"Marco, go get a den den mushi," Newgate demanded, clenching his fists in an attempt to contain his rage.

Marco, who looked as upset as Newgate felt, quickly complied, rushing out the door and down the hall.

He didn't want to harm his children or scare them, but he was filled with rage that had nowhere to go. It wasn't like when they heard about Ace's capture and execution. They didn't know where Deku was or why he was captured (or if he was even captured at all). There was nothing they could do but sit on their asses and try to find more information, futilely chasing after any leads.

Because of their recent battle against the marines, their well-maintained information network was scattered about and utterly lacking. The extensive reach that they usually boasted as the Whitebeard Pirates was unable to help them when they needed it the most. Or perhaps the second most. He wasn't one to rank the importance of any one of his children or allies; threats towards anyone he held dear were equally upsetting and worthy of retribution.

That's what they were known for.

But he wasn't sure if this was some trick or a lie meant to take advantage of their vulnerable position, or if he had truly fucked up by allowing Deku to leave his side.

Even if that was the case, he still had one other party whom he could blame for this debacle. That party could also begin to explain what the fuck had happened in such a short time frame. Yes, Rayleigh had a lot to answer for, but he also had an extensive information network of his own, through his courtesy of his wife. Even if he had no explanation for what was happening, he was one that Newgate could trust to look into in the meantime.

Ace and Izou remained by his side, standing painfully still as the reality of what was happening began to truly sink in. Newgate could practically sense the rage that simmered in his sons as they waited for Marco to return, slowly building up and threatening to boil over at the slightest provocation. Regardless of what Rayleigh said on the call they were about to make, Newgate knew that he would have to step in to prevent his son—or maybe several of his sons—from doing something foolish again.

Ace had proven to be quite reckless and lacked the self-worth to properly take of himself. He wasn't to be trusted with his own life. But despite appearances, most of his children were much the same. Marco often put himself in harms way to protect others, reasoning that he could regenerate and heal while others could not. And Izou's instincts as an older brother were also strong.

Newgate treasured these qualities, hence why he had made them all Division Commanders of the crew, but he also knew that such things made them unpredictable and brash.

Deku had stuck him to be much the same; just as Ace's brother had. It seemed that those types of people often came across each other and congregated. His crew had formed because of that tendency for kind people to stick together like glue. But Deku had been keen to separate instead. Luffy had been less so, but still chose to leave to get stronger, clearly out of loyalty to his own crew.

It was upsetting to consider that both of them may very well have been captured and at the Marines' mercy. Of which they were notoriously known for having none.

By the time Marco returned with the den den mushi, the collective patience of everyone in the room had all but run out. The First Division Commander, sensing this, quickly dialed Rayleigh and held it out for Newgate to take.

The four of them held their breath in anticipation as the den-den mushi rang and rang with no response. It made sense, considering that Rayleigh was probably busy training if the newspaper was lying or they could be in deep shit if it wasn't, but that didn't make waiting for the vice captain of his old rival to pick up.

"Hello?" Rayleigh's voice finally echoed from the transceiver.

"What the hell happened?" Newgate demanded, hoping that the man's den-den mushi properly reflected the anger of his expression as they were known to do.

Rayleigh just chuckled, a hint of playful mirth painfully obvious in his tone, "What do you mean?"

For as long as he'd known him, Rayleigh had always been one to find the good things in life and laugh about them, even as things weren't as good as they used to be. But now was not the time for such foolishness. One of Newgate's honorary children—which Deku was, whether or not he liked it or accepted it, he had no choice anymore—was possibly in danger. Not to mention Luffy. Even if Rayleigh's demeanor hinted that all was well, he still chafed at the attitude that seemed to dismiss Newgate's valid concerns. At one time, he might have considered such a headline absurd, but after the shit the Marines had pulled with Ace, he wasn't taking any chances.

It was utter madness. They thought that just because he was no longer in his immediate vicinity that Deku was fair game? Absurd.

He was no longer in the mood to put up with Rayleigh's whimsical nature. Hopefully the bastard would get the hint. However, he didn't get the chance to explain before Ace cut in.

"The newspaper says that Deku is captured by the marines! What the fuck did you do and where is Luffy?"

Rayleigh went utterly silent upon Ace's shout. The only reason Negate knew the man hadn't hung up was that the den-den mushi was still wide awake and staring directly at him.

"So, care to tell me why the newspaper is claiming that Deku got captured by marines?" he growled instead of waiting for the man to reply with whatever excuses he planned to offer up.

Rayleigh sighed, sounding incredibly weary instead of defensive, "I had no idea. We don't get newspapers delivered here, which is for the best, but that means I've been a bit out of the loop recently. Deku didn't seem like the type to get captured so easily, though. Assuming that the headlines are true rather than an elaborate trap."

Negate narrowed his eyes as he stared angrily at the den-den mushi, "You're making it sound like Deku isn't with you then. That aside, how would you know that they're falsified?"

"I don't, but if it is true, I doubt they'd be able to keep him for long," he admitted, "And you're right. Deku left a few days ago without a trace. He didn't give an indication of why he left, much less how, considering I haven't noticed anybody sailing withing dozens of kilometers of this island."

"And with his Devil Fruit, swimming isn't an option either," Marco murmured.

The den den mushi raised a curious eyebrow at Marco's comment, "Although I would be surprised if it really was a trap."

Izou frowned, "How so? They know that we always protect our own, no matter the stakes."

"I'm well aware," Rayleigh laughed, "But Deku isn't a part of your crew."

"What? Bullshit!" Ace interjected before Newgate shushed him.

He earned a pout for his efforts. Sometimes, as much as he loved the life he chose, being a father was aggravating.

"We all know that you would protect him regardless, but you haven't exactly staked your claim publically. Nor very well, considering that Luffy is dead set on recruiting him for his own crew. There's no indication that Deku is part of your crew rather than some kind of third party, and the Marines are likely to act with that in mind."

"And it's too late to set the record straight now, it would only put him in more harm's way if he truly is captured," Marco surmised.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they thought he was a part of the Revolutionary Army, since he dropped in out of nowhere and saved Luffy," Rayleigh mused.

Newgate grimaced, "What of the boy's Haki training? Did he make any progress?"

If Deku truly was off on his own, the need for Haki was greater. Then again, even with Haki, Deku was vulnerable to seastone, of which the Marines had plenty.

The frown on the den-den mushi turned into an amused smirk, "Of course. Who do you take me for?"

"And Luffy?" Ace chimed in, ever the impatient interrupter.

"He's here and a bit slow on the up-take, but that may be my fault for starting him with Observation Haki," Rayleigh chuckled, "He catches on quickly, I might not even take a full two years to teach him the basics."

Despite the situation, Ace grinned at that, shooting a knowing (and proud) look at Newgate, who returned a gentle smile before focusing back on the issue at hand.

"So Deku knows both types of Haki then?"

The frown returned to the den den mushi's face, "I didn't say that."

"What is that supposed to mean," Izou cut in, a dangerous look on his face.

Newgate mirrored his son's sentiments. Rayleigh had claimed progress and then immediately denied it. Just what was he insinuating?

"Deku seemed to have already learned Observation Haki without realizing what it was," Rayleigh chuckled, as though that was somehow funny, "I was able to help him polish it up a bit so that it's more reliable for him going forward. Armament Haki though… well, let's just say I didn't have a lot of time to explain anything beyond the basics and he didn't stay long enough to manifest it."

Newgate frowned, his curiosity getting the better of him, "And do you think he might also be a Conqueror?"

The old man hummed, "It's hard to say. He certainly has the strength of will for it, but you know as well as I do that that's no guarantee."

Ace scoffed, drawing the man's attention to him in time to see Marco smack his shoulder and deliver a stern look that promised a lecture later. Izou hid his mouth behind his hand, probably to stifle laughter. Their antics brought a small respite from the situation at hand, but only for a moment.

"But I wouldn't worry about him too much," he continued, much to Newgate's surprise, "I don't know how much you saw of him fighting at Marineford that day, but that boy can hold his own just fine."

"Not against admirals," he glowered, a bit pissed at Rayleigh's nonchalance.

Deku may have been strong, but Newgate wasn't one to take any chances when it came to protecting those he cared about.

"Perhaps, but it's presumptuous to assume that he would be facing Admirals at all. If the newspaper says he's been captured, then he's probably already been subdued and captured. There would be no reason for him to fight any admirals at this point. If he already did, then he clearly made it out alive."

The old man had a point, but the captain was still not impressed.

"I'll get in contact with Shakky and see if I can dig up what exactly is going on. Until then, I'm sure Deku will be alright. The worst that could happen is that he ends up in Impel Down. I doubt the Marines are going to want to make a show of executing the boy, since he's so young. That would be admitting some fourteen year old bested them."

"And if they do think he's part of the Revolutionary Army, they'll probably use him as a bargaining piece," Marco extrapolated.

"Or they'll torture him for information," Ace muttered bitterly.

"I believe he can handle it," Rayleigh said, his jovial expression unchanging despite discussing a child's potential torture.

Newgrate scowled, "He shouldn't have to. Let us know if you have any updates on this matter."

Without bothering with formalities, Newgate hung up on him. He was pleased by the way the rude action made Ace snicker, but it couldn't override the worry and anger for Deku. However, he knew that it would serve him well to take the little joys and embrace them despite the circumstances. Letting his emotions overwhelm him made him prone to poor judgment and he wished to regret nothing when he finally kicked the bucket.

He couldn't help but remember the way he had been ready to die for his children, only for Deku to talk some sense into him. If they were able to bring Deku back to their side… no, when they were able to return Deku to their side, Newgate would return the favor.

The brat certainly deserved a talking to, given the trouble he'd gotten himself into not two weeks after leaving.

"Pops…?" Ace started, seemingly unable—or unwilling—to finish whatever question that was on his mind.

"We're going to go after him, right?" Izou asked instead.

Ace whipped his head around to stare at his brother in surprise, a small glimmer of hope sparkling in his eyes. But when he turned back to Newgate, it died away. Did his son expect him to abandon Deku? Was he thinking that just because they hadn't properly staked their claim on Deku, that he would be left to the Marines? Abandoned to his fate of potential torture simply for being honest with Newgate and turning down his offer to join the Whitebeard Pirates?

He would have to set his son straight.

"Marco, if you could retrieve Deku's vivre card."

Ace's eyes widened in surprise, leaving Newgate's heart hurting at the confirmation of what his son had expected him to do.

"Right," Marco nodded, "I'll start making preparations with the navigators."

Newgate shook his head, "No, we won't be changing our course."

His children all frowned at that, so obviously thinking the worst, drawing the worst conclusions from his words. It was as if they didn't know him at all. Perhaps his stunt at Marineford had shaken their faith in him more than he had thought it would. Ace in particular looked devastated. Was it that he thought Newgate valued his loved ones less than he valued Ace? Or was it something else?

He watched as Ace stole a glance at his face, a saddened gaze quickly shifting into a glare for only a moment before he looked away.

Marco cleared his throat, "Are we merely going to monitor his condition via the vivre card?"

If Ace's glares were able to spontaneously combust the way his body could, the floor would have been nothing but a pile of ash. Marco, at least, was making a valiant attempt at hiding how upset the thought made him. Izou, though the most emotionally distanced from Deku out of everyone present, was also in the throws of an internal conflict.

To obey their father, their captain, or to listen to their heart.

Of course, they would get to do both, but they were far too quick to jump to conclusions and far too loyal to their friends—their family. He couldn't help the smile that graced his lips, which no doubt confused his children. But they could do with some confusion here and there, they had become far too comfortable in their routines; the sea was unpredictable and they always had to put in the work to make it their home.

"Not at all," Newgate almost laughed at the way their eyes all shot up to his face, staring at him as though he was some foreign thing to be studied, "Given the situation, I believe there's only one course of action that we should take."

Ace furrowed his brows with a deep frown creating creases in his youthful cheeks. It was endearing to see, another reminder of why he continued living despite it all. Newgate wouldn't make the same mistake he'd made last time, when Ace had left all on his own to hunt down the traitor. He hadn't intended to give the boy permission, so he chose not to ask. He had simply left of his own accord in the middle of the night with only a note explaining what he intended to do.

Hesitation had been his first mistake back then; inaction had been his second.

Not allowing Ace to follow his heart and then letting him go alone. In hindsight, it was almost as if he was telling his son that he was on his own and despite his new family, that would never change. And then Ace had been ready to die, assured in the fact that his family wouldn't come to save him.

Newgate would show him properly this time that no one was left behind, that their feelings all mattered to him even as he often had to prioritize and act in their crew's best interest no matter how that sometimes contradicted individual feelings.

"There's no need to be so vague," Izou chided, like the nagging son he was, "Just tell us what to do and we will listen."

Perhaps Newgate shouldn't have been so inordinately angry at Rayleigh for his attitude during their call. Teasing his children was quite fun indeed, despite the serious nature of the situation. Though perhaps that was because he knew what planned while his children were still left in the dark. It was probably best to get to the point after all. He hoped they would forgive him for taking the simple pleasures afforded to an old father such as himself.

"You three will take the vivre card and rescue Deku."

"Wait you-" Ace's jaw dropped, the numerous negative expressions gone in the blink of an eye and replaced with utter bafflement.

"I see," Izou muttered, "So to keep him safe as long as possible, we will keep our affiliation secret. Right up until we rescue him from right under their noses. Assuming we make it in time..."

"As much as I… would like to follow that order, isn't that a bit… risky?" Marco asked with narrowed eyes.

Newgate frowned as Ace shot their First Division Commander a dirty look.

Izou sighed, "I see what you mean. The reason Jozu and I rendezvoused here was to ensure that we could coordinate our allies and regroup. We're all vulnerable to traps right now, so splitting back up would only endanger us. And you, Pops."

Marco nodded, "And if Deku truly isn't captured and the headline is a trap, then three Division Commanders would be in the line of fire and the opportunity would be invaluable to the marines."

"I understand that, my sons," Newgate reassured, smiling softly at their concerns, "But I assure you that I will be just fine. After my… treatment, I am feeling much better. I can handle myself, just as I trust you all to handle yourselves."

"Pops…" Ace tried (and failed) to hide his tears, "We won't let you down!"

One of his sons was on board at least, now to convince the other two. Their dubious glances at each other made it clear that he would have to do better than appealing to their trust in him and his trust in them. After the debacle at Marineford, it was a bit painful to realize that their trust had taken such a substantial a hit. Just weeks ago, none of them would have questioned his orders after such a declaration of their bond.

"The other commanders are doing their duties quite well. Their efforts will not suddenly collapse in your absence. They can manage a week or two without you."

"I understand sending one or two of us, but three?" he continued, barreling past Newgate's point.

"There is no telling who will be present holding Deku, nor which high-level marine will be assigned to escort him to Impel Down," he pointed out, "It is only smart, then, to send a small team of our strongest just in case a stealthy rescue isn't possible."

"By that logic, it's far too risky," Marco argued, "What if multiple admirals are present? Or if there are no admirals because it's a trap and they plan to corner our scattered forces instead?"

Newgate frowned at his son. They had all be so upset before, so what was holding him back? Marco had been so willing to go to save Deku without hesitation, just like Ace and even Izou.

So then…

Newgate sighed as the realization hit him like a slap to the face, "You won't be putting me in danger by leaving my side, son."

Marco flinched as Izou and Ace turned to look at their brother in surprise. He didn't miss the sympathetic and thoughtful looks on their faces, though, likely as they considered the merits of such a worry.

"But we…" he swallowed thickly, "But I don't know…"

Newgate smiled gently, "You know as well as I do that we can deal with whatever comes our way. Don't let your worry override doing what you know is right. The odds that this is a trap are relatively low, but that's never stopped us before."

"We've never been in such a precarious position before!" Marco shot back, glancing away the moment he realized he had spoken out of turn.

"Besides, would you condemn Deku to a horrible fate because you are afraid? You were ready to fight for him just minutes ago."

"I'm sure the marines are just as scrambled and scattered as we are," Izou cut in, "I doubt they have the resources to follow through with such a plan. They're likely too busy licking their wounds and regrouping. Someone will have to take the fall for the disaster that was Marineford."

"And that person will likely be Deku," Ace breathed, the horror palpable in his inhale alone.

"Or one of the higher ups. Perhaps Sengoku, that old bastard. There will likely be a change in power for the high-ranking marines," Newgate mused, rubbing at his chin.

While he had planned to save Deku from the start, the more he thought about it and considered the odds, the less risky it seemed. There were always circumstances that couldn't be predicted, but he saw little reason to give in to such pointless worries. He valued living every day to the fullest: something one couldn't do if they stewed in inaction because of endless possibilities.

"Alright. I suppose… since Jozu will still be here, I can let it go," Marco finally conceded as Ace pouted at him.

Though it did not escape Newgate's notice that Izou sent him a stern glare which promised a long-winded lecture and perhaps a slap upside the head for good measure. He would stay out of it, of course. His children could handle most of their squabbles, not to mention he would be remiss to pretend that he would do any differently.

But of course, since he added that stipulation, Newgate couldn't leave the issue entirely up to his son to correct.

"Actually, I think Jozu should go with you three," he added, smiling at the was Marco's jaw dropped and eyes widened.

While Izou nodded in approval, Ace grinned up at Newgate. That expression alone made everything worth it. No matter what happened going forward, the old man was content with his decisions.

"You can't-" Marco protested.

Newgate simply grinned down at him, letting a hint of sharpness into his smile, "I will be fine. Deku, however might not be. You said it yourself, son. It would be unwise to send an under-prepared team. I will be fine. And in the case that I am not… well, we certainly owe Deku a life debt regardless. That hasn't changed."

All three of his children frowned at that, but didn't comment. How could they, when they agreed that they, as the Whitebeard Pirates, would be forever indebted to the boy.

"I trust you, Pops," Ace said instead, "Thank you for letting us go save Deku."

"Of course, my son."

"I'll go make preparations," Marco muttered with a small frown as he left the room.

"I'll go tell Jozu!"

And then it was just Newgate and Izou in the room, taking in the comfortable silence.

"I'm sorry, Pops," Izou blurted out after a moment.

Newgate raised a curious eyebrow, which Izou avoided by averting his gaze.

"I'll talk some sense into Marco," he frowned, "He also seemed to ready to save Deku, so I'm not sure why… No, I know why. But I'm upset that he disregarded your orders like that. Pretending that our trust in each other meant nothing…"

"Don't worry about it, my son. He almost lost his brother and his father, just as the rest of you. But as the First Division Commander, he feels the most responsible. I'm sure he was torn between keeping Ace safe and stopping his recklessness and making sure that I remain safe as well."

"Yet he forgets that Ace isn't… Ace is still struggling to trust us again, to let us in after almost getting us killed. Or at least, that's how he sees it. I'll make sure Marco understands what he just did," Izou pursed his lips, looking utterly torn.

"Ace cares about Deku a lot," Newgate surmised, "So does Marco. But he is still a veritable stranger."

Izou shook his head but said no more, staring at the wall in deep contemplation. Perhaps he was rehearsing his future lecture.

Humor aside, Newgate wondered if this was the right time to come clean. Marco would have taken it as another reason to abandon Deku to his fate. What would Izou take from it?

"Truth be told," he started, waiting for Izou to focus on him once more, "I already extended an offer for Deku to join our family."

His son stared at him in disbelief.

Newgate chuckled a bit, if only to keep himself from frowning, "He declined outright. Deku certainly was sympathetic—or perhaps empathetic would be a better word—but in the end he told me no."

He sighed, scratching at the nonexistent hair on his head, taking in the neutral expression that Izou was clearly making an effort to maintain. At least his son was putting in the effort to avoid jumping to conclusions, or rather, to avoid Newgate noticing that he was doing so.

"It was by far the most rude he had been since he woke up, but I got a taste of his determination," Newgate couldn't hold a frown back this time, "So I do not know if he will wish to return to us when you save him. I do not know if he will take the attempt to help him well."

"...why are you telling me this?" Izou asked, gathering the nerve to look him directly in the eye.

Newgate closed his eyes for a moment, wondering if this would be the right decision. No, it had to be. He wouldn't accept anything else. He opened his eyes and let the rush of determination wash over him.

"Even as I reassured you all that I will be more than fine on my own, Marco's worries have merit. Eventually, we will need to regroup and present a strong front, otherwise we may very well be taken down. It's a race against marines; who will regroup faster?"

"But then, you-" Izou pleaded.

Newgate raised a hand to silence him.

"I doubt that this will delay us long enough for that to be an issue," his lips quirked upward, "Besides, I'm certain that freeing a high-profile prisoner such as Deku will cause them more issues."

"You may be right…"

"I do not know how differently he may act when you meet him, but for Ace's sake… and for mine as well, bring him back with you. Don't take no for an answer."

Izou froze as they made eye contact one final time, the intensity of his gaze enough to impress upon his son the importance of his request. No… perhaps this was an order.

He hadn't been lying when he said they owed Deku. But they were pirates; it didn't matter if Deku did not want them to return the favor. He would receive their good will even if that meant kidnapping him much the same way they had with Ace.

Deku would come around one way or another.

"All that aside, make sure to let Marco know that this mission is of utmost importance," he concluded.

Izou frowned and glanced away, "Of course. However, I don't think that's going to be an issue."

"You may be right, but at the moment we cannot afford to have a First Division Commander that second guesses his captain."

His son looked stunned at the admission… or maybe at the use of their proper titles rather than familial relations.

Perhaps… the anger from earlier hadn't gone away as he had thought. The lighthearted moments with his family hadn't been enough to rid him of such dreadful feelings. And he was taking it out on his children.

Izou nodded without a word and retreated, leaving Newgate alone in the room.

This time to himself may very well be a good thing. It was about time he gathered himself and let himself experience everything he had been pushing down since the day he caught wind of Ace's execution.

Until his Commanders, his sons, returned, he wouldn't lead. He would be a father allowed to grieve for the heartache and tragedy that had befallen their family.

Newgate wondered if Deku had ever had the chance to process everything that he had been through, whatever that may have been.

Garp crunched rice crackers between his teeth, relishing the in joy of eating the snack stolen from Senny's stash. He had a feeling that the man knew of his many thefts, but in his defence, his old friend had never once confronted him about it. So he figured it was okay.

Of course, Senny always complained about him snacking away during meetings, but he figured that was just because he wanted to complain about something. He understood that the stress of the job had been getting to his old friend for quite some time now, so he let it happen. That was why he hadn't bothered with trying to rise up the ranks any further than Vice-Admiral, even though he was on par with every marine that outranked him. Besides, if he really wanted to, the man could order him to stop, yet he never did.

But while the rice crackers were dutifully ignored, Senny certainly hadn't ignored his grandsons.

Garp frowned as he continued snacking.

Sengoku had been furious beyond belief when he put two and two together, nearly two decades after learning that Garp was raising his grandsons. He'd informed his friend that Ace was adopted, omitting from (and for) whom and that had raised no eyebrows. Then when he mentioned another grandson, Senny must have assumed similar circumstances.

After all, he'd never had any qualms about approving Garp's occasional vacation days that he used to check in on those brats.

He wasn't entirely sure when Senny had figured out Ace's parentage. Luffy, on the other hand, had been proudly proclaiming his full name ever since he was a child. Garp was sure that the moment Senny saw the bounty, he knew exactly who Luffy's father was.

That was why Garp had decided (on a whim, admittedly) to confront Luffy at Water Seven so he wouldn't be caught off-guard by the veritable man-hunt that would catch up with him eventually.

His idiot grandson had taken down a Warlord, evaded capture from marines that were far above his skill level, and then proceeded to steal back Nico Robin from CP9 and destroy Enies Lobby. He had quite the track record and Garp was proud of him, but he'd been certain that the organization he'd dedicated his life to would chase him down from the moment he left Alabasta.

Garp had failed miserably to convince his grandsons to join the marines where he could watch over them and keep them safe. Their secrets would mean that their lives would hang in the balance, but with a good enough reputation, even the worst of lineages could be overlooked.

Or at least, that's what he had hoped. But then both of his grandsons threw their safety in the trash in exchange for piracy. He hadn't had all that much faith in his plan to enlist them in the marines, but at least they would be in a position where he could protect them. He could have done something.

There was nothing he could anymore.

Even as a pirate, his older idiot grandson had turned down a Warlord position, which would have been the next best position for him to be in. His younger idiot grandson acted as though his life's mission was to tear down the marines (and perhaps by extension the World Government, if his stunt at Sabaody was any indication) piece by piece.

Garp knew that wasn't the case, but he also wasn't completely oblivious to the way his colleagues talked about his grandson's feats.

And they were right to be wary and afraid of his strong, foolish grandsons.

So all this time, he was awaiting the day that he'd see Luffy in a prison cell, perhaps in Impel Down, chained up and interrogated as if he knew anything about his father that he hadn't even known he'd had until Garp told him. As much as the thought of seeing his free, childish, excitable grandson restrained and hurting pained him, it was only a matter of time.

So imagine his surprise when Senny had looked him dead in the eye and told him that Ace was in Impel Down awaiting execution.

He'd gone to visit him in prison, heart heavy as he faced reality head on. Ace's scathing words hadn't been… entirely unexpected, but hurt nonetheless.

And despite his best efforts, he'd even broken down crying as he sat next to Ace on that execution platform, awaiting the moment the adoptive grandson whom he'd long since come to see as his very own would be killed through little fault of his own.

That was the tragedy of it all. If those boys had been anyone else, he wouldn't have done much more than frown in disapproval at the injustice of it all. But he loved those boys with all of his heart, even as he'd had no choice but to go against his heart.

He'd been relieved when that old bastard Newgate showed up in a dangerous bid for Ace's life. Regardless of the outcome, at least Ace would finally have an answer that he really should have known all along. (Of course it was good that you were alive, Ace. So many people loved you, and that should have been all he needed to know.)

But then Luffy had shown up and Garp struggled to keep up his will to fight: to maintain his duty to the marines.

And then he'd watched Newgate and his crew fight to help Luffy rescue his brother, watched as they escaped together. It was almost too perfect, too good to be true.

Then Garp watched his ideal ending fall apart as Sakazuki got under Ace's skin, riling up his infamous temper. He didn't want to see what would no doubt be a brutal yet swift death, but he couldn't bring himself to close his eyes.

He was glad he hadn't, otherwise he would have missed the mysterious arrival clad in some garb that covered them from head to toe. He had almost missed the way this stranger protected his grandsons and eventually Newgate as well. He could admit, if only to himself, that he had been unabashedly relieved. It had almost felt like a miracle.

The rest of the battle at Marineford had been chaotic, the fight not quite dying down until that red-haired brat showed up and forced Sengoku's hand.

Garp had never been more relieved that he'd had an excuse not to get involved. He didn't particularly want to obliterate the person that had saved his grandsons when he couldn't.

The aftermath was a mess, to put it lightly. Although he was relieved by the outcome, his loyalties had been nearly torn in two. He was struggling to pull himself together, but so were the marines and so were the Whitebeard Pirates. Neither side had come out of that battle unscathed.

As it was now, Sengoku was tying up loose ends in preparation to step down from his position as Fleet Admiral, shouldering the blame for the disaster they'd just had. The amount of casualties they had left their forces unevenly stationed across their bases in the Grand Line, so all personnel had to be reassigned and shuffled around to make up for the gaps in their ranks.

Yet here Garp was, sent on an escort mission instead of doing paperwork back at headquarters.

He had a feeling that this was some kind of punishment from Senny for not putting in his full effort to ensure they could kill his grandsons. But being personally assigned to bring the one who had saved his grandsons to Impel Down… well, it was amusing in the sad way. Then again, some marines were known to have a sick sense of humor. Garp simply shrugged it off.

At least this way, he would get to meet the stranger and thank him for saving his grandsons before the person was locked away never to see the light of day again. His grandsons likely would never forgive him, but after Marineford… well he wasn't expecting them to anyway.

The Green Devil, they'd decided to call the stranger. He thought that was a silly name, though he could see how they'd settled on it. Without an inch of skin showing and those strange tendrils and bloodied clothing, it wasn't hard to simply not regard the person as human. It was easy to be afraid and the marines had long since perfected the art of making the public more afraid of pirates than they honestly should be.

Or rather, more afraid of pirates that don't mindlessly plunder and kill rather than the ones that do.

Garp tossed another handful of rice crackers into his mouth, wondering how the person that had held battled Sakazuki to a stalemate had been captured so easily by a low-ranked marine. But more importantly, he wondered what kind of person they would be.

He crumpled the now-empty bag in his hand, frowning as he swallowed the last of the snack.

Garp sighed, "How long until we reach the G2 base?"

"Only a few hours, sir!" the navigator replied, standing at attention.

The Vice Admiral simply waved him off, returning back to his musings. He supposed he would find out what kind of character this outlaw was once he arrived. Maybe he would give the person one last good, hearty meal before he brought them to the deepest depths of the world's most hellish prison.

Yes, that was exactly what he would do.