When Kai and his crew entered the restaurant, they found Luffy and Ace sprawled out on chairs, their bellies full and content.
Ace turned to Luffy with a grin and said, "Luffy... Luffy, I won!"
Luffy's face showed clear reluctance.
"Damn it, hiccup~ I lost again!"
"Hahaha… Luffy, if you want to beat me, you'll need to train harder! Hiccup~"
"Ace!" Kai said softly, his gaze fixed on Ace.
It was difficult to let go of the anger from his past life, but seeing Ace alive and well in front of him made Kai a bit excited.
Ace had always been a character Kai admired greatly, but unfortunately, he was killed by Akainu while saving Luffy during the Battle of Marineford.
At that time, like countless others, Kai had buried his face in his pillow and cried.
It was wonderful to see Ace alive now!
Without hesitation, Kai walked over and grabbed Luffy by the mouth.
"Luffy, can you explain why you're here?"
"Well… I wanted a change of taste!" Luffy said guiltily, fiddling with his fingers.
"Then why didn't you let us know?" Sanji asked.
"I forgot!"
"In that case, you'll need to find a way to pay for your meal!" Nami said, turning her head calmly.
"Ah~ no, I don't have any money!" Luffy quickly put on a pitiful look, hoping for Nami's sympathy, but Nami didn't even glance at him.
At that moment, Ace spoke up.
"Sorry, you're Luffy's friends, right? My brother has caused you trouble!"
"Huh?" Everyone turned their heads in surprise and then noticed Ace sitting nearby. It seemed he knew Luffy. They had thought he was just a passerby before!
"Your brother? You mean Luffy?" Usopp asked, shocked.
"That's right!" Ace nodded.
"I've never heard him mention he has an older brother!" Sanji said, doubtful.
"Really?" Ace looked surprised and then turned to Luffy with a dissatisfied expression.
"Luffy! You've been with your friends for so long and never mentioned your brother?"
"Uh... I forgot!"
Everyone was exasperated.
"You really are..." Ace was a bit speechless, feeling a bit weary of having such an oblivious brother.
"By the way, Ace, what are you doing here?" Luffy asked with curiosity.
"Me? I'm here to handle something."
"Are you after Blackbeard?"
At this point, Kai, who had been silent, spoke up.
"Huh?" Ace turned to Kai, asking with curiosity, "Demon King Kai Vane?"
"It's me!" Kai confirmed with a nod.
"How did you know about this?" Ace asked, not directly answering the question but curious about Kai's knowledge.
"I have extensive information channels, so I know quite a bit!" Kai said.
"Yes, Kai is quite powerful; he knows everything!" Luffy chimed in excitedly.
"Is that so?" Ace pondered thoughtfully, then added, "Well, it doesn't matter how you know. It's not something that needs to be hidden!"
"I am indeed hunting Blackbeard. He was once a member of the Whitebeard Pirates and also part of my team!"
"But he broke an unforgivable rule on the ship!" Ace's eyes hardened as he continued, "He killed his comrades and fled."
"That guy is absolutely unforgivable!"
"As the captain, I have a duty to hunt him down and honor the souls of my fallen companions!"
"That..."
"If I said you were no match for him, would you still pursue him?" Kai asked, his gaze steady on Ace.
"How could that be? Kai, Ace is very strong. Blackbeard definitely can't match up to him!" Luffy interjected angrily before Ace could respond.
Kai ignored Luffy and continued to look at Ace, wanting to hear his thoughts.
Ace also looked at Kai, trying to gauge something from his expression, but found nothing conclusive.
After a while, Ace looked away, took a sip of his drink, and said, "Well, I don't know how you reached that conclusion, but… you might not know much about my strength!"
"Just like Luffy said, I'm very strong!"
Ace spoke with confidence, coupled with skepticism towards Kai.
He thought Kai might have seen Blackbeard in action at some point and mistakenly believed Blackbeard to be strong.
But Ace was sure this was the first time he'd met Kai, so it was impossible for Kai to accurately gauge his strength.
He felt Kai's assessment was based on Luffy's strength, and Ace believed he was not as weak as Kai thought. He knew his own strength better than anyone.
The difference between him and the current Luffy wasn't that great.
However, he didn't directly refute Kai, since Kai was Luffy's ally, and he needed to show some respect.
Kai, seeing Ace's expression, realized he didn't trust him and felt a bit helpless.
But, considering Ace's perspective, if a newcomer from the East Blue told him he couldn't beat someone, he probably wouldn't take it seriously.
In this case, it seemed only strength could speak for itself.
If possible, Kai didn't want Ace to face Blackbeard. Blackbeard was indeed beyond Ace's capability.
Moreover, his Darkness Fruit had a significant advantage over Devil Fruit users.
With that thought, Kai directly addressed Ace:
"Ace, let's have a fight! If I win, you'll drop the pursuit of Blackbeard. If you can't even beat me, you're definitely no match for Blackbeard!"
"Huh?" Ace narrowed his eyes upon hearing this, stood up, and stared at Kai seriously.
After a moment, he said, "Forget it, there's no need!"
Kai was a bit speechless. It seemed Ace still didn't believe him!
A confident fool… When he faces a setback, he'll understand the value of Kai's words!
"Kai, is Blackbeard really as strong as you say?" Luffy suddenly asked.
Having traveled with Kai, Luffy thought he knew Kai's strength well. At least, in his opinion, Ace couldn't beat Kai.
At first, when Kai said Ace couldn't defeat Blackbeard, Luffy had subconsciously believed in Ace's strength.
But now, seeing Kai's serious expression, he felt Blackbeard was truly formidable, otherwise, Kai wouldn't be so concerned. So, he asked this question.
"Very strong!" Kai nodded.
"You might not grasp it fully from my words. Let me give you a specific example, and you'll understand…"
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Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.