In the tavern, Makino and Summer talked extensively, mostly about the time when young Luffy first met Shanks.
Summer also shared a few interesting snippets from his own life with Makino. Before he knew it, evening had arrived. After casually asking about Luffy's current whereabouts, Summer bid farewell to Makino.
Early the next morning, Summer headed up the mountain.
Mount Colbo, base of the Dadan Family of mountain bandits.
"Hmph, the two of you brats might as well just drop dead!"
Amidst a flurry of chaos and shouting, Ace and Luffy bolted out under a torrent of abuse from Dadan, fleeing deep into the forest toward their secret base.
To begin today's training.
Ever since the two of them "witnessed" Sabo's death, following a remark from Luffy: "Ace isn't a gentle older brother, not nearly as gentle as Sabo."
Ace's personality had undergone a transformation. Ever since that day, he had become a gentle older brother who cared for and doted on his younger brother.
As usual, the two figures moved swiftly through the jungle, their eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. As they grew older, the two brothers had become unmatched in these mountains; the wild beasts in the jungle fled at the mere whisper of their presence, eager to avoid ending up as a delicious feast that would nourish the earth with their remains.
"Ace, I'm definitely going to win today!"
In a clearing in the woods, Luffy warmed up his arms and twisted his neck, gazing at Ace with utter confidence, determined to win just once this time.
"Tch, Luffy, floppy rubber can't beat anyone. ┐('-｀)┌"
Ace curled his lip and replied somewhat helplessly. In the eyes of the current Ace, Luffy, who had eaten the Devil Fruit, not only couldn't beat him, but had also turned into an anchor who couldn't swim—completely useless aside from stretching his arms.
"Gomu Gomu no... Oh right, Gum-Gum Pistol!"
Luffy's face fell in deep dissatisfaction as his right arm rapidly stretched back, hurtling straight toward Ace. Through years of training, Luffy had mastered his offensive techniques, so he no longer ended up rebounding his own fist and knocking himself flat on the ground.
"Whoosh!"
Ace's body swayed, dodging Luffy's fist with a quick shift in stance, before lunging right back toward Luffy in an attempt at close combat.
"Bang! Clang, crash!"
Closing the distance, Ace swung the lead pipe in his hand, colliding with Luffy's incoming fist and producing a dull, heavy thud.
Just as the two brothers were about to press the fight, Summer, crouching in the woods, gave Tuantuan a subtle look. Instantly, the chubby giant panda transformed into a ferocious beast.
"Roar!"
A beastly roar echoed through the woods, the sheer volume rustling the leaves. In the eyes of Ace and Luffy, a black-and-white bear walked with an arrogant swagger right up to them, fixing them with a fierce, unblinking glare, its mouth slightly parted and drool pooling on the ground.
After all, no matter what kind of panda it was, it still belonged to the bear family, not cats.
Summer thought to himself: *Oh ho, this chubby giant panda even has acting skills? It hides its depths well.*
"A bear? What a strange pattern! I wonder if it tastes good? °?????(????)?????°"
Seeing a panda for the very first time, Luffy wore an expression of pure excitement.
Tuantuan: (ー_ー)!! *What kind of look is that?!*
Tuantuan didn't wait any longer, terrified that it wouldn't be able to handle Luffy's foodie gaze and would end up snapping and slapping him to death in a fit of rage.
"Boom!"
While Tuantuan was hesitating, Ace had already circled around behind it with his lead pipe, attempting a sneak attack. But it was completely useless in front of Tuantuan, who possessed Observation Haki; with a sudden spin, Tuantuan raised its right paw and deflected the attack outward.
"Whoosh!"
The immense force sent Ace's body flying like a cannonball, crashing heavily into a large tree.
"So strong!"
Ace shook his head, a flash of excitement and fighting spirit burning in his eyes. It had been a long time since he encountered such a powerful beast—this was the perfect chance to go all out and test his ultimate combat strength.
"Ace! Damn it, take this! Gum-Gum... Gum-Gum Pistol!"
Seeing Ace sent flying, Luffy shouted in agitation, drawing his arm back hard before launching it rapidly toward Tuantuan.
"Bang!"
"Ow, it hurts! It hurts!"
Faced with Luffy's attack, Tuantuan made no move to dodge. With Armament Haki coating its paw, it threw a direct punch that connected squarely with Luffy's fist. The terrifying force and the true damage inflicted by the Haki caused Luffy to clutch his hand and wail loudly.
"Luffy! Attack together!"
This brief exchange made Ace see reality: this panda before them could not be defeated by a single person alone. Only by cooperating as brothers would they have the slightest chance.
Especially since Luffy was a rubber Devil Fruit user—how could he possibly feel pain? This reminded Ace of the "Fist of Love" Garp was always going on about, back when Luffy used to bawl his eyes out clutching his head.
"Yeah!"
Luffy readily agreed, and then...
Half an hour later.
"Thud, thud, thud..."
Two scrawny figures were sent flying through the air once more by Tuantuan. With three large bumps crowning each of their heads, Ace and Luffy exchanged a glance: a gentleman takes his revenge ten years later.
As the saying goes: "Don't bully a young man into poverty for thirty years, thirty years east, thirty years west!"
"Well, well, are you two planning to run away? Future King of the Pirates?!"
Just as Ace and Luffy were whispering about splitting up and escaping, Summer's figure flashed into view right before their eyes, speaking in a teasing tone.
"Who are you?"
Ace stepped forward, silently shielding Luffy behind him as his right hand gripped his lead pipe tightly, ready to fight to the death at a moment's notice.
"Eh? Summer?! Big Brother?! Is it really you?!"
Luffy rubbed his eyes, staring closely at Summer in disbelief. After all, in the original story, Luffy and Chopper were the kind of guys who constantly failed to recognize their own companions—suffering from severe facial blindness.
"Yeah, I'm back, Luffy!" Summer said with a wide, beaming smile.
"Ace! Ace, let me introduce you, this is my big brother, Monkey D. Summer!"
Receiving Summer's confirmation, Luffy was thrilled and immediately introduced him to Ace.
"Hello, I'm Ace!"
"Hello, I'm Summer! And this is my partner, Tuantuan the panda."
"Yaya, hello there!" Hearing Summer introduce her, Tuantuan waddled her chubby body forward and spoke up.
"Whoa, sugoi! A talking bear!" Luffy gasped in amazement, staring at Tuantuan with starry eyes.
"Luffy, on my way here, I heard you're planning to set sail and become a pirate?"
"Yeah! I made a promise to Shanks, I'm definitely going to set sail and return this hat to him. It's a promise between men." Hearing Summer's words, Luffy took off the straw hat on his head, staring at it with dead seriousness as memories of the past washed over him.
"The pirate world is far too dangerous! With your current strength, you can't even beat fat Tuantuan here. What could you possibly accomplish out on the sea?"
"Are you just going out there to throw your lives away? Take it from your big brother: go join the old man and become Marines."
Summer ruthlessly crushed their spirits. The moment his words fell, Ace and Luffy's moods instantly cratered; they lowered their heads in sullen silence as the air grew heavy.
"No way! Even if I die, I'm going to be the man who becomes the King of the Pirates!"
Luffy glared at Summer with stubborn defiance. Becoming the King of the Pirates was his dream, after all! How could he possibly give that up?
"I want to get stronger! I want to learn that move Tuantuan used to beat up Luffy just now!"
"I am definitely going to become a great pirate!"
After a long silence, Ace raised his head, staring at Summer with a firm, determined gaze as he spoke.
"Hmm, you want to learn? Sure, I'll teach you!"