Meeting Again

"What kind of food is this?" Nami stared curiously at the plate Duen had brought over.

Uplasp, already over seventy and well-traveled, leaned in as well. Looking at the wrinkled, thin-skinned dough on the plate, he stroked his chin. "This old man has never seen or even heard of such food."

"These are called dumplings."

Duen set down the plate, looking rather smugly at these two uncultured natives. He then returned to the kitchen, removed his apron, neatly wrapped up the remaining dumplings, and put them into his storage bag.

"Dumplings? What strange food. They don't look appetizing at all..."

Uplasp picked up a pair of chopsticks, grabbed a steaming dumpling, blew on it twice, and then put it into his mouth. The stiff expression on his face instantly melted away like water, and his pupils widened slightly. "Thin skin, tender meat, delicious flavor... I've lived this long, yet I've never eaten this kind of flour-based food!"

Nami ate a dumpling too, breathing out two puffs of hot air as she gave Duen a thumbs-up. "Where did you learn to make so many strange foods? And they all taste this good!"

Duen sighed. "So... your lives have really been a failure."

Negative emotion value from Uplasp +99...

Negative emotion value from Nami +1...

"You smug little brat!"

"You conceited jerk!"

Duen picked up his chopsticks, took a dumpling, and chewed it without concern. "Nami, once we're done eating, we should go."

Around twenty dumplings vanished in the blink of an eye. Though Uplasp was the oldest, he showed no hesitation when it came to snatching food. He even kept saying childish things like, "You should respect your elders," and, "You should let me eat my fill first."

Even after the plate had been emptied, he still wore an unsatisfied expression. In the end, he could only watch pitifully as Duen and Nami left.

Duen first went to Partys Bar to ask Makino about Luffy and Ace's usual routines. Then he headed toward Mount Colubo. Those two had very fixed times for visiting Foosha Village, and they spent most of their time on the mountain or at Dadan's house. So now, Duen felt it was necessary to take the initiative.

The mountain path was flanked by lush vegetation. Frogs croaked and insects chirped, accompanied by occasional mournful cries from deep within the forest that sounded like tigers, wolves, or leopards...

Mournful cries?

Duen stopped, turning his head toward the sound before walking into the dense forest.

After walking about half a kilometer, he found that the surrounding trees and ground had indeed been damaged to varying degrees. There was a pool of blood on the ground, along with drag marks. It seemed a battle had just taken place here, and a rather fierce one at that.

"Nearby?" Duen followed the drag marks forward.

He pushed aside layer after layer of broad, dense leaves. Blinding sunlight streamed through the gaps, and Duen raised a hand to shield his eyes. Once he adjusted to the light, he lowered his arm.

An open grassy field came into view. Luffy and Ace lay on the grass with blades of grass between their teeth, their hands behind their heads, one leg crossed over the raised knee of the other as they gazed at the distant blue ocean.

Duen took a few steps forward before realizing that this was a cliff overlooking the sea.

Ace and Luffy heard the noise. At the same time, they tilted their heads back, and an upside-down figure immediately appeared in their eyes.

Luffy asked curiously, "Why is that guy walking on his head?"

"No, we're the ones upside down!" Ace said. He and Luffy sat up in perfect sync, turned their heads in perfect sync, and looked in perfect sync toward Duen standing at the edge of the woods.

"..." Sensing the strange looks in their eyes, Duen spoke first. "Don't look at me like that. I really am just here sightseeing..."

"Really... You still seem suspicious..." Ace rubbed his chin. "It feels like you're plotting something."

Duen spread his hands. "There's no plot, but..." His gaze swept over Ace and Luffy. "How about it? Want to spar with me?"

"A spar..." Only then did Ace notice the highly conspicuous broad blade on Duen's back. "Sounds pretty interesting." He stood up from the grass and tossed the hat on his head to Luffy.

Duen drew the broad blade from his back and gestured for Nami to step farther away.

"Oh! So you're a swordsman!" Luffy blinked when he saw Duen holding the broad blade, then suddenly understood.

"There should be a limit to how slow you are, Luffy..." Ace lightly covered his forehead before looking at Duen. "Sorry you had to see that, Mr. Swordsman."

"It's fine, because..." Duen's smile could not be suppressed. "It's really funny!"

Negative emotion value from Portgas D. Ace +789...

Seeing Duen give such an unexpected response, Ace's expression darkened slightly. "Isn't that a little rude? In front of his older brother... never casually insult someone's little brother!"

"What does it matter?" Duen said indifferently. "You were the one who brought up the topic."

"It matters a lot..."

Ace kicked up a water pipe from the ground and caught it in his hand. In an instant, he charged straight at Duen. "Because an older brother... is exactly this kind of existence!"

The water pipe spun in his hand, carrying a howl of wind as it smashed mercilessly toward Duen's head.

Duen raised his broad blade and blocked Ace's pipe, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "You've got some strength."

Only after charging up to Duen did Ace realize that the broad blade in his opponent's hands was even larger and heavier than he had imagined. Before he could respond, a massive force sent him stumbling backward.

He steadied himself. "I really can't accept your compliment. When it comes to strength, I'm still slightly inferior..."

"Of course you are. Compared to me, you're still far behind."

Negative emotion value from Ace +4...

"You..." Ace's mouth twitched slightly. It was not that he truly admitted his strength was inferior to Duen's. He had merely exchanged a few polite words out of courtesy, yet this guy had accepted them without the slightest shame...

He thrust the water pipe forward again. But the broad blade before him was nothing like its cumbersome appearance suggested. The speed of its descending edge forced him to pull back the pipe. As he twisted aside to evade it, he leaped into the air and aimed a kick at Duen's head.

Even Duen had to admire Ace's talent in battle. He had caught the briefest opening perfectly. Even if Duen tried to pull back the broad blade now, he would not have time to raise it in front of Ace's sweeping kick and block the strike.

But...

Duen did not pull back the broad blade. Instead, he increased the force behind his forward swing while relaxing his body, allowing his entire upper body to tilt forward with the momentum generated by the blade. His lowered head passed just beneath Ace's sweeping kick.