When Luffy excitedly headed back, he saw from afar a group of people gathered at their training spot, and a hint of confusion appeared on his face.
"What are they all gathered together for?"
As Luffy got a little closer, he suddenly smelled something. His nose twitched a few times instinctively, and his eyes immediately turned into the shape of roasted meat, with drool dripping from his mouth.
"What a delicious roasted meat smell."
After saying that, Luffy immediately burst forth with unprecedented speed. His two short legs spun like invincible wheels, almost leaving afterimages.
It only took a short while for him to reach near the group, and by then he could clearly see the scene ahead.
Everyone was sitting around a large table covered with various roasted meats, emitting an incredibly rich aroma.
Ace and Sabo and the others were all frantically stuffing meat into their mouths, their faces full of pleasure.
Seeing the roasted meat disappearing rapidly, Luffy grew anxious. From a distance, he shouted at the group.
"Save some for me, I want to eat too."
However, Luffy's shout only made everyone eat faster. Their hands moved so quickly they also seemed to leave afterimages.
By the time Luffy reached the table, only one last piece of roasted meat remained.
At that moment, only one thought remained in Luffy's mind.
'This piece of roasted meat is mine, no one can take it from me.'
His hand instantly stretched out, grabbing towards the meat. However, another hand was faster than his, taking the meat away just before he could touch it.
Luffy only managed to grab an empty plate.
Luffy pulled the plate back, staring blankly at the oily residue on the bottom. The expression on his face froze instantly.
Then he looked in the direction from which that hand had come. He saw Sabo pulling a bone out from his mouth and placing it on the table. Sensing Luffy's gaze, Sabo also looked over.
…
The air fell silent for a moment. In Luffy's ears, only the sound of Sabo chewing remained. Seeing Sabo's cheeks puffed out bigger than a hamster's, Luffy became completely enraged.
He threw the plate in his hand and immediately leapt towards Sabo, his eyes blazing with fury.
"Sabo, I'm going to kill you."
Seeing Luffy pounce, Sabo's eyes widened sharply. He immediately swallowed all the meat in his mouth in one go. However, he swallowed too hastily and it got stuck in his throat. His face instantly turned red, and he began pounding his chest with his fist.
Stupid throat, hurry up and contract.
Finally, just before Luffy reached him, he managed to swallow all the meat, avoiding the fate of being choked to death.
But soon the two began to wrestle, rolling around on the ground.
The others witnessing this scene did not intervene. Instead, they watched with interest, all leaning back in their chairs, picking their teeth with toothpicks, looking utterly relaxed.
"Sabo. You didn't leave a single piece for me. Ahhh, I'm definitely going to kill you today."
Luffy continued to roar.
"Who told you to come so late, and your hands are so slow too. Can you blame me for that?"
"If you're not as skilled, you have to accept defeat graciously."
Sabo retorted defiantly.
However, Luffy paid no attention to this, still throwing punches and kicks at Sabo relentlessly.
Sabo's condition wasn't great either. He had eaten a bit too much, and now moving so violently made his stomach feel like it was churning.
"Lu… Luffy, how about we fight after I rest for a bit."
Sabo couldn't help but say. Luffy ignored him completely, mercilessly retorting.
"Why didn't you wait for me when you were grabbing the meat earlier?"
"Nothing you say today is useful, Sabo. You're done for."
After saying that, Luffy pounced again.
Seeing that being soft didn't work, Sabo decided he couldn't take it anymore.
"Like I'm afraid of you, Luffy. Just watch me beat you into rubber paste today."
Much later.
"Over."
"After a long battle, the champion of this Monkey King Competition has finally emerged. He is…"
"Monkey D… Luffy."
"Let us all cheer for the birth of the Monkey King."
Kyle stood beside Luffy, raising one of his hands, shouting loudly.
Meanwhile, Sabo was lying on the ground on the other side, seeing stars, occasionally letting out a few burps.
Careless. If only he hadn't eaten so much. He actually lost to Luffy. How embarrassing.
Normally, his solid strength was greater than Luffy's, but his condition wasn't good today, and Luffy seized the opportunity.
But thinking about Kyle calling it the Monkey King Competition champion, he suddenly felt that not winning this fight might not be so bad.
Luffy, whose right hand was being raised by Kyle, did not show his usual excitement and thrill. Instead, he stared blankly at the empty plates on the table.
His eyes were full of loss.
The roasted meat… he didn't get to eat any of it.
Thinking of this, a feeling of grievance rose from the bottom of Luffy's heart. Tears slowly welled up in his eyes.
"Hey, hey, hey. Don't be in such a hurry to cry. First, take a look at the prize for the Monkey King Competition champion. If you still want to cry after that, then you can cry."
At that moment, Kyle's calm voice came from beside him, making Luffy instinctively turn his head. The next second, his eyes suddenly widened.
Light returned to his eyes, which once again took on the shape of roasted meat.
A small table stood beside Kyle, and on the table was piled high with roasted meat.
"Are these all for me."
Luffy asked Kyle blankly.
"What else?"
Kyle replied with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
"We saved a portion for you to eat when you came back, before we started eating."
"After all, you are our foolish little brother. What kind of older brothers wouldn't consider their little brother."
These words caused the tears that had just disappeared from Luffy's eyes to well up again, rapidly filling his eye sockets and flowing out uncontrollably.
"Kyle, you all…"
Luffy only managed a few words before tears instantly streamed from his eyes. Deeply moved, he looked at everyone, seeing them all smiling at him.
Luffy's heart was undoubtedly very touched. He had thought they hadn't saved anything for him, but it turned out they had prepared a separate portion for him long ago.
"Alright, alright. Stop crying, crybaby."
"Your second brother hasn't even cried yet. He's the one who got the worst of it, getting beaten up by you right after eating. He probably feels like throwing up what he just ate."
Kyle said with a laugh.
Hearing this, Luffy suddenly reacted, instinctively looking towards Sabo who was lying on the side. Seeing Sabo still lying on the ground, burping occasionally, an apologetic expression also appeared on Luffy's face.
"Um… Sabo. Sorry about that."
"Forget it. Who… burp… who told you you're my li… burp… little brother."
Sigh.
Sabo waved his hand, pretending to magnanimously forgive Luffy.
That's right, pretending to be magnanimous.
Next time, he would definitely get back at him.
However, Luffy's next words made him not even want to pretend anymore.
"But why didn't you say so. If you had said so, I would have stopped. Why didn't you just say so. Why didn't you say it."
---
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