The door to Makino's tavern burst open with a bang. Garp stood in the doorway in a Vice Admiral's Justice coat, his white hair whipped into disarray by the sea breeze. In his hand, he clutched a crumpled letter, its edges still smeared with bread crumbs. Luffy had sent it to him a few days ago. With Ace setting out to sea, Luffy had to tell Garp somehow. Ace had instructed Luffy to write the letter only after he had left.
"Where's that brat Ace?"
Garp's voice carried suppressed fury. His iron fists creaked as he clenched them, his face a mixture of helplessness and anger.
Garp had trained both Ace and Luffy to become Marines, yet one after another, they had run off to become pirates. He simply could not accept it. And Ace's identity was so special—if he became a pirate, Garp truly feared that Ace would follow Roger's old path.
"Has Ace already set sail?"
Makino was startled by Garp as well. She instinctively stepped in front of the doorway and said softly, "Mr. Garp, please calm down!"
"Calm down?"
Garp shoved her aside and rushed to the shore, only to find an empty sea and beach. His fist slammed into a nearby coconut tree, snapping the bowl-thick trunk in two. He said bitterly, "That little bastard! Doesn't he know how dangerous his identity is?"
In truth, Garp knew that Ace had changed ever since Sabo's accident. But he had no idea how to comfort him, so he could only let him go. Garp's chest rose and fell violently.
But he was a Vice Admiral, a man sworn to uphold justice. How could he stand by and watch Roger's son become a pirate?
Not to mention that the boy had inherited that stubborn, unyielding temper. Once he