"Smoke and fire are hard to distinguish in a fight. How about giving me some face and letting my little brother leave?"
Ace squatted casually atop the counter, the orange cowboy hat on his head wreathed in flames. He reluctantly pulled his gaze away from Luffy, then stared solemnly at Smoker.
He had originally been hunting down the traitor Marshall D. Teach, but he had arrived at Drum Kingdom two months too late. After leaving a message there, he had come to Alabasta to wait for Luffy.
By chance, Luffy showed up today. Ace had barely been about to greet him when the Marines targeted Luffy—and it was a Logia-type Devil Fruit user.
Just like when they were kids, Luffy still needed him to protect him.
"Luffy, when did you suddenly get an older brother? He looks really strong."
Behind the scattered dining chairs, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper stared at Luffy in confusion. Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Zoro, who had experienced the Loguetown incident, were especially looking at him strangely.
After they had been rescued by the World's Most Evil Man, he had revealed his identity and said his name was Monkey D. Dragon—and that Luffy was his son.
At the time, Nami and the others had gone completely numb.
Huh?
Luffy's dad was the World's Most Evil Man?
The key was that Luffy himself had looked utterly bewildered. He clearly had no idea who his father was and even said it was the first time they had met in his memory.
Honestly.
After learning that the World's Most Evil Man was Luffy's father, Nami and the others had felt like they were floating. Their courage had grown, and they had become more confident. No matter what danger they faced, they had a sense of security.
What a joke.
Their captain's backer was the Revolutionary Army, and his father was the World's Most Evil Man. With a background like that, they might not be able to swagger across the seas, but walking normally was no problem.
Nami and Usopp had even made up their minds: if they encountered a powerful enemy in the future and could not win, they would reveal their backers. Even if it did not scare the enemy off, it should at least earn them some face.
In the original story.
Although Dragon had also saved Luffy and the others, he had not met them. But this time, Wilton had forced him to show himself, so Dragon had simply revealed his identity.
Nami and the others had only just processed the matter of Luffy's father, yet they had unexpectedly run into Luffy's older brother so soon after. He looked incredibly powerful too.
He was a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, the strongest type of Devil Fruit.
"You mean Ace? I haven't seen him in a long time either."
"Didn't I tell you before that I had an older brother?"
Luffy rubbed his chest. Earlier, Smoker had pinned him to the ground with his weapon, and Luffy had somehow lost all strength in his body. It clearly was not a bladed weapon, yet he had felt pain.
"Idiot, when did you ever tell us?"
Nami rolled her eyes, nearly throwing a punch at Luffy.
"Relax, don't we know now? Don't worry, Ace is strong. That smoky guy can forget about catching us."
Luffy looked unconcerned, showing absolute faith in Ace's strength.
"Let's hope so!"
Usopp let out a breath of relief. He had thought they would have to relive the nightmare of Loguetown, but thankfully Luffy's older brother had appeared halfway through.
Otherwise, they would have been in grave danger again.
Forget helping Vivi—they would not even have been able to protect themselves.
"Fire Fist Ace, why is the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates here on the Grand Line?"
Smoker clenched his Seastone Jitte, three cigars hanging from his mouth. He glanced at Luffy in the distance and could not help frowning deeply.
With Fire Fist here, it would be difficult for him to capture the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Isn't that obvious?"
Ace spread his hands. Ordinary forces might not know about Teach's betrayal, but the Marines definitely did. He had also heard of the Marine's unruly Logia-type Devil Fruit user.
It could not be helped.
Besides being rare, Logia-type Devil Fruit users possessed terrifying destructive power. Many forces could not avoid paying attention to them.
"Hmph! Since you've appeared here, I can't turn a blind eye as a Marine."
Smoker snorted.
He also understood why Ace had come to Alabasta.
Though he was only a colonel, he could easily obtain certain intelligence from the seas. After all, he was no ordinary captain—he had people above him.
"Then there's no helping it. As an older brother, how could I stand by and watch someone bully my little brother?"
Ace stood up from the counter, orange-red flames beginning to burn over his body. At the same time, white smoke continuously billowed from Smoker.
A fierce battle was on the verge of breaking out.
But at that moment, explosions rang out from the street outside. From time to time, there were screams, curses, and the roars of beasts mixed in.
For a moment.
Everyone in the restaurant turned their eyes outside, until three figures smashed through the wall and flew in one after another, each in a miserable state.
One of them was covered in blood, its limbs twisted and mangled as though it had been sent flying by a heavy weapon. One look was enough to tell that it was beyond saving.
The methods were brutal.
"A troublesome fellow is coming."
Ace's expression changed. He sensed a powerful presence rapidly approaching.
"Luffy, you guys leave first!"
"Quickly."
Ace could sense malice. At first, he had thought the person was coming for him, but he soon realized the target was Luffy.
They must have had dealings with Luffy before.
Otherwise, why would Observation Haki be locked so firmly onto Luffy?
"Ah?"
Luffy froze. They had only just met and had barely exchanged a few words. He had been so happy to see Ace here.
"Someone's targeting you."
"This is my Vivre Card. Once I hold these people off, we'll meet in Alabasta Capital."
Ace turned back with a smile and casually tossed Luffy a piece of paper. But judging from Luffy's bewildered expression, he clearly did not know what a Vivre Card did.
"Alright, thanks, Luffy's brother."
"Luffy, let's go."
Luffy was obviously reluctant, but Nami and Usopp were more than willing. They grabbed Luffy and tried to pull him away.
Zoro and Sanji could only follow.
Chopper obediently followed as well.
But just as they left the restaurant and stepped onto the street outside, a heavy tearing sound came from the sky. Beneath the blinding sunlight, an enormous, oppressive figure was rapidly falling.
"Not good!"
"Why is it this guy?"
"This is bad."
Nami and the others' expressions changed drastically, and the fear of being instantly defeated in Loguetown surged back into their minds.
"Luffy!"
"Flame Command: Fire Pillar."
Ace's face changed inside the restaurant as well. Flames erupted around him at once, transforming into a pillar of fire that burst through the roof and blasted toward the sky with unstoppable force.
"Explosive Double Axes."
High in the air.
Wilton raised two giant dumbbell phantoms, each fifty meters in size. Wrapped in Armament Haki, they plunged downward like meteors.
The moment his Observation Haki detected Luffy's presence, he had used the first skill, Explosive Double Axes, to leap here from the harbor. The distance between them was at least half a town.
As long as it was within the range of his Observation Haki, his Explosive Double Axes could strike wherever he pointed.
Its range depended entirely on Observation Haki.
"Looks like I came at just the right time."
When Wilton saw the pillar of fire shooting into the sky, his gaze became exceptionally sharp.
Boom—
With a thunderous crash, the air turned blazing white. The dumbbells and the fire pillar slammed into each other, and in an instant, a shockwave spread outward in the shape of a ring.
At the same time, invisible pressure descended from the heavens. Buildings collapsed one after another, while everyone within the area was forced helplessly to the ground.
When the rolling smoke and dust finally dispersed, Ace fell from the sky and crashed into the ground. Rubble and dust filled the air, and a fifty-meter crater had formed at the center.
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