"I say, who the heck are you? You greet me with such enthusiasm right off the bat?" Ace asked, rubbing his face where Ryu had struck him.
"#*%￥#@," Ryu mumbled, looking like a swollen pig's head after their initial encounter.
Yes, despite the sneak attack, Ryu had been swiftly defeated, leaving him with quite the price to pay—his head was now a bruised mess.
"Well, I was just curious. I feel like I've never seen you before. How did you know about me? I just happened to see your little boat earlier, so I thought I'd come over to say hi!" Ace replied, even though he didn't understand Ryu's words. He could sense that there was no malice behind Ryu's attack, which was why he had shown mercy; otherwise, it would be Ryu lying here lifeless.
As Ryu used his energy to heal his head, he mumbled, "It was that old man Garp who told me about you. I saw your photo from him!"
Healing with energy was a newfound ability Ryu had recently discovered. It was inspired by martial arts shows where fighters use their internal energy to heal injuries. Clearly, he had developed his first special ability.
"Grandpa?" Ace seemed genuinely frightened at the mention of Garp, instinctively looking around as if expecting him to appear.
"Exactly! Once, I was caught in a storm, and Garp's warship rescued me, so that's how I learned about you!" Ryu said, wide-eyed as he spun a tall tale.
How long had it been since he set sail? He hadn't even encountered a storm, let alone Garp!
"He's back in the East Blue? Is he here to catch me? I can't talk anymore; I have urgent business!" As soon as Ace heard Garp was in the East Blue, he bowed to Ryu and prepared to leave.
"Don't worry, it happened a long time ago. The old man might not even be in the East Blue anymore!" Ryu shrugged.
He couldn't just let Ace go. In their earlier fight, he felt that his speed and strength were on par with Ace's, but Ace had a wealth of battle experience and skills that left Ryu in the dust. Such a good sparring partner was not someone he wanted to lose.
Ace turned to look at Ryu, seemingly considering whether his words were true.
"Come on, let's eat something first!" Ryu smiled as he pulled out some food from his backpack.
"Ah, thank you for the hospitality!" Ace said politely, bowing again when he saw the food.
He didn't question how Ryu conjured food out of nowhere or express surprise at how quickly Ryu had recovered.
The two of them chatted while eating, sharing bits about their backgrounds.
"I see, no wonder I felt your speed and strength were decent, but you were just flailing about without any technique!" Ace laughed while munching on a chicken leg.
Ryu took the opportunity to ask Ace about his own skills, and Ace was happy to explain, even practicing moves together from time to time.
With the power of food as a catalyst, Ryu managed to keep Ace around, and together they set sailr.
"Hey, hey~ You're not planning to beat me and then go after my grandpa, right?" Ace panted a little after one of their sparring sessions.
After some time training, Ryu could now fight Ace more evenly, especially with his energy making things challenging for Ace.
While Ace was curious about Ryu's ability, he realized that even if Ryu explained it, he wouldn't be able to grasp it; he couldn't even feel the energy himself.
"Haha~ You're my ticket into the Marines, so of course, I have to do this!" Ryu replied, slightly out of breath.
From being thoroughly beaten to now holding his own, Ryu's progress had been rapid.
"What's so great about being a Marine? Come join me as a pirate! Pirates are the freest people on the sea. My ship needs a vice-captain; how about it, Ryu? Want to team up?" This was Ace's first invitation to Ryu.
For a moment, Ryu felt a bit dazed. Being a pirate didn't sound half bad, plus there were plenty of experience opportunities on the Marine's side. And as a pirate, he could go after other pirates, but if he joined the Marines , he wouldn't be able to do that!
"I…"
Ryu was just about to speak when he suddenly heard a system notification:
"Side Quest Activated: Capture Ace and bring him to Garp! (Rewards: 1500 Diamonds, 1500 Experience, 100,000 Berries, and one spin of the reward lottery.)"
Upon reading the quest rewards, Ryu's gaze toward Ace immediately changed. 1500 diamonds, combined with his current 400, brought him close to being able to spin the lottery twice. With this task, he could even get three spins in total! Such an opportunity was too good to miss!
"Did my mouth just get blessed? I can randomly say things and trigger quests?" Ryu thought to himself.
"Ha~ take this!" After finishing his thoughts, Ryu suddenly accelerated, charging toward Ace. At this point, there was no need for further talk; capturing Ace was the top priority, and figuring out how to find Garp could come later.
"What the—why are you attacking me again?" Ace said, feeling somewhat speechless; he hadn't really done anything to provoke him.
After yet another intense battle that left them both worse for wear, they finally encountered a small island. After replenishing their food and water supplies, Ryu realized that Ace was gone.
It turned out that as soon as Ace figured out Ryu's intention to capture him and take him to Garp, he had decisively fled. From having thoroughly defeated Ryu at their first meeting to their current stalemate, Ace didn't want to find himself in a situation where he might actually be dragged before Garp. He had firsthand experience of Garp's terrifying strength.
Seeing that Ace had escaped, Ryu felt a bit helpless, but what could he do? The vast ocean made it difficult to track someone down.
So, he continued to gather essential supplies and sold the goods he had confiscated from pirates before setting off alone once more.
In the following days, Ryu began sailing with a purpose. Having learned to read nautical charts, he bought a map of the East Blue on the small island and set sail for Loguetown, knowing that Ace, heading for the Grand Line, would inevitably pass through there.
Loguetown was known as the town of beginnings and endings, being the birthplace and death place of Pirate King Gol D. Roger. As Roger's son, Ace would surely visit.
Ryu had originally planned to swing by Cocoyashi Village to see if he could take on Arlong and save the oppressed villagers there. However, he realized that if he missed Ace, his quest would be in jeopardy, so he decided to head to Loguetown first.
Along the way, Ryu dealt with any foolish pirates he encountered and took to fishing, a skill he had picked up from Ace. Not only did it provide food and experience, but it also helped strengthen his physique. However, after one incident where he chased after a large fish and nearly lost his ship, Ryu became more cautious about pursuing fish.
According to Ace, his abilities were quite balanced but he lacked a finishing move to deal a decisive blow to opponents of similar strength, or even those weaker than him.
The only ability he had that could be considered unique was his internal energy, but without a guide or manual, he felt he was floundering while trying to master it on his own.
"Congratulations, host! Level up! You've gained 5 free attribute points and 1 skill point."
"Congratulations, host! You've killed a pirate with a bounty of 3 million berries. You've earned 300 experience and 300 diamonds."
"Phew… I finally leveled up; that was tough! But this guy had a bounty of 3 million berries?" Ryu kicked the dead pirate captain he had just defeated, a bit surprised.
Especially since the system had rewarded him with diamonds based on the bounty, he felt a mix of unexpected joy and excitement.
Initially, Ryu considered taking the body of this pirate, recognized by the system as having a bounty of 3 million berries, to the Marines to claim the reward. But then he thought about keeping a corpse on his ship and quickly dismissed that idea.
"Well, if a bountied pirate yields diamonds…" Ryu rubbed his chin, raising an eyebrow with delight.
"Um, sir, where should we head next?" Two slightly fearful pirates asked, eyeing Ryu nervously.
These two were the pirates Ryu had intentionally spared. They had even taken oars from their ship to help speed things up.
"Let's go straight to Loguetown! I've made up my mind; I'm going to be a bounty hunter!" Ryu declared enthusiastically to his pirate captives.
The two pirates wanted to laugh but couldn't help but comply, suppressing their amusement as they flattered Ryu, hoping he would keep his promise to let them go once they reached their destination.
"With 700 diamonds in hand, I only need 300 more. Just a small-time pirate with a 3 million berry bounty will do! But I wonder if I'll run into one before we get to Loguetown?" Ryu thought. For now, heading to Loguetown made the most sense, as it was a hotspot for pirates. Countless pirates aiming for the Grand Line would stop there, which aligned with Ryu's objectives.
As for when Smoker took his post in Loguetown, Ryu couldn't remember; he hadn't studied the "One Piece" anime in-depth and had simply enjoyed it. Many details were fuzzy in his mind.
One thing he was sure of, though, was that Ace had definitely never encountered Smoker. Ryu remembered clearly that Smoker and Ace first met after Luffy set sail, during the Alabasta arc, at which point Ace had already been the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' second division.
However, fate had other plans. Just as Ryu was making his way to Loguetown, he encountered a Marine warship, its bow featuring a dog's head clutching a bone.
"Garp's warship?" Ryu looked at the ship before him, feeling a pang of dread; this timing was all wrong!
........
Started editing the chapters now ^^
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