Navigation: The Intuition is Against Heaven, and the Deduction of the Start is a Cremation - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Complete Absorption!

The East Blue, Foosha Village was a quiet ordinary village in what was considered the weakest sea. Yet, it was the hometown of the Marine hero, Monkey D. Garp.

This time, however, Garp was not here as a hero but had come to the mountains of Mt. Colubo.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

His iron fist pounded against the wooden door, causing it to creak under the pressure.

“Which idiot is knocking so hard?! Do you even know whose territory this is? Watch yourself, or I’ll—”

A gruff, fierce female voice shouted from within. The door was yanked open violently, revealing a woman with a cigarette in her mouth, her face contorted in anger, only to freeze in shock.

“Yo.”

Garp grinned, raising his hand in greeting.

“G-Garp?!”

Dadan collapsed onto the floor, terror-stricken.

[Curly Dadan (カーリー・ダダン) – A mountain bandit and caretaker of Ace and Luffy, initially reluctant but later deeply loving towards them.]

“Wha—?!”

Inside the house, the rest of the Dadan family gasped in horror with one thought in their minds:

Are we doomed?!

“Been a while, Dadan. You look well.”

Garp grinned widely.

To Dadan, that grin looked anything but friendly.

“M-Mr. Garp! I swear, I haven’t done anything illegal!” Tears and snot streamed down her face as she pleaded. “I’m not here to arrest you.” Garp picked his nose lazily. “R-Really?! Then why are you—” Dadan cautiously asked. “This brat is your responsibility. Raise him well.” Garp lifted the baby Ace from his arms and held him out.

“WHAT?!”

Dadan thought she had misheard. I am a bandit, a criminal. And now I am supposed to raise a baby?

“Got a problem with that?” Garp’s grin widened menacingly. “N-Nope! No problem at all! Leave it to me!” Dadan immediately bowed in submission. Ace stared at the plump, scarred, orange-haired middle-aged woman in front of him, his gaze shifting slightly. Dadan was the woman who raised Ace for seventeen years and Luffy for ten. She might be a mountain bandit, but when she learned of Ace’s death in the original story, she had beaten Garp senseless in a blind rage. Beneath that rough exterior lay a heart filled with love.

“He’s yours now.” Garp handed Ace over, slammed the door shut, and vanished.

……………………………………………………………………………………..

Dadan sighed, holding Ace in her arms. But then she noticed the way he was looking at her. For the first time, something stirred deep within her.

“Boss, are we really raising this kid?”

One of the bandits asked hesitantly.

“Cough! What choice do we have? Garp ordered it himself.” Dadan coughed, trying to mask her earlier emotions. “Unless you want to be arrested by Garp?” She shot them a dark look.

The bandits frantically shook their heads. Garp was the man who had hunted down the Pirate King himself. He could crush them easily, like insects.

“We have no choice but to raise the brat.”

Dadan sighed.

“Boss… are you smiling?” One of the bandits hesitated before speaking. “What?! Don’t be ridiculous! Raising this kid is a disaster!” Dadan snapped, flustered.

Growl!

At that moment, a loud rumble drew everyone’s attention to Ace. “I-Is he… hungry?” Dadan stammered.

What do babies even eat again? Milk? We don’t have any here in a mountain bandit’s den…

Ace, however, was staring intently at the roasted meat over the fire, its charred surface glistening. Ever since leaving Baterilla, Ace had only had water to sustain him. Surviving in Garp’s careless hands was an achievement in itself. Fortunately, thanks to his Battle Hibernation, he hadn’t needed food. But now he was starving.

“Y-You want the meat?”

Dadan hesitated and thought

A baby eating roasted meat? Is that even possible?

“Alright, but if anything happens, don’t blame me! This is your choice!”

She carried Ace over to the fire. Moments later, her expression shifted from hesitation to sheer shock. Ace devoured the meat like a ravenous beast, stuffing piece after piece into his tiny mouth. His small body was like a bottomless pit, consuming nearly an entire roasted antelope. Then, his stomach ballooned to an alarming size.

“Hey! Kid!”

Dadan panicked as Ace swelled up like a balloon. If he dies from overeating on his first day, Garp will kill me.

But then, before their eyes, Ace’s body began to shrink. The bloated stomach compressed, and his size returned to normal. At the same time, his body began to grow.

【Your comprehension is unparalleled. Through your first meal, you have comprehended—Complete Absorption!】

【Complete Absorption: You can fully absorb the nutrients from consumed food at a 100% efficiency rate.】

【Your physique has strengthened!】