"Eh? Big Brother Xia Nuo! What are you doing!"
Luffy jumped in surprise and instinctively reached out to take it. "You can borrow anything else as a prop, but this is really important to me. You can't..."
"Watch closely."
Xia Nuo tossed the Straw Hat in his hand into the air with a grin.
Just as the Straw Hat fell and was caught in his hand, it suddenly vanished without a trace.
"?!!!"
Luffy's eyes widened like copper bells. He circled Xia Nuo's open palm, looking left and right, but couldn't find the slightest clue.
"Stop looking. Believe it or not, it's already run into my bag?" Xia Nuo said with a laugh.
"How could that be?"
Luffy clicked his tongue and hurriedly unzipped Xia Nuo's bag. Beneath several loaves of bread, he really did find his own Straw Hat.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!!!"
Luffy held the Straw Hat high and cried out, "It's really in here! That's amazing! How did you do that, Big Brother? Do it again, do it again!"
As if showing off a treasure, he stuffed the Straw Hat into Xia Nuo's hands again and vigorously shook his arm. "Just once, just once, okay..."
"Performing the same magic trick twice will only make it lose its charm."
Xia Nuo smiled and ruffled his hair. "All right, that's enough. It looks like they've almost finished packing, so I should be leaving too."
No one noticed that, at that very moment, below the cliff...
A freckled boy was gritting his teeth and climbing upward bit by bit.
Several times, he nearly lost his footing and fell, but in the end, he arduously reached the top, grabbed the cliff's edge, and rolled himself up.
"Those damn bandits!"
They had actually captured Luffy. He absolutely had to teach them a good lesson!
His gaze shifted toward the stone pillar, and Ace froze. Huh? Where was he? He had clearly seen Luffy tied to this stone pillar from far away earlier.
He felt his way behind the pillar and poked his head out to look. The sight immediately left him aghast.
A burly, black-haired man who looked like the bandit chief was gripping Luffy's head and turning aside with a vicious grin.
Beside Luffy, a large pot was set over a fire, the thick soup inside bubbling furiously.
What were they planning to do?
These bandits had actually become so deranged that they were going to eat people. Were they going to boil Luffy alive?
"Stop right there!"
Ace was frantic with worry. He roared and charged out without hesitation, clenching his right fist as he rushed toward the damned bandit chief.
Boom!
In the blink of an eye, the bandit chief actually reacted. He spun around, reached out with his large hand, and caught Ace's fist in his palm, taking the blow head-on.
Huh?
Ace froze. This guy... His reaction speed is incredible!
Xia Nuo was equally stunned.
That unmistakable face full of freckles... Was this Ace? Why had he suddenly jumped out and attacked him?
The two stared at each other for an instant.
Ace suddenly yanked his fist free. At the same time, he reached toward his waist, pulled out a dagger, and stabbed at Xia Nuo's wrist.
"You..."
Xia Nuo had barely opened his mouth when he was forcibly interrupted. He could only retreat while sweeping out a kick, sending the dagger flying.
"Don't be rash, kid!"
He seized Ace's incoming fist and frowned. "Did you misunderstand something? This is clearly the first time we've met, isn't it?"
"Misunderstand? What is there to misunderstand? I saw you gripping Luffy's head with my own eyes, trying to throw him into the pot!"
Ace roared as he exerted his strength. He actually broke free of Xia Nuo's grasp, twisted his hips, and launched a fierce upward kick toward Xia Nuo's crotch.
"Man-eating monster, go to hell!"
Hey, are you ever going to stop?!
Xia Nuo instantly lost his temper. What was this brat imagining? He couldn't even listen when Xia Nuo tried to explain things properly.
In that case, Xia Nuo would stop holding back!
He abruptly raised his foot and, without dodging, stomped down on the leg flying toward him.
The instant the two collided, Ace let out a shrill scream. His face twisted from the pain, and his leg gave a crisp crack as it bent at a much sharper angle.
It hurts! How is this guy so much stronger than me? Humiliated and furious, Ace completely abandoned caution. He grabbed Xia Nuo tightly around the waist, using him for support as he raised his upper body and slammed his head into Xia Nuo's chest.
He's still coming?
Xia Nuo had truly run out of patience. He clenched his fist and punched the freckled face coming up from below.
Boom!
A dull thud rang out. Blood burst from Ace's nose. His gaze grew unfocused, his body swayed, and he went limp, collapsing unconscious to the ground.
He passed out just like that?
Xia Nuo withdrew his fist and looked at Ace on the ground in surprise. He hadn't even used his full strength.
This kid's strength and speed were both pretty good—roughly half of Xia Nuo's own level—but his resistance to blows seemed to be even worse than Luffy's.
Of course, Luffy was an exception. The rubber properties of the Nika Fruit allowed him to naturally nullify most blunt-force damage even at such a young age.
"Ace!"
Luffy's eyes widened. He hurriedly pounced on Ace and shook him. "How are you? Wake up!"
Actually, the instant Ace drew his dagger, Luffy had wanted to stop him.
But everything afterward had happened too quickly. Before he could even react, Ace had already been beaten unconscious by Xia Nuo in the space of two punches and two kicks.
"He's fine. He'll wake up in a little while."
Xia Nuo examined him and shook his head slightly. "Though his leg seems to be somewhat fractured. He should rest properly for a few days and avoid strenuous activity."
He's fine?
Then that's good. Luffy relaxed. Looking at Ace's battered and swollen face, he suddenly pointed at him and burst out laughing:
"Defeated that quickly? How embarrassing! So you finally got what was coming to you, Ace!"
"..."
Xia Nuo raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were going to rush over and avenge him."
"Ace was the one being unreasonable! I know he was worried about me, but I'm not an idiot. Of course I wouldn't blame you, Big Brother Xia Nuo. Besides, I couldn't beat you anyway."
Luffy stood up. "We spar all the time. Ace is much stronger than me. I can't win even once in a hundred matches, and I get beaten terribly every time. I can only watch him smugly show off. I never thought I'd live to see him get beaten flat in just a few moves."
"You're so strong, Big Brother Xia Nuo!" Luffy stroked his chin. "Hmm, should I have you teach me magic first, or the fighting skills you used to defeat Ace..."
"Neither."
Xia Nuo laughed, hoisted up his backpack, and casually slung it over his right shoulder.
"Manba and the others have finished packing. This time, I'm really leaving. We'll meet again if fate allows, Luffy."
Huh?
Luffy instinctively looked up and saw that the camp had indeed been cleared out. The poor refugees were gathered outside the fence, waiting for Xia Nuo.
"See you!"
Xia Nuo ruffled the boy's hair one last time. It was prickly, but the feel was rather pleasant. He waved with a smile and led Manba's group away, their backs gradually disappearing into the distance.
The camp, which had been bustling just moments ago, suddenly became quiet and desolate.
Luffy stared blankly outside the gate. Only after a long while did he come back to himself, somewhat dispirited, and rub his slightly sunken stomach.
I'm so hungry.
He turned his head and glanced at the large pot still bubbling beside him.
It contained some radishes and wild vegetables. Normally, he wouldn't eat something like that.
But he was desperately hungry now, and he had to stay and wait for Ace to wake up, leaving him no chance to go out and find food. So he simply filled a bowl and began gulping it down.
When he was almost finished, a groan came from beside him. Ace had covered his head and slowly awakened.
"Luffy?"
Ace looked at him in bewilderment. "You haven't been boiled yet?"
"What do you mean, boiled...? You got the wrong idea about them, Ace!" Luffy filled another bowl and handed it to him. "Those uncles aren't bandits at all."
Radishes?
Ace lowered his head to look at the soup being offered to him, scratched his head, and suddenly understood a great deal.
He accepted the bowl with a bitter smile. "Looks like I was too impulsive. What about the guy I fought just now? He's really strong. Who is he?"
"That guy?"
Luffy recalled everything that had just happened and began to giggle.
"He's a really good person! And he can do magic too. Really amazing magic! It's a shame I haven't learned it yet. Ace, I'll show you later. Can you perform it for me in the future?"