Luffy squatted on the ground, propping his chin up with both hands as he stared at Dragon with curious eyes.
The man before him was tall and broad-shouldered. His cloak had been beaten to tatters by Grandpa, and he had a lump on his head about as big as theirs.
For some reason, Luffy felt that this man had a strangely familiar presence.
"Hey, mister."
"Who are you?"
Dragon looked down at him, and in that instant, his gaze trembled ever so slightly.
It was brief—so brief that almost no one noticed.
But Rock saw it, and Garp saw it too.
Luffy's face was still smeared with mud, but his eyes shone with innocent clarity.
He looked exactly like Dragon had when he was young—knowing nothing, yet daring to shout at the entire world.
Dragon fell silent for a moment.
In the end, he merely said quietly, "A passerby."
Luffy blinked.
"Do passersby get beaten up by Grandpa too?"
Dragon: "..."
Garp burst into hearty laughter, sounding utterly justified.
"They do!"
"If I want to beat someone up, even passersby have to take it!"
Ace's mouth twitched. "What kind of logic is that...?"
Luffy thought about it seriously, then actually nodded.
"I see."
From the moment Dragon revealed his face, Sabo had been staring at him.
He remembered that face.
It belonged to the man who had stood amid the mud and wind that day, the witness to the words Sabo had spoken at his most desperate moment.
Dragon withdrew his gaze from Luffy and turned to Sabo, his expression becoming serious.
"Young man, are you willing to come with me?"
As those words fell, the forest suddenly quieted. The wind rustled softly through the leaves.
Ace frowned, and Luffy froze as well.
"Go with you?"
"Where to?"
"To see