Behind the Foosha village, near the base of Mt. Colubo.
Two figures emerged in this place—one bid and the other small.
"Hey, Uncle, what are we doing here?"
It had been three days since Atlas arrived in Foosha Village. During this time, besides offering Luffy some moral guidance, he also made sure to correct how Luffy addressed him.
However, observing Luffy's lackluster expression, it seemed that Atlas's plan was veering further toward failure. Fortunately, he had been recounting some Marine adventure stories to Luffy in the past few days, solidifying Luffy's resolve to become a Marine Fleet Admiral.
A tale about seven Marine dolls rescuing an old man!
The story of Marine Alibaba's strategic and courageous showdown with forty pirates.
Then, there's the account of Marine Goku stirring up trouble in Marie Joie and his unwavering struggle.
But little Luffy was captivated when he heard it, especially the tale of Marine Goku, which resonated with his challenging journey of resisting his grandfather, fueling his yearning for the Marines even more.
"Let's go find Ace, your grandpa's other grandson."
Atlas ruffled Luffy's head vigorously and explained casually.
Yes, this time Atlas is planning to let the three brothers get to know each other in advance. As for matters like relationships, they can take their time getting used to each other in the future. Although Luffy is a somewhat carefree kid, he still possesses a personality charm.
Just like in the original work, Ace initially disliked Luffy as a follower. If Luffy hadn't been resilient, he might have been done for a long time ago. However, in the end, wasn't he won over by Luffy's toughness? Ultimately, they became brothers.
When it comes to Luffy's challenging life, it's no ordinary hardship. One could say he's truly worthy of being the son of the world.
"Isn't my grandpa's grandson me?"
Luffy's brain automatically filtered the word 'another,' and he looked at Atlas in confusion.
"....."
"Forget it, just follow me..."
Atlas suddenly felt tired and could only shake his head helplessly.
Fortunately, Luffy was too forgetful to continue asking questions; otherwise, Atlas would have had no choice but to implement 'love education.'
...
The middle forest between Mt. Colubo and the Gray Terminal.
The dense, tall trees, traces left by birds and animals everywhere, the humid air, and the constant chirping of insects all indicate that this is an inaccessible primitive zone, akin to a virgin land that has never been developed.
However, beneath a colossal tree, two black figures were whispering. Their voices were distinctly childish, clearly indicating they hadn't reached the stage of puberty.
"That's awesome, you've got more than me, Ace!"
"This is a huge sum of money! How did you get it?"
This was a boy dressed in a blue outfit made of valuable fabric, with a black top hat perched on his head. A band-aid adorned his face, concealing a wound. He gazed at the two bags of treasure on the broad tree trunk with astonishment.
Opposite him stood a boy with long black hair, small dimples on his cheeks, dressed in a red vest, and sporting a black elbow pad on his upper arm. He must be the Ace mentioned by the boy in the dress, who is also Atlas's target today.
Ace appeared to be in a good mood at this moment, grinning slightly. He was obviously very proud of the compliment from the boy in the dress.
"Snatched it from the hands of those gangsters near the gate."
Ace was very excited. He didn't expect those gangsters to be so rich. He was feeling a little exhilarated at experiencing the sweetness for the first time.
"Damn it, I lost to you again today!"
The boy in the dress smiled at Ace while counting the banknotes and calculating today's harvest.
"It doesn't matter who wins or loses in this kind of thing, Sabo!"
Ace lay down. Although the tree trunk was a bit stiff, he was used to being free-range since he was a child. He didn't care about such insignificant things.
"That's right," Sabo said, pulling open a raised spot on the tree trunk, exposing a large amount of treasure to the air. "These are the savings we've amassed over three years. We can set sail soon. It's really exciting!"
"It's not easy. We need to use this money to reach a world that the folks on this island don't know!"
Ace's voice was filled with passion, and his emotions were already reaching a boiling point.
"Yeah, just thinking about it makes me excited," Sabo echoed. At the same time, silently in his heart, he added, 'I can also escape from this place that makes me feel stifled...'
"How much does it cost to buy a boat?"
"Who knows, tens or hundreds of millions?"
"There's still a long way to go..."
"Boys, I know how much it costs to buy a boat!"
Just as the two brothers were envisioning a bright future, a lazy voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.
"Who?"
Ace and Sabo's reaction speed was impressive. Almost simultaneously, they swiftly grabbed the water pipe placed beside them and swung it towards the source of the sound without any hesitation!
Boom! Boom!
Two more thudding sounds followed, almost in no particular order. The noise was muffled, not like the sound of a simple blunt object striking a flesh-and-blood body.
"Hiss~"
The two of them took a sharp intake of cold air, endured the pain in their palms, stood up, and retreated until they were at a safe distance.
Soon, a man wearing a pure white suit and a cloak of justice appeared, holding a five-year-old child in his broad palm. However, the child appeared to be sound asleep, with a small bubble emerging from his nostrils.
Atlas and Luffy were the ones who came out to find Ace. Even though they had a clear lock on each other, Luffy was walking too slowly with his two little legs, so Atlas had to pick him up and run. To Atlas's surprise, Luffy fell asleep on Atlas's hand! It's truly reminiscent of Garp's behavior.
"You two are quite impolite. I kindly intended to share the transaction price of a boat with you."
Atlas glanced at the clothes that had just been wrinkled by the two people's water pipes, stretched out his free hand to smooth them slightly, and said with a frown.
"Marine?"×2
The two of them exclaimed in unison.
"Did the Marines discover my identity? Are they trying to deal with this cursed bloodline of mine?"
Thinking about this, Ace couldn't help but tighten his grip on the water pipe in his hand. His knuckles turned white from the exertion, and a look of determination appeared on his face.
'I must restrain this guy later and give Sabo a chance to escape. I We must not involve Sabo in these matters,' Ace resolved.
And Sabo is also facing a formidable enemy. Although he doesn't know the purpose of the Marine in front of him, his two noble parents shouldn't have invited the Marines, right?
However, Sabo has no intention of leaving Ace and running away!
The atmosphere at the scene froze for a moment, except for Atlas, who still looked calm, and...
"Snore~snore~snore~Meat! Meat! Meat!"
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A huge thank you to Hamza Ahmed for joining my Patr*on.
Read 35 chapters in advance in Patr*on: patr*on.com/Cosmic_Kaminari