Chapter 73 Luffy captures Ace, ties him to the stern, and sends him to Buggy."Let me show you my new trick, Ace!"
"King Ape Gun!"
A gigantic fist, carrying earth-shattering power, descended from the sky, slamming into Ace in mid-air.
"Damn it!"
Ace, suspended in mid-air, had nowhere to gain leverage. If he were hit, he'd be badly injured, if not killed.
Boom—!
The gigantic fist slammed solidly into Ace, sending him crashing into the depths of the sea.
Upon entering the water, Ace instantly became a landlubber, all his strength drained, and his Haki vanished.
"General!"
Luffy sneered.
On land, these Logia-type Devil Fruit users could hold out for a day and a night.
But this was the sea, the graveyard of Devil Fruit users!
Even if his raw strength was inferior to Ace's, as long as he knocked him into the water, victory was his!
Buggy stared in disbelief at this scene. That was Whitebeard's captain! Defeated just like that?
"Holy crap!"
The drug's effects wore off in three minutes, and Luffy instantly felt like he'd been run over by a truck, wincing in pain as he fell into the sea with a splash.
With his last ounce of strength, he clung to the railing of Buggy's ship and, like a dead fish, flipped onto the deck.
"How the hell are you still moving in the water?"
Buggy felt his brain was about to explode.
"Stop talking nonsense, get him out of there! Find a rope, tie him to the stern, and drag him to the Going Merry!"
"Okay, okay!"
Buggy was completely exasperated by now and quickly ordered his underlings to dive in and rescue Luffy.
...
On the Going Merry.
Nami transformed into a fanged, roaring beast, howling at Luffy.
"Where the hell have you been! That huge wave almost capsized the ship! I thought you were fish food!"
Buggy rolled his eyes; this troublemaker was practically dead.
"Hehe, that's why I went to find a way for you guys."
Luffy grinned and pointed at Buggy.
"Your Pose is broken?" Buggy looked bewildered.
"It's been pointing straight up, we can't move," Nami explained, then suddenly realized, "Wait, why are you here?!"
"It's fate, it's all fate, sister-in-law!" Buggy said with a forced smile, afraid these lunatics would hit him again.
"Luffy! Where's the fish you caught? The kitchen's almost empty!"
Sanji walked out, cigarette dangling from his lips, and was also taken aback when he saw Buggy. "Yo, isn't this Red-Nosed Clown? What happened to you?"
"Call me Captain Buggy!!"
Buggy was so angry he almost exploded on the spot. He tossed Luffy a permanent Pose from Jaya Island, threw away the rope tethering Ace, and fled in his dilapidated ship as if his life depended on it.
"Has this idiot taken the wrong medicine?" Sanji looked completely baffled.
Luffy scratched his head awkwardly; he was responsible for half the damage to the ship, something he absolutely couldn't mention.
"What's this?" Nami looked at the rope Luffy was holding and followed its trail.
"Oh, this is my brother, Ace."
Luffy calmly lifted the pale, waterlogged Ace like a salted fish.
Nami: "..."
"This is your own brother?!"
Luffy expertly pulled out seastone handcuffs and bound Ace tightly.
"Finally got this unstable element under control, so you won't cause me any more trouble."
This is to preserve the foundation of the Navy's future, absolutely not a personal vendetta.
"Damn it, Luffy! Let me go! I have important business to attend to!"
Ace woke up and began writhing on the deck like a maggot, roaring loudly.
Luffy's eyes turned cold, his playful smile vanishing.
"I don't care if you want to die, but if you drag the old man into this, then I'll have to intervene."
"What did you say?" Ace was stunned.
"Marshall D. Teach, the man who left the scar on Shanks' face, has been hiding his strength and infiltrating Whitebeard's ship."
Luffy stared into Ace's eyes, speaking each word clearly.
"Shanks went to Whitebeard specifically to have him call you back. You thought you were going to hunt down a traitor? Actually, you were delivering takeout!"
Ace's pupils dilated. Shanks' scar was left by Teach?
Looking at Ace, who stubbornly insisted on going to his death, Luffy was at his wit's end.
This is like trying to reason with a disobedient brat; even a beating won't work.
I originally thought of handing him over to Garp, but that old rascal would definitely hold back.
Looks like the only option is to lock him up on the ship and force him to calm down.
Carrying this hot potato around all day is clearly a brainless, terrible idea.
Even if the Marines are blind and don't see this formidable figure hiding on the ship, Whitebeard, with his Vivre Card in hand, will come knocking in no time.
Looking at my current strength, going head-to-head with the Whitebeard Pirates, the top Yonko, would be like an old man eating poison—I'd rather die than live.
"We need to find a sucker, someone bold enough not to be afraid of the Whitebeard Pirates, quick-witted and discerning, and most importantly, someone who can keep an eye on that monkey Ace…"
Luffy pressed his throbbing temples, his knuckles turning white.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea snapped in his head.
He whirled around, yelling at Nami, "Don't just stand there! Full speed ahead, intercept Buggy!"
"Huh? Didn't we just say we were going to Jaya?"
Nami looked completely bewildered, her big eyes blinking, utterly unable to follow Luffy's erratic train of thought.
"Enough talk, I have a big deal to settle."
Nami nodded vigorously, after all, she wholeheartedly supported the lucrative delivery business Luffy had mentioned.
The crew quickly raised the sails and turned the rudder, soon crushing the dilapidated Bikudop.
"It's you again, you jinx! You're like a ghost that won't leave me alone!"
Bucky, seeing the nightmarish ship approaching again, roared in despair, grabbing his hair.
Luffy, without a word, picked up Ace, who was bound like a dumpling, and tossed him at Buggy's feet like trash: "Do me a favor, deliver this guy to someone like a parcel!"
Bucky stared at the person on the ground, his fat body shuddering violently: "I won't! This is the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates! Are you deaf or stupid? I told you that old man is a fiercely protective madman; messing with his people is like tearing the sky apart!"
Luffy's lips curled into a mischievous smile as he stared at Buggy and said quietly, "Don't worry, this kid is Roger's son."
"What!?"
Buggy's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he pointed at Ace on the ground in terror: "You're saying he's Captain Roger's son?!"
Upon hearing this, Ace's neck veins bulged, and he glared fiercely at Buggy: "Bullshit! I only have one father, and that's Whitebeard!"
"Portgas D. Ace, you should be familiar with that surname, right?"
Luffy completely ignored Ace's protest, his eyes fixed on Buggy with amusement as he continued to press him.