Ace and Luffy's Catch #50

"So, how do you want to split the treasure?" Ace asked as he stood before the open treasure chest with several stacks of cash and a couple of gold and silver trinkets.

"You two can go ahead and keep it all..." Cedric replied after taking a quick look at the chest and estimating its contents to be around three hundred thousand in cash and two hundred thousand in valuables.

"I like to travel light, and I don't think it will be a good idea to take too much cash to Marin HQ..." He explained as he noticed the boy's surprised expression. "Besides, you and Luffy took down Gally, so the loot is rightfully yours..." He concluded with a shrug.

"Well... if you say so..." Ace said, nodding as he had no reason to refuse Cedric's generosity. "What about that guy?" He added as he turned to Gally, still unconscious and frothing at the mouth.

"Well, we can take him to the Goa Kingdom's marine branch or directly to your grandpa..." Cedric replied after some thought. "It's up to you, but I don't thank your grandpa would give you any money," He added with a chuckle, shaking his head.

"They probably won't even let us into the capital... I don't think we can take him to the marine branch even if we wanted to..." Ace replied, scratching his head. "But if we take him to grandpa, maybe he won't beat us up too much before he leaves..." He added, seriously contemplating the matter as he rubbed his chin.

"I guess it's settled then... let's take him to grandpa..." He continued as he made up his mind after a momentary pause. "Come on, Luffy, let's bring the treasure to the tree house and take this guy to the old man..." He concluded, and his little brother merely cried out in agreement, busy exploring the ship as he was.

...

Dadan couldn't help but sigh as she watched the snot bubble shrink and expand over the vice admiral's nose as he snored while sitting beside her, seemingly sound asleep.

Garp was an old friend of hers, and she cared for him as such, but she was never comfortable around him due to their completely different positions as she was an old mountain bandit, and he was the hero of the Marines.

Kind as he was, the vice admiral didn't seem to care as he treated her as a friend rather than a criminal, but that didn't change the disparity between their stations, and it never would.

She just wanted to live peacefully in the mountains with her family, but the vice admiral would always show up when she least expected it and bring a headache to drop on her lap.

Just thinking about Garp's crazy family, what with his revolutionary son and two monstrous grandsons, was almost enough to drive Dadan to the edges of insanity herself.

Still, obnoxious and troublesome as they were, Dadan had grown to care for the two brats, though she'll never let anyone catch her admitting such a sentiment out loud. After all, she had a reputation as a grumpy bandit chief she needed to uphold.

Dadan let out another sigh before she stood up, intent on leaving the room, only to stop as the door suddenly burst open, and Ace walked through it with a stick over his back.

"Oh? You got us dinner? You can put it in the--" Dadan said, suddenly freezing as Luffy walked behind Ace with the other end of the stick, revealing the man strapped to it like some game animal.

"You two little demons! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Dadan bellowed, more in confusion than anything else, and her exclamation instantly woke up the vice admiral, prompting him to spring to his feet and give her a knock on the head.

"Can't you see I'm trying to sleep, you--" Garp said, suddenly freezing as he noticed his two grandsons. "You stupid little brats! You can't eat other people!" He added as he lunged at the two boys and gave them the same treatment as Dadan.

"I told you they'd react that way..." Cedric calmly said with a chuckle as he walked into the room. "This guy is a wanted pirate... Luffy and Ace caught him just now..." He added, clearing his throat as the vice admiral glared at him, seemingly getting ready to give him a taste of his fist of love.

"He was terrorizing the locals, and I thought I'd let them experience what being a Marines is all about..." The young man went, gesturing toward the vice admiral's grandsons. "And they even seemed to enjoy it..." He added, giving Garp a meaningful look.

The vice admiral grinned and was ready to compliment his grandsons for a job well done, only to swallow his words as the youngest of the two suddenly interjected.

"It was fun!" Luffy said, spreading raising both arms as he grinned. "But I'm still gonna be a pirate!" He confidently added, causing his older brother to sigh and facepalm.

"What the hell did you just say, you little twerp?!" Garp exclaimed as he lunged at his youngest grandson and gave him a harsh knock on the head, prompting the eldest to interfere.

"Don't hit Luffy, you stupid old man!" Ace said as he stood between his little brother and Garp. "You can't force us to become marine soldiers!" He added, dropping the act as he got into his grandpa's face.

"St--stupid old man?!" Garp exclaimed, his grandson's insulting words further fueling his outrage as he rolled back his sleeves. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to, brat?! I'd better beat some sense into you!" He went on as he proceeded to beat the two brothers.

'Why did I even try...?' Cedric bitterly mused as he watched the spectacle. Ultimately he could do nothing but shake his head and sit beside Dadan, pouring a cup of tea for himself.

The young man and the bandit chief shared a brief glance and nodded at each other, wordlessly agreeing that it was better to steer clear of the crazy trio and enjoy the tea.

...

I couldn't help but sigh in relaxation as I lay on the comfy futon with a belly full of good food and alcohol, having spent the past three hours eating and drinking at Makino's bar.

Naturally, we couldn't leave Gally in Dadan's house, so Garp had me take him to Foosha village and hand him over to the ship's crew, who threw him into the battleship's brig at the lower deck.

I didn't return to Dadan's house and headed for Makino's bar to get food since I didn't want to deal with the vice admiral and his grandson's antics while I was eating since they'd turn the table into a battle once was any form of sustenance was served.

I couldn't resist shooting my shot at Makino, but Garp had already told her about my age, so she politely denied my advances, saying I was too young for her taste.

Still, I didn't let it get to me and enjoyed my time, stuffing myself with food and drink before returning to Dadan's.

'Yup... this world isn't so bad if you know how to enjoy it...' I mused as I closed my eyes and prepared to sleep, only for Ace to call my name suddenly.

"Oy, Cedric..." Ace said, causing me to sigh as I opened my eyes and turned to him. "Can I ask you something?" He asked, his tone and expression strangely solemn.

"Can it wait until the morning?" I asked, and Ace didn't reply, only staring at me with the same serious expression. "Fine... go ahead..." I added after a brief pause, letting out another sigh.

"You said it takes more than strength to sail the seas..." Ace said as he looked me straight in the eye. "And someone once told me that there's something even more important than strength if you wanted to be the captain of a pirate crew..." He went on. "What does that mean...? What could be more important than strength..?"

"Sailing the seas and being a captain of a pirate crew are two different things altogether..." I said with a chuckle. "You only need to be strong enough to defend yourself and to know your way around a map and a ship to sail the seas on your own..." I explained.

"As for being a pirate captain... I've never been a pirate or captain, so I have no idea..." I calmly went on, shaking my head, much to Ace's frustration.

"But I'll you this much... as a pirate captain, the lives of your crew would be in your hand..." I went on after a brief pause as I took a second to think it over. "If you make the wrong decision, you might lead everyone to death, but the right one might save them from certain doom..." I added, causing Ace to frown in thought.

"But if I had to to choose one quality to define a good pirate cpatain... I'd say respect..." I said, causing the boy's frown to grow more intense. "You saw it for yourself today with that Gally guy... he wasn't a good captain..." I added, shaking my head.

"He didn't respect his crewmates and was willing to abandon them in the middle of the fight..." I went on. "In turn, his crew didn't respect him and only obeyed him out of fear... otherwise, that guy in Gray Terminal wouldn't have talked so easily...." I concluded.

...

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