chsdbacks Chapter 20 Misunderstanding
Chapter 20 Misunderstanding
Late at night, on the outskirts of the capital of the Kingdom of Goa in the East Sea.
The living area of the waste recycling station.
Ten-year-old Luffy, carrying the food and valuables he'd stolen from the camp, stood in front of the wooden hut and shouted:
"Dadan! Ace! Sabo!!"
The voice was so loud that even Alyosha and Shanks, who were following far behind, could feel it as if it were right next to their ears.
Not to mention the bandit's foster mother who was right next door.
A heavy thud came from the darkened wooden cabin. The lights came on, and a middle-aged woman, over two meters tall, with a muscular build like a bear, long orange hair, and a fierce expression, rushed out, a cigarette dangling from her lips and a large stick in her hand.
This is Dadan, Luffy's and Ace's bandit foster mother.
Behind Dadan were her two underlings, and Ace and Sabo, who were still half asleep, rubbing their eyes and each carrying a water pipe.
"Luffy! At least check the time before you come back!!!"
Dadan, the bandit's foster mother whose sweet dreams had been disturbed, naturally wouldn't speak kindly to Luffy, this naughty boy. She stepped forward, pinched Luffy's cheek, and dragged him and his bundle back into the house.
The door closed, and Alyosha and Shanks slowly appeared nearby, looking at the wooden house in front of them.
Based on what he had just witnessed, Alyosha was certain of one thing: there was a problem with the timeline between Luffy, his two brothers, and Shanks.
The events match up, but the time span before and after the events is stretched out.
It appears that Luffy and Ace met at the beginning of 1529 in the Sea Calendar, when Luffy was seven years old and Ace was ten. Luffy then met his older brother Sabo through Ace.
Over the next three years, from age 29 to 32, the three boys forged a deep friendship and became sworn brothers.
Shanks arrived in Windmill Village last year, in the winter of 31, using it as a safe haven. He made several trips there, met Luffy, and then, as we all know, ate a Devil Fruit, lost an arm, and entrusted his straw hat to him.
All of these things will happen in this year, and there's even the incident where Sabo went to sea on his own and was bombarded by the Celestial Dragons.
Thinking of all this, Alyosha couldn't help but chuckle.
To be honest, this extended timeframe makes things seem much more reasonable.
Two or even three years have passed, allowing the three sworn brothers to develop a genuine brotherhood.
If that weren't the case, when Luffy reunited with his brother Sabo, whom he thought had been dead for many years, in Dressrosa two years later, the genuine emotion he displayed would have seemed like a deus ex machina.
It's important to understand that Sabo is someone who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Even with the flashback arcs providing background information, it's difficult for everyone to determine from those arcs how long Luffy and Sabo have actually been together.
Ace had been with Luffy for four years, so witnessing Ace's death was enough to cause Luffy to have a mental breakdown and faint because he couldn't accept the fact.
"Mr. Ran?" Shanks noticed Alyosha's expression and asked in a low voice.
"It's nothing, I just think Luffy is quite generous; he never forgets his brothers when there's something good to be had. And that little guy with freckles on his face, Mr. Shanks, is that Ace you're looking for?"
"Yes, he really looks like Captain Roger. How did you figure that out, Mr. Ran?"
"Didn't you say it yourself? He looks a lot like Roger. I was there that day in Loguetown."
With that, Alyosha also set off for the cabin, much to Shanks's confusion.
"Now I understand why Mr. Garp asked me to make this trip to the East Blue. He really doesn't know how to raise children. He even found them a bandit foster mother. He didn't teach them what they should have, and they learned everything they shouldn't have. In an environment like that, how could they not become pirates? Please rest assured, Mr. Shanks, I will not do anything to harm the children. Please keep a close eye on them. Consider it a small favor I'm doing for you for free."
Alyosha explained to Shanks, who was behind him wanting to move but not daring to, before slowly walking to the door of the cabin.
Even through the door, Alyosha could hear the shouting and yelling coming from inside the room.
"Luffy! Where did you get so much money?!"
"Hehe, Navy."
"What?! Luffy, you actually stole money from the Navy?! Quick, return it to them!"
"No! This is the money we need to buy a boat for our voyage!"
"You can't steal the Navy's money! Are you trying to get us all killed?!"
Inside the room, the female bandit Dadan was so frightened by Luffy's words that she lost her mind and became completely disoriented.
Ace and Sabo, though worried, were still impressed with what their younger brother had done for the three of them on their voyage.
The two patted Luffy on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up, saying, "Well done, Luffy! We're one step closer to buying a ship and setting sail."
Hehe~
Luffy proudly raised his chin, accepting the praise from his two older brothers.
Then, Alyosha's voice came from outside the house.
"Oh dear, this is really a headache. I was wondering why you, Luffy, were carrying all this stuff and running so far. Turns out you have friends. Can you tell me why you guys bought a boat and went to sea?"
The door was pushed open silently, and Alyosha walked in with a smile, adjusting his glasses.
His two-meter-tall frame occupied most of the doorway, causing the female bandits Dadan and Ace to instinctively shield Luffy behind them.
"Luffy, who is he?"
"The naval commanders, the naval officers call him Commodore."
When Luffy mentioned Alyosha's rank of brigadier general in a completely incomprehensible tone, the female bandits Dadan, Ace, and Sabo finally realized the enormity of the trouble Luffy had caused them.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the Rear Admiral of the Navy Headquarters is doing so well in the New World; that's only in comparison to those powerful seafarers and monster-level rookies.
But if placed in the first half of the Grand Line, or in the East China Sea, the weakest of the four seas, it would be a clear case of a dimensional reduction attack.
At least the female bandit Dadan understood that all of them together were no match for the other side, who had clearly come to demand an explanation.
Without any hesitation, the female bandit Dadan delivered all the valuables that Luffy had stolen from the camp to Alyosha, and then led her two henchmen to kneel down in place of Luffy and his two companions.
"Commodore, Luffy didn't mean it. Please forgive his rude behavior. He's still young."
Alyosha ignored the female bandit Dadan's pleas for mercy on behalf of Luffy and his crew, and simply stood there, smiling as he looked at Luffy, who didn't seem to think he had done anything wrong, and asked again:
"So can you tell me why you saved up so much money to buy a boat and go out to sea?"
"Of course we're going to find One Piece!"
Luffy answered Alyosha's question loudly, and Alyosha pretended to suddenly understand.
"So, you're planning to become pirates?"
"That's right, those damned navy!"
"Ace! Sabo! Take Luffy and get out of here!"
Upon hearing Luffy's reply from behind, Dadan, the female bandit who had just been kneeling on the ground with her two henchmen begging Alyosha for mercy, immediately sprang up, grabbed Alyosha tightly, and shouted for Ace and Sabo to take Luffy and run away.
The female bandit Dadan had little contact with the Navy, except for Garp, but she knew very well that not everyone in the world's Navy was as unreliable and kind-hearted as Garp.
Some navy personnel don't care if you're male, female, young, or old, or if you're a commoner from the kingdom. If you dare to say you want to go to sea and become a pirate, they'll chop your head off with their swords.
She dared not gamble on what kind of Marine Alyosha was, so she could only risk her life to buy Luffy and the others time to escape and run to Windmill Village to contact Garp.
Ace and Sabo clearly understood this as well. At thirteen, they were far more mature than their peers and knew very well that since the other party had found their way here, things were not so simple.
While Dadan risked her life to buy time for the three of them, Ace and Sabo each grabbed Luffy's arm, picked up a water pipe, and broke through the window to escape.
Alyosha stared blankly at the female bandit Dadan and the three little ones working together, and at the two bandit subordinates who, despite their trembling bodies, still picked up their weapons and charged towards Alyosha while crying.
He chuckled.
"Hey, I'll play with you guys then~"