First Meeting!

Chapter 40: First Meeting!

"Tch, broke bums. Together, the three of you only have a little over a thousand Belly." Ace said speechlessly.

"And they're all chipped. Who knows if they'll even spend them."

"They'll spend them. I know a bank that'll take this kind of money, though they'll take a cut." Sabo said.

"That's so greedy."

"Yeah, they're like vampires."

Sabo shrugged, grumbling unhappily, "Those people are just rotten dog shit."

The two took their spoils and left, heading in the direction of the forest outside.

"Speaking of which, Sabo, how do you know so much? Did you used to live in the city?"

"Ace, haven't we already agreed? We don't ask about each other's past."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"It's fine, I forgive you."

"Hehehe." "Heeheehee!"

Mercer watched them walk away, emerging from behind the garbage mountain. Karasu also flew down.

"Go follow those two. Follow them from the sky. I'll find you later."

"Caw~ Mei, safe. Be careful."

Karasu flew into the sky with the honey package.

Mercer appeared before the three unconscious men, looking at them expressionlessly.

A moment later.

Mercer left. They weren't dead. Since those two boys hadn't acted, Mercer wouldn't overstep.

However, they wouldn't have the means to commit evil deeds again.

It might be hypocritical, but Mercer was just that kind of person. This was to prevent them from harboring resentment and acting secretly later.

Mercer never overestimated human nature.

There were saints in this world, but most people were just ordinary, ordinary people.

Mercer walked towards the coast, appearing near the shore of the "Uncertain Terminus," gazing at the boundless azure sea before him.

The water was calm.

This area was now empty, with a simple dock but no ships docked there.

"No pirates?"

"Then forget it."

Since there was no target he wanted, Mercer no longer wanted to breathe the foul air here.

It was truly unbearable.

The smell of burnt household goods mixed with some indescribable, strange odors, practically killing him.

Before long, Mercer arrived at the edge of the forest again.

He took a step.

He re-entered the forest.

Taking a few deep breaths, Qi flowed through his entire body, exchanging with the fresh air, refreshing his spirit.

Comfortable!

Using Observation Haki, he sensed Karasu's direction and also perceived the location of the two boys.

Mercer wasted no more time, picking up his pace and traversing the forest.

Tall trees, at least five to six meters in diameter, passed by.

Rustle rustle!

Pushing aside the bushes blocking his path, Mercer emerged and looked up, precisely spotting Karasu flying in the sky. Ten meters away, on the thick branch of a giant tree estimated to be a hundred meters tall, he saw two tiny figures.

They were at least twenty meters off the ground.

The two were squatting there, wiggling their butts, doing who knows what. Mercer couldn't be bothered to use Observation Haki to see through it.

He cheerfully walked to the base of the tree. In a state of unity between man and nature, he lightly disguised his presence and climbed upwards, his fingers gripping the rough texture of the tree trunk.

A dozen seconds later.

Mercer sat on a higher branch, looking down at the storage space created by hollowing out the tree trunk.

Jewels, coins, and gold and silver items were sparsely stored inside.

"Ace, we're one step closer to our goal."

"Our goal? Do you still want to go out to sea? To do what? Be pirates? Marines? Or something else?"

Sabo looked at Ace with some confusion. "In this era, pirates are the freest. So, unless something unexpected happens, I'm going to become a pirate. What about you?"

"I don't know, I haven't decided yet. That guy Mercer hasn't said anything either. I'll ask him later and see what he wants to do.

But pirates?

I don't really feel like being one. It feels kind of lame; as soon as you raise the pirate flag, I feel like it'll just cause trouble."

Speaking of which, Ace thought of Garp, and also of his fists. He felt that if he told Garp he wanted to be a pirate, he'd probably get beaten up badly.

Thinking this, a flicker of fear flashed in his eyes. That strong, smelly old man.

"Mercer? I've heard you mention that name so many times. Can you tell me about him? Of course, I don't mean to pry, I'm just curious. Whether you tell me or not is up to you, I'm not forcing you."

"Pfft!"

Suddenly, a laugh rang out from above their heads. Both of them were startled and almost jumped.

They looked up and froze. Sabo stared in shock, having not sensed anything at all.

Ace, on the other hand, was first stunned, then excited, and then his face quickly turned dark, then flushed with various colors.

Sabo looked at Mercer with a mixture of tension and vigilance, but Ace stood up directly, baring his teeth and pointing at Mercer, roaring:

"Are you sick? Are you trying to scare me to death? Mercer, do you want a beating? Get down here, let's see if I won't beat you until you kneel and call me big brother?"

Sabo stared blankly at the incoherent Ace, only two words echoing in his ears. He looked up at the person who had appeared on the branch and murmured:

"Mercer?"

Mercer chuckled merrily. First, he waved at Ace. "Yo, my foolish little brother, long time no see!"

After speaking, ignoring Ace's dark face, he turned to Sabo. "Yo, I'm Mercer. You're Sabo, right? Ace's good friend."

He jumped down from the branch and landed steadily in front of them, smiling at them.

Sabo looked at Mercer with some curiosity. "How did you know my name is Sabo? We shouldn't have met before."

Mercer suddenly jumped back, dodging a fist filled with anger. Then, he pressed down with his left hand, pinning Ace's kicking leg.

Mercer looked at him helplessly and sighed. "Is this how you greet me after so long?

I don't remember teaching you to do this."

Hearing this, Ace became furious. Looking at his leg held by Mercer, he said with a dark face, "Let go?"

Mercer smiled, grabbed his leg, and swung him hard. Ace flew through the air, his body flung halfway out.

He let out a startled cry.

Mercer took a step to the side, his left arm hanging outside the tree trunk. Ace, head down and feet up, dangled in the air.

Ace kicked his legs frantically, shouting in exasperation, "Pull me up, quickly!"

Listening to the commotion around him, Mercer sat down on a branch and swung his left arm, refusing to give Ace a chance to get up.

He was just playing around.

At this moment, looking at Sabo in front of him, Mercer smiled and nodded, sizing him up. Sabo looked bewildered.

"Didn't Ace just call your name?"

"I'm not deaf, I heard him. But you two have quite the guts, daring to snatch food from those desperate outlaws in the garbage mountain."

As soon as he spoke, Mercer felt the struggling force on his left hand lessen. He turned his head and met Ace's guilty eyes.

"Was that you? You saved me just now. Mercer?"

Ace asked, pursing his lips.

Sabo also looked at Mercer with surprise.

"Yeah, it was me," Mercer said cheerfully. Then, Mercer added, "Ace, why didn't you swing your axe then? Or dodge?"

Looking down at Ace's silent demeanor, Mercer smiled. "I won't preach any grand principles, but remember this: you're my only little brother. If you die, I'll be very troubled."

With that, Mercer pulled with his left hand, bringing Ace up.

Ace sat up and looked at Mercer, silent for a moment, then said, "Sorry, I won't do it again."

Mercer waved his hand and looked at Sabo instead. "You shouldn't be apologizing to me, it's Sabo you should apologize to. He's your partner."

Hearing this, Sabo waved his hands repeatedly, looking a bit embarrassed. "It's okay, Ace already apologized to me. Oh, right, here's this back to you."

Saying that, Sabo pulled the Surgical Knife stuck in the tree trunk and handed it to Mercer.

A thoughtful look flashed in Mercer's eyes. He took it, and with his right hand, took out a sheath from his waist bag, fitting the blade of the Surgical Knife perfectly into the sheath.

He then handed it to Sabo. Mercer smiled, "Nice to meet you. I don't have much of a gift for you, but this little knife is my masterpiece. Please accept it if you don't mind."

Sabo's eyes lit up, but he hesitated. He couldn't help but say, "This thing must be very valuable, the craftsmanship is better than any weapon I've ever seen."

Mercer smiled and shook his head. "You're a friend Ace approves of, so if you don't mind, I'll be your friend too. It's a meeting gift between friends, don't be so formal, just accept it."

At this moment, seeing Sabo still hesitating, Ace pouted. "Just accept it if Mercer gives it to you. If he gives it to you, it means he considers you a friend."

Hearing Ace's words, Sabo immediately grinned and accepted it, beaming with joy.

"Thanks, Mercer, I really like it."

He happily pulled the Surgical Knife out of its sheath, then inserted it again, playing with it in his hand. One moment it was in his pocket, the next hidden in his sleeve.

He couldn't stop smiling.

Ace watched with a hint of jealousy and envy. He glanced at Mercer's waist pouch, blinked, and pretended not to care as he said, "I saw you still had some. Where did you buy it? I have money now. Can you pick one up for me too?"

Mercer smiled.

"Call me 'brother'."

Ace's eyes widened. After a moment's thought, he figured he wouldn't lose anything, so he immediately smiled and said, "Brother, I want a knife."

Rolling his eyes, Mercer felt like he was being taken advantage of, but then again, it didn't matter. He could forge them himself anyway, and at worst, he'd just forge a few more later.

He reached into his bag with his right hand and casually took one of the remaining four Surgical Knives to give to Ace.

Ace took it and pulled the Surgical Knife's blade out of its sheath, looking at it with delight. He loved the way the handle and blade were one piece, and the fine grain that ran through the entire thing made him cherish it even more.

Looking at Ace, Mercer said, "Grandpa's here too. He said he's going to teach us to train this time. Be prepared."

Ace's face darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye, and he swallowed hard.

"Is that true?"

Mercer shrugged.

At this moment, Sabo asked, "Grandpa? Your grandfather?"

Mercer looked at him and suddenly smiled, "Right, Sabo, do you want to come train with us?"

Sabo hesitated. Although he was very curious and wanted to go, he said, "I'd better not. I don't know your grandfather, after all. I don't want to bother you."

"Okay, then come with us. Good friends share hardships," Mercer said with a smile.

Ace also grinned mischievously and egged him on, "That's right, Sabo, let's go together. Aren't we good friends?"

Hearing this, Sabo became even more curious. He was also very curious about the mysterious grandfather that Ace often mentioned, one of the three people.

He already knew Mercer and had become friends with him.

All that was left were the mysterious grandfather and the adoptive mother.

A sense of excited curiosity surged within him.

"Caw!"

Karasu descended from the sky and landed on a branch next to Mercer. He curiously glanced at the shiny treasure hidden in the tree trunk, then croaked in a hoarse voice, "Mei, Grandpa, come."

Ace and Mercer stared at Karasu, their eyes widening, and exclaimed in unison, "The crow can talk!!"

Mercer tilted his head and sent out his Observation Haki, detecting Garp's presence in the distance.

He felt a mix of confusion and understanding. He looked at Ace and Sabo, then at the treasure in the hollowed-out tree trunk.

"Let's go. Grandpa's here to find you. We should go meet him."

Ace and Sabo no longer cared about the talking crow and quickly tidied up.

They sealed the hollow in the tree trunk with the piece of bark they had removed, fitting it perfectly.

Ace said, "Quick, let's get down and away from here. Our secret treasure can't be discovered."

Sabo nodded quickly beside him.

They both looked at Mercer and said in unison, "Let's go, we're going down."

Both of them subconsciously ignored the fact that this was also Mercer's first time knowing about their treasure.

Mercer smiled, not minding, and quickly climbed down the large tree with them.

Under Mercer's guidance, they ran in Garp's direction.

A few minutes later, the crow flew overhead, and three little boys ran on the ground.

Suddenly, the three of them stopped because a very burly middle-aged man wearing floral beach shorts and slippers appeared before them.

Leaving the two brothers aside, Sabo stared at Garp with wide eyes, unable to stop himself from exclaiming, "So strong. Is this your grandfather?"

Garp had arrived at the Dadan family's home that morning, intending to immediately beat his grandsons, no, teach his grandsons to train.

However, when he heard that Ace had run off early in the morning and disappeared, he was very unhappy. But when he heard that Mercer had also only arrived that morning and then disappeared, he started to get a little emotional.

Now, seeing another little brat appear before him, and with Garp immediately recognizing that this brat's physical fitness was only slightly inferior to Ace's, a glint of amusement flashed in his eyes.

"Brat, what's your name?"

His voice wasn't loud and was quite gentle, but Sabo still felt a sense of nervousness. He immediately stood straight and bowed, "Hello, my name is Sabo. I'm a little over five and a half years old, and I'm Ace and Mercer's friend. Are you their grandfather?"

The amusement in Garp's eyes intensified. This brat had good danger perception. He coughed and said, "Good, I am their grandfather. It seems you're prepared too, aren't you?"

Sabo looked bewildered. "Huh?"

Mercer glanced at Garp with a strange expression. The aura that had faintly emanated from him just now was very powerful.

"Grandpa, where are we going to train?"

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