Mount Colubo, home of the bandit Dadan.
From a distance, Sephiroth and Machino spotted a simple, large wooden house with a red roof.
In the woods nearby, behind a thick tree, three people sat on the grass: two men and one woman.
"How many times are those three brats gonna cause trouble!?
Is there no end to it!"
The speaker was a stout, fierce-faced middle-aged woman with a cigarette between her lips and long, wavy orange hair.
This was Curly Dadan, the backbone of Dadan's House. Though a bandit, her relationship with Garp was… complicated.
Ten years ago, Garp had suddenly dumped a baby named Ace on her, threatening prison if she refused.
Helpless, Dadan agreed, and she'd looked after Ace since he was in diapers.
The first few years were fine—he was just a clueless little kid. But as time passed, Ace grew stronger, and Dadan couldn't control him anymore.
By age ten, Ace was already a notorious little terror in the Goa Kingdom, strong enough to hunt wild wolves, boars, and cattle in the mountains.
He often brought his kills back to share with Dadan's House, a sort of payment for her taking him in.
So Dadan let him do as he pleased and looked the other way.
But then…
A few months ago, Garp tossed another brat her way: Luffy. The kid was a total idiot, always chasing after Ace, but he didn't cause too much trouble. Dadan reluctantly accepted him.
Then…
Out of nowhere, the brat count jumped from two to three. After a kid named Sabo joined, Dadan's House knew no peace. The three of them argued day and night, tearing the place apart like a pack of wild dogs. Dadan couldn't sleep. She was at her wit's end.
So she called her two loyal subordinates, Magra and Dogra, to hatch a plan—a way to drive the three brats out of Dadan's House and restore some quiet to their lives.
"Damn it! I'm done looking after those three!
If this keeps up, they'll take over Dadan's House!
No—I'll lose my mind before that even happens!" Dadan clutched her head, her face frantic.
Magra, a middle-aged man with hair like a rooster's comb, shook his head. They couldn't afford to cross Garp.
"Let it go, Boss…"
Hearing this, Dogra—small and thin with a large head wrapped in a white headscarf—looked puzzled.
"Speaking of which… hasn't Dadan's House already been taken over?"
"But I can't do it anymore!!!
I wanna kick 'em out right now!
What does my promise to Garp have to do with me?!
I don't wanna take care of them anymore!"
Sephiroth stepped closer, a teasing lilt in his voice.
"My, my. Is that so?
Should I pass that along to old man Garp, then?"
"Ah!?"
Dadan jumped. She scrambled to her feet and spun toward Sephiroth and Machino.
"Who're you?"
"My name is Machino. Does Luffy live here? I'd like to see him."
"I'm Sephiroth, a Vice Admiral from Marineford. Garp's colleague."
Dadan broke into a cold sweat. She shook her head and waved her hands wildly.
"Ahhh—! Sorry!
I was just talking! Please don't tell that Garp, or I'm dead!"
Seeing her desperate will to live, Sephiroth smiled. He dropped the act.
"Where's Luffy…?"
"He's in the house!"
Dadan quickly pointed towards the red-roofed wooden house in the distance.
Just then, Luffy—straw hat on his head—stepped outside with two other boys, all of them laughing and chatting. He spotted the two figures standing with Dadan.
"Hey! Sephiroth! Machino!"
Luffy waved his right hand at once and ran toward them, grinning.
"You've grown, Luffy!"
Machino's face softened into a gentle smile. She bent down and lightly ruffled his hair.
"Of course! I train every day now! My fists are stronger than bullets!"
"Oh? Really?"
Sephiroth crouched to meet Luffy's height. He raised his right hand, palm open, and held it out in invitation.
"Show me."
Luffy agreed with a bright laugh. He backed up three meters, swung his right arm a few times to stretch it, let the rubber snap taut, and launched a punch straight at Sephiroth's face.
"Take this! Gum-Gum… Pistol!"
Just before the fist could land, Sephiroth shifted his palm calmly to the side and caught it, steady and firm.
He really is the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Nika form. Only seven years old, with no proper form or control, and yet that punch already outdoes an ordinary adult's.
The Monkey family's strong bloodline doesn't hurt, either… Sephiroth noted silently.
"Oh, that reminds me—Luffy, I brought you something."
Machino reached into the basket she carried and pulled out a black T-shirt.
"Gramps can be forgetful about these things, so I picked out some new clothes for you. If they don't fit, I'll take your measurements later…"
"Wow! Awesome!"
Luffy grabbed the shirt eagerly, yanked off his old white undershirt—salvaged from the trash heap—and pulled the new one on.
Whenever his or Ace's clothes got torn, they usually scrounged through the terminal dump for whatever the Goa Kingdom townsfolk had thrown out. You wore what you could find.
New clothes were a treasure. How could he not love them?
Machino glanced over at Ace and Sabo, who were watching from a distance. She waved them over, smiling.
"You two, come here! I'll measure you as well. I'll bring new clothes for you next time."
Sabo's face broke into a brilliant smile as he ran over. After a moment's hesitation, Ace followed, wearing that proud, reluctant look of his.
Sephiroth watched Machino measure the three boys. The gentle, motherly smile she wore without thinking touched something in him.
At first, getting close to Machino, flirting with her—it was just a strategy. A convenient way to stay connected to Luffy.
He'd had thoughts about her, sure. Physical ones, mostly. Nothing deeper.
But without him noticing, her kindness had seeped into him.
It was simple. Pure. The kind that warmed you from the inside.
Every time he saw that soft, caring smile on her face, he felt an instinctive pull—a need to shield her, to keep her safe forever.
It wasn't about plans or calculations anymore. He just wanted her to be happy.
By the time Sephiroth realized it, he'd genuinely fallen for her. For Machino. This ordinary, gentle woman.
Indeed, I am truly kind! I always want to give the woman I like a happy home… A certain scumbag thought silently to himself.