Chapter 186: Ace: You Brat, You're Pretty Arrogant, Aren't You!
Ralph leaped directly from the ship's railing, then forcefully exerted himself in mid-air—Geppo!
Under the astonished gazes of the surrounding dockworkers and merchants, Ralph stepped on the air, catching up to Lufia, who had already run some distance away, in just a few strides.
"Lufia!"
He called out from the air.
Lufia looked up and saw Ralph "walking" down from the sky.
Her eyes lit up as she stretched out her hands:
"Ralph! Hold me!"
Ralph leaned down and scooped her up, then continued using Geppo, weaving through the dense rooftops of Nanohana.
This act was nothing short of shocking in the conservative port city of Alabasta.
People on the streets below looked up one after another, pointing at the two "flyers" in the sky and exclaiming in surprise.
But Ralph paid no mind to this.
He was now immersed in the thrill of intimate behavior under the public gaze.
And all Lufia cared about was food!
"Left! Ralph! Left!"
Lufia suddenly pointed in a certain direction,
"I smell something delicious! There's a restaurant over there!"
Ralph followed her pointing direction and indeed saw it.
Lufia's sense of smell in moments like this even surpassed his Observation Haki.
He adjusted his direction and, after a few leaps, landed steadily in the middle of the street.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, Lufia eagerly rushed inside.
"Great! I'm starving! I want to eat!"
She excitedly announced her arrival to the restaurant, completely unaware of the tense, standoffish atmosphere inside.
By the time Ralph followed her in, he saw a scene of confrontation.
On one side was a Navy officer in a white jacket, smoking a cigar—White Hunter Smoker.
His Jitte was already gripped in his hand.
On the other side was a young man with faint freckles on his face and a string of red beads around his neck.
He was bare-chested, with well-defined muscles, and at the moment, he was leisurely sitting on a chair, with a half-eaten plate of fried rice in front of him.
Hearing the commotion, Smoker turned his head toward the entrance.
Then his pupils abruptly contracted.
"Straw Hat Girl?!"
He exclaimed in shock, "If you're here, then…"
His gaze swept backward, and sure enough, he saw Ralph—
That guy with black hair and an infuriating smile beneath it.
Ralph also saw Smoker and casually greeted him:
"The Navy's benefits must be pretty good. Did they issue you a new Jitte that quickly?"
Smoker's expression instantly froze.
With just one sentence, Ralph had reminded him of the humiliation at Warship Island—
His Jitte had been taken by this man, and it remained a joke within the Navy to this day.
At the same time, he inwardly cursed his luck.
The one he had been confronting earlier was the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, Portgas D. Ace.
This was a genuine, high-profile Pirate!
Even with Smoker's own strength, capturing Ace would be somewhat difficult.
And now, to make matters worse, Straw Hat Lufia and that Ralph had shown up too.
If these three joined forces…
It couldn't be that coincidental!
Ace belonged to the Whitebeard Pirates, an old-school crew from the same era as the Pirate King.
Straw Hat Girl was a rising star, openly declaring her ambition to become the Pirate King.
Their relationship shouldn't be that harmonious, right!
Smoker's mind raced as he calculated the odds of success, but just then, something unexpected happened.
The moment Ace saw Lufia, his eyes widened sharply.
He sprang to his feet, his face showing undisguised delight:
"Lufia! My dear little sister! I've finally found you!"
The words struck the restaurant like a thunderbolt.
Smoker's heart skipped a beat.
This is bad.
They know each other.
And they're siblings.
In that instant, Smoker considered retreating.
But his pride as a Navy officer wouldn't allow it.
He tightened his grip on his Jitte.
Meanwhile, Lufia, after a moment of stunned silence, recognized the person before her.
"Ace!"
She exclaimed with delight,
"What are you doing here?"
With that, she spread her arms and rushed toward Ace.
Ralph, standing at the entrance, had expected to witness a heartwarming reunion between siblings.
But the next moment—
Thump!
Ace punched Lufia square in the face.
Lufia didn't back down, retaliating with a punch to Ace's stomach.
Then, right there in the restaurant, under the stunned gazes of Smoker and Ralph, the two siblings threw themselves into a full-blown brawl.
No Devil Fruit abilities, no Haki—just the most primitive, direct fistfight.
Punch after punch, the sound of impacts echoing through the air.
"Hahaha! You've gotten stronger, Lufia!"
"You too, Ace! But I'm still a bit stronger!"
"Stop bragging! Take this!"
Ralph was stunned for a moment before suddenly understanding.
It seemed that even after becoming a girl, Lufia's childhood hadn't changed much.
She and her brother Ace had still grown up fighting like this.
No wonder she developed such a tomboyish personality.
He silently mused to himself while keeping an eye on Smoker's movements.
Sure enough, although Smoker didn't understand why Pirate siblings interacted this way, he knew his chance had come.
It might be a bit underhanded, but it was for the sake of justice.
"White Snake!"
Smoker's arms transformed into two massive serpents made of white smoke, lunging from both sides toward Ace and Lufia as they fought fiercely!
Ace's expression shifted, about to activate his Devil Fruit ability to deal with the distraction, when he suddenly noticed—
The black-haired boy who had come with Lufia had made his move.
Ralph simply raised his hand, swiping twice so fast that only afterimages remained.
Swoosh—!
The two white serpents formed from Smoker's Moku Moku no Mi were severed mid-air!
"What?!"
Smoker stared in shock as his arms returned to their original form.
In a flash, Ralph appeared before Smoker, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"When siblings are reuniting and having a joyful family moment," Ralph said with a smile, "It's best for outsiders not to cause trouble."
Smoker instantly transformed his entire body into white smoke, trying to escape Ralph's grasp.
But the restaurant was too cramped, leaving no room for his smoke to disperse.
Ralph's leg, coated in Armament Haki, lashed out—
Thud!
Smoker was sent flying, crashing through the wooden door of the restaurant and tumbling onto the street outside.
He reformed into his human shape outside, but as he tried to stand, he felt his hand go empty.
His Jitte was gone.
Looking back into the restaurant, Ralph stood at the entrance, holding Smoker's Jitte, a mocking smile on his face:
"I gave you a chance, but you couldn't make use of it."
"I told you to go back to headquarters and train. Did you?"
"If you're still at this level, you probably don't even have the right to chase after us."
As he spoke, the fabric on Ralph's shoulder shifted.
A small black "gecko"—actually a shrunken version of Munch-Munch—crawled out from Ralph's collar and perched on his shoulder.
Then, under Smoker's incredulous gaze, Munch-Munch opened its disproportionately large mouth and, with a gulp, swallowed the entire Jitte into its belly.
After finishing, it even let out a satisfied burp.
Smoker's face flushed a deep, liverish red.
Humiliation.
This was the second time.
"You better remember this! I'll catch you sooner or later!"
He spat out this threat, then turned into smoke and vanished at the end of the street.
Ralph shrugged and turned back into the restaurant.
By now, the "sibling brawl" between Ace and Lufia had also come to an end.
Lufia was already seated at the bar counter, with three large plates of fried rice in front of her, eating voraciously.
Ace sat beside her, wearing an expression of both affection and helplessness.
Seeing Ralph enter, Ace turned his head and looked him up and down.
"You there," Ace grinned, revealing a sly smile, "you're the one who got on the bounty poster with my sister... the nameless Ralph?"
Lufia, her mouth stuffed with food, nodded indistinctly:
"Mhm mhm mhm!"
Ace's smile deepened.
"Pretty bold, aren't you!"