One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 58 This farewell seems like a final goodbye.

When Luffy climbed down the tree, Ace and Sabo had already disappeared. After walking for a while, he heard a voice behind him and assumed it was Ace and Sabo.

Who knew that he would run into Katakuri when he turned around.

Katakuri looked down at the tiny figure who barely reached his knees, but made no other move.

Luffy's size was insignificant compared to Katakuri's. He stood frozen in fear, his knees buckling and trembling slightly. Tears welled in his eyes, but he dared not cry. Even though the person in front of him hadn't done anything, he inexplicably felt that he was going to die a terrible death.

"You, you don't come any closer, I... I'm very... very powerful."

Katakuri initially didn't want to fight the child, but his actions piqued his interest. He crouched down, closing the distance between himself and Luffy, and remained silent, wanting to see how the little guy would react.

"I...I'm telling you...if you touch me, Ace...and...and Sabo won't let you get away with this...waaaah!"

"...This little guy is pretty stubborn..."

Despite Luffy's profuse explanation, the person in front of him remained completely unresponsive. His trembling legs, however, steadied his body, and he raised his hands, ready to defend himself at any moment, prepared to run away if necessary.

Katakuri raised one of his hands, which were draped over his legs, just as Luffy thought he was going to hit him.

"Biu~" Katakuri flicked Luffy with his index finger, and Luffy was gently pushed away, falling to the ground.

Even though they hit him, they didn't hit him completely, so the damage wasn't significant, but the insult was extremely strong.

Luffy burst into tears. Katakuri also felt guilty and even sat down opposite Luffy to see how long he could cry.

So when Yu and Ace Sabo arrived, what they saw was a large and a small child sitting face to face. The larger one seemed to be watching a play with great interest, while the smaller one was crying as if it were free.

"Luffy!"

"Waaaaa! He bullied me! He flicked me! Waaaaaa!" Upon seeing Ace, she felt as if she had seen a savior, and her voice rose eight octaves.

Yu looked at Katakuri, his eyes asking inquiringly: You hit him?

Katakuri looked back at Yu, innocently indicating that he hadn't done anything wrong. However, Yu glanced at Luffy: "Then why is he crying so loudly?"

Katakuri thought for a moment, then obediently stretched out his hand and repeated the action from before. He then gave him another look: See, I didn't hit him, I just flicked him and he cried.

"..." Yu sighed, nudging Ace and telling him, "This big...big brother accidentally flicked him. Luffy, don't cry, okay?"

"Waaaaah..."

"Idiot, stop crying. Aren't you going to be the Pirate King? What are you crying for?" Ace couldn't stand it anymore; this guy never stopped crying.

Persuasion is useless, so I might as well do what Katakuri did and sit and see how long he can keep crying.

Luffy was wailing, with four people sitting in front of him, arranged in a tiered formation from left to right: Katakuri, Yu, Ace, and Sabo. They watched like spectators, as if exploring the limits of human endurance, wondering what kind of crying he could produce and how long he could cry.

"How long can he cry? Is it always like this?" Yu was almost asleep, but Luffy hadn't stopped. "Ace, is it always like this?"

"Pretty much, you'll get used to it," Ace said helplessly.

“Logically speaking, he ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, so he shouldn’t be afraid of pain,” Sabo wondered.

"Katakuri, you really only flicked him? Are you sure you didn't use Armament Haki?"

"...No."

"I'm a little hungry. Let's go catch a wild beast and roast it for meat." You patted her bottom and stood up, gesturing for the people around her to come with her. "Let's go."

"Wait...wait a minute. I want to eat meat too..." Luffy said somewhat shyly, his big, teary eyes wide open.

"Then stop crying and keep up."

Yu now understands that Luffy is a complete crybaby and also loves to eat meat.

Luffy's eating habits are also far beyond those of ordinary people, thanks to the power of his Gum-Gum Fruit. Looking at Luffy lying on the ground with his round belly, even burping, he gives off a unique vibe of Grandpa Garp, always so unserious.

"Haha, Lu Bao, you're so nice to squeeze." I tugged at it from the left and right, it felt really good.

"Hey, who are you? Do I know you?"

"Hmm? I guess you could say we know each other." His hands kept moving, the feeling of touch wouldn't stop. "You were too young back then, how about we get to know each other again? Your hat is really nice."

"Don't touch it! Shanks gave it to me." Luffy carefully protected the straw hat, refusing to let anyone touch it. "I'm going to become the Pirate King, defeat him, and then give the hat back to him."

"Take your time, Luffy, no rush." ​​This hat was passed from Roger to Shanks, and then from Shanks to Luffy, but unfortunately it wasn't given to Ace.

Yu glanced at Ace to the side, unable to articulate her thoughts, but then Sabo hit him, and Luffy hit him again...

The three guys had their own things to do, so Yu didn't spend much time with them and went off to wander off on his own with Katakuri.

I came to the East China Sea solely to fulfill You's wish, so I didn't plan to stay long. We set sail and left soon after.

On the day they left, Sabo, Luffy, and the other two stood on the cliff at the edge of the island to say goodbye to Yu and his group, but Ace was nowhere to be seen.

Yu prepared a gift for him and placed it in their secret base. Ace seemed indifferent, but he was actually the one who needed the most care.

"Yu!"

As the ship sailed further and further away, Yu knew that Ace wouldn't come; in fact, she didn't want him to come anyway. She was afraid Ace would cry, but she was even more afraid of crying herself.

But then, he came.

"Wait for me in the new world! I'll come find you!"

Yu saw Ace wearing the hat she had given him; it was a cowboy hat with a crying face and a smiling face on it.

"Okay! I'll be waiting for you!"

Yu's eyes were slightly red as she responded to Ace.

However, Ace had someone with him.

There's nothing to be sad about in parting, but Yu had a vague feeling that this time she might not be able to come back, as if this was the last time she would see Ace and the others.

Whole Cake Island, it's been a long time since we've been back. Even though Yu is running away and delaying his return, the mission is complete, and Katakuri should go back too. Brûlée and Pudding have also been with them for a long time.

They should go back and take a look.

Inside the Cake Castle in the heart of Cake City, in the world of cakes.

Cracker was in agony, looking at his younger siblings scattered all over the ground, utterly exhausted.

Today it was his turn to look after these younger siblings. Although they were adorable, they were still their mother's children, and each had their own "special talents." He couldn't discipline them by hitting them with crackers, nor could he control them properly.

"Smoothie, can you stop sitting on the sidelines and help me manage this?" Cracker grabbed one of the two fighting on the ground with his left arm and reached for another one with his right.

"No, that's your problem. I just wanted to keep you company." Smoothie sat to the side, legs crossed, a glass of juice in her hand. "Or, why don't you call Katakuri back?"

Cracker was also angry. It should have been Katakuri's turn by now, but there was no sign of him. "It's all Yu's fault. Beauty can ruin things. Katakuri hasn't come back yet."

"You can come back and teach Yu a lesson, but I don't think you'll dare."

Yu is Cracker's good "sister," but Katakuri is no match for her. It's a shame Brulee and Pudding went along to play with him. His life is so miserable...

"Ugh."

The little girl next to Smoothie heard everything they were saying.

Who is Yu? Is she important to Katakuri?

(I'm late, I'm late. I'll just briefly mention ASL; I didn't elaborate, but Yuu still cares about Ace, especially since they've been away for so long and their return to Whole Cake Island can't be delayed.)

(The earlier Luffy and Katakuri storyline stemmed from a fan art piece I found particularly interesting, so I'll see if I can post it in the comments, hehe. Back to the main plot, a key character from Whole Cake Island is about to appear; she's very, very important.)