I'm in One Piece, and I'm Luffy's childhood friend.

........

Back at Dadan's house, Bai Yun had already applied medicine to Luffy, stopped the bleeding, and bandaged him up, but the injury was quite serious, and Luffy would probably have to stay in bed for a few days.

Ace crouched by the door, his head buried between his legs, tears streaming down his face, repeatedly murmuring, "Luffy, I'm sorry..."

Bai Yun got up, intending to go over and comfort him, telling him not to blame himself, but Ace suddenly stood up and ran outside.

"Ace, where are you going?!"

"Magula, could you please take care of Luffy?"

Seeing that Ace ignored him, Bai Yun asked Magula for help and then got up to chase after him.

........

Following Ace, Bai Yun crossed the Colbo Mountains and arrived at Windmill Village.

Just as Ace was about to barge into Makino's tavern, he suddenly stopped and knocked on the door.

Makino came out of the house.

"Ace?"

"What do you find me for?"

.......

"How to greet someone?"

"Because I am Luffy and Baiyun's older brother, it is only right that I have to pay my respects to the red-haired captain who took care of them someday."

Ace replied

Makino squatted down, a satisfied smile on her face. She knew that Ace needed to learn how to be a good older brother and take on his responsibilities.

"Hahaha, so that's what you came for, Ace."

Bai Yun walked up from behind with a smile.

"Then I'll trouble you to teach this impolite brat Ace a lesson, Makino."

"What do you mean, Bai Yun? I'm older than you, I'm the older brother."

Ace replied, bristling.

"Yes, yes, yes, then let's put it another way: teach me and Luffy, your rude older brother, manners."

"Will this work, Brother Ace?"

Ace blushed, "Whatever!!"

Makino looked at the two of them and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Ace and Bai Yun turned their gazes away.

"Hehehe, sorry..."

"So first of all..."

........

Chapter 27 Ace Sets Sail

And so, Ace learned manners from Makino.

After Luffy recovered, the three of them returned to their normal lives.

They would still cause a scene in town, eat and dash, and then politely but rarely would they bow to the owner.

The same old sparring continues.

When they encountered the bear that had injured Luffy again, they invited Dadan's family to have bear meat hot pot together that day.

Fight thugs, survive in the forest, fight wild beasts, and battle the "strongest boss" Garp.

And so time continued to leave its mark on the three of them, never stopping, and in the blink of an eye, it flew past them like a galloping steed.

Seven years passed, and the day came for Ace to set sail.

........

The new year, which is January 1st of the year 1517 in the Sea Calendar, is also Ace's birthday.

This guy was in a hurry; he wanted to go to sea the very day he turned seventeen.

Last night, Ace was taken out by Bai Yun to buy things for the voyage. Although the process was difficult, the shop owners looked at them as if they had seen ghosts. When they saw them pay, they looked even more like they had seen ghosts.

"What's there to buy? Bai Yun, there's no need to go through all that trouble."

Ace followed Bai Yun and complained.

Bai Yun rolled his eyes at him and said, "Then why don't you put the dagger down?"

If you don't want to buy it, then don't buy it. It'll save you some money. Anyway, he's just there to stall for time.

"Come on! Let's go buy some clothes. Tomorrow is your birthday, and we're going out to sea. You need to look presentable."

Bai Yun grabbed Ace and ran to the clothing store.

Before Ace could retort, he asked, "What do you mean by that? I don't look like a human being right now."

The weapon shop owner was taken aback. Hadn't they still owed money for that dagger?

.......

When they arrived at the clothing store, Ace felt a little uncomfortable. He had never bought clothes before, and all the clothes the three of them wore over the years had been made by Makino.

It's one thing if he's never bought it before, but he doesn't understand what paying for it means.

Seeing that Ace was stunned, Bai Yun handed him a denim outfit, a black vest with black denim shorts, wristbands, and a belt, and then pushed him into the fitting room.

The clothing store owner was a somewhat plump middle-aged woman who looked at them with a panicked expression. After all, Bai Yun and his group had such a reputation, especially for shop owners in border towns like them, particularly restaurants and pharmacies.

While Ace was changing clothes, Bai Yun wandered around the store and suddenly noticed a very distinctive cowboy hat.

It was an orange cowboy hat with two badges on the brim: one for "smiling" and one for "sad".

Bai Yun picked it up with a smile, and Ace also suddenly pulled back the curtain and came out.

Bai Yun walked over and said, "Tsk tsk tsk, this is what they mean by clothes making the man. He looks quite handsome in this outfit, Ace."

"Yeah?"

"No, what do you mean by 'looking like a decent person'? Are you praising me or insulting me?"

Ace smiled and nodded, then suddenly realized something was off; his words seemed to be both a compliment and not a compliment at all.

Bai Yun didn't answer, telling him to go look in the mirror himself, then ambushed him from behind and put the hat on Ace's head.

Looking in the mirror again, he perfectly matched the Ace in his memory.

"How does it look with this hat?"

"Didn't you say Luffy loves to laugh, while I'm much more indifferent, though I wouldn't cry?"

“The two badges on your hat represent the ‘protection’ we, your two younger brothers, have shown you during your voyages.”

“Brother Ace.”

Ace smiled and adjusted his hat. "It looks pretty good."

"However, Bai Yun, as the older brother, you should protect your younger brother. If you are the one being protected by your younger brother, you will be laughed at."

Bai Yun smiled back, saying, "Say whatever you want, I'm just talking nonsense."

He then glanced toward the door; they had lived together for seven years.

The three of them even knew whether each other had a mole on their buttocks; they had that much tacit understanding.

Ace nodded slightly, and the next second, the two of them immediately took off running, even politely calling out a greeting.

"Thank you for your gift."

........

Along the way, Bai Yun kept looking for this and that to delay time and prevent Ace from going back.

When the clock struck midnight, marking the arrival of the second day, Bai Yun finally let Ace go home.

As Ace spoke, he pushed open the door to Dadan's house.

"Happy birthday!!!"

Luffy, holding a large cake, and the other bandits welcomed Ace home.

The house has become different, lively and bustling, thanks to Marcello's decor and the drinks he provides.

A banner hung on the wall that read, "Happy 17th Birthday, Ace."

Ace held back his tears, trying not to let them fall. He used to hate birthdays, especially his own.

Just like Dadan now, although she likes this atmosphere, she still stubbornly says that having a birthday is too much trouble.

Ace retorted stubbornly, "Bai Yun, why are you blocking me from going home?"

"So that's what you're doing."

"There's no need, but since you're all prepared, let's proceed..."

"Luffy! You've drooled on the cake!!"

Halfway through his sentence, Ace saw Luffy's drool dripping onto the cake and immediately couldn't hold back anymore.

Looking at them, Bai Yun sighed and smiled wryly, realizing that letting Luffy carry the cake was a mistake.

........

Separation will always come.

Happy times always pass, but they will come again.

The next day, on the coast of Mount Colbo.

Ace is about to take his first step out to sea.

A small sailboat slowly sailed away from the shore, and Ace turned around to face the people who had come to see him off.

Luffy, Bai Yun, Makino, and the other bandits from the Dadan family were there. Unexpectedly, the mayor of Windmill Village also arrived.

"Go for it, Ace!!"