Two Children Argue About "Meat"

"Swish~ swish~"

From the woods on both sides of the mountain path, several people suddenly darted out. Leading them was a plump woman with orange hair, the very person Garp was looking for: Kari Dadan.

Dadan, holding a cigarette in her mouth, put on a fierce expression and shouted at Garp:

"I told you, this is my territory!"

Garp stopped walking. This seemed to fuel Dadan's arrogance. The flesh on her neck jiggled as she said to Mo Xingchen, "Kid, give me back my axe!"

"This one?"

Mo Xingchen weighed the axe in his hand. Dadan nodded straightforwardly.

"Whoosh~~ boom~~ rumble!"

Inside a clean room, Dadan and her subordinates were kneeling in a row, trembling. They all had some scrapes and bruises. On the table in the center of the room were wine and fruit.

Mo Xingchen turned to look at Dadan. Dadan shivered all over and slumped to the ground, unable to even maintain her kneeling posture.

"Sorry, I'm in a bad mood today. Actually, I'm usually a very easygoing person."

Dadan forced a smile onto her face at this moment and said, "It's~ it's fine. We offended you first."

Then she turned to Garp, "Garp, who is this gentleman?"

"Mo Xingchen, an old man's disciple, and Dragon's older brother."

Garp introduced him casually, but Dadan immediately stood up and pointed at Mo Xingchen, saying, "You you you you you... Why didn't you say so earlier! I thought you were Marines here to wipe us out!"

She then sat down again. Dadan's posture changed from kneeling to a relaxed cross-legged position. Her demeanor instantly surged, "Roar!" She looked even more manly than Garp, and her subordinates around her burst into laughter.

"What the heck! So he's one of us, hahahaha! Hey you, go bring Ace from behind the house.

I originally let Ace play in the house, but that kid is too mischievous. He almost burned the house down last time playing with fire, so I just let him play outside. Don't worry, someone's watching him."

A moment later, Dadan's subordinate brought a black-haired little boy with a face full of freckles back into the house.

Garp shouted excitedly, "Ace! Come to Grandpa!"

Ace coolly ignored Garp and walked up to Mo Xingchen, asking, "Who are you?"

Mo Xingchen looked at the little brat who had once made countless people cry and smiled, saying, "Call me Uncle!"

Ace first looked at Garp, seeing him nodding frantically beside him. After thinking for a moment, he finally opened his mouth and called out, "Uncle."

Mo Xingchen happily ruffled Ace's smooth hair into a messy bird's nest. Then he said to Dadan and the others, "Today, we're all going down the mountain with me to the town for a feast!"

Upon hearing this, a hint of resistance appeared on Dadan's face, but she didn't completely refuse. She said coyly, "I still have..."

Mo Xingchen directly placed his hand on Chun Jun at his waist, his thumb pressing against the hilt. The sword unsheathed by an inch, "I hate it most when someone makes me unhappy when I'm happy."

Dadan instantly straightened up and, looking at the bewildered Ace, laughed it off, "Speaking of which, it seems Ace hasn't been to town for more than half a year."

Ace rubbed his little head, full of confusion. He didn't understand why Uncle Mo was calling Dadan and the others to a feast, yet Dadan brought him up.

Seeing that an agreement had been reached, Garp scooped Ace up and placed him on his shoulders, happily walking down the mountain.

"Yohohoho! Feast! Meat!"

When they reached the foot of the mountain, everyone had gathered around a bonfire, singing and dancing. They sat in groups, drinking and eating meat, while the women busied themselves roasting meat. Mo Xingchen saw Makino laughing and dancing joyfully in the crowd. He casually grabbed a beer, pulled Makino to a makeshift stage made of wine boxes, and said, "Today, I'm treating everyone to a meal to thank you all for taking care of my sister Makino over the years! I'll drink this, you all can drink as you please!"

As Mo Xingchen finished his beer and turned the cup upside down to show not a single drop remained, villagers, bandits, and Marines alike cheered.

"Makino, do you want to go out to sea and travel with your brother again?"

"Brother Mo, you don't need to worry too much about me. You took me around the entire East Blue a few years ago, but in the end, I found I like it here the most. I have to protect the tavern Grandpa left me!"

Mo Xingchen ruffled Makino's head and said with concern, "I'm not too worried about your safety. I estimate there aren't many people in this country who can beat you. So I've left you a sum of money. If it's not enough, just tell me. Eat whatever you want, buy whatever you want. If you're tired, close the shop and rest. Don't overwork yourself, and don't mistreat yourself, understand?"

"Mm! Got it, brother."

Makino smiled and nodded heavily in agreement.

Ace looked at the lively scene before him, also very excited. He jumped off Garp and started frolicking in the area. After playing for a while, he stopped. Perhaps he was hungry, so he went to Garp's side. Seeing Garp eating and drinking by himself without noticing him, he then went over to Mo Xingchen, staring at the grilled meat in Mo Xingchen's hand.

Mo Xingchen served him a large plate of grilled meat and placed it in front of him, also carefully bringing him a cup of frozen juice. Ace said coolly, "Thanks, Uncle."

Then he picked up the grilled meat and stuffed it into his mouth. At this moment, a vague voice came to his ears, as if saying, "Rub, rub, grilled meat."

Ace turned his head to the side and saw a child, smaller than himself, standing there, drooling, his eyes fixed on the grilled meat in his hand. Ace tried to move the grilled meat in his hand, and the child followed his gaze. Ace grinned, but the missing front tooth affected his appearance a bit.

He then put the grilled meat into his mouth. The child immediately frowned and glared at Ace. Their eyes met. Seeing the child's angry expression, Ace smiled even more happily. Perhaps since birth, he had never laughed so happily.

Ace picked up another piece of grilled meat. The child who had been glaring at him a second ago was now back to being dull, staring blankly at the grilled meat. Ace deliberately moved the grilled meat closer to the child. The child seemed to see hope and walked over with open arms.

Then... Ace popped the grilled meat into his mouth again. The little boy stared blankly for 2 seconds, then charged forward with a running start and headbutted Ace right on the nose. Tears and snot streamed from Ace's eyes from the pain, and then the two children began to punch each other like wild animals.

Mo Xingchen quietly watched the interaction between the two brats until he couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing, separating the two who were fighting.

"Ace, you can't bully those weaker than you from now on, understand! And his name is Luffy, he's also Old Man Garp's grandson, so he's your brother."

"You're lying, he can't possibly be my brother."

"Oh~ Why do you say that?"

Ace pointed to the freckles on his face and said righteously:

"He doesn't have these on his face, he doesn't look like me at all!"

"Hahahaha~"

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.