Goa Kingdom.
Beautiful.
I spat in disgust while staring at the enormous dump known as the Grey Terminal.
The fumes and stench were unbearable, and when I finally noticed the organisms living there—commonly referred to as people—I began to doubt everything.
Between heaps of rubble and scraps of every possible kind lived the old and the young, stripped, starved, and mutilated. Some of them had faces that revealed a particularly vile character; their eyes looked as if they were simply waiting for you to fall asleep so they could rob you and slit your throat.
Ah, where were the times when a proper murderer hid behind a mask of decency and good manners?
I did not even move when several alleged bandits approached me from behind with chipped, rusty knives. Their smiles might have been considered threatening if it were not for the cavities and rotting teeth.
Besides, anyone who sailed the seas knew that torn clothes and miserable equipment usually reflected the abilities of their owner.
And in this particular case those abilities seemed extremely poor.
Although I had expected such a situation sooner or later, I still felt a moment of disappointment. I had grown used to pirates and Marines fearing even to speak to me, and I could not quite understand how a group of vagrants from a miserable little island in the East Blue dared to approach me so boldly.
I gave them an entire minute.
The five-man gang was soon lying on the ground.
To give the whole event a bit of flavor, I lit a cigarette.
Whether I liked it or not, I had to dive deeper into this disgusting place, because Dadan had told me that Ace spent most of his time somewhere in the Grey Terminal.
Dadan…
Ah yes.
A woman.
The leader of a mountain band of thieves.
Ace's nanny since childhood.
Garp's brilliant idea.
To place a baby in the care of murderers and looters...
Although, judging by the wooden hut and the flock of chickens wandering around the yard, the band seemed more concerned with rural life than actual banditry.
They looked rather incompetent.
The only thing that truly annoyed me was Dadan's reaction when I told her why I had come.
I had not expected her to raise her hands to heaven and start thanking the gods for "the end of her suffering with the devil's child."
I barely managed to stop myself from breaking her red skull.
"It doesn't look good," I muttered with disgust while strolling through the large, empty room that contained nothing but a fireplace in the center.
The wooden floor creaked beneath my boots, and the walls were bare and unpleasant. The air smelled of sweat and smoke, though that particular scent did not disturb me much.
Dadan, who called herself the boss of the band, watched me cautiously.
I had thrown the rest of her gang out into the yard among the chickens, leaving her alone with me as the only witness.
"Did Garp show any signs of insanity?"
I finally stopped in front of her, clasping my hands behind my back and giving her a stern look.
"Y-you won't tell him about it… right?"
Her tone suddenly became far too pleasant.
In that case, an agreement was possible.
"No."
"I was against it from the beginning!"
She crossed her arms over her large chest decorated with red beads and began loudly explaining everything she considered unfair.
"He came here and set up a nursery! He didn't pay for that brat's food or anything else, he just dumped everything on my head! And when Ace was a baby there were no problems. He just ate and slept all the time!"
I listened quietly to the short story of his childhood.
Every word felt like a treasure, but I forced myself to remain silent.
"But when he started growing up the trouble began. Sneaking out, running away, coming home late at night… I don't care about that bastard child! But the devil's child sure has devil's luck!"
"Then you won't mind, old woman, if I take Ace with me." I stopped in front of her again. "Your problems will be over. You will never see him again, and he will never see you."
"But Garp won't agree!" she protested nervously. "He'll be furious! He's a Vice Admiral!"
"I know exactly who that old geezer is," I snapped, raising my voice. "But Jones himself is my witness—I have more right to that child than anyone walking on this earth!"
My voice thundered through the room, silencing her immediately.
"Ace will come with me. He will go even if you disagree. He will go even if Garp arrives here with the entire Navy fleet." I leaned closer. "This child. Is. Mine."
She understood nothing.
Thank God.
Not a single word reached her properly, and she drew no conclusions that a more intelligent person certainly would have.
I had simply been carried away by anger—by the words "devil's child" and "bastard," which burned through my mind like scars.
In the end she wished me luck and slammed the door behind me, completely unaware of how close she and her gang had come to death.
As a result, I wandered through the Grey Terminal searching for my nephew.
If I failed to find him among the piles of scrap, there was still High Town—located beyond a high wall in the center of this enormous heap of metal.
Apparently it was the most beautiful city in the East Blue.
Which meant it was probably the richest.
And for obvious reasons that interested me the most.
"What are you looking for here, lady?"
A ragged man approached me, clearly attracted by my navy-blue coat decorated with golden buttons.
I looked at him from beneath the brim of my hat and decided that if fate had sent him to me, it would be a shame not to extract some information.
"Listen."
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small purse filled with coins.
His eyes immediately began to shine.
"I'll give you this money if you tell me where I can find Portgas D. Ace. A seven-year-old boy."
The thief laughed mockingly and shook his head.
"What, the tiger's cub got under your skin? But with a knife like that, punishing him shouldn't be a problem."
He pointed toward Habanero, clearly smart enough to realize that I did not carry a katana merely for decoration.
"I'll tell you. No harm in it. That tiger's cub is running around the forest. Not an hour ago I saw him and Sabo near the edge over there."
He pointed in the opposite direction from where I had been walking and stretched out his hand for the purse.
I tossed it to him and began walking in the indicated direction, glancing back over my shoulder.
"If I don't find them there, I will come back."
The thief only laughed.
Tiger's cub.
Yes.
That seemed appropriate.