Ace and Doflamingo, for various reasons, had never definitively settled their fight. But the battle had undoubtedly consumed much of Ace's stamina and energy.
Looking back, that fight had probably been part of Blackbeard's plan.
Why else would Blackbeard and his crew have appeared so soon after his fight with Doflamingo?
And later, during his final battle with Blackbeard, Ace had learned from the man's triumphant, arrogant words why Doflamingo had been there.
Before the decisive battle with him, Blackbeard had been caught off guard by Luffy.
He had been seriously injured and forced to take time to recover.
Because he wasn't at his peak, Blackbeard had been even more scheming.
Blackbeard had admitted that the time he was most frightened was when Ace was chasing him right after he was injured.
In the end, two men, neither at their peak, had fought a brutal battle. The power of the Mera Mera no Mi had not completely overwhelmed the Yami Yami no Mi.
The flames had been swallowed by the darkness. Ace, exhausted, had been defeated and, as a trophy to gain the title of Warlord of the Sea, had been handed over to the Navy.
"Thanks to you, Marine Headquarters – no, the entire World Government – is in chaos."
Garp suddenly burst into loud laughter.
"J-Just kill me." Ace's voice was hoarse.
From those few words from Garp, he could guess what must be happening.
The chaos in the Navy and the World Government. The change of Warlords. And his own position as Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates... He could see the coming storm.
Garp's laughter stopped.
He ignored Ace's request. He sat cross-legged outside the cell, facing Ace with only the Kairoseki bars between them.
"Kill you? You idiot."
Garp looked at Ace. "Nothing will help now. Even if you died right now, Whitebeard wouldn't let it go."
No one could stop it.
The Navy had enraged the king of the seas.
Garp knew well the power Whitebeard held.
From the day Rocks fell at God Valley, Whitebeard had been climbing toward the throne of the "World's Strongest Man." Even in Roger's day, Whitebeard had been considered the world's strongest.
"An aged lion still has his fangs. And now, the Navy and the World Government are trying to use that lion, Whitebeard, to open a so-called 'New Era.'"
Garp looked at Ace. "A war is coming."
And Ace was the fuse.
That war would kill many people.
Since his defeat at Blackbeard's hands, his transport here, his imprisonment in this sunless hell, Ace's expression had usually been calm, even defiant.
But before Garp, the man he called "Grandpa," the hard shell he had constructed seemed to crack.
Tears fell, unbidden, on the cold floor.
Maybe that was what family meant.
Only before someone you could truly trust could you let down your defenses and show your weakness.
Garp looked at Ace and sighed deeply.
His back, always so straight, seemed to stoop.
"I wanted you and Luffy to be the finest of Marines."
Garp's expression was complicated. "Instead, you've both become notorious criminals."
He remembered that soon after Ace had gone to sea, he had received an invitation to become a Warlord of the Sea.
And what were the Warlords? In the end, weren't they just great pirates the World Government had tried to bring to heel?
Ace was silent.
"You've heard the recent rumors about Luffy, haven't you?"
Garp changed the subject. "That kid publicly defied the World Government at Enies Lobby. He declared war on them. He fought Aokiji. And he escaped from the Buster Call. Though I arrived in time to give him a taste of my Fist of Love,"
He raised his hand and clenched his huge fist, making a popping sound. "He doesn't seem to have learned his lesson."
Ace had heard some of this, before being sent to Impel Down.
He'd always been concerned about his reckless brother.
But hearing about Luffy now, Ace's heart filled with fear. "What happened to Luffy?"
"A lot. Very serious things."
Garp grinned. It seemed he wanted to laugh, but the smile wavered. "He made a huge mess of the Sabaody Archipelago. He's really my grandson!"
He burst into loud laughter again.
When the laughter died, under Ace's urgent gaze, Garp's smile faded.
"Luffy found out you'd been sent to Impel Down. Then, on the Sabaody Archipelago, he kidnapped three Celestial Dragons."
"WHAT?!"
Ace's head snapped up. His eyes wide. His mouth fell open.
Kidnapping Celestial Dragons?
That was far more serious than declaring war on the World Government!
An attack on the Celestial Dragons would bring the Navy's top combatants.
That meant the Admirals.
Thinking this, Ace instinctively struggled. His chains rattled, loud in the silent prison.
But, he quickly forced himself to calm down.
Since he was still in Impel Down, Luffy's plan to trade must have failed.
"Yes. He failed."
Garp said slowly. "Then, Luffy, in front of us, killed the three Celestial Dragons."
The air seemed to freeze.
After a moment, Ace's expression relaxed.
"That does sound like something he'd do."
Ace looked at Garp. "Since you were there, Grandfather, that means Luffy got away. He escaped?"
The question was phrased in a way that seemed to imply the old man had let him go.
Which, strictly speaking, was partly true.
"He got away."
Garp touched the back of his head, which still seemed to hurt. "And my grandson didn't hold back. My head still hurts. Then Aokiji showed up."
Seeing Ace's renewed anxiety, Garp grinned, showing his teeth. "In the end, the kid got away. I have no idea where he is now."
Ace, hearing this, relaxed. His body went slack.
He hadn't been captured. That was the best possible outcome.
As long as Luffy was still alive, still free to sail the seas, anything was possible.
"Speaking of which,"
Garp's voice turned strange. "After the Enies Lobby incident, I told Luffy about his father. I don't know if he was being deliberately obtuse, or if he really forgot, but he was very surprised to learn he had a father."
"Isn't that normal? Either way, it's just trouble. Luffy and I have inherited the blood of the world's worst criminals."
Ace looked at Garp. "How could we have ever become Marines?"
The blood in their veins would never let them be at peace.
Ace didn't like talking about his own lineage.
In that respect, he was the same as Luffy, but also different. Maybe his early experiences had shaped his sensitive personality.
"Even though I took my mother's name, Portgas – a woman who gave everything for me – I still don't acknowledge the other half of my blood. The half from my bastard father."
Ace's voice was cold. "He left me no memory, no kindness."
That man was only a biological father.
Garp was quiet for a moment. "True. He's him. And you're you."
"So, Grandfather,"
Ace interrupted. He looked up, his voice firm. "My only father is Whitebeard!"
Garp looked at Ace, at his stubbornness, so like another man from his past. He sighed deeply and scratched his head, annoyed.
But it was true.
Ace and that man were exactly alike in this way.
...
The sea was calm.
Leaving the Calm Belt, the Marines had visibly relaxed.
They had been seeing large shadows under the surface. They had been afraid a Sea King would swallow their ship whole.
Hancock had a private cabin.
It was Hancock's private space. No one would intrude.
On the soft sofa, Luffy opened his eyes. The dream training faded.
The cabin was dark. The only light came from a soft scconce. The sea out the small window was still dark. He could faintly hear the waves against the hull.
"Back to normal," Luffy murmured.
He realized he had gotten used to the Training Plan.
The third-stage punishment – the constant, small pains – had finally stopped.
The punishment level had dropped.
A familiar feeling returned. He looked down at his shorts.
[Sleep time complete. Adjusting to follow the body's current state. The environment is relatively safe. Next: Busoshoku Haki development.]
It was still only 4 AM.
But this was not his ship. His crewmates were not near.
Luffy sprang to his feet. He stretched his stiff limbs.
The trip to Impel Down would take four days. This time was not to be wasted.
For a normal person, what could four days of training do?
Almost nothing.
But Luffy was different.
His days were packed, every moment used.
Six hours of sleep, in reality, might be a full day or more of intense fighting and practice, in his dreams.
He could not afford to be anything less than completely focused.
These four days would be as good as years of training for a normal person.
He had to get stronger.
"Nika!"
The air rippled. A small, white tanuki appeared, unwilling.
"Practice with me."
"Again? No way!"
Nika's fur bristled. "Can't you ask someone else?! You'll kill me!"
He remembered the lump of pure, compressed gold on the Sunny. He had pounded it day after day, until there were dents.
He knew the power of the fully awakened Nika fruit.
And she wasn't a pervert like Vivi, whose eyes turned pink when he hit her.
"Don't make too much noise."
Luffy's fist was already swinging, covered in dark Haki.
"Bastard! This is abuse! Exploitation! I protest!"
Nika frantically blocked, cursing under her breath.
He told her not to make noise?
How was that fair?
It was like wanting a horse to run but not giving it any grass. Who would agree to that?
But Nika knew, if she didn't take this seriously, she would get hurt.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Dull impacts and low hums echoed in the cabin.
Luffy practiced his Haki. Devil Fruit training would be too loud.
He knew two advanced ways to use his Busoshoku Haki.
Coating. And emission.
There was probably a still more advanced way. Fighting his grandfather, after one punch, he had felt like his insides were being rearranged.
There was room for improvement.
Kenbunshoku Haki could, in addition to sensing presences, also be used to hide them. An advanced user could completely hide from a less skilled user.
Like how he was hidden, right now, on this ship.
And then there was "seeing the future." It could tip the balance between two strong fighters.
Kenbunshoku Haki had many branches. Recently, he found it was easier to talk to animals.
And right now, on this ship, he could hear the Sea Kings below the sea.
Haki. So much room for improvement.
Though they tried to be quiet, it was still loud in the quiet cabin.
Soon, a Marine guard came to the door. "Empress Hancock? Is everything all right?"
Hancock had been woken. She had been dozing on the other sofa. She had been watching Luffy sleep, dreaming pink fantasies.
She heard him get up. She watched him train.
"It's nothing. I'm training."
The guard relaxed. He left.
Luffy was relieved.
He had known the guards wouldn't barge in.
But he was still making noise.
"Am I disturbing your rest?" Luffy stopped. He looked at her, a little guilty.
"Not at all!"
Hancock shook her head. A blush appeared on her cheeks. She looked at the floor. "If you need anything, Luffy, you can ask me."
She looked at the sweat on his forehead and felt bad for him.
He had only slept for a few hours. Now he was training again.
This kind of insane discipline was probably why he was so strong.
Luffy glanced at the cabin's clock. It was almost noon.
The training was over. He was hungry.
"Bring me food for ten people. Quickly!"
Hancock pressed the call button. "Remember, for every meal from now on, I need this much."
The guard outside paused, then answered, "Yes, Empress Hancock!"
This was reported to Vice Admiral Momonga, in charge of the voyage.
He just nodded. It was nothing.
Strong people often ate a lot. And Hancock had a large snake with her.
The food came. It filled the table.
Luffy didn't wait. He had only a minute to eat. He pushed the food into his mouth.
Hancock hadn't even picked up her utensils. The food was already disappearing.
She wasn't hungry. Just watching his happy face made her feel strong.
Luffy's appetite was good. So, their children would be strong!
This woman had already imagined her life after marriage.
[Adjusting to follow the body's current state. Daily physical and Haki training is complete. Next special training: Theory and advanced application of Haki. Current environment: compatible study partner, Boa Hancock. Train with Hancock for at least two hours.]
It never failed.
This Training Plan always finds new, strange things for him to do.
On the Sunny, he had to study navigation with Nami. Swordsmanship with Zoro. History with Robin... "for full development."
And always, he had to study with someone.
Now, with him crewmates gone, the plan had found a new subject.
"Hancock."
Hancock was looking at him, her eyes soft. She saw his suddenly serious face.
Her heart missed a beat. Her face turned bright red.
Did... does he want to...
***
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