So You Want to Be the Pirate King?

The warship cut through the waves, heading for Garp's flagship.

The matter of Arlong had been settled.

He had also met Nami while she was still a child. He didn't know if it was luck, but although the timing differed from what he remembered, Arlong hadn't made his move yet, so Nami's adoptive mother was still alive.

However, Wang Chuan hadn't recruited Nami into the Marines.

For one thing, she wasn't old enough; for another, the Marines weren't short of navigators.

As for Nami's looks, the girl was barely over ten. Wang Chuan had no interest in getting shocked.

He had only come to wipe out the Arlong Pirates by chance. Mainly, he had wanted to see Arlong, the dragon slayer who had become a dragon himself.

With the job done, Captain Nezumi had been taken away for investigation as well. A clean-handed major from the 16th Branch had been promoted to fill in until headquarters made another arrangement.

As soon as he boarded the flagship, he heard a booming voice.

"Oh, you're back, kid. How did it go?"

"Finished without a hitch. I also dealt with a fellow who was colluding with pirates and had him taken into custody."

"Colluding with pirates? That really is disgusting."

"Tell me about it."

For a moment, Garp even stopped eating his rice crackers. Nezumi really seemed to have disgusted him.

The rest of the voyage was uneventful. They occasionally ran into a few small-time pirates with bounties under ten million, but dealt with them easily and arrived without trouble at their destination: Foosha Village.

"Kid, come with me to meet my grandson."

"All right."

Wang Chuan didn't refuse. Though he didn't know why Garp wanted him to come, he did want to meet Luffy at this age.

After the warship docked at Foosha Village, Garp took Wang Chuan with him, and the two traveled light to Mount Colubo.

They moved swiftly along the way. Garp was solemn for once and didn't take out any rice crackers.

Not far away, two black-haired boys of around ten were hiding and secretly watching them. One wore a straw hat. They were naturally Ace and Luffy.

"That stinking old man's here again. What do we do?"

"Let's find somewhere to hide."

"He found us the last few times. We need somewhere better hidden this time."

"Found you."

Thump! Thump!

"Run!"

Ace grabbed Luffy and started running.

"Well? My grandsons are full of energy, aren't they?"

"They're great. They've got potential."

"Right? Right? Hahahaha!"

As Wang Chuan saw it, Garp truly loved his two grandsons, even though one wasn't his grandson by blood.

After Luffy hit him in the forehead with a rock, Garp flew into a rage.

"You two brats, stop right there!"

Wang Chuan didn't join in this family time between Garp and his grandsons. He lit a cigar and stood to one side, waiting for Garp to return.

Before long, Garp came back with the two little fellows tucked under his arms, one on each side.

"Stinking old man, put Luffy down!"

Ace was still struggling, while Luffy held his head, tears brimming in his eyes.

Thud!

The two little fellows were thrown to the ground. Ace still spread his arms and stood in front of Luffy.

"A big brother protecting his little brother? That's nice."

Thinking of how the two would end up in the Paramount War, Wang Chuan suddenly felt a little wistful.

"Hey, you two, take a good look. This kid's the strongest of the Marines' younger generation, a hero of the seas."

"A hero of the seas?"

Ace looked at Wang Chuan, who wore a Marine uniform, had a long sword at his waist, and held a cigar between his teeth.

"Are you really a hero of the seas?"

"A hero? Going by strength, I suppose I am, though I'm not quite as famous."

"Then can you help us beat this stinking old man?"

Suddenly feeling Wang Chuan's strange gaze, Garp gave each of the brothers another hit.

For a while, cries of "stinking old man" rang out nonstop.

"You two, look at him. Don't you think he looks cool?"

At Garp's words, Ace and Luffy both looked up at Wang Chuan.

Even Wang Chuan had to admit that his character model and appearance did look cool.

"Look at him. I think you could change your dreams."

Hearing Garp's words, Wang Chuan finally understood why he had brought him here: he wanted to use him to change the dreams of Luffy and Ace while they were still children.

But—

"I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

Thump!

Another big bump rose on Luffy's head.

"The Pirate King? What an incredible dream."

"Hey, I didn't ask for your opinion."

"What about you? What's your dream?"

Ignoring the frantic Garp, Wang Chuan turned to ask Ace.

"I... I'm going out to sea to be a pirate. I'll live freer than anyone and be more famous than every other pirate."

"So you want to be a pirate too. But freedom?"

Wang Chuan shook his head.

Sure enough, Ace and Luffy's dreams hadn't changed. Garp, meanwhile, looked somewhat dejected. He was a Vice Admiral with two grandsons who wanted to be pirates.

"So, do you want us to join the Marines too?"

"The Marines? I don't care whether you become pirates or Marines."

"Hey, hey, hey! Kid, did you eat all those rice crackers of mine for nothing?"

"Garp, the Pirate King has to reach Laugh Tale. Even you wouldn't be allowed to go there."

As he spoke, Wang Chuan lit another cigar.

"Kid in the straw hat, do you know what would happen if you really became the Pirate King?"

"What would happen?"

"You might not die, but your brother, your grandfather, this mountain you live on, and that village at the foot of the mountain..."

Wang Chuan pointed in turn at everything within sight, then picked up a stone and held it in his hand.

"They would all be wiped out. Not one left."

As he spoke, the stone in Wang Chuan's hand was ground to powder.

"Tell me, even then, would you still want to be Pirate King?"

The young Luffy was shaken by those words.

"You're lying! That's not what Luffy's dream is about!"

"But that's the price of the dream."

At those words, Ace fell silent too. He knew the man before him was very likely telling the truth, because he himself was proof.

"Hey, Wang Chuan, you've gone too far."

"But it's the truth."

"Everyone connected to the last Pirate King was a target for elimination. The ones who survived did so because they were strong enough, not because the World Government was kindhearted."

"You might survive, but this kid, this mountain, Foosha Village, even the entire Goa Kingdom could be dragged into it."

"Dreams all come at a price. Just like me: I joined the Marines for revenge, enduring the World Government's brainless actions and the chaos they caused."

"Because I know very well that it's hard to achieve my dream on my own. So even scum like the Celestial Dragons have to be tolerated for now. Besides, there's no better way to deal with these things at present, is there?"

"Wang Chuan, you..."

For a moment, Garp had nothing to say either. He knew the darkness of the Celestial Dragons, the World Government, and the Marines better than Wang Chuan did.

He had always known that hatred and anger were hidden in this young man's heart, but he hadn't expected Wang Chuan to have thought things through so clearly and seen them so thoroughly. Could he really keep enduring things as they were?

"So, little guys, people's dreams, hopes, and freedom won't stop, but everything comes at a price."

"However..."

Wang Chuan changed tack, drawing the two little fellows' attention.

"If you're strong enough, then it's all a minor problem."

"For example, you want to be a great pirate, you want freedom, and you want fame. So what if you became a Shichibukai? Is that pirate great enough, free enough, and famous enough?"

"As for the Pirate King, become one of the Four Emperors first. Otherwise, if you can't beat them, what makes you think you can become the Pirate King?"

"Shichibukai?"

"What are the Four Emperors?"

"Garp, don't you teach these kids anything?"

Garp scratched his head awkwardly.

Wang Chuan spent some time explaining what the Shichibukai and the Four Emperors were.

After hearing the details, the two little fellows accepted what Wang Chuan had said. They could become a Shichibukai and one of the Four Emperors first; there would still be time to talk about freedom and becoming the Pirate King afterward.

Before they knew it, evening had arrived, and they sat down to dinner.

After playing and roughhousing for a while, the two little fellows fell fast asleep.

"Wang Chuan, thank you."

"I didn't do much. They still want to be pirates."

"But being a Shichibukai or one of the Four Emperors is much better than becoming the Pirate King or anything like that."

"Iron fists alone aren't enough to teach children."

"Since they want to be pirates, let them. As long as they don't burn, kill, and plunder among civilians, they're just ordinary adventurers or bounty hunters. It's no big deal."

"With two grandsons who are pirates in name only, your reputation, Garp, would be enough to suppress objections from the Marines and even the World Government."

"When they grow up and see reality for what it is, there may be a chance to arrange for them to become Shichibukai, or even join the Marines through special channels. It wouldn't be without precedent."

"Is that so? I see, hahahaha!"

Garp laughed it off, while weighing the idea's feasibility.

After thinking it over, he suddenly felt it was quite workable, unless one of the two children had his identity completely exposed and the other actually became one of the Four Emperors.

But wasn't handling things like that the very reason he was there as their grandfather?

Wang Chuan pointed at Ace.

"Ace has an unusual background, doesn't he?"

"You noticed?" Garp's expression turned serious.

"I guessed. Something's off about the boy's state of mind. I won't ask exactly what his background is."

"But if he's willing and strong enough, then with your influence, arranging for him to become a Shichibukai should be open to discussion, right?"

Garp fell silent for a moment. He knew what Wang Chuan had suggested was highly feasible.

But would Ace really accept that kind of freedom?

Garp fell silent for a moment.

Wang Chuan said no more. Though he had been trying to scare them, he should have planted some seeds in Ace and Luffy's hearts.

Ever since being reborn into this world, he had never stopped scheming.

It was just that his schemes were often mixed with complicated feelings.

This time, for instance, he didn't want Ace to actually die in the Paramount War.

His goal had always been to cut down Kaido.

It didn't matter even if the Paramount War never happened. If Luffy, Ace, and Garp were strong enough and willing to help, it wouldn't matter whether or not he held the rank of Admiral.

His attempt this time to steer Ace and Luffy a little off course also counted as an effort to win them over. He could only wait and see whether it would blossom and bear fruit in the future.