At first, Ace still wore a faint smile, remembering his own first taste of food from the Little Master World. Before long, however, he could no longer smile.
Aokiji was fine. Although he ate with complete concentration, he at least maintained basic table manners.
But old man Garp... he tore through the food like a whirlwind!
Not only did he eat fast, but his appetite was astonishing. By the end, Ace had redeemed at least twenty dishes the size of the Universe Big Shumai from the Chat Group. Garp's eyes merely lit up as he muttered, "Oh? Now this looks interesting," before demolishing them at a jaw-dropping speed.
Only after the mountain of snacks on the table had been swept clean and both men's teacups had been drained did Garp finally let out a loud, satisfied belch.
"Now that hit the spot! Been ages since I ate anything this good!"
Garp leaned back in his chair, looking thoroughly content, and turned his eyes toward Ace.
"All right, brat. Stop hiding it."
"If you've got something to say, say it."
"You noticed?"
Ace's expression briefly froze, surprise flashing in his eyes.
"Don't give me that."
"At first, I really thought you'd turned over a new leaf and gone into honest business. But you think I don't know what you're like deep down?"
"I don't know what you've been through since setting sail, but an honest, law-abiding merchant? Would you really settle for that?"
Garp gave a soft snort.
"Your appearance has changed, and so has your bearing. Even the way you talk is different. But you'd never be content being a merchant."
"As long as you didn't fly a pirate flag or go around killing, burning, and pillaging, I wasn't going to give you grief."
"But that reaction just now... hmph."