vncnus Chapter 374 Luffy is my brother!
Chapter 374 Luffy is my brother!
"Have you heard what happened on Judicial Island?"
Ace jumped when Jinbe suddenly spoke, they had been sitting in silence for a long time as Ace had been worried about his partner all day, lost in his own thoughts, saying nothing and asking no questions.
Jinbei didn't interrupt him, and he was grateful that he didn't ask him about things he didn't want to remember at this time, which would only make him feel worse.
Noticing that Jinbei was staring at him, waiting for an answer to his question, Ace looked up at Jinbei, then lowered his head and answered nonchalantly, "No, I don't know. Lucci and I should have been fighting Teach at that time."
Noticing that Jinbei was talking about the World Government's Judicial Island, Ace piqued a glimmer of interest. After all, that was the location of one of the government's Gates of Justice, one of the pillars of the World Government. Since he had set sail, the World Government had hardly experienced anything noteworthy. What had happened to actually catch Jinbei's attention? "What happened?"
"A crazy rookie pirate group attacked the Judicial Island and wanted to rescue Nico Robin." Jinbei answered with a surprised expression and a grin on his face.
Ace looked at Jinbe in shock, completely dumbfounded by his news. "Seriously?"
Who would be crazy enough to invade the World Government's Judicial Island for a friend, let alone a rookie pirate group? As Ace was thinking, a small figure suddenly appeared in his mind and asked hurriedly, "Who is it?"
"Straw Hat Luffy! I swear, those kids are crazy..."
Ace's mind froze completely as he processed what Jinbei had just said. It was indeed that brat. Of course, he should have thought of it earlier. Ace laughed loudly. His chest hurt from laughing so hard, but that couldn't stop the pride that was about to overflow from his heart. "Luffy is..."
Ace laughed until tears came out, panting with laughter, trying to control his breathing "Luffy is my brother!!"
"Your brother!?" Jinbei was completely confused. He had just told him yesterday that Lucci was his brother, but Ace didn't seem to be in a good mood, so he didn't express his doubts. But now he couldn't help but ask, "How many brothers do you have?"
Looking at Jinbe's confused face, Ace had to take a few deep breaths through his laughter before he regained his composure. "Yes, that reckless idiot is my brother, and that idiot Lucci is also my brother. We are the same age."
"That idiot never changed." Ace smiled fondly, and his mind couldn't help but flash back to the time when they became brothers. Then he leaned towards Jinbe eagerly. "Tell me everything, Jinbe!"
Ace's change caught Jinbe off guard, but he still took some time to tell Ace about some things about Judicial Island that he missed in prison. During the whole process, Ace was laughing. Even when Jinbe commented that the Straw Hat Boy was the most reckless of the Worst Generation, Ace acted as if it was a matter of course, as if he had known it for a long time and was proud of it.
"Honestly, Ace, he's worse than you think." Jinbei leaned his head against the wall, looking at Ace who was still grinning, and said this angrily. He couldn't even imagine how worried the Straw Hat crew would be.
Ace blinked, unable to deny or refute what Jinbe said, after all, he had seen it countless times, so he smiled and replied, "Luffy has always been a crazy little bastard."
Jinbei looked at Ace's face, which had never appeared before. He was surprised to see a rare gentle smile on his face. He believed that even the Whitebeard pirates had never seen such an Ace before. He couldn't help but feel curious about Ace and Lucci's childhood, as well as Straw Hat Luffy's reckless challenge to the World Government for his friends. "What kind of people were they when you were a child?"
Ace grinned, resting his head against the wall behind him as he smiled and recalled the past. Nostalgia filled him, thinking of the days when he, Luffy, Lucci, and Sabo ran in the forest together. The warmth that came from recalling the memories continued to fill his body. Even being in such a cold prison could not block the warmth that flowed from deep in his heart. The days when the four of them ran in the forest together would always be Ace's most precious memories.
"I still remember the scene when we first met." He had difficulty saying Sabo and Lucci's names before, but now Lucci is here, still alive, which gives him great comfort. "First of all, there's Sabo. He is the opposite of me in almost every way. He has always been the one who comes up with plans, but I don't have that patience, so Lucci is the one who discusses and makes battle plans with him. I usually act on my intuition, but usually do things according to plan, while Luffy does things completely without a plan, but they always manage to factor my and Luffy's actions into their plan."
Ace smiled and said, "We were only five years old at the time. Sabo was the first to invite me. Although I ignored him at the time, you know, in a chaotic garbage dump, you will find that two people can always obtain resources better than one. For the benefit of both parties, we began to cooperate."
"Then there was Lucci. His appearance was indeed strange. After all, who would believe that a child of about 6.7 or years old was floating in the air with balloons?" Ace said with a nostalgic smile. "Now that I think about it, it must have been something stupid that my grandfather did. When we first met, he saved me from a gangster. Then the three of us started hunting in the forest and learning how to fight from each other. After that, our relationship grew closer and closer."
Thinking of the scene when he and Luffy met for the first time, Ace smiled and shook his head. They should have a better way to start that relationship, such as if he and Sabo went back with Luffy, they would definitely know Luffy earlier than then. Every time he thought of this, he felt a little annoyed. This was unfair. He and Sabo had never seen a younger Luffy. He would criticize Luffy for this in the future. It was his fault for not insisting at that time.
Ace then talks to Jinbei about the first time he met Luffy. He recounts their adventures in Takashi Town and how the four of them drank sake and swore to be brothers. He talks about how Luffy openly expressed his love for him, saying, "Luffy showed me what it felt like to be loved unconditionally."
"Wait," Jinbei interrupted, somewhat surprised. "So you're four brothers? And none of you are related by blood?"
"Speaking of which, Jinbei." Ace smiled, but didn't answer Jinbei's question about whether they were related by blood. He didn't want to reveal the true relationship between Luffy and Lucci. "What do you think of a family with three older brothers and one younger brother?"
Ace didn't wait for Jinbe's answer but continued to lean his head against the wall, grinning and sharing the funny stories between him and his brothers with Jinbe. He still remembered the scene when they argued about this issue, and now recalling it, it seemed like it was just yesterday.