Flames and smoke swirled and then dispersed, with several balls of fire falling from the sky and crashing to the ground, causing nearby sailors to collapse in fear.

A figure gradually emerged from the smoke.

"They escaped..."

Smoker frowned as he looked at the vanished figure in the burning flames. "What does that man mean by coming here?"

Portgas D. Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Smoker had no interest in his head; he had just stumbled upon it and, as a Marine, was simply fulfilling his duty.

"Colonel Smoker!"

Dashi arrived from behind.

“Tashigi, where’s Kuro?” Smoker asked, glancing at him.

Tashigi shook her head: "I didn't see Mr. Kuro and the others."

"Tch... Keep the Navy searching. While searching for the Straw Hat crew and Ace, we saw Clow and told him to come back. Now is not the time to be leisurely, otherwise why would I have brought him to the Grand Line with me? If he had been here just now, Portgas D. Ace would definitely not have escaped!"

Achoo!

In the alley, Kuro suddenly sneezed.

"Huh? You monster can catch a cold too?" Lida looked at her strangely.

"Don't joke around... Maybe someone is thinking of me, like a gentle older sister who eats little, isn't unreasonable, and is very understanding."

Kuro rubbed his nose and chuckled.

"Hmph! That kind of person wouldn't even look at a lazy guy like you." Lida stuck out her tongue.

Kuro shrugged indifferently and continued wandering around the city.

"I'm starving, I'm starving! Let's fight one more wave and then go eat."

Lida started to argue and make a scene.

“A million isn’t enough for you to eat, yet you’re shouting about it. Besides, we need some capital. There’s a famous gambling city in Alabasta called ‘Rainy Land.’ Let’s get some capital there and build up our fortune,” Kuro said.

"I don't care, I can't hold back anymore. Let's look one last time. If we can't find it, we'll go back."

In order to get food as soon as possible, a hint of red flashed in Lida's eyes as she activated her Observation Haki to the fullest extent, covering the entire city.

"I've got it! There are the presence of twenty or thirty people in that direction!"

Lida's face lit up with joy, and she ran over quickly.

"I can't do anything with you."

Kuro sighed and chased after him.

...

In the alley, Luffy chuckled, "Hahaha, Ace, thank you so much."

Ace, leaning against the wall, smiled slightly: "You're still so energetic."

A row of people lay dead around them.

"Hahaha, I'm so happy!"

Luffy and Ace walked side by side, ignoring the remaining attackers, toward the port.

But just then, a petite figure suddenly ran up to them, excitedly pointing ahead, "Right here, Kuro, right here!"

Then, her gaze froze as she looked at the two people in front of her.

"Child?"

Ace glanced at her, smiled, and reached out to touch Lida's head: "Little girl, go home obediently. It's too dangerous here, don't run around."

In his view, the little girl had wandered in by mistake and must have been terrified to see so many men with knives.

Lida did the same, staring blankly at Ace without moving.

Ace's hand touched Lida's head.

Instantly, he felt his body go limp, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud.

"you..."

Bang!

A foot swept towards his face, hitting him squarely and sending him flying.

"Ace!"

Luffy was horrified and stretched out his arm to grab Lida, "What...did you do to Ace?!"

As he finished speaking, his hand touched Lida's arm, and then his body went limp. "Ah...so tired, I have no strength left."

Lida didn't even look, patted her head, moved Luffy's hand away, and said:

"Who gave you permission to touch my head? And... isn't this Straw Hat Boy?"

The scene of Luffy on the execution platform in Loguetown Square left a deep impression on her. Of course, she still remembered this person, and it was also at that time that Kuro became angry.

Kuro happened to walk out from around the corner. Upon seeing the scene, he raised an eyebrow, immediately sensing trouble.

Ace? Luffy?

Two big problems.

Lida's Observation Haki can only sense the presence of people, and Kuro forgot to activate his Observation Haki, which is why he couldn't sense the presence of the strong person. Otherwise, he would have gone to eat earlier and avoided this trouble.

"Straw Hat Boy!"

Kuro, who was behind Luffy, saw him and his veins bulged. "Great! I've finally met you. Let's settle the score for Syrup Village!"

"Do you have a grudge against Kuro too? Then let's capture him. It's only thirty million." Lida said, looking at the exhausted Luffy.

Kuro tapped her on the head. "When did you get so cocky? Thirty million, and you're just paying it off?"

"pain..."

Lida covered her head and pouted: "Didn't you say before that you would only focus on the average? The bounty in the East Blue is three million, but the average bounty in the Grand Line is thirty million."

"This is such a hassle..."

Kuro slapped his forehead, but then began to ponder.

put?

He should release them; he can't afford to offend either of them due to their powerful backgrounds.

But then he suddenly realized that he had been so cautious, but as soon as Luffy set sail, he was forced to set sail as well, and all his hard work of ten years was ruined in one fell swoop.

This made Kuro believe in metaphysics.

"If we capture him now before Luffy causes any trouble, at most he'll be thrown into prison. With Garp's influence, he might even be released. Even if he isn't released, he won't die. In other words... if he's captured now, the sea will be calm, and I can live a safe life."

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