"Grandpa, Ace is going to live with me in Windmill Village," Luffy informed Garp.
Garp, who had returned earlier, simply nodded.
"Oh, by the way, Grandpa, there's this group called the Sapphire Pirates. They're after me, and I'm a bit scared. I heard they work for the nobles of the Goa Kingdom…"
Garp gave his grandson a look, seeing right through the lie. "I know. I'll throw them into jail."
He wanted to give Luffy a good punch for his cheeky antics, but he decided to let it slide this time since Luffy had managed to help Ace open up.
Meanwhile, Ace handed what little treasure he had left to the village elder. "I'm going to live here, so take this money, you old geezer."
He respectfully bowed to the elder, though his words were anything but polite.
"…"
The elder accepted the treasure. "Oh my, it looks like the village is getting livelier. You have a lot to learn, young man."
"Start with good manners," Miss Makino added with a gentle smile, reaching out to pat Ace's head.
A faint blush crept up on Ace's face.
"I'll do my best."
Looking at the kind and beautiful Miss Makino, Ace's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly lowered his head.
"Are you blushing, Ace?" Sabo teased, eyes wide with surprise.
"Sh-shut up!" Ace's face turned even redder as he snapped at Sabo.
Makino laughed softly, leaving Ace stunned once again.
With pink hair, she would look just like my mom, Ace thought to himself.
Ace was, after all, terrible at dealing with beautiful women older than him.
Luffy's life settled back into its usual peaceful rhythm. Compared to Ace's issues, Sabo's presence was less of a concern—after all, as long as Sabo lived quietly in Windmill Village, he wouldn't risk being found by his family or suffer the fate of crossing paths with the Celestial Dragons prematurely.
What Sabo did with his life was his own business. Any choices he made wouldn't leave his family grieving.
With that thought, Luffy dove into Uta's world, watching Dream Uta orchestrate melodies by guiding notes to collide midair, creating unique sounds.
"Uta, what are you up to?"
"I've deepened my understanding of happiness, so I'm recording my inspiration," Uta replied.
"I'm composing a new song."
Luffy perked up. "Let me help!"
Who knows, maybe Uta could sing some of the old tunes.
Getting Uta to perform as Princess Uta was quite the idea.
Uta laid out a series of musical notes for him.
"Combine these sounds, and the notes will play the song."
She explained, "It's a very handy composition ability."
Thanks to his occasional lessons in music appreciation from Uta, Luffy had a basic ear for melody. But he saw himself as just an ordinary note arranger.
Quickly, he pieced together fragments of a song.
This way, Uta could perform as a background soundtrack—even in the heat of battle.
"DAN DAN kokoro hikareteku, sono mabushii egao ni…"
("Slowly, my heart is drawn to you, your dazzling smile captivates me…")
Luffy worked out the music little by little, and when Uta sang a few lines, her face gradually turned red.
She didn't hesitate to bonk him on the head with her fist. "You idiot! Don't write songs if you don't know how!"
Luffy took the hit in confused amusement, simply recalling the song from Dragon Ball GT, "Slowly, My Heart is Drawn to You."
…
Meanwhile, Garp made his way to the Sapphire Pirates' hideout near the Goa Kingdom.
"Vice Admiral Garp—how did he get here?!"
Upon seeing his white-haired, square-faced figure, the pirates panicked.
"So, you all wanted to mess with my grandson, huh?" Garp said, biting into a donut as he spoke.
"I'm on vacation, so I'd rather not get my hands dirty… but protecting my family comes first. Now, why don't you all go ahead and tie yourselves up?"
"What a joke! We're pirates!" sneered the captain, Bluejam, his legs trembling as a pale yellow stain spread down his pants.
"Vice Admiral Garp, I'm no ordinary pirate. I'm about to become a noble! You can't lay a hand on me!"
"Ha… A pirate becoming a noble?" Garp chuckled.
"It's true! The nobles of the Goa Kingdom have promised me that as long as I burn down the Gray Terminal, they'll grant me noble status. You can't kill me!"
"You're nothing but a petty enforcer in the Goa Kingdom, Garp!" Bluejam seemed to gain some confidence, sneering viciously at Garp.
"Soon enough, I'll be nobility! The roles are reversed now, Garp!"
"Do you… even know what you're saying?" Garp's smile faded as he snapped his donut in half.
Crack.
As he bit down, a flash of lightning split the sky, crackling across the heavens and causing Bluejam to jump in terror.
It was almost too perfect, as if Garp had summoned the storm himself. But it wasn't something a mere human could control… right?
Ha… Ha…
The skies darkened as thunderclouds gathered, a gust of wind picking up.
Raindrops began to fall lightly.
A storm was brewing.
"How disgraceful… father."
A man in a green cloak emerged from the distant garbage mountains, walking slowly toward them.
Red marks crossed his face, his expression stern. Oddly enough, he had no eyebrows.
"This isn't a place for you… Dragon." Garp's tone was grave.
"How could I miss the spectacle of the Celestial Dragons?"
"Don't worry, it's not time yet. I won't make a move against the Celestial Dragons."
"And why are you here, Father? I thought you'd rather avoid seeing the Celestial Dragons?"
The cloaked man paused a short distance away and looked at Garp with a curious expression.
Garp… has a son? Bluejam looked on in disbelief at the cloaked man. This mysterious figure seemed ill-suited to be the son of the Hero of the Marines.
"Just protecting my family," Garp replied, clasping his hands behind his back as he turned toward Windmill Village.
"Since you're here, you can deal with this. I'm in a good mood and don't want to dirty my hands."
"Family, huh…"
A name surfaced in Dragon's mind—a name he hadn't known before: Luffy.
Dragon's gaze shifted to Bluejam and the Sapphire Pirates.
A few of the pirates tried to escape by jumping into the water.
"Apologies, but you've all heard things you shouldn't have, pirates."
The wind roared, picking up speed.
Lightning bolts struck down from the heavens like divine punishment.
The electric currents snaked through the bodies of the pirates before finally plunging into the sea, turning the water white with residual light.
"Burning down the Gray Terminal… the nobles are willing to go that far to please the Celestial Dragons, huh…"
In the East Blue, known as the most beautiful place in the sea, the Goa Kingdom held an unusual reputation. It was celebrated for being "an exemplary isolated society"—a place that prided itself on purity.
To maintain this pristine image, everything deemed unnecessary was thrown into a designated area known as the Gray Terminal. Here, the impoverished eked out a meager existence.
These so-called "untouchables" were forced to live amidst garbage, out of sight and out of mind.
The inner city, protected by walls, housed the commoners on its central streets, the nobles in High Town, and the royals in the palace, with each stratum rigidly separated.
Such was the beauty of the Goa Kingdom.
It was like Piltover and Zaun in League of Legends, only here, the lower city people were entirely powerless against
the nobles above, used as a human dumping ground.
And now, to complete the Goa Kingdom's image of "perfection," the nobles planned to burn down their human trash can.
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