[Pirate] I! Orochimaru! I will never split! Chapter 041

“Hahahahaha… My bad.”

Luffy scratched his head and chuckled foolishly.

Sanji vigorously shook Luffy’s collar.

“You bastard! Don’t you ever reflect on your actions?!”

“He’s right, do you know how much trouble you’ve caused everyone? You should at least act like a captain for once.” Nami complained.

“Gomen… Oh right, Ace.” Luffy blinked.

“Is it okay to leave him alone?” Usopp walked over and looked at Luffy.

“It’s fine… He’s got a tough life.” Orochimaru clutched his forehead and supported himself as he stood up… He felt like if this happened a few more times, he’d have to consider getting himself some kind of reflective armor. He wondered if extreme soft tissue development could grant immunity to physical attacks.

“Ace is really strong. Before he ate a Devil Fruit, I never beat him once,” Luffy leaned against the railing, speaking to Chopper.

“You never won once? Against a normal person?” Nami was a bit shocked.

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration. Luffy never won against any of us brothers; he’s always been the perennial bottom-dwler little spicy chicken. But he is a talented and hardworking little spicy chicken.” Orochimaru clicked his tongue.

“Eh???!! Not even once?!”

Nami exclaimed.

“Yeah, I always lost, hahahaha… But now, I’d definitely win… Ah hahahaha… Hahahaha.” Luffy swayed proudly…

“You! Who can you even beat?!” Ace jumped directly from the small boat on the sea to the railing of the Going Merry, squatting there and looking at the group. Luffy stumbled and sat on the deck.

“Hey… Ace… These are my nakama.” Luffy looked up at Ace.

Ace leaned forward, hands on his knees, and lowered his head. “This is truly, my younger brothers have been well taken care of by you all.”

“N-No… Not at all…” Everyone reacted at the same time, bowing their heads.

“This kid is a bit ill-mannered, you must find him troublesome too, right?” Ace squinted his eyes, smiling.

“N-No… Not at all…” Everyone bowed their heads again.

Orochimaru, who had gone to wash his face, came out and saw Ace like this. He immediately swept his leg, tripping Ace and stepping on him.

“Huh??? You act like you’re any different! If you’re going to greet people, stand up properly and greet them! What kind of decent person squats on the ship’s railing to greet someone? Don’t you feel ashamed in that posture?! And how many times have I told you! Button up your pants!!! Nami and the others are girls!”

He kicked Ace directly into the air.

Everyone swallowed their saliva and pulled Luffy aside. “What’s wrong with Orochimaru… He seems broken…”

Luffy whistled, looking at the sky at a 45-degree angle, feeling a bit guilty. “I don’t know… I don’t know anything… It has nothing to do with me.”

( σ’ 3′ )σ

“It definitely has something to do with him…” Everyone thought with blank eyes.

Luffy couldn’t do anything about it either. Ever since Sabo left and Luffy accidentally let Ace know about that incident, Orochimaru had been broken, especially when it came to Ace… It could be said he was both venomous and long-winded, truly petty. Luffy, the culprit, whistled, looking at the pitiful Ace, feeling a bit of sympathy. Grandpa said this was also a form of expressing love; both of them were stubborn to death.

Although Orochimaru was the youngest brother, Luffy was the one who was pampered the most. Who could refuse a crybaby little ball?

Sanji, with a cigarette between his fingers, looked at Ace climbing out from the deck: “Want to go wash up? Let’s have some tea together.”

Ace used his Mera Mera no Mi to light Sanji’s cigarette. “No need to trouble yourself, thank you.”

The others were a bit surprised. ૮ ⚆⚆ა

Usopp: “That’s truly surprising.”

Zoro: “Indeed.”

Usopp: “I thought he’d be even more self-centered than Luffy.”

Nami: “No way… How could someone so sensible be Luffy’s brother?”

Zoro: “He’s so considerate of his brother, he’s a good person.”

Chopper: “Having brothers… is really nice.”

Sanji: “Truly unpredictable, the sea is amazing.”

Vivi looked flustered at the group speaking frankly: “Wait… I mean, you guys…”

Orochimaru slowly sipped his tea. “What you’re thinking isn’t wrong. He really is more self-centered than Luffy. He specifically learned this way for you all many years ago.”

Luffy picked his nose and nodded. “Mm-hmm… Learned it from Orochimaru and Makino-neechan.”

“For us…??” Everyone was surprised.

“Yes, to thank those who were troubled by Luffy. He only acts like this in front of you. The truly gentle and considerate one is Sabo… sigh…” Orochimaru rolled his eyes at Ace and sighed.

Everyone blinked, then looked at Ace, whose veins were bulging. Their eyes were a bit gossipy, wanting to hear more.

Chopper gnawed on his paw. “Who’s Sabo?” Good job, Chopper! The group, with ears perked up, waited for the gossip.

“Sabo… I miss Sabo so much.” At the mention of Sabo, Luffy also puffed out his cheeks, looking resentfully at Orochimaru, then at Ace… with disdain.

“Hey! Luffy! What kind of expression is that?!” The shark-faced man roared at Luffy. “Do you really wish it was me who left that day?!” (ꐦ°᷄д°᷅)

“Eh!…” Orochimaru and Luffy both drew out the sound, drooping their heads weakly.

“So, Orochimaru… who is Sabo?” Chopper’s small paw tugged at Orochimaru’s skirt, looking up with eager eyes.

Orochimaru quickly pressed down to prevent exposure, and patted Chopper’s head.

“Sabo is a very gentle older brother of mine and Luffy’s. We’re four brothers. He went out to sea a very, very long time ago due to some reasons.”

“If we go by birthdays, Ace is the eldest, Sabo should be the second, then Luffy, and finally me. But if we go by mental age, I’m the eldest.” Orochimaru proudly put his hands on his hips.

Ace and Luffy both scoffed, hissing. What good was being proud? We’re all grandchildren anyway. If you’re so capable, go tell Grandpa.

As if anticipating something, Orochimaru shot a death ray.

The banquet began, and everyone raised their cups to celebrate Ace’s arrival.

After the banquet, the group lay sprawled on the deck, sound asleep. Orochimaru walked over to Ace.

“Are you happy in the Whitebeard Pirates…?”

Ace was silent for a moment. “Mm… Old Man accepted me… I don’t know how to put it, but I know I want to stay in the Whitebeard Pirates.”

“That’s good… You can’t beat Blackbeard… You might die.” Orochimaru’s voice was somewhat subdued.

“Is that so… No, I won’t… I believe I won’t die easily.” Ace’s hand paused.

“These are for healing. Shove them in your pathetic pants pocket… Remember to eat them before you die…

And wait for me to save you, don’t give up on life so easily… I should have told you, if you dare to die easily, I’ll dare to drag you back… You should know I’ve done many experiments.” Orochimaru stuffed a pill into each of Ace’s pockets.

…………Ace was a bit speechless… I haven’t even gone yet… and you’re already thinking I’m dead.

“Um… I’ve been to Wano Country…” Ace hesitated to speak… He had learned some things in the Whitebeard Pirates, and because of Orochimaru’s prior existence, he didn’t have much good feelings towards Oden either… After understanding the situation, he only told Whitebeard about Wano Country, but didn’t say anything about going to avenge anyone.

“Oh… Does that have anything to do with me?”

Orochimaru’s voice was very calm, and he hated this feeling. This was clearly a background generated by the system, and he also thought so… But why did he occasionally feel resentment?

(Stupid Meow-san is thinking whether to add emotions to the background story.)