"Are you telling me what to do, you bastard?!" Hearing the lecture in Gern's words, Ace's expression hardened, and he lifted his head to snap back.
"Who the hell do you think..."
Unfortunately, before he could finish, Gern's figure dissolved into countless pure-white particles undergoing High-Frequency Vibration, vanishing into thin air!
The next instant, an invisible pressure came from behind them.
The three brothers whipped around to find Gern's towering figure, over three meters tall-the average height of a Marine Admiral made him look like a small giant before the three children-
already standing behind them, an inscrutable smile on his face.
Gern, however, made no aggressive move.
He simply reached out with both large hands before Ace and Luffy could fully react.
His left hand precisely pinched Ace's freckled cheeks, stretching them outward like dough as he lifted him up.
His right hand likewise grabbed Luffy's face, attempting to lift him.
But he had clearly underestimated the Rubber Man's peculiarities. Luffy's face stretched out instantly, leaving him looking like an extremely elastic human toy.
Seeing this, Gern had no choice but to lift Luffy by his waist instead, which had stretched thin like a "rubber cord."
"Tch, rubber kids are such a hassle," Gern muttered. Then he looked at Sabo, who was still frozen in place, and said as though it were perfectly natural,
"Tired from fighting, right? You poor things are drenched in sweat.
Come on, I'll treat you to something good in the village! Let's go to Makino's bar!
The last time I came here with Vice Admiral Garp must have been years ago. Hahaha."
As he spoke, Gern turned and strode toward Foosha Village, tugging Ace along by his cheeks with one hand and carrying Luffy, who dangled like an elastic noodle, with the other.
With