Time flew by, and before anyone realized, a month had passed.
Ace had been sent back to Dadan's once again—courtesy of Garp.
"Ace!"
Dadan's face lit up with joy the moment she opened the door and saw who it was. But almost immediately, she cleared her throat with a forced cough.
"Ahem. You little brat, back again? You're such a pain in the neck."
She grumbled, but the words were more affection than annoyance.
"Cough."
A low cough from the side made Dadan stiffen and snap to attention.
"G-Garp-san! You're here too? Would you like something to eat?" she asked, her voice overly polite and dripping with flattery.
"No need. I've got other business to attend to. Anyway, Ace is in your care again."
Garp's tone was casual but firm.
"N-no problem at all! Wait, huh?"
Just as she was nodding and making her promise, Dadan suddenly blinked in confusion.
"Garp-san… what happened to your face?"
She was staring at the right side of Garp's cheek—a mark that looked unmistakably like a burn scar.
"…Hm?"
Garp's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"I-I must be seeing things. There's no way you would get hurt, right, Garp-san? Hahaha…"
Dadan laughed nervously, waving it off with trembling hands.
"Ace, I'll come back during my next leave to keep training you. Don't forget—become an excellent Marine."
With that parting advice, Garp vanished in a blink.
"Dadan! Let's throw a party!"
The moment Garp was gone, Ace turned around with a triumphant grin and shouted, as if he'd just scored a major win.
...
Aboard Garp's Ship.
Back on his warship, Garp stood silently on deck, heading toward Marine Headquarters.
He gently touched the burn on his right cheek.
"This… is the true power of the Mera Mera no Mi?"
His mind replayed the memory of that final day of training—a towering blade of fire that split the sky.
That attack had gone far beyond Ace's usual limits. Even with Garp using Observation Haki to precisely control and restrain the boy's strength during their sessions, that strike had broken through.
The scar it left on him wasn't just physical—it was symbolic.
"The destructive force… it's even more absurd than Sakazuki's Magu Magu no Mi at the same age. This is…"
Garp felt like the past month had been one long fever dream.
According to the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, the Magma-Magma Fruit was considered the Logia with the greatest offensive power—capable of burning even fire to ash. In theory, it was the superior form of the Flame-Flame Fruit.
Yet Ace, through some inexplicable miracle, had drawn out a destructive force that surpassed Sakazuki's magma.
Garp had a gut feeling: if Ace were given power on par with Sakazuki's, the man's vaunted magma might just be obliterated by a single attack.
That kind of power… had never been seen before on this sea.
"If you really have that kind of strength… maybe, just maybe, you'll survive this world after all, Ace."
A rare smile bloomed across Garp's face as he stared out over the vast ocean.
...
Three years later.
Ace was now ten years old.
In that time, he had crossed paths with Sabo at Gray Terminal—the scrap heap at the edge of the Goa Kingdom—and the two had begun "collecting" funds together through various... entrepreneurial ventures.
Although his growth hadn't been as explosive as it was during Garp's brutal training, Ace had steadily become stronger.
With abilities like Total Absorption and the Combat Hibernation Technique, his development was smooth and without bottlenecks.
And thanks to his unparalleled comprehension, Ace had already gained a decent sense of his overall strength.
In terms of pure physical prowess, he was roughly at the level of a Marine Captain.
But he was also a Logia-type Devil Fruit user. Against opponents who lacked Haki, Ace was virtually untouchable.
What's more, he had awakened one of the sea's most terrifying forces: Conqueror's Haki—Infusion.
He also had access to devastating techniques like Flame Ring: Blue Hole and Ittō Kasō—moves that could overwhelm even high-ranking foes.
If he fought with his life on the line and caught his opponent off guard, even a Marine Vice Admiral would be hard-pressed to walk away unscathed.
In short, Ace's name would no longer go unnoticed, even in the Grand Line.
...
That day, Garp arrived at Dadan's with another surprise.
"Dadan, this is my grandson. Raise him too, will ya? Bwahahaha!"
Garp hoisted a small seven-year-old boy by the back of his shirt like a sack of potatoes, grinning ear to ear.
"W-What the hell?! This isn't a nursery! I'm not doing it!"
Dadan exploded. Was he just taking advantage of her kindness at this point?!
"Hmm? Would you prefer to live out the rest of your days in a prison cell?"
Garp's eyes narrowed, and a 'demonic' aura filled the space around him.
"Y-yes, sir! Understood! I'll raise him just fine!"
Dadan crumbled instantly. Garp always knew how to pick the softest persimmon to squeeze.
"Ace! Be nice to your new little brother!"
Garp suddenly turned and looked up into the trees, grinning at the boy perched on a thick branch.
"Monkey D. Luffy, huh?"
Ace narrowed his eyes as he looked at the kid dangling from Garp's grip.
That boy—cheerful, wild, and full of dreams—was none other than the protagonist of the pirate world's grand tale: Monkey D. Luffy, who had already eaten the Hito Hito no Mi, Mythical Zoan: Model Nika.
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TL/N:
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