On the Moby Dick.
Ace finished watching the entire process of his own death.
From the moment he was hit to falling to the ground to Luffy’s breakdown, every frame was etched into his mind.
He leaned against the mast, his back against the rough wood, one hand covering his chest—his intact chest.
His fingers were trembling.
Ace closed his eyes.
Luffy’s wails from the light screen were still echoing in his head.
That sound was not crying.
It was the sound of a person having their heart ripped out and thrown to the ground.
His younger brother had broken down like that in front of tens of thousands of people for his sake.
And what about him?
He had stopped in his tracks just because of Akainu’s words, “Whitebeard is a loser.” He had clearly already been rescued.
Luffy had clearly risked his life to drag him down from the execution platform.
Yet he turned back.
For a single sentence.
Leaving Luffy all alone in that hell.
Ace moved his hand from his chest to his face, burying his entire face in his palms.
“Bastard…” It was unclear who he was cursing.
Cursing Akainu, cursing himself, or cursing that deeply rooted thing that had tortured him since childhood and made him stop.
Do I have the right to live?
This question had followed him for twenty years.
Today, for the first time, he felt that the answer did not matter.
What mattered was that his younger brother needed him alive.
Ace lowered his hands.
His eyes were red, but there were no tears.
“Luffy.” He looked toward the East Blue.
He could not see anything, but he knew that brat wearing the Straw Hat was over there.
“Just you wait.” The exact same words Luffy had said.
Whitebeard sat in his chair, not turning to look at Ace.
But the old man’s lips twitched slightly.
He picked up his fourth cup of wine.
The light screen was still glowing.
…
The images on the light screen gave no one time to catch their breath.
The frozen image of Ace falling was still seared into everyone’s retinas, and the lingering notes of the piano music had not yet faded when Austin’s cheeky voice popped up again.
His tone shifted, carrying the excitement of “the next scoop is even bigger.” “Alright, folks.
Let’s wrap up Ace’s part for now.” “Next, let’s talk about the other protagonist.” “Monkey D.
Luffy.” A photo of Luffy appeared on the light screen.
A Straw Hat, a scar, and a carefree grin.
“Seventeen years old, set out from Foosha Village in the East Blue with the goal of becoming the Pirate King.” “Sounds pretty ordinary, doesn’t it?
Every year, hundreds if not thousands of hotheads set sail from the East Blue.
Most of them get eaten by Sea Kings before they even reach the entrance to the Grand Line.” “But this one is different.” “Because his family background is terrifyingly absurd.” A title popped up on the light screen in a frighteningly large font: [System Notification: Straw Hat Luffy’s Terrifying Family Tree: How Overpowered One’s Lineage Can Be] On the Foosha Village pier, a calmed-down Luffy tilted his head, looking at his photo hanging in the sky, and scratched his head.
“Terrifying family tree?
What’s scary about my family?
Only Grandpa is scary; he’s always beating me up.” He did not know that the following content would cause half the world’s hearts to stop.
On the light screen, the image cut to a Marine file photo.
Monkey D.
Garp.
Beneath the photo was a list of titles: Marine Vice Admiral, Navy Hero, Legendary Marine.
“First layer of relation: Grandfather.” “Monkey D.
Garp.
The man who cornered the Pirate King Gol D.
Roger many times.
His fists are so hard he can clash head-on with top-tier ability users without a Devil Fruit.
He is recognized within the Marines as one of the strongest combat forces.” “Note, ‘one of.’ Not ‘the only.’ But those who dare to compete with him for that spot can be counted on one hand.” This information was not explosive.
The fact that Garp was Luffy’s grandfather had already been mentioned during the summary of the Marineford War.
But Austin intentionally paused here.
“That’s what’s on the surface.” “Next is the hidden side.” The image changed.
The silhouette of a man appeared on the light screen.
Long face, a tattoo extending from his left cheek to his neck.
He wore a dark red cloak and stood in front of a group of people.
“Monkey D.
Dragon.” “Leader of the Revolutionary Army.
Called ‘the World’s Worst Criminal’ by the World Government.” “Luffy’s father.” Luffy froze at the bow of the ship.
“My…
my dad?” He blinked several times.
He had never heard this name.
Grandpa had never mentioned his dad.
Not even once.
“I have a dad?” Luffy scratched his head, his expression genuinely blank.
On the pier, Makino’s hand covered her mouth, her eyes wide.
The Village Chief pushed up his glasses and remained silent; it seemed the peaceful days of Foosha Village were coming to an end.
…
Marineford.
Sengoku’s hand slipped completely off the windowsill.
He stood there, the expression on his face undergoing a very spectacular transformation: First shock, then a bitter smile, and finally an “I should have known” kind of exhaustion.
“Monkey D.
Dragon’s son.” Sengoku chewed over these words.
He of course knew Dragon was Garp’s son.
This was not a secret among the Marine high brass.
But knowing was one thing; no one had ever brought this relationship out into the light.
Garp did not mention it, and he pretended not to know.
Everyone had a tacit understanding to keep this buried under the table.
Now, the table had been flipped.
Billions of people across the sea saw this relationship at the same time.
Footsteps came from the corridor.
It was Garp.
The old man walked in, still munching on rice crackers.
His expression was much better than before; at least he was not crying anymore.
“Sengoku, are you standing in the corner by the window again?” “Garp!!!” Sengoku gave a thunderous roar.
His voice was so loud that the clerical staff at the other end of the corridor dropped all their documents.
Garp picked his ear.
“What are you shouting for?” “How long were you planning to keep Dragon’s matter a secret!” “I didn’t keep it a secret.
You just never asked.” Sengoku’s temples throbbed three times.
“I didn’t ask?
You think something like ‘my son is the world’s most wanted criminal’ needs someone to ask before you say it?” Garp wiped the rice cracker crumbs from the corner of his mouth and tilted his head as he thought.
“Uh…
yeah.” Sengoku did not want to talk to him anymore.
The plaza was already in chaos.
Marine soldiers were whispering in small groups, their voices growing louder.
“The Navy Hero’s grandson is a pirate…” “The Navy Hero’s son is in the Revolutionary Army…” “What exactly is going on with this family?” A lieutenant stared at the sky screen in disbelief.
“So Vice Admiral Garp is a hero in the Marines, while his son is trying to overthrow the World Government, and his grandson is a pirate?
What does this family even talk about at dinner?” The major next to him slapped him.
“Shut up.” But the question indeed accurately hit upon everyone’s confusion.
Akainu stood on the steps, silent.
His gaze was heavy.
Garp.
Dragon.
Luffy.
Three generations, three paths.
Marine, Revolutionary Army, Pirate.
But the same blood flowed in their veins.
The blood of D.
Kizaru wandered nearby, muttering, “What a scary family~ The three of them have all three major powers in the world covered~” No one paid him any attention.
…
“Lineage brings more than just one’s origin…” “How could someone with such blood be just a kid who only knows how to grieve when his brother dies?” The images on the light screen flashed by rapidly…