Don't Mock Others' Tears

"This is Luffy, your future little brother. Dadan, I'm entrusting Luffy to you as well."

"Hello!"

Luffy greeted Ace with a smile, but Ace only shot him a sidelong glance, looking slightly disdainful.

"I don't need some little brother..."

Bang!

Garp withdrew his Fist of Love from Ace's head and flashed a kindly smile. "Refusal is useless. Luffy is your little brother."

"Damn old man!"

Ace still curled up clutching his head, weak and helpless.

Dadan silently closed the mouth she had been about to use to bargain. She glanced at Ace and could only mutter an apology to him in her heart.

Luffy's eyes sparkled as he stared at the huge lump on Ace's head, instantly feeling a sense of kinship.

Anyone Grandpa beat up like that couldn't be wrong. This had to be his big brother!

Watching this almost comical scene, Zephyr could only marvel at Garp's complete trust in people.

What if Dadan had been a bad person? If Ace and Luffy had been forcibly entrusted to her, what good could have come of it? Dumbledore's favorite student had already proved that point.

The Monkey family's ability to judge people was really maxed out.

Stepping forward, Zephyr pulled Garp aside and asked in a low voice, "You old bastard, did you give Dadan the childcare money you were supposed to?"

"Childcare money?" Garp blinked. "I probably did?"

"Then you didn't."

Zephyr immediately looked annoyed. Garp truly was as predictable as ever.

After rummaging through his clothes, Zephyr pulled out several stacks of Beli and stuffed them into Garp's hands. "Go give these to Dadan."

"Raising children costs a lot of money."

"Ah? Oh, mm, okay."

Garp agreed four times in a row. When he raised children, he had always favored a free-range approach. As long as they didn't die, that was good enough.

Tying them to hot-air balloons and sending them into the sky, tossing them into deep mountain valleys—such harsh behavior was commonplace. Raising them properly had never really been on Garp's mind.

But Garp deeply respected Zephyr's experience in raising children. Most of the Navy's officers at every level had come from Zephyr's tutelage. He could be called the father of Navy education.

"Hey, Dadan, take this. It's not like I'm making you look after my grandsons for nothing. I'll still pay what I owe."

Several stacks of Beli were tossed over. Dadan froze, then rushed forward to snatch them up. After quickly counting them and confirming the amount, a huge smile immediately bloomed across her face.

"Mr. Garp, why didn't you say so earlier... Wait, why didn't you pay before?!"

Halfway through her praise, Dadan suddenly realized something. He hadn't paid when it was Ace, but he paid when Luffy arrived. Was this old bastard playing favorites!?

"Ah..." Garp grinned, without the slightest shame in his tone. "Because I forgot. It was Zephyr who reminded me, so I remembered."

The moment those words came out, not only was Dadan stunned, but Ace, who had already been latched onto by Luffy, froze as well.

"Damn old man, what did you say?!"

Ace, utterly shattered, kicked Luffy away and flushed red with fury. He glared hatefully at Garp, unable to calm the turmoil in his heart.

Forgot? Why? Why was he the one who had been forgotten?!

Ace was at that irritating, rebellious age. Garp's words were like striking a match against a firecracker.

Garp blinked, seeming to realize something was off in Ace's words, and immediately pointed at Zephyr.

"It was—"

"Shut up! Even without all of you, I can live perfectly well on my own!"

Scalding tears spilled from Ace's eyes. Sure enough, he was someone no one needed. This wasn't his home at all. He was leaving.

Sabo—right, he would go find Sabo!

Hissing and roaring, Ace straightened his small body and charged forward with all his strength, about to flee into the forest.

But a large hand firmly pressed down on Ace. Then a towering figure, like a mountain, blocked his way.

"I was the one who suggested that idiot Garp give Dadan some money. A family living deep in the mountains doesn't have it easy if they want to raise children."

"You're Ace, right? Ace, don't you want to make things a little easier for Dadan, who takes care of you?"

Zephyr looked at Ace's twisted expression, like that of a wounded beast, his own expression complicated. This child's psychological issues were even more serious than he had imagined.

"Dadan?"

Ace froze. The expression on his face faded as he turned to look at Dadan, who wore a worried expression but immediately pretended not to care when she saw him looking. He fell silent.

"I..."

"Whatever you brat are thinking, don't worry."

Garp walked over. He didn't explain anything further. He merely reached out and rubbed Ace's head; the two lumps from earlier had already gone down.

"You will always be my grandson, my family. That will never change."

"Sniff..."

With a choked sob, Ace suddenly felt pathetic and humiliated. He tried hard to stop his tears, but warm streams kept flowing from his eyes.

Zephyr sighed inwardly, patted Ace's shoulder, turned him around, and sent him back into Garp's arms.

Garp naturally wrapped his arms around his grandson. A rare thoughtful look appeared in his eyes. Had telling Ace about his origins back then truly been the right choice?

Luffy, who had been kicked away, climbed back up and dusted himself off, about to go find Ace again, when Uta, who had followed over, angrily grabbed him.

"Why did that guy suddenly hit someone, then start crying by himself? How embarrassing."

"Uta." Luffy looked at his companion. "Are you angry? Why?"

"I..." Seeing Luffy's serious, puzzled face only made Uta angrier.

Shanks crouched down and patted both children's heads with a smile. "All right, hitting people is wrong, but don't mock other people's tears."

Looking at Ace's figure, Shanks's gaze deepened.

Captain, you really left behind a huge problem. You sinful man.

After quite a while, Ace calmed down. With a red face, he left Garp's embrace and stood blankly to one side without saying a word.

Seeing this, Dadan said nothing. She simply cheerfully offered to show Garp and the others their rooms.

"It's getting late. Do you want to stay here tonight too? There are plenty of empty rooms."

When no one objected, Dadan led the group to their accommodations before quietly withdrawing.

She would leave that pile of grandfather-grandson conflicts for them to handle themselves.

Ace still didn't speak. He simply followed Garp along with his head lowered, staring at the ground.

Luffy wanted to play with Ace, but Uta gripped him tightly and refused to let him go over.

Garp had a headache. Only now did he realize that he really didn't know how to take care of children, so he could only cast a pleading look toward Zephyr.

Zephyr said nothing. He merely looked at Shanks, signaling that it was time for him to step in.

Shanks smiled, flicked his cloak, and immediately strode toward Ace.

"I heard from Mr. Garp that you already know about your origins, right?"

!

Ace suddenly looked up. Shanks's smiling face entered his sight, and it made him feel sick just looking at it.

Ace turned his head away and ignored him, then quietly glanced at Garp, indicating that he didn't know this stranger.

Garp opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Shanks spoke first.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Shanks. I was once an apprentice aboard the Roger Pirates. I grew up with the Roger Pirates from infancy. To me, Captain Roger and the others were like fathers, so you can call me big brother."

Shanks went on talking to himself, his voice seeming to turn into blades that pierced Ace's ears.

Shanks's image filled his vision. Ace stared directly at the Red-Haired man before him and clenched his fists.

"Damn pirate!"