Ace stared around impassively, but inwardly he was awed by everything he was seeing. Beside him, Sabo's eyes were wide, and he repeatedly muttered something about dragons.
He still wasn't sure what they were doing here, or even how Sabo had gotten dragged along, but Garp had said that now that Luffy was old enough, it was time both of them learned their heritage. And he was bringing Sabo along because…?
He didn't even know Luffy existed until Garp dragged him and Sabo out of the jungle while they were hunting, and to his ship. But, it wasn't his Marine ship, it was a smaller, unmarked ship just big enough for him and three young children.
Luffy was… he was one small ball of energy and smiles. He was so cheerful all the time, which amazed Sabo.
Ace… well frankly it ticked Ace off.
This kid wasn't going to survive in the world, he had no idea what the world was really like, his naivety was almost insulting. Ace didn't think it was right, and he determined that he was going to wipe that sunny grin off the disgustingly cheerful face.
"Hey, old man, now that we're here, you wanna tell us where here is? And what we're doing here?" Ace was brought out of his thoughts by Sabo, and even Luffy stopped trying to wander off to listen, curious himself.
"I told you, it's time you learned the Family Legacy." Garp said with a glare. He really should have brought Ace three years ago on his fifth birthday, but he'd decided to wait until Luffy turned five and bring both boys at the same time.
"But I'm not part of your family!" Sabo exclaimed, confused. He was the runaway son of a noble… last he knew he was to be betrothed to the Princess of Goa Kingdom, where did this old man come from trying to teach him some family legacy, to a family he wasn't even part of?
Garp laughed. "You are now! I said you were!" Passersby on the street merely sighed, rolled their eyes, and went about their business. Clearly, Garps eccentricities were well known around here and were nothing new.
Ace growled at this point. "If mine and Sabo's stuff (treasure) gets stolen while we're gone, you better replace all of it, old geezer!" He threatened.
"Bwahahahaha! Don't worry about it, I had it all moved to Makino's bar." Garp cheerfully informed him, which didn't make Ace or Sabo feel any better about it, because they had no idea who Makino was. "You know, if you didn't live in the Trash Heap…" He hinted to Sabo, ignoring both boys' indignant squawks.
Sabo turned red. "I'm not moving!" He yelled, clutching his pipe, hard.
"What's the trash heap?" Luffy asked, curious.
"It's a giant pile of trash that the nobles of Goa Kingdom throw out. Has Makino told you about High Town on the other side of the island?" Garp asked.
Luffy made a face and nodded. "She said bad people lived there." He said solemnly. Only Garp noticed Sabo shift uncomfortably.
"Well, she's got that right." He muttered. "Right beside it, outside the town walls, is the Trash Heap. The people that live in it call it the Gray Terminal, though. They have quite the little community there, actually." Although, you were more likely to get killed over something you found than you were to actually get a helping hand…
"That sounds so cool! I bet you can find anything there!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly, latching onto Sabo, who looked uncomfortable.
"Well, you can… but that's not why I'm not leaving it!" He glared at Garp and tried (unsuccessfully) to remove the five year old from his person.
"Garp, there you are!" Everyone in their group turned when that name was called. Coming towards them was somebody who looked a lot like Ace, actually. Curly raven hair, silver eyes, and a big D-grin. Although Ace never grinned or smiled, but if he did... That was when Ace and Sabo noticed that they were standing in front of a building that looked like some kind of museum. "I thought there were only two of them." He said, looking at the three boys in confusion.
"Yes, I have recently, er- met this one. Boys, this is Gol D. Rob. Rob, Monkey D. Luffy, Gol D. Ace, er- he's been going by Rouge's name, though." He amended at Ace's death glare over the use of his real name. "And… hey, do you have a last name?" He asked Sabo, who stiffened.
"No." He bit out. "No last name." He glared, as though daring the two older men to call him on it.
Garp hummed and tilted his head to the side, both older men eyed the boy who was dressed like a noble (as tattered as his clothes were now), walked like a noble, and spoke like a noble (despite his best efforts at hiding both traits). Neither one wanted to know what could make a kid walk away from a life of luxury to live in a trash heap, not at his age. "Well then… this is Monkey D. Sabo!" Garp finished with another laugh.
Rob sighed. "Garp, you can't just… you know what? Nevermind, forget it." He muttered when Garp just looked at him blankly. The Head of the Monkey Clan could deal with it, wasn't his problem, he was part of the Gol Clan after all.
"Gol?" Ace asked suspiciously.
Rob smiled sadly. Of course, he knew exactly who this was. "Yeah… Roger was my older brother. Makes me your uncle, kid. All he ever wanted was to roam free…" He said wistfully, then took a deep breath.
"Anyway, shall we go in? We have a lot to go over." He promised, and pushed the three boys towards the building behind them, while Garp waved and just left, wandering off to see relatives and speak with the king about something.
"What is this place?" Sabo finally asked after looking around in awe. He was right, this was a museum.
Rob smiled. "What do you know about how the World Government was formed?" He asked instead of answering Sabo's question. The way he said 'world government' meant that even Luffy was aware of his hatred for the organization.
"Er... not much. There isn't anything in the history books about it, except that it was originally formed by an alliance of different nations, and that the World Nobles are descendants of those nation leaders, and are therefore considered royalty." Sabo said, choosing his words as carefully as he could. With everything he'd already seen today, and dislike in Rob's voice when talking about the government, he had a feeling this could be a dangerous topic.
"Hmm... makes sense that they don't teach the truth." Rob muttered. "Here's what really happened..." He started, and led the boys through the museum, where the True History was carefully preserved.
"Whoa..." Sabo breathed when they'd returned to the front door, mind racing. Of the three of them, he probably understood the significance of everything they'd just been told the most, mostly because he'd paid more attention and he'd learned the World Nobles side of the story (what they were willing to let people know about) since he could understand what those sounds coming out of his nanny's mouth meant.
"You said it." Ace muttered. Luffy was just plain clueless. All he knew now was that his family had a history. Otherwise he didn't really care. Rob noticed this and just sighed. Luffy had not inherited his father's intelligence, it seemed. Still, he was smart in his own way. Either way, they were probably going to have to explain this multiple times.
Oh well, everyone in the D family had that same kind of cluelessness.
"It is a lot, I know. But you need to learn it." Rob said cheerfully. He was sure that Garp and Sabo would help the other two remember it all. Well, Luffy more then Ace.
"There you boys are! Ready to eat?" Garp asked as they left the building. Stupid question, really. Two thirds of the group were D's. Their appetites were infamous.
"Food!" Luffy cheered, and tried to run off ahead, only stopped by Garp grabbing the back of his shirt and lifting him up to dangle like an errant puppy.
"See ya, Rob!" He called over his shoulder as he walked away, expecting the other two to follow, which Ace did with a grumble while Sabo took a moment to be polite and thank Rob for hosting them and the lesson.
They didn't notice two people standing in an alley nearby, watching the three boys.
"Boss?" Benn asked his captain.
"He's the one." Shanks said simply, watching Luffy and fingering the strawhat on his head.
"Garp will kill you." Benn said mildly. He didn't bother trying to ask if he was sure about which kid. His boss may act like an idiot, but he had a knack for reading people.
"Meh. He'd have to catch me first."
If Garp could never catch Roger on the days when he was actually trying, what hope did he have of catching Roger's protégé?
"Don't tempt him." Benn muttered sourly before waving to Rob and dragging his captain back to the ship.