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Sabo knows nothing about his past; his memory is a blank canvas that contains nothing that might remind him of what his former life was like. The only things he has left from his past life are his name and a pendant. They are remnants of his past, and it’s not even certain that both of these things belonged to him.
He doesn’t know if SABO was his name, but it feels right — in any case, it doesn’t matter now.
The pendant was the only thing, aside from his name, that reminded him of his missing memories. It looked like an ordinary silver chain with a silver letter "L" hanging from it. It isn’t even the first letter of his name. He wants to believe he can calmly part with it, but even the thought of leaving the little trinket behind makes his heart tighten and his breath catch. He doesn’t know how he came to have this pendant, but he knows for certain that it — to his past self — was very dear. This pendant — the letter on it — touches something deep within the recesses of his soul, filling him with a sense of nostalgia, a feeling that there is something he can still return to in his former life, the one he had been striving to escape.
Perhaps this pendant was a gift from someone dear to his heart. Perhaps it was a friend, or perhaps a family member (though that’s unlikely, since, according to Dragon, he was determined to escape the place where he was born and raised). The fact remains — this pendant was precious to his former self — and it is precious to him.
He doesn’t know why, but he knows he’ll keep this little trinket safe and sound at any cost—with or without the memories.
ASL
The three boys were given pendants. A simple silver chain with a matching silver letter.
It was a small gift that Makino gave the brothers to make them happy. There were three pendants, each with the first letter of each boy’s name.
The boys loved these pendants. They wore them close to their hearts because they knew full well that wearing them on their wrists wouldn’t be practical, given their hand-to-hand combat style.
Sabo, Ace, and Luffy decided to divide them up as follows: Ace got the pendant with the letter "S", Sabo got the one with the letter "L", and Luffy got the one with the letter "A".
It was Luffy’s idea — so they wouldn’t forget that they had each other — and Sabo fully supported it. Ace grumbled about how silly and sentimental it was, but since his brothers wanted it, why should he refuse?
***
According to Deuce, who serves as Ace’s first mate and the first member of his crew, Portgas D. Ace’s signature style consists of an orange hat — which was washed ashore by the raging waves along with the young man himself — and the chain around his neck. He knows that Ace values that chain more than his own life. Deuce knows that this trinket was a gift from his late brother, and he knows there’s a sad story behind it.
When Ace had just joined Belous’s crew, they would sometimes tease him jokingly about his tattoo. "Don’t you even know how to spell your own name, ha-ha!", "Do you love the letter 'S' so much that you even tried to get it tattooed on yourself?!", Ace would usually laugh in response, but he never said anything in reply.
When Ace was asked about the chain near his heart and its meaning, he would say it was a gift, a memento of someone dear to him. People usually didn’t press him further, realizing that it brought up painful memories.
Ace would cling to the chain when he missed home: Luffy, Dadan, Makino, Garp, Dawn Island, and Sabo. Ace would never admit it — not even to himself — but when he clung to the letter on the chain, he felt as though he could sense Sabo’s presence.
One of Ace’s final thoughts — one of his last wishes — as he was dying was the hope that the pendant would remain unharmed, that the heat from the admiral’s lava fist wouldn’t damage it — after all, it was a gift, a memento of Sabo.
***
It wasn’t easy to accept that Sabo—their brother—had died. That all they had left of him were memories and the pendant around Ace’s neck.
"I want one of you to have it, guys! After all, we’re brothers, and there’s no one I care about more than you!"
Sabo loved them — him and Luffy — and no matter how much Ace wanted to doubt it, he couldn’t.
Sabo was his first friend, his brother, and even Ace can understand that it’s foolish to claim Sabo didn’t care about them.
And now, all Ace has left of Sabo is the pendant and Luffy.
Sabo entrusted him with taking care of Luffy.
But Ace is such a failure that he couldn’t even fulfill that wish.
Ace sits by the bedside of his barely alive brother, who was injured because of his own stupidity; he silently sheds tears, presses Sabo’s gift to his lips, and prays that his younger brother will be all right.
***
Luffy was forced to face reality, and reminded that somewhere in this vast, unexplored world, his nakama are still waiting for him. His family, who are surely worried about him at this very moment.
Deep down, Luffy realizes that Ace and Sabo wouldn’t want to see him sad. He subconsciously tries to grab hold of the chain — as he does when he feels lonely or homesick — and realizes there’s nothing there.
Ace’s death had broken him and robbed him of his will to live. Jinbe gave it back to him. The pendant was all he had left to remember his brothers by.
The pendant with the letter "A" that Ace and Sabo had given him; the pendant that reminded him that somewhere out there, out at sea, his brother was swimming.
But the pendant is gone. Just like his brothers.
Upon arriving on the island, Rayleigh promised him training, a guarantee that he would become stronger, and a gift that Luffy couldn't refuse.
Luffy cautiously clutches the brim of his hat, bites his lip, and cries.
***
Two years later, the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army presses his fist in which he holds a pendant with the letter "L" and to his chest and greets the captain in a straw hat.