Just as I thought, you're the one needed to deal with Ace.
Clap clap clap!
Garp clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention in the room.
"Alright, let's consider this matter closed. Everyone, carry on as usual."
Easy for you to say. You're a big shot who doesn't care, but how can we ordinary folks not be affected?
The mental tables had been flipped more than once in their minds.
Dadan and her two trusted subordinates looked completely drained, their spirits burnt out.
Moses couldn't help but facepalm and spoke up:
"Actually, this doesn't concern you much. After so many years, you can just continue living your lives as before."
Though that might be true, knowing is knowing. Unless their memories were erased, they couldn't simply forget.
Moses shot Garp a glare, exasperated by his carefree attitude.
"Grandpa, are we staying here tonight?"
Moses asked.
Garp scratched his head and thought for a moment:
"Yeah, let's stay. After breakfast tomorrow, we'll treat Slab's grandson, then stick around for a few more days before I take you back to Drum Island."
Moses nodded.
Just then,
Moses noticed Ace frozen in thought and teased, "What? Gonna miss me?
Wanna come with me to Drum Island?"
Hearing this, Dadan shuddered slightly, raising her head inconspicuously but saying nothing.
Her heart was torn between reluctance and an urge to escape.
Ace glanced around before speaking somberly:
"Nah, I'll stay here. Given our identities, sticking together would just mean getting caught in one swoop if things go south.
Besides, I'm pretty comfortable here."
Moses looked at Ace in surprise. "Damn, little bro, you're actually this sharp?"
Ace immediately bristled. "Who the hell are you looking down on? You think I'm a kid? You asking for a beating?"
Well, if you counted their real ages, including time in the womb, they were almost five years old.
In another world, a certain filial son was already pondering the meaning of life at five.
So Ace being a bit smarter and more perceptive wasn't too far-fetched.
"Alright then. When Grandpa comes back here, I'll tag along to visit you more."
"Who needs your visits? You were only born a few seconds earlier—don't act like you're my big brother."
Moses just chuckled, knowing better than to take Ace's words seriously. The tsundere brat's words were best interpreted in reverse.
Just then, a click-clack sound rang out. Moses looked up to see a short, stout bandit with a cloth-wrapped head entering the scene.
Dogura.
Dadan's right-hand man.
His background in the original timeline was unclear, but he seemed like a good guy with his own story?
Yeah, he treated Ace well.
Moses sidled up to him, watching as he deftly picked a lock with a slender piece of metal—click, click—and it popped open in no time.
"Not bad, you've got skills! That looks fun—mind teaching me?"
Lockpicking.
Dogura jumped at Moses' sudden voice.
After hearing such a shocking secret earlier, he'd been trying to distract himself with his lockpicking skills—only to get scared half to death again.
But seeing the curiosity in Moses' eyes, Dogura puffed up with pride.
"Nope. This is a family heirloom technique. Not for outsiders."
Moses grinned at that and pulled out his wallet from his shoulder bag, extracting ten 10,000-bill notes.
"Skeleton Yukichi, 100,000 Belly. If you teach me, this will be the tuition fee."
Dogura fell silent instantly. 100,000 Belly was nearly a month's income for an ordinary family. If he had that much, he could at least buy a few more of his favorite books.
Dogura loved reading, but money was tight.
With a delighted grin, Dogura accepted the offer. "Deal."
Garp's face darkened as he watched Moses learning lock-picking from the mountain bandit.
He was starting to regret bringing Moses here.
"Moses, what's the point of learning that useless skill? When you're strong enough, you can just grab the lock and snap it open."
"Well, I've got nothing better to do. Learning a new skill is always good. And it's not expensive anyway."
Garp felt exhausted and simply turned away, preferring not to see what annoyed him.
Listening to Dogura's hushed explanations about various lock-picking techniques,
Moses paid close attention.
Things like listening for clicks, nimble fingers...
He grasped it instantly, understanding with just a hint.
To an outsider, lock-picking might seem difficult, but once you knew the principles...
Using Dogura's thin metal picks and a lock, Moses popped it open in seconds.
Listening for clicks, nimble fingers.
Observation Haki, anyone?
Anatomy knowledge, check.
For Moses, it was child's play.
After practicing for a while, Moses fully understood the principles of lock-picking.
And with practice, he became even more skilled.
Dogura stared in stunned silence, looking utterly defeated.
"No way... I spent most of my life mastering this skill."
His expression was one of complete despair.
Moses, however, wasn't paying attention to him now.
A translucent panel projected onto his retina.
In the Bestowed Ability section, gritting his teeth, Moses spent 1 merit point to refine his life's history and experiences. Then,
[Lock-picking]
Another brand-new Blessing eagerly appeared, though it was grayed out—not yet fully manifested.
"Heh, interesting."
"Should I manifest this Blessing for fun?" Moses pondered. "Hmm, feels like I'm missing some inspiration. Ah well, let it happen naturally. I'll practice more these days and try to manifest it properly."
As a life skill, it was somewhat useful to Moses for now.
More importantly, the locks in this world were generally quite primitive.
Most of them were extremely crude and simple.
...
Kids need sleep to grow, so Moses and Ace took turns bathing in a large tub in a partitioned room on the second floor.
They slept on a shared futon.
Staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, Moses narrowed his eyes, using his unique Breath technique to sense his own body.
Combining it with Observation Haki, he deepened his perception with each breath, training his mind and will.
Then, Ace spoke up beside him:
"Can't sleep. Hey, we're the same age, so why are you so much stronger than me?"
After a few seconds of silence, hearing only faint breathing, Ace grew frustrated.
"Are you asleep?"
"Apparently not."
Moses replied flatly, "Training methods. Do you even know what training is?"
"Eating, running, punching."
"That's what the old geezer taught me."
Moses smirked at the words. "How crude!"
Ace abruptly sat up, throwing off the covers.
"You calling me crude? You wanna fight?"
"What's the rush? Look at you getting all worked up again. You still can't beat me."
Moses propped himself up on his left elbow, tilting his body to glance at Ace's defiant expression before grinning:
"Call me 'big bro,' and I'll teach you how to train."
Ace snorted. "No."
"Then I'll keep my training methods to myself. I'll keep getting stronger, and you'll never surpass me. You'll always be the little brother."
Ace's eye twitched, his fists clenched as he turned his face away. After a few seconds, he muttered under his breath: "Bro."
Moses smirked. "Didn't hear that. Louder. You sound like a girl. No conviction at all."
Watching Ace tremble with frustration, Moses waited until the boy finally raised his voice:
"BRO!!"
"Louder."
Ace's face flushed crimson as he suddenly grabbed Moses' shoulders and yanked him upright, taking a deep breath.
"BROOOOOO!!!!"
The roar shook the entire house.
Almost instantly, Moses heard the commotion erupting downstairs.
At the same time, an enraged shout echoed from below as Dadan bellowed:
"ACE!! What the hell are you yelling about in the middle of the night?! Shut up or get the hell out and sleep outside!"
BANG!
"What's all this racket? People trying to sleep here!"
Garp slammed his palm against the floor and roared: "Everyone quiet down!"
Silence immediately fell over the house.
Moses looked at Ace's smug expression and said flatly, "We'll talk tomorrow. Go to sleep now."
With that, he flopped back down and pulled the blanket over himself, snoring softly within three seconds.
Leaving Ace wide-eyed and fuming.
...
The next morning.
The dawn air was exceptionally fresh, dew clinging to emerald grass blades along the path.
Moses jogged down the trail at a steady pace, a small shadow doggedly pursuing him.
Controlling his speed perfectly—keeping Ace just close enough to feel like he might catch up, yet never actually letting him close the gap.
Listening to the boy's heavy, labored breathing.
After a while,
Moses slowed his pace.
Ace shot past him.
Seconds later, Ace turned to see Moses had stopped completely and was now walking leisurely.
He stomped back angrily.
"Why'd you stop running? I was about to pass you!"
"Your imagination."
Moses replied calmly.
Ace's eyebrow twitched, ready to explode.
Moses continued methodically: "The training method I mentioned is about Breath."
The words instantly silenced Ace. He wasn't stupid—he could clearly see Moses was far stronger physically.
His defiance was just stubborn pride.
The principles of Breath, how to breathe, how to practice it.
Moses explained each point clearly to Ace.
Guiding him hands-on.
Just as he'd done with Hancock that day, inserting silver needles into Ace's breathing nodes.
Leading him step by step.
...
After breakfast, Ace kept coughing intermittently.
Only Garp understood why.
To everyone else, it just seemed like Ace might have caught a cold.
Walking down the mountain path,
Garp observed Moses' breathing rhythm closely. He'd never paid much attention before, but now that he did, the deeper patterns revealed themselves—increasingly profound.
Breathing in his own unique rhythm, Garp's eyes widened with growing astonishment.
Soon,
They reached the battleship.
After collecting the herbs Bogart had procured, Moses and Garp arrived at Slab's house. As soon as they entered, Garp cheerfully took Luffy into his arms, cradling and playing with him.
Meanwhile, Moses went inside and demonstrated to Ah Ying how to brew the medicine using a small medicinal pot. He walked her through the entire process once, then wrote down a detailed procedure for her.
Once the decoction was ready, Moses looked at the naked infant before him. With precision, he inserted a silver needle into the acupoint at the baby's navel, gently twisting and grinding it with a special technique.
Visibly, the baby's complexion grew rosy, and he began to wail loudly. After the crying subsided, Moses slowly fed the lukewarm decoction into the baby's mouth using a straw. After a simple demonstration, he let Ah Ying, the baby's mother, take over.
Once the entire process was completed, another hour or so had passed. Though not physically exhausting, it was certainly tedious. Seeing that his help was no longer needed, Moses stepped outside.
Carrying one of Slab's fishing rods, he headed to the sandy beach near the small courtyard, not far from the sea. There was a cluster of reefs there, rumored to be an excellent fishing spot. Always eager to try new things, Moses was excited to give it a go.
Since it was a coastal village, no matter which direction he walked, as long as he faced the sea, he would eventually reach the shore.
At the rocky beach, Moses sat on a reef close to the water's surface. He baited the hook with fresh bait and, recalling the casting motion from memory, swung the rod forcefully, sending the hook perfectly into the sea.
Watching the reed-made float bob on the water's surface, Moses sat peacefully on the rock, gazing at the endless expanse of the ocean. The sound of waves filled his ears, and the sea breeze brushed against his skin.
This was different from the sea he had experienced on a warship. Being on a warship always gave him a restless, rootless feeling. But here, sitting on solid ground, he felt a deep sense of stability.
Moses thoroughly enjoyed this sensation—comfortable, his breath rising and falling in sync with the rhythm of the sea breeze, the undulating waves, and even the reefs along the shore.
Unity of Heaven and Man.
Experiencing the wonders of nature.
His breathing rose and fell gently, like the steady presence of a reef. Gradually, his entire being seemed to harmonize with the surroundings. He emptied his mind, imagining himself as a reef, his heart tranquil.
Not far ahead, the float on the water's surface swayed gently with the waves. The blue sky, white clouds, sandy beach, reefs, and the lone fisherman—everything was in perfect harmony.
No fish took the bait.
Moses simply sat there, lost in thought.
Until—
He noticed the float stranded on the reef as the tide receded. Snapping out of his reverie, he sighed in frustration.
"I specifically picked a spot deep enough, and it still got stranded because of the tide."
"Unbelievable," Moses muttered under his breath.
"Pfft! Hehehe, you're so funny, little brother!"
A sweet, clear laugh rang out beside him. Moses didn't turn his head, and the next moment, the person let out a displeased "Hmph!"
"Little brother, big sister is talking to you!"
A slender, pale finger suddenly poked toward him. Moses leaned back just in time, and the fingertip appeared right before his eyes.
He turned to look.
A girl around twelve or thirteen years old stood there—about the same age as Hancock.
Her dark green hair was tied back with a bright yellow polka-dotted headscarf. She wore an orange checkered sleeveless shirt and knee-length beige shorts.
Her bare feet were tucked into a pair of sandals.
At this moment, she was pouting cutely while looking at him.
Her outstretched right hand with fingers spread reached toward Moses' head.
"Big sister isn't a bad person, you know. Are you here alone? Where's your family?" the girl asked curiously.
Moses watched her approaching right hand and raised his fishing rod slightly to block it.
"By the way, who are you? Also, people who say things like that are usually traffickers. We don't know each other, do we?"
"This place is huge. Did you come over here for a reason?"
"And don't casually touch others. We're not familiar."
Moses looked at her calmly as he spoke.
"Hehe, you're really interesting, little brother. I've been noticing
you here for quite some time, sitting like a log while fishing."
"Plus your face is unfamiliar. Did you just arrive in our Windmill Village?"
"Oh right, my name is Makino. What's yours, little brother?"
A flash of recognition passed through Moses' eyes as he looked at her, gradually merging her image with that neighborhood barmaid from his memories.
"Moses. My name is Moses."
(End of chapter)