"Let him go, old man!" Ace barked, stomping forward, fists balled at his sides.
"Ace knowns this man?" Tessal thought
Garp didn't budge. He gave Ace a sidelong glance, as if sizing him up all over again. "Tch. Still mouthing off, are you, Ace?" His grip on Tessal didn't tighten, but the boy felt the weight of that hand as if it were a vice of iron.
"I mean it!" Ace's voice cracked with anger. "He's not yours to drag around!"
Not his? Tessal blinked, twisting in Garp's grasp. Wait, does that mean… Ace is protecting me?
Before Tessal could form the thought fully, Garp let out a booming laugh that rattled his bones. "Gwahaha! So the little brat has friends now, eh? That's new!"
"I'm not a brat!" Ace snapped, stepping right up to him now, defiant fire burning in his eyes. "And I won't let you hurt him!"
Luffy finally tore his attention away from the beetle, bouncing on his heels. "Yeah, Gramps! Don't hurt him—he makes cool bugs! Maybe he can make me one that shoots meat!"
Tessal's jaw went slack. Meat?! This kid's priorities…
Garp ignored Luffy's outburst and turned his gaze back to Ace. For a moment, the smoke thinned enough for Tessal to see the man's eyes—sharp, unyielding, yet… strangely amused.
"You think you can order me around, Ace?" Garp asked, voice like rolling thunder.
Ace didn't flinch. "If it means protecting someone, then yeah—I can."
The silence that followed was heavier than the smoke itself. Tessal's stomach dropped. He didn't know who this old man was, but even his instincts told him Ace was treading on dangerous ground.
Finally, Garp chuckled again, softer this time. "Hmph. You've got guts. Foolish guts, but guts all the same." He loosened his grip just enough for Tessal to breathe. "Relax, brat. If I wanted to crush him, I would've already."
Tessal swallowed hard, sweat dripping down his temple.
Ace growled. "Then let him down."
For a long moment, Garp said nothing. Then, with a casual flick of his arm, he dropped Tessal onto the ground. The boy stumbled, nearly falling to his knees, coughing as the last of the smoke drifted away.
"There," Garp said simply. "He's free."
Tessal rubbed at his neck, glaring upward despite himself. "You call that free?! You nearly squeezed the life out of me!"
Luffy burst into laughter, rolling on the ground. "Hehe! You looked like a fish on a hook!"
Ace crouched down beside Tessal, giving him a once-over. "You okay?"
"Y-yeah," Tessal muttered, though his heart was still racing. "Thanks to you."
Garp's eyes softened for a fleeting moment, then hardened again. "Don't thank him yet, boy. If you stick around these idiots, you're gonna need more than smoke bugs to survive."
That sent a chill down Tessal's spine. The old man's words weren't a threat—they were a warning.
"Just who the hell are you and who is the kid?!" Tessal shout out.