"I refuse. Don't even think about it—I'm not taking a brat like you to sea." Shanks said.
"But Ace was a little kid too, wasn't he? Why not me?" Luffy protested petulantly.
His relationship with Shanks had been great these past few months. Being rejected like this made him unwilling to accept it.
"Idiot—you and I are obviously different. I could beat you with one finger." Ace crushed his hopes.
"That's just because you're five years older! When I'm five years older, I won't lose!"
"Call you an idiot and I'm not wrong at all. When you grow up, I'll have grown up too. You'll never catch up to me!" Ace dismissed Luffy's bluster.
Seriously—did he think growing up would erase the age gap?
My, Ace's time wasn't going to stand still either.
"What? That's how it works?!" Luffy was shocked. He'd thought that once he grew up, he'd be the same age as Ace.
"Hehehe, Luffy—your dad would be furious if he knew you were trying to go off and become a pirate with Shanks and the others," Makino said.
"I don't care!" Luffy said stubbornly. "Shanks, take me to sea!"
Young Luffy had already mastered the art of nagging. If he'd been stronger, he probably would have just boarded the ship uninvited by now.
"No means no." Shanks shook his head. He could have used Luffy's age as an excuse before, but now that Ace was here, that excuse no longer worked. It gave him a headache.
Ace could see how firm Shanks was. Though he actually kind of wanted Luffy on the ship—it might improve his own status—he could only side with Shanks right now.
"Stop whining, Luffy. This is boring—let's go play!"
Luffy's attention was successfully diverted: "Go play? Where? We've already been everywhere in the village."
"What about the mountains? Sounds fun." Ace grinned.
Staying in the village all the time was dull. Though they were pirates, venturing deep into the woods when exploring an island was common.
"Mt. Colbo?" Luffy's eyes lit up.
"Absolutely not!" Makino snapped. "The mountains are too dangerous! There are wild beasts and bandits! What if you get hurt?"
Makino had watched Luffy grow up. He was like a little brother to her, and she naturally worried about him.
"No problem—I'm really strong!" Ace said casually.
At twelve years old, with thirteen just around the corner, he already had formidable combat power. At minimum, any pirate with a bounty under a hundred million was no threat to him.
The two of them leaped out before Makino could catch them from behind the bar. By the time she gave chase, the brats had vanished.
"Don't worry, Makino—I'll have Ann keep an eye on them." Shanks reassured her.
Makino relaxed slightly upon hearing this. She knew Ann was quite capable and dependable.
Shanks called over Ann, who was sitting nearby lost in thought.
"What's wrong? Still thinking about Furaese?" Shanks could read her like a book.
Earlier at sea, Furaese's efficient takedown of Fukuro had left a deep impression. The other woman hadn't even gone all out, and yet she herself…
"She's too strong."
"Don't worry about it. Furaese is about my age—it's normal for her to be that strong." Shanks comforted her.
As the Buggy Pirates' third strongest fighter, it would be stranger if Furaese was outclassed by fifteen-year-old Ann.
"More importantly—Ace took Luffy into Mt. Colbo. Go follow them."
"That… doesn't seem necessary, does it?"
It was just a forested mountain range in the East Blue. Was there really need for her to tag along?
But Shanks glanced meaningfully at the worried Makino, and Ann understood.
"I understand."
…
Ace and Luffy headed into the mountains and quickly encountered several wild beasts.
But Ace defeated all of them with just a few punches and kicks. Luffy couldn't handle them yet, but he could still help.
Like shouting "Go, go, go!" or something—at least that gave him a sense of participation. Later he could tell people that he and Ace had gone on a rampage through Mt. Colbo.
The two brats pushed deeper into the forest, and before they knew it, had crossed over the ridge. They were gradually getting closer to the Refuse Dump.
Though Ann was shadowing them from the dark, she didn't reveal herself. Instead, she pulled out a visual Den Den Mushi and started live-streaming the two brats' every move.
Luffy and Ace clearly planned to spend several days in Mt. Colbo, but they could never have imagined that over the next few days, they would become a source of entertainment for everyone back at the bar.
The clueless Luffy, and Ace—who was gradually losing himself in Luffy's praise and becoming increasingly chuunibyou. This was going to be so much fun!
You had to admit—Ann really was a sweet-faced devil.
Meanwhile, the two completely unaware that they were being broadcast…
"That was amazing, Ace! You took down such a huge tiger so easily!" Luffy waved his arms wildly, trying to demonstrate the tiger's size, but he just looked adorable.
"It's nothing—just a tiger." Ace put on an aloof face. His words said it was no big deal, but his nostrils were practically pointing at the sky.
"Anyway, just stick with me and you'll be totally fine!" Ace patted his chest, brimming with confidence.
At this moment, he really did look the part. In Luffy's eyes—and probably his own—he probably looked pretty cool.
But it was like looking back at your angsty social media posts from puberty. There was always that overwhelming urge to die of embarrassment.
Ann was quite satisfied. She planned to give this to Ace as a birthday present once he came of age.
Of course, she was also keeping a backup copy. You could use this to blackmail Ace into doing things.
Just as she was thinking this, Ann sensed something. Her gaze shifted toward a concealed patch of foliage, where a small figure was hiding.
Sabo hadn't spotted Ann, but he had noticed the conspicuous Ace and Luffy.
His alertness right now was extremely high.
Two days ago, he'd heard people at the Refuse Dump asking around about him, and he'd immediately grown wary.
He hadn't set foot in the Dump for days, deliberately venturing deeper into the mountains.
He never expected to run into Ace and Luffy here.
'Two strange brats—could they be the people who've been looking for me?'
[
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