's only our former friendship that has prevented me from hanging up," Iris D. Raisa muttered lowly. She was currently sat on her throne, idly reading some paperwork before balling that specific one up and throwing it away.

Raisa was a gorgeous, tall woman, standing at an impressive 6'2 with smooth and lustrous blood red hair, that flowed down her bronze back in waves. Her features were youthful and sharp, enhancing her beauty and belying her true age of 32. She wore a slim royal purple gown, that hugged her curves and her heels were currently lying somewhere in the room, due to not having to go anywhere. A silver crown with purple markings, lie on the table she was currently reading documents on.

"I'm aware. I'm just curious about something and felt it was urgent enough to consult you," Dragon said. He was currently on the Wind Granma, sitting in his own personal quarters as he talked to his former ally.

"Oh? Curious enough where you'd call me?" Raisa raised a neat red brow at that and hummed in curiosity, tilting her head and resting it on a free fist.

"Of course. After all, you never told me you had a son that you abandoned. That's unlike the girl who wanted nothing more than to have and raise her own child."

She froze for a moment and pursed her plump lips. The only way to tell she was annoyed, was that her brows had slightly furrowed but otherwise, her face remained painfully neutral.

"You are in the South Blue and you chose to call me? Why not just visit if this is what you wanted to discuss? I'm not so cold that I'd turn you away. I just wouldn't let you step on my island."

Now it was Dragon's turn to raise a brow. Not only was she dodging the accusation, she automatically assumed that he was in the South Blue.

"I haven't been in the South Blue nor have I encountered your son there," he replied calmly, watching the Den Den Mushi's reaction.

"That's not possible. The person you encountered is not my son then," Raisa said simply, inspecting her red nails in boredom. "If that's all you wanted to discuss, I'm going to hang up."

"He looks exactly like you. The only difference is that the part of his hair that is not in a bun, is spiky, he has heterochromia and his eyes don't have any glow in them at all."

"If this is your idea of a joke Dragon, you'll find that I'm very unamused by it," the queen said coldly. "My son did not have heterochromia and his eyes should almost certainly be glowing. No one in my lineage has ever had eyes that don't glow."

"So I'm assuming your son's name isn't Rosan, then?" Dragon asked knowingly, grinning at the call.

Raisa's glowing purple eyes, actually widened in shock. The beautiful, royal purple orbs, were fixed directly on the Den Den Mushi.

How did he know his...

"But... But how? You shouldn't... If you haven't been to the South Blue... there's no way you should..."

Not only did he have heterochromia, his eyes had no glow in them? But that wasn't possible. What had happened to him?

"Where did you see him?" The queen demanded, voice measured despite the racing thoughts. Dozens of scenarios ran through her head but she banished them all. There was no point in thinking of what could have happened when she could just find out herself.

"I won't be telling you that. Something tells me he doesn't think too highly of you and you did abandon him after all," Dragon replied, expecting that to be the end of the conversation. Rosan had told him that he wasn't fond of parents abandoning their children and it didn't take a genius to see that he had likely been abandoned by his own.

Besides, he did tell the redhead to consider him an ally and he looked like someone who wished to be hidden. Just revealing his location to anyone, could be detrimental to him.

Raisa's response was to hang up the call in annoyance. The revolutionary leader was getting on her nerves and wasn't going to answer any inquiries she had so there was no point in continuing the conversation.

The queen stood up, paperwork forgotten, and let out a sigh as her bare feet hit the cold floor. She stepped onto her balcony and was subjected to the night sky.

"Iris D. Rosan, to think you managed to survive," she muttered to herself. It didn't make any sense... if he was truly alive, he should be fourteen right now. How on Earth had he managed to get out of the South Blue?

What was even more eye catching, were the details about his eyes. It was not possible that they completely stopped glowing and Raisa had taken a good long look at him when he was just born. Of his crying face when he somehow realized she was going to leave him behind.

Rosan had two glowing purple orbs, just like her. He had physically inherited nearly everything from her and gained nearly nothing from his—

It wasn't adding up, she would need to check herself if Dragon had been truthful. He wasn't the type to joke around with something like this, but they had not talked in a long time.

If her son's eyes had truly stopped glowing, then something disastrous had happened to him. The glow in their eyes was attached directly to their emotions and Rosan's eyes had shone unnaturally bright. Brighter than anyone in their lineage...

If he ended up like that man... she'd really regret not killing him when she had the chance. Unfortunately, Raisa didn't think a child should pay for the crimes of their parents and she hadn't gone through nine months of misery, just to kill her child right then and there.

Two scaly wings burst from the redhead's body and combined with her arms, before the Queen took off into the night sky, heading to the place where she had abandoned her only child.