One Piece: Like father like son!

Jackson POV

Mt. Colubo, later that week.

The morning air was cooler than usual, crisp enough to feel refreshing as it brushed through my hair. I had just wolfed down breakfast and stepped outside, heading toward the clearing at the mountain's foot.

Stretching my arms behind my back, shirt half hanging from my shoulders, I yawned wide enough to scare birds off their trees. Clearly, I wasn't someone who could be called a morning person.

The forest smelled damp and earthy, it's ground still muddy from last night's rain. Dadan had warned us not to stir up trouble if it rained more than three days in a row, said we'd risk a landslide. I doubted it, but I wasn't in a hurry either, so I took my time getting to the clearing.

Ace was already there working up a sweat, as he kept punching a wooden training post.

"You're gonna snap your wrist like that," I called as I strolled over. "Use your legs more. Stop trying to brute-force everything."

"I know what I'm doing," Ace shot back, not slowing.

For better or worse, my brother seemed obsessed with training and growing stronger ever since he experienced how much weaker he was than me. I knew my growth wasn't just from training, but still... I couldn't help admiring his grit.

"Sure," I said, flopping onto a nearby log. "Just like when you tried to punch Grandpa in his face and nearly broke your hand."

"That was different!"

"Right. It was dumber."

He shot me a glare, but it didn't last long. His punches slowed, then eventually stopped. Ace leaned on his post, trying to catch some breath.

"Are you skipping on training today as well?" He half-asked and half-remarked in a snarky way.

"No? Just waiting for a proper sparring partner."

"As always..." Ace almost audibly rolled his eyes.

It wasn't that I hated training, it was just pointless sometimes. My growth had already outpaced what this place could give me. With haki, even sea beasts went down too easily, and the rocks here shattered like clay compared to a warship's steel hull.

The crazy amount of strength training required to increase my synch rate by even 1% before each birthday is way too inefficient considering it's going up yearly by at least 5%.

As for swordplay, syncing with my old man's template just engraved his moves into me over time. Without Grandpa around, there wasn't much to push me further.

I leaned back and looked at the sky, brainstorming on how to change this subject. "Sabo's late."

"Probably helping someone smuggle something into Edge Town again. You know he's no big fan of robbing for money, even when it comes to Gray Terminal's criminals." Ace plopped down next to me. "Bet that's his excuse not to spar."

"I'd say smuggling for people is a better use of time than fighting you."

"You're just scared I'll beat you."

"Yeah, I'm terrified." 'Of accidentally hitting you too hard.' I secretly added in my thoughts.

From then on, it didn't take long for Sabo to join us. As soon as he saw us, he began excitedly waving and calling out.

'Talk about the devil and he shall appear!' I mused to myself as I sat up.

Sabo dusted his hands off, still in his patched shirt. He dropped down onto the log beside Ace, looking far too clean for someone who, supposedly, has been 'working' all morning.

"Sorry I'm late. Got caught up in Gray Terminal." he said, adjusting his hat.

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow, ready to be hella sarcastic before noticing a pouch on his waist. Judging by the odd shape it didn't seem to carry money, so my curiosity was piqued.

Sabo noticed my stare and gave a small grin. "Wanna know what's inside? It's for Dadan."

Now both, Ace and me, raised an eyebrow signaling Sabo to elaborate.

"This morning, I helped smuggle some journals for an information broker." He began by telling us about what job he took today.

"That guy knew me as someone who hangs around Mt. Colubo and asked whether I knew the local mountain bandits. Claimed to be an old acquaintance of Dadan and gave me this to pass along."

What he pulled out was just an ordinary looking bottle of beer with a plain label of party's bar. And that was exactly the part, which caused my interest to spike. 'Isn't that Makino's bar? Perhaps I could...'

Ace, reading the label seemed to recognize it as well. "Party's bar? Hey Jackson, isn't that the place Dadan and co would occasionally mention? Where was it again?"

"Foosha Village. A small port village just outside the mountain range surrounding the capital."

"Outside the mountain range? Must be a backwater dumb then." Funny, coming from the guy living on a mountain with bandits. Too bad for him, the idea had already sunk its hooks in me. Luffy. Shanks. Foosha. Why hadn't I thought of it sooner?

"Let' go visit Foosha Village." I said suddenly.

"Huh?" both of them blinked at me.

I leaned forward, feigning nonchalance. "It's got a tavern and a port. Why not check it out? If we're serious about becoming pirates, places like that are more useful than this dump. Maps, sailors, maybe even a ship or two."

Ace's expression shifted from suspicion to interest. "A bar, huh? And a port means sailors, no? Bet some of them know how to fight." His grin was quick and sharp. "Could be fun to pick a fight or two."

"Or" Sabo cut in dryly, "we could just see how people live outside this trash heap. Might not kill us to look at something different for once."

"See? Everyone wins," I said with a grin.

Sabo scratched his chin, considering it. "...He's got a point."

Ace snorted but didn't argue. "Fine. Foosha it is."

Like that our next destination was set. Go back to Dadan's to figure out where Foosha Village is located before heading there.

---

Foosha Village, later that day

Luffy POV

"Give it back, you stupid bird!" I yelled, sprinting after the chicken-salamander that had my sandal.

The chicken was fast. Like, super-fast. Maybe even faster than a Sea King. Its wings flapped all over the place and it ran right between the barrels behind Makino's bar. I tried to follow, but then bam! I tripped on a rope and faceplanted into the dirt.

"Oi, Luffy, stop causing trouble!" the old neighbor aunty shouted.

"I'm not causing trouble! The chicken's the bad guy!" I yelled back, spitting dirt out of my mouth.

The chicken jumped on top of a crate and squawked at me like it was laughing. I hated that. Birds shouldn't laugh. That's illegal.

So, I charged. "Take THIS!"

The crate tipped over and the next second I was upside down head stuck in a bucket. Everything smelled like fish.

The aunty burst out laughing. I kicked my legs around, trying to get free, shouting into the bucket, "It stole my sandal! That's mine!"

Only when I finally pulled my head out, the chicken was gone. My sandal too. My face felt all wet and slimy.

"No way it got away…" I muttered, glaring at my bare foot like it had betrayed me. "Makino made these sandals, I have to get it back!"

I got up quickly running back onto the street when suddenly

"SQUAWK!"

Three weird boys I didn't know, were standing at the end of the street. One wore a funny hat and grinned. Another one with black hair looked around in a mean way. The third one looked exactly like the black-haired boy but was a lot taller and had a different hair color. In his hand was my thiefing chicken struggling to free itself. Suddenly the big one looked over and our eyes met. He smiled widely.

"AHH! You caught my chicken!"