In One Piece With Cheat Codes

A Fateful Encounter

"I say, who the heck are you? You greet me with such enthusiasm right off the bat?" Ace asked, rubbing his face where Ryu had struck him.

"#*%￥#@," Ryu mumbled, looking like a swollen pig's head after their initial encounter.

Yes, despite the sneak attack, Ryu had been swiftly defeated, leaving him with quite the price to pay—his head was now a bruised mess.

"Well, I was just curious. I feel like I've never seen you before. How did you know about me? I just happened to see your little boat earlier, so I thought I'd come over to say hi!" Ace replied, even though he didn't understand Ryu's words. He could sense that there was no malice behind Ryu's attack, which was why he had shown mercy; otherwise, it would be Ryu lying here lifeless.

As Ryu used his energy to heal his head, he mumbled, "It was that old man Garp who told me about you. I saw your photo from him!"

Healing with energy was a newfound ability Ryu had recently discovered. It was inspired by martial arts shows where fighters use their internal energy to heal injuries. Clearly, he had developed his first special ability.

"Grandpa?" Ace seemed genuinely frightened at the mention of Garp, instinctively looking around as if expecting him to appear.

"Exactly! Once, I was caught in a storm, and Garp's warship rescued me, so that's how I learned about you!" Ryu said, wide-eyed as he spun a tall tale.

How long had it been since he set sail? He hadn't even encountered a storm, let alone Garp!

"He's back in the East Blue? Is he here to catch me? I can't talk anymore; I have urgent business!" As soon as Ace heard Garp was in the East Blue, he bowed to Ryu and prepared to leave.

"Don't worry, it happened a long time ago. The old man might not even be in the East Blue anymore!" Ryu shrugged.

He couldn't just let Ace go. In their earlier fight, he felt that his speed and strength were on par with Ace's, but Ace had a wealth of battle experience and skills that left Ryu in the dust. Such a good sparring partner was not someone he wanted to lose.

Ace turned to look at Ryu, seemingly considering whether his words were true.

"Come on, let's eat something first!" Ryu smiled as he pulled out some food from his backpack.

"Ah, thank you for the hospitality!" Ace said politely, bowing again when he saw the food.

He didn't question how Ryu conjured food out of nowhere or express surprise at how quickly Ryu had recovered.

The two of them chatted while eating, sharing bits about their backgrounds.

"I see, no wonder I felt your speed and strength were decent, but you were just flailing about without any technique!" Ace laughed while munching on a chicken leg.

Ryu took the opportunity to ask Ace about his own skills, and Ace was happy to explain, even practicing moves together from time to time.

With the power of food as a catalyst, Ryu managed to keep Ace around, and together they set sailr.

"Hey, hey~ You're not planning to beat me and then go after my grandpa, right?" Ace panted a little after one of their sparring sessions.

After some time training, Ryu could now fight Ace more evenly, especially with his energy making things challenging for Ace.

While Ace was curious about Ryu's ability, he realized that even if Ryu explained it, he wouldn't be able to grasp it; he couldn't even feel the energy himself.

"Haha~ You're my ticket into the Marines, so of course, I have to do this!" Ryu replied, slightly out of breath.

From being thoroughly beaten to now holding his own, Ryu's progress had been rapid.