Hey everyone! My name is nsheldonb and today is Garp's birthday! Garp is my favorite character in One Piece not only for his power but also his complexity. He is the definition of a gray character. Garp is filled with conflicting emotions and not enough people like him nor think he's that impressive. To me, I believe Garp is easily in the top five most powerful characters in One Piece, even stronger than when Luffy eventually becomes Pirate King. So without further ado, here is the first of seventy-eight chapters.
The world outside was sunny and the birds were chirping happily. There was no news about pirates or Marines or anyone. Even the press were relaxing on such a beautiful day. Everything was calm after the past few weeks. It was abnormal but it was peaceful.
Many people were outside, enjoying the beautiful weather whether it be for training, playing, or soaking up the sun's rays. Even those who had to do paperwork had cracked their windows open to smell the fresh air and feel calmed by the day's presence.
However, in a dark room with the windows shut and the curtains closed was an imposing figure that sat at his desk, alone.
The Marine's white coat of Justice was wadded up in a ball in the corner, thrown in anger and pain. He sat at his desk, hands gripping at his gray hair and his eyes flowing with an endless amount of tears. He stopped being the strongest Marine and started being a man that lost a part of his world, a part of his reason for living.
Today marked the one month anniversary of the Battle of Marineford and the subsequent death of Edward Newgate "Whitebeard" and "Fire Fist" Portgas D. Ace.
For on that fateful day, Monkey D. Garp had lost one of his grandsons.
He had never felt failure like he did that day. Ace was dead, Luffy was alone, and a promise was broken. He could never face his family again.
He would talk to Dadan, tell her about how her foster son had died, let her beat him up, and then leave. If she ended up killing him, Garp didn't care. He didn't feel like he deserved to live, not after a failure like this. Roger had trusted Garp with his son, above everyone else on his crew including Silvers Rayleigh, and Garp had failed to save Ace.
Marine Hero? That was a joke, he was no hero. A hero saves the people they love. His parents died during separate Buster Calls, one of his sworn brothers was murdered by a Devil's Fruit user while the other died alone, Sabo had died because of the Celestial Dragons, and Ace had died with a hole in his chest by a Marine Admiral. Dadan would die from being reckless, Dragon was willing to die for his cause, and Luffy was making a name for himself and would soon be Pirate King. And Makino? With her association with Dragon, Luffy, and Shanks, she would be used as bait and they would murder her, just to spite the three men.
If Garp continued on this path, he knew that everyone he loved would die. A long time ago, he had heard the saying, "The more you love, the more you have to lose." This made Garp picky about who he welcomed into his heart. Though how could Garp not love his own blood son and grandson? How could Garp not love Dadan, the first friend Dragon had made? How could Garp not love Makino, the friend that kept Dragon and Dadan safe from their stupid adventures? How could Garp not love Ace, the wild yet broken son of the Pirate King that loved his grandson and became his own? How could Garp not love Sabo, the one that showed Ace and Luffy reason and yet was willing to stay with them?
It was hard not to love those that were too lovable. It was hard not to love his family, his light, his reason to live.
With Ace's death though, the gaping hole in his heart was too noticeable and Garp feared that the rest of his rays of light would be snuffed out because of his failures.
He wanted to die, to just end it all, but then he thought of everyone else.
Luffy had just lost Ace, his most important person. Even though Luffy didn't love him like Garp wanted him to, Garp was the only blood family he knows. He didn't need another loss.
Dragon had his Revolutionary Army but if Garp didn't continue to 'accidently' burn some files that would prove disastrous to Dragon, who knows what would have happened.
Dawn Island, which includes Makino and Dadan, would no longer have the protection it currently has. With Dawn Island having signs of 'Under the protection of Marine Hero Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp,' most pirates tended to stay away. Even if it only stopped some of the small-time pirates, it was better than nothing. Dawn Island wasn't equipped or trained to fight anyone.
He would live, only because his name and body protected others. He was no longer living for himself.
Monkey D. Garp was a shadow of himself and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.
The day Portgas D. Ace died was the day that Monkey D. Garp stopped wanting to live.
