The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

Ace's water pipe stick pierced through Gern's body without any resistance, as if striking thin air.

Then, with a "bang," it landed solidly on the grass behind Gern, splashing up bits of grass and dirt!

The area where Gern was "hit" rippled out like tiny white, transparent waves before returning to its original state.

"Wh...what?!" Ace's pupils constricted sharply as he stared incredulously at the unharmed Gern, a chill instantly rising from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

"Why...why can't I hit him?!" Luffy's eyes widened, his rubber mouth forming an "O" shape.

He was a rubber man, unafraid of blows, but he had never heard of the opponent's ability to allow attacks to penetrate directly!

Or rather, in the remote East Blue, Logia-type Devil Fruits are far beyond their comprehension.

"What kind of ability is this???" Sabo's face turned pale, and cold sweat seeped from his palms as he gripped the water pipe tightly.

"Damn it! I don't believe it!" Ace gritted his teeth, his stubbornness and unwillingness to admit defeat fully unleashed, and roared, "Everyone, attack together! I don't believe his whole body can be like this!"

Before he finished speaking, Ace charged forward again, followed closely by Sabo, the two of them wielding water pipe sticks with great force!

Luffy reacted quickly and swung his fist at Guern!

Faced with the three teenagers launching an attack from different angles almost simultaneously, Gern didn't even change his posture, still leisurely leaning against the grass.

He even slightly raised his hand and casually yawned.

In an instant, all the attacks—whether it was Ace's staff strikes, Sabo's stabbing, or Luffy's wild punches—were unleashed.

Without exception, it pierced through his seemingly defenseless body and landed in empty space, without even touching a single hair on his head.

After a while, looking at the three boys in front of him, panting and covered in sweat from their all-out attack that had been in vain, he...

Gern didn't intend to continue teasing them. His gaze passed over Luffy, who looked unconvinced, and Sabo, who had a solemn expression, and finally settled on Ace.

His eyes held a subtle, complex expression.

There's nothing we can do, this kid... he looks just too much like Gol D. Roger.

Especially the contours of his brow bone, the lines of his nose, and the stubbornness and sharpness that he subtly exudes when he purses his lips—he is almost a carbon copy of that man.

It's worth remembering that during the God Valley Incident, the Roger Pirates forcibly landed...

Gern was just an ordinary navy man who came to try to change his fate, and he had only caught a glimpse of the spirited young Roger from afar.

As for Ace before us now, it's certainly not fair to say he's 100% similar to Roger.

Because the freckles on his face bore the soft imprint of his mother, Portgas D. Rouge, and the details in his eyes and brows were more like his mother's delicate features, lacking some of Roger's sharpness.

However, this degree of similarity was sufficient for someone like Guern, who had seen Roger in person and possessed extremely keen insight, to make a judgment.

This is definitely Roger's bloodline.

So the question is, why didn't Ace's identity cause widespread speculation and controversy on the high seas?

Guern was fully aware of this.

First of all, there are not many witnesses left over from the old era.

Those who experienced the peak of Roger's era and have a vivid memory of Roger's appearance have either already retired (like Rayleigh).

They mostly gather in the turbulent waters of the New World, and in places like the first half of the Grand Line, very few people recognize Roger's appearance.

Secondly, and most importantly, we can't conclude that a boy is the son of a deceased important person just because he looks like him.

Such baseless speculation, even if you went to the Navy branch to report it, would only get you kicked out as a madman.

On the high seas, people who look alike are not many, but they are not uncommon either.

Moreover, Garp handled the aftermath of Roger's orphanage flawlessly back then.

Using his prestige and methods, he perfectly concealed Ace's true identity and entrusted him to the reliable mountain bandit Dadan for upbringing.

There was also the special mission back then where the Navy, in conjunction with the World Government, tracked down the whereabouts of the "Pirate King's bloodline."

He was in charge again! He was only conducting a superficial search with Enel by his side...

Therefore, in a sense, I am one of the "protective umbrellas" that enabled Ace to grow up safely.

Thinking of this, a thousand thoughts flashed through Gern's mind, but in the end, they only turned into a barely audible sigh.

The child of the Pirate King isn't the Pirate King, and the child of a scapegoat is still a scapegoat...

Gern's playful expression vanished as he looked at Ace, and he suddenly spoke in a calm tone.

"Kid, you can't go far with just brute force and a stubborn attitude."

Chapter 371 Makino's Bar

"Are you trying to teach me how to do things, you bastard!" Hearing Gern's lecturing tone, Ace's expression hardened, and he raised his head to retort.

"Who do you think you are..."

Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, Gern's figure in front of him instantly disintegrated into countless high-frequency vibrating pure white particles and disappeared into thin air!

The next instant, an invisible sense of oppression came from behind them.

The three brothers turned around abruptly and saw Gern's enormous body, which was over three meters tall (the average height of a naval admiral was like that of a small giant in front of the three children).

He was already standing behind them, with an inscrutable smile on his face.

However, Gern did not make any aggressive moves.

Before Ace and Luffy could fully react, two large hands reached out.

With his left hand, he precisely pinched Ace's freckled cheek and pulled it outwards like kneading dough.

His right hand also grabbed Luffy's face, trying to lift him up.

However, he clearly underestimated the characteristics of rubber men; Luffy's face instantly stretched to a long, pliable length, like a highly elastic humanoid toy.

Seeing this, Guern had no choice but to lift Luffy by his waist, which looked even thinner after being stretched.

"Tsk, rubber kids are such a hassle," Gern muttered, then looked at Sabo, who was still standing there in a daze, and said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Are you tired from fighting? You look so pitiful, all sweaty."

Come on, I'll treat you to a good meal in the village! Let's go to Makino's bar!

The last time I met Vice Admiral Garp was many years ago, hahaha.

As he spoke, Gern grabbed Ace's cheek with one hand and carried Luffy, who was swaying like a bouncy noodle, with the other, and strode off toward Windmill Village.

Ace, his face being pulled, protested indistinctly, "Ugh... let me go!"

Luffy, being lifted by the waist and having his limbs and neck dangling in the air, found it quite amusing: "Whoaaaaah! I'm flying! So high!"

Sabo was completely stunned by the sudden change in the art style and stood there hesitating for a few seconds.

It wasn't until he saw Gern carrying his two brothers further and further away that he suddenly realized what was happening, shouting as he chased after them, raising the water pipe stick in his hand.

"Wait, wait for me!...No! You suspicious guy! Put Ace and Luffy down right now!!"

In the afterglow of the setting sun, a tall man "carried" two future maritime heroes, one in each hand, while a disgruntled young nobleman chased after them.

This created an extremely strange yet vibrant scene, leading us towards the wisps of smoke rising from the windmill village.

............

Inside Makino's bar in Windmill Village.

Because Gern waved his hand and said, "Order whatever you like, it's on me," harboring the simple idea that "if you can't beat them, you can eat them back at the dinner table."

Ace, Luffy, and Sabo also didn't hold back, specifically ordering the most expensive items on the menu.

Especially various kinds of meat, piled up on the whole table, and then they began to eat wildly and without any regard for appearances, their mouths dripping with oil.

Behind the bar, Makino, with her short, dark green hair and a headscarf, watched the three brothers, whom Gern had brought, wolfing down their food.

He glanced again at Gern, who had a unique air about him and a sword at his waist, his eyes filled with a mixture of unfamiliarity and curiosity.

However, hearing Luffy shouting "He's Chicken Sauce's friend" when she entered, Makino felt a little relieved.

Although this "friend's" behavior doesn't seem to fit Mr. Garp's style at all.

Meanwhile, Guern didn't participate in the children's "raid," but simply sat leisurely at the bar, sipping the ale that macchiato offered him.

His gaze fell on Marcino, who was wiping a wine glass, and he suddenly raised his glass gracefully.

Leaning slightly forward, starting with almost zero frames, he asked softly:

"Beautiful lady, who do you think is more charming, me or Shanks?"

"Eh—!!?? Eh, eh!"

This completely unexpected question left the unprepared Marcino frozen in place, her hand still wiping the wine glass.

Looking at Gern's amused smile, her fair cheeks flushed crimson.

Her ears turned bright red, and she stammered, somewhat flustered, "This, this gentleman!"

What...what are you saying all of a sudden! That's so rude!

Gern, however, seemed oblivious to her panic. Instead, he leisurely swirled his wine glass and continued his pursuit.

"What, do you prefer the free-spirited type like Shanks?"

Or perhaps…” He paused deliberately, his smile deepening, “someone like me, willing to quietly drink with you, wouldn’t be bad?”

"Please, please stop joking with me!" Makino hurriedly lowered her head, almost dropping the cloth in her hand into the pool.

He then tried to cover up his embarrassment by continuing to wipe the cup, but almost knocked it over.

Seeing her flustered state, Guern finally couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Instead of making things difficult for the kind proprietress, he downed the beer in his glass in one gulp, then gently set the glass down with a crisp "tap".

"Just kidding, please don't mind it." His tone softened. "But... thank you for the wine, it tasted very good."

Makino breathed a sigh of relief, but the blush on her face lingered for a long time.

After all, she was still a pure young girl, and had never experienced anything like this before. She was completely overwhelmed by Guern's direct attack.

"It's definitely Shanks!!"

Upon hearing the mention of Shanks, Luffy, who was diligently gnawing on a large bone stick, immediately looked up, his mouth bulging, and shouted loudly, though his words were indistinct, with unusual determination.

"Shanks is incredibly strong! He saved me and he's my rival for the title of Pirate King!!"

Seeing Luffy's protective attitude towards Shanks, Gern deliberately put on a stern face, pretending to be unconvinced, and pointed at Luffy with his wine glass: "Red-haired? What's so great about him?"

You just didn't see how pathetic he looked, being chased and beaten by me in the new world, running around everywhere!

"Impossible! Shanks is the strongest!" Luffy swallowed the meat and excitedly waved his rubber arm, almost knocking over the plate next to him.

“Nothing is impossible! That’s just the way it is! Redheads are just lame!” Guern didn’t back down either, and started arguing seriously with a seven-year-old child.

The two, one a Marine Admiral and the other a future Yonko, actually argued like children across the bar over a question like "Is Shanks strong or not?"

Ace, who was still stuffing meat into his mouth, rolled his eyes at the absurd scene and mumbled indistinctly, "Hmph... What's all the noise about?"

Shanks or you weird old man, in the future... they will all be my defeated opponents!

"I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!" After saying that, he buried his head and continued to deal with the mountain of flesh in front of him.

Sabo looked at the arguing Gren and Luffy, then at Ace who was ravenously eating, and smiled helplessly.

I think this "grandpa's friend" has a really strange personality...

However, the fact that you treat people to a meal is really great!

.....

Before long, Luffy was defeated by Gern, who resorted to violence when he couldn't win through verbal sparring.

The highly elastic rubber body was wrapped around the bar's pillars like a decorative item.

Then, satisfied, he sat back down in his high chair and took the beer that Marcino had refilled for him.

In the quiet bar where only the five of them were present, the laughter on their faces suddenly vanished, their tone became low, and their gaze swept over the three children with greasy mouths.

"Do you... really want to become the Pirate King?"

This sudden change in atmosphere stunned the three brothers who had been joking around and Marcino, who was wiping wine glasses.

The relaxed atmosphere that had just been arguing about Shanks' strength vanished instantly.

After a brief silence, Luffy was the first to react.