Chapter 741

He looked up,

The blazing sun had slowly risen to the very center of the sky.

Golden sunlight spilled down from the edge of the heavens.

A sense of warmth flowed into his heart.

It was already noon.

"Let's go, head back to Windmill Village."

"Since the matter here has been resolved smoothly, we shouldn't let Old Village Chief and the others worry for too long."

"You have no idea — if I hadn't rushed back to the village in time, Old Village Chief and the others would probably have brought over a hundred villagers to come rescue you."

Lu En reminded Ace and Little Lufei.

"This—!"

Ace was speechless for a moment.

Old Village Chief leading the villagers to come rescue them?

Wouldn't that just be sending them to their deaths?

More than eight hundred bandits — how could they be pushovers?

Fortunately…

That guy Lu En had returned in time!

If not,

The matter would truly have blown up into something huge.

The more he thought about it, the more Ace's heart pounded and cold sweat broke out across him.

"Now you know to be afraid?"

"If something happens to you, it's even more people who get dragged down."

"So from now on, never act recklessly when you do things."

Lu En reminded him once more.

He could not help but think—

In the future, when Ace joined the Whitebeard Pirates…

And encountered that impulsive incident with Blackbeard Teach.

It was precisely because of a moment of impulse that a series of earth-shaking events were triggered.

Right now,

He would first give Ace a preventive shot, so to speak.

As for whether Ace would actually take it to heart?

That, Lu En had no way of knowing.

"I understand."

Ace lowered his head, his face full of shame.

If it were truly because of him alone that those simple, honest villagers of the whole village were dragged down, then he would never be able to feel at ease for the rest of his life.

"Is it really fine to leave these people here?"

"Don't we need to leave a few hands behind to keep strict watch?"

Sabo could not help but ask.

"It's not like we can't."

Lu En thought for a moment.

So,

The Dadan family left five members behind to serve as guards over these bandits.

Only this way could everything be ensured foolproof.

"Let's go."

Then,

Lu En led Dadan, Ace, Little Lufei, and the rest of their group, retracing their original route back toward Windmill Village.

On the way back to Windmill Village,

Little Lufei, who had originally been somewhat in awe of Lu En, suddenly seemed to throw open his heart, turning into a lively little rascal — asking this question, then that question.

He appeared to have already taken Lu En as his own big brother, with no distance left between them.

"Big Brother, just how strong are you right now?"

Little Lufei's face full of curiosity, he could not help but ask.

The question Little Lufei raised at this moment,

In an instant, drew the curious gazes of everyone present.

Among them,

Were Dadan, Ace, Sabo, and the others.

They all, with eyes brimming with curiosity, unanimously fixed their gazes upon Lu En.

"How strong am I?"

Lu En narrowed his eyes slightly, casting a strange glance at the curious little ones before him.

After thinking for a moment,

He asked with a smile: "Almost about to catch up to the old man. ~"

The "old man" he spoke of—

Besides the Navy's hero Captain Kapu, who else could it be—?!

Hearing Lu En's words,

Hiss—

Dadan and the members of the Dadan family beside him all couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.

Of course they were well aware.

Just how immense Captain Kapu's weight was within the Navy!

That was the Navy's hero!

Praised as a legendary Marine!

His strength was incomparably tremendous.

A top-tier powerhouse standing at the ceiling of this very sea.

And now,

They had actually heard.

The five-year-old Lu En state with his own mouth.

That his strength was nearly approaching that of hero Captain Kapu!

This, naturally, left them utterly shaken and unable to believe it.

"That kid Lu En…"

"He's only five years old!"

"His strength is actually about to catch up to that guy Captain Kapu?"

"Is it real or not?"

Dadan's mind was rocked to its core.

At his side,

The other members of the Dadan family likewise wore looks of shock, their tumultuous emotions unable to calm for a long time.

"Could it be an exaggeration?"

Someone doubted.

"Impossible."

"He has no need to tell such a lie."

"Don't forget, that guy Lu En is the strongest genius in the entire history of the Navy! Looking across the seas for hundreds of years, no one can even be mentioned in the same breath as this monster Lu En!"