After Ace finished speaking, he looked at Gawain with anticipation.
The imposing figure before me is the master of the Dark Bird Ship, one of the most powerful men on the high seas.
In contrast is the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon, widely recognized as the most dangerous criminal in the world!
Ace's heart pounded wildly; he was about to witness a clash of titans between these two men!
When faced with Ace's request, Gawain hesitated and narrowed his eyes.
Those around Ace were also momentarily stunned upon hearing his words.
A moment later, Grandpa Zephyr came to Ace's side and ruffled Ace's sparking hair without any politeness.
"You brat, you want to protect Gawain?"
Do you think Gawain is a child? Does he need any special protection?
There may still be people on this ship whom Gawain cannot defeat, but there is no one on this ship who can absolutely defeat Gawain!
You want to protect a guy like that, haha?!
Zephyr laughed without restraint, and as he laughed, he tucked Ace under his armpit.
Compared to Zephyr, Ace's height was like that of a doll...
It's clear that Zephyr particularly likes Ace as a disciple, because Ace, to some extent, reminds Zephyr of his three strongest disciples from back then.
How could a teacher not like outstanding students?
After Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan graduated, Zephyr hadn't encountered a disciple with the potential to rival them for a long time!
Until he met Ace...
Or rather, he encountered Ace and Gawain!
Well, this also shows that although Grandpa Zephyr kept emphasizing that Logia were all a joke, and that only Haki and physical strength were the best in the world.
But in reality, the old man's favorite was actually his disciple with astonishing talent who had eaten an incredibly powerful Logia...
This is probably what they call saying one thing and meaning another...
Just as Ace was being mercifully tormented by old man Zephyr, behind Gawain, Gion pondered for a moment and gently shook her head.
"Let's stop joking, Ace kid."
Without you, even if the adult went to meet Dragon himself, we don't think Dragon could hurt the adult.
Not everyone is qualified to kill the elusive lightning!
But if you go with the adults, you will become their weakness and Achilles' heel. If something unexpected happens, the adults will be controlled by you.
So, you brat, don't cause trouble for the adults..."
"Etc."
Just as Gion finished speaking, and Ace looked utterly dejected.
Gawain gently raised his hand, interrupting Gion.
After bending down slightly and placing his palm on Ace's head, Gawain stood in front of Ace and said to him with a light laugh.
"Want to witness my encounter with a dragon, you brat?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain looked at Ace with an incredibly gentle smile.
Nestled in Zephyr's arms, gazing at the gentle and natural Gawain, Ace's freckled cheeks flushed slightly.
For a moment, Gawain's face strangely merged with that of a certain Pirate King in his mind.
It's this natural gentleness, this understated care—isn't this the feeling of fatherhood that Ace has always dreamed of?!
Fortunately, Ace escaped from his bizarre fantasy in just a moment. He composed himself and then awkwardly said to Gawain.
"I really want to go and see it for myself..."
At this point, Ace's gaze hardened, and he looked directly into Gawain's eyes, speaking each word clearly.
"I missed all of your meetings with Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks!"
Therefore, I really don't want to miss your meeting with the leader of the Revolutionary Army!
I'm going to be the Pirate King! I really want to see what the strongest people on the sea are like!
Only after witnessing it firsthand will I be able to defeat them one by one in the future... Ouch!
Thump!
Gawain gently tapped Ace on the head, silencing Ace's words.
"You brat, you think you can defeat me? You're still a long way off."
As for your desire to become the Pirate King's man, haha, if the Pirate King were a man, would you still want to be his man?
So if you want to achieve your dream, the Pirate King has to be a woman!
"Huh?!?!"
Ace's face stiffened, disgusted by Gawain's teasing.
"That's not what I meant, sir. I meant..."
"I know."
Gawain interrupted Ace again, then yanked Ace out of Zephyr's arms.
Gently putting his arm around Ace's shoulder, Gawain nodded to the people around him before Ace could even react.
"This child actually respects me quite a bit; he even called me 'adult'."
So, it's settled then. I'll take this young man to Reverse Mountain to meet the legendary dragon.
You all don't need to follow me, and you don't need to worry about me. Dragons don't do anything thoughtless.
He and I both know very well that, regardless of my status, we are far from being in a situation where we must confront each other head-on.
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain patted Ace on the shoulder.
"Let's go, brat, let's set off now."
"Yes, sir!!!"
Ace was overjoyed; Gawain had actually agreed to his request.
This made Gion, who was not far away, purse her lips in frustration.
I really want to go too, after all, that's the Dragon of the Revolutionary Army...
As a pillar of the navy, how could Gion not want to fight Dragon?
No one in the entire Navy has ever cut Monkey D. Dragon. If he were to draw his sword, he would be the only scorpion in the Navy besides Garp.
One dose of poison...
But would she possibly compete with Little Ace for a spot?
He was still a child...
Just as Gion was feeling a pang of envy, Gawain, with Ace in tow, headed straight for the mountain path leading to Reverse Mountain... a path with an incline of at least 82 degrees.
If you're not a goat, this kind of path is really difficult to walk on.
But if he used Geppo, how could he possibly achieve the Gawain, leisurely pace that Gawain is displaying now...?
Have you not seen how Gawain, slowly climbing the mountain with an air of nonchalance, already made the three little ones' eyes sparkle with longing?
As for who the three little ones are, that shouldn't need to be emphasized, right?
Ace kept up with Gawain with Gawain; this kind of mountain road with an incline of over 80 degrees was indeed not easy for him.
Fortunately, he's a little fireball, the kind that has no weight, so as long as he maintains his balance, it's not difficult for him to keep up.
It wasn't until the two of them had walked more than eighty meters that Kuma Dawu what was happening and followed.
It wasn't that he forgot; it was just that Gawain's posture while climbing the mountain was so artistic that Kuma couldn't control himself.
He really wants to write something!
That's right. Although the adults didn't say anything, he still wanted to write something, such as something about how even if we have ways to take shortcuts, we should still know how to be down-to-earth.
In terms of documentation, Kuma seems to have found his own initiative...
On the mountain, seeing the Kuma following them, Gawain gently waved his hand.
"Kuma."
He said with a smile.
"Since Ace wants to come along, I'll go with him."
Taking just one person to see Dragon already felt a bit weak; I couldn't possibly bring you along too, could I? That would be no different from bringing the whole group, haha.
"You stay here and rest for a while. Ace and I will go. Just the two of us won't diminish the Dark Bird Ship's momentum."
"But..."
Upon hearing Gawain's words, Kuma instinctively wanted to reply that he wasn't alone on Dragon's side!
But just as the words were about to come out, Kuma's mind raced.
Yes, Dragon also happens to have Sabo by his side, while Lord Gawain brought Ace, who is about the same age.
In this way, it's surprisingly reasonable for leaders to be paired with leaders, and for outstanding young people to be paired with outstanding young people!
Kuma doesn't think Gawain will be suppressed by Dragon, as for Ace...
Although this kid's mouth is definitely not as good as Sabo's, his Logia strength is definitely stronger than Sabo's, so it's balanced again!
Thinking of this, Kuma pursed his lips and nodded slightly.
"Understood, sir. I'll wait for you at Twin Capes."
"Well, don't worry, there will definitely be conflicts between me and Dragon, but we will definitely not start a war."
It was just a simple meeting, that's all.
After saying that, Gawain waved goodbye to Kuma and the other officers, and led Ace up the Reverse Mountain.
In the eyes of everyone at Twin Capes, a bolt of lightning and a cluster of flames rose higher and higher, finally disappearing completely into the area shrouded in clouds and mist.
Meanwhile, on the Reverse Mountain, after the Kuma left, Sabo and Dragon's eyes immediately met.
After a brief exchange of glances, Sabo couldn't help but speak.
"This is a huge problem!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Sabo clenched his fist.
"Uncle Xiong's departure will likely bring us considerable turmoil. This turmoil is not because our Revolutionary Army has lost a capable general, nor because we have lost a friend."
This turmoil stemmed from the fact that the ideology inherited from the Revolutionary Army by Kuma was completely shattered by the ideology in Gawain's heart, which we still do not understand!
As soon as he finished speaking, Sabo swallowed hard.
"I have never underestimated that Celestial Dragon named Gawain. Some things cannot be done well simply because one is born with a certain status."
The vice-captain of the Pirate King and a candidate vice Vice Admiral in the Navy—to conquer these two people means that Gawain's presence must be greater than that of the Pirate King Roger and the Fleet Admiral Sengoku!
In other words, if you can't establish an image in their minds that surpasses Roger and Sengoku, then those two will never submit.
But now, the two of them have submitted to the Dark Bird Ship, and we still don't know why Gawain could make them feel that Gawain surpassed Sengoku and Roger!
"That's right."
Beside him, Dragon, his face grim, let out a long sigh.
"It's not just Rayleigh and Roger; in my opinion, the Shichibukai are the truly terrifying ones."
I've met Crocodile before; he's arrogant and proud, and he shouldn't obey anyone except Whitebeard, who defeated him.
And then there's the Pirate Empress, haha, the possessor of Conqueror's Haki, who, like Rayleigh, has now willingly accepted the fate of becoming a supporting character!
Especially the Kuma..."
Dragon glanced at Sabo had a pained expression on his face.
"For Kuma, there was actually only one reason that prompted him to leave us and join the Dark Bird Ship."
That is, in Kuma's heart, Gawain has surpassed me in every way, and he has also surpassed us.
His goals are perhaps more mature than ours.
His thoughts may have reached places even further than ours.
Now, even a veteran like Kuma has had his faith in the revolution shattered by Gawain.
So, as Gawain's goals continue to spread throughout the world, how many of us in the Revolutionary Army will not be drawn to his objectives?
After saying that, Dragon took a deep breath and shook his head.
"I really want to kill him, right here!"
His existence remains shrouded in mystery for every power in the world.
However, his existence has already had a very serious impact on our Revolutionary Army!
Even if the fact that Kuma joined him doesn't necessarily mean that my Revolutionary Army has become Gawain's ideological sanctuary.
The mere fact that Kuma is disloyal is enough to make many of our cadres lose confidence!
"No, no, no, no, no!!!"
No sooner had Dragon finished speaking than Sabo frantically waved his hands.
"Uncle Long, please don't joke around. Only a young kid like me would say something as frivolous and reckless as killing someone or starting a war!"
If it were you saying that, then it would really be time for war!
We've already done the research, haven't we? We definitely can't win in a fight, even if everyone comes together we'd almost certainly lose!
Besides, although we told Kuma that all of us would be present, in reality, only one of our Fifth Army Commanders showed up...
Apart from Ivankov, the commander of the Grand Line Fleet, the commanders of the four armies (East, West, North, and South) were all tied up with various affairs.
Forget about fighting; if we really anger Gawain, even escaping will be a pipe dream for us.
So, Uncle Long, please don't get agitated! Even if Uncle Xiong's defection is a huge blow to us, we can only hold back for now!
As he spoke, Sabo glanced nervously at Dragon, fearing that Dragon might do something unwise for the sake of the Revolutionary Army.
Having been with the Revolutionary Army for many years, Sabo understands the mindset of older generations like Dragon all too well.
No matter how profound his appearance, Uncle Dragon, whose surname is Monkey, has a reckless heart.
After all, bloodline matters...
Standing to the side, Dragon nodded with a sullen face after hearing Sabo's words.
"I know, don't worry, I was just saying."
As soon as he finished speaking, Long frowned slightly, and then he looked towards the mountain road.
"Sabo, they've arrived. I can feel their overwhelming power, like lightning and thunder, and a faint flame."
Two people came, but Kuma didn't come with them. The other person besides Gawain seemed to be around your age."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Sabo gently adjusted his hat.
"Because of my presence, did Gawain bring someone around my age to the meeting?"
He did something quite interesting; it had a kind of old-fashioned feel to it, that kind of... respect for rules.
"Indeed!"
Dragon nodded slightly, then he put his hands back inside his cloak.
At this moment, Dragon was as gloomy as ever, and his appearance had changed to a mysterious figure with a head growing out of his cloak.
As for Sabo, he gently tapped his cane on the ground, placed his hands on the cane, Sabo looked expectantly towards the Sea of Clouds at the end of the mountain peak.
Gawain was described by a reporter from the World Economic Journal as the most promising Celestial Dragon of the current era and the possessor of the World's Strongest Conqueror's Haki.
Meeting a guy like that would be so interesting!
Meanwhile, on the Reverse Mountain, Ace, who was slowly approaching the summit, excitedly said to Gawain.
"Sir, how should I greet you later?"
Sister Makino taught me a lot about etiquette, but she never taught me how to chat with the Revolutionary Army.
"So, may I swear, sir?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ace's eyes lit up. He really wanted to give that Dragon a good scolding.
As a father, does Dragon even know how much Luffy misses him?!
Her father had died, so even though she missed him, she could only endure it.
But Luffy's father is clearly alive, yet he refused to see Luffy for over a decade. What difference is there between such a father and one who is dead?
Must a son endure the pain of longing in order to become a so-called "sea man"?
What kind of bullshit logic is that?!
He really wanted to teach Luffy's irresponsible father a lesson on Luffy's behalf!