Don't Let Children Live Under Lies

Shanks held out his hand and steadily caught Ace's fist, the smile on his face not fading in the slightest.

"That punch wasn't strong enough, little brother."

"Shut up! Who asked a pirate like you to judge me?!"

The fury in Ace's heart swallowed him once more. He was that man's companion, someone who had inherited that sinful bloodline. Hit him. Beat him to death!

Punch after punch, Ace swung at Shanks as though venting his rage, every blow carrying the resentment and hatred he had felt every day, every night, before every sleep.

"Die! Pirate! Pirate! Pirate!"

Shanks let Ace act as he pleased, stopping Uta from speaking with a glance. He had brought only this girl with him for this trip.

Garp and Zephyr did not move. One looked at Ace with complicated eyes, while the other silently closed his eyes.

Uta was anxious. She knew Shanks was strong, but she absolutely did not want to watch him get hit. She wanted to step forward and stop Ace, but someone held her back.

It was Luffy.

"Uta, this is between Shanks and Ace. Let them handle it themselves."

"But—!"

Uta wanted to shake off Luffy's hand, but when she saw the unprecedented seriousness on his face, along with Shanks's gaze, she finally stopped in frustration.

One minute, five minutes, ten minutes...

Ace once again became that crazed beast, while Shanks let him vent.

Only when Ace was too exhausted to raise his hand again did Shanks speak.

"Had enough? Then it's my turn."

Shanks raised a finger and held it before Ace's hate-filled eyes, aimed at his forehead, then gave it a light flick.

With a bang, Ace flew away tumbling, only stopping when he slammed into the wall like a fly swatted by a flyswatter.

"If you want to arrest me, a pirate, you've still got a long way to go~"

Shanks's faintly mocking voice reached him, causing Ace to erupt again.

"Bastard..."

Ace's voice lowered, growing hoarser and hoarser.

"It's all because of him, because of that guy. What Pirate King? What Great Pirate Era? Why did that sinner, covered in sin, have to give birth to me? From the moment I was born, criminal blood has flowed through my veins..."

"Why?! That bastard just patted his ass and left! He isn't my father!!!"

Years of accumulated resentment burst forth. When Ace had first learned about Roger, he had even been excited by the title of Pirate King.

But then, where he lived, people would occasionally curse pirates, then curse Roger for starting the Great Pirate Era. Every word landed on Ace.

Children did not understand right and wrong, good and evil, but they understood likes and dislikes best.

No one spoke about Ace, yet whenever they spoke of children or Roger, Ace felt they were talking about him.

He hated Roger. Roger had left him without a father, left him constantly being cursed, unable to hold his head high or dare speak to others about his family.

No one liked pirates, which meant no one liked him, the Pirate King's child. Young Ace had always thought that way.

Now, someone who claimed to be Roger's companion, Roger's child, and his older brother stood before Ace. All Ace felt was resentment.

Why was the child who had stayed by his father's side not him?!

Boom...

An invisible aura erupted, its pressure sweeping over the surroundings as though time had frozen at that moment.

Uta's mind went blank, and she collapsed unconscious. Luffy froze for a moment, looked at Ace in confusion, and then fainted as well.

The pressure blanketed the entire Dadan Family, and the sounds of bodies dropping to the ground rang out without end.

Only three people remained standing, looking at the roaring Ace, who was radiating that pressure, with complicated expressions that said they had expected this.

"As expected..." Garp muttered. He was somewhat surprised, but only somewhat.

Shanks stared at Ace, his gaze seeming to drift somewhere unknown.

Captain Roger...

"A fine seedling." Zephyr silently nodded as well. Conqueror's Haki at ten years old~

"Very impressive aura, but still not enough."

Shanks smiled. Then an even heavier aura surged from his body, crushing down upon Ace.

A lesser witch before a greater one—when Ace's Conqueror's Haki met Shanks's, it was like foam touching water, dissolving in an instant.

At that moment, Ace's fury seemed to be strangled as well. He looked at Shanks with hatred and helplessness, not knowing what to do.

"If you want to defeat me, you're still far, far too weak, little brother. Keep getting stronger. When the day comes that you have enough strength to stand before me, then you can defeat me and do the things you want to do."

Shanks smiled. Since Captain Roger had entrusted Ace to Mr. Garp, there had to be a reason. All Shanks needed to do was lend a hand.

"Remember this. My name is Shanks. Red-Haired Shanks."

As he spoke, Shanks stirred his Conqueror's Haki, intending to knock Ace unconscious. He had already taken a liking to this child.

But...

Boom!

A newly awakened Conqueror's Haki blocked Shanks's erupting Haki. Zephyr stepped forward and stopped Shanks.

"Let Ace go, Shanks. A well-intentioned lie may be good, but children cannot be allowed to live beneath lies."

Shanks turned back and looked at Zephyr in confusion. Only when Garp stepped forward as well did he shrug, withdraw his Haki, and stop suppressing Ace.

Freed at last, Ace looked like a drowning fish, his cheeks puffing in and out as he struggled to breathe.

Gritting his teeth, Ace forced himself to his feet and stared straight at Shanks. He would never admit defeat. He would never submit.

"If you truly think of him as your little brother, then talk to him properly. Some things are simple. Don't make them complicated."

Zephyr spoke earnestly, but he was also speaking to Garp.

Garp had long since become disappointed in the Marines' justice. Perhaps that was why Dragon, Ace, Luffy, and the others had turned away from the Marines.

Did Garp want Ace to join the Marines for justice? No. He wanted the banner of justice to protect Ace.

"Is that so?" Shanks scratched his head, glanced at the unconscious Uta and Luffy behind him, and walked over to pick up the two children first.

He handed one to Garp, then looked Ace in the eye again.

"Then, little brother, do you want to become a Marine or a pirate?"

"I... Why should I answer you?!"

Ace instinctively considered it for a moment, then immediately snapped back in anger.

He did not want to become a Marine with that old bastard, but if he said he wanted to become a pirate, this Red-Haired bastard before him would only laugh at him.

"Oh, so you want your own freedom. You want to become a pirate, right?"

Shanks said it bluntly, his words like a knife decisively cutting into Ace's heart.

"Shut up! I-I don't!"

Ace became even more flustered and enraged. He wanted to leave, but his body did not want to move. If he left this time, when would he see that man's companion again?

Ace resented him and wanted to stay away from him, yet when he truly wanted to understand him, he did not want to leave.

Feelings were just that elusive.

"Want to hear Captain Roger's story? You probably only know that Captain Roger was your father and that he started the Great Pirate Era. But how much do you really know about his experiences?"

Ace wanted to retort, but the words reached his lips and would not come out.

Seeing Ace remain silent, Shanks understood. He smiled and patted Uta, then, when the girl groggily woke up, said:

"There's a bedtime story to hear. Get ready."

"Mm! A story?!"

Uta had not even fully awakened when Luffy woke up first and rushed toward Shanks, his face full of anticipation.

"Tell it already, Shanks!"

Seeing Ace turn his face away while his ears stood upright, along with the excited Luffy, Garp could not help rubbing his fists together.

"Hey, Zephyr, is this really alright?"

"Garp, over the past few decades, I have realized one truth. Justice is not a profession, nor is it some standard. It is an ideal that exists in every person's heart, unrelated to circumstance or anything else."

"When someone sincerely wishes to uphold justice, their identity does not matter at all, even if everyone understands justice differently."

"Justice built on deception is inferior to justice still chosen after knowing everything."

"What is it, Garp? Don't tell me you, of all people, don't believe in the children?"

Looking at Zephyr's smile, Garp deflated.

"As expected, you bastard really know how to talk."