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Amazon Lily:
"Who would have thought that the day would come when I'd see Amazon Lily treat a man with such kindness... I mean another man besides dear Rob..." Gloriosa glanced sideways at the future empress of Amazon Lily as she said this.
Hancock blushed in embarrassment, feeling the blatant teasing from Gloriosa. Immediately after, her beautiful face regained its worried expression as she watched the scene where Luffy continued to harm himself.
"I'm afraid Luffy might hurt himself even more if Jimbei doesn't step in to stop him... At this point, he's not just incredibly weak; his heart is also deeply broken," Shakky calmly remarked as she exhaled smoke from her cigarette.
"Isn't this the time when Empress Hancock should be by Luffy's side if she truly loves him?" Little Hancock secretly felt angry at her counterpart for not being beside Luffy in this moment.
"Even if she were there, what could she do? I think the ones who understand men the most are other men. Jimbei can handle this. He'll be able to stabilize Luffy's mental state," Shakky believed Jimbei was the right person for the job.
He had exuded a fatherly aura ever since his appearance, a sentiment all readers could feel.
"Here it comes... the long-awaited flashback..." Hancock's sad expression began to soften as the anticipated flashback in the manga began. Her sorrowful face was now replaced with a look of anticipation... She had always wanted to see young Luffy.
"Who is that little girl?" Seeing a girl around Luffy's age, or maybe a year or two older, having a close relationship with Luffy, made Hancock feel conflicted.
"Shanks' daughter? Her name is Uta? Is she the one with the sweet voice that the art store used as background music during the arc's preview?" Gloriosa wondered as she recognized the young Uta.
Like most One Piece manga readers, she had thought the shadowed figure of the little girl in the earlier opening was just an imaginary character; no one expected her to be part of the manga's world... Doesn't that mean she's part of their world too?
"Could such a divine voice exist in this world?" Even Shakky was astonished. The song was still fresh in her mind, and she had memorized most of the lyrics.
She had already asked Rob to give her a copy of that song so she could listen to it whenever she wanted.
"So, Luffy had such a special relationship with the little girl Uta... I wonder what happened to her that she didn't stay on Shanks' ship," Little Hancock felt a great deal of curiosity about Uta and her past with Luffy.
"Perhaps an arc explaining everything about her will come later; she doesn't seem like a simple character by any means. For now, it seems this part of Luffy's story has concluded... I wonder where Garp is taking his grandson..."
"Dadan?" Seeing Dadan in the manga shocked not just Shakky but everyone in the art store.
"Is that really Dadan?" Gloriosa put her hand over her mouth in disbelief.
Hancock felt the same; she had never expected it.
"Who would have thought Dadan had such a background, fufu~"
"Seeing her old self in the manga must have been a shock of a lifetime for her. I'll ask her later to see how she reacted."
"Fufu~ It must have been amusing."
•———•———•———•———•
Chapter's Events:
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"Whaaaa, who's that kid!?"
Dadan's scream sent birds fleeing from the forest behind the mountain.
"You want me to take in another one!? And he's your... your grandson!!?"
Dadan was outraged after learning Garp's purpose for this visit.
"All right… I'll let you choose: go to jail, or take care of the kid. I've overlooked as many of your crimes as there are stars in the sky!!"
Upon hearing her refusal, Garp immediately threatened to throw them in prison.
"Well, I don't like the idea of getting arrested, but sometimes I think a prison cell might be better! We're having a tough enough time with Ace, and now you're adding your grandson!"
Dadan couldn't accept this; she cast a glance at the straw-hatted child before asking:
"That kid must be some kind of beast, right!?"
Luffy was swinging nearby before he got spit on his face.
"Uuhh!! Geeh!! It's spit!!! That's disgusting!!"
"Hey!! Who're you!!?"
Luffy was furious.
"Oh, Ace!"
Garp exclaimed cheerfully upon seeing his other grandson.
"Uwooh!! Ace, you came back!!!"
*[Portgas D. Ace (Ten years ago)]*
He didn't seem like an ordinary child. Just one look at his dark eyes, not to mention the bloodied iron pipe in his hand, made that clear.
"That's Ace. He's three years older than you. You'll be living together from now on, so you better get along!"
"It's settled!!! I'll leave him with you!!!"
"What is?"
The first meeting between Ace and Luffy wasn't peaceful as expected.
•———•———•———•———•
Ohara:
"Who would have thought Garp would use such violent methods to enslave bandits and make them raise his grandsons, Yohohoho!"
Brook laughed after seeing Garp act so brutally, easily shrugging off his responsibilities and dumping them on Dadan.
"A ten-year-old Ace seems so gloomy... sigh~ That's expected."
"He's heard enough hatred just for the possibility of his existence in this world alone."
"For a mere child, this is enough to turn him into a first-class villain when he grows up."
Doflamingo's sunglasses reflected the face of young Ace with his dark eyes… He could remember having the same expression on his face when they descended from Marigoa and nearly died at the hands of the enraged people of the Fallen Noble Island.
"Derishishishi~ I always thought Luffy and Ace's first meeting would be entirely different."
Saul, a huge fan of Ace, found comfort in seeing Ace's flashback, especially since he had already passed away in the present.
"I wonder, after such a tense first meeting, how will they end up as brothers?" Enel wondered with curiosity.
"I don't see anything preventing that, despite the rough start... Luffy is too kind-hearted for that, especially in his youth," Clover believed that this initial meeting would have little impact on the potential brotherhood between Ace and Luffy.
"More importantly... Is Dadan really Miss Dan? This is unacceptable by any means."
Issho felt bitter; he had always admired Miss Dan and considered her his dream girl! Seeing her old version made him want to run out of the art store and regain his blindness so he would never have to see anything in this world again.
"Pfft!"
Seeing Issho's sad expression, Mihawk couldn't maintain his cold facade any longer, nearly bursting into laughter.
Everyone looked at both Issho and Mihawk strangely.
"She's really Dadan! My goodness." Even Rosinante was amazed by this.
The others were just as shocked, not by her ugly appearance, but by the fact that she would become the foster mother of both Luffy and Ace!
Such an important role is not given to just anyone.
"This means Dadan holds a significant place in the hearts of both Ace and Luffy... Now I understand why Ace mentioned her in his dying moments," Vegapunk added.
…
Baterilla:
"Dadan? I never expected that of all people, you would be the foster mother of my son... As a bandit, he probably didn't receive much love from you, how unfortunate."
On her bed, Rouge gazed thoughtfully at the past scenes in Luffy and Ace's flashback.
From the first meeting to how the bond between Ace and Luffy began to form... it all revolved around this place called Gray Terminal.
"Gray Terminal? That place... Rob removed it a long time ago and got rid of it, didn't he?"
"Did Ace live here…?"
"Why were you so harsh on a child, dear…"
Seeing how Ace hit Luffy the first time he followed him, threw him into the valley, and how Ace continued to ignore him all the time made Rouge sad... not just for Luffy but also for Ace, who she believed didn't know how to open his heart to make friends.
"It's a good thing Luffy is stubborn and doesn't know how to give up…"
Seeing Luffy's persistent determination made Rouge smile. It was a rare smile, one she had missed for a long time.
…
Roger, who was outside the house, could feel it, and so he smiled too.
Even he felt the same as Rouge as he read the flashback's events.
"Don't be too harsh, son... damn Garp who didn't teach you any manners."
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 786: Luffy Who Never Gives Up! Sabo.
Chapter 787: Luffy, Ace, Sabo.
Chapter 788: The Birth of Brotherhood.
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