"Oh?"
Lorne's Beast Ears twitched as he looked at the fat woman who had suddenly jumped out and pointed at his nose.
Before he could speak, Luffy objected.
"Dadan! What are you doing!" Luffy puffed out his cheeks and spread his arms, shielding Lorne. "Don't be rude to my big brother!"
"B-big brother?"
Dadan's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
She pointed at Lorne, then at Luffy, her tongue stumbling over the words. "Luffy, you're calling this bastard who hurt Ace your big brother?"
"He's not a bastard! Big brother's really strong!" Luffy's face was full of admiration. "Ace only got hurt because he was sparring with him!"
"Sparring?" Dadan swept her gaze around.
Snapped trees, furrows in the ground, and a huge bear-shaped crater... They called this sparring? This was a demolition site!
"I don't care!" Dadan's logic was simple. "Ace got hurt, and he did it! Apologize, brat!"
"Apologize?" Lorne looked at her as though he had heard a joke.
"That's right! Right now! This instant!" Dadan brandished her spiked club. "Or you'll walk in here and get carried out!"
Garp watched with great interest from the sidelines, pulling out another bag of Senbei and crunching away, with no intention of interfering.
He wanted to see how Lorne would handle it.
Ace sat on the ground, looking at Luffy standing in front of Lorne, then at the furious Dadan, his gaze complicated. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.
"Hey, fat woman." Lorne finally spoke.
"Who are you calling a fat woman!" Dadan exploded on the spot.
"Is there anyone else here besides you?" Lorne's tone was calm, yet carried a sense of pressure. "You want me to apologize?"
"Obviously!"
"Sure." Lorne nodded.
Dadan froze, not expecting him to give in so quickly.
"At least you know what's good for you." Dadan snorted smugly. She was just about to speak when Lorne continued.
"As long as you can take one punch from me." Lorne extended his right hand, clenching his fingers with a series of cracks. "Take it standing up. If you can, I'll even kneel and bow my head to you."
"!!"
The smug look froze on Dadan's face.
She looked at Lorne's fist, then at the wreckage around them, and cold sweat instantly broke out on her forehead.
She was just a bandit on a little mountain in the East Blue. Bullying ordinary people was one thing. The person before her was clearly a monster.
"Wh-what, scared now?" one of her underlings muttered behind her.
"Who says I'm scared!" Dadan craned her neck and roared back, but her voice plainly lacked conviction.
She looked to Garp for help.
But Garp had tilted his head back and was trying to catch a tossed Senbei in his mouth, thoroughly enjoying himself.
He was no help at all!
Dadan's cold sweat flowed even faster.
"Well... young man..." Dadan softened her tone and forced out a smile uglier than a crying face. "Let's talk this out. Fighting would only hurt our relationship..."
"Now you want to talk?" Lorne lowered his fist.
"Yes, yes, yes. I failed to recognize greatness when I saw it." Dadan nodded and bowed, changing her attitude so quickly that even Luffy stared.
"Dadan's so lame..." Luffy whispered.
"Shut up!" Dadan turned and roared.
After yelling at Luffy, she immediately turned back to Lorne with a fawning smile. "Well... big brother, look, it's almost dark. Why don't you... come over to our place for a simple meal?"
"That's more like it." Lorne's Beast Ears drooped lazily.
And just like that, the farce ended.
"Tch, boring." Garp tossed the last Senbei into his mouth. "Come on, let's go eat! I'm starving!"
Dadan hurried ahead to lead the way, stealing glances back at Lorne as she walked, her eyes full of awe and curiosity.
In all her years, this was the first time she had seen someone subdue a monster Garp had brought with sheer presence alone.
Just where had this kid come from?
The whole group headed toward the Bandit Hideout.
Garp and Lorne walked at the front.
Luffy stuck to Lorne's side like a little shadow, chattering away with endless questions.
"Big brother, big brother, are you a Devil Fruit User too?"
"No."
"Then what's with those ears on your head? Can you pull them off?"
"No."
"Big brother, why are you so strong? Teach me!"
"Come back when you can beat Ace."
Walking at the rear, Ace paused when he heard that, his fists clenching again.
He lifted his head and looked at that tall figure ahead, an unyielding fire burning in his black eyes.
One day, he would surpass him.
The Bandit Hideout was a shabby wooden cabin built inside a giant treehouse.
"Food's ready!"
At Dadan's command, the bandits bustled about, bringing chunks of roasted Sea King meat, whole roast pigs, and barrels of ale to the table.
The banquet instantly burst into life.
"Meat! My meat!"
Luffy stretched his arm out a long way and forked away a huge piece of the fattiest roast meat.
"Luffy, you bastard! I had my eye on that first!" A bandit was about to lash out when Dadan slapped him on the back of the head.
"Fighting a child over food! Have some shame!"
Garp was even more outrageous. He picked up an entire roast pig and started gnawing on it, grease covering his mouth.
"Hahaha! Dadan, your roast meat's as good as ever!"
"As long as you like it..." Dadan stood nearby with an obliging smile, her heart bleeding.
This one meal would probably wipe out half a month's food supplies.
At the table, only Lorne and Ace stood apart from everyone around them.
Ace sat in a corner, silently gnawing on a piece of bread without so much as glancing at the lavish spread.
Lorne, meanwhile, cut the roast meat before him at an unhurried pace, his movements elegant.
"Hey, you."
Ace suddenly spoke.
Lorne raised his head and looked at him.
"Your name's Lorne, right?" Ace stared at him, enunciating every word. "My name's Ace."
"I know."
"One day, I'll beat you." As Ace said those words, an irrepressible fire burned in his eyes.
Lorne set down his knife and fork and looked at him.
"I'll be waiting."
"Not just beat you." Ace lowered his voice until only the two of them could hear. "I'm going to set sail, gather the strongest crew, and gain the greatest fame, to prove that my life has value! I'll surpass that man and become the Pirate King!"
Hatred and resentment laced the boy's voice.
He said "that man," not "my father."
Lorne knew he meant Gol D. Roger.
"The Pirate King?" Lorne chuckled. "Not a bad dream."
"What are you laughing at? You think I'm dreaming too?" Ace clenched his fists.
"No." Lorne shook his head. "I just think it's a little hard to justify wanting to become the Pirate King when you don't even dare fight for food."
Ace froze.
Lorne swept his gaze across the table.
At that moment, Garp and Luffy were locked in a fierce struggle over the last large bone-in cut of meat.
"It's mine!" Luffy opened his mouth wide.
"You little brat! Respect your elders!" Garp punched Luffy on the head, raising a large bump.
Bang!
The meat they were fighting over flew out, spinning through the air.
Everyone at the table followed it with their eyes.
Just as the meat was about to hit the ground-
A hand shot out like lightning and caught it.
It was Lorne.
Holding the piece of meat, which was bigger than his face, he handed it straight to Ace without even looking at the dumbstruck Garp and Luffy.
"Take it."
Ace looked at the meat in front of him, then at Lorne, without moving.
"What? Afraid to eat it?" Lorne raised an eyebrow.
"Who says I'm afraid!"
Ace snatched the meat and bit hard into it.
Before you continue