One Piece: The Eternal Flame

"Don't move." The man's voice from above made him freeze instantly, the shadow completely enveloped him, and the man squatted down.

The child closed his eyes tightly, not knowing what was waiting for him.

But the expected pain did not appear. Instead, the restraint on the wrist and ankle disappeared, and the cloth strip on the mouth was also untied.

Then the shadow above got up, and the sound of footsteps sounded, as if it was leaving.

He blinked for no apparent reason, got up and looked towards the place where the battle took place, only to see bandits of unknown origin lying here and there, and the crocodiles they were riding were also emitting billowing black smoke.

"Uh..." The child opened his mouth, and the Nine Mountain Bandit Group, which was domineering in Nine Mile, was defeated so easily.

Those people... are they here to save Jiuli?
He stared blankly at the backs of the group of people, they had already left some distance away, and they were giggling, unable to tell what battle they had experienced before.

"Hey! Hey——" For some reason, he wanted to stop them, so he spread his feet, stepped on the rough ground, and ran towards the group of people barefoot.

Ace and the others obviously heard the child's voice, stopped for some unknown reason, and tilted their heads to look at him.

"Is something wrong?" Ace asked.

"You... are you here to save Jiuli?" the child with pink afro asked Xiji.

"Save?" Several people looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Ace leaned down, patted the child on the head, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Boy Asura!" the child replied.

"Okay, Asura," Ace said with a smile, "Do you want Jiuli to get better?"

"Of course!" Boy Asura nodded vigorously, "Although this place is terrible, but there are my friends, I want them to be full!"

——just to feed them, he originally wanted to steal food from the Nine Mountain Thieves Group, just a little, he runs fast and has great strength, he will definitely be able to leave before being discovered.

But the dream is good, but the reality is that he will be caught soon and will be taken to the mountains.

"Then it's up to you to save this chaotic area." Ace patted Asura boy on the shoulder, with a solemn tone, "We are just passers-by here, and only Jiuli people can really save Jiuli."

After he said some words that Ashura Boy could not understand, he took off his backpack and handed it to Ashura Boy with a smile, "Here, I'll give this to you, and I will congratulate Jiuli on the prosperity of the future in advance."

Asura Boy was dropped by this backpack, it was very heavy, and he didn't know what was inside.

He wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say.

He just stood there, watching Ace and the others leave.

It's up to him to save... Can he really save Guri?

Opening the backpack, Asura boy was dazzled by the considerable amount of gold and silver inside. His first reaction was to pull the backpack away immediately, and then his heart became turbulent.

"Can I really save Jiuli?" Asura Boy shouted at Ace and the others.

Ace raised his arm and waved it, and replied: "Didn't you say you have friends? If you can't do it alone, go with your companions! Don't be afraid of the illusory failure before you start!"

"Hahaha Ace, that's really cool~" Teuton poked Ace's chest with his elbow and laughed.

"Is that why you gave all the pocket money to that child?" Tang En asked.

"Ah, it's going to be spent anyway." Ace scratched his black shiny hair, showing a free and easy smile.

"Really, brat!" Teuton stretched out his hand and pressed Ace's head forward, laughing loudly, "No wonder the captain likes you, you are so appetizing to us!"

……

Gray didn't have any intention of running away, maybe he really trusted his companion too much, or he was really big-hearted.

In short, along the way with Zefa, he often poked his head around and asked Zefa to buy him something to eat in a very natural manner.

"Zefa, don't buy it for him, it's all your own money, no one will reimburse you!"

Just as Zefa was about to spend money to buy things, finally a navy couldn't stand it anymore, and stepped forward to stop Zefa's movements.

Gray shook his head and hummed "Binks' Wine" with a look of nothing to do with himself.

Zefa glanced at the navy that blocked him, and immediately recognized it.

Ashley, a third-class soldier who only graduated from the Naval Academy two years ago-he knew him, the girl he rescued from a gangster when he was a child.

Occasionally, when they meet, the other party will greet him warmly, and over time, Zefa will take the initiative to respond.

But also just respond.

Zefa didn't care about saving people when he was young. For a man whose mind is full of becoming a hero, other things are the scenery around him, whether good or bad, he doesn't care.

But this was not the case for Ashley. From the moment she was rescued by Zefa, she vowed to follow in this man's footsteps, and becoming a navy was just one of her proofs.

It might be love, or it might just be the girl's pure admiration and admiration—this pure emotion without any impurities supported Ashley, who was not in good health, to pass the training and assessment of the Naval Academy.

Finally, Ashley couldn't stand the pirate's aggressiveness, and summoned up the courage to interrupt Zefa's movements.

The salary of the navy is not much, if it is all spent on it, what about Zefa's usual expenses?

Zefa was silent for a moment, glanced at Gray who had nothing to do with him, and still took out the money to buy something.

Is she meddling?Ashley blushed in embarrassment, and quickly lowered her head. The others didn't care, at least she didn't want Zefa to see her embarrassment.

A hand holding a three-color ball suddenly stretched out from the lowered eyes. The joints are well-defined, and the back of the hand is tanned. This hand is holding a sweet and lovely three-color ball.

"Ashley, would you like one?" Zepha asked.

Ashley stared blankly at Sansewanzi, then raised his head to look at Zefa, his cheeks were slightly red and his eyes were shining.

Zefa looked a little uncomfortable, and said softly: "I heard that you girls like sweets."

Gray, who was eating three-color balls and also had a fondness for sweets, didn't know whether he should take a bite or not.

Ahhh?what does it mean?Can't a handsome boy like me eat sweets?

But feeling the strange atmosphere between the two, Gray decided not to argue with Zefa for the time being.

Ashley laughed softly, nodded his thanks, and took the three-color balls from Zefa with both hands, "Yes, girls...all like sweets."

She lightly took a bite of the glutinous rice balls, which were sweet and glutinous. In fact, she didn't like sweets very much, but it was from Zefa, and it was really delicious.

Zefa didn't buy himself a copy.

Seeing this, Ashley immediately took out his own money, and said apologetically, "This is the money of Wanzi, I'm sorry, I told you not to buy anything just now, and then I ate your food."

"No need." Zefa shook his head, "You mean well, I understand."

After finishing speaking, Zefa ignored Ashley and dragged Gray away.

Gray was staggered by the pull, quickly adjusted his posture, and said bluntly to Zefa: "She likes you!"

The two walked quickly, and Ashley didn't dare to follow because of some budding feelings, so no one would hear their conversation.

Zefa frowned, "Don't say unfounded things."

"Tch, if you like it, you just like it. There's nothing hard to say about that." Gray shrugged and said, "Don't you like her?"