"Ding! Side Quest triggered."
The usually unnoticeable system suddenly sprang to life and issued a quest.
Huh? There are Side Quests too?
"Quest: Capture the pirate Portgas D. Ace.
Rank: C Reward: Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation, Three Tomoe Sharingan, 800 Mission Points. This is a Side Quest. You may refuse it. Refuse?"
Rodney sucked in a sharp breath when he saw the reward. It wasn't just Great Fire Annihilation—even the Three Tomoe Sharingan had become a reward. If he exchanged Mission Points for it, one eye cost three thousand points, and that was only for a Single Tomoe. This quest would reward him with the Three Tomoe Sharingan outright. He absolutely had to accept it!
"Fine, I accept. But since he's your grandson, I need Seastone as insurance."
What if Ace had already eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit at this point? Logia Fruits were practically bugs. How was he supposed to deal with one?
"Greedy Kid, I never use Seastone. I came back for a vacation this time, so where would I get any? Besides, you shouldn't need it to deal with Ace, right?" Garp said.
Judging from his reaction, Ace hadn't eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit yet. In the original story, Ace hadn't shown any signs of having eaten it either, so making the trip should be manageable.
"Do you have his Vivre Card?" Rodney asked.
"If I did, would I still need you?"
That made perfect sense. Rodney sighed and said, "Fine. I'll find a way to capture him."
This quest had to be completed.
The Three Tomoe Sharingan, and Madara's Great Fire Annihilation too. Speaking of which, were rewards like these really only worth a C rank?
"Which of the Six Powers are you planning to teach me?"
"Hmm, Soru. I'll teach you, but whether you can learn it depends on you."
Rodney's hellish life continued.
Half a month later
Loguetown
Rodney walked through the streets wearing a Marine soldier's uniform. He hadn't joined the Marines; all his clothes had been destroyed, so he could only wear something from the ship.
Meeting Garp had been incredibly lucky, though it had brought some bad luck too.
Was this his punishment for bullying Sea Kings?
He had learned Soru, but mastering it would still take some time. Garp's Hellish Training had greatly improved his physique, and he could now open the Second Gate.
Afterward, he asked Garp for a small boat, then captured a Sea King to speed up his journey.
It took him a week to reach Loguetown.
The main reason was that Garp's route was opposite to his own. Rodney had been heading from Syrup Village to Loguetown, while Garp had been traveling from Loguetown toward the Kingdom of Goa. Their routes were completely opposed.
So he changed Sea Kings several times and finally reached Loguetown after traveling day and night.
The system came with built-in tracking. Ace hadn't left the East Blue yet and was heading this way, so Rodney only needed to wait here for him to walk into the trap.
"Mr. Joestar?"
Hearing someone call him, Rodney turned around and found Tashigi.
"Lieutenant Tashigi? What happened? You look like you're in a hurry."
"We received a report that someone ate without paying at Uncle Frank's restaurant. He's a pirate, so I'm going to deal with it. That's all—I'm leaving at once." After speaking, Tashigi led her men away.
Who was it? How bold did someone have to be to eat for free in Loguetown? That took some nerve.
Rodney decided to follow them and watch the excitement.
Watching a spectacle was human nature. It was deeply engraved in Rodney's DNA and impossible to change. Eating snacks and watching the show was simply too much fun.
On the main street of Loguetown, a group of people sprinted wildly. One of them was carrying a man over his shoulder. The man wore an orange cowboy hat and had no shirt on. A snot bubble expanded and contracted from his nose, clearly showing that he was asleep.
"The captain fell asleep again. Are we really out of money?" asked a man carrying a gun.
"It's normal for the captain to eat and sleep. Besides, we always eat without paying. It's the captain's habit!" said the blue-haired man, glancing back.
Looking at the pursuers behind them, he shouted, "Run faster! The Marines are here. They're not Lieutenant Itsuka, who likes the captain. Hurry! We're almost at the harbor."
"Sorry, but you can't go any farther!" Thanks to Garp's training, Rodney's speed had increased dramatically. He overtook the group and appeared in front of them.
"Who are you?"
"Get out of the way!"
One of the fat men charged straight at him. Rodney jumped up and smashed his fist into the man's forehead.
"Bill!"
Rodney looked at his fist. This feeling... was incredible!
"Marine, get out of the way!" The man carrying the gun immediately fired at him.
Rodney dodged aside, then leaped forward and swiftly reached the group, knocking one of them down with a punch.
"Shadow Leaf Dance!"
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
"Konoha Great Whirlwind!"
He kicked down several people in succession. Just as he prepared to kick the next man, someone caught his leg with one hand.
"Sorry, but I can't let you bully my crew anymore." The freckled young man spoke as scorching heat radiated from his palm.
Rodney's heart jolted. He quickly retreated and saw flames burst from the other man's palm.
A Logia Devil Fruit—the Flame-Flame Fruit!
Rodney's expression darkened. He hadn't expected to meet his target so quickly, much less that Ace had already eaten the Devil Fruit.
Portgas D. Ace!
"Sorry, I just fell asleep. Deuce, how is everyone?" Ace asked the blue-haired young man beside him.
Masked Deuce, the doctor of the Spade Pirates.
"They only have superficial injuries, but they probably won't wake up for at least three hours," Deuce said calmly.
"Then it's fine. Take the unconscious ones to the ship. I'll handle this." Ace stared solemnly at Rodney.
Rodney ignored Ace's crew as well. His mission was to take Ace to Garp.
"Be careful, Captain." Deuce trusted Ace's strength and wasn't worried that he would be defeated here.
Logia Fruits were invincible in the first half of the Grand Line and the Four Seas, so there was no need to worry about anything happening to Ace. They would only get in his way if they stayed.
"Portgas D. Ace, your grandfather told me to take you back. Surrender peacefully." Rodney was incredibly lucky. He had only activated the tracking function a few days ago, and Ace had already arrived.
"No! I'm not going back, and I don't want to see that old man!" Ace shouted. "You can't stop me. Flame Fist!"
One arm transformed into a pillar of fire and shot toward Rodney.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
Unlike Kakashi, Rodney didn't carve dog heads into his Mud Wall despite being out of chakra. He simply created a plain, unadorned wall.
The pillar of fire slammed into the Mud Wall and destroyed it.
"Damn it! There are too many people here! What are you trying to do?!" Rodney couldn't tolerate Ace recklessly using wide-area attacks. What if innocent people were accidentally injured?
"Sorry." Ace immediately apologized. Rodney seized the opportunity, closed in, and smashed his fist down onto Ace's head.
One punch obliterated Ace's head. Unfortunately, the wound was filled entirely with flames.
"How despicable! You actually ambushed me!" Ace's headless body staggered backward. The sight was horrifying, but flames surged upward and his head reappeared.
"I can't use Haki. Logia Fruits really are invincible. No wonder Haki was added later in the story." Rodney muttered to himself, feeling helpless now. How was he supposed to fight him?
Ace was clearly immune to fire attacks. As for Fire Style and Taijutsu, Rodney currently had no other attack he could rely on.
Explosive Tags could only delay him. Even if they blew him apart, he would simply regenerate.
Seeing that Rodney no longer attacked, Ace smiled and said, "Move aside. You can't beat me."
"He can't beat you, but I can. White Snake!" A mass of white smoke surged out. At its front was a leather glove clenched into a fist, punching toward Ace.
Ace jumped and dodged the punch, landing on a rooftop. He saw a white man striding over. His entire right arm had transformed into smoke. He had slicked-back silver hair and wore a white motorcycle suit, unzipped to reveal solid muscles. The word JUSTICE was written across his back. A cigar hung from his mouth, and his fierce expression made him look more like a pirate than a Marine.
Marine Headquarters Colonel, Smoker!
"Oh? You came at just the right time, Colonel Smoker. Vice Admiral Garp told me to capture his grandson and take him back. Give me a hand, will you?"
"Vice Admiral Garp's grandson?" Smoker froze for a moment, then snorted. "Even if he's Vice Admiral Garp's grandson, he should be thrown in prison. How could I possibly hand him over to him?"
Rodney shrugged. He knew Smoker was a serious man, so he said, "Then let's capture him first and discuss the rest afterward."
The tip of Smoker's Jitte was embedded with Seastone, the natural enemy of Devil Fruit users.
Before you continue