One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 57 Ace is a little tsundere

"Dadan! I'm back!"

You arrived at Dadan's cabin in the forest very early, knocked on the door, and the moment she saw Dadan, she gave him a big bear hug.

Unexpectedly, Dadan did indeed give You a good yelling! "You! You didn't even bother to let me know you were alright! Do you know how worried I was when I heard you were in trouble and went missing!"

Yu covered her ears and rubbed her face against Dadan to wipe her drool. "I'm back safe and sound, aren't I~"

"Be careful next time! Make sure you protect yourself when you're out!"

"Understood! I will absolutely follow Dadan's instructions!" Getting back to the point, where's Ace? "By the way, where's Ace?"

"Oh, him? He's asleep in his room with Luffy. He probably hasn't woken up yet." Dadan let go of You and took You to find them. "Those two guys, they're always running around, and then they come back and fall asleep as soon as they wake up. They're such a worry, just like you were when you were little."

"How can you say you're like me? You definitely went astray on your own." You scratched her head, feeling rather embarrassed. It seemed like she used to take Ace running around everywhere, climbing trees and catching bears, and they often couldn't find each other in the forest.

In a small hut behind, three children were fast asleep, covered by a thin blanket, completely unaware that someone was about to come in.

"!" Dadan opened the door and found that instead of two people inside, there was a blond child in a blue shirt, black jacket, and tuxedo.

Hearing the noise, the three children woke up from their sleep. Seeing that it was Dadan, they gave a casual greeting and ran into the forest to begin their day's adventure.

The new blond boy was polite. "You must be Dadan. My name is Sabo. I look forward to working with you from now on." He finished his introduction smoothly and then followed them out.

"Hey! You guys, do you think this is a shelter?!" Dadan roared, left behind by the three of them. "Come back here!"

The three children scratched their heads, turned back in unison, and stuck out their tongues, "No way!"

"Those three guys! They're driving me crazy!"

"Alright, alright, look how happy the three of them are, Dadan, don't be angry anymore."

"Don't speak up for them! You're just a troublemaker!"

"You're just saying that, I'm going to find them." You waved and ran off.

"Yu, don't get lost!"

The three little ones ran ahead, and You chased after them. In the blink of an eye, the three little ones disappeared.

"Strange, how did I lose them?" Yu wandered around in the woods, not knowing where to go. She seemed to have returned to the same place again, but everything around her looked the same.

"Kariwa, come find me! Waaaaah!" Yu cried out in her heart. "I should never have parted ways with you."

Katakuri took Bleubourin to the neighborhood, while Yuu ran off alone to Dadan to find Ace and the others. Who knew she could still get lost in the place she'd lived since childhood? Now she could only hope Katakuri would come looking for her soon, or that the three little ones would have a conscience and come back to find her.

A small flag erected in the distance caught Yu's attention; it had three large letters written on it—ASL.

Ace, Sabo, Luffy... those three little guys were there all along.

"This will be our base from now on! All the treasures we find will be hidden here," Ace said to the two, holding the flag. "You absolutely mustn't let Dadan know."

"Oh! I understand!" Luffy was also excited; he had finally become a part of Ace and Sabo.

"Hey, shh, keep your voice down."

"What does it matter? Is there anyone else here?" Luffy muttered to himself.

Just as Ace was about to say something, Sabo gestured for the two to be quiet, "Shh, listen, it sounds like someone's there."

The three of them quieted down and listened carefully. Sure enough, they heard rustling sounds coming from the woods below, indicating that someone was approaching.

"Let's go down and see who it is." A little worried about Luffy, she said, "You stay up here and don't move. Wait for us to come back."

"No, I want to go too!"

"Stay put." Ignoring Luffy's protests, Ace left him there and, along with Sabo, grabbed the hose and jumped down.

How could Luffy possibly listen to Ace?

Ace and Sabo stopped some distance from the source of the sound and hid in the bushes on either side.

"Why aren't we there yet? I'm walking in a straight line." Yu noticed the people in the two haystacks ahead, slowed down, and shook her head from side to side.

The two haystacks remained still, and I slowly moved forward a little distance, getting closer to the haystacks.

The little guy is quite patient, why isn't he doing it yet?

Yu simply walked a short distance away from the haystack, turning her back to them. Sure enough, the next second, two figures leaped out of the haystack, wielding water pipes, and were about to attack Yu.

How could Yu possibly do as they wished? With a backflip, the two water pipes hit the ground.

When Essabo turned around again, Yu was nowhere to be seen. The two stood back to back, warily looking around in case Yu suddenly appeared.

"Were you looking for me?" Yu peeked out from behind the tree, looking at the two innocently. "Ace, hello..."

Before they could finish speaking, the two of them didn't hesitate and attacked You with the water pipe again.

"Ah ah ah ah ah."

"Listen to me carefully, it's not too late to act after you've finished speaking." You waved her hand, controlling the vines to bind the two people's feet and hang them upside down.

"Who are you? Let us go."

“Even though you were young back then, you can’t have no memory of it at all, right?” Youde thought of something that was memorable. “When we were little, I took you to climb trees and catch bears. Every time we went back, Dadan would punish me, and you would stand in front of me.”

"Also, when I was leaving, you didn't seem emotional, but Dadan later told me you secretly cried. Do you remember?"

“…” Ace crossed his arms and turned his head away. “You still know how to come back.”

"I'll come back to see you, but I'll be leaving soon."

Hearing this, Ace got even angrier. "Then don't come back at all. Even if you're not here, I still have Sabo and Luffy to keep me company."

“Ace, do you know her?” Sabo asked.

"Your name is Sabo, right? I'm Ace's older sister. You can call me Yu."

"You're not my sister. What sister would leave her brother behind..." Ace muttered.

"You're still young. I'll take you out to sea when you're older, okay?" Yu put the two of them down. "By the way, why are there only the two of you? Where's Luffy?"

"I didn't let him come with me, I left him here." Ace said angrily, his ankle losing its support, and he sat down on the ground with a thud.

"Let's go then, don't keep him waiting."

Ace reluctantly led the way, while Sabo and Yu chatted animatedly. Yu couldn't help but nudge Ace beside him, wondering when the little guy had become so stubborn and inconsistent.

"Waaaaah!"

They hadn't walked far when they heard crying coming from ahead. Ace Sabo quickly realized that Luffy was in trouble.

(Our three adorable ASL members are out! Luffy seems to be in trouble. Who could it be? Guess!)

(I forgot to give the chapter title for yesterday's chapter, so I've added it now.)