Chapter 35: One Punch Per Ace

"Huh? Brother Siano! What are you doing!"

Luffy was startled and instinctively reached out to grab it, "You can borrow anything else as a prop, but this is something very important to me, so you can't..."

"Watch closely."

Siano smiled cheerfully and tossed the straw hat in his hand into the air.

And just at the moment the hat fell and was caught by a hand, the straw hat suddenly vanished without a trace.

"?!?!"

Luffy's eyes widened like copper bells; he circled Siano's open palm, looking left and right, but simply couldn't find any clue.

"Stop looking; believe it or not, it's already in my bag?" Siano laughed.

"How is that possible?"

Luffy clicked his tongue, rushed over, and unzipped Siano's bag; beneath several loaves of bread, he actually dug out his own straw hat.

"Whoa whoa whoa!!!"

Luffy held the straw hat high and shrieked, "It really is here! So amazing! How did you do that, Big Brother? Do it again, do it again!"

He thrust the straw hat back into Siano's hands like offering a treasure, shaking the latter's arm vigorously, "Just once, just once, okay..."

"Performing the same magic trick a second time will only make it lose its charm."

Siano smiled and ruffled his head, "Alright, that's enough for now; look, they're almost done packing, so I should be going too."

Unnoticed by anyone, at this very moment, below the cliff.

A freckled boy was gritting his teeth, climbing up inch by inch.

Several times he nearly slipped and fell, but ultimately he struggled to the very top, grabbed the cliff edge, and flipped himself up.

"Those detestable mountain bandits!"

They actually dared to capture Luffy; I must teach them a good lesson!

Turning his gaze toward Shi Zhu, Ace froze—Huh? Where are they? Clearly, from far away just earlier, he had seen Luffy tied to this stone pillar.

He crept behind Shi Zhu, poked his head out to look, and immediately turned pale with shock.

He saw what appeared to be a mountain bandit leader, a black-haired burly man, pinching Luffy's head and tilting his own to reveal a sinister grin.

And beside Luffy, a large pot was set up, inside which thick soup was bubbling vigorously.

What are they trying to do?

Have these bandits gone so mad that they eat people, intending to boil Luffy alive!

"Stop right there!"

Ace, frantic with anxiety, roared and charged out without hesitation, clenching his right fist as he rushed toward that damn bandit leader.

Boom!

In the flash of an instant, that bandit leader actually reacted, whipping around fiercely, extending a large hand to envelop Ace's fist, and blocking it head-on.

Hm?

Ace froze—This guy... what incredibly fast reaction speed!

Siano was equally stunned.

That face with iconic freckles and pockmarks... is it Ace? Why did he suddenly jump out to attack me?

The two stared at each other for an instant.

Ace suddenly yanked his fist back while his other hand reached for his waist, drawing a dagger and stabbing toward Siano's wrist.

"You..."

Siano's mouth had just opened when he was forcibly interrupted; he could only retreat while simultaneously sweeping his leg out fiercely, kicking the dagger away.

"Don't be impulsive yet, kid!"

He grabbed Ace's attacking fist, frowning, "Have you misunderstood something? This is clearly our first meeting, isn't it?"

"Misunderstood? What misunderstanding? I saw with my own eyes you pinching Luffy's head, trying to throw him into the pot!"

Ace roared and exerted force, actually breaking free from Siano's large hand; he twisted his waist and hips, launching a sharp upward kick toward Siano's crotch.

"Man-eating monster, die!"

Hey, this is never-ending!

Siano instantly flew into a rage—What nonsense is this brat imagining? He won't even listen to a proper explanation like this.

In that case, I won't be polite either!

He suddenly lifted his foot, neither dodging nor avoiding, and stomped down directly onto the leg flying up in a kick.

At the moment of collision, Ace let out a piercing scream, his face instantly distorting from pain, while a crisp cracking sound erupted from his leg as it bent at a sharp angle.

So painful! How is this person's strength so much greater than mine? Ashamed and furious, Ace completely disregarded everything, gripping Siano's waist tightly with both hands to lever his upper body up, then slamming his head fiercely into the other's chest.

Still going at it?

Siano truly lost his patience this time; he simply clenched his fist and delivered a straight punch right to the freckled face thrusting toward him from below.

Thud!

With a dull sound, Ace's nose blood sprayed out; his eyes grew hazy, suddenly his body swayed, and he collapsed softly to the ground, fainting.

Fainted already?

Siano withdrew his fist, looking at the Ace on the ground with some surprise; he hadn't even used full strength.

This kid's strength and speed are quite good, roughly half my level, but his resistance to blows seems even worse than Luffy's.

Though Luffy is a special case; the rubber properties of the Nika Fruit allow him, even at a young age, to naturally offset most blunt force damage.

"Ace!"

Luffy widened his eyes, hurriedly threw himself over, and shook Ace, "How are you? Wake up!"

He actually wanted to help and stop them the moment Ace pulled out the dagger.

But everything that followed happened too fast; before he could snap out of it, between two punches and two kicks, Ace had already been beaten unconscious by Siano.

"He's fine; he'll wake up in a while."

Siano checked, shook his head slightly, "But his leg seems to be fractured. He'd better rest properly for a few days and avoid strenuous activity."

He's fine?

That was good. Luffy relaxed, looked at the battered, bruised, and wretched Ace, suddenly couldn't help but point at him and burst out laughing:

"Defeated so quickly, what a disgrace! You've finally met your match, Ace!"

"..."

Siano raised an eyebrow, "I thought you were going to rush over to avenge him."

"Ace was being unreasonable. Although I know he was worried about me, I'm not a fool; I certainly wouldn't blame you, Big Brother Siano. Of course, I can't beat you anyway."

Luffy stood up. "We usually spar often. Ace is much stronger than me; I can't win even once in a hundred times. Every time I get beaten terribly, only watching him act arrogant and show off. I never expected to see the day he'd be knocked down in just a few hits."

"You're so strong, Big Brother Siano!" Luffy pinched his chin. "Hmm, should you teach me magic first, or the fighting techniques that defeated Ace..."

"Neither."

Siano chuckled, grabbed his backpack, and casually slung it over his right shoulder.

"Manba and the others are all packed up. Now I really have to leave. We'll meet again if fate allows, Luffy."

Eh?

Luffy instinctively looked up and indeed saw the camp had been cleaned up. Those pitiful poor people were gathered outside the gate, waiting for Siano.

"Let's go!"

Siano rubbed the boy's head one last time; it was prickly, but the feel was quite pleasant. He smiled, waved his hand, and with Manba and his group, his figure gradually faded into the distance.

The camp, which had been so lively just moments ago, suddenly became quiet and desolate.

Luffy stared blankly at the gate outside for a long time before coming to his senses somewhat dejectedly, rubbing his slightly empty stomach.

So hungry. He turned his head to look at the big pot still bubbling and gurgling.

Inside were radishes and wild vegetables; under normal circumstances, he wouldn't eat such things.

But now he was starving, and he had to stay and wait for Ace to wake up, unable to go out to find food, so he simply ladled a bowl and drank it in big gulps.

Just as he was nearly finished, a groan came from nearby; it was Ace, clutching his head, slowly waking up.

"Luffy?"

Ace looked at him in shock. "You haven't been boiled yet?"

"What do you mean boiled... you misunderstood someone, Ace!" Luffy ladled another bowl and held it out to Ace. "Those uncles, actually, weren't bandits at all."

Radishes?

Ace looked down at the soup brought to his mouth, scratched his head, and suddenly understood much.

He accepted the bowl with a bitter smile. "It seems I was impulsive. Where is the guy who fought me just now? He was really strong. Who is he?"

"That guy..."

Luffy recalled the scenes from just now and giggled.

"He's a very good person! And he can do magic too, very magical magic. Unfortunately, I haven't learned it yet. Ace, I'll demonstrate it for you later. Can you do it for me in the future?"

It's the first day of the month, the monthly votes have refreshed, asking for everyone's monthly votes~

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(End of Chapter)