Young Ace: If You Disagree, Fight Me!

"Grandpa!"

Luffy clutched his head as he climbed out of the mud, snot still hanging by his mouth. He pointed at the towering old man before him and shouted, "Why are you here again? Last time you threw me into a crocodile nest, I almost got eaten!"

"That was training, you good-for-nothing brat!" Garp picked his nose, his voice booming like a bell. "I'm going to turn you into the strongest Marine!"

"No! I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

"What? You still dare to say that?"

Thump!

Garp slapped the back of Luffy's head without mercy, sending the little Rubber Man stumbling.

"That hurt!" Luffy squatted down, clutching his head, and let out a couple of tearful howls.

But his gaze was soon drawn to the figure behind Garp.

Luffy sprang to his feet, picked his nose, and leaned over with his head tilted. He practically pressed his face against the boy's chest.

"Hey, what's that on your head?" Luffy stood on tiptoe and poked curiously at the furry Beast Ears on Lorne's head. "Are they real? Can they move? So cool!"

Lorne lowered his eyelids slightly. When his Beast Ears were poked, they flicked back reflexively.

"Keep your hands to yourself," Lorne said calmly.

"They move! They really move!" Luffy's eyes instantly lit up like two stars as he circled Lorne in excitement. "Are you an animal? A dog? A cat? Or a raccoon dog?"

Lorne looked down at the snot-covered kid in the straw hat and ignored him.

This was the future Pirate King? He really looked stupid.

Luffy jumped up excitedly and shouted toward the other end of the clearing, "Ace! Look! This guy has animal ears on his head! They're super cool!"

Ace didn't respond.

He stood in the shade, his black eyes fixed on Lorne. He gripped a sharpened pipe, like a wolf cub ready to spring up and attack at any moment.

Garp strode into the center of the clearing, grabbed Lorne by the back of his collar, and dragged him between Luffy and Ace.

"Come on, everyone, get over here!" Garp cleared his throat and slapped his huge, fanlike hand onto Lorne's shoulder, shaking leaves from the surrounding trees. "Let me introduce you! This kid's name is Lorne. Starting today, he's your big brother!"

"Big brother?" Luffy tilted his head, looking thoroughly puzzled.

"That's right! Your big brother!" Garp slapped Lorne's back hard and grinned broadly. "He's older than you, and his fists are harder, too! From now on, you'll follow his lead and train properly to become Marines!"

"Okay!" Luffy raised both hands and cheered without a trace of wariness. "I've got a big brother! Big brother, can you transform?"

"Who agreed to that?"

An icy voice cut off Luffy's cheers.

Dragging his pipe, Ace walked over one step at a time.

"Old man." Ace kept his voice low, his teeth grinding audibly. "Where did you pick up this stray dog?"

"Who are you calling a stray dog?" Lorne's Beast Ears pricked up slightly as his gaze swept toward Ace.

"You." Ace stopped two meters in front of Lorne, his chin raised slightly and defiance in his eyes. "Some guy nobody knows anything about-what makes you think you get to be our big brother?"

Garp laughed beside them. "Ace, you little brat, I brought Lorne here myself-"

"So what if you did?" Ace interrupted Garp, his voice suddenly rising in anger. "Every time you come here, you pull some nonsense like this! First you dumped that snot-nosed Luffy on us, and now you've brought some freak with animal ears!"

"Hey, hey, Ace, that's going too far!" Luffy waved his arms in protest beside them. "Lorne's ears are really cool!"

"Shut up, Luffy!" Ace glared at him.

Luffy shrank back, but still muttered, "They are cool..."

Ace ignored Luffy completely and turned his gaze back to Lorne.

He drove his pipe into the mud and pulled his fists out of his pockets. His knuckles tightened, veins rising one by one on the backs of his hands.

"I don't care who you are, or what that rotten old man says." Ace spoke each word distinctly, with a beastlike ferocity. "Want to be our big brother? Beat me with your fists first."

Lorne looked down, sizing up the freckled boy before him, who was just under half a head shorter than he was.

"Interesting." Lorne chuckled.

Ace's pupils narrowed slightly. He felt deeply insulted.

"What are you laughing at?"

"You," Lorne answered bluntly, his tone completely flat.

"You're asking to die!"

"All right, all right." Garp yawned beside them, planted his large backside on a moss-covered rock, and crossed his legs. "If you're going to fight, get on with it. I could use a break."

"Grandpa! Aren't you going to stop them?" Luffy jumped up and down anxiously.

"Stop what? Men settle things with their fists." Garp took a bag of Senbei from his pocket and bit into one with a crunch. "Besides, I think this fight will be worth watching."

Luffy opened his mouth, then obediently closed it again, watching the two nervously.

Ace moved first!

He shot forward like a bullet, crossing the two-meter gap in an instant. His right fist hurtled straight at Lorne's face with every bit of strength his young body could muster!

It was incredibly fast.

For a ten-year-old child, the punch was already unimaginably fast. In the forests of Mount Colubo, that punch could shatter rocks and knock out a full-grown wild boar.

But to Lorne's motion-tracking vision, its path was as clear as slow motion.

Just before the rush of air from the punch reached his face, Lorne tilted his head slightly.

Ace's fist swept past his ear, stirring a few stray hairs.

"!" Ace's pupils contracted sharply.

He missed?

Ever since he had started fighting on Mount Colubo, no one had ever dodged his first full-strength punch. Not Luffy, not the beasts in the forest-even Sabo had to meet it head-on.

"That's it?" Lorne's mocking voice sounded beside his ear.

Ace gritted his teeth and immediately drove his left fist forward!

Lorne turned sideways again, and Ace's fist passed beneath his arm.

A third punch! An uppercut!

Lorne leaned back, the rush of air barely brushing his chin.

A fourth punch! A fifth! A sixth!

Ace went completely wild. There was no technique to his attacks, only the instinctive fighting of a beast. He struck wherever he found an opening, using fists, elbows, knees, headbutts-every part of his body he could.

But not a single punch landed on Lorne.

Lorne stood in place, swaying from side to side with tiny movements. Every punch Ace threw fell an inch or two short, never even reaching his clothes.

"Stay still! Stop dodging!" Ace roared.

"I'm not dodging," Lorne said evenly. "I haven't moved a single step."

Ace's face flushed red.

He knew Lorne was telling the truth. The bastard had stood in the same spot the entire time, avoiding every attack with the smallest possible movements. This was sheer, overwhelming superiority!

"Damn it!"

With a furious roar, Ace drove his right foot into the ground and launched himself into the air. He raised both fists above his head and brought them smashing down toward the crown of Lorne's head with his entire body weight!

This time, Lorne didn't dodge.

He slowly raised his right hand.

Clang!

Ace's fists slammed into Lorne's palm, actually producing the dull clang of colliding metal.

A shock wave spread outward, the gust sweeping dead leaves off the ground beneath them.

Ace hung in midair, both fists held firmly by Lorne's single hand, unable to move.

He looked down and met Lorne's deep gaze.

"Your fists are pretty hard," Lorne assessed.

Then his five fingers abruptly closed, locking tightly around both of Ace's fists.

"But they're still nowhere near enough."

Lorne swung his arm!

He flung Ace away like a tattered sack. Ace flipped twice through the air before landing heavily five meters away with a thump, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

"Ace!" Luffy cried out.

Sitting on the rock with a Senbei half-eaten, Garp grinned from ear to ear.

"Heh heh heh. Nice work, kid. Good strength."

Ace struggled up from the ground. The corner of his mouth had split, and blood dripped down his chin.

He roughly wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, his gaze fiercer than before, like an enraged lone wolf.

"Again!"

"Anytime." Lorne beckoned.

Ace charged again.

This time, he was smarter. Instead of charging straight in, he used his size advantage to circle around Lorne's side and attack from his blind spot.

A feint with his right fist, then a sweeping left kick!

Lorne's Beast Ears precisely caught the sound of the kick cutting through the air. Without even looking, he raised his forearm to block.

Thump!

Ace's foot struck Lorne's forearm, the impact numbing his own ankle.

This guy's bones are as hard as iron! Ace cursed inwardly.

Following the motion, Lorne caught his ankle with a reverse grip and yanked him forward.

Ace instantly lost his balance and was dragged forward, pitching toward the ground.

Lorne pressed his other hand against the back of Ace's head and shoved his face into the dirt without mercy.

"Mmph-!" Ace struggled desperately in the mud, his limbs flailing wildly, but he couldn't break free of that iron-clamp grip.

Lorne released him and took two steps back.

Ace lifted his head from the mud, his face covered in dirt and dead leaves caught in his hair. He was a complete mess.

But there was still not the slightest retreat in his eyes.

"Again!"

"Fine."

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

Every time Ace fell, he immediately climbed back up, only to be knocked down again.

Luffy sat on the ground hugging his knees, watching the one-sided beating without blinking.

"Grandpa..." Luffy swallowed quietly. "Lorne's so strong."

"Of course he is." Garp pulled out another Senbei. "I trained him myself. How could he be weak?"

"Then will Ace lose?"

"Obviously." Garp shattered his grandson's hopes without hesitation. "At Ace's current level, he couldn't win even if they fought a hundred times."

"Huh? Poor Ace..."

"What's there to pity? You have to take a beating to get stronger! That's your grandpa's word!" Garp bit into his Senbei, scattering crumbs all over himself.

In the clearing, Ace climbed off the ground again.

He was already severely exhausted, his legs trembling as he gasped for breath.

Meanwhile, Lorne stood opposite him in the same spot, his breathing completely steady, with barely a speck of dust on him.

The gap was absurdly wide.

But Ace still clenched his fists, stared fixedly at Lorne, and took up his fighting stance again.

"You still want to fight?" Lorne raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up." Ace forced the words through his teeth with unyielding stubbornness. "I'll never... accept you as my big brother."

Lorne looked at him.

This brat, covered in injuries, his face smeared with mud and blood, who kept charging even though he knew he couldn't win, was completely different from the beasts in the forest that fled once they were beaten down. With eyes like those, no wonder he would one day bear Whitebeard's name.

Lorne slowly cracked his knuckles, producing crisp pops.

"Fine." His voice deepened, his Beast Ears tilting slightly forward as he entered a combat-ready state. "Since you've got so much backbone-"