thefictionvixens Chapter 471 2 year later
Chapter 471 2 year later
"Of course I can, it just depends on whether you can or not," Ace challenged.
“Of course I have no problem!” Lucci was a little annoyed by Ace’s doubts about his strength. “They will trust me more than they trust you.”
"You mean you're stronger?" Ace crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, questioning, "I remember that idiot was recently made quite a mess by my flames!"
“That was just a mistake!” Lucci glared at Ace.
Ace shrugged. "I beat you anyway."
"Stop being so smug, I'll get it back!" Lucci snorted in dissatisfaction.
“I won’t give you that chance,” Ace said defiantly. The two exchanged a glance and then laughed together.
After a moment they all fell silent, with only the sound of waves crashing against the ship echoing between them. A sudden sense of loss struck him, and Lucci couldn't help but turn his gaze back to the island that had vanished, suddenly realizing how quiet their ship was.
“It’s only been four months, he’ll be fine,” Ace whispered, putting his arm around Lucci’s shoulder.
"Of course, Luffy is our little brother after all." Lucci laughed again.
……
Two years later
Chabaoti Archipelago
Zoro, with a scar on his left eye, entered the tavern with a blank expression, using only one eye. Inside, Rayleigh was shaking a glass full of wine with one hand, and Shakky was wiping glasses behind the counter with an inscrutable smile on her face. There was no one else there.
"What? Not a single person has arrived yet? We really don't know what to do with them."
Rayleigh smiled and invited Zoro to sit down next to him.
Shaki offered Zoro a glass of rum, which Zoro drank in one gulp; he was always happy to have good drinks.
"What a surprise, you're the first one here." Rayleigh glanced at Zoro, sizing up the young pirate, and said with a smile, "I must say, Luffy had a very high opinion of you, but now it seems there's a discrepancy between what he said and what he said."
Zoro tensed up, but relaxed when he heard Luffy's name. "What did he say?"
“He said your sense of direction is worse than his,” Riley said, adding more ice to his drink.
Zoro stared at Rayleigh expressionlessly, then sneered, "That's not true. I've never gotten lost."
After saying that, Zoro lowered his head and took another sip of his drink, finally asking, "Is Luffy alright?"
“In fact, he’s better than ever.” Rayleigh looked up at Zoro and said with a smile, “He’s with his brothers, he trains very well, and I have nothing else to teach him.”
Zoro nodded and finished the remaining liquid in his cup in one gulp. "It's good to know this."
After Zoro finished speaking, he stood up and prepared to leave. Before leaving completely, he left behind the words, "I'll be nearby."
Then he left the tavern without looking back.
Zoro looked at the familiar surroundings in front of the tavern and felt a rare sense of unease. He wanted to touch that scar, but he told himself not to.
He should have been relieved to know that Luffy was alright, but he knew that wasn't the real reason. He was just ashamed that he wasn't by Luffy's side when Luffy was struggling to the death. The Life Paper that was burning rapidly in his palm would always remind him of that, even though it had been restored to its original state two years ago.
......
Time flew by, and two years passed faster than they had anticipated. Luffy must be stronger than when they last met. Sabo adjusted his hat and smiled as he walked towards Luffy's location.
Sabo couldn't help but laugh as he watched the enormous animals obediently surrounding Luffy. It seemed his brother had completely become the boss of this island. Looking at Luffy's smile, brighter than the sun under his straw hat, Sabo's lips curled up involuntarily. "Luffy!"
"Sabo!!" Luffy immediately turned around in surprise and charged towards Sabo like a cannonball.
Sabo immediately stretched out his arm, took a step back, and steadily caught Luffy who had jumped into his arms, teasingly saying with a smile, "Hey, you're a lot heavier than the last time we met, Luffy."
"I've become stronger!" Luffy grinned and raised his arm, showing off his muscles.
"Yes, indeed, he's gotten much stronger." Sabo really took a good look at Luffy. Compared to two years ago, Luffy had indeed grown taller and his aura had become more powerful. What made Sabo most happy was that they had finally fattened up the kid a bit.
Sabo pinched Luffy's cheek, which was slightly rounder than it had been two years ago, with dissatisfaction. "But you're really hard to raise. We've put in so much effort to raise you for so long and you've only gained this little bit of weight."
"What are you doing, Sabo?" Luffy protested incoherently as his face was being pulled.
"Luffy...we can set off now," Hancock said shyly, covering her face.
"I came to pick you up, but judging from the situation, Luffy doesn't seem to need his brother to pick him up," Sabo said, feigning hurt.
"No, of course I want you guys to come pick me up!" Luffy grinned and put his arm around his brother. "Alright, let's go!"
Sabo shook his head with amusement. Luffy had become smarter; he wasn't as easily fooled as before.
"Sabo, Lucci, and Ace aren't here?" Luffy asked, puzzled. He couldn't sense his two older brothers' presence. "Didn't they say they were coming to find me too?"
“They both said they had some things to take care of.” Sabo shook his head with amusement, then chuckled as he thought of Lucci and Ace’s awkward expressions on the phone. “They’re probably very busy right now.”
“Okay.” Luffy nodded.
"They'll meet us in Sabaody Archipelago." Sabo patted Luffy's head reassuringly. "Luffy, you've become very strong now."
"Of course! I'm even stronger than you guys now!" Luffy immediately became excited. "I can definitely beat you guys in a fight now!"
“You couldn’t beat us last time we met,” Sabo grinned, starting to tease his brother.
"I'm ready now! Just you wait and see! I've developed a lot of interesting new techniques lately!" Luffy smiled confidently. "Now none of you can beat me!"
"Of course, after all, you're going to be the Pirate King. It would be a bit embarrassing if you were defeated by your older brothers," Sabo teased.
Luffy grinned, somewhat excited. He was finally going to set sail again and would soon see his crewmates. He couldn't wait!
.....
Coast of District 44, Sabaody Archipelago.
Upon arriving on the island, Sanji immediately spotted the woman he had been dreaming of. His heart, radiating a blush of desire, instantly transformed into one of captivated excitement, as he shouted, "A woman! A woman! This island actually has the woman I've been longing for day and night... a real woman!!"
After quickly saying goodbye to the transvestites who brought him there, Sanji immediately rushed into the crowd, showering all sorts of beautiful women with affection, and most importantly, shouting, "Nami-san~ Robin-san~ Sanji the man is back!!"