The Tradition of the Monkey Family

Chapter 9: The Tradition of the Monkey Family

Galloping across the sea, Rodney and Ace reached a rock where Loguetownn was no longer visible.

Sitting down on the stone, Rodney was sweating profusely due to the heavy load. Opening the first gate was still a challenge, and it was only Garp's devil-style training that allowed him to endure for so long.

"Let go of me! My crew is still waiting for me! I won't see the old man!" Ace protested.

"Sorry, that's none of my business. We're almost near Vice Admiral Garp," Rodney replied. He had brought Ace to hand him over to Garp, and he wouldn't stop until he completed his task. Even if Ace resisted, it wouldn't change his course of action.

As long as he didn't stop, he could reach his destination. As long as he didn't stop, the path would continue...

Cough, cough.

Ace tried to struggle, but the power-restraining handcuffs prevented him from using his abilities, leaving him weak and unable to resist.

"Why did that old man want you to capture me?" Ace questioned.

"Who knows? Maybe it was a whim. To be honest, even without eating the Devil Fruit, it would have been difficult for me to defeat you. But you made the mistake of underestimating the enemy by carelessly fighting someone with Logia-type Devil Fruit. And you don't know about Haki," Rodney explained.

Rodney's successful capture of Ace was partly due to luck. He relied heavily on his elemental body, but Rodney had calculated his moves and, with the help of Smoker, managed to capture Ace.

"If I had faced Ace who knew how to use his Devil Fruit powers... I would have to run for my life!" Rodney remarked.

Meanwhile, Masked Deuce and the others managed to escape the Marine's pursuit. Deuce said, "Our captain has been arrested, and we need to find a way to rescue him."

One of the crew members asked, "But where can we find the captain?"

"The man who captured the captain mentioned Vice Admiral Garp. Garp is a Marine Hero from the Kingdom of Goa in the East Blue. Since our captain mentioned his hometown, let's try our luck and head to the Goa Kingdom first," Deus suggested.

The other crew members nodded in agreement. Despite the captain's occasional odd behavior, his crew members couldn't leave him behind. He was their captain, and they were determined to rescue him.

"Spade Pirates! Captain Rescue Plan! Let's get started!" they declared, filled with determination.

Knowing that there were people who could walk on the sea, Ace asked, "Hey! Aren't you afraid of being eaten by Sea Kings?"

Rodney replied, "Oh, they are just right here. They can be used as mounts."

The Sea Kings in the East Blue were not as massive as the ones in the New World, only tens of meters long. They were relatively easy to deal with, yet Red-Haired Shanks lost an arm to a Sea King.

(TL/N: Man, this guy's been roasting Shanks)

"Danger!" Ace suddenly noticed a magnified shadow beneath them and quickly moved away.

"Free labor has arrived!" Rodney exclaimed as a Sea King suddenly leaped out of the water, its lion head opening its mouth wide to bite them. Rodney spun around, chakra gathering in his legs. "Leaf Whirlwind!"

Bang!

The lion Sea King was knocked down with a powerful kick. Impressed, Ace said, "That was amazing. Your physical strength is almost on par with mine before I ate the Flame-Flame Fruit."

Rodney landed on the sea's surface, standing before the subdued lion Sea King. He threatened, "Behave yourself, or I'll eat you later."

The lion Sea King displayed a fearful expression. In this world, animals could understand human words, but sometimes their intelligence was limited. The lion Sea King had no choice but to accept its fate as Rodney held it by the mane, while Ace was left aside.

"Give me the direction to the nearest island," Rodney commanded. Although it was challenging to determine the direction to the Goa Kingdom at sea, he could use the Sea King to guide them to the nearest island, which would help them determine their location and make further plans.

...

Ace remained silent as he couldn't use his powers and was unable to contribute much at the moment. After a while, he mentioned, "I'm hungry."

"Let's eat," Rodney responded, taking out a ration pill from his pocket. Ace questioned, "Is this chocolate? And it's not enough to satisfy my hunger."

"Do you want to eat it?" Rodney asked.

"Yes, I do," Ace replied. He preferred having something rather than nothing, so he opened his mouth wide, took the Military Rations Pills, and bit it.

Ace: "..."

"It tastes awful, really awful!" Ace couldn't tolerate the taste of the ration pill, which even he, who wasn't picky about food, found hard to stomach.

"It's alright. You had bad luck. The one I ate was honey-flavored." The taste of the Military Rations Pills produced by the system was random, and most of them had an indescribable taste. Those who encountered the honey flavor were considered lucky.

Military Rations Pills were not chocolate, and there was no guarantee about the taste of the next one.

"Is there anything else?" Ace asked.

"Oh? One piece of this can keep a person full for a day and provide the necessary strength. Aren't you satisfied?" Rodney explained.

"Of course not! How can something like that satisfy anyone's hunger?!" Ace couldn't believe that such a small and unappetizing pill could fill someone's stomach.

Rodney pondered the situation. Ace's physical strength was different from that of ordinary people. He had been trained since childhood, and people in this world were known for having good appetites. It wasn't surprising that the Military Rations Pills couldn't satisfy Ace's hunger. Rodney took out a handful of Military Rations Pills.

Seeing this, Ace protested, "No! I won't eat those! Let me go! You...huhuhu!" A bubble of snot popped up, and Ace fell asleep suddenly.

Rodney: "..." Is he really Garp's grandson?

Dreaming anytime, anywhere. If Luffy can do it, so can Garp… The Monkey family is terrifying. Setting Ace aside, as he couldn't escape anyway, Rodney's main concern was finding Garp.

Are they left with no choice but to go to Windmill Village? The Sea King's speed was decent. Although this Sea King had tried to drown them in water when Rodney had caught it earlier, Rodney only needed to stay focused throughout the process.

The lion Sea King continued to swim with the three large bags on its head.

"There's a ship ahead. Take us to that ship, and your mission will be complete," Rodney instructed. It was only after the sun had set that they spotted a ship flying a skull flag—a pirate ship.

Upon hearing that the mission was about to end, the lion sea king's eyes lit up, and its speed increased. It jumped up, and Rodney held onto Ace as they landed steadily on the pirate ship. Rodney then declared, "I'm sorry! I've confiscated your pirate ship."

"Who do you think you are, being so arrogant?! Men, kill him!" The captain of the pirate ship was a powerful man with a large axe, standing three or four meters tall, with a menacing appearance and a beard.

The crew looked at Rodney and Ace with bewildered expressions, seemingly unsure about what to do.

"Tsk!"

Chakra surged through Rodney's legs as he jumped in front of the pirate captain. "Leaf Whirlwind!"

"Death awaits you!" the pirate captain growled. 

He swung his axe, but his movement slowed by a step, and Rodney kicked the axe's handle, bending it. With their combined force, it acted against the pirate captain, sending him flying and causing him to plunge into the sea.

"Hey, you'll be rewarded, big guy." The lion Sea King seemed to sense something and jumped out, swallowing the pirate captain whole before sinking back into the sea.

"Alright, who's next?"

Looking around, the pirates saw their captain defeated and began trembling, dropping their weapons. On a typical pirate ship, the captain was usually the strongest. Once the captain was defeated, the remaining pirates' will to fight would collapse, rendering them incapable of further resistance.

"Very well, I hereby declare that this ship is now mine. Turn it around and head to the Kingdom of Goa. Prepare a lavish dinner, and take care of this guy. Don't mistreat him, or you'll end up like your captain."

Kind-hearted people were rare in the pirate world, and although individuals like Luffy and Ace existed, they were in the minority. Rodney saw no need to be concerned about the experiences and thoughts of these pirates.