"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Come out, Dadan!"
Kapu pounded on the wooden door of the Dadan household with force.
Three people quickly emerged from the house, and leading the way was none other than the pillar of the family, the "Fist Saint," Dadan. Flanking her were two others: one tall with a rooster-like hairstyle named Magura, and the other small in stature with fish-like eyes called Dogura. There were other family members inside, but they were inconsequential—let's just call them Passerby A, B, C, and D...
"Mr. Kapu... please let me off the hook! Ace is already ten years old; we can't manage him anymore! Just take him away!"
Dadan lamented as she stepped outside, not waiting for Kapu to respond, hoping he would take Ace away. Little did she know, not only was Kapu not taking Ace, but he was also bringing two more with him.
Before Kapu could say anything, Dadan spotted Luffy and Kaito. Seeing the kids made her anxious.
"Eh? Who are these two brats?!"
"Hello, I'm Kaito Sakamoto, and this is Luffy."
"Luffy is Mr. Kapu's grandson. I'm just here to mooch off some food and drink. If nothing goes wrong, we should be living here for a while," Kaito replied with a slight bow. Dadan paused, surprised by the boy's politeness, but her demeanor changed when she heard the latter part.
She immediately looked to Kapu for confirmation, and he nodded, affirming Kaito's words.
"Another one, along with Mr. Kapu's grandson! Plus, a well-mannered little brat! Mr. Kapu, please spare us!"
Dadan began to plead. One Ace was already too much; now there were two more—how were they supposed to survive? Kapu merely smiled at her desperation, teasingly threatening Dadan about whether they were going to sit in jail or raise children.
Dadan complained, "I don't want to be caught! Sometimes, I feel like sitting in jail would be more comfortable. One Ace is enough; now I have to deal with two more!"
She was truly resistant, but we didn't know just how mischievous Ace had been as a child to make Dadan feel this way.
Meanwhile, while Kapu and Dadan were conversing, Luffy noticed Ace returning and pulled Kaito over.
Little Ace sat atop his spoils—a dead wild buffalo—holding a blood-stained pipe and glaring darkly at Luffy and Kaito.
Without warning, he greeted them with a spray of spit.
"Hey! Spit! So dirty!!"
"Who the heck are you?!"
Although Kaito wasn't a germaphobe, he didn't appreciate being spat on. He sidestepped to avoid the spray.
Seeing his target dodge, Ace continued to spit! Kaito kept dodging.
"Oh, Ace."
"Ah, Ace, you're back."
Once the adults noticed the commotion, Ace decided to stop his spitting and shot Kaito a glare instead.
Kapu approached and introduced them.
"This is Ace, three years older than you two. From now on, you'll be living together for a while, so be sure to get along."
Kapu said it lightly, but Luffy glared at Ace, still irked from the earlier spitting incident.
Dadan gasped, "Is this how it's been decided?!!"
"Do you have a problem with it?" Kapu asked, his tone suddenly serious.
"Then we'll take care of them!" Dadan suggested, claiming it wasn't cowardice but pragmatism.
...
"I hate mountain bandits the most!"
Luffy declared, having only known the likes of the crew led by Sig, and he said it loudly in the Dadan household.
"Who cares about you, brat!"
"Then if you don't want to stay here, just get out! Go to the wilderness!"
Dadan shouted harshly at Luffy, prompting her lackeys to quickly intervene.
Luffy didn't care; instead, he stared at Ace, who was devouring meat with gusto.
"My food isn't enough; I want to eat meat too."
Kaito chuckled helplessly, picking a piece of meat from his bowl and giving it to Luffy. This was the perk of being the chef.
Ace, who had been somewhat impressed by Kaito's cooking, still held disdain.
Luffy immediately beamed with delight.
Dadan, however, fiercely explained the rules of survival in the Dadan household.
"Ace gets to eat meat because he hunted that buffalo. He has to hand over part of his catch for me to allow him at the table!
As for the white-haired kid, he gets to eat meat because he's a good cook and took the job of chef!"
"The mountain bandits are struggling now!"
"From tomorrow on, you two will work hard—sweeping, washing clothes, polishing shoes, cleaning weapons, plus stealing, robbing, deceiving, and killing!"
How ruthless! One could only wonder why Kapu thought the atmosphere here was better than that of Windmill Village.
Pointing at Luffy, Dadan continued munching on meat while barking out orders, only to soften her tone when the words left her mouth.
"Listen up... what you do here must never be told to that guy, Kapu."
He's a nice guy in front of you but a real piece of work behind your back.
"You'll only get one bowl of rice a day and one cup of water; the rest is up to you. You need to fend for yourselves."
Honestly, if Kaito, of the same age, had been treated this way in the orphanage in his world, he might have cried his eyes out and eventually starved on the streets.
But Luffy? He never got disheartened.
"Got it."
Luffy replied calmly, while Kaito nodded in agreement, indifferent to the rules.
Dadan slumped, realizing she hadn't succeeded in establishing her authority.
"What do you mean 'got it'! You should be crying and begging for mercy right now!"