I'm at the top of One Piece

"That's good, but don't deliberately activate your Armament Haki right now; it won't do you any good."

"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Look, we've arrived."

The two had just climbed over a hill when Garp pointed to a wooden building at the end of a path.

"That's it."

The surrounding forest is lush and green. It is a wooden house built on a flat area on the mountainside, hidden in the mountains.

Following the path downhill, Messer activated his Observation Haki to sense the surroundings. Garp raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Quite a few people, aren't they?" Mercer raised an eyebrow. "Sir, then what are they?"

Karp's eye twitched, and he sighed. "You'll find out soon enough. Just so you know, even though those guys have a bad reputation, their leader, Dadan, is a good guy."

Mercer's eyes were slightly closed. Dadan herself knew, of course, that she was a woman who would risk her life for Ace.

An old woman who raised Ace.

A kind person with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

Garp was a little embarrassed, after all, it was the bandits who were raising it, but he didn't say anything more.

The two arrived at the building's entrance, and the next second, Garp started banging on the door.

A long series of sounds appeared.

Looking at the dust that was shaken out from under the door, Mercer always had a feeling that the door was about to collapse.

Footsteps sounded from inside the house, followed by a roar.

"Who is it?! Are you trying to kill me?! Can't you knock properly?"

"Crench!"

The door was opened.

A middle-aged woman with long orange hair peeked out, a cigarette dangling from her mouth. Her eyes widened suddenly when she saw the newcomer.

"Garp, no, Mr. Garp?"

As if they had seen a monstrous flood, they retreated repeatedly: "What brings you here? Are you here to see Ace again?"

Kapu chuckled and said, "You look pretty energetic, Dadan."

Dadan looked utterly aggrieved.

"What are you talking about? Where did you get all this energy? That brat Ace was making a ruckus all night last night."

"Really? Haha, Ace is so energetic. Looks like you guys took good care of him."

Dadan looked helpless and heartbroken: "That kid is hard to manage now. He's as strong as an adult and he's also very mischievous."

"Why don't you take him away? My little temple can't withstand his antics."

As Moses watched the two of them chatting, he quietly walked past Dadan and went inside.

When Dadan saw Mercer, her eyes bulged and she stammered, "Kaka, Mr. Garp, who is this brat?"

He looks a bit like Ace. Could he be him?

Garp chuckled and said, "His name is Mather, my grandson, Ace's twin brother."

Dadan felt dizzy and her mouth twitched: "Then why did you bring him here?"

No, please no, please don't make me raise another one. One Ace is already enough for me. If another one comes along, I'm really going to kick the bucket.

Garp: "Don't worry, you don't need to take care of him. Someone else will."

Dadan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, her face showing signs of exhaustion.

Once inside the house,

Mercer looked around at the layout: smooth wooden floors, a spacious interior with several cubicles separated by blue curtains.

On the left side of the ground, there was a fire pit, and a chain hung in the air, with a kettle suspended in mid-air.

It was being roasted by the charcoal fire in the hearth.

Just then, the sound of footsteps rang out, and Mercer turned his head to look.

The sound was coming from the stairs leading to the upstairs cubicles.

then.

A little boy with black hair, about one meter tall, came down.

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Chapter 20 Mercer's Mouth!

It's you, the jerk who was always squeezing me in the womb?

"Yes, a bit shorter than me."

Looking at the newcomer, Moses thought to himself.

Upon hearing that Garp had arrived, Ace immediately saw Messer standing two meters away from him as soon as he came down.

This is?

He tilted his head, looking somewhat puzzled.

There was a strange sense of familiarity, and his heart raced slightly. Ace asked cautiously:

"you are?"

Moses smiled gently.

"Don't you remember me? I held you when you were born, Ace. I'm your father."

Visibly, Ace's face turned black, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. "You bastard, are you looking for a beating?"

Moses's puzzled answer:

"Am I wrong? The eldest brother is like a father, so by that logic, it's not wrong for you to call me Dad."

At that moment, Garp walked in and punched Moses on the head with a dark expression:

"You little brat, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Mercer clutched his head in pain, grimacing as he turned to look at Garp: "Am I wrong? The eldest brother is like a father."

Dadan, who followed closely behind, looked on with a subtle expression, feeling that this brat named Messer was even more troublesome.

Fortunately, I don't have to raise them myself.

Just then, a gust of wind swept by, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure approaching. Mercer turned her eyes and saw Ace punching her in the face.

The next second, Ace's right leg shot out faster than Ace's, and at the same time, Ace's belly slammed into Mercer's foot.

This caused his upper body to suddenly slump onto Mercer's lap.

Ace's eyes widened, and he cried out in pain:

"Gah!"

Looking at Ace, Messer laughed and said, "So enthusiastic? Is this how Ace greets people? I understand."

What did you understand?

Ace thought to himself:

what.

Mercer narrowed his eyes, quickly retracted his right foot, and took a step forward.

With his left hand, he grabbed Ace's face as he lost his balance and fell forward.

Easily lift and toss it into the air.

Ace was easily tossed onto the roof by Messer.

The instant his body passed over Moses' face, he grabbed Moses' left and right ankles with both hands.

Mercer took a step and began to rapidly circle around in place. In an instant,

"Aaaaaaah!!! Quick~ Put me down!!"

Ace's innocent exclamations echoed continuously.

After a dozen or so laps, Mercer gradually slowed down and finally laid Ace flat on the floor.

Seeing Ace's eyes turn into circles, Messer grinned.

He stepped forward and straddled Ace's stomach, gently patting Ace's cheek with his right hand. After a few seconds, he watched as Ace regained his focus.

"Ace, you must remember, your older brother will always be your older brother."

"If you want to overthrow your superiors, you'll have to wait until your next life."

Seeing Ace's defiant expression, Mercer plopped down next to him.

Grabbing his collar and pulling him up, Mercer looked at Ace, who was sitting on the floor with her, with gentle eyes.

This is my younger brother.

"It's been a long time, Ace. Did you miss me? Even though you don't remember anything from back then."

"Hmph!" Ace turned his head away, looking arrogant. "Who would miss you? Who do you think you are? Just like you remember me?"

Moses smiled:

"Oh, I heard from Grandpa that you miss me a lot. In that case, I'll go."

With that, Messer stood up and walked toward Kapna.

Suddenly, Mercer turned to look at Ace, accurately catching the anxiety in his eyes and his slightly open mouth. Mercer smiled: "Hey! Don't worry, I'm not leaving today."

Mercer turned back, grabbed Ace by the back of his collar, and lifted him up.

Looking at him intently, Mercer smiled a few seconds later.

"Brother, let's get acquainted formally. My name is Moses, Portgas D. Moses. I'm your older brother, born on the same day, month, and year as you were born. No doubt about it."