Dreamweaver

The dinosaur meat was chewy and delicious, especially with Sanji's cooking. I tried braising, grilling, and frying it—it was all so addictive.

"Hahaha~" Luna couldn't help but laugh. Luckily, there were no modern humans in ancient times, otherwise... no matter if it was cannons or speedsters, they would have to find a way to hunt dragons to eat. After all, one dragon could eat an entire village.

What are you laughing at?

"I've thought of something happy." Luna clinked glasses with Usopp over her juice, then sat down next to Zoro and stared at him.

"What are you doing?" Zoro asked vaguely while eating.

"Wow, that's impressive. You can breathe while training. How long can you keep it up?"

"Give it a try," Zoro replied, chewing on his words. Anyway, he had managed to hold out for half an hour.

The Going Merry was never short of fun, but Nami fell ill halfway through the journey. Luna was only a half-baked expert; she was quite skilled at treating external injuries, but viral fevers like this were completely outside her area of ​​expertise.

She only knew four people who could cure this sudden illness. Two were in Fairy Tail, and two were in the ninja world—completely out of her reach.

"I'm sorry, I'm not good at medicine."

"Then go see a doctor."

On the snowy winter island, Chopper boarded the ship. The first ship's doctor was a fluffy creature, which was quite endearing. Luna petted the cute reindeer and took out blood-boosting and hemostatic pills for him to study.

She also took out half a White Zetsu and told Chopper that it was a kind of potion. The life force inside was of the yang attribute, which would be very good for her eyes.

"Chopper, can you help me extract it?"

"Okay!" Chopper danced with joy, he loved these things.

Zoro was training outside and saw Yunxiu getting along with everyone, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his face. He had previously thought that the Straw Hat crew's place was too small and worried that the pampered Yunxiu wouldn't be able to adapt, but he hadn't expected her to integrate so smoothly.

When the ship reached Alabasta, they encountered Luffy's older brother, Portgas D. Ace. The freckled young man was crouching on the ship's railing, scrutinizing each of his younger brother's crew members with an observant gaze.

The current Ace is quite different from when he was a child. At least he's become much more polite and seems to have matured a lot. But inside, he's still that rebellious boy who wanted to shoulder everything.

"I'm sorry to trouble you all to take care of my good-for-nothing younger brother." Ace greeted his friends earnestly, displaying a particularly strong older brother demeanor.

"It's nothing." Everyone was stunned. Luffy's brother? They thought he was even more carefree than Luffy, but they didn't expect him to know basic social etiquette.

This is too fantastical!

This is Luffy's brother!

"Ace, Ace, guess who this is?" Luffy pulled his brother, pointed at Yunxiu and laughed, his face full of anticipation and eagerness.

“This young lady…I…don’t know her at all.” Ace looked her over carefully for a few seconds, then shook his head and said.

As Luffy expected, Luna subtly conjured a hand seal, and a thought form appeared. She floated on Ace's back, covered his eyes with her hand, and then slowly materialized.

Guess who I am?

Ace froze on the spot. This was a prank he and Luffy had played on each other when they were kids... "Yunxiu?"

Wait, what was Luffy expecting just now?

"Hahaha!" The thought released him, floated to the original body's side, and laughed heartily, its eyes crinkling with joy.

"Surprised? Me too." Seeing his brother's expression change, Luffy's smile widened, and he chattered on about his reunion with Yunxiu.

"How cunning!" Ace was no longer calm. As people get older, they always miss the flavors of their childhood. The dishes Yunxiu taught them to make when they were young were incredibly memorable. So much so that now, when he sees Yunxiu, he can almost smell the pungent aroma of chili oil.

"Ace-kun, please sit down. It's hot, let's cool off. Do you prefer sweet or savory?" Sanji brought over a tray with the tofu pudding he had just made that day.

"Salty, I guess." Ace saw the familiar chili oil and knew... there was nothing wrong with his nose.

Ace felt right at home on his brother's ship, but unexpectedly fell asleep. He had a nightmare in which he finally found Blackbeard, but was defeated and captured, and instead used as a bargaining chip to show off his power, and handed over to the Marine Headquarters.

Blackbeard became a Shichibukai simply to infiltrate Impel Down and release those who could become his allies. Meanwhile, Whitebeard and the Whitebeard Pirates were all caught in their own webs, and Whitebeard himself… died at Marine Headquarters.

【don't want! 】

[Dad!]

Luffy!

[Friends—]

This is not the end. Luffy lost himself and was in a state worse than death, so Sabo came to pay tribute to him.

Saab?

Is he alive?

When Ace woke up, he was covered in cold sweat. He heard a buzzing sound and looked around to see his younger brother playing cards with his friends, a scene of warmth and coziness.

He turned his head and saw Yunxiu's face. She was still holding a string of candied hawthorns in her mouth, her eyes full of curiosity: "What dad?"

"..." I don't want to talk about it.

Ace's head was buzzing; he didn't know why he was dreaming about those things. If they were actually going to happen, what should he do?

How can I verify if it's real or fake?

[Go and check if Sabo is alive.] Luna continued to exert herself; using illusion magic on a naive and innocent girl was a piece of cake.

Ace jumped to his feet, a surge of hope welling up within him. Yes, as long as he could confirm whether Sabo was alive, he would know if the dream was real. If the dream was real, he absolutely couldn't let his father and his friends be harmed.

what to do?

Ace clutched his curly hair. His already not-so-bright brain was now aching from thinking, as if his brain was overloaded.

Forget it, let's ask Sabo.

If we find Sabo, we'll discuss it with him.

Seeing that his expression had relaxed somewhat, Luna breathed a sigh of relief and silently munched on her candied hawthorn. She had originally wanted to send a message to Whitebeard in a dream, but they were too far apart, and she didn't know where to start.

Fortunately, Sabo is still alive. The biggest difference between him and Ace and Luffy is that he has brains.

"Yunxiu".

"ah?"

Do you have any news about the Revolutionary Army?

"I do know a little bit about it."

Ace's eyes lit up. He glanced at Luffy's location and pulled her outside. They weren't sure about Sabo's whereabouts yet; if Luffy found out, he might be disappointed.

"I've made contact with an informant. There's a Revolutionary Army base in the East China Sea. We'll have to find out exactly where it is." Luna said that she was in the East China Sea and had 'bought' a lot of information. Her ability to eavesdrop and track was quite good.

"Please."

"...Fine, I'll give you my love and longing."

"The 'Thought Entity'? You mean that one from earlier? Why is it using someone else's face?" Ace, having lost his worries, started stuffing himself with food.

Luna summoned her memory form, gazing at the familiar face with longing in her eyes. She stroked the memory form's head and sighed softly.

"I don't want to forget everything about her." It's a beautiful memory for her, and it's where she became a magician.

“…I’m sorry.” Ace apologized stiffly. He knew what it felt like to lose a brother; it was an unforgettable pain.

"Hmm? I'll tell Luffy." Luna, accompanied by her spirit form, walked to Luffy's side and told him that she would be going with Ace to gather information. She would lose half her power, and if anything happened over there and she couldn't handle it... she might be in a daze, so she would trouble everyone to take care of her.

"Wow, Yunxiu can turn into two!" Chopper's eyes sparkled; this was amazing.

“We can have more, but it’s a matter of control.” Luna stroked Chopper’s fluffy face and grinned.

"So, what does it usually feel like?" This was Sanji asking curiously, wanting to poke him a little.

"Because it is a thought entity imbued with half of its magic power, it can have a physical form."

"A physical entity!" Usopp shuddered, as if he had just realized something.

"Then you should stick close to me all the time," Zoro said, completely oblivious to his own limitations.

"Absolutely not!" This was met with opposition from everyone, lest they lose not only a green algae head but also Yunxiu.

Ace left behind his Vivre Card and, along with his Memory Entity, jumped onto his own ship. His ship was a single-person vessel powered by flames. He placed Yunxiu on the sail, used one foot as a propeller, and spewed out scorching flames.

In an instant, a streak of fire flashed across the azure sea, and the ship, propelled by this explosive thrust, cleaved through the waves. It wasn't so much sailing as it was charging. A fiery cloak, dozens of meters long, trailed behind the stern, fluttering and leaving a fan-shaped wave in its wake on the calm sea.

The scorching wind blew his short black hair back, revealing a freckled, beaming face. His eyes were bright, more intense than the flames chasing after him, and the splashing seawater turned into a salty, damp mist that evaporated before it even got close to him, thanks to the warmth emanating from his body.

Luna thought Ace was wonderful; he was like a warm flame, carefree and unrestrained. This was Portgas D. Ace, a man who inscribed freedom and rebellion into his soul, and painted with flames on a blue canvas.

Is this what youth is all about?

"That's great!" Luna said with a hint of envy; such a speedboat was awesome.

"Haha, really?" Ace chuckled, adjusting his hat. The thought of Sabo possibly being far away stirred his emotions. But if Sabo were truly alive, then... how should he react?

The thought entity followed Ace the whole way, never idle even while floating. It also had to guide this often absent-minded, unwilling-to-think fool to delve deeper into thought. Teach's decision to hand him over to the Navy clearly demonstrated his immense ambition. All his subsequent plans were aimed at stepping on his father to rise to power.

Therefore, it is inevitable that the two sides will face off.

Ace was preoccupied with too many things on his mind and didn't even realize how smoothly his thoughts were flowing, even as he was deducing Teach's intentions. That guy had been plotting betrayal for who knows how long; he knew everything about the Whitebeard too well, and his defection would be devastating.

To protect the White Group, relying on ourselves is not enough.

Ace gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with fury. Yes, he had lost in his dream, a decisive defeat, and he realized that Teach was far superior to him.

How could I possibly lose?

If I had won, that wouldn't have happened.