Two Boys Debate "Meat"

"Whoosh~ whoosh~"

Several people suddenly sprang out from the woods on both sides of the mountain path. Leading them was an orange-haired, heavyset woman—the very person Garp had come looking for, Kari Dadan.

Dadan had a cigarette clenched between her teeth and put on a fierce expression as she shouted at Garp:

"I told you already, this is my territory!"

Garp stopped walking, which seemed to fuel Dadan's arrogance. The fat around her neck quivered as she said to Mo Xingchen:

"Young punk, give me back my axe!"

"This one?"

Mo Xingchen weighed the axe in his hand, and Dadan nodded frankly.

"Whoosh~~ boom~~ rumble!"

Inside a tidy room, Dadan and her subordinates sat trembling on their knees in a row. Everyone had a few scrapes, while wine and fruit sat on the table in the middle of the room.

Mo Xingchen turned to look at Dadan. Her whole body trembled, and she collapsed onto the floor, unable even to maintain her kneeling posture.

"Sorry, I'm not in a very good mood today. I'm actually usually a very easygoing person."

Dadan forced a smile onto her face and said:

"N-No problem. We were the ones who offended you first."

She then turned to Garp.

"Garp, who is this gentleman?"

"Mo Xingchen. You could say he's this old man's disciple, and Dragon's older brother."

Garp's casual introduction made Dadan leap to her feet at once. Pointing at Mo Xingchen, she said:

"Y-You, you, you... Why didn't you say so sooner?! I thought the Marines had come to wipe us out!"

She sat back down, changing from kneeling to a carefree cross-legged posture. Her bearing instantly surged, making her look even more manly than Garp. The underlings beside her started laughing as well.

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

Ace was supposed to play inside, but that brat's too mischievous. Last time he played with fire, he nearly burned the house down, so I just had him play outside instead. Don't worry, someone's watching him."

Before long, Dadan's subordinate returned to the room with a black-haired little boy whose face was covered in freckles.

Garp shouted excitedly,

"Ace! Come over to Grandpa!"

Ace coolly ignored Garp and instead walked up to Mo Xingchen and asked:

"Who are you?"

Mo Xingchen looked over the little brat who had once brought countless people to tears, then smiled and said:

"Call me Uncle!"

Ace first looked toward Garp. Seeing him nodding frantically from the side, he thought for a moment before finally calling out:

"Uncle."

Mo Xingchen happily ruffled little Ace's smooth hair into a messy bird's nest. Then he said to Dadan and the others,

"Today, all of you are coming down the mountain with me to town for a banquet!"

At that, a trace of reluctance appeared on Dadan's face. But she was not entirely unwilling either, as she fidgeted and said,

Can't find it by searching the book title? Try searching for the author instead—maybe it was just renamed!

"I still have..."

Mo Xingchen directly rested a hand on Chun Jun at his waist, using his thumb to push the guard and draw the blade an inch.

"I hate it most when someone makes me unhappy while I'm happy."

Dadan instantly stood straight. Looking at the baffled Ace, she laughed awkwardly.

"Come to think of it, Ace hasn't been to town in over half a year, huh?"

Ace scratched his little head, his face full of confusion. He did not understand why Dadan had brought him up when Uncle Mo had clearly invited Dadan and the others to a banquet.

Once they had reached an agreement, Garp scooped Ace up, set him on his shoulders, and happily headed down the mountain.

"Yohohoho! A banquet! Meat!"

Once they reached the foot of the mountain, everyone gathered around bonfires, singing and dancing. Small groups sat together drinking and eating meat, while the women busily grilled meat nearby. Seeing Makino laughing and dancing joyfully among the crowd, Mo Xingchen casually took a cup of beer and led her onto a makeshift platform built from wine crates.

"I invited everyone to eat today to thank you all for taking care of my little sister Makino over the years! I'll finish mine—you can drink as much as you like!"

As Mo Xingchen drained his beer and turned the cup upside down to show that not a single drop remained, villagers, bandits, and Marines alike all burst into cheers.

"Makino, do you want to sail with your brother again and have some fun?"

"Brother Mo, you don't need to worry about me so much. A few years ago, you took me all around East Blue, but in the end, I realized this was still the place I loved most. I have to protect the tavern Grandpa left me!"

Mo Xingchen rubbed Makino's head and said tenderly:

"I'm not too worried about your safety. There probably aren't many people in this country who can beat you. So I left you some money. If it's not enough, tell your brother. Eat whatever you want, buy whatever you want. If you're tired, close the tavern and rest. Don't wear yourself out, and don't let yourself suffer, understand?"

"Mm! I understand, Brother."

Makino smiled and nodded heavily.

Ace was also thrilled by the lively scene before him. He jumped down from Garp and began running wild through the crowd. Only after playing around for quite some time did he stop. Perhaps he was hungry, so he went over to Garp, only to see Garp stuffing himself with food and drink without even noticing him. He then came over to Mo Xingchen and stared at the grilled meat in his hand.

Mo Xingchen served him a huge plate of grilled meat, set it before him, and thoughtfully brought him a cup of iced fruit juice. Ace coolly said, "Thanks, Uncle."

Then he picked up the grilled meat and stuffed it into his mouth. At that moment, a muffled voice came from beside him, seeming to say,

"M-Meat... grilled meat."

Ace turned to look and saw a child even younger than himself standing there, drooling as his eyes remained fixed on the grilled meat in his hand. Ace tried moving the meat, and the child's gaze followed it. Ace grinned, though the missing front tooth did somewhat hurt his looks.

He then tossed the meat into his mouth. The child instantly frowned and glared at Ace. Their eyes met, and seeing how angry the child looked, Ace laughed even more happily. Perhaps he had never laughed so happily in his life.

Ace picked up another piece of grilled meat. The child, who had been glaring at him just a second ago, turned dazed again, staring blankly at the meat. Ace deliberately moved it closer to the child. As if seeing hope, the child opened his arms and walked toward him.

Then... Ace suddenly tossed the meat into his mouth again. The little boy froze for two seconds, then charged forward with a running start and headbutted Ace right in the nose. Pain sent tears and snot streaming down Ace's face, and the two children began throwing wild punches at each other.

Mo Xingchen silently watched the two little brats interact. At last, he could no longer hold it in and burst into laughter, then pulled the two fighting children apart.

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

"You're lying. There's no way he can be my little brother."

"Oh~ Why do you say that?"

Ace pointed at the freckles on his face and said with complete confidence:

"He doesn't have these on his face. He doesn't look anything like me!"

"Hahahaha~"

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you won't lose it next time!