Time passed in the blink of an eye.
A month slipped away quietly.
In that time, Creed had completely mastered his S-rank swordsmanship, turning it into an ability as natural as breathing.
During his free moments, Creed trained Luffy.
At least now, when Luffy threw a punch, he could pull it back completely—
instead of, like before, having his arm flop weakly onto the ground a meter away.
"Luffy! I heard you ate a Devil Fruit and still want to be a pirate?!!"
Early in the morning, a roar thundered through the air.
Creed felt the ground shake, the wooden house creaking under the strain.
Bang—
The door swung open, revealing a massive figure blocking both his and Luffy's view—built like a bear.
"G-Grandpa…" Luffy's jaw literally dropped to the floor—not a metaphor, but in reality—startled right out of place.
Seeing his grandson's unnatural jaw-drop, Garp's eyes bulged, the last shred of hope in his heart vanishing completely.
He grabbed the trembling Luffy from the corner and stretched his rubber body into all sorts of shapes. "You really ate a Devil Fruit!!"
Creed's mouth twitched. Truly a family with no normal members—this was his biological grandson.
After a while, Garp tossed the dizzy Luffy to the ground. "So? Still want to be a pirate? When you grow up, you're going to be a just and righteous Marine!!"
"Marine? No way! I want to be a pirate! I'm gonna be Pirate King!" Luffy declared in a childish voice.
Hearing this, veins popped on Garp's forehead, and another round of brutality ensued.
In the end, even after tiring himself out, Luffy still refused to change his mind.
Garp's head pounded. Looking at Luffy with a glare that made the boy's forehead go cold, he muttered, "Looks like letting you stay in peaceful Windmill Village was my mistake."
He quickly packed Luffy's things, grabbed him by the collar, and marched out of Windmill Village.
They traveled for half a day, crossing several mountains, until they arrived at a large wooden house in the hills.
A sign hung above it—Dadan Family.
On the roof sat a boy a few years older than Luffy, holding a double-ended pipe, freckles beginning to dot his face.
Creed looked at him and silently thought: Ace.
"Ace! Get down here!"
Ace jumped down.
"This is your younger brother, Luffy. From now on, you two will live together."
Hearing the commotion, several people came out of the house, one of them a woman more muscular than most men.
"Well, perfect timing. Dadan, I'm leaving my grandson with you too," Garp said.
"Bastard! Don't treat my place like a daycare! One little monster is already enough, and now you're giving me another?!" Dadan snapped, looking at Luffy—one glance told her he was trouble. One Ace was already a handful; now there'd be two.
Crack, crack—
Garp rolled his neck, the sound ominous. "Oh? That so? Then I'll just arrest you all, since you're mountain bandits."
"Cough, cough—just kidding, just kidding," Dadan laughed awkwardly.
"Luffy, you'll stay here from now on."
"Creed, we're going."
With that, Garp marched Creed away.
On the road, just thinking about how Luffy still wanted to be a pirate made Garp's teeth grind. "Damn Shanks! If you hadn't lost an arm saving Luffy, I'd have broken your other one myself!"
…
Back at their lodgings—
"Creed, pack your things too," Garp ordered.
Creed looked puzzled.
"I'm taking you to Marine Headquarters. You're twelve now—you can join the Marines."
To Garp, Creed was his only source of comfort. His own son had become the World Government's greatest enemy, and his grandson Luffy kept shouting about becoming a pirate—no one would listen to him and join the Marines.
He wasn't about to let Creed stray down the wrong path. If another "King of the Mountain Bandits" wannabe popped up in the family, he'd want to die.
So he had to get Creed into Marine Headquarters right away.
If Creed knew what Garp was thinking, he'd be speechless. You really think I'll obediently stay a Marine?
Marine Headquarters?
Creed's eyes narrowed slightly. That actually suited him perfectly.
Windmill Village was a backwater with no real strong fighters—nothing worth extracting.
If there was any place in the world with the most powerful people, it was Marine Headquarters. There, he could extract far stronger abilities.
Now that he had S-rank swordsmanship, he'd have some footing there.
After a quick packing, Creed said goodbye to Makino. With her reluctant gaze following them, they boarded a Marine warship and left the village he'd lived in for five years.
…
Huh?
Standing on the deck, Creed let out a quiet sound of surprise.
In his vision, a purple treasure chest had appeared.
But the sea's surface was empty.
He narrowed his eyes. If it wasn't on the surface—
Then…
It was in the sea!
…
(End of Chapter)
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