Goa Kingdom, Mt. Colubo.
Dressed in floral-patterned shorts and a plain white T-shirt, Garp found the young boy sitting alone at the cliff's edge.
"Grandpa… do you think I should have been born into this world?" The boy, about ten years old, his face bandaged, looked up at Garp.
"Being born… is that really a good thing?"
Garp's expression grew complex as he settled down on a nearby rock.
"Well… you'll find out as you keep living."
He looked out at the vast, blue sky, his mind drifting to the memory of that woman on the hospital bed—her pink hair framing a loving face as she looked at the baby in her arms. "If it's a girl, she'll be Ann… and if it's a boy, Ace. That's what he decided… This child's name is Gol D. Ace…"
That remarkable woman had given her life to protect her child.
…
"Can you believe it, Garp? My child is about to be born."
"Unfortunately, by then, I'll no longer be in this world."
"Why are you telling this to a Marine like me, Roger?"
Inside the dim prison cell…
"After all, we've fought countless times. You're as close as a comrade to me."
In the flickering candlelight, Roger's grin brightened. "I'm entrusting him to you."
"Take care of my child."
"Stop making decisions on your own!" Garp threw down the lantern, gripping the cell bars tightly.
"No, you will help me."
…
"Hey, Garp… I heard you have a grandson. What kind of person is he?"
Ace's question brought Garp back to the present.
"Maybe one day you'll get to meet him…" Garp replied with a faint smile.
…
Shimotsuki Village:
With a swift, powerful swing, Luffy brought his sword down on the massive boulder in front of him. With a flash of steel, the rock, as tall as he was, split in two.
Good. He was now a swordsman capable of cutting stone.
Satisfied, Luffy sheathed his sword. It was nearly time to leave Shimotsuki Village; he had learned all he could here.
Swordsmanship was much like learning to draw. First, you practiced form and technique. Then, it was all about strengthening the body through persistent training.
True skill required raw strength. Once you had enough, even if you didn't know the finest techniques, a sword in your hand would still wield enormous power.
Now, it was time to think about what else he might need to do before leaving. Shanks would surely expect him to return to Windmill Village soon. But before that, maybe there was something—or someone—he could save.
Images from his early memories flashed in his mind: those bandits on the mountain, brutal and relentless, beating a small "Luffy" until he was covered in bruises, their sneers mocking him…
Those mountain bandits were ruthless, unafraid to hurt even children, and they were led by the infamous Higuma the Bear.
"Guess who?" A pair of delicate hands covered Luffy's eyes from behind, the voice sounding somewhat like Kuina's cool tone.
But Luffy knew it wasn't Kuina; her hands were calloused from sword practice, just like his own.
"Who could it be?" Luffy played along.
"It's Uta!"
"Got me!" Uta released her hands, laughing, leaning forward with her arms tucked behind her back.
"How did you know it was me, Luffy? I even changed my voice!"
"Maybe it was intuition," he said, grinning.
Honestly, it wasn't that hard to guess. There were only so many kids who would play games with him, and just changing her voice wouldn't fool him.
"When will you finish learning swordsmanship?" she asked.
"Ah, is Shanks getting impatient? I'm done, actually. I'll be leaving tomorrow after saying goodbye," Luffy replied.
"It's not really Shanks who's asking…" Uta's gaze drifted to the distant trees, her purple eyes thoughtful.
Luffy stretched, feeling the fatigue in his muscles. "How about we make some sweets together?"
"Luffy, you know how to make sweets?" Uta's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Some simple ones, sure," he replied as they headed to the dojo's kitchen.
Having worked part-time in a dessert shop in his previous life, he had picked up a few tricks for making high-calorie treats and sweets.
Of course, it wasn't as easy to replicate everything here in the world of pirates. Back then, he only needed to follow instructions with the pre-made ingredients. Now, he had to figure out each step himself.
But simple treats? That he could manage.
Gathering a scale, a sieve, and a tea mug, he started with something easy—a drink.
Milk tea was one of the simplest sweets to make. Good tea set the high bar, and milk set the low one, both ingredients being readily available in Shimotsuki Village.
For caramel milk tea, he'd need to melt sugar, which was too much work for now.
With a few easy adjustments, Luffy soon produced a creamy, aromatic milk tea. Then he moved on to making something a bit more substantial.
Cracking an egg, adding sugar, whisking, pouring milk, then straining it and heating it…though he soon realized there was no microwave.
Improvising, he poured water into a pot and steamed the mixture, timing it carefully. Once it thickened into a custard-like consistency, he added a few extra touches, and it was done.
Getting a bit carried away, he even made ginger milk pudding, a dessert he used to prepare back in his old life for a little "special" effect.
Setting a tray of these simple sweets on the table, Luffy watched as Uta took a small sip of the milk tea, unable to resist the temptation.
The only drawback was that these were all hot drinks.
"This is delicious!" Uta said, clutching the milk tea. "It would be perfect if it were cold."
"You're right," Luffy nodded. Cold drinks would indeed be more refreshing.
"Next time, I'll figure out some cold treats."
The main problem was the lack of ice. Shanks' ship had food-grade ice, and the crew sometimes made cold fruit drinks for the kids, but that was as fancy as it got.
Most of the adults drank alcohol, and the fruit juice was a special treat for the kids, so they rarely got experimental.
But Luffy's treats? Those were all about the innovation factor. Take a shortcut and surprise everyone.
Now that he thought of it, Sanji was also great at making desserts and could whip up complex sweets too.
Surely there were syrups and other ingredients out there in this world. One day, he'd have to go on a quest for recipes and ingredients…
Carrying the tray of treats, he went to find Zoro and the others. Uta, with her steaming milk tea in hand, followed behind him, her eyes occasionally drifting to the
other desserts, blowing gently on her cup.
Hot drinks were meant to tantalize, after all—you couldn't just gulp them down in one go.
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