---
In that moment, Ace felt a warmth flooding his entire body. The food that had entered his stomach was being digested with incredible speed, while the energy from that meal was being absorbed by every cell in his body at a terrifying rate.
*"Is this... Full Absorption?"*
Ace involuntarily clenched his fist, feeling far more power than ever before. Just by eating, his physical constitution had improved; he finally possessed that "monstrous" build that characterizes the strongest figures in the *One Piece* world.
Ace remembered clearly from the original story that those dubbed "monsters" possessed digestive and absorptive abilities far beyond ordinary humans, and this trait is what builds those inhuman bodies. However, the **"Full Absorption"** skill he now possessed could digest and absorb food in the blink of an eye—it was leagues ahead of even those monsters' capabilities.
Ace was completely satisfied with this skill. Most importantly, he wouldn't have to live as an infant drinking milk for a long time... especially if Dadan was the one who had to breastfeed him! Ace's whole body shuddered at the mere thought of such a revolting scene.
---
"H-Hey, Boss... doesn't this brat look like he's grown a little?"
As Dadan stood there, jaw-dropped in shock, the short Dogra spoke in an uncertain tone.
"It... it seems so."
Dadan regained her senses and stared at Ace intently, stammering. With her long experience as a mountain bandit, she indeed noticed that Ace's body had filled out and grown slightly. But this defied logic! Even **Sea King** hatchlings don't grow just from eating a single meal!
"I-It's not even that surprising! He's a child brought by Mr. Garp himself; it's only natural for him to be exceptional. Yes, yes!"
Unlike Dadan, the rest of the bandits accepted it quickly, seeing it as a given. After all, this was the Marine Hero, Garp; it was only natural for things beyond their understanding to happen around him.
"Could you please put me down?"
Ace looked up at Dadan, who was still staring at him, and offered a small smile.
"GAAAAA?!!!"
Dadan's eyes nearly popped out of her head, and it felt as if her jaw would fall off as she looked at Ace in bewilderment: "You... you can talk?!"
She instinctively set Ace down while stammering; she knew from Garp that this child hadn't even been born for ten days!
"I stayed in my mother's womb for twenty months, so it's only logical that I'm good at speaking, right?" Ace explained coolly, without a shred of honesty.
"Right, right!" The bandits nodded with full conviction. Since he was a child brought by the great Garp, everything was logical!
"...."
Dadan also nodded mechanically, then suddenly snapped out of it and screamed: **"What the hell kind of logic is that?! I've never heard of a days-old baby speaking without being taught!"**
---
"Uncle, I need your help with something."
Ace pointed to the strongest man among the bandits—whose name he remembered was "Magura"—and spoke to him with extreme politeness.
"Me?"
Magura pointed to himself. Seeing Ace's certain look, he hesitated briefly then approached.
"Can I direct a punch at you? I feel like my strength has grown a bit," Ace said sincerely.
"Huh?" Magura was stunned, but he looked at this polite child with a wide grin and waved his hand dismissively: "Come on, hit me as much as you like, Hahaha!"
Magura pointed to his stomach, thinking it was just child's play.
"Then, please excuse my rudeness." Ace bowed very politely.
"What a polite kid!"
The bandits suddenly felt a surge of affection for Ace; even Magura had a face full of smiles.
"Don't hold back, let your uncle help you with your training, Hahaha... Oooh! Oof!"
Before Magura could finish his sentence, he felt a massive force explode in his stomach. Under the weight of this power, he felt as if his internal organs would fly out of his mouth as he was sent soaring through the air, crashing violently into the wall.
"!!!!"
The eyes of the bandits and Dadan bulged, and their jaws hit the floor in total shock. What did they just see?! An infant born days ago knocked out Magura, the strongest among them, with a single punch?!
"Hmm, a good result." Ace looked at his fist with satisfaction.
With the "Full Absorption" of that meal, his strength was now enough to easily knock down a grown man.
"I'm truly sorry, I didn't expect my fist to be this strong."
While everyone was in a state of daze, Ace went and helped Magura up, apologizing with a smile.
"It's... it's fine."
Magura squeezed out a smile with difficulty. Aside from Ace being Garp's kid, who would dare be angry at an "infant" who just flattened them?
"Since I just ate, it's only natural for my fist to become strong. It's logical, right?" Ace looked at Dadan and the bandits with a polite smile.
At this point, even those who initially thought things were logical felt their eyebrows twitch...
"What the hell kind of logic is this?! What kind of monster is this child?!"
---
Author's Note:
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 7: !Garp's Special Training
Chapter 8: Sea Kings! Mera Mera no Mi!
Chapter 9: Breaking the Seal!
Chapter 10: Hiken!