C9 The Tradition of Monkey's Family

Speeding across the sea, Rodney brought Ace to a halt on a reef, with Rogue Town no longer visible in the distance. Rodney sat on the rock, sweat steaming off his body. The strain of opening the first door was significant, and had it not been for the grueling training Garp had put him through recently, he wouldn't have lasted this long.

"Let me go! My crew is waiting for me! I refuse to meet with the old man!"

"Sorry, but that's not my concern. I'm close to completing Vice Admiral Garp's mission." Rodney had captured Ace, but the mission wasn't marked complete yet, clearly indicating that he needed to deliver Ace to Garp himself. With the threat of the Red Eyed Disease looming, there was no way he could afford to stop.

As long as he kept moving, he would reach his destination. As long as he didn't stop, the path would keep unfolding before him...

Cough, cough.

Ace attempted to struggle, but the Sea Building Stone's restraints left him utterly powerless, unable to use his abilities.

"Damn it! Why would that old geezer send you to catch me?"

"Who knows? Maybe it was a spur-of-the-moment decision? Honestly, capturing you would've been tough even without the Devil Fruit. But you ate it, got complacent, and underestimated the situation. Plus, you're clueless about the Sea Building Stone."

Rodney's success in capturing Ace was largely due to luck. Ace's unfamiliarity with his Fruit Ability, coupled with his new reliance on Element Transformation, made him an easy target for Rodney's scheme, leading to his capture with Smoker's assistance.

If they ever encountered an Ace proficient in his Fruit Ability, their best option would be to flee immediately!

Meanwhile, after escaping the Navy's encirclement, one of Ace's crew members declared, "The captain's been captured; we need to figure out how to rescue him."

Another asked, "But where do we even start looking for the captain?"

"The man who took him said he was acting on orders from Vice Admiral Garp, the Navy Hero. Garp's from the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue, and the captain has talked about his own hometown before. Let's head to the captain's hometown and try our luck there." With a cool head, Ace analyzed the situation and reached this conclusion.

The crew members exchanged glances and collectively nodded in agreement. Despite the captain's occasional eccentricities, like not paying for his meals and frequently dozing off, he was still the captain of their Spade Pirates. How could they, as comrades aboard the same vessel, leave him behind?

"Spade Pirates! Operation rescue the captain! Commence!"

"Oh, oh, oh!"

...

Rodney carried Ace across the water's surface, while Ace marveled at the undulating sea, puzzled at the sight of someone walking atop the ocean.

"Hey! Aren't you scared of getting eaten by a Sea King?" Ace inquired.

"Oh, this is actually perfect." They could serve as a mount.

The Sea Kings of the East Sea weren't nearly as colossal as those in the New World, which could reach sizes of thousands of meters. Here, they maxed out at several dozen meters and were notably more submissive. It made one wonder how Red Hair, one of the Four Emperors, could have lost an arm.

"Danger!" Ace noticed an enlarging shadow below and quickly approached.

"Here comes our free ride!" With a sudden leap, a Sea King burst through the water beneath them. The lion-headed Sea King opened its massive jaws, lunging to bite at the pair.

Rodney twisted his body, channeling Chakra into his legs.

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

Boom!

The Lion Sea King was sent sprawling with a powerful kick. "Impressive," Ace remarked. This man's physical strength seemed nearly on par with his own before he had consumed the Devil Fruit. He was incredibly strong.

Rodney landed gracefully on the sea and confronted the Lion Sea King, which, realizing it was outmatched, attempted to flee. However, Rodney seized its drenched mane and delivered another kick, threatening menacingly, "Behave, or I'll have you for dinner."

The Lion Sea King wore an expression of genuine fear, a testament to the animals in this world's ability to understand human speech, even if they weren't always the brightest.

"Wuwuwu."

Resigned to its fate, the Lion Sea King allowed Rodney to grab its mane and sit on its neck, while Ace was tossed aside.

"Head in that direction, to the nearest island," Rodney commanded, pointing away from Rogue Town. It was challenging to pinpoint the direction of the Goa Kingdom at sea, but by having the Sea King take them to the nearest island, they could determine their location and plan their next move.

Ace remained silent, unable to muster any strength or take any action. After some time, he spoke up, "I'm hungry."

"Here, eat this." Rodney pulled out a soldier's ration pill from his waist pouch. Ace asked, "Is this supposed to be chocolate? It's hardly enough to fill the gaps between my teeth."

"Are you going to eat it or not?"

"Yes." Something was better than nothing, after all. He opened his mouth wide and popped the ration pill in.

He bit down.

Ace grimaced. "This is terrible, just awful!" Ace wasn't fussy about food, but even he found the pill unbearable, which said a lot about its indescribable taste.

"It's not that bad. You're just unlucky. The one I had was honey-flavored." The flavors of the system-produced ration pills were random, and most were notoriously unpalatable. Getting a honey-flavored one was a stroke of luck.

Ration pills were no chocolate, and you never knew what flavor you'd get next.

"I can't do this. Is there anything else?"

"Huh? One pill is supposed to stave off hunger for a day and provide all the energy a person needs. You're still not full?"

"Of course not. How could something so small and disgusting be filling?!" Ace couldn't believe such a tiny, unpleasant thing could satisfy his hunger.

Rodney considered the situation. Ace's physical stamina was extraordinary; he had trained from a young age, and in this world, people had hearty appetites. It was no surprise that a single ration pill couldn't satisfy him. So, Rodney offered him another pill.

"No! I'd rather die than eat another one! Let go of me! You... Huhuhu!" Suddenly, Ace's snot bubbles appeared, and he fell asleep.

Rodney shook his head. "Typical of Garp's grandson."

The ability to fall asleep instantly!

Luffy had the same talent, but did Dragon?

The Monkey family was indeed formidable!

Rodney decided to leave Ace be; he wasn't going anywhere. Now, the pressing issue was finding Garp.

Was heading to Windmill Village the only option?

The Sea King Species moved at a decent pace. This one looked just like the one Rodney had previously captured, always trying to drag him underwater. But with unwavering focus, he could handle it.

The Lion Sea King Species, with its three prominent bumps atop its head, continued to swim. "There's a ship ahead. Get us on board, and your task is complete." It wasn't until the sun dipped below the horizon that Rodney finally spotted a ship with a skull and crossbones flag waving in the breeze—a clear sign of a pirate ship.

Upon hearing that its mission was nearly finished, the Lion Sea King Species' eyes, previously dull, suddenly sparkled with life. It accelerated and, with a mighty leap, Rodney and Ace landed safely on the deck of the pirate ship. Rodney declared, "Sorry to say, but I'm commandeering your pirate ship."

"Who do you think you are, acting so bold?! Men, kill him!" The captain, a burly man wielding a large axe and standing three to four meters tall, was covered in a thick beard and looked downright menacing.

His crew eyed Rodney and Ace as if they were fools, clearly confident in their impending victory.

With a click of his tongue, Rodney channeled Chakra into his legs, leaped in front of the pirate captain, and unleashed a "Konoha Whirlwind!"

"Seeking death?" the pirate captain growled, swinging his axe. But he was too slow. Rodney's kick landed squarely on the axe's handle, bending the metal and sending the captain flying into the sea.

"Hey, big guy, here's your reward," Rodney called out. The Lion Sea King Species, sensing the moment, sprang forth, gulped down the captain, and disappeared beneath the waves.

"Now, who's next?" Rodney surveyed the remaining pirates. Seeing their captain defeated, they shook with fear, their weapons clattering to the deck. On a typical pirate ship, the captain is the strongest—if he falls, the crew's morale crumbles, leaving them without the heart to fight.

"Excellent. I hereby claim this ship as my own. Turn around and set a course for the Kingdom of Gaya. Prepare a lavish dinner, and look after this one," Rodney gestured to Ace. "No mistreatment, or you'll share the same fate as your captain."

Among pirates, few are kind-hearted like Luffy and Ace. They are the exception, not the rule, so there's no need to concern oneself with the plight or thoughts of the rest.