"Whitebeard's pirate crew will be annihilated at Marine Headquarters!"
"!!!"
"Impossible!"
Ace's eyes widened, and he instinctively roared out,
"Old man is the strongest man in the world! No one can kill him!"
"...!"
Even Teach, who was curled up in the shadows of the opposite cell, suddenly trembled violently at those words.
"The strongest man in the world?"
Garp curled his lips into a mocking smile.
"Ace, all this time, the Marines have carried shackles while executing justice!"
"We were bound by the Celestial Dragons, by the Elders, by this so-called 'balance'!"
"But... that Hawke used fists and strategy to smash apart those shackles of the Marines!"
"We no longer need to look at anyone's face for approval! We have our own money, our own scientists, our own war fortresses!"
"Sengoku, whose will to rule has been rekindled!"
"Zephyr, who for the sake of the younger generation will not refuse to keep living!"
"Tsuru, who has always devoted herself wholeheartedly to the Marines!"
"Sakazuki, Kuzan, Borsalino—the three monsters who, for the first time, are united as one!"
"Tokikake and Gion, who could step up as Admirals at any moment!"
"And the younger generation—there's that unreasonable monster Hawke, and under him, two little monsters Zephyr himself has acknowledged will one day become Admirals!"
"And that..."
"Is only the top-tier combat strength of the Marines!"
"The Marines also have countless elite soldiers, as well as endlessly optimized warships and weapons of war!"
Garp took a step forward.
"Now, do you still think Whitebeard can survive?"
"..."
Every word landed like a heavy hammer, pounding directly on Ace's heart.
The blood drained from his face at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Such a full-force Navy...
On this sea, what pirate crew could possibly withstand them?
"Grandpa..."
Ace's voice carried a hint of pleading. "If..."
"It's useless."
Garp slowly shook his head, his eyes showing a trace of pity.
"Even if you stopped it this time, there would be a next time."
"As long as the Whitebeard Pirates exist, the Marines' iron fist will inevitably fall."
"This is the current of the era, Ace."
"The remnants of the old era will not be carried into this new one."
"No one can overturn this."
"Thud—"
Ace collapsed onto the ground in despair.
It was over.
Everything was over.
He could already see the Moby Dick sinking to the bottom of the sea...
See the corpses of all his family...
"Do you understand the situation now, Ace?"
Garp's voice dragged Ace back from his visions.
"You should understand now what the end of the pirate path really is."
"Luffy wants to walk this path too."
"He wants to become a pirate."
"But in this era, the name of pirate doesn't represent freedom, doesn't represent glory. It only represents... the fastest way to die."
"!!!"
Ace suddenly raised his head, looking at his younger brother.
In that instant, he understood why the old man had said so much to him, why he had laid bare the Marines' terrifying hidden cards.
It was all to get him... to persuade Luffy.
Becoming a pirate only led to death.
Facing a Navy that would soon have nearly ten Admiral-level powers, having completely cast off its shackles...
Any pirate crew was nothing but an ant trying to stop a chariot.
And yet...
Ace looked at Luffy's sleeping face.
This idiot only thought about meat and adventure.
If he told him directly not to become a pirate, it would only make him even more determined.
But... after being his brother all these years, Ace knew him far too well.
"Mm—"
At that moment, Luffy let out a groan from the floor and slowly woke up.
He shook his head and, seeing Ace bound by chains, cried out, "Ace!"
"Luffy."
Ace beckoned him over, his voice terrifyingly calm.
"Come here."
Luffy instinctively walked to the front of the cell.
"Luffy, don't get too excited. I heard from Grandpa you want to be a pirate?"
"Yeah, it's my promise with Shanks..."
"Red-Hair, huh... Then why do you want to be Pirate King?"
"Isn't it obvious! Because the Pirate King is the freest man on the sea!"
"Freedom? Heh—"
Ace laughed, but his smile was full of sorrow and self-mockery.
He raised his hands, the Seastone shackles clattering with a metallic "clink."
"Look at me, Luffy."
"Is this the freedom you want?"
"This... but..."
Luffy was at a loss, staring at the shackles on Ace's hands, not knowing what to say.
"There is no 'but'!!!"
Ace's gaze suddenly sharpened. "Back when we fought, you never once beat me."
"And now you're so weak I could send you flying with one punch!"
"Even I have lost my freedom—yet you still want to chase freedom?!"
"Even I have been locked in here—yet you still want to chase dreams?!"
"Do you have the strength for that?!"
"..."
Luffy fell silent, clenching his fists tightly.
"Luffy, listen to me."
Ace looked at his simple-minded younger brother, his tone deadly serious.
"I went to sea three years before you. I've seen every kind of scenery, every kind of strong enemy."
"Wear the uniform. With Grandpa's protection, it will allow you a certain degree of freedom."
"And then... get stronger."
"Fight with everything you have to become stronger!"
"Strong enough to defeat the strongest among the Marine's new generation!"
"When you've reached that point, then you can chase after the freedom you want!"
"That's the last piece of advice from a dying brother to his idiot little brother."
"..."
"Take him away, Grandpa."
Ace slowly lowered his head, the black hair falling across his forehead hiding his eyes, leaving his expression unreadable.
"..."
Garp looked long and deeply at Ace, his lips moving, but in the end, no words came out.
Finally, he stretched out his massive hand, grabbed the silent Luffy like a chick, and turned to leave the cell.
"Clang—"
The heavy iron door slowly shut.
Darkness and silence once again cloaked the cell.
...
The passageway outside the cell was long and cold, lit only by the dim flicker of oil lamps on the walls.
Luffy, carried in Garp's hand, felt his mind go blank.
The moment he looked into Ace's eyes, he had understood.
Those eyes that always burned with fire, filled with confidence and pride, no longer held even a trace of light belonging to Ace himself.
All that was left... was worry for his idiot little brother.
Ace's words, Grandpa's words, pierced his heart like countless needles.
Freedom...
Strength...
Death...
Finally, as they reached the docks, Luffy spoke in a low voice.
"Grandpa, am... am I really that weak?"
His trembling voice was filled with self-doubt.
Garp's steps didn't falter. "Very weak."
He had heard from Zephyr that Luffy's martial arts had advanced at a remarkable pace, that he had already mastered three of the Rokushiki, that he had touched upon both Armament and Observation Haki. Given time, he would surely achieve greatness.
But even so, compared to the two little monsters of the Navy's new generation, he still lagged behind.
Not to mention... that new generation's leader, the super-monster—Hawke.
"I want to get stronger!"
Luffy suddenly raised his head, the tears he had been holding back finally spilling over.
"Grandpa, I want to get stronger!"
"Step—"
Garp halted before the warship's gangplank.
He lowered his gaze to his grandson's tear-streaked face.
"Follow Grandpa out of the New World!"
"That way, you'll become strong!"
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