Starting with two Kamui, they raised the flag of rebellion in One Piece.

With that, Ace decisively grabbed Li Mingyuan and prepared to go down the mountain together.

"We can't waste any more time here! The banquet hasn't even started yet, has it? Will we make it back in time? Ugh! Those guys have such appetites, if we're late, all the meat might be gone... How about we just jump off this cliff right now and use the flames to propel ourselves back?!"

Ace and Li Mingyuan put their arms around each other's shoulders, while one of them excitedly walked towards the edge of the cliff.

Li Mingyuan was being dragged along, but he didn't resist. He simply followed Ace's pulling force step by step.

He calmly watched Ace's figure.

The stark contrast between Ace's somewhat lonely face as he stood alone in the sunset and his now beaming, enthusiastic face was striking to the mind.

Even things that Ace himself was unaware of, Li Mingyuan knew perfectly well.

And so, the two reached the cliff, just as Ace was about to activate his power.

"No need to rush back, Ace."

Li Mingyuan suddenly spoke up again: "Haven't you noticed yet? Now that you've confirmed the truth about the gold on this island, it means that the original plan to stay for ten days is no longer valid."

"I've already spoken to your other crew members. Tonight's banquet will be even more extravagant and lavish than the previous two days. Even with your crew members included, it will take more time to prepare."

"It's rare to have some time alone together like this, so why don't you take your time going back and tell me what happened in the room earlier?"

Li Mingyuan's voice echoed in Ace's ears.

Ace paused slightly upon hearing this, but quickly realized that Li Mingyuan's words made sense.

Ten days was the maximum planned stay, excluding the maximum allowed time. Given that there was no way to replenish supplies on the island and there was no reason to stay any longer, it was only natural for the captain to make the decision to leave early.

However, despite saying that, Ace was so engrossed in the adventure that he had completely forgotten about it until Li Mingyuan pointed it out, reminding him that their time together on the island was limited.

In a sense, finding the truth about the gold too quickly doesn't seem to be a good thing.

"Come to think of it, I didn't even notice. Is the time for parting going to be brought forward?"

Standing on the edge of the cliff, Ace looked at the dense forest and the coastline and couldn't help but sigh, "Although I really want to say that staying for the full ten days as originally planned wouldn't be a problem, it doesn't seem like the time to be reckless."

Turning back, Ace looked at Li Mingyuan again.

He was about to say the truth about the gold.

But just then, Ace looked at Li Mingyuan's face and suddenly slapped his forehead, remembering something.

"Wait a minute! How could I have forgotten about that too!"

Ace was suddenly startled, thinking, "If there's no gold on this island, doesn't that mean Li Mingyuan won the original agreement?!"

He didn't care about not having gold, but what about his Observation Haki if they didn't have that original agreement as a reason? Did he have to ask directly?

I always feel that if I do this, it's like I'm admitting defeat.

After all, if he really wanted to ask directly, he could have done so from the beginning. Now that he has lost the agreement, he is asking about things, which not only makes his original agreement seem somewhat redundant, but also makes him seem shameless, as if he has admitted defeat but is still asking for the reward for winning.

For a moment, Ace hesitated for a rare moment, and his words to Li Mingyuan about the truth of the gold became slow, constantly pausing during the climb, and he was unable to advance to the part about Wu Nan's last words.

As the two talked, the afterglow of the setting sun gradually faded. Li Mingyuan and Ace walked and talked, and before they knew it, they had walked along the edge of the cliff to the foot of the mountain.

"That's roughly the situation."

Ace's head was ablaze with firelight, illuminating his surroundings, as he reminisced about his adventure on Golden Island.

"This adventure is my first treasure hunt since I set sail, and I'm really happy."

"Even though it's a pity that the legendary golden pirate Unan didn't manage to bury his vast fortune on this island, the journey itself is meaningful to me."

Ace said with interest, "From this perspective, perhaps it's somewhat similar to Unan's last words?"

"You're quite open-minded."

"Unlike you, the others look very disappointed. Not only have your crew been making a fuss since they got back to the beach, but your first mate looks like he's in a real bind, and my two crew members are giving me no idea what to do."

After listening to Ace's story, Li Mingyuan shook his head slightly and replied, "The two guys on my ship are both genuine money-grubbers. If only one of them failed to find treasure, it would be fine; he might be disappointed for a while but he could recover. But when two money-grubbers get together, you can't imagine how lively the scene becomes."

"The reason I'm coming to see you now is, in a way, because I want some peace and quiet."

Under the soft moonlight, the two grown men spoke in relaxed tones, reminiscing about the afterglow of their adventure.

As Ace pondered Li Mingyuan's description, he became genuinely curious about what the scene on the beach had been like. Unfortunately, he wasn't there, otherwise he would have loved to join in the fun.

However, the excitement didn't materialize.

Ace felt that the current situation, where he and Li Mingyuan were alone and chatting, wasn't too bad.

At least during the conversation, he had already come to understand the details of the bet.

"Forget it, there's no point in dwelling on it anymore; I've already lost."

Instead of feeling regretful, it's better to ask the questions you need to know.

Ace figured it out.

He frankly accepted the defeat in the bet and began to organize his thoughts, planning to ask Li Mingyuan about Observation Haki later.

Ultimately, this bet was just a game between two people, a product of the aftermath of a banquet. Taking it too seriously would seem a bit strange. Besides, he never actually said what he wanted to ask in the first place. How is it shameless to take advantage of loopholes? Rather, it's the wisdom of pirates!

Therefore, I didn't dwell on it for too long.

Ace's expression gradually became serious and earnest.

Before long, he had figured out how to ask about Observation Haki—without hiding the details of the bet, he would directly use the bet as a starting point, admit defeat, and explain that this was the question he had originally wanted to ask.

That's right, just ask directly. Why make things so complicated with their relationship?

"Oh, right, Li Mingyuan..."

Thinking of this, Ace stopped and was about to speak.

Before he could finish speaking...

Immediately afterwards, he heard another voice beside him.