Sabo

Sabo was born into a noble family but decided to run away and live in the Gray Terminal. He was a friend of Portgas D. Ace, and eventually became a friend of Monkey D. Luffy, to the point where the three considered themselves to be "brothers."

Appearance
He was a ten year old boy at the time of Luffy's flashback, the same age as Ace. He had a missing tooth, and wore a large top hat with a pair of goggles wrapped around it, a jacket with the sleeves rolled up, a scarf and a pair of shorts held up by a belt with an elaborate buckle. He had very short, curly hair, much lighter in color in comparison to his brothers.

Personality
He is protective of his dreams and goals as he agreed with Ace that the two of them had to kill Luffy so that he couldn't tell anyone about their treasure, though neither Ace nor Sabo knew how to kill a person nor had any experience implying some degree of innocence despite the profession. He is very embarrassed of being a noble, and even stated that he wished that he wasn't born one. He seems to, according to Luffy, be a nicer older brother than Ace. He seemed to approve of Luffy's powers, and even encouraged his improvement. He seemed to be able to make Ace and Luffy get along when they were fighting, making him the nice, diplomatic one of the trio.

Sabo's dream involved traveling around the world as a pirate. This is in order to write a book containing the story of everything he would have seen and every place he would have visited during his journey. One of the reasons behind all this could be the "segregation" that envelopes so much of the Goa Kingdom, a thing that could easily stir a freedom-loving spirit like Sabo's to ask himself what the world was really like outside the walls of High Town, and outside the island itself. However, he was ready to cast aside his dream for the sake of loved ones: Sabo was loyal to his friends, or in this case his two "brothers," to the point that he would give in to the demands of his father, becoming miserable and "alone" in order to save both Luffy and Ace.

Despite being the son of a noble, Sabo does not act like a stereotypical noble would act, nor does he consider himself to be a noble. He does not look down on the less fortunate nor does he put on airs about his status. This is in stark contrast to the rest of his family, who sees their status as more important than anything else and will do whatever it takes to raise their social standing or maintain their current status, as well as look down on anyone they consider to be inferior. Sabo rejects these values completely, and even went as far as to say that he feels ashamed of his status as a noble. This can be seen as the reason why he ran away from home and went to live in the Gray Terminal, he wanted nothing to do with his noble heritage. As a child becomes a full-fledged noble at age 18, Sabo intended to leave Goa Kingdom at 17, to escape the idea of being recognized as the thing he hated the most. He even refers to the nobles as "smelling worse than Trash Mountain, as they are people rotten to the core."

Abilities and Powers
Sabo seemed to have some level of fighting ability, since he and Ace together were able to topple Porchemy when the two of them arrived to save Luffy; their preferred weapons at the time were pipes/Bō staffs. Sabo was able to beat Luffy 50 times in one day, as well as defeat Ace 24 times and lose 26 times.

He was fast enough to grab a knife from a pirate without him being able to stop him. He was good at thieving as well, since he and Ace were able to rob so many people to get their money and valuables. He also was exceptionally skilled in stealth and could jump out of a window several stories up without injuring himself. According to Ace, who thought Sabo would become his navigator, the boy also had some experience in navigation.

Father
Sabo's father is a stereotypical noble, treating Ace and Luffy as trash, and panicking about being contaminated when Bluejam got their blood onto him during a beating, claiming that he needed to be decontaminated. He also desired for his son to become his heir, believing that a child must adhere to the parents' wishes, and threatened to kill Ace and Luffy if Sabo did not comply. He ordered Sabo to marry a princess when he grew up, which is one of the reasons he ran away. In essence, Sabo had no right to freedom of choice in his father's eyes. What is worse, his father had no confidence in him, despite wanting him to return, going as far as to adopt a stepson of higher status in order to have a backup heir, and telling Sabo such things in a blunt manner.

Mother
She has the stereotypical personality of a Noble, and only seeks to further their noble status. This was clearly seen when her son got into a fight with a noble boy of a higher status who used a weapon on him, she apologized to the family while comforting the other boy, completely ignoring her own son's injuries.

Monkey D. Luffy
At first worried that Luffy would reveal the secret stash that Sabo and Ace had hidden, they suggested that they kill him. However, after seeing Luffy resist Porchemy and refusing to tell the secret, they inducted him into the group and treated him like a brother. Prior to his death, Sabo sent a letter to Ace, telling him to take care of Luffy as their younger brother.

Portgas D. Ace
Ace, being a fellow child who wants to be a pirate, was a good friend of Sabo's. In fact, they were like brothers, and Sabo was willing to forsake his dreams to save Ace and Luffy from his father's wrath.

Stelly
While Sabo cared greatly for Luffy and Ace, he absolutely did not care for his adoptive brother, Stelly, who came from a higher nobility than Sabo's family and is arrogant and a coward. Stelly is, in short, a complete opposite to Sabo. To this end, Sabo was willing to assault Stelly in order to learn about the plan to burn down Gray Terminal.

History
If it weren't for the Sabo incident and a troublesome brother like you, I probably would not have wanted to live....

Sabo's name is first mentioned by Ace during his final words at Marineford. However, he makes his appearance nine chapters later in a flashback three months after Luffy and Ace met for the first time.

Sabo was born in Goa to Noble parents who aspired for him to marry a royal princess to keep their family name secure, but did not seem to care for Sabo as an individual. His father, tired from work, was shown tearing apart a picture Sabo drew and ordering him to go to his room and study. One day he got hurt in fight with a boy from the royal family who used a knife, but Sabo's mother immediately began fretting over and apoligizing in tears to the boy from the royal family, concerned more with repairing relations with the royal family rather than tending her own son's injuries. Realizing he was nothing more than a way for his parents to secure wealth and status, Sabo fled to the Gray Terminal, leaving his parents to think he was dead. He would later meet Ace.

Years later, Ace arrives at the Gray Terminal, after having ditched Luffy along the way. Sabo tells Ace that he is late and that he himself completed his money-collecting job. Ace replies that he also did his share, then hands Sabo his collected money. Sabo counts it and, impressed, admits that Ace collected more money than him again. Ace says that they still have a long way to go before they can buy a pirate ship. Sabo puts the money in a hidden underground stash, admiring their cumulative work of five years, and Ace tells him to close it because someone else might see them. Luffy, overhearing their conversation, suddenly shows up and says that he wants to be a pirate too. Sabo and Ace, however, are not happy to find that Luffy finally managed to successfully tail Ace all the way to the Gray Terminal. Determined to keep him from telling anyone their secret, they eventually decide that Luffy must be killed and proceed to tie him to a tree. However, they are unable to decide who should do it, since neither of them have actually killed anyone before.

Before they can decide, they hear someone approaching and untie Luffy to go hide. They see Porchemy of the Bluejam Pirate crew and two others, and discover that the money Ace stole belonged to Bluejam himself. It is revealed that Sabo and Ace are actually quite notorious thieves, even in the lawless Gray Terminal, and are quite respected by all the outlaws most presumably for their impressive fighting skills. The two suddenly notice Luffy has gone missing and then see that he has been caught by Porchemy. Luffy calls out to Ace for help. Recognizing the name, Porchemy decides that Luffy must know something about the stolen money, and Sabo and Ace both watch as Porchemy takes Luffy away.

Positive that Luffy will soon reveal the location of the money and afraid of having their treasure taken, Sabo and Ace go to the Midway Forest to hide the treasure elsewhere. The task takes until sunset, and just as Ace celebrates successfully finishing the task, Sabo arrives and shocks Ace by informing him that Luffy still hasn't cracked. They run to where Luffy is tied up and being tortured for information by an increasingly desperate Porchemy. Just as Porchemy loses his temper and is about to kill Luffy, Sabo and Ace break through the wall. Sabo manages to strike down Porchemy and free Luffy, but Ace is determined to stay behind and fight Porchemy, declaring he will never run away once he faces an enemy, Sabo yells to him to stop it, as Porchemy, a pirate wielding a sword, is different from their usual targets. He joins Ace in his fight, and together they defeat Porchemy.

After the fight, they return to the forest both covered in bandages, and Sabo scolds Ace for his habit of saying "I'm not going to run" even when facing real pirates, and as a result of the fight, the Bluejam Pirates will no doubt come after them. Luffy is crying and thanking Ace for saving him. Ace loses patience, though Sabo stops him from hitting Luffy, and demands to know why Luffy was so determined to keep their secret and become his friend, even after being tortured. Luffy exclaims that he has no one else to rely on, and being alone is worse than physical pain; this interests Ace, who recalls how no one would want the son of the Pirate King to exist. However, he mentions that he dislikes spoiled, crybaby brats, which Luffy vigorously denies being. Sabo interrupts their arguing by reminding them that from now on, their lives will be targeted by pirates. He leaves the trash dump to go live Ace and Luffy at Corvo Mountain with the mountain bandits, who are surprised and unhappy to have a third brat to look after. Sabo politely greets Dadan and introduces himself. Dadan recognizes the name and says she has heard unpleasant things about him, though Sabo simply replies that he too has heard unpleasant things about her. Sabo stays with the Bandits for an undetermined amount of time, during which he, Ace, and Luffy fight or hunt the wild animals, the outlaws in "Gray Terminal," and the punks in town, and thus achieve a mild level of notoriety.



During a day of troublemaking in Edge Town, Sabo is seen by his father as he is making his escape. Ace and Luffy hear him calling after Sabo, and later demand to know what Sabo is hiding. Sabo reluctantly reveals the truth of his lineage to them, though they don't seem to find it particularly shocking. Sabo suddenly exclaims to Ace and Luffy that they'll go out to sea and become free pirates no matter what, revealing that his dream is to see the world and write a book about it. Ace declares that his ambition is to earn a reputation as a great pirate. Luffy surprises both Sabo and Ace with his ambitions. Sabo mentions that there is a problem, since not all three of them can be the captain on their ship. Ace tells him to leave those decisions for the future. He begins to pour drinks, saying that if their share alcohol cups they will be brothers, no matter what ends up happening. From then on, the three of them do everything together.

After some time, Sabo's father and the Bluejam pirates find the trio. Since his father hired the Bluejam pirates to deal with Ace and Luffy, presumably by killing them, Sabo finds no other choice but to follow his father in order to let Ace and Luffy escape. He is seen walking away from his "brothers" in tears while Ace screams after him in an effort to stop him.

When Sabo is brought back to the city, he is taken to the police station to discuss his crimes as a runaway. Sabo's father continuously tries to pressure him into stating that his friends tricked him into committing crimes with them. However, Sabo refuses to lie, and finally his father strikes him over the head, causing him to fall to the floor, and bribes the police officer to take care of the paperwork. At home, he meets his adopted brother, Stelly, who reveals a plot by the royal family and nobles to burn down the Gray Terminal before the World Government's inspectors arrive. Sabo runs away again to find help and warn the residents in the Gray Terminal, only to discover that all the nobles are perfectly aware of the plan, unbothered by it, and unwilling to help stop it. He eventually arrives at the Great Gate after the fires have spread, desperately shouting for Ace and Luffy to run, only to be tossed aside by the soldiers guarding the gate. He is found by Monkey D. Dragon, to whom he confides the truth of the plan to burn the Gray Terminal and his shame in being born a noble. Dragon, shocked by such words coming from a child, agrees to hear Sabo out.

After the burning of Gray Terminal is complete, Sabo is caught and returned home once again. However, to prevent repeat escape attempts, Sabo's father boards up Sabo's windows and encourages Sabo to do what he is meant to and make his parents happy. Despite this, on the day the World Nobles are set to arrive, he manages to escape yet again, this time setting sail on his own ship. Shortly after setting sail, he comes across the World Noble's ship. He starts to move away in order to not get caught in the wake of the large vessel. The World Noble aboard the ship is offended that a commoner would dare to cross his path and promptly shoots Sabo's ship with a rifle the size of a small cannon. This causes Sabo's ship to catch fire. While Sabo is trying to put out the fire with his jacket, the Noble shoots at him again, this time causing the ship to burst into pieces. All that can be seen in the rubble is his tattered hat.

Dogura, who witnessed this, reported to Ace, Luffy and Dadan that he believed Sabo had died from this. However, the next day, a letter from Sabo arrived (apparently he mailed it prior to sailing off) for Ace, who told him that he planned to sail off quickly to escape the country and for Ace to take care of their little brother, Luffy.

Trivia

 * Sabo's appearance is similar to that of the character Artful Dodger from Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist. He too was part of a gang of child thieves. His signature appearance included a top hat and an adult's waistcoat with the sleeves rolled up. This resemblance has not been confirmed.
 * Monkey D. Luffy, Portgas D. Ace, and Sabo all have trademark hats.
 * Sabo's character is first hinted at in Chapter 558 where a third sake cup can slightly be seen in a flashback of the boys' brotherhood initiation.
 * On the cover of Chapter 596, Sabo was shown as a young man. He was portrayed as tall and muscular like Ace, and was still wearing the same attire he wore as a child but made bigger to fit his size, and was carrying a bo staff. He seemed to have longer hair, and his eyes were hidden by his hat's brim.

Major Battles

 * Sabo and Portgas D. Ace vs. Porchemy
 * Sabo vs. Portgas D. Ace (multiple times)
 * Sabo vs. Monkey D. Luffy (multiple times)

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