As he looked at the grinning man before him, who claimed to be "Garp's friend" but seemed anything but trustworthy,
Ace, the most mature of the three brothers, darkened his expression and tightened his grip on his pipe. He wasn't buying it at all.
"Hmph! You think we'll believe you just because you say so?"
"Ace, isn't he Gramps's friend?" Luffy asked, innocently tilting his head.
As far as he was concerned, if the man said so, then it was probably true, right?
Incidentally, Luffy was the only character in all of One Piece without any internal monologue. In other words, the kid really had no hidden thoughts-he said whatever was on his mind.
Seeing Luffy act like this, Sabo hurriedly grabbed him and explained in a low voice, "Luffy! You can't just believe everything people say! What if he's a bad guy?"
"Hey, you can't go throwing accusations around." Hearing that, Gern immediately put on an aggrieved expression, spreading his hands.
"I'm an honest man. I never lie."
The moment Luffy heard that, he acted as though he had found someone to back him up and shouted at Ace and Sabo, "Did you hear that? He said he doesn't lie!"
"This idiot!" Watching Luffy trust someone so easily, Ace couldn't help pressing a hand to his forehead and muttering a complaint.
But he also knew there was no reasoning with Luffy. Rather than waste his breath, he might as well test the man with action!
His thoughts raced, and Ace stopped hesitating. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he let out a low shout.
He swung his pipe with a whistle of rushing air, bringing it down hard toward the shoulder of Gern, who was reclining on the grass!
Yet faced with this sudden attack, Gern didn't