Sssss...
On the steep cliffs, atop a massive, half-destroyed nest, flames crackled and danced.
Ace stared intently at the three makeshift grills in front of him.
Each grill held a single... fledgling hawk.
Spotting one that looked like it needed turning, Ace hurried forward and rotated it. Nature's bounty wasn't something you came across every day, after all.
As time passed, the young hawks' skin turned golden and crispy, their fat sizzling and dripping into the fire below. Even without a single pinch of seasoning, a rich, smoky aroma wafted into the air.
That scent, along with thin trails of smoke, drifted gently up toward the mountain peak on the breeze.
Don't underestimate Ace's grilling skills—he grew up in the mountains, hunting his own food and building his own shelters. His hands-on abilities were top-tier. When it came to grilling meat, he was practically a master.
"Almost done... just a little longer and we can enjoy some delicious grilled hawk!" Ace patted his stomach and licked his lips, bringing one of the roasted hawks close to his nose to sniff.
But just as he was about to dig in, something unexpected happened.
---
"Hey! Ace, eating all by yourself will give you a stomachache, y'know."
The voice made Ace instinctively turn around.
It was Weiss, standing at the edge of the cliff not too far away, smiling faintly—but his eyes were locked on the roasted meat.
Clearly, he hadn't had dinner either.
"Damn, Weiss, you scared me! I thought that hawk came back for a second. How did you even find this place?" This ledge was tucked into the cliff's leeward side; if you didn't reach the peak, you'd never know it was here.
"I saw smoke drifting from the mountain top, and I could smell meat—just followed my nose," Weiss shrugged.
"But I didn't expect you to have the guts to start grilling halfway up the mountain. Weren't you caught by that hawk? How are you already roasting meat in its nest?"
"Oh, that? It dropped me in the nest and flew off, probably thinking I was dead. Seemed like it went off to hunt something else."
"Well, the meat's done now. Come on over and eat."
Of course Weiss wasn't going to hold back. With a quick leap, he landed beside Ace and sat down. The nest was built on a protruding ledge, but most of the branches had already been used as firewood.
Taking the roasted meat Ace handed him, Weiss bit in greedily.
In the world of pirates, the stronger someone was, the more they could eat—and after a fight, their appetite was even bigger. Even though there hadn't been a battle, Weiss could easily devour a whole cow if he wanted.
So in just a few bites, he demolished the small hawk, which was about the size of a chicken.
"This is actually pretty good. Did the hawk bring this back as prey?" Weiss asked, chewing.
"Nope. I was the prey. These three... were its babies."
"Pfft!"
"You're saying... this was its offspring?!"
"Yup," Ace mumbled through a mouthful of meat.
Weiss stared in disbelief. What the hell kind of situation was this? Nature's bounty?
Did predator and prey just swap roles? Was this some next-level food chain reversal?
Was the hawk unlucky... or really unlucky?
Would this count as bringing a wolf into your den?
"You actually cooked its babies in its own nest?! Couldn't you have picked literally any other spot?" Weiss was on the verge of a breakdown. Didn't this guy know the saying "A wise man avoids danger"?
Sure, Ace was strong enough that the cliff wasn't much of an obstacle. But if that hawk came back and interrupted them mid-meal, he'd 100% be hawk food. No second chances.
This was the kind of reckless stunt Luffy would pull. That would've made sense.
But Ace?
"Oh, right. That hawk grabbed both me and Deuce. I managed to knock it off partway up—I think it got tangled in a tree? Anyway, it flew off in the same direction Deuce fell. I'm kinda worried it went after him again."
Weiss fell silent.
Actually... this did sound like something Ace would do.
In the original story, because of his birth, Ace had always felt distant from others. It was only after meeting Sabo and Luffy that he started to open up.
Before their brotherhood, he treated Luffy like any random passerby.
But even back during the storm, he refused to give up on Deuce. Two years later, it was betrayal from a comrade that led to the War of the Summit.
"...I guess Ace really does long for companionship deep down," Weiss thought to himself.
"I already saved Deuce," he said aloud. "He should be hiding somewhere in the forest—or maybe he made it back to the ship."
The words had barely left his mouth when a sudden gust of wind blew past. Lifting his head, Weiss realized Ace had vanished. Turning, he spotted him leaping up toward the summit—roasted hawk still clutched in his hand.
"Weiss! Hurry up! If that hawk comes back, we're screwed. I can't beat that thing!" Ace's voice called from above.
"Damn it, I take back everything I just said."
Weiss cursed under his breath, then quickly launched himself after Ace. A fifty-meter cliff wasn't much for people in the One Piece world.
Some could fall from ten thousand meters and walk away without a scratch. Zoro got snatched by a bird and dropped from Sky Island—no problem. And with the way Luffy tortured people, surviving meant you were built different.
A fifty-meter leap? Child's play.
Especially for Ace and Weiss. That's why Ace dared to grill meat here at all—he had already planned an escape route. If he hadn't, he never would've taken the risk.
While Weiss was mulling this over, Ace was nearly at the summit.
"Weiss, you're way too slow! If that bird shows up, I'm not saving your ass!"
"Oh yeah?" Weiss smirked. "I'll beat you to the top."
Geppo (Moonwalk)!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"See ya!" With just a few sky-steps, Weiss soared past Ace and landed on the peak.
"Whoa, Weiss! What was that move?!" Ace landed moments later, staring wide-eyed. "That was insanely cool!"
"That's Moonwalk—part of the Navy's Six Styles. Want me to teach you?"
But the moment Ace heard the word Navy, he stepped back warily. "Wait, you're a Marine?!"
"Nope," Weiss said, casually spreading his arms. "With my background, the World Government wouldn't dare recruit me. Honestly, if they ever found out who I was, I'd probably end up with a bounty on my head."
"Then how do you know Marine techniques?"
"It's not that complicated. Once you understand the principles and have the physical conditioning, you can use them too."
Weiss had never been to sea in this life. He'd learned about Geppo and Soru from reading novels in his past life. Over the last twelve years, he'd trained on his own—and with a teacher, it wasn't hard to master.
"Anyway, let's head back to the ship for the night. We can explore the island properly tomorrow."
Because of that hawk attack, they'd come straight for the mountain peak without checking out the island.
"Sounds good."
But just as they began descending the mountain...
A furious shriek tore through the sky.
A massive shadow blotted out the moonlight.
The hawk had returned—its enormous wingspan casting a dark veil over the two of them.
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