Brother Complexes

Duen's head narrowly crossed paths with Ace's sweeping kick in midair, but he was not merely dodging. In that instant, his left arm, which had been drawn back in preparation, swept upward and suddenly caught Ace's missed right leg, lifting his entire body before viciously slamming him into the ground!

Grass clippings and dirt immediately flew everywhere.

Ace lay sprawled on the ground, looking rather bedraggled, his body splattered with mud as his fingers twitched slightly.

"What a shame. I almost lost..."

Duen withdrew his broadsword, planted it in the ground like a post, and leaned against it as he casually wiped sweat that did not exist from his forehead.

Negative emotion value from Monkey D. Luffy: +400...

"What a punchable face..." Luffy picked his nose, then cupped his hands around his mouth. "Ace, don't lose to him!"

"I know that..."

Ace got to his feet and rubbed his head. His gaze sharpened as he looked at Duen. "You don't think... this is over, do you?"

"You still want to fight?" Duen asked calmly.

"Of course. You made an older brother lose face in front of his little brother, and besides..." Ace paused, a smile curling across his lips. "How could an older brother fail to answer his little brother's cheering?"

This little-brother-loving freak...

Duen smacked his forehead. Then the two Red Nightmares on his arm slithered out and coiled around the broadsword, like patches of red rust beneath the sunlight.

"If that's the case, then I should be the one attacking next..."

The broadsword spun in Duen's hand. The terrifying visions created by the Nightmares instantly surged forth, refracting through the light into Ace's pupils. At the same time, Duen moved in.

Ace froze in place, but recovered just before Duen reached him and barely dodged the descending blade. Cold sweat immediately formed at his temples as he hurriedly retreated. "What was that move just now?"

"Only a few tenths of a second. Maybe even less..."

Duen merely lowered his head and looked at the Red Nightmares on his broadsword, their color slightly dimmer, before swinging the weapon forward again. "As expected, it varies from person to person..."

The broadsword plowed a furrow over a meter long through the ground. Taking advantage of the opening as Duen swung downward, Ace threw a punch at his face. Duen tilted his head aside, then lifted the broadsword. Black sword light stretched longer and longer like a shadow in the night, crashing straight into Ace's chest.

Ace did not dare take it head-on with his body and quickly shifted aside, only for Duen to catch up and kick him squarely in the stomach. He rolled nearly ten meters across the ground before finally stopping.

"Phew, that was close~ I almost lost again..." Duen stopped where he was and spoke easily.

Negative emotion value from Portgas D. Ace: +455...

Ace got to his feet, his face full of black lines as he stared at Duen. What part of that was close...?

Duen smiled. "Want to go again?"

"Once a fight begins... I will never back down." A resolute smile rose on Ace's lips as well.

"But the fight is already over. You lost twice." Duen raised his index and middle fingers in a V sign.

"Huh?" Ace blinked, then denied it. "That level of fighting just now does not count as a 'defeat' to me."

"You're trying to weasel out of it?"

"Don't twist my words!!" Ace assumed a fighting stance. "It's not every day I run into such a strong opponent. I don't want to just let this pass..."

Before he had even finished speaking, he charged forward again with lightning speed. Dodging Duen's straight thrust, he leaped up and stepped onto the blade of the broadsword.

Duen raised his eyes. "Oh?"

"Hehe!"

Using his entire body weight to pin down Duen's weapon and prevent him from lifting it, Ace kept closing in. He bent his knee and drove a fierce knee strike at Duen's face. His movements were swift and precise, nearly at full force, without the slightest intention of holding back.

Even Duen felt a sense of danger from that blow. Just the shrieking wind in front of him, bringing a faint sense of suffocation, was enough to tell him that this was the most troublesome attack so far.

At this stage, Ace was considerably stronger than Roronoa Zoro at this stage. The difference between them was whether they could force Duen to go all out.

As a swordsman, he should not have let go of his sword before the battle ended. Yet Duen decisively released it. That alone was enough to disrupt Ace's balance as he stood on the blade with one foot. The instant Ace's body swayed slightly, Duen leaned backward at a perfect angle, as though a fish gliding through water, stirring a ripple in the air.

"What?! He dodged it!"

Ace, launching the knee strike forward, passed directly over Duen's head. He was startled inwardly, but he could no longer borrow force in midair to change his trajectory. As his gaze fell, he saw an extremely dangerous smile on Duen's face.

"Heh!" Duen cleanly punched upward, not very hard, using only half his strength.

Ace leaped another meter forward and landed unsteadily on the ground. He immediately clutched his groin and rolled around, his face turning somewhat green.

Negative emotion value from Portgas D. Ace: +0, +0, +0, +0, ...

Feeling the words constantly flashing through his mind, Duen looked at him with an innocent expression. Why was this thing coming in waves...?

Ace stood up shakily with his legs bent inward, his voice trembling too. "You... you... bastard... are you... trying to kill... me?"

"Ace, keep it up! Beat him!" Luffy's poorly timed shout came from nearby. "Don't give up!!"

Thinking of how he could not disappoint Luffy's expectations, Ace was filled with anguish. The physical pain and mental torment were driving him mad... Hey, why did it hurt this much?!

Duen picked up the broadsword from the ground and blinked as he asked, like he had no idea what had happened, "Want to spar again?"

"Let's... let's rest... for now." Ace's eye twitched slightly. For the moment, he had been defeated by this pain, as if invisible threads connecting his groin and abdomen were being pulled apart one by one.

"Phew..."

He let out a deep breath, acknowledging Duen's strength in his heart. He took two steps forward and extended his right hand sincerely and politely. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Ace."

Duen smiled faintly and shook Ace's hand. "Mond Duen. Just call me Duen."

"That's my little brother, Luffy!" Ace waved at Luffy. The latter slowly trudged over, openly showing his displeasure. After all, Ace, whom he had never beaten even once since childhood, had been defeated by Duen three times.

"Hello!"

Luffy expressionlessly extended his hand toward Duen. Even Ace could not help being surprised by that gesture. Since when... had his little brother become so polite?

"Oh?" Duen looked at Luffy, who was only thirteen yet much taller than himself, and slowly extended his hand with a smile.

Just as their hands were about to meet, Duen seized Luffy's wrist with lightning speed and pressed Luffy's hand toward his own mouth. Amid Luffy's weak struggles, he sneered mercilessly. "Don't think I didn't see the boogers on your hand. Keep them for yourself!"

Negative emotion value from Luffy: +666...

"This idiot, I knew it..." Ace slapped his forehead helplessly.