"Buzz—"
Thud—
Thud—
Against a bunch of minor pirates from the East Blue, Austin did not even need to lift a hand. With a sweep of his gaze, they collapsed in droves.
Even the river was constantly filling with little fish and shrimp floating belly-up to the surface.
In just a moment, only Ace and Sabo remained standing.
"You..."
Sabo wanted to say something more, but Austin merely waved a hand before walking over to Ace.
Even though the man before him had saved him, Ace still stubbornly kept his head lowered, forcing himself not to look at Austin.
"What a cute kid..."
Austin did not mind. He walked over to Ace and smiled as he ruffled his neatly parted black hair.
"W-What the hell are you doing?!"
Ace instantly became embarrassed and shook off Austin's hand from his head. Austin did not mind and simply sat down by the river.
After remaining silent for a while, Ace followed him and sat by the riverbank, staring blankly at the water. He actually knew that this uncle in front of him was probably acquainted with his mother.
However, Austin had once told Rouge not to rush into telling Ace about his background. After all, Captain Roger had indeed been a real bastard in this matter, leaving behind a widow and child before departing.
Thus, whenever Ace asked why he did not have a father while growing up, Rouge could only force a smile and explain,
"Your father? He is a Great Pirate. He will come back to see you someday."
But as he grew older and his father never returned, Ace had long since given up on that hope. He had even begun thinking of setting out to sea himself.
He wanted to see what on this ocean could be so