Starting from One Piece with the Rinnegan

"Where... am I? Luffy?"

Ace slowly opened his eyes, groggy and disoriented. He didn't know how much time had passed, but it was already dark. The moment his vision cleared, Luffy's face appeared in front of him.

As he registered what he was seeing, a rush of blood surged through his body and he began trembling violently.

What was left of Luffy was just a head—his eyes shut tight. His arms, legs, and torso were all tightly bound up and placed next to Ace.

"Luffy!!"

Ace's eyes went bloodshot with rage. He struggled to get up and reach him—

Suddenly, Luffy's severed head opened its eyes, and with a wide, surprised grin shouted,

"Ace! You're awake!?"

"Nani!?"

Ace froze in his tracks, horrified. He stared at Luffy's head in disbelief, then slowly reached out with a trembling finger to point at him.

"Luffy, you... you..."

"Chill. That idiot's fine."

It was that Marine's voice!

Ace whipped his head around and saw Kaito sitting by the campfire, roasting a large chunk of meat.

Seeing that Ace was awake, Kaito stood up, clapped the dust from his hands, and looked at him.

"That guy just wouldn't sit still. So, well..."

Kaito made a slicing gesture with his hand, then pulled the roasted meat off the fire and took a bite, commenting that it actually tasted pretty good.

Ace swallowed hard, then stiffly asked,

"Can Luffy go back to normal?"

"Who knows? Maybe once I finish eating."

Hearing that, Ace let out a breath of relief. As long as he could be restored, that was enough.

But just as he started to relax, Kaito added,

"Or maybe he'll never be the same again. Serves him right for being hyperactive."

"That's not fair!" Luffy shouted defiantly. "Once I'm back to normal, I'll show you—!"

Thunk.

Ace slammed a fist into Luffy's face, smashing his head like a deflated rubber ball.

Pop! Ace pulled back his hand, and Luffy's head bounced back to its original shape. He looked at Ace with a pout and muttered,

"Ace, why'd you hit me?"

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

Luffy's eyes went wide in realization. That's right—just eating a Devil Fruit and becoming a landlubber was already miserable enough. If his body stayed like this too, what was even the point of sailing!?

Honestly, Luffy's train of thought often went completely off the rails—especially now, as a kid.

Luffy suddenly opened his mouth and sucked in a deep breath, puffing his head up into a perfectly round rubber ball, then clamped his mouth shut.

Ace covered his face, looking at the scene with helpless frustration.

"...What are you doing?"

"Mmmph mmph!"

"Speak!"

Fwoosh! Luffy blew the air out, then looked at Ace in confusion and said,

"Ace, are you dumb? I'm not talking or moving around now, right?"

Who's the real idiot here!?

Ace fought the urge to smack him again and instead walked over to Kaito and stood silently beside him, watching the man chew his meat piece by piece.

Ace hadn't eaten all day. The sight of Kaito munching on that roasted meat made his stomach grumble loudly.

Kaito glanced at him—Ace wasn't even as tall as Kaito while sitting—then tore off a large hunk of meat and handed it to him before going back to eating.

Ace took it and muttered a quick thank-you before devouring it ravenously.

Still hanging nearby, Luffy's severed head gulped down several mouthfuls of saliva and couldn't help but shout,

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

Ace paused and glanced at Kaito.

Before he could even speak, Kaito casually waved a hand and said,

"Go ahead if you want to share."

"Thanks!!"

Ace nearly collapsed with relief. He was honestly terrified of this mysterious Marine. If Kaito got annoyed and left Luffy alone, there was nothing Ace could do.

He ran over and shoved a large chunk of the meat into Luffy's mouth. Thanks to his rubber body, Luffy could open his jaw absurdly wide. After all, he'd invented the art of massive rubber gulps.

"Mmm! So good! That guy with the swirly eyes is such a nice person!"

Ace broke into a cold sweat hearing what came out of Luffy's mouth. He didn't dare glance back at Kaito. Without hesitation, he clamped his oily hand over Luffy's mouth.

But Kaito's voice crept up from behind like the devil's whisper.

"No need to cover his mouth. I already heard."

Ace spun around and immediately bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

"I'm so sorry! Luffy's just a total moron. Please don't take it personally!"

Kaito walked past Ace and stopped in front of Luffy's head, gazing directly into his eyes.

Luffy, usually fearless even in the face of danger, felt a chill crawl down his spine under the close stare of Kaito's Rinnegan. Not even when facing Garp had he felt this.

It wasn't that Kaito's power surpassed Garp's—after all, Garp was his grandpa, and blood ties limited the fear he could feel toward him.

"ROOM."

Vmmm—! A hum of energy as the ROOM space expanded. Ace panicked, thinking Kaito was about to hurt Luffy.

"No—don't!"

"Splice."

"Huh?"

Luffy blinked, then gave his arms a vigorous shake and jumped up and down a few times. A joyful expression spread across his face as he leapt at Ace.

"Ace! I'm all better! I'm back to normal!"

Ace was still stunned. That Marine hadn't even moved, and yet Luffy's body was back? It was seriously freaky.

Unable to hold back, Ace asked,

"Did you eat a Devil Fruit too?"

"Nope. Don't ask so many questions. You two—come with me."

Since Kaito said so, Ace shut his mouth. Luffy, trailing behind, didn't dare make a scene either. The two of them followed Kaito awkwardly back to the fire.

Kaito sat down and turned to see the two still standing beside him. He chuckled softly and patted the spot next to him.

"What's wrong? Weren't you full of energy earlier? Sit down."

"Okay!"

Ace and Luffy quickly sat down by his side and let out long sighs of relief. After the entire day of torment from Kaito, their minds and bodies were completely drained. Getting a chance to rest felt like a blessing.

Especially Ace—he'd taken a direct hit from Almighty Push earlier. If he hadn't been naturally tough, he might not even have regained consciousness by now.

Not to mention getting scared half to death by Luffy earlier. If he had his way, he'd be passed out in bed by now.

Thinking of that, Ace's eyelids started to droop as sleep crept in.

But then, Kaito's next words made his nerves snap taut again—any trace of drowsiness gone.

"Do you know who Roger is to you?"

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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