Both Sabo and Luffy looked at what Ace said with surprise. They weren't expecting that Ace would be asking Leo for a fight.
Leo looked over at Ace with a calm smile on his face. He puts his hand on Ace's shoulder, "Ace, in the future, we shall fight. But it is not now."
Ace wasn't expecting him to say these kinds of words. At the very least, he was expecting Leo to reject his challenge.
He looks at that smile on Leo's face before he sighs, realizing that Leo probably thought he was still too weak to fight against him. But, in his heart, he feels a little disappointed that he doesn't get the opportunity to fight Leo.
"I understand," Ace said with disappointment.
"Ace, I'll fight you, Luffy, or even Sabo any day, any time. But at least give me the chance to fill up my stomach," Leo says with a smile.
The three of them then looked at each other with a knowing glance. They all have the same thoughts about Leo's offer.
The four ate the tiger together after Leo helped skin its fur with his blade. He even made a nice meal for them from the animal, adding some mushrooms he had gathered in the forest.
He had gotten better at cooking after having to learn how to survive in the wilderness all by himself. At first, it was okay to eat the meat simply as they were cooked, but he found it tasted better if he cooked it uniquely with fire and spices.
"Oh my gosh, this meat is so good!!" Luffy said as he took a bunch of meat into his mouth all at once. He is the best glutton. Luffy had already gathered a pile of bones to the side.
The second person who ate the most was Ace, who was just as fast in his eating. The two of them already ate through half of the tiger, and the beast is freakin huge.
Seeing the two of them eat rapidly, Sabo and Leo exchanged eye contact and smiled at each other. And when they had all finished eating through the animal, the sky had already turned dark, and the sun had set in the sky.
That night the four of them walked back to the base of the Dadan family. Along the way, Luffy was like a nonstop chatterbox and told him all about his adventures with Sabo and Ace. He told him about how they were fighting with beasts and other enemies.
Leo was mainly a listener as Luffy, Sabo, and Ace talked. He liked listening to them. He thought how strange it was that they would all grow up and go separate ways one day. But, in his heart, he had already thought of the three of them as brothers.
The three boys smiled and laughed with happiness. Then, Leo decided that since it was destiny that he came to the One Piece world, he would change the story in any way he could.
The walk through the forest was peaceful, and he loved the closeness in his heart as he walked with them under the stars.
When they got to the base, he saw Dadan rushing towards them four, "Where have you boys been? We were out looking for you three! Huh, you brought someone with you back today?"
The woman had orange hair and a stern look on her face. She is dressed in a large white shirt as she starts to yell at the boys.
They didn't seem like they were listening anyways. Luffy was picking his nose while Ace and Sabo were talking.
"Hi, thank you for letting me stay here in advance," Leo said to her politely with a bow. Then he pointed out the door to an animal he caught along the way, "I have caught a deer as a gift in repayment for allowing me here as a guest."
"The animal looks like it is enough to feed all of us," the people in the base clamored around with hunger in their eyes.
"You didn't have to do that," Dadan said happily. She has had difficulty caring for the three boys, who always cause much trouble. But now it seems the new friend they brought back wouldn't be any trouble. He seemed polite and respectful.
"I'll be in your care," Leo says politely with a smile. He then sees Luffy waving to him at the door to the shower.
Luffy seems to be asking him to come and take a bath with them, waving his towel towards him as Ace beckons him over with his hand.
He was coming inside the shower place. He removed his clothes and jumped into the large steaming bathtub with Ace and Sabo. While Luffy is close by, using the warm water that is coming off a tube to wash his body. He doesn't like being in the giant wooden tub.
"Haha, this feels so nice," Sabo said as he laid back on the tub white sitting.
The steam of the hot water was filling up the small room. There was continually new hot water that came down from a small tube from the ceiling. And the water would then flow from the tub to the tiled floor.
Ace also laid back as he smiled, "There is indeed nothing better than a warm steaming bath after a full day."
The three of them were enjoying the water in the tub for a couple of minutes before Luffy came over to ask Leo, "Can you give me some advice on training again, Leo?"
Sabo and Ace interrupted, and the two said simultaneously, "Hey! That's not fair! I was about to ask that too!"
Leo gave a short laugh as he looked at the three kids waiting for his answer. Finally, he says to the three of them, "Of course, I'm always willing to help give some advice for your three's training."
"Really!?" Luffy says with his eyes glowing.
"We will start first thing tomorrow," Leo answered with a giant smile.