"The Whitebeard Pirates will be completely annihilated at headquarters!"
"Impossible!"
Ace's eyes widened, instinctively roaring, "Dad is the strongest man in the world! No one can kill him!"
Even Teach, curled up in the shadows of the opposite cell, shivered violently at that moment.
"The strongest in the world?"
Garp curled a mocking smile. "Ace, all this time, the Navy has been carrying out justice while shackled."
"We were restrained by the Celestial Dragons, by the Five Elders, by the so-called 'balance.'"
"But Hawk, that boy, shattered the Navy's shackles with iron fists and strategy!"
"We no longer have to watch anyone's face! We have our own funds, our own scientists, our own war fortresses!"
"Sengoku, rekindling the will to dominate!"
"Zephyr, who will never refuse the chance to survive for the sake of the younger generation!"
"Tsuru, always loyal and devoted to the Navy!"
"Sakazuki, Kuzan, Borsalino those three monsters, finally working as one!"
"Gion and Kaki, ready to step into the position of Admiral at any time!"
"The younger generation, with Hawk, that irrational monster boy, under him two more young prodigies recognized by Zephyr as future Admirals!"
"And this…"
"This is just the top-tier Navy forces!"
"The Navy still has countless elite soldiers, ever-improving ships, and war weapons!"
Garp stepped forward. "Now, do you still think Whitebeard can survive?"
Each word struck Ace's heart like a heavy hammer.
The blood drained from his face before anyone could notice.
With a Navy fighting at full strength like this, which pirate crew could resist?
"Grandpa…"
Ace's voice carried a hint of pleading. "If…"
"Pointless."
Garp shook his head slowly, sorrow in his eyes. "Even if you stop this one time, there will be another."
"As long as the Whitebeard Pirates exist, the Navy's iron fist will eventually strike."
"This is the tide of the era, Ace."
"The remnants of the old era will not survive in this new age."
"No one can reverse it."
Plop.
Ace slumped to the floor, defeated.
Everything was over.
He felt as if he could already see the Moby Dick sinking to the ocean floor…
All of his family's bodies…
"Do you understand the situation now, Ace?"
Garp's voice pulled him back from the nightmare.
"You should now know the true end of the pirate's path."
"Luffy… he wants to walk that same path."
"He wants to be a pirate."
"But in this era, being a pirate does not mean freedom, it does not mean glory it only means…"
"The fastest route to death."
Ace looked at his sleeping brother.
Now he understood why the old man had said so much, why he had laid the Navy's terrifying trump cards bare for him.
It was so he could persuade Luffy.
Being a pirate was a dead end.
Faced with nearly ten Admirals' worth of strength among the Navy's young generation, fully unshackled and unstoppable, any pirate crew was like an insect challenging a warship.
Ace looked at Luffy's innocent, sleeping face.
This fool only thought of meat and adventure.
Telling him not to be a pirate would only excite him more.
But… after being his older brother for so many years, he knew him too well.
At that moment, Luffy groaned and slowly woke up.
He shook his head and saw Ace bound in chains.
"Ace!"
Ace waved him over, his voice eerily calm.
"Come here."
Luffy instinctively stepped to the cell.
"Luffy, don't get excited. Grandpa said you want to be a pirate?"
"Yeah… it's my promise with Shanks."
"Red-Haired, huh… then why do you want to become Pirate King?"
"Do I even need to say? Because the Pirate King is the freest person on this sea!"
"Freedom? Heh "
Ace smiled bitterly, self-mockery in his eyes.
He raised his hands, the Sea-Prism Stone shackles clinking.
"Look at me, Luffy."
"Is this the freedom you want?"
"This… but…"
Luffy was speechless, staring at Ace's shackles, unsure what to say.
"No buts!"
Ace's eyes sharpened.
"When we used to fight, you never won."
"Now, you're even weaker I could punch you away!"
"Even I have lost my freedom, and you still chase freedom?!"
"Even I am locked up here, and you still want to chase your dream?!"
"Do you even have that kind of strength?!"
Luffy was silent, clenching his fists.
"Luffy, listen to me."
Ace's voice was serious as he looked at his simple-minded little brother.
"I set out to sea three years before you. I've seen the sights, I've faced the strong."
"Put on that uniform. With Grandpa protecting you, it can keep you safe enough to enjoy some freedom."
"Then… get stronger."
"Fight with everything to get stronger!"
"Strong enough to defeat the strongest of the Navy's young generation!"
"Then… you can chase the freedom you want!"
"This is the final advice from a brother who is about to die, to his foolish little brother."
"Take him, Grandpa."
Ace lowered his head, black hair hiding his eyes, his expression unreadable.
Garp looked at Ace long and hard. His lips moved, but he could not speak.
Finally, he reached out, lifting Luffy like a small child, and turned to leave the cell.
Clang.
The heavy iron door slowly closed.
Darkness and deathly silence fell over the cell again.
The corridor leading out was cold and long, only dim oil lamps flickering on the walls.
Luffy, carried in Garp's hands, was completely blank.
When he glimpsed Ace's eyes, he understood.
The flames of confidence and pride that had always burned in Ace's eyes were gone.
All that remained was worry for his foolish little brother.
Ace's words, Grandpa's words, pierced Luffy's heart like countless needles.
Finally, as they reached the dock, Luffy spoke weakly.
"Grandpa… am I really that weak?"
His voice trembled, filled with self-doubt.
Garp did not pause.
"Yes, very weak."
Zephyr had told him that Luffy's combat skills were improving rapidly, mastering three of the six techniques, beginning to understand Observation and Armament Haki. Given time, he would become powerful.
But even so, compared to the Navy's two young prodigies, he was still lacking.
Not to mention the superhuman leader of the new generation Hawk.
"I'll get stronger!"
Luffy's head shot up. Tears he had been holding back finally broke free.
"Grandpa, I'll get stronger!"
Garp stopped at the ship's gangplank.
He looked down at his tear-streaked grandson.
"Follow Grandpa out of the New World!"
"That way… you will get stronger!"