The Angler Often Comes Up Empty!

Chapter 21: 021. Anglers often come up empty!

As I suspected, you're the one needed to deal with Ace.

Clap, clap, clap!

Garp clapped his hands together, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"Alright, let's put this matter behind us. You all go back to what you were doing."

Easy for you to say. You're a big shot and don't care, but how can we ordinary people not?

My mind has flipped the table more than once.

Dadan and her two confidantes looked utterly exhausted.

Mercer couldn't help but touch his forehead and say:

"Actually, it doesn't concern you much. So many years have passed. You just need to continue living your lives as before."

Even so, knowing is knowing. Unless their memories were wiped.

Mercer shot Garp a look, speechless at how carefree he was.

"Gramps, are we staying here tonight?"

Mercer asked.

Garp thought for a moment, scratching his head.

"Let's stay here. After breakfast tomorrow, we'll go cure Slab's grandson. After a few more days, I'll send you back to Drum Island."

Mercer nodded.

At that moment, Mercer saw Ace looking stunned and immediately laughed, "What? You can't bear to part with me?

Want to come to Drum Island with me?"

Hearing this, Dadan, who was present, trembled and subtly looked up, but said nothing.

She felt reluctant, but also a sense of wanting to escape.

Ace looked around and said with some silence, "Forget it, I'll stay here. Given our identities, if we're caught together later, it'll be a total wipeout.

Besides, I'm quite comfortable staying here."

Mercer looked at Ace in surprise, "No way, little brother, are you that smart?"

At his words, Ace immediately got angry, "Who do you think you are? Do you think I'm a child? You asking for a beating?"

That's right. Considering their actual ages, plus the time in the womb, they were almost five years old.

The 'filial son' in the next studio could ponder the meaning of life at five.

It wasn't impossible for Ace to be a bit smarter and more sensitive now.

"Alright then. When Grandpa comes back here, I'll visit you often too."

"Who wants you to visit? You were only born a few seconds before me, don't act like you're the big brother."

Mercer smiled, not taking Ace's words seriously at all. You just have to listen to the opposite of what a tsundere, awkward kid says.

Just then, a "kacha kacha" sound rang out. Mercer looked up and saw a short, chubby mountain bandit whose head was wrapped in cloth.

Dogra.

Dadan's second-in-command.

His background in the original timeline was unknown, but he seemed like a good person with a story?

Yeah, he was good to Ace.

Mercer leaned closer, watching him use a thin metal piece to pick a lock. With a few clicks, it sprang open.

"Not bad, you've got skills. It looks fun, can you teach me?"

Lockpicking.

Dogra was startled by Mercer's sudden voice.

He had just heard such a shocking secret and was finally using his lockpicking skills to distract himself, but he was scared to death.

However, seeing the curiosity in Mercer's eyes, Dogra became a little proud.

"No, I won't teach you. This is a family heirloom. Not to be passed down."

Hearing this, Mercer smiled and took out his wallet from his shoulder bag, pulling out ten 10,000-yen bills.

"Belly, 100,000 Belly. If you teach me, this will be the tuition fee."

Instantly, Dogra fell silent. 100,000 Belly was almost a month's income for an ordinary family. If he had that much, he could buy several more books he liked.

Dogra liked to read, but he was always short on cash.

He happily took the money and said, "Deal."

Garp's face darkened as he watched Mercer learn lockpicking from the mountain bandits.

He somewhat regretted bringing Mercer along.

"Mercer, what are you learning that for? It's completely useless. Once you're strong enough, you can just grab the lock and twist it off."

"I'm bored anyway, and it's good to learn a skill. It's not expensive either."

Garp felt exhausted. Deciding to just ignore it, he turned his head away dejectedly.

He listened to Dogra quietly explaining various fancy techniques for lockpicking.

Mercer listened intently.

About things like distinguishing positions by sound, and finger dexterity.

He learned instantly, understanding everything with just a little explanation.

One might think lockpicking is difficult without being in the profession, but once the specific principles were known.

Mercer took Dogra's thin iron picks and the lock, and in just a few moves, he opened the lock.

Distinguishing positions by sound, finger dexterity.

Observation Haki, you see.

Dissection, you see.

It was simple for Mercer.

After playing around for a while, Mercer understood the principles of lockpicking.

And he became proficient through practice.

Dogra stared in disbelief, looking utterly defeated.

"No way, I've spent most of my life learning this skill."

He had a look of utter despair.

Mercer, however, wasn't paying attention to him at the moment.

A light screen panel was projected onto his retina.

Under the Gifted Abilities tab, Mercer gritted his teeth and used 1 Merit Point to refine his life history and experiences. Immediately after, [Lockpicking]

Another brand new Gift eagerly appeared, though it was gray, not yet materialized in reality.

"Heh heh, interesting."

"Should I materialize this Gift and try it out?" Mercer pondered in his mind. "Hmm, I feel like I'm still missing a bit of inspiration. Forget it, I'll let nature take its course. I'll practice hard these next few days and try to materialize it."

As a life skill, it was currently a little useful to Mercer.

More importantly, the locks in this world were generally just like that.

Most of them were very crude and primitive.

Children are in their growing stages and need to sleep early. Mercer and Ace took a bath together in a large tub in a private room on the second floor.

They slept on the same futon.

Staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, Mercer squinted, using his Breathing method to sense himself.

He coordinated it with Observation Haki to perceive his body, constantly delving deeper with his breathing, training his spirit and will.

At this moment, Ace, lying beside him, spoke.

"I can't sleep. We're the same age, why are you so much stronger than me?"

A few seconds later, seeing that Mercer didn't reply, Ace listened to the faint breathing sound beside his ear and felt a bit dejected.

"Are you asleep?"

"Turns out, no."

Mercer spoke faintly, "It's probably your training method. Do you know what training is?"

"Eating, running, punching."

"That's what my stinky grandpa taught me."

Hearing the words from beside his ear, Mercer curled his lips. "How crude!"

Ace suddenly sat up, throwing off the blanket.

"You're calling me crude? Do you want to fight?"

"Why are you so impatient? Look how impatient you are, and you still can't beat me."

Mercer propped himself up on his left elbow on the futon, turning to look at Ace, who had a defiant look on his face, and said with a grin.

"Call me 'Brother,' and I'll teach you how to train."

Ace snorted. "I won't."

"Then I'll have my own training method, and I'll get stronger and stronger. You won't be able to surpass me then, and you'll always be the little brother."

Ace's eye twitched. He clenched his fists and turned his face away. After a few seconds, he mumbled, "Brother."

Mercer chuckled, "I didn't hear you. Speak up, like a girl. Not decisive at all."

Mercer watched Ace tremble, waited a moment, and then his voice grew louder:

"Brother!!"

"Louder."

Ace's face turned bright red. He suddenly turned around, grabbed Mercer's shoulders, pulled him up, and took a deep breath.

"BROTHER!!!!"

A deafening roar echoed.

The entire house seemed to tremble.

Instantly, Mercer felt a commotion starting on the first floor below.

At the same time, an angry roar came from below. Dadan's voice bellowed:

"Ace!! You're not sleeping at night and trying to reach the heavens?! Be quiet for me! If you dare to howl again, I'll kick you out to sleep."

Bang!

"What are you making noise for? Don't you want to sleep at night?"

Garp slammed his palm on the ground and roared, "All of you, be quiet."

Instantly, the house fell silent.

Mercer looked at Ace, saw his triumphant expression, and said faintly, "We'll talk about it tomorrow. Let's sleep now."

With that, he leaned back, pulled the covers over himself, and continued to sleep.

Less than three seconds later, faint snores could be heard.

Only Ace was left staring wide-eyed.

The next day.

The morning air was exceptionally fresh, and dewdrops clung to the lush green grass along the path.

Mercer was out for his morning run along the small path, with a little shadow trailing closely behind him.

He controlled his speed, keeping Ace in a state where he was almost catching up but never quite could.

He listened to Ace's heavy, panting breaths.

After a while.

Mercer slowed his pace.

Ace immediately dashed past him.

A few seconds later, Ace looked back at Mercer, who had stopped and was now walking slowly.

He walked over with a look of indignation.

"Why did you stop running? I was about to surpass you."

"That's your illusion."

Mercer said calmly.

Ace's eyebrows shot up, and he was about to retort.

Mercer spoke slowly, "The so-called training method is, in essence, breathing."

Hearing this, Ace instantly quieted down. He wasn't stupid; he could naturally see that Mercer's body was much stronger than his own.

His unwillingness to admit defeat was simply that – unwillingness to admit defeat.

The principles of breathing, how to breathe, and how to learn.

Mercer articulated each word clearly as he explained it to Ace.

And he guided him hand-in-hand.

Just like the day he taught Hancock, he inserted silver needles into Ace's breathing points one by one.

Guiding him step by step.

After breakfast, Ace coughed a couple of times intermittently.

Only Garp knew what was going on.

As for the others, they just thought Ace might have caught a cold.

Walking down the mountain path.

Garp observed Mercer's breathing rhythm. He hadn't paid much attention to it before and hadn't thought much of it. Now that he was paying attention, the more he looked, the more profound it seemed.

He was breathing with his own unique rhythm, his eyes growing increasingly astonished.

Not long after, they arrived at the warship.

Taking the medicinal herbs Bogard had procured, Mercer and Garp went to Slab's house. As soon as they entered, Garp happily took Luffy from his mother.

He played with the baby cradled in his arm.

Meanwhile, Mercer went inside and used a small medicinal pot to demonstrate to Aying how to decoct this type of medicine.

After going through the entire process once, he also wrote down a specific procedure for her.

The medicinal soup was ready.

Mercer looked at the naked infant before him and precisely inserted a silver needle into an acupuncture point in the baby's navel.

He gently manipulated it with a special technique.

Visibly, the baby's complexion turned rosy, and he began to cry loudly.

Once the baby stopped crying, Mercer used a straw to slowly feed the "medicinal soup," which was at a suitable temperature, into his mouth.

After a simple demonstration, he let the baby's mother, Aying, operate.

The entire process was completed.

Another hour or so passed.

His body wasn't tired, just bothered by the hassle.

Seeing that he was no longer needed, Mercer left the house.

He took one of Slab's fishing rods and went to the beach near the small courtyard to relax.

There was a pile of reefs over there, which he heard was a good spot for fishing.

Mercer was eager to try new things like this.

Since it was a coastal village, as long as you headed towards the sea, you would eventually reach the shore no matter which direction you went.

On a rocky beach, Mercer sat on a reef close to the sea. He threaded fresh bait onto the fishhook and, recalling the casting motion from memory, gripped the rod and swung it forcefully. The hook landed perfectly in the sea.

Watching the float made of reeds bob on the water, Mercer sat peacefully on the rock, gazing at the boundless sea.

He listened to the sound of the waves and felt the sea breeze on his skin.

It was different from the sea he felt on the warship.

Being on the warship always gave him a sense of unease, like a floating duckweed.

But here, sitting on the land, he felt a grounded sense of stability.

Mercer savored this feeling, comfortable, his breathing rising and falling, feeling the rhythm of his breath in the sea breeze, the rhythm of the undulating waves, the rhythm of the shore's reefs.

He was one with nature.

Feeling the wonder of nature.

His breathing slowly rose and fell, like a reef.

Gradually, he felt as if he had become one with his surroundings.

He cleared his mind, imagining himself as a reef, his state of mind serene.

The float on the sea not far ahead bobbed gently with the waves. Blue sky, white clouds, beach, reefs, and the angler.

Everything was so natural.

There were no bites.

Mercer just sat there quietly, lost in thought.

Until.

Seeing the float stranded on the reef, Mercer snapped back to reality, feeling a bit helpless.

"I picked a spot with deep enough water, and it still got stranded because of the receding tide."

"Are you kidding me?"

Mercer muttered helplessly.

"Pfft! Hehehe, little brother, you're so amusing?"

A crisp, sweet laugh rang out beside him. Mercer didn't turn around. The next moment, the person let out a huff.

"Little brother, big sister is talking to you?"

Then a finger pointed at him. Mercer leaned back just in time, and a slender index finger appeared before his eyes.

Mercer turned his head to look.

A girl of about twelve or thirteen stood there.

She was about the same age as Hancock.

Her dark green hair was tied back with a bright yellow polka-dot bandana. She wore an orange plaid sleeveless shirt and a pair of knee-length off-white shorts.

Her bare feet were in a pair of slippers.

At this moment, she was puffing out her cheeks and looking at him.

Her outstretched right hand, fingers spread, reached out to touch Mercer's head.

"Big sis isn't a bad person, okay? Are you here alone? Where are your family?"

The girl asked curiously.

Mercer looked at her outstretched right hand and raised his fishing rod a notch, blocking her right hand.

"By the way, who are you? Also, people who say things like that are usually human traffickers. We shouldn't know each other, right?

This place is so big, is there a reason you came over to me?

And don't just touch people randomly, we're not close."

Mercer said calmly, looking at her.

"Heh, little brother, you really are interesting. I've noticed you here for quite a while, sitting here like a log fishing."

"And your face is unfamiliar. Did you just arrive at our Foosha Village?"

"Oh right, my name is Makino. What's yours, little brother?"

A flicker of understanding flashed in his eyes. Mercer looked at her, and the image of the familiar neighborhood mascot girl from his memory slowly merged with her.

"Mercer. My name is Mercer."

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