"You're becoming more and more like a monster!"
Ace managed to turn over and jokingly teased Cifer.
A few months ago, when I sparred with him, he still needed to transform into that powerful form.
In just a few months, he has been able to easily crush Blackbeard, whom he was powerless to resist, without even needing to transform.
Compared to this, I, who was called a monster the moment I entered the sea, am really pathetic.
"Compared to you, I am a monster."
"How are you? Can you still stand up?"
Cifer did not refute Ace's description, and reached out to help him who was lying on the ground.
"Let me lie down for a bit. I feel like all the bones in my body are about to break. That guy, he was hiding so well..."
Ace was still shaken. That ferocious ability, combined with Blackbeard's terrifying physical skills, meant that if it weren't for Cifer's timely intervention, he would have been defeated by him.
He carries the name of Whitebeard on his person. If he were to be given to the Navy as a gift, it would be a disgrace to his Old Man!
Even if I die at his hands, I'll accept it.
Since setting sail, Ace had long since disregarded life and death, so there was nothing to fear about dying at Blackbeard's hands.
I'm just afraid that some crybaby will be sad.
"Cifer, how can I become as strong as you so quickly?"
For the first time in a long time, Ace acknowledged his own weakness.
The last time I felt this powerless was when I first challenged my Old Man.
"Probably... die once first? But that idea probably won't work for you."
His own strength is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
"To die first? That's quite a demanding condition!"
Ace understood completely, after all, he himself had also narrowly escaped death this time.
"Blackbeard was right about one thing: Whitebeard's era is over. And have you ever considered that he never intended to become the Pirate King?"
"If he wanted to, Roger might not be the Pirate King."
Cifer sat on the ground and finally brought up this issue with the "son of the Pirate King" for the first time.
Ace fell silent. He disliked what Cifer, but he couldn't deny that it might be true.
"It's not that you have to get to Raftel to find One Piece. Shouldn't the Pirate King be the freest man on the sea?"
"The answer you've been searching for doesn't necessarily have to be found by sending Whitebeard to Raftel, does it?"
Ace remained silent, and Cifer didn't say anything more either, just sitting there, waiting for something.
"Ace ~"
"Ace!"
A moment later, two voices shouted the same sentence at the same time, and two groups of people charged towards them.
"Seriously, Luffy is going to have to see me in this sorry state!"
Ace couldn't stand up, so he could only lie there obediently, waiting for them to approach.
As a strong-willed older brother, showing this vulnerable side in front of his younger brother is not cool at all.
"Cifer! What happened to Ace?!"
Seeing their brother lying on the ground covered in bruises, two voices asked anxiously.
"It's nothing. I just had a fight and lost. Cifer helped me a lot. By the way, what brings you here all of a sudden?"
Ace answered first, glancing at the two faces beside him. One was his good-for-nothing younger brother, and the other... seemed somewhat familiar.
"We noticed that your Vivre Card seemed to be getting hot, and we felt that something bad might happen, so we followed the Vivre Card."
The man in the hat answered for Luffy.
Do you recognize me too?
Ace asked, "This face seems familiar, like someone from my past."
"It's me, Ace!"
Taking off his hat, his fluffy blond hair and bright, sunny smile evoked memories buried deep in Ace's heart.
"You are... Sabo?!"
As his memories were gradually awakened, Ace momentarily forgot that he was seriously injured and forced himself to sit up, grabbing his shoulder.
"Koala, quickly call the ship's doctor!"
Sabo realized that the girl was having trouble moving, so he quickly turned to her and told her to find a doctor.
"You... how have you been missing for so many years!"
Tears seemed to well up in her eyes. Although she had always pretended to be nonchalant in front of Luffy, how could she not be saddened upon hearing the news of her brother's death?
"Now... I'm back!"
The three brothers, reunited after a long separation, seemed to have endless things to say, and everyone around them tacitly made way for them.
"Looks like we need to find a doctor on board!"
Zoro lamented that there hadn't been a ship's doctor for so long, and every time he was injured, he could only receive some basic treatment.
"What an unreliable captain. How about becoming my companion, Roronoa? Staying by my side will help you catch up with Hawk Eyes much faster."
Cifer habitually extend olive branches to the Moss Head.
"Don't joke around. I only have one captain, and even without you, I will be able to surpass Hawk Eyes on my own in the future."
Zoro refused without hesitation.
"What a pity!"
"But now that you're all here, there's no need for me to stay."
His gaze swept across the crowd, and sure enough, Franky was among them. It seemed that the Going Merry had also been taken offline.
After a brief greeting, Cifer walked over to the three brothers who were chatting enthusiastically.
"Since you're brothers, you must share both good times and bad, right?"
Looking at the group, Cifer asked a question.
"Of course! The three of us are brothers!"
Luffy answered quickly, head held high and chest puffed out.
"Then I'd like to trouble you to help those residents restore this town to its original state. After all, it was Ace who did it."
He pointed in the direction of the mountain, and the town's original inhabitants hid there, secretly watching this place.
"Huh? Blackbeard destroyed the town, you know?"
Ace expressed his doubts and protests, saying that this ruin was clearly caused by that guy's power, so what did it have to do with him?
"Isn't this all because you and he started fighting here?"
Without further ado, after assigning the task, Cifer opened the Garganta and slowly walked in.
Since he has already said so, given the nature of these three brothers, they will definitely help.
"Seriously, I have to say something to Ace. How could you damage someone else's house like this..."
Taking advantage of Ace's current immobility, Luffy began to chatter incessantly.
"Hahaha~ Luffy, Luffy, Ace might get up and beat you up again!"
This feeling was something they had never experienced before in the Revolutionary Army; it was as if they had returned to the time when the three little ones were together.
Sabo always gives the impression that some kind of regret has been filled.
Looking at Luffy and Sabo, Ace seemed to have let go of something; the answer he had been searching for was now materialized.
"Let's find a chance to go back and see that guy Dadan!"