"Fire Fist Ace? What are you doing here?
Are you here to challenge me?"
Shanks stopped his eager crew members.
Then he turned to Ace, an unusual glimmer in his eyes.
Ace... now that was a name that brought back memories.
"Uh, no!
You're Shanks, right? Luffy's my little brother.
I came to thank you for looking after him.
Arigato, Shanks-san!"
With that, Ace bowed to Shanks.
The other crew members froze at the sight.
Then they curled their lips in disappointment.
So he hadn't come for a fight.
What a young man with no fighting spirit.
Shanks's solemn expression quietly melted the moment he heard Luffy's name.
"So you're Luffy's big brother."
His kingly aura vanished.
In an instant, he became a friendly young man from next door with a goofy smile.
The tense atmosphere immediately relaxed.
"If you're Luffy's brother, you're our friend too.
Come on, boys! Let's have a party!"
"Yeahhhh!"
"The boss found another excuse to throw a party."
"What, you don't like it?"
Ace smiled faintly at the sight.
The atmosphere really did seem nice.
It was filled with joy and freedom.
It was captivating.
But when Ace thought about how the money they spent on their parties belonged to ordinary civilians, he felt sick inside.
They were only enjoying themselves for a little while.
Yet that money was enough to cover an ordinary family's expenses for several months.
Still, pirates had a "good habit."
When they robbed people, they killed them while they were at it.
That prevented those people from starving to death after losing their money.
It was remarkably "kind" of them.
Benn Beckman keenly noticed that something was off about Ace's mood.
He gave Ace another look.
But he said nothing more.
As far as he was concerned, Ace was far