46: Chapter 46 Encountering Ace, reminding AceAfter releasing everyone from the training space, Luffy took out his binoculars and looked ahead.Not far from the scorching wasteland was a small town.Vivi, initially reluctant to disembark for fear of being recognized and causing unnecessary trouble, was persuaded by Usopp's terrible idea.A moment later, the pedestrians in the town stared strangely at Luffy, his companions, and the group slowly moving forward with a long cloth wrapped around their necks.Outside, Luffy, Usopp, and Kuina, whose faces were darkened by Nami's forceful use of the cloth to make up the numbers, also wore dark expressions.If it weren't for Vivi's safety, they wouldn't have done something so shameful.They only lifted the long cloth when they reached a secluded corner where they wouldn't be noticed by the crowd.However, after everyone sat down to rest, they realized Luffy was missing.Zoro explained that Luffy had suddenly said he had something to do halfway through the journey and left alone despite Zoro and Sanji's attempts to stop him."Ugh, that idiot!Doesn't he know what kind of person he is?" Nami covered her forehead in exasperation.Last time, when they stopped at a deserted island to replenish their food and water, Luffy disappeared in the blink of an eye.They searched the entire island but couldn't find him until they returned to the ship, where they discovered he was already back.Under everyone's loving care, a bewildered Luffy weakly explained.Having accidentally gotten separated from the group, Luffy, realizing he was lost, immediately flew back to the ship.That night, trapped in his cage, Luffy watched the others feasting and drinking outside, and tears welled up in his eyes again.Rewinding a few minutes, Luffy, still walking along the road, suddenly remembered that his older brother seemed to be there too.Although he didn't know where he was, Luffy still wanted to find him, so he temporarily left the crew to look for Ace.However, when Luffy arrived at a clothing store for the tenth time, his face turned completely black."I shouldn't have been so confident in myself!Damn it, where am I?" Luffy helplessly complained.Just then, his stomach growled at the most inopportune moment.Luffy wandered aimlessly through the city, searching for a restaurant and his crewmates.He came across a shop with a large crowd outside.Upon inquiring, he learned that someone inside had suddenly died while eating.The crowd, noticing the red stains on his clothes, deduced that he had eaten a poisonous desert fruit, leading to his death.Hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Luffy's eyes.He then saw a familiar figure with jitte behind his back enter the shop.A wicked smile crept across his face.Taking advantage of Smoker and Ace's conversation, he unleashed a powerful attack: "Kuruku Kuruku-ru!Gum-Gum Rocket!"
Luffy stretched out his arm, aimed at Smoker, and secretly covered his head with Armament Haki.He then charged towards Smoker's waist at lightning speed.The onlookers were startled and scattered.Smoker, who was about to arrest Ace, naturally heard the commotion behind him.Before he could turn around, he felt a sharp pain in his waist and was also thrown towards Ace.Ace was caught off guard and couldn't dodge.He was carried by Smoker, crashing through the tavern wall and into a house.Luffy glanced at the dusty wall, then at the table laden with food, and without a word, chose to take the food from the table.While Luffy was frantically stuffing his food into his mouth, Ace, adjusting his tilted hat, peeked out from the rubble, furious and ready to teach the culprit a lesson.Seeing Luffy sitting there showing off his food, all his anger vanished.Smoker, standing behind him, also saw Luffy.Enraged, he clutched his back and shoved Ace, who was about to greet him, back to the ground, charging towards Luffy.Luffy, still showing off his food, naturally knew what was happening, but believing that nothing mattered more than his rice, he remained completely unfazed.Even with Smoker standing menacingly in front of him, he calmly shoveled food into his mouth."Stop eating!"
Smoker roared angrily, but Luffy calmly finished the last bite of his food, took out money from his pocket (system space) and handed it to the shopkeeper, calmly stood up, and calmly turned and ran.Everything was so smooth, so sudden, that even Smoker didn't have time to react before Luffy was already far away.Smoker yelled and chased after Luffy.Ace, who had emerged from the ruins, saw this and immediately took a shortcut to catch up.Luffy didn't forget to turn back and taunt Smoker as he ran.Just then, Zoro heard the commotion and peeked out from behind a wall, only to have a sweet eye contact with Luffy.After looking at Luffy with a blank expression, he realized that Luffy was chasing him.The others also poked their heads out and had a sweet eye contact with the Marines chasing Luffy."Luffy, you jerk!"
To avoid causing even bigger trouble, the group chased after Luffy.Smoker, seeing the Straw Hat crew was all there, and a blue-haired girl he'd never seen before, assumed she was a newcomer and immediately activated his ability, creating a large amount of smoke that lunged at Luffy and the others.Just as Zoro was about to intervene, he unleashed his "Kagerou" ability.
A pillar of fire blocked Smoker's attack.The newcomer was none other than Ace, who had taken a shortcut.After nodding to Luffy and Uta, Ace stood alone in front of the numerous Marines.Luffy led the group towards the Going Merry port.Everyone was curious about who it was.Luffy simply replied, "My brother." Although surprised, they planned to return to the Going Merry to ask.However, when they returned to the Going Merry and counted heads, they discovered that Luffy was missing again.Looking at Zoro, who was not lost, and then at Luffy, who was lost, everyone unanimously exclaimed in exasperation that Luffy was both an idiot and a hopeless navigator.After wandering around for a while, Luffy finally realized he was in an unfamiliar alley.Knowing he was lost, he simply ignored it and sat on a wooden barrel, waiting for Ace to come find him.Sure enough, after a short while, Ace jumped down from a rooftop and said with amusement, "Luffy, looks like you're lost again!""
Luffy greeted him with a smile.After a friendly sparring match, Ace pulled Luffy towards the port.He couldn't leave him; the kid was always a handful, and Ace didn't want to have to look for him again.Along the way, Ace and Luffy chatted a lot.When they talked about Sabo, Ace felt a little sorry that the guy hadn't become a pirate but instead joined the Revolutionary Army.However, it was his brother's choice, and Ace was happy for him.The two arrived at the coastline just in time to see the Going Merry preparing to set sail.Upon seeing Luffy's familiar smile, Ace panicked.Although he had eaten the Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit, the childhood trauma was still lingering.Just as Luffy was about to attack, Ace grabbed Luffy and used his Devil Fruit power to fly onto the Going Merry.After recognizing Uta, everyone.Only then did Ace realize who the mysterious man before him was, and that he had come here to hunt down Teach, who had killed his own crewmates for the Dark-Dark Fruit.After helping Luffy defeat the pirate grunts who were there to take Teach's head, Ace prepared to leave.Watching Ace prepare to depart, Luffy couldn't help but remind him, "Ace, I know I can't stop you, but I must warn you, when you encounter Teach, try not to use your Devil Fruit ability in your fight if possible.I've heard that the Dark-Dark Fruit's ability is extremely strange; it can temporarily disable the abilities of Logia, Zoan, and Paramecia users.So, until you're absolutely certain, Ace, I advise you to hone your Armament Haki first.That way, you'll have a chance to defeat Teach."
Ace was taken aback after hearing Luffy's words.He hadn't expected Luffy to know about Haki.It seemed his younger brother had gotten stronger again.After saying goodbye to Luffy, Ace pondered for a moment but decided to pursue Teach.In his eyes, he couldn't tolerate anyone who killed his comrades.