18 - The Elder Sister and the Thunder Pirate
—Haha! What a great restaurant! Now I can eat! I'm starving! —shouted the perpetrator in the straw hat, sending both Ace and the new guest, Smoker, flying against a wall.
—Wow, defeating two Logia users without Haki… even I would struggle with that —Kara said as she appeared next to Ace and Smoker, who were still lying on the ground, looking at them like idiots.
Then, she saw Smoker's jitte and realized what had probably happened. Smoker had been about to enter the restaurant when he saw her, which distracted him, and at that moment, Luffy struck him from behind. Ace, who was tangible while eating, was caught in the impact and sent flying along with him.
—Well, I won't try to think too hard about the viability of that… This is the best logic I can come up with —Kara said as she poked the two lying on the ground with a stick.
—Damn you, Straw Hat! —Smoker shouted, standing up in a fury and storming back into the restaurant through the hole he had just made.
—Damn it, Smokey! —Luffy yelled, grabbing several plates of meat, stuffing them into his mouth, and running away at full speed, with Smoker immediately chasing after him.
—That idiot —Ace muttered as he got up. Without paying any attention to Kara, he jumped onto a rooftop and disappeared.
—Hmm, what should I do now? —Kara wondered, lost in thought.
As she looked around, she spotted an umbrella vendor and decided to buy one, since wearing a full cloak was making her quite hot.
—Well, for now, I'll go meet Luffy's crewmates. I suppose Ace will head there later —she said after paying for the umbrella and strolling leisurely in a specific direction.
—Oh, there's a lot of movement in the city —she murmured, watching Baroque Works agents running everywhere.
After all, with Ace wandering around, it was inevitable that he would attract attention.
But Kara ignored them and continued walking as if nothing was happening, munching on a golden apple she had bought from a street vendor. The price was a bargain: one punch per apple… quite a deal.
In the distance, she saw smoke rising, followed by the sounds of battle.
—Tsk, tsk. These guys sure have a lot of energy.
—It's Luffy! I found Luffy! —Nami shouted while looking through binoculars.
—Are you sure? —Gin asked.
Sanji also looked in the direction Nami was pointing.
—No doubt about it… with that dumb face… —And just at that moment, he saw Luffy extend his arm, stretching it to grab onto the spot where he was standing.
—Hey… I'm back! —Luffy shouted, crashing into Sanji and another crew member.
—Sanji! Rab! —Vivi cried out upon seeing her crewmates knocked down.
—Damn… you… —Sanji groaned from the ground.
—Sorry, Sanji, Rab —Luffy said with a grin while adjusting his hat.
—You bastard! Will you ever learn your lesson?! —Sanji shouted angrily, grabbing him by the shirt. —I'm going to kill you!
—You have no idea the trouble you caused —Nami said, frowning at him. —Act like a real captain for once!
—Sooorry… Oh, right, Ace! —Luffy said, suddenly realizing someone was missing.
—Ace? —everyone repeated in unison.
—You were with your brother? —Gin asked, having met Ace alongside Luffy when he helped them escape from Smoker.
—Hey, is it okay to leave him there? —Usopp asked.
—Mmm… he'll be fine. Ace is strong —Luffy said confidently. —Especially now that he ate a Devil Fruit. Even before that, I still couldn't beat him in a fight —Luffy recalled.
But then, he remembered another person he had never been able to defeat in the past, and he shivered slightly.
—Doesn't matter. Ace is really strong —he said firmly.
—There's actually someone you've never been able to defeat? —Nami asked, surprised.
—The older brother of a monster is an even worse monster… —Usopp muttered.
—Two people, actually. One person… and a demon —Luffy said as a face appeared in his memory.
—But if we tried now, I'd beat Ace easily —Luffy declared with pride.
—Who do you say you can beat now? —Ace said, jumping onto Luffy's ship and kicking him in the back.
—Hey, Ace! This is the crew I told you about —Luffy said, happy to see his brother.
—Oh. Hello, thanks for taking care of my little brother —Ace said, politely greeting everyone.
Everyone responded in kind.
—You must have a lot to talk about. Why don't you go inside? I'll make some tea —Sanji offered as he took out a cigarette.
—Ah, no, thanks. Don't worry about me —Ace replied, pointing a finger and lighting the cigarette himself.
—Didn't see that coming —Usopp said, surprised to see Ace with the others. —I imagined he'd be as shameless as Luffy.
—There's no way this guy is Luffy's brother if he's this sensible —Nami said, just as surprised as the rest.
—He's a good brother who cares about his younger sibling —Gin said.
—Brothers are cool —Rab added, standing with the others.
—The sea is full of surprises —Sanji remarked.
—Guys… you're being rude —Vivi quickly interjected, trying to mediate.
—See? They're interesting, right? —Luffy said with a joyful smile.
—Well, well, looks like I've found a poor pirate who's only worth… how much was it? Oh, right, ten berries, right? —Kara said, standing on one of the ship's sails, holding a newly bought black umbrella to shield herself from the sun. —By the way, I heard that part about the "demon." You're breaking your sister's heart —she added, pretending to be offended and sad as she leaped down in front of everyone.
—Who is she? —Vivi asked as she saw the beautiful woman who had just appeared.
—You're the one who showed up in Nami's village —Usopp said, recognizing Kara.
—The woman Luffy is afraid of —Nami said, looking at her along with the others, who hadn't had time to see her properly before since Luffy had whisked them away from her.
—Crap, Kara! —Luffy yelled, hiding behind Ace.
Meanwhile, Gin kept his eyes on Kara, watching her movements closely as a drop of sweat ran down his forehead.
—A beauty… —Sanji murmured as he elegantly approached. —Welcome, mademoiselle —he said, acting chivalrously.
—Back off. I don't like filthy things. And I like women, so I find you repulsive —Kara said with a look of utter disgust, staring at Sanji as if he were trash.
Sanji immediately backed away, curling into the fetal position and drawing on the floor with his finger in a deep depression.
—Wow… that was a completely effective strike —Usopp said, watching how Sanji was utterly defeated with just words.
—Enough of that. I'm not going to hit you for becoming a filthy pirate. I'll leave that job to Grandpa —Kara said, annoyed with Luffy, but then a new member of Luffy's crew caught her attention.
—Crap, Grandpa! —Luffy said, now even more terrified than of Kara.
It was the guy called Rab, who looked like a child dressed, for some reason, in a doctor's outfit with a green frog-head hat. He didn't seem older than ten and looked quite adorable.
—The kidnapping and trafficking of minors is severely punished —Kara said while eyeing Rab.
—I'm not a minor, I'm 28 years old! —Rab shouted angrily.
—Rab is our doctor. He's from the Isle of Children —Luffy said, now confident that Kara wouldn't hit him, finally stepping out from behind Ace.
Meanwhile, Ace was annoyed that he was being used as a shield. When they were kids, Luffy would do the same thing, and it always ended with Kara hitting him instead.
—The Isle of Dwarves, not the Isle of Children! —Rab complained again, irritated by Luffy.
—By the way, you still haven't introduced her —Vivi quickly pointed out.
—Oh, right. This is Kara, our big sister… and the demon I was talking about —Luffy said, happy to be among his friends and two of his three siblings. —By the way, be careful when she sneezes—it can wipe out an entire forest.
—A forest… just from sneezing? —Nami asked, taking a step away from Kara.
—Another monster in the family… —Usopp muttered, hiding behind Gin.
—Hey, that's a terrible introduction! I was only twelve back then, and you guys threw pepper in my face to stop me from hitting you —Kara defended herself.
—So she destroyed an entire forest at twelve years old with just a sneeze?! —Usopp shouted, crouching down and holding his head.
—Hey, we've got company —Gin said, pointing at the ships whose sails bore the Baroque Works emblem.
—Those are the Billions' ships —Vivi said, worried.
—Them again? —Luffy said, looking at the guys who had been following them all day.
—Let me take care of them —Ace said, noticing that Kara wasn't paying attention and was instead busy bothering the kid who was actually an adult dressed as a frog.
He then jumped into his boat, which was moored to the Straw Hats' ship. Electricity began to course through his body, igniting the motor connected to propellers that launched the boat at full speed toward the Baroque Works ships.
Suddenly, he leaped right above all the ships and raised his fist.
—2,000,000 Volts… Thunder Fist! —he shouted as his arm transformed into lightning, striking all of Baroque Works' ships, destroying them as everyone watched in astonishment.
—Goro Goro no Mi… That's the fruit I gave Ace after defeating some idiot with a god complex —Kara said with a smile.
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