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[TIOP] Chapter : 39
🕑 Added 2025-02-20 12:29:08 +0000 UTC"It's fine, we'll head straight for the ship. We only came here for supplies. Once we're on board, we’ll sail up the inland river and reach the desert!" Vivi said with a confident smile, fully aware of the situation.
"Got it. As for the marines, we'll hold them off—get to the ship first!" Zoro declared, drawing his swords.
"Phoenix Slash!" Lena, still in pursuit, unleashed a powerful slash at Luffy.
"A swordsman?" Zoro’s eyes widened. It was the first time he had encountered a fellow swordsman around his own age.
"Flame Slash!"
Suddenly, a burst of fire erupted, colliding with Lena’s attack and neutralizing it.
"Lena, hold off for now!" Ace stepped in front of Luffy and the crew, blocking the attack.
"Who the hell is this guy?" Zoro muttered, clearly annoyed.
He had been ready to fight the female Marine, only to have his moment interrupted.
"Ace?!" Luffy exclaimed in shock, completely ignoring Zoro’s question.
"Luffy, you haven’t changed a bit," Ace said with a grin, glancing back at his younger brother.
"Portgas D. Ace, I suggest you step aside," Lena said coldly, her gaze locked onto Luffy. "Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to take you down as well."
"Lena, this is a misunderstanding! He’s my brother, Luffy! Jack knows him too!" Ace quickly waved his hands in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.
He was well aware of how strong this girl was. She had a strong reputation within Marine Headquarters, and the last thing he wanted was to end up like his father—hunted across the seas by Garp.
According to Jack, Lena was even more well-regarded in the Marines than he was. Not only was she a favorite of Garp, but because she was trained by Gion, Vice Admiral Tsuru also held her in high regard. The most baffling part, however, was that she had somehow earned the favor of all three admirals. Even Jack found it hard to believe.
The current admirals weren’t easy to deal with. Aokiji might seem laid-back, but he had his own strict code of justice. If someone didn’t align with his principles, he wouldn’t even bother speaking to them.
Then there was Kizaru. Despite his habit of calling everything “scary,” he showed no hesitation in battle. Jack had once sparred with him and barely survived. The man’s true thoughts were always an enigma, even now.
And finally, Akainu—the one Jack least wanted to interact with. As a relentless enforcer of absolute justice, Akainu was not someone to cross. Unlike most people, who might hesitate, feel guilt, or question their actions, Akainu never wavered. To him, everything he did was justified. If things went wrong, it wasn’t his fault—it was because others failed to understand his sense of justice.
Jack had always kept his distance from the three admirals, but Lena was a different story—and he had no idea why. For some reason, all three of them adored her. Even Kizaru, who rarely showed enthusiasm for anything, was willing to spend time with her. As a person who's used to taking down enemies like it was a leisurely pastime. It was a rare sight to see the ever-indifferent Kizaru taking an interest in training someone.
But if anyone else dared to ask Kizaru for swordsmanship guidance, they would likely end up just like Jack—beaten half to death and carried away by the medical team.
So, in short, Ace had no intention of provoking that can of worms.
"He attacked the Captain!" Lena declared, her voice firm and unyielding.
"It was a misunderstanding!" Ace protested helplessly.
After all, he was a victim in all of this too! He turned to Luffy with a look of pure exasperation.
The rest of the crew exchanged confused glances. From what they gathered, Luffy had somehow done something to Jack, which was why this marine was after them.
"Me? I haven't even seen Jack! How could it be me?!" Luffy shouted indignantly.
"I saw it with my own eyes! Ace was there too! Are you still going to deny it, you damn pirate?!" Lena, enraged by Luffy’s response, prepared to strike again.
Ace knew that without Jack here, no amount of explanation would convince Lena. There was no choice—he had to buy time.
"Luffy, you guys go! I'll hold her off!" Ace shouted.
As they ran toward the Merry, Zoro glanced back, frowning. "Luffy, are you sure we should just leave like this? Your brother seems seriously afraid of that marine."
Luffy had just finished explaining his relationship with Ace, so everyone now knew that Ace was his older brother. They also learned that Jack and Ace shared a close bond—so much so that they had even exchanged sake cups as sworn brothers. Because of this, Jack also treated Luffy like a younger brother.
"Don't worry, Ace is really strong!" Luffy said with unwavering confidence.
The group finally made it to the Going Merry. Before setting sail, Vivi handed a letter to Karoo, instructing him to cross the desert alone and deliver it to the king. The letter contained crucial information exposing Crocodile’s conspiracy.
"Even though Ace is strong, I'm not weak either! If we fought again, I wouldn’t lose to him!" Luffy leaned against the ship's railing, grinning as he boasted.
"You wouldn’t lose to anyone, huh?"
A familiar voice rang out, and suddenly, Ace leaped onto the Merry.
"Ace~!" Luffy shouted excitedly.
Ace turned to Luffy’s crew, smiling. "Thanks for looking after my little brother! I know he can be a handful. I really appreciate it."
Unlike Luffy’s usual carefree nature, Ace's polite demeanor caught everyone off guard.
"Yes, indeed!" The crew nodded and bowed in response, playing along.
"Ace, what are you doing here?" Luffy asked curiously.
"Huh? You didn’t get the letter I sent you on Drum Island? Ah, never mind—it wasn’t anything important anyway," Ace said, scratching his head. "I happened to be handling some business nearby, and when I heard you were around, I decided to drop by. So, what do you think? Wanna join the Whitebeard Pirates? Your crew is welcome too!"
"No!" Luffy refused without hesitation.
"Haha, I figured you'd say that. Forget I even asked!" Ace laughed, unfazed by the rejection.
"Whitebeard? So the tattoo on your back is real?" Usopp asked, surprised.
"Of course! This is my pride," Ace replied with a grin. "I’ll help him become the Pirate King—not you, Luffy!"
"Doesn’t matter! We can just fight for it when the time comes!" Luffy said casually.
Ace chuckled but didn’t say anything.
"Come inside and have some tea," Sanji offered, holding a freshly brewed cup.
"No need, but thanks. It’s nothing serious. The marines have already pulled back, so you don’t have to worry," Ace said, crouching at the edge of the ship with a relaxed smile.
"Speaking of the navy, what’s the deal with Jack?" Luffy asked curiously. "He said you two shared sake as brothers."
The rest of the crew perked up, intrigued. Pirates and marines taking an oath of brotherhood? That was unheard of.
"Him? He’s an interesting guy," Ace said, thinking back. "I met him when I first set sail. Back then, he wasn’t a marine—he was a bounty hunter. He had this crazy passion for hunting down criminals with bounties." Ace paused for a moment, recalling the memory. "Then, at some point, he ran into the old man and made a deal with him… to capture me!"
"Grandpa?" Luffy exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah," Ace nodded. "Back in Loguetown, Jack set up a scheme against Smoker and me, but things didn’t go as planned, and I ended up getting caught by mistake. We spent some time together, and honestly, we got along well. In the end, he didn’t want to turn me over to the old man, but he was also stubborn about keeping his word. So, he handed me over… and then immediately turned around and rescued me." Ace chuckled at the memory. "Of course, that earned him a serious beating from the old man. I later heard he was dragged back to Marine Headquarters because of it."
"Luffy, your grandfather is in the navy?" Nami asked, putting the pieces together.
"Yeah!" Luffy nodded.
Silence fell over the crew. His grandfather was a marine, yet both of his grandsons had become pirates?
"A while back, Jack underwent intense training at Marine Headquarters. When he finally set out to hunt down pirates, his strength stood out almost immediately, and he rose through the ranks quickly," Ace continued. "We crossed paths again in the New World, talked a lot, and eventually drank sake as brothers. He’s a smart and powerful guy."
Ace's expression turned thoughtful. "At first, when I heard his grand plan, I thought it was absurd. But over time, he convinced me. Even now, I think his chances of success are slim… But I can’t help but look forward to the day he proves me wrong."
"I see!" Luffy nodded, pretending to understand.
Ace sighed. "Forget it—here, take this." He handed Luffy a small piece of paper.
"Huh? A Vivre Card?" Luffy's eyes widened in surprise.
"You actually know about it?" Ace raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t exactly a rare item, but Vivre Cards were primarily used in the New World. Considering Luffy had never been there, Ace hadn’t expected him to recognize it.
"Yeah! Jack gave me one too and explained how it works!" Luffy grinned.
Ace let out a chuckle. "I swear, having a reckless little brother is stressful. But I guess there's nothing I can do about it. Still, I’ll be counting on you guys to keep an eye on him." He gave Luffy’s crew a friendly smile before leaping back onto his own ship.
"Won't you stay a little longer?" Luffy called after him.
Ace shook his head. "I can’t. I’ve got business to take care of. I’m hunting down a traitor—he used to be part of Whitebeard’s second division, but he killed one of our own and ran off. As his commander, it’s my duty to bring him to justice. I won’t turn back until I do." He flashed a confident grin. "Next time we meet, it'll be at the top of the pirate world, Luffy!"
"Haha! I’ll be there soon!" Luffy declared with his usual enthusiasm.
Nami, watching from the sidelines, crossed her arms. "Luffy’s brother is way too calm and composed. Are we sure they’re actually related?"
"I thought he’d be just as clueless as Luffy—maybe even worse!" Usopp said in disbelief.
"This sea is full of surprises. Anything can happen out here," Sanji remarked, exhaling a puff of smoke as if he had unraveled the mysteries of the ocean.
The crew had met Jack before, but since he wasn’t related to Luffy by blood, his relatively normal demeanor didn’t seem odd. Ace, on the other hand, was Luffy’s actual brother—so his calm and composed nature left them stunned.
