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Chapter 84 is out!!!! +40 advanced chapters monthly
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Whenever Garp had some free time on his hands, he would swing by for a visit.
"Is my image really that terrible in your eyes?" Baishui's teasing made Garp look like he was ready to commit murder. He glared at the younger man with razor-sharp eyes.
"Alright, alright, I'll begrudgingly accept that excuse!" Seeing that the old Vice Admiral genuinely didn't look like he was here on official Marine business, Baishui finally relented. Knowing Garp wasn't here to dump work on him put Baishui at ease, and he settled into casual conversation.
"Just get back from Foosha Village?"
"Yeah. Just went to check on those three lawless brats." Garp's face flushed with indignation just at the mention of Luffy and the boys. "It makes my blood boil! Every single one of them wants to be a pirate. They light up like sparklers the second the word is even mentioned! I just don't get it—what the hell is so great about being a pirate?!"
If he hadn't been mindful of the fact that he was sitting in Baishui's house, his infamous Fist of Love would have already smashed the table to splinters.
"Haha! A Marine hero for a grandfather, and a pirate for a grandson. You have to admit, the irony is delicious!" Baishui mocked without hesitation, knowing full well that Garp wouldn't actually take offense.
Aqi quietly stepped back, seamlessly bringing out platters of food, liquor, and juice for the two of them before giving them space to talk.
"Sigh... If only they could be a bit more like you. Why become pirates? Getting chased by the Marines all day!" Garp let out a long, heavy sigh, looking genuinely exhausted.
"Well, don't beat yourself up over it. They have their own dreams. Might as well let them chase 'em." Baishui shrugged. "Who doesn't have wild dreams when they're young? Whether it's the pirate life or the Marines, as long as it's what they truly want!"
Baishui leaned back.
"Honestly? Sometimes I kind of envy pirates. Tearing into massive chunks of meat, chugging bowls of booze, exploring the unknown with your crew, experiencing all the crazy things the world has to offer... living a life like that isn't a bad deal!"
He poured Garp a fresh bowl of sake.
"Of course, if they're only flying the black flag to pillage and hoard Berry, that's a different story. I wouldn't hesitate to put scumbags like that down."
"You better not go catching their pirate fever, kid," the white-haired Marine Hero warned with another heavy sigh. He took a massive gulp of his drink. "If you ever become a pirate, I'll drag you back in chains even if it costs me my life. You hear me?"
His expression was dead serious, his gaze as piercing as a hawk's. It felt as though if Baishui so much as flinched or looked away, Garp would flip the table and enact absolute justice right then and there.
"Relax, old man. I have zero interest in catching one of your Fists of Love, and I definitely don't want you chasing me halfway across the Grand Line. I'm no Gol D. Roger; I don't have that kind of talent!" Baishui raised his glass of juice, clinked it against Garp's bowl, and downed it in one go.
Garp always wore a boisterous, laughing facade, but who could truly understand the pain in his heart?
Luffy, Ace, Sabo—they all wanted to be pirates. For a man who desperately wanted them to become proud Marines, it was a bitter pill to swallow. If they chose the pirate life, whether Garp wanted it or not, grandfather and grandsons would inevitably clash.
Just like the fated Summit War of Marineford in the original timeline, Baishui thought. A battle between family... what an absolute tragedy.
Was Garp wrong for feeling this way? No! As a Marine Hero, it was only natural that he didn't want his grandsons to become notorious criminals. What parent wants to watch their children walk down a dark path?
Dragon had already walked off that path, becoming the Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Army. Garp had been powerless to stop him. And as for Luffy, Garp was agonizingly aware of one simple fact: that boy was actually proud to become a pirate!
No matter how passionately he delivered his Fists of Love, Garp couldn't change the boy's mind.
Garp was a good grandfather. That was universally acknowledged.
He could have stopped Luffy from setting sail. With his monstrous strength, stopping a rookie like Luffy would have been child's play. He could have easily dragged him into the Marines by force.
But in the end, all he did was yell a few curses. He watched Luffy set sail, watched him chase his own dreams, and quietly acted as a protective shadow behind him whenever he could. Without Garp, Luffy's grand adventure wouldn't have been nearly as smooth. There were countless enemies out there who could have easily put an end to Luffy's life, but many held back from dealing a lethal blow, wary of the wrath of Garp the Fist.
Otherwise, Luffy would have died long ago. The pirating world was full of absolute monsters; crushing a weak rookie like Luffy would be as easy as squashing a bug.
"Hahaha! Whatever! They have their own paths to walk, and this old man ain't going to meddle! At least you haven't gone off the deep end yet, kid!"
Tossing back another bowl of sake, a single, crystalline tear slipped down Garp's face and splashed onto the floor.
Men don't cry easily, unless their hearts are truly breaking. Even Garp was no exception. He so desperately wished Luffy and the boys could understand his bitter, earnest intentions. But to them—young, foolish, and obsessed with freedom and adventure—such heavy thoughts never even crossed their minds.
Perhaps during the Summit War of the original timeline, Ace finally understood, Baishui mused inwardly. But Luffy? He definitely never got it. Baishui was absolutely certain of that.
The drinking session dragged on until eight o'clock that evening. Garp finally stumbled out, thoroughly drunk, and sailed his Marine battleship away, disappearing from the horizon of Kuro Island.
Baishui just laid back on the grass, gazing up at the starry sky, lost in deep thought. There was an old saying:
"In the sky, there is always a star silently watching over you; on earth, there is always someone silently worrying about you."
The night was peaceful, and time slipped quietly by.
The next day, Baishui stuck to his usual routine: train, eat, train, sleep. He thoroughly enjoyed this simple, fulfilling lifestyle. With Aqi around, everything was perfect. Like the saying goes:
"Wherever you are, spring blossoms."
Aqi, too, savored this quiet, fulfilling life. Watching the man she loved train every day, occasionally bantering and joking around with him... what more could she ask for? Aqi was incredibly happy.
A year passed in the blink of an eye.
Sea Circle Calendar, Year 1516!
A new year brought no real changes to the wider world. Everything remained the same. But in the East Blue, the changes were stark. For one, the number of pirates had drastically decreased, and the authority of the Marines had skyrocketed.
If one were to ask why... it was probably because Baishui lived in the East Blue.
The news of him capturing a great pirate with a 120 million Berry bounty alive had spread like wildfire over the past year, sending shockwaves throughout the entire sea. Of the original Five Tyrants of the East Blue—including the Donggua Pirates and the Krieg Armada—only three remained: the Arlong Pirates, the Black Cat Pirates, and the Buggy Pirates.
If a 100-million Berry juggernaut could be captured alive by Baishui, wouldn't small-fry pirates like them, worth only a few million, be wiped out with the flick of a wrist?
Fearing for their own lives, they were forced to lay low. If they made too much noise and caught Baishui's attention, it would be game over. Nobody wanted to die.
Although most of the East Blue's citizens had no idea where Baishui lived, they thanked him from the bottom of their hearts. His very existence had made life in the East Blue peaceful again.
At the very least, when pirate raids did happen, they no longer dared to kill. They would only snatch a few valuables and flee as fast as the wind.
The moniker "White Eagle" had become legend throughout the East Blue over the past year. Now, simply whispering the name was enough to strike terror into the heart of any pirate in the sea. Even the notoriously arrogant Arlong Pirates didn't dare to act out of line.
It was a random day in February.
"Come on, let's go out and have some fun!"
For once, Baishui skipped his training to take Aqi out to sea. Dressed in a flowing sundress, Aqi excitedly set off on their excursion, leaving countless girls on Kuro Island dying of jealousy. Who wouldn't want Prince Charming to whisk them away to see the ocean's beautiful sights?
Over the past year, Baishui and Aqi had seen just about every beautiful vista the East Blue had to offer. There was only one landmark left unvisited: the town located right at the entrance of the Grand Line.
Loguetown, the Town of the Beginning and the End.
Before Gol D. Roger's execution, this place was practically unknown to the world. But after the Pirate King's death, it became a pilgrimage site—a place every aspiring pirate in the world wanted to see at least once.
Countless figures had passed through these streets. Among them were some particularly famous names:
"Hawk-Eyes" Dracule Mihawk and the "Heavenly Yaksha" Donquixote Doflamingo.
Buggy the Clown, "Desert King" Sir Crocodile, the Yonko "Red-Haired" Shanks, Gecko Moria, "Knight of the Sea" Jinbe, and the Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon.
Of course, this town wasn't exclusively for pirates. Marines visited as well, but compared to the legendary pirates, the Marines who stopped by weren't quite as famous, and their visits hadn't been heavily recorded.
The only one who truly left a mark was the Marine Headquarters Captain stationed there—"White Hunter" Smoker!
Baishui's arrival naturally alerted Smoker. After all, no one would remain indifferent when a massive battleship suddenly rolled into their jurisdiction. But upon realizing the arrival was Baishui, Smoker couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Baishui wasn't someone he needed to be on guard against; there was a high chance the man would eventually become his comrade. Not only had the Fleet Admiral told him as much, but his close friend, Marine Headquarters Admiral Aokiji, had said the same.
Naturally, he didn't view Baishui with suspicion. In fact, he was quite welcoming of the visit.
"This is the Town of the Beginning and the End I told you about. And right there... that's where the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, was executed!" Baishui said, pointing to the towering structure as he led Aqi to the base of the execution platform.
Even though eighteen years had passed since Roger's death, it felt as though the bloodstains on the platform were just as crimson as they had been that day. If you closed your eyes, you could almost perfectly picture the legendary figure standing tall up there.
Roger had started an era, and simultaneously, he had ended one.
Before Roger, there was the era of the legendary pirate, Rocks D. Xebec. It was Roger's rise that ended the Rocks Era and launched the Great Pirate Era of Roger.
That era would last a full twenty-four years, Baishui thought, until the fall of Whitebeard brings the Great Pirate Era to a close, ushering the world into a New Age of Piracy!
"Oh!"
Aqi didn't know much about Roger, so the execution platform didn't leave quite the same profound impression on her as it did on Baishui.
She was far more interested in the food and clothing Loguetown had to offer. Aqi was a massive foodie—a quirk that still managed to catch Baishui slightly off guard.