...
After a brief round of mutual teasing, the gazes of everyone in God Valley refocused on the light screen.
They were equally curious about what this man in his fifties, Rayleigh, had gone all the way across the Calm Belt to find Luffy for.
On the light screen, after confirming that Luffy was out of mortal danger, Rayleigh visibly let out a sigh of relief.
He glanced around the peaceful shoreline and analyzed: "This is the Calm Belt—ordinary Marine fleets can't get in here at all.
Plus, with Empress Boa Hancock standing guard, those guys could rack their brains and still never guess that you'd be hiding in a place like this."
Rayleigh smiled, a glint of amusement flashing in his eyes: "After all, the Pirate Empress sheltering a man who just wreaked havoc at Marine Headquarters? The very idea is hard for anyone to believe."
"How about it, Luffy?"
Looking at Luffy devouring food as if trying to swallow all his grief along with the meat,
Rayleigh set aside his lighthearted expression. His face grew serious as he asked: "Are you planning to set off right now, head to Sabaody Archipelago, and reunite with your crew?"
The question seemed ordinary on the surface, but it was clearly asked despite already knowing the answer.
Rayleigh had already guessed from Luffy's eyes and their earlier conversation what he would say, yet he still wanted to hear it directly from this young man who had just gone through such a massive upheaval.
"Of course I am!"
Luffy whipped his head around, mouth still stuffed full of meat. His muffled but exceptionally firm reply echoed the words he had already told Jinbe.
"I'll leave as soon as I finish eating. I have my Vivre Card."
Hearing Luffy's answer without hesitation, Rayleigh gave him a deep, piercing look—as if his gaze could see straight through appearances into the depths of Luffy's soul.
After a moment of silence, Rayleigh spoke slowly, his voice carrying an audible weight: "Is that… really okay?"
He paused, then said something shocking as he looked straight at Luffy: "Think carefully—what exactly happened to you back on Sabaody Archipelago?"
These words landed like salt poured directly onto Luffy's still-unhealed wound.
Sure enough, the hand holding the meat froze abruptly; the huge chunk of beast meat nearly slipped from his grasp.
Bad memories flooded back like a tidal wave: the unfathomably powerful, lightspeed-fast Marine Admiral Kizaru.
And that seemingly silent man who possessed absolute strength—the Warlord of the Sea, Tyrant Bartholomew Kuma—who, aboard the terrifying Thriller Bark ship and then on Sabaody Archipelago, had driven them all into a corner and ultimately sent every single one of them flying!
Facing enemies like that, the Luffy of that time—even giving everything he had—had been like an ant trying to shake a tree. There was no chance of victory at all!
That bone-deep sense of powerlessness was exactly the same as what he felt at Marineford.
"Do you really think—with your current strength…"
Rayleigh caught the change in Luffy's expression and pressed forward mercilessly, his gaze sharp and his tone leaving no room for mercy:
"…you can face that kind of overwhelming power? Can you protect your crew and make sure it never happens again?"
A heavy silence fell over the scene.
Boa Hancock, Jinbe, and even Gloriosa all stayed quiet and did not interrupt.
They understood that Rayleigh's words were not meant to crush Luffy, but carried a deeper consideration.
Seeing Luffy sink into thought, his face twisting with struggle and unwillingness, Rayleigh softened his tone, shifting to something more guiding: "I have… a small suggestion here. I wonder if you'd be willing to hear it?"
At that moment, Luffy pulled himself out of the painful memories. He took a deep breath, reached up to adjust the straw hat on his head—partially hiding his eyes…
But the lower half of his face was filled with an unprecedented seriousness and determination.
He lifted his head and looked straight at Rayleigh with burning eyes: "What suggestion?"
...
At the same time, the light screen quietly switched scenes, arriving at the distant East Blue.
Goat Island Kingdom, Foosha Village
After the smoke of the Summit War had cleared, the future Garp returned to the hometown that raised him, carrying exhaustion and an indescribable mix of complicated emotions.
He casually dealt with some insignificant small-time pirates in the nearby waters and stepped onto the familiar shore.
"It really hasn't changed at all…"
Outside the light screen, the young Garp—sitting on the ground—and Dragon—lying on a stretcher, also watching the screen—both had the same deep look of nostalgia flash through their eyes as they saw the peaceful, serene sight of their old home in the future.
"Tsk tsk, this country really is something else!"
Golden Lion Shiki stroked his chin, his tone carrying genuine amazement rather than mere mockery.
"Produced a Marine hero like you, Garp… and your son, the Revolutionary Army leader who dares to challenge the World Government head-on…
Roger's son Ace, and your grandson Luffy—they all grew up in this little kingdom, right? Truly a place that breeds legends!"
Though Shiki's words carried a teasing edge, there was genuine acknowledgment in his voice toward the powerhouses who had emerged from this seemingly ordinary village.
Garp ignored Shiki's comment. His gaze remained locked on every familiar blade of grass and tree on the light screen.
Even the village chief had been replaced by that guy Woop Slap… he thought silently to himself.
Not far away, the heavily injured Dragon propped himself up with his arms, leaning back against the cold rock, silently staring at the homeland on the screen that carried so many complex emotions for him.
In the scene, Garp returned to Foosha Village. Many villagers came out enthusiastically to greet him.
However, behind this seemingly ordinary warmth, inside Makino's tavern, one figure was drinking alone in silence—clearly waiting for Garp's arrival.
"Hey! Garp!!"
Just as some villagers seemed about to complain to Garp, a tall, burly woman carrying a massive wooden club stormed out furiously.
It was none other than Dadan—the mountain bandit who had raised both Ace and Luffy.
The moment he saw it was her, the muscles on Garp's face instantly tensed. His expression became exceptionally grave.
"You bastard! How do you still have the face to come back?!"
Dadan had feared Garp her entire life, but this time—for Ace's sake—her pent-up rage and grief completely overpowered her fear.
Before her words even finished, the club in her hand whistled through the air and smashed hard into Garp's forehead!
The force was so great that it made this Marine hero stagger back several steps, blood immediately seeping from his forehead.
Dadan panted heavily, her whole body trembling violently from agitation as she glared death at the old man she both feared and hated.
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
The Marine soldiers behind Garp were shocked and immediately drew their weapons, aiming them at Dadan.
"Stand down!" Garp raised his hand sharply, stopping his subordinates. His voice was low: "Don't shoot! She… she… is an old acquaintance of mine."
"Hahahaha!"
Outside the light screen, the young Garp saw the future Dadan—her figure now out of shape, looking every bit the irritable old aunt—and burst into hearty, carefree laughter. Yet beneath the laughter was an unmistakable trace of helplessness and heartache.
"Dadan ended up like this too, huh! Time really doesn't spare anyone!"
"Auntie Dadan… she took care of Luffy later on too?"
Dragon looked at that familiar yet somewhat changed face, his eyes filled with surprise.
As Garp's son, he naturally knew this old acquaintance of his father's.
"Interesting…"
Roger watched Dadan's near-uncontrollable agitation and instantly understood the reason.
"Garp entrusted Ace to this woman to raise, right? Looking at her reaction…"
"Mam-ma-ma-ma～ Roger, even though we don't know what happened to you later, right now it sure looks like you've got a lot to feel sorry about toward your son…"
Big Mom, watching Dadan attack Garp, somehow felt a faint sense of understanding. Perhaps because both of them were "mothers"…
People always say roses are hard to raise, yet they don't realize that the most ordinary, purest "mother" raised two roses alone (Sabo had no screen time, so temporarily counted as two).
On the light screen, seeing Garp's forehead bleeding yet remaining silent, Dadan grew even more furious.
She threw the club to the ground, lunged at Garp, and with all her strength began pounding his face with fist after fist.
This high-ranking, powerful Marine hero allowed himself to be beaten by a mere "little" mountain bandit without any resistance.
Dadan was venting—venting the rage and confusion that were nearly tearing her apart.
She couldn't understand: he was clearly the grandfather of those two boys, clearly someone Ace and Luffy respected so much—why had Garp ultimately chosen to stand on the opposite side…
Why had he stood by and done nothing while Ace lay dying!
"Hey! Garp, say something! Is your duty really more important than family?! What kind of Marine hero are you like this! Go die, you stinking old man!!"
Shouting like that, the tears Dadan had held back for so long finally burst forth, mixing with sweat and fury in a torrent.
This sudden flood of tears stunned even the future old Garp.
"Why… why didn't you save Ace when he was dying…" Dadan's voice cracked with sobs; the strength of her blows gradually weakened.
Luffy, Ace, and that boy Sabo who had "left" far too early—these three troublemakers who had worried her to death—she had watched them grow up bit by bit.
Her feelings for them held not a shred of falsehood; she had long treated them as her own!
"Stop it, Dadan!"
Makino, the tavern owner, couldn't bear to watch any longer. She rushed forward and tightly hugged the out-of-control Dadan.
She understood Dadan's resentment, but she also knew clearly that the pain and torment in Garp's heart were no less than anyone else's.
To be the closest kin, yet be powerless in the final moment and watch the tragedy unfold helplessly—that kind of tearing despair was perhaps the cruelest punishment of all.
Under Makino's gentle persuasion, Dadan's agitated emotions slowly calmed.
Makino had also watched Luffy and Ace grow up. Ace's later ability to become a polite older brother who knew basic manners and gentle thanks owed much to Makino's patient teaching.
Dadan finally stopped hitting, but she still hadn't forgiven Garp.
Choking back sobs, she retorted to Makino: "The one hurting the most isn't him! It's Luffy! Luffy… he loved his big brother Ace so much!"
These words acted like a key, instantly unlocking the emotional floodgates of the Foosha Village villagers.
Makino, and all the surrounding villagers, remembered that rubber boy who used to run wildly through the village with the brightest smile. Now thinking of the pain of losing his brother he was enduring…
Everyone's eyes involuntarily grew moist.
No matter what identity Luffy held out in the world, in their hearts, he would always be that cheerful, mischievous little boy from Foosha Village.
Makino could no longer hold back. Covering her face, she ran to the side and quietly sobbed.
"Luffy!"
Dadan fiercely wiped the tears and snot from her face and shouted hoarsely toward the distance—as if her voice could cross mountains and seas to reach that child's ears.
"You brat! You better hold on for me, you hear?!"
"Garp…"
At that moment, Foosha Village Chief Woop Slap walked over with his cane to where Garp sat on the ground, his expression dark. His tone was full of worry.
"Luffy… how is that kid doing now?"
Garp kept his head down. His voice was lifeless, as if all vitality had been drained: "He escaped… his whereabouts are still unknown. Marine Headquarters… has already issued an even higher bounty warrant…"
Though Garp spoke this way, deep in his heart, a subtle blood-linked intuition told him that his stubborn grandson was still alive—somewhere out there, licking his wounds and gathering strength.
But this feeling, he could not speak of to anyone. He could only bury it deeply in his own equally scarred heart.
...