Sabo watched in horror as the Blue Jam pirates attacked his brothers. He was afraid of his father, afraid of going back to a life of loneliness, but whenever he closed his eyes he was back in Dadan's room listening to Ace explain to Luffy what strength was.

"Strength means nothing if you don't use it for a good reason."

Knowing what he had to do he screamed at the pirates, at his father, to stop…

Ace looked down at the fist sticking out of his stomach. It hurt like hell but he had made this choice on his own. He also remembered the words he said that night and knew he had made the right choice. He had used the last of his strength to protect the one thing that was more important than anything else. His little brother. The pain had numbed to a dull ache as did his life. As he said his final goodbyes and made piece with the world, he died with a smile on his face.