Chapter 87: Who's Roger To You?

"Where am I… Luffy?"

After an unknown amount of time, night had fallen. Ace groggily opened his eyes, and Luffy's face appeared in his blurry vision.

But when he fully processed the scene in front of him, his blood ran cold, and his body trembled violently.

At that moment, Luffy was just a disembodied head, eyes closed, tied up along with the rest of his body and placed beside Ace.

"Luffy!"

Ace's eyes turned bloodshot. He struggled to move closer when suddenly, Luffy—just a head—opened his eyes upon hearing Ace's voice and shouted,

"Ace! You're awake!?"

"Nani!?"

Ace froze in place, startled. He stared at Luffy's head in disbelief, shakily raising a finger to point at him.

"Luffy, you… you…"

"Relax. He's fine."

It was that Marine's voice again.

Ace turned his head sharply and saw Chiga sitting calmly by the bonfire, roasting a large chunk of meat.

Seeing that Ace had awakened, Chiga stood up, clapped his hands together, and looked at him.

"That guy was just too restless… so, well…"

Chiga made a chopping motion with his hand before casually biting into the meat. "Tastes pretty good, though."

Ace gulped nervously, speaking stiffly,

"Can Luffy return to normal?"

"Who knows? Maybe after I finish eating."

Chiga's casual tone eased Ace's panic slightly. But just as he began to relax, Chiga added,

"Or maybe not. Who told him to be so hyperactive?"

Luffy protested loudly, his face twisted with indignation.

"Damn it! When I get my body back, I'm gonna—!"

Thud.

Ace punched Luffy in the face, squashing it like a balloon.

Pop!

His face bounced back, returning to normal shape. Luffy looked at him, aggrieved.

"Ace, why'd you hit me?"

"You idiot! Do you want to stay like this forever!? Don't you want to go out to sea!?"

Luffy's eyes widened. That's right! It was bad enough after eating a Devil Fruit, but this? How was he supposed to become King of the Pirates like this?

Not that young Luffy's thought process ever really connected logically.

He suddenly puffed up his cheeks and held his breath, turning his head into a round balloon.

Ace covered his face. "What are you doing now?"

"Mmmph!"

"Speak, dammit!"

Luffy exhaled hard. "I stopped moving around and talking, didn't I? Isn't that better?"

Ace resisted the overwhelming urge to punch him again. He walked over to Chiga and stood silently, watching him eat, bite after bite.

Ace hadn't eaten all day. The scent of the roasted meat was torture to his empty stomach.

Chiga glanced at him. Noticing Ace was barely as tall as him even while sitting, he tore off a big piece of the roast and handed it over. Then continued eating.

Ace accepted it gratefully and dug in ravenously.

Luffy, whose head was still tied up, drooled and shouted,

"I'm starving! Can I have some too?"

Ace paused and looked at Chiga.

Before he could speak, Chiga casually waved a hand.

"Go ahead, share if you want."

"Thanks!"

Ace let out a deep breath of relief. Chiga scared him, and he didn't want to push his luck.

He rushed to Luffy and stuffed some of the roasted meat into his rubbery mouth.

"Mmm! Delicious! That guy with the swirly eyes is a good person!"

Luffy's words sent a shiver down Ace's spine. He dared not look back at Chiga and quickly slapped his hand over Luffy's greasy mouth.

But Chiga's voice echoed behind them, eerily calm:

"No need to cover it. I heard everything."

Ace spun around and immediately bowed low.

"I'm sorry! Luffy's an idiot. Please don't take it seriously!"

Chiga walked up to Luffy's head and stared into his eyes.

For the first time in his life, Luffy felt real fear. He didn't even flinch when Garp scolded him, but now—under Chiga's Rinnegan—he felt a pressure that made his skin crawl.

It wasn't that Chiga was necessarily stronger than Garp. Garp was his grandfather, after all. But Chiga was a complete unknown, and that made the fear worse.

"ROOM."

Bzzt!

The familiar hum of spatial energy filled the air as a ROOM spread out around them.

Ace, mistaking it for an attack, shouted,

"Don't—!"

"Join."

"Huh?"

Luffy blinked. His arms twitched. He bounced in place, then suddenly jumped with excitement.

"Ace! I'm fine! I'm back to normal!"

Ace blinked, stunned. Chiga hadn't even moved, yet Luffy had recovered. It was baffling.

"Did you eat a Devil Fruit too?" Ace asked cautiously.

"No. Don't ask so many questions. Just follow me."

That was that. Ace closed his mouth, and even Luffy obediently followed as they returned to the fire.

Chiga sat down again and looked over at them still standing.

He chuckled and patted the ground beside him.

"What's wrong? Weren't you two bouncing around all day? Sit."

"Okay!"

They sat beside Chiga, breathing out a sigh of relief. After a full day of being tossed around by this guy, rest was a blessing.

Ace especially. He'd taken a direct hit from Shinra Tensei, and the only reason he was even conscious was his monstrous endurance.

Even dealing with Luffy's detached head earlier had nearly broken him.

He just wanted to collapse and sleep.

But Chiga's next words instantly wiped the sleep from his eyes and sent a chill down his spine.

"Do you know who Roger is to you?"

---

They aren't exactly kids, I mean he's older than them so we thinking they're kids and all.

Join my p@treon cos after this arc is Shiki then Skypiea.

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