"Pffthahahaha—do you still remember the robot I pulled out when we first met?"
Cain lay on his back atop the flame cloud, laughing loudly, his tone full of teasing.
"Back then, you had that stinky look on your face, but that little bit of 'I want it' in your eyes? You couldn't hide it at all."
"What nonsense are you talking about?! I didn't care about that thing at all! It was just a little kid's toy," Ace snapped back irritably.
"Oh? Then who was it that snuck out in the middle of the night to rummage through the box, only to get his foot smashed instead?"
"I— That was… because that thing was in the way! I was just moving it aside. Who knew it would be that heavy?!"
Ace's voice grew a little anxious as he stiffened his neck and argued back, only to mutter quietly a moment later,
"And who would've thought you guys wouldn't go back and would actually stay the night at Dadan's place…"
"That's exactly why it was funny. Your mouth kept saying no, but your body was honest."
Cain laughed even harder.
"You hid away in the middle of the night to play with it, only for Luffy and me to catch you red-handed. Your face back then was almost completely red."
"Stop talking! That was because my foot hurt from getting smashed!"
Ace raised his hand, pretending he was about to smack Cain.
Then, as if something had suddenly come to mind, his expression shifted slightly.
"By the way, Cain, do you remember that time we talked about the 'D' in mine and Luffy's names?"
Cain's laughter faded a little at the sudden change in tone, and a faint trace of nostalgia appeared in his expression.
"Oh, that time."
"Sabo was there too," Cain continued, the corner of his mouth lifting. "We even joked that we should just add a 'D' to his name and call him Sa-D-Bo. Hahaha."
"Exactly."
Ace lifted a hand and adjusted the hat on his head.
"We even teased you back then, saying your surname, Chad, clearly had 'D' in it, so why couldn't you just split it out and use it?"
"I don't even know where I came from."
Cain's voice softened a little as he looked toward the distant sky.
"All I know is that it was somewhere at sea. I don't know whether it was one of the Four Seas, the Grand Line, the New World, or even the Calm Belt. It's just a surname. What can it really represent?"
"That may be true, but you're still different from me, Luffy, and Sabo."
Ace's tone sank slightly.
"Maybe somewhere out there, your parents are still waiting for you. Back then, Sabo and I even agreed that after we set out to sea, we'd help you look into your background."
"How could that be possible?"
Cain gave a dismissive laugh and waved his hand indifferently.
In the world of One Piece, countless people died whenever ships met disaster at sea.
Cain had only been a baby when he drifted in from who-knew-where, so how could his parents still be alive?
As he spoke, he turned to look at Ace, his eyes carrying a casual sort of curiosity.
"So, did you find something?"
"No."
Ace shook his head helplessly.
"The surname Chad is way too rare. Even when I occasionally heard about one or two people with the same surname, there were never any clues about a child or relatives. Nothing had anything to do with your background."
"I see."
Cain paused for a moment, then smiled in relief.
"But I stopped caring about that a long time ago."
He looked at Ace and stretched out his fist.
"After all, I have the old man, and I have you, Luffy, and Sabo. You guys are my family."
"True."
Seeing that, Ace bumped his fist against Cain's and smiled.
"We're brothers, after all."
The moment his words fell, both of their stomachs let out a loud grrrr— at almost the exact same time.
Cain froze for a second before bursting into laughter.
"Bwahaha, I'm kind of hungry."
"Same here…"
Before Ace could finish speaking, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he raised his hand to point at the sand in the distance.
"Look! Isn't that a crab?"
Cain turned his head in the direction Ace was pointing.
Sure enough, he saw an enormous crab waving two thick claws as it charged straight toward them!
…
New World, Dressrosa.
Inside the royal palace hall, Doflamingo lazily leaned against a sofa, dressed in his pink feather coat and looking every bit like a flamingo, while speaking to the woman seated across from him.
The woman wore white clothes and had short golden hair.
Even while facing the Warlord who ruled an entire country, there was not the slightest trace of fear in her expression.
"Fufufufu. So, you're saying you have information on a Zoan Devil Fruit?"
Doflamingo asked with his signature smile.
"It's only information. I can't guarantee whether it's true or false."
The woman in white spoke calmly, her fingertips tapping lightly against the table.
"I only came here because it was convenient. Think of it as earning a little extra money on the side. After all, I still have to attend 'Linlin's' banquet next. Whether you want this information or not makes no difference to me."
Purururururu—
Just then, the urgent ringing of a Den Den Mushi suddenly sounded.
"I'll step out for a moment."
The woman in white stood up and calmly withdrew to the entrance of the hall.
Doflamingo casually answered the Den Den Mushi, and a respectful report from his subordinate came through from the other end.
"Young Master, we…"
As he listened, the curve of Doflamingo's mouth gradually widened. In the end, he could not help letting out a low laugh.
"A Zoan Devil Fruit user? And a pirate who just set out to sea? Fufufufufu—I'll make my own arrangements for this. Continue your capture operation as planned."
The instant the call ended, the woman in white slowly walked back in.
At a glance, she saw Doflamingo casually staring at a wanted poster.
She raised an eyebrow, her tone carrying a bit of curiosity.
"What kind of person could catch your attention like that?"
"Just some new pirate who recently went out to sea. Not worth mentioning."
Doflamingo sneered.
Pinching the wanted poster between his fingers, he casually tossed it onto the table in front of him.
The woman's gaze swept across the paper. The moment she saw the name printed on it, her red lips parted slightly.
"Chad!?"
"All right, let's continue discussing this deal."
Doflamingo did not seem interested in lingering on that topic. His fingertips tapped lightly against the tabletop.
"Although it's only information, I'll give you a bargaining chip that matches its value."
"That's good."
The woman in white nodded slightly.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she added calmly, "But I'll say this in advance. That Devil Fruit seems to have already been targeted by a direct department under the World Government."
"Fufufufufufu—"
Doflamingo laughed as though he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
His wild laughter echoed through the palace hall.
"A mere subordinate organization of the World Government? What does that even count for?"
Then his smile deepened as his gaze settled on the woman again.
"But you, on the other hand… to think you can even dig up information about the World Government's movements. I'm growing more and more interested in you."
"No, this has nothing to do with me."
The woman in white gently shook her head, her tone flat.
"It's just that, that person acts far too arrogantly! Even if I didn't want to know these things, it would be difficult not to."
Hearing that, Doflamingo burst into loud, mocking laughter.
"FUFUFUFU! AS EXPECTED OF THE WORLD GOVERNMENT—ALL THEY RAISE ARE USELESS IDIOTS!"
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