The sea was raging, and Rodney, with Ace in tow, raced toward the cliff where Logetaunn was already out of sight. The heavy weight pressed on his shoulders, and Rodney, sitting down on the cold stone, felt sweat streaming down his face. The first gate, forced open with such force, was only the beginning of the ordeal. Only Garp's diabolical training had allowed him to endure this long.
"Let me go! My crew's still waiting! I won't see the old man again!" Ace thrashed in impotent rage, his words crashing out like waves against a rock.
"Sorry, it's none of my business. We're almost to Vice Admiral Garp," Rodney replied calmly, his gaze as firm as the rock they sat on. He'd brought Ace to hand him over to Garp, and he wouldn't stop until his task was accomplished. Ace's resistance was a storm in a teacup, unable to change his course. As long as he didn't stop, he'd reach his destination. As long as he didn't stop, the journey would continue...
Cough, cough. Ace tried to fight, but the handcuffs that restrained his powers prevented him from using his abilities, leaving him weak and helpless.
"Why did that old man want you to capture me?" Ace asked, his voice quiet but with a hint of uncertainty.
"Who knows? Maybe it was a whim. Honestly, even without a Devil Fruit, I would have had a hard time defeating you. But you made a mistake by underestimating your opponent, carelessly fighting someone who possesses a Logia-type Devil Fruit. And you don't know about Haki," Rodney explained, his words precise and cold as steel.
Rodney's capture of Ace was partly due to luck. He relied heavily on his elemental body, but Rodney anticipated his moves and, with Smoker's help, managed to capture Ace.
"If I were to encounter Ace, who knew how to use his Devil Fruit powers… I'd have to run for my life!" Rodney admitted, a hint of a threat in his words.
Meanwhile, the masked Deuce and the others managed to escape the pursuit of the marines.
"Our captain has been arrested, and we need to find a way to save him," Deuce said, his voice full of determination.
"But where can we find the captain?" asked one of the crew members, his gaze lost.
"The man who captured the captain named him Vice Admiral Garp. Garp is a heroic marine from the Kingdom of Goa in Eastern Blue. Since our captain mentioned his hometown, let's try our luck and head to the Kingdom of Goa first," Deus suggested, his words sounding like a call to action.
The rest of the crew nodded in agreement. Despite the captain's strange behavior, they couldn't abandon him. He was their captain, and they were determined to save him.
"Dive pirates! Captain's rescue plan! Begin!" they announced, their voices merging into a single cry of determination.
Knowing that there were people who could walk on the sea, Ace asked:
- Hey! Aren't you afraid that the sea kings will eat you?
"Oh, they're right nearby. They can be used as mounts," Rodney replied with a slight grin. The Sea Kings in the East Blue weren't as massive as those in the New World—only tens of meters long. They were relatively easy to deal with, but Red-Haired Shanks lost an arm to a Sea King. (TL/N: This guy fried Shanks)
"Danger!" Ace suddenly noticed the shadow growing larger beneath them and quickly stepped aside.
"Free labor has arrived!" Rodney exclaimed as the Sea King suddenly leaped out of the water, its lion-like head opening its jaws wide to bite them.
Rodney spun around, chakra gathering in his legs.
— A whirlwind of leaves!
Bang! The sea lion king was knocked off his feet by a powerful blow.
Impressed, Ace said:
"That was amazing. Your physical strength almost matched mine before I ate the Fire Fruit."
Rodney landed on the surface of the sea and stood before the subdued Sea King. He threatened:
- Behave well, or I'll eat you later.
The sea lion king assumed a frightened expression. In this world, animals could understand human speech, but sometimes their intelligence was limited. The sea lion had no choice but to accept his fate: Rodney held him by the mane, and Ace remained aloof.
"Point me in the direction of the nearest island," Rodney ordered.
Although it was difficult to determine the direction of 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 develop further plans.
… Ace remained silent, unable to use his abilities and currently unable to contribute. After a while, he said:
- I'm hungry.
"Let's eat," Rodney replied, taking a ration tablet out of his pocket.
Ace asked:
— Is this chocolate? And that's not enough to satisfy my hunger.
"Do you want to eat this?" Rodney asked.
"Yes, I do," Ace replied. He preferred having something to nothing, so he opened his mouth wide, took a military ration tablet, and bit into it.
Ace: "..."
"It tastes terrible, just terrible!" Ace couldn't stand the taste of the ration pill, which even he, not a picky eater, found difficult to swallow.
"It's okay. You're unlucky. The one I ate tasted like honey."
The flavor of the military ration pills created by the system was random, and most had an indescribable taste. Those who got honey-flavored pills were considered lucky. Military rations weren't chocolate, and there was no guarantee the next one would taste the same.
"Is there anything else?" Ace asked.
"Oh? One serving can keep a person full for the whole day and give them the energy they need. Aren't you happy?" Rodney explained.
"Of course not! How could something like that satisfy someone's hunger?!" Ace couldn't believe such a small and unappetizing pill could fill someone's stomach.
Rodney considered the situation. Ace's physical strength was unlike that of ordinary people. He'd been trained since childhood, and people in this world were known for their healthy appetites. It was no wonder the "Military Ration" pills couldn't satisfy Ace's hunger.
Rodney pulled out a handful of military rations. Seeing this, Ace protested:
- No! I won't eat them! Let me go! You... huhu!
A bubble of snot floated up and Ace suddenly fell asleep.
Rodney: "..." He's really Garp's grandson? Sleeping anytime, anywhere. If Luffy can do it, then Garp can too... The Monkey family is just terrifying.
Ace aside, since he couldn't escape anyway, Rodney's main concern was finding Garp. Were they left with no other choice but to head to Windmill Village?
The sea king was quite fast. Although the sea king had tried to drown them when Rodney caught him earlier, Rodney just had to stay focused. The sea lion king continued swimming with three large sacks on his head.
"There's a ship ahead. Lead us to it, and your mission will be complete," Rodney ordered.
Only after sunset did they notice a ship with a flag in the shape of a skull - a pirate vessel.
The sea lion king, sensing the mission's end, flashed a furious glint in his eyes and lunged forward. Rodney, holding tightly to Ace, soared onto the pirate ship like a soaring eagle.
"I'm so sorry!" Rodney declared, as if holding court. "I've confiscated your pirate ship!"
"Who do you think you are, you insolent bastard?!" roared the captain, a brute with an axe in his hands, the height of a small tower. "People, kill him!"
The pirates, confused and stunned, stood frozen as if spellbound.
"Tsk!" Rodney, with lightning speed, intercepted the blow of the pirate captain's axe, bending its mighty handle with a single kick. "Leaf whirlwind!"
"Death awaits you!" the captain growled, trying to recover from the unexpected blow.
But Rodney was relentless. The force of the blow sent the pirate captain flying into the sea, where he was swallowed by the sea lion king, emerging from the depths like a sea demon.
"Hey, you'll be rewarded, big guy!" Rodney chuckled, looking at the panic-stricken pirates.
Seeing their captain fall, the pirates lowered their weapons, as if bereft of will. On pirate ships, the captain's strength was sacred, and his fall robbed them of all resolve.
"Good," Rodney declared, casting an imperious glance at his new subordinates. "I declare this ship mine now. Turn it around and head for the Kingdom of Goa. Prepare a sumptuous dinner and take good care of this boy." Rodney nodded at Ace. "Don't treat him badly, or you'll end up like your captain."
In the pirate world, kindness was as rare as a precious stone. Luffy and Ace were exceptions, of course, but they were few and far between. Rodney saw no point in wasting time feeling sorry for these pirates. He knew they would serve him until he said otherwise.