Watching Luffy tilt his head in deep thought, Ace was utterly speechless.
'My idiot little brother...'
Among the three people outside, Kalifa was the weakest. Even so, dealing with Luffy would be like child's play for her.
"Sabo, I'm going back in! Just watch me rip those fishnets off!" Luffy scrambled to his feet, his expression brimming with excitement.
Just then, a voice drifted in from outside the room.
"Ace, can I just slaughter this kid?"
It was a woman's voice, tinged with irritation.
"Ahem... he is my brother, after all. Not to mention he's Vice Admiral Garp's biological grandson. Besides, Sean mentioned..."
"Then surely I can give him a proper thrashing?"
"That... alright, suit yourself!" Ace gave a bitter smile.
A beating wasn't a big deal; his idiot brother could take a hit. As long as it wasn't Armament Haki, Luffy barely felt pain. But then again, who told the brat he was going to rip the fishnet stockings right off Kalifa's legs?
"Hey, who are you?!" Luffy yelled. "Stop playing tricks! Watch me blow you away with one punch!"
With that, Luffy charged straight out the door. Though Sabo tried to stop him, Ace held him back.
A moment later, a series of crashes echoed into the room. There were sounds of heavy punches landing, the thud of something heavy hitting the floor, and...
Luffy's screams of agony.
"Ace, that's Luffy! Our brother!"
"I know. That's why I know he won't behave until he's been beaten."
"But..."
"Sabo, that woman who just spoke... her biggest passion is wearing fishnet stockings."
'Fishnet stockings?'
Sabo's expression turned strange. Recalling what Luffy had said earlier, he suddenly understood why the woman wanted to beat him.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine. Sean said we have to capture him alive, since we have to send him to the old man later." Ace patted Sabo on the shoulder, advising him again. "You two should stop resisting. It's useless."
The result was already decided. The only difference was whether they were captured intact or locked up after being beaten into a pulp.
A minute later, silence returned to the area outside. The door opened again, and a figure was tossed inside.
Luffy's face was now swollen like a pig's, and his clothes were in tatters. He was trying to say something, but his face was so deformed from the swelling that his words were completely unintelligible. Even his body had gone limp.
Looking closer, Seastone handcuffs had been clamped onto Luffy's wrists.
Ace felt a vein pop in his forehead. He could pretty much guess what had happened. Knowing that physical attacks were largely ineffective against Luffy, Kalifa had cuffed him with Seastone first to suppress his powers before giving him a beating.
No wonder Luffy had been screaming. With the Seastone suppressing his Devil Fruit, he could no longer rely on his rubber body to offset conventional physical damage.
'That woman really held a grudge...'
"Sabo, what do you say?"
"What else is there to say? But I want to know how Sean will handle me. Will he hand me over to Headquarters, or will he use me as a hostage to blackmail the Revolutionary Army again?"
"Sean said you can return to Foosha Village in the East Blue with Luffy, on the condition that you never involve yourself with the Revolutionary Army again."
"Fine by me. Let's do it," Sabo nodded and raised his hands, waiting for Ace to cuff him.
"Sabo, once you're back in the East Blue, make sure you keep a close eye on Luffy. Sean said he's already let Luffy off three times, which settles the debt of the old man's past kindness. But if there's a next time..." Ace looked at Sabo seriously. "Don't let him act stupid again, or he really will die!"
Having stayed at the 16th Branch for so long, Ace knew the truth. If Luffy set sail again, Sean would absolutely deal with him. To Sean, that was the responsibility he had to uphold after releasing Luffy three times.
His idiot brother had no more chances.
As for the handcuffs, Ace decided they weren't necessary for Sabo. Whether he wore them or not, they had no chance of escaping.
"I understand."
"What about them?" Sabo pointed toward Chopper and Midori.
"I heard your medical skills are quite impressive?" Ace asked.
"Ah! I've only been studying for a short time! Right now, I only know how to treat simple external injuries!" Chopper answered, trembling.
Ace blinked in surprise. Hadn't Sean said this thing's medical skills were top-tier? What was this "simple external injuries" business?
Sean's words were never wrong, so was this guy playing him for a fool?
"Ace, Chopper isn't lying. When we met him, he had only been studying medicine for a few months," Sabo explained, seeing Ace's frown.
Ace pondered for a moment then decided not to overthink it; he'd find out once they got back.
"You don't need to worry about Chopper. Sean won't make things hard for him, but that..." Ace looked at Midori. 'What on earth is this?'
"That's Midori. Luffy gave him that name. He's a creature unique to Alabasta called a Kung Fu Dugongs!"
Good grief. He could accept Chopper; he'd heard from Sean that Chopper was a reindeer who had eaten the Human-Human Fruit, allowing him to maintain a human form and speak. That was manageable.
But a Kung Fu Dugongs?
At this moment, Ace truly lost all respect for his idiot brother. Still, he figured they might as well just take them all back.
'''
While the Straw Hat crew's situation was being settled, Crocodile and Lucci were staring at each other in the desert outside Rainbase. They had been at it for nearly ten minutes.
During this time, Crocodile had considered ignoring Lucci and continuing on his way. However, the man simply used Moonwalk to follow him through the air. He didn't attack; he just followed.
He wouldn't fight, and he wouldn't leave!
It was infuriating. Crocodile was reaching his limit.
"You... what exactly is your point?"
"The Rear Admiral's orders are to track and monitor you. You may move as you please; simply ignore my existence."
"You...!"
Crocodile had never met someone so exasperating. And the worst part was, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
For the first time, Crocodile began to wonder if his Devil Fruit was actually trash.
It wasn't that he lacked anti-air capabilities entirely, but the altitude Lucci had reached was far beyond the maximum range of Crocodile's pathetic attacks.
"Fine, I'll just wait right here."
"I'll wait for that guy Sean to show up, and then I'll kill him with my own two hands!"
"Let's see if you're still acting so high and mighty then!"
With that, Crocodile sat down heavily on a sand dune and crossed his arms.
'''
Nearly an hour later.
Two figures gradually came into view for Lucci and Crocodile.
It was Sean and Robin.