Rodney swallowed hard, watching Ace. The boy's gaze was determined, and his readiness for any challenge was evident in it. "He's made his decision," Rodney whispered, as if to himself.
Garp, a man who dedicated his life to the Marines, a fighter for justice, for the peaceful work of ordinary people lost in the harsh reality, he could not come to terms with the fact that his grandson, Ace, was trapped.
Luffy, the eternal adventurer who dreamed of becoming the Pirate King, risked his life for his goal.
And Ace... what brought him to Whitebeard's pit? Was it the thirst for a father's love, which he so desperately needed?
People are complex, Rodney thought. Their souls, like the ocean, are full of secrets, their actions are not always clear, but always fascinating.
Ace loved his mother, a woman of remarkable strength and selflessness. She carried him for twenty months, resorting to a risky method to give him life. After Garp was born, she gave birth to Ace and died of exhaustion.
Ace hated his father, the Pirate King, for failing to protect her. "Even after conquering the seas, he couldn't save his wife," Ace thought, bitterly recalling Garp's words. "If it weren't for Grandfather, I might have died too."
But he also respected Roger, the man who had accomplished an incredible feat, circumnavigating the globe. Ace admired his strength, his freedom. "I want to be the pirate king too," Ace thought. "I want to prove that I'm no worse than my father, that I can conquer the seas, that I'm worthy of bearing the name Roger!"
"I can help you," Rodney said, looking at Ace with his piercing blood-red eyes. "But you have to agree to one condition. It's a gentleman's agreement!"
Ace, realizing the gravity of the situation, nodded. "Tell him," he whispered. "I'll do it."
"After you enter the Grand Line," Rodney said, "if you meet the Whitebeard Pirates, you must not join them.
"How can I join the pirates?" Ace protested. "I set sail to become the pirate king!"
"Then we'll wait until you pass Whitebeard's test," Rodney replied.
"I will definitely become the pirate king!" Luffy shouted, feeling growing uneasy.
But no one listened to him. Rodney nodded, took out the key to the seastone handcuffs, and freed Ace from the shackles. "As much as I hate to admit it," Ace said, "you're a man of principle."
"Yes, indeed!" Rodney laughed, "Especially when it comes to money!"
He hid the handcuffs, watched Ace leave the room, and followed Garp.
"He could have done so much," Rodney thought. "Ace sought freedom, and Garp sought justice. It was torture for the old man to watch his grandson perish in the chains of justice. I have a soft heart; I couldn't bear to watch such a tragedy. If Ace agrees to our agreement, Blackbeard won't try to catch him, let alone do any other nonsense."
"If Ace hadn't kept the agreement," Rodney continued to reflect, "he would have brought trouble upon himself. I couldn't stop a man who longed for freedom and love. I did all this simply because I didn't want the old man to suffer the loss of his grandson for the rest of his life."
"Garp was a good guy," Rodney whispered, "It was clear in both the anime and in reality."
"Hey, Rodney, let me out!" Luffy shouted.
Rodney looked at the loose soil around him. "You'll figure this out soon enough," he said, and in an instant, he was gone, leaving only clouds of smoke in his wake.
A fire was already raging in the port.
"Old man, I'll never let you hurt them!" Ace's crew shouted from their ship.
"Hahaha! Ace, you think you can stop me, an old man? For your crew?" Garp laughed heartily, looking at the wall of fire behind Ace. "Of course! Old man, I'm their captain!" Ace replied, determined to stand by his crew's side no matter what.
"You're no match for that old man," Garp said, stepping forward. His aura was as heavy as a mountain. The sea hero, who had once single-handedly confronted the legendary pirate Rocks, retained his formidable presence even in his old age.
Ace took a step back, knowing he couldn't defeat his grandfather, who was on par with his infamous father. He didn't stand a chance. But he couldn't let the old man harm his team.
Flames engulfed his body, an invisible aura emanating from him that made Garp raise an eyebrow. Marines and civilians around them fell to the ground in the face of this overwhelming aura, and only a few managed to stay on their feet. Had Ace awakened his King's Will?
Garp clenched his fists, took a giant step forward, and almost instantly caught up with Ace. Ace didn't even have time to react before Garp's Iron Fist of Love fell upon him!
Boom!
Garp's punch sent Ace flying, and he crashed through a wall of fire, landing squarely on the Pirates' ship, the Spades. The crew caught him and held him tight.
"Captain Ace!" the pirates shouted. "Captain, are you alright?" "Dr. Deuce, please check if Captain Ace is alright?"
Ace was deeply moved as his crew surrounded him. Even though Garp had hit him, he knew it hadn't been very hard. It felt more like an act of self-realization than an actual blow.
"Enough chatter! Deuce, turn the ship around! Forward!" Ace ordered.
"Yes, Captain!" helmsman Deuce responded impatiently, and upon receiving the order, he turned the ship's bow. The ship accelerated, rapidly leaving the port.
"Click-clack, Rodney, look at those cannonballs! Cannonballs!" At some point, Garp had already arrived on the warship, and Rodney quickly joined him.
Rodney looked helpless as he handed Garp a lead cannonball the size of an ostrich egg. The warship and the pirate vessel were only a few hundred meters apart. With such power and accuracy, there was no way Garp would miss.
But Rodney didn't send Garp away; instead, he watched silently as Garp, in his own way, sent his grandson off to sea. He was only irritated that Ace had slipped away without a word, without saying goodbye.
It was Rodney's prank, but he didn't expect Ace to actually escape. Everything worked out, though.
Garp's grandson, Rodney, was forging his own path.
"Meteor Fist!" Garp thundered, and the pirate ship shook from the impact, as if struck by lightning. A cannonball, fired with incredible force, shot into the air, leaving a fiery trail behind it, and slammed into the side of the vessel, forcing the pirates to flee.
"Stubborn boy, don't let that old man catch you!" Garp laughed, watching the ship sail away.
"Grandpa! Thanks for taking care of me all this time!" Ace shouted, kneeling on the deck, looking at Garp with gratitude.
Garp's heart sank at these words and he chuckled:
"That boy's just too stubborn! That old man wants him to be a Marine, and he stubbornly insists he'll be the Pirate King! I don't understand what's wrong with that! Rodney, don't become a pirate."
"I guess I won't, as long as no one's forcing me. I think being a pirate hunter is pretty cool," Rodney shrugged, not wanting to argue with the old man. "Vice Admiral Garp, do you really have no regrets?"
"Regrets? I never regret anything I do! If he doesn't want to, the old man can't tie him down and stop him from fighting for his own freedom for the rest of his life, can he? That's beyond the old man's power."
"Is that so?" Rodney understood that Garp couldn't do anything to Ace. He knew from legend that Garp could have captured Ace at the very beginning of his dangerous journey, but he chose not to and watched silently as his grandson sailed the seas, following his own path.
"Bwahahahaha, let's not talk about that. Those rookies were easily knocked down; I'll have to train them well. As Marines, they can't be that weak!" Garp said, offering up a silent prayer for his charges.
At that moment, Luffy ran up to them, standing on the side of the warship and shouting loudly:
— Ace!!! Wait for me!!! I will never give up on finding One Piece!!!
Garp's face darkened.
"Luffy!!!" he barked.
Bang!
Garp delivered a crushing blow to Luffy's head with his iron fist, grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the ship, saying:
- Looks like I'm going to have to give you a proper workout!
- Ah! Grandpa, let me go! Grandpa!!! - Luffy screamed.