Because of the unique circumstances surrounding Ace and Luffy's identities, Garp had decided to leave the two boys in Foosha Village under the care of the bandit Dadan. Garp's dream was for both Ace and Luffy to grow into exceptional Marines, but before taking them to Marine Headquarters, he wanted to ensure they had the skills necessary to protect themselves.
Given that Ace and Luffy spent most of their time at the Gray Terminal and were raised by Dadan, a mountain bandit, their personalities had become wild and unruly over the years. This was far from the disciplined and well-behaved Marines Garp had envisioned them becoming.
Ace and Luffy were naturally competitive and had a deep admiration for the powerful figures who roamed the seas. To give them a positive role model, Garp had told them stories of Wood during one of his visits two years ago.
When Ace and Luffy heard that Wood had, at the age of thirteen or fourteen, already taken down multiple pirate crews and protected Maple Leaf Island, they couldn't help but idolize him.
For Garp, having his grandsons admire Wood, who was a Marine at the time, was ideal. Garp had planned to introduce them to Wood, hoping he would guide Ace and Luffy on the path to becoming exemplary Marines. Everything seemed to be falling into place, with Garp's plans moving smoothly.
However, when Garp returned to Foosha Village this time, he was shocked to discover that his two grandsons had somehow gone off the rails without his knowledge.
The reason for this turn of events was, in fact, quite simple.
Ace and Luffy had never been particularly interested in becoming Marines like their grandfather. They were drawn to the idea of becoming strong and powerful, and Wood, who was not much older than them but already incredibly strong, seemed like the perfect role model.
Now that Wood, the hero of their grandfather's stories, had transitioned from a Marine to a pirate, Ace and Luffy found him even more appealing. They had already admired Wood, but hearing about his exploits—one daring adventure after another—had completely captivated them. They were now wholly fixated on the idea of setting out to sea and becoming pirates themselves.
When Garp saw how dedicated his grandsons were to their training, he should have been pleased. However, when he learned that their motivation was not to become outstanding Marines, but to become pirates instead, Garp was nearly driven to madness!
"That Wood, who Grandpa always praised, is a pirate now too! And he's a big shot with a bounty of one billion Berries!" Ace declared, excitement clear in his voice. "That means being a pirate must be way more fun than being a Marine, so when we grow up, we'll become pirates too!"
"Yeah, yeah! I heard from Shanks that being a pirate is way more exciting than being a Marine!" Luffy added enthusiastically, shaking a bounty poster in Garp's face, one that he had somehow gotten his hands on.
Garp snatched the poster from Luffy, and upon closer inspection, recognized it as Wood's latest bounty poster. The young man in the image had black hair, held a sword in each hand, and stood proudly against the wind. He looked every bit the dashing figure that Ace and Luffy admired.
But as Garp stared at the poster, his fury began to boil over. His anger felt like it was going to burst out of the top of his head. Gritting his teeth, Garp tore the poster into shreds, muttering through clenched teeth, "It's all Sengoku's fault! If that old fool hadn't given Wood that damn undercover mission, none of this would've happened! Now, the role model I set up for them has turned into a pirate!"
Garp had everything planned out perfectly, but what he hadn't anticipated was Sengoku assigning Wood to an undercover mission that led him down the path of piracy.
Garp was tempted to tell Ace and Luffy the truth, but that information was classified, and both Ace and Luffy were still just kids. If they accidentally let something slip, it could put Wood in even more danger.
"Where did you get this bounty poster? And who's been filling your heads with stories about Wood? It better not have been that good-for-nothing Dadan!" Garp barked.
The East Blue was known as the weakest of the seas, and Foosha Village was a remote, insignificant place. News Coo birds rarely flew out to such isolated spots, and even when news did reach them, it was often long after it had circulated through the Grand Line.
Garp had come back to the East Blue primarily to control the narrative, but to his surprise, his grandsons had already heard about Wood before he even got there.
"It was Shanks who told me!" Luffy exclaimed. "He said Wood is probably the strongest young pirate in the world! He caused a huge commotion at Impel Down, single-handedly stormed a Marine branch and killed a Marine captain, and then he even destroyed Enies Lobby!"
Ace and Luffy only had a vague understanding of places like "Impel Down" and "Enies Lobby," but they knew that if someone as powerful as Shanks thought Wood was strong, it must be true.
Moreover, Ace and Luffy had seen the newspapers. They knew that even their grandfather, who they regarded as an unbeatable force of nature, hadn't been able to defeat Wood. This only made them admire Wood even more.
In their eyes, Garp was an almost invincible figure, someone they could never hope to surpass no matter how hard they trained. If even Garp couldn't beat Wood, then Wood must be unimaginably powerful.
It was clear now—his grandsons, who had the potential to become outstanding Marines, had completely gone off course.
At this moment, Garp found himself harboring resentment toward three people.
The first was Sengoku, who had disrupted his plans for Wood by assigning that damn undercover mission.
The second was the damned Red-Haired Shanks, who filled Luffy's head with ideas about becoming a pirate every time he visited Foosha Village. If Garp ever caught Shanks on the island, he'd make sure to crush his head in!
As for the third person, Garp wasn't angry at Wood—he was angry at himself!
If he had known that Ace and Luffy would idolize Wood, who had turned pirate, he wouldn't have gone easy on Wood at Enies Lobby. He would have knocked Wood flat and shown Ace and Luffy that the Marines were the true power in the world.
But it was too late now. Unless Garp could bring Wood to Foosha Village and beat him in front of Ace and Luffy, the two boys would continue to believe that Wood was just as strong as their grandfather.
Meanwhile, Wood, oblivious to the fact that he was now the subject of attention from Garp and his grandsons, was sailing through the first half of the Grand Line aboard the "Dark Maru II," having just passed Fish-Man Island and heading toward the New World.
After the Enies Lobby incident, Wood had first returned to pick up Robin. As for the people from Tom's Workers, they couldn't go back to Water 7. Franky and Iceburg were just kids, but Tom had now become a wanted man by the World Government, with a hefty bounty on his head due to the secrets of Pluton.
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 320+ at p@treon.com/Betek and change @ to a