Dadan Family

The lingering might of thunder still hung in the forest, and amid that eerie silence—

"Step."

Rock leaped down from the boulder.

He landed lightly and walked forward step by step, as if that "erasure" just now had been nothing more than a casual gesture.

Dadan instinctively tightened her grip on her axe.

Her muscles tensed, her gaze wary.

She was just about to speak—

The next second, she saw his face and froze completely.

"R-Rock, Vice Admiral?!"

As soon as the words fell, the bandits behind her were stunned.

"What?!"

"Rock?!"

"Azure Dragon... that Azure Dragon?!"

In an instant, everyone's expressions changed.

Meanwhile.

"Crack... crack..."

Over on the other side, the mood was completely different.

Ace crouched on the ground, a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead.

His fingers desperately worked at the rubber arm that had been twisted into a dead knot.

"Don't move!"

"I'm undoing it already!"

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts—!!!"

Luffy rolled around on the ground.

"You're twisting me to death, not untangling me!!!"

His entire face was contorted.

"Are you getting back at me for that punch earlier?!"

A vein throbbed on Ace's forehead.

"Shut up!"

"Smack!"

The knot was finally forcibly pulled apart.

Luffy's hands immediately returned to normal, and he flopped onto the ground with his limbs spread wide.

"Whew..."

He let out a long breath.

"I survived..."

His tone was full of the satisfaction of having escaped disaster.

He raised his head and looked at the group opposite him, all wearing strange expressions.

Then he looked at Rock, utterly confused.

"How do you all know each other?"

Rock had already walked up to them.

Hearing that, he smiled.

"Well—"

"We've known each other for decades."

He casually lifted a hand. "Your dad was following us around back