Ace paused.
"Gramps told us to stay here."
"Since when are you so obedient?"
Kahn glanced at Ace.
Pricked by that, Ace stiffened his neck.
"Who's obedient!"
"Let's go, then!"
The two of them avoided Dadan's sight.
They slipped into the dense jungle.
Dadan was still dazed in the direction of Garp's disappearance and completely failed to notice that two little troublemakers were missing from behind.
The coastline of Foosha Village.
Torrential rain poured down.
Raindrops the size of beans smashed against the reefs, splashing white spray.
A huge black sailing ship was moored on the shore.
The bow was a ferocious dragon head.
No flags were hoisted.
The entire ship exuded an aura that kept strangers at a distance.
Kahn and Ace lay hidden in the grass in the distance.
Rainwater soaked their hair.
Ace wanted to speak.
Kahn clamped a hand over his mouth.
He made a gesture for silence.
On the beach ahead.
Two people stood there.
One was Garp.
The other was a man shrouded from head to toe in a dark green cloak.
His face was obscured.
One could only see the red square tattoo on his left cheek.
Rainwater slid away automatically within three feet of the man.
It was as if even nature feared him.
Monkey D. Dragon.
The leader of the Revolutionary Army.
The world's most heinous criminal.
And Garp's biological son.
Kahn's heartbeat quickened slightly.
This was a historic moment.
"What are you here for?"
Garp's voice was cold.
Interspersed with the sound of thunder, it sounded exceptionally deep.
Dragon did not answer.
He held a bundle of cloth in his arms.
The cloth bundle was squirming.
It even let out a faint whimpering cry.
"It's inconvenient for me to take him with me."
Dragon's voice was hoarse, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.
"The World Government is already paying attention to my movements."
"If he follows me, he won't live to see three years old."
Garp looked at that cloth bundle.
The muscles on his face twitched.
That complex expression of anger, helplessness, yet forced acceptance.
"You bastard!"
Garp suddenly erupted.
He punched Dragon right in the face.
Dragon did not dodge.
He took the punch squarely.
The force of it slid him back several meters.
A trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Yet the cloth bundle in his arms remained rock steady, not even swaying a bit.
"Why should you make a child bear the path you chose yourself!"
Garp roared.
Rainwater streamed down his aged face.
It was impossible to tell rain from tears.
Dragon wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
His gaze remained as calm as a stagnant pool of water.
"This world is sick."
"Someone has to cure it."
"Father."
That address of father was uttered without any emotional color.
It was as if he were stating a fact.
Dragon stepped forward.
He handed the cloth bundle in his arms to Garp.
Garp took a deep breath.
Those large hands, which were always clenched into fists, now carefully and cautiously took the cloth bundle.
A corner of the cloth bundle was lifted.
It revealed a wrinkled little face.
This child was born with a sense of foolishness.
He was still blowing bubbles there.
Monkey D. Luffy.
The future One Piece.
And the child of destiny of this world.
Kahn narrowed his eyes in the grass.
He was finally here.
The final puzzle piece of the Straw Hat trio.
"His name is Luffy."
Having said that, Dragon turned and walked away.
Without any attachment.
Without even looking back one last time.
"Aren't you going to hold him?"
Garp shouted at that retreating figure.
Dragon paused.
The howling wind whipped his cloak.
Revealing the sword at his waist that had never been unsheathed.
"No."
"Until the day this world is upended."
"We'll meet again."
Dragon leaped onto the dragon-headed ship.
The sails billowed open automatically.
Utilizing the wind, the ship rapidly vanished into the boundless curtain of rain.
As if it had never appeared at all.
Garp stood in the rain.
He held the still-grinning infant in his arms.
He sighed.
The sigh was a long one.
It was as if he had sighed out all the helplessness of his entire life.
"Come out."
"How long are you going to hide?"
Garp said without turning his head.
In the bushes.
Ace's body stiffened.
Kahn, however, remained very calm.
He had never expected to elude Garp's Observation Haki anyway.
The two walked out from the bushes.
They walked to Garp's side.
Curious, Ace stood on tiptoe to look at the baby in Garp's arms.
"Who is this?"
"So ugly."
Ace gave a very pertinent evaluation.
A newborn child indeed did not look good.
Wrinkled like a monkey.
Garp slapped Ace on the head with a palm.
"This is your brother."
"Luffy."
Ace covered his head with a look of utter disgust.
"I don't want a crybaby like this for a brother."
"I have Kahn and that's annoying enough."
Kahn ignored Ace's complaints.
He extended a single finger.
He poked Luffy's soft, chubby cheek.
Luffy opened his mouth.
He clamped down on Kahn's finger.
Toothless.
Full of drool.
With a look of disgust, Kahn pulled his finger out.
He wiped it on Garp's coat.
"Quite a bit of strength."
Kahn evaluated.
Garp looked at the three brats.
He suddenly felt his head hurt even more.
Roger's son.
The son of the leader of the Revolutionary Army.
With these three gathered together.
Would this ocean ever see peaceful days again?
The air in Foosha Village after the rain was excessively good. The smell of earth mixed with the saltiness of the sea drilled straight into his nose.
Garp carried Luffy with his large hand as if he were dangling a little chick.
The infant in his arms had stopped crying, opening his two large eyeballs to look around.
"Really ugly."
Ace walked behind, kicking a pebble by the road.
He repeated it once more.
"Like a monkey."
Kahn walked at the very end. The clothes on his body were a large-sized shirt he had just swiped from Dadan, fitting him like a robe.
"Stop complaining."
Kahn raised his head to look at the sky. The clouds scattered, and the sun showed its face once more.
That was nice.
That warm feeling drilled inward through his pores, and his internal organs, which had been shaken to pieces just moments ago, were cheering.
The group walked to the tavern at the entrance of the village.
The wooden door was pushed open.
The doorbell emitted a crisp sound.
There were not many people in the tavern.
Sunlight spilled through the windows onto the wooden floor.
A green-haired woman stood behind the bar.
She was carefully wiping a glass.
She was the proprietress of this tavern.
Makino.
The village belle of Foosha Village.
Her temperament was gentle enough to wring water out of.
Her current bounty was zero.
Yet her status in this village was higher than anyone else's.
Garp walked in with big strides.
He placed the cloth bundle from his arms directly onto the bar counter.
"Get me a mug of beer."
"And get some food for these three brats."
Garp pulled out a barstool and sat down.
He shouted loudly.
Makino put down the glass.
Curiously, she looked at the cloth bundle on the bar.
A small hand reached out from the cloth bundle.
Luffy was eating his own finger.
Eating with great relish.
Drool pooled in a puddle.
Makino covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
"Mr. Garp."
"This is..."
"My grandson." Garp downed a large gulp of beer. "Luffy."
Makino fetched a clean towel.
Gently, she wiped the drool from Luffy's face.
Ace sat to the side.
He turned his head away.
Refusing no matter what to look at that infant.
Kahn, on the other hand, stared at Makino for a while.
This woman was going to have entanglements with Red-Haired Shanks in the future.
She could be counted as one of the strongest backers on this ocean.
Makino brought over two plates of roast meat.
She pushed them in front of Ace and Kahn.
"Eat up quickly."
"You must be starved."
Ace grabbed bone-in meat and shoved it straight into his mouth.
He looked just like a beast guarding its food.
Kahn picked up the knife and fork.
He cut the roast meat into small pieces.
He ate at a leisurely pace.
His body required a massive amount of energy to repair its previous injuries.
This transmigrator's physique was very special.
Its cellular activity was astonishingly high.
It could recover quickly as long as there was enough food.
Garp wiped the beer foam from the corner of his mouth.
"Old man's heading back to headquarters tomorrow."
"Luffy's too young."
"That bandit hag Dadan can't take care of an infant."
"Mayor!" Garp bellowed toward the doorway.
Woop Slap, the mayor of Foosha Village, walked in leaning on a cane.
Resistance was written all over his face.
Garp shoved Luffy into the mayor's arms.
"Raise this kid right here in the village."
"I'm counting on you lot."
The mayor's mustache bristled with anger.
"You bastard Marine!"
"It was one thing dumping your son on the Revolutionary Army!"
"Now you're dumping your grandson on the village to manage too!"
Garp picked his nose.
Flicked away a ball of unidentified matter.
And acted like he hadn't heard a thing.
He was an extremely irresponsible grandfather.
Kahn saw this point crystal clear.
Before you continue