Chapter 71: Ace and Luffy's Challenge
"Seaweed Head, he's as ignorant of his own limits as you are," Sanji laughed heartily.
"Curly Brows, that's called courage!" Zoro roared.
"Ace, are they really strong?" Luffy asked innocently.
Although Makino subscribed to the newspaper daily, with Luffy's personality, he clearly wouldn't be interested in such things.
"Of course. They are famous pirates in the world," Ace said with utmost seriousness.
"Then I want to challenge them too!" Luffy's interest was piqued.
"Do you know the consequences of challenging me? You might die."
Kain eyed Ace with interest.
Portgas D. Ace.
His target for this trip.
As the Pirate King's son, Ace naturally possessed the qualification to initiate a peak battle.
Of course, definitely not now.
"Ace, Luffy, shut up!"
Makino, from behind the bar, reacted and immediately interjected, "They're still children. They were just joking. Please don't take it to heart, sirs."
Even though she was just an ordinary person, she knew how terrifying Heavenly Disaster Kain was.
This was definitely not something two teenagers messing around in the mountains could handle.
"They're serious," Kain's smile didn't falter.
"That's right!" Ace nodded heavily, "I'm willing to stake my life on this challenge!"
"He's actually serious."
Violet made an 'OK' gesture with both hands in front of her eyes, looking shocked.
Her mind-reading ability wouldn't lie to her.
The young man in front of her truly held a mindset of being prepared to die, even showing a hint of eagerness.
"Luffy, you stay out of this."
Ace pulled Luffy behind him and warned, "If I die, you continue training. When you grow up and become stronger than me, then go challenge them!"
"No way," Luffy pouted, his eyes instantly turning red. "If you die, and Sabo also died, I'll have no one left in the world."
Kain's mouth twitched.
Was Luffy implying Garp was dead?
But it wasn't Luffy's fault. Given Garp's parenting style, it was already quite remarkable that he could maintain a sincere and kind heart.
Garp's way of teaching Luffy was either to throw him into the primeval forest to fend for himself or push him off a cliff to experience rope-free bungee jumping.
His usual training was akin to abuse.
That Luffy was alive was truly a miracle, a testament to his formidable vitality.
"Since you are so sincere in your challenge, then I shall mercifully accept it this once."
Kain smiled softly.
"Are you going to bully a child?" Violet's eyes were subtle.
Yamato immediately retorted, "This is a challenge!"
Since it was a challenge, then status and age were irrelevant.
However, the astute Kozuki Hiyori noticed something. Lord Kain seemed very interested in the child in front of him.
Every destination on this voyage had been for the purpose of gathering exceptionally talented youths.
Sanji and Zoro were both examples of this.
"Great, let's go outside and fight!" Ace's eyes lit up.
"Ace!" Makino exclaimed.
"Makino, don't stop me!" Ace's eyes were unusually firm. "I know what I'm doing."
Outside the tavern, in an open space.
Ace and Kain stood facing each other, the air seemingly solidified.
"Take this!"
Ace rushed to Kain, leaped into the air, and swung his fist fiercely towards Kain's chest.
On his face, besides excitement, there was a subtle hint of relief.
Bang!
The fist connected squarely.
Kain didn't budge.
"Hiss."
Ace landed, shaking his faintly aching right hand.
It felt like he hadn't hit flesh and blood at all, but rather a steel plate.
"Again?" Kain raised an eyebrow slightly.
Ace's physical prowess far surpassed that of his peers, even exceeding many adults.
In his childhood, he and Sabo had even defeated a group of pirates who had kidnapped Luffy.
But in the eyes of a true powerhouse, that amount of strength was completely insufficient.
Ace was frustrated, yet there was no sign of dejection on his face; on the contrary, he became even more excited.
After so many years, he had finally found someone who could kill him.
"Hmph!"
He stepped forward again, his fists a blur.
Fists struck Kain's body, making thudding sounds.
And that wasn't all; Ace's hands didn't stop, and he added his feet as well.
This time, it was truly a flurry of punches and kicks.
Kain showed a mischievous smile: "Hit me harder, that's what feels good."
"Damn it!"
Ace endured the pain from his limbs, gritted his teeth, and increased his strength by a few points.
A full minute later, under Ace's full and unreserved effort, his movements inevitably slowed down.
"Is this your limit?"
Kain shook his head, casually reached out, precisely gripped Ace's wrist, and flipped him onto the ground.
Bang!
Ace was slammed onto the ground without any resistance.
"Ace!"
Luffy ran to Ace's side, shouting excitedly.
Seeing Ace slowly regain consciousness, Luffy finally let him go and faced Kain directly: "Since Ace has fallen, it's my turn to challenge you!"
Luffy swung his arms 360 degrees.
"Gum-Gum Pistol!"
A fist suddenly stretched, striking Kain like a bullet.
The latter slightly dodged, the fist grazing his shoulder. The next instant, Kain's figure vanished from his original spot, reappearing in front of Luffy, his two fingers pressed together, gently tapping his forehead.
Whoosh~
Luffy was instantly pushed back by the immense force, flying into the forest.
"Luffy!"
Seeing his younger brother knocked away, Ace was furious. An invisible aura erupted from his body, sweeping across the entire area.
Sanji and Zoro's heads swam, almost losing consciousness.
"This guy has Haoshoku too," Yamato said with some surprise.
"Didn't they say only one in millions has it? How can a small village like this have someone with such potential?" Violet asked in surprise.
Even she was affected by Ace's Haoshoku.
"Indeed," Kozuki Hiyori nodded secretly.
This young man's potential was truly extraordinary.
Ace didn't know what Yamato and the others were talking about; he just charged at Kain again.
"Come on, Heavenly Disaster Kain!"
His full-of-holes posture made Kozuki Hiyori frown: "Is he trying to die?"
In a normal challenge, after being knocked down in the first wave, one should consciously admit defeat.
The chasm-like difference shouldn't be invisible to a normal person.
Ace was indeed seeking death.
Kain sighed inwardly.
This still had to be blamed on Old Man Garp's teaching methods.
He had told Ace his true parentage when he was young, completely disregarding the pressure the name 'Roger's son' would bring to Ace.
To be honest, the Great Pirate Era started by Roger, from a macro perspective, was more beneficial than harmful.
The large number of pirates setting out to sea did indeed shake some of the World Government's rule and also led to the emergence of more strong individuals.
But from the perspective of ordinary people, Roger was an out-and-out villain.
The countless pirates he unleashed with a single sentence ravaged the seas like locusts.
Originally, commoners only had to endure the oppression and exploitation of the World Government and the noble kingdoms; now, they had an additional layer of plunder and slaughter from pirates.
Countless families were broken because of this, their lives reduced to hell.
Ace had lived from a young age amidst the boundless hatred the world had for Roger.
The immense pressure on him was imaginable.
Ace's strong self-destructive tendencies were also predictable.