Summary:
The people of the kingdom try to get Sab to return, but he ignores them, unaware that one of Dadan’s crew, Dogura, is in the crowd, who immediately recognizes him. Meanwhile, Sabo comments that his biggest fear is being stuck in the ground and becoming a different person and refuses to turn around. In that case, a government ship arrives with a sky dragon. Seeing this, Sabo stepped out of his way while those on the deck caught sight of him. The crowd in the kingdom cheers their arrival and even Sabo marvels at how big the ship is. However, the Sky Dragon on board pulls out a hand cannon and fires at Saba’s ship, setting it on fire.
Back at the bandits hideout, Luffy tries again to go look for Ace and Dadan, but the bandits refuse as they are still healing. They tell Luffy that they know how he feels and that they sent Dogura to check out the property. Back at the ceremony, the crowd watches in shock as Sabo’s ship continues to burn. The servant tells the Sky Dragon, Saint Jalmack, that there was a child on the ship. But Jalmack notes that if he raised a pirate flag then it didn’t matter, but he’s more upset that a commoner crossed his path. Meanwhile, Sabo tries to put out the flame, but Jalmack fires again, this time sinking the ship, presumably killing Sabo as well. The crowd continues to look on in horror at this turn of events as the officials order the remains to be cleaned up so as not to further anger the Celestial Dragons. Back at the hideout, Ace suddenly arrives and carries Dadan both bruised and burned but still alive to everyone’s delight. Luffy especially hugs Ace, who smacks him in the head for crying over him.
Ace then explains that they managed to defeat Bluejam, but their escape route was cut off. Curly Dadan suffered burns on her body, but the pair managed to escape into the middle forest. They hid on the riverbank until everything was quiet, and then Ace stole some medicine from the town to keep Dadan alive. Dadan is then repaired and laid to rest as the day continues. Dadan soon questions why Ace didn’t run, explaining that he was afraid if he did, he would lose something important to him, in this case Luffy. Dadan soon realizes the similarities to him and Roger, as she remembered, Garp explained that Roger was the same way, not running because he was fearless, but rather to prevent the enemy from following his crew. It was because of this trust that Garp decided to secretly take care of Ace.
Dogura returns soon and Luffy tells him the good news about Dadan and Ace’s return. However, this joy is short lived as Dogura tells the others about what happened to Sabo. Ace immediately attacks him, thinking it’s a lie, but Dogura, being the villain he is, knows what it’s like to not want to go back to somewhere he’s not wanted. Luffy starts crying again and Ace starts blaming himself for not coming back for Sabo. He starts running with the intention of getting revenge on Sabo. Dadan pins him to the floor and tells him that Sab’s enemy was the world and he doesn’t have the strength to fight him. If he did it now, he would just die and be forgotten. If Ace wants to change the world, he needs to be strong enough to do it like his father. He then has the bandits tie Ace to a tree as he keeps fighting while Luffy continues to cry. Morning comes and Ace is out cold when the bandits come to check on him. A mail bird arrives with a message from Sabo to Luffy and Ace. The bandits free Ace so he can read it, which he does when he returns to the cliff where they bonded. The letter begins with Sabo worrying about their safety but believing they are fine. He then explains that he is going to sea, anywhere off the land, and hopes to become stronger and freer than any pirate on the seas. He then concludes the letter by asking Ace to take care of their younger brother Luffy. As Ace finishes reading the letter, he stands on a cliff by the sea and can’t help but cry for his fallen friend and sworn brother.