Several days later, in the New World, on an island flying the Red Hair Pirates' flag within the territory of Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors.
Inside a small-town restaurant, the atmosphere was strange.
By the window, Enel held a slice of apple pie drenched in honey in his hand, abandoning all decorum as he took huge bites and occasionally smacked his lips.
Across from him, Kuma's enormous frame quietly occupied an entire chair. He cradled a steaming cup of cocoa in both hands, his manner a stark contrast to his size.
At the head of the table, Gern and Ace practically fought each other to cram huge hunks of meat into their mouths, their crisp exteriors glistening with sizzling fat and their insides tender!!
Having been forcibly "brought" along by Gern all this way, Ace was seething with anger.
So, even with his cheeks bulging with food, he kept up a furious stream of muffled complaints.
"Mmph... hey, you bastard... what the hell are you trying to do?!
You won't arrest me, you won't kill me, and you've dragged me all the way here...
You said you'd take me to find 'someone who has fatherly love for me'?! Who'd believe that crap?! What are you really up to?!"
Hearing Ace's complaints, Gern paused in the middle of stuffing meat into his mouth and shot him a disdainful glance.
Then, without a word, he raised his hand and delivered a sharp flick to the back of Ace's head!
Ace's head slammed straight into the table. He immediately clutched it, looked up, and shouted.
"You bastard, what the hell was that for!!"
"Tsk, ah!" Gern withdrew his hand, his voice exaggeratedly aggrieved, as though he had suffered some tremendous injustice.
"All this way, I've fed you, put a roof over