Ron burst out laughing, patting Smoker's shoulder. "Relax, Smoker. Maybe this time we can dig up something useful for the Marine?" He winked. "Like… blueprints for an Ancient Weapon?"
Smoker's expression instantly froze. He knew these lunatics were truly capable of such a thing.
Even more terrifying, he actually started seriously considering whether to continue following them. If an Ancient Weapon really was unearthed, the Marine would indeed need to control the situation immediately.
"Damn it…" Smoker cursed through gritted teeth, yet he still involuntarily followed them. He turned to Tashigi behind him and shouted, "Notify headquarters! Just say… just say we might have found clues to an Ancient Weapon!"
Tashigi, from a distance, pushed up her glasses with a bewildered look. "Is the Colonel… making an excuse to keep following them?"
"...Forget it, don't notify them yet. After all, it hasn't been dug out. If it's not, we'll be reporting false military intelligence."
"Oh, okay."
Nami couldn't help but burst into laughter, holding her stomach, when she saw Smoker's highly alert demeanor.
"Hahaha! Colonel Smoker, why are you so nervous? We're just going treasure hunting, and with you Marine escorting us, it'll definitely be smoother this time!"
Usopp also laughed as he leaned in and added, "And with the Marine nearby, even if something incredible is really dug out… that'll be your lax supervision, it has nothing to do with us~"
"Exactly, exactly~" Sanji elegantly blew smoke rings and made a toasting gesture towards Smoker. "This time, we'll reluctantly thank the Marine gentlemen for being our 'bodyguards'."
Zoro, who had been feigning sleep leaning against the sand crab's back, suddenly opened his eyes. "You guys making such a fuss actually woke me up."
His eyes gleamed with fighting spirit. "Perfect for trying out the sword moves I comprehended in my sleep on someone…"
As he spoke, he gave a meaningful glance in Smoker's direction.
"Hahaha!" Ace's hearty laughter echoed through the desert. "It seems my little brother's companions have become super—duper strong!"
Smoker stood in the heatwave, his cigar almost bitten through.
He stared wide-eyed at these unrestrained guys, veins throbbing on his forehead. "These lunatics… are their brains really okay?"
He muttered to Tashigi beside him, "We're here to monitor them, how did we end up becoming their bodyguards instead?"
Tashigi pushed up her glasses and whispered, "Colonel… didn't you say we should follow them…?"
"...."
The group ignored Smoker's awkwardness and continued forward.
Ace suddenly approached Ron. He rarely showed a troubled expression, lowering his voice and saying, "Ron, there's something I want to tell you… my special ability has been a bit off lately."
Ron raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How so?"
Ace scratched his head, slowly beginning to speak about the recent strange occurrences. "The Armament Haki I obtained from using my ability in Old Man's hometown was indeed very powerful. Although it was basic, it was very practical."
His expression gradually became strange. "But the recent ability rewards have been getting weirder and weirder…"
"I used my ability and got a 'Gale Buff' that made me three times faster, almost breaking the Moby Dick's mast; then there was an 'Hawkeye Buff' where seeing too clearly made my eyes water from the sunlight; the last one was even more outrageous…"
Ace's voice grew softer and softer, his face instantly becoming very embarrassed.
Ron became interested. "Oh? What was it?"
Ace looked left and right, making sure no one was paying attention, then whispered, "It was a buff called 'Invisible Man'… not only did I become transparent, but my clothes just fell off!"
He annoyedly ran a hand through his hair. "Luckily I was transparent, otherwise I would have been completely exposed! And this state lasted for a whole day. If I couldn't elementalize to make my flames visible, Marco and the others would have thought I disappeared!"
After listening, Ron's mouth twitched uncontrollably. He suppressed his laughter and patted Ace's shoulder, starting to make things up. "This… it might be the ability helping you develop other uses for your Devil Fruit ability."
"Ron! This is no time for jokes." The flames around Ace surged up with a "whoosh." "I'm serious! These messy buffs make me not dare to use my ability at all."
"Don't worry, it's fine." Ron reassured him again. "Those buffs don't last for a long time."
"....."
Luffy, walking ahead, suddenly turned back. "Ace! What are you two whispering about?" His rubber neck stretched out as he curiously leaned closer.
"Nothing!" Ace hastily waved his hands.
After Luffy's curiosity subsided, Ron stroked his chin thoughtfully and asked, "Ace, you can't control these temporary buffs yourself?"
Ace spread his hands helplessly, flames dancing in his palm. "That's the problem, these temporary buffs are completely out of my control."
He looked dejected. "Like that transparent state, it was clearly very embarrassing, but it stubbornly lasted for a whole day. Even Marco couldn't find me when he used his Phoenix flames to shine on me…"
Ron was about to ask something else when suddenly a golden figure pounced like a whirlwind—
"Ace-kun!!!"
Sanji's eyes had turned into exaggerated heart shapes, and he clung tightly to Ace's leg.
"Please! Tell me what it feels like to be transparent!!"
His voice trembled with excessive excitement. "Can you freely enter women's bathhouses? Women's changing rooms?"
Ace was startled by this sudden enthusiasm and took half a step back, flames uncontrollably gushing from his entire body. "Hey, hey! Curly-brow, calm down!"
He fumbled to pry Sanji's hands off. "You're being dangerous like this!"
"For this power of transparency, what are mere burns!" Sanji clung on tightly, snot and tears smearing his face. "Ace-kun! How about we swap abilities! I'll give you my 'Get Stronger by Getting Hit' ability!"
Zoro sneered from the side. "Hmph, the perverted kappa is truly hopeless."
Ace finally managed to tear Sanji off his leg, scratching his face awkwardly. "Actually… it doesn't feel particularly special… it just feels… breezy down there…"
"Pfft—hahaha!" Usopp was the first to lose it, laughing so hard he rolled onto the sand.
Nami clutched her stomach, tears streaming from her eyes as she laughed. "B-breezy down there… hahaha!"
Chopper, though not quite understanding what everyone was laughing about, also chuckled, his furry body shaking.
Even the usually aloof Ron couldn't help but turn his face away, his shoulders suspiciously shaking.
"You guys!" Ace, mortified, instantly wished for a hole to crawl into and not come out for a year!
Sanji was still lost in his fantasy, kneeling on the sand and muttering, "A breezy feeling… Is this the price of transparency… But for the beautiful ladies… what is this small price…"
Smoker watched this boisterous group of pirates from a distance, veins throbbing on his forehead. "These guys… are they really here to cause trouble in Alabasta?" He began to doubt if he had followed the wrong people.
Tashigi pushed up her glasses and whispered, "Colonel, I think they're more like… here to play…"
"..."
....
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