Chapter 44: The Deal Is Struck
♂』A quick announcement: This book is getting a name change. The "Pirate" prefix has to be dropped. According to my editor, there were complaints from the anime adaptation channel, so we have to adjust. Mainly because the genre is a bit ambiguous—this book could be considered an alternate game world or a fan work...
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Ian vigorously dug at his ear, thinking he was hearing things, and asked in disbelief: "You... what did you just say?"
Garp raised his cup and took a sip of tea, saying: "You heard me right. The pirate I want you to catch is my grandson, a brat named Ace!"
Ian looked around at the Marine soldiers nearby. Old man, is it really appropriate to say that out loud in public like this?
"Don't bother looking! It's no big deal!" Garp saw Ian's concern and burst out laughing: "They're my subordinates. Even if they know, what can they do?"
Ian realized he had been overthinking it. This was just Garp's personality. He wasn't afraid to talk about his grandson becoming a pirate, even daring to say it in front of Fleet Admiral Sengoku at Marine Headquarters. However, he had always kept Ace's true identity a secret.
Seeing that Schroeder and the nearby Marine soldiers all wore expressions of being used to this, Ian stopped worrying and asked curiously: "You're a Marine yourself. Why don't you catch him yourself? Why ask an outsider like me to do it?"
At this, Garp suddenly became exasperated and shouted loudly: "You think I don't want to drag him back to be a Marine? But that damn brat is dead set on it. I heard he set sail not long ago and formed something called the 'Spade Pirates.' Tell me, what kind of crappy name is that?"
Ian was speechless. What business was it of yours what name someone chose? But from Garp's tone, Ace had set sail recently, so Ian started calculating silently. Zoro was now 16, two years older than Luffy, so Luffy was 14. Ace was three years older than Luffy, making him 17 this year. The timeline matched up!
Even Ian hadn't expected that his own departure at sea would coincide so closely with Ace's...
Ace, Luffy's brother, set sail this year. Ian, Zoro's senior brother, also set sail this year. What a great year this was. Should it be called the "Year of the Brothers Setting Sail"?
At that moment, Garp looked at Ian and continued: "If I caught him and forced him to be a Marine, he'd definitely be unconvinced. But you're different! You're about the same age as him. If you defeat him and capture him, letting him see how hard it is to be a pirate, maybe he'll change his mind!"
Ian stared at Garp with his mouth wide open, thinking to himself: Well, old man, your reasoning is certainly good and strong, very... unreliable, you know!?
"Are you sure that if I catch him, he'll change his mind?" Ian countered. "If I catch him, I can't hand him over to just any Marine. I'd have to bring him to you. The moment he sees you, he'll know it was your idea. Wouldn't that blow the whole plan?"
Garp picked his nose nonchalantly: "If one catch doesn't work, catch him a few dozen times! After enough times, he'll get tired of being a pirate!"
Ian spat out again, dumbfounded, staring at Garp: "What did you say!? Catch him a few dozen times!? So you're planning to let him go if he doesn't give in?"
Garp laughed heartily: "What can I do? I'm his grandfather after all. I can't really throw him into prison, can I?"
As expected, even though he said he wanted Ian to catch Ace, Garp deeply loved this grandson who wasn't related to him by blood. He was trying every way to change Ace's fate, even resorting to using an outsider like Ian. Seeing this kind of affection made Ian a bit envious.
But envy aside, this deal couldn't be accepted. Ian shook his head and said: "Catch him a few dozen times? Old man, are you kidding me? It's hard work with no bounty to show for it. A measly little boat as payment? That's not worth it!"
"Oh, now that you mention it, a single boat does seem a bit little!" Garp was taken aback, rubbing his chin as he thought: "Then what do you want?"
"Money!" Ian said succinctly.
"But I don't have any money either!" Garp spread his hands: "How about this? Since you're a pirate hunter, I'll give you a pair of Seastone Handcuffs. Then when you encounter Devil Fruit Users, you can easily catch them without worrying about them escaping!"
Ian's eyes lit up. Oh! Seastone Handcuffs? That was a good item!
Seastone was a very peculiar stone, or rather a mineral. It only existed in certain seas of the Grand Line. Seastone could be considered the solid form of the sea, emitting energy waves similar to the ocean, rendering Devil Fruit Users unable to use their abilities. Due to its special nature, the Marines strictly controlled this stone, using it to make prisons or handcuffs to deal with pirates who had Devil Fruit powers.
Actually, it wasn't exactly strict control, because Seastone wasn't a finished mineral product. It existed in various volcanic rock layers on the seabed, and only the Marine Science Unit knew the refining method. So basically, only the Marines could use it.
Refined Seastone was extremely hard and couldn't be destroyed by ordinary attacks. So normally, if you were cuffed with Seastone Handcuffs, you could only open them by getting the key.
Ian knew about this item. That was why, when he caught Buggy earlier, he asked Morgan if he had any Seastone Handcuffs. But the 153rd Branch was too small, and in the East Blue, where Devil Fruit Users were rare, the base didn't have any. If it weren't for that, Buggy wouldn't have escaped so easily!
Before Ian could speak, Captain Schroeder spoke up first, saying worriedly to Garp: "Vice Admiral, how can you just give away Seastone Handcuffs? They're so tightly regulated. How will you explain it to Headquarters?"
Garp glared at him and said: "What's the big deal? Don't listen to their nonsense. Tightly regulated? Crocodile asked the government for some, and they gave him plenty!"
Another familiar name popped up. Crocodile? The Seven Warlord Sand Crocodile, right? That guy asked the World Government for Seastone, probably to build Seastone prisons. If Ian remembered correctly, the Seven Warlords had permission from the World Government to detain prisoners. That meant these big pirates could catch other pirates and lock them up! It was almost like private prisons...
Ian remained expressionless, not showing any reaction, and shook his head at Garp: "But it's still not enough. A boat and a pair of handcuffs—how much is that worth?"
"Kid, don't push your luck!" This time, Garp glared at Ian.
"Come on, think about it!" Ian curled his lip: "Your request is to catch Ace a few dozen times. Setting aside whether I can beat him or not, if he runs off to the Grand Line, I'd have to chase him there. That takes time and effort. Tell me, is that payment enough?"
Dealing with a carefree old man like Garp was fantastic! Hearing Ian's reasoning, Garp himself felt it made sense, so he said troubledly: "But I don't have anything else to offer. Ah, right! How about I set you up with a girlfriend?"
"Huh!?" Ian was stunned. Old man, what are you saying!?
"A real beauty!" Garp patted Ian's shoulder, winking lecherously: "And she's a captain at Marine Headquarters!"
Hearing this, Captain Schroeder suddenly felt a sense of doom and quickly asked: "Vice Admiral Garp, you're not talking about..."
Garp looked up at him and said: "That little girl Tina! What's wrong?"
"Ahhh!!??"
Captain Schroeder and the other Marine soldiers all shouted in unison, angrily scolding Garp: "Please don't joke like that!!"
Every Marine on the ship was filled with indignation. Vice Admiral Garp, you've gone too far with this joke! You want to set up the goddess of our hearts with this kid? Have you lost your mind!?
Ian was also sweating coldly as he looked at Garp. This old man's name sounded like "reliable," but his words and actions were anything but!
Ian naturally knew who Tina was. The moment the name came up, an image of a pink-haired, sunglasses-wearing, cigarette-smoking older sister appeared in his mind. If he remembered correctly, this proud and stunning lady was the object of admiration and longing for every man of her age at Marine Headquarters! You're throwing out the goddess of Marine Headquarters just to get me to catch Ace!?
Aren't you afraid the soldiers at Headquarters will all rebel!?
Seeing Garp still looking confused, Ian knew the old man had no idea what mistake he'd made. Feeling the angry stares of the Marines possibly turning on him, Ian quickly changed the subject: "Forget it, let's talk later. I have a proposal. Tell me what you think?"
"Alright, go ahead!" Garp crossed his arms: "As long as it doesn't involve money, anything goes."
"Cough, cough!" Ian was choked by that statement and coughed a few times before speaking: "Catching Ace a few dozen times is impossible. Besides, I don't know where he is right now. But I can promise you this: whenever I run into him in the future, I'll do my best to catch him. The small boat and the Seastone Handcuffs can be the payment for this first commission. If I catch him again and bring him to you, we can negotiate payment then. What do you think?"
"So, payment per catch, right?" Garp rubbed his chin, thinking: "That's acceptable, but let me be clear: the payment can only be something I can actually provide!"
"Deal!" Ian extended a hand to Garp. Garp laughed heartily and reached out his big hand to shake Ian's...