"Well now, well now.
Isn't this Admiral Blazing Ash?"
A lazy, teasing voice rang out the moment Ezra stepped onto the warship.
"Why the long face?"
Ezra's mouth twitched.
He did not even need to look.
That voice belonged to Aokiji.
"Set sail," Ezra said flatly.
"East Blue. Windmill Village."
"…Huh?"
Aokiji blinked in confusion.
"Why are we going there?"
Ezra let out a slow sigh.
"To educate a young man who was forcibly turned into my godson."
Aokiji leaned back sharply, eyes wide.
"Hold on.
You have a godson?"
Ezra waved his hand helplessly.
"It is not a big deal.
Why are you getting so excited?"
"How is that not a big deal?!" Aokiji shouted.
Ezra decided he did not want to talk anymore.
He lay back on a deck chair and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.
Aokiji stared at him in silence for a moment, then sighed and went to order the ship to depart.
The warship soon left the harbor.
Aokiji returned and lay down on the deck chair beside Ezra.
"I am just saying, Admiral Blazing Ash," he muttered.
"I really want to know who that godson is…"
"…"
"…Alright, fine."
Aokiji shut up.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
The warship arrived in the East Blue.
Windmill Village.
Fourteen-year-old Ace was quietly packing his belongings.
Nearby, eleven-year-old Luffy whispered excitedly.
"Ace, are you ready?"
Ace reacted instantly and covered Luffy's mouth.
"Shh!
Dadan is still asleep, idiot. Keep your voice down!"
Luffy nodded vigorously.
Ace turned back and continued packing.
After finally stuffing everything into his bag, Ace nodded to Luffy.
The two tiptoed toward the door.
The moment they opened it, a massive shadow loomed outside.
Dadan stood there, arms crossed, eyes blazing with fury.
"And where do you two brats think you are going?"
"Ace!!!"
"Luffy!!!"
Before either could react, Dadan slammed a headbutt into each of them.
"Dadan! I told you not to stop me from going to sea!"
"You cannot stop me anyway!
I am going to become the Pirate King!"
At this point, Ace had not yet met Whitebeard.
His goal was the same as Luffy's.
Find the One Piece.
Dadan's forehead veins bulged.
She hammered both of them again without mercy.
"Going to sea, huh?"
"Pirate King, huh?"
A short while later, after being thoroughly beaten, the two boys finally calmed down.
Dadan snorted.
"You two should stop dreaming about this nonsense.
Garp already informed Ezra.
If my timing is right, he should be arriving today.
Let us see if you still dare to go to sea then."
Both boys froze.
They forgot their pain instantly.
"What?! That uncle is coming back?!"
"You are kidding me! He is coming back again?!"
Seeing their terrified expressions, Dadan smiled with satisfaction.
"With that courage, you still want to go to sea? Hmph."
She grabbed both of them and dragged them back inside.
At Windmill Village harbor, the warship docked slowly.
Ezra originally planned to go alone,
but Aokiji's curiosity was relentless.
In the end, Ezra had no choice but to bring him along.
As for Makino, he would visit her later.
The two arrived quickly at Dadan's house.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Who is it?
Door's open. Come in."
Ezra opened the door.
Inside the living room, Luffy and Ace were tied up like dumplings, placed right in the middle.
Ezra's mouth twitched.
"Dadan… what exactly are you doing?"
"These two little brats tried to sneak out to sea while I was sleeping this morning," Dadan replied.
Ezra looked at the two boys.
"Dadan, untie them."
"Fine. I will leave them to you."
She untied them and walked into the back room.
Ace and Luffy sat obediently on the floor, heads lowered, staring at the ground.
Ezra rolled his eyes.
"Alright, alright.
Stop staring at the floor. It is not going to bloom flowers."
The two pouted and looked up.
Ezra smiled faintly.
"Let us talk properly.
You two are still kids. Why are you so eager to go to sea?"
Ace clenched his jaw.
"I think I can already defeat the Lord of the Coast."
Ezra paused.
He remembered their promise.
Only after defeating the Lord of the Coast could they set sail.
A faint smile appeared on Ezra's face.
"Then go fight it," he said calmly.
"If you can beat it, I will let you leave.
But let me be clear.
If you lose, you stay in Windmill Village and behave."
Ace's eyes widened.
"Uncle… you are really letting me leave?"
Ezra shrugged.
"Some things cannot be changed.
In that case, it is better to let nature take its course. Do you not think so?"
Ace did not fully understand the meaning behind the words.
But he understood one thing clearly.
Ezra was allowing him to become a pirate.
He jumped to his feet.
"Uncle! Watch me! I will definitely defeat it!"
"Good," Ezra said.
"If you do not mind, we will go watch together."
Ace clenched his fist confidently.
"No problem!"
Luffy immediately grew unhappy.
"Uncle! Why only Ace?
What about me? What about me?!"
Ezra's mouth twitched.
One Ace was already enough to give him a headache.
Adding Luffy might cause him to explode on the spot.
"You behave yourself and wait for your grandpa to come back."
Ace's eyes rolled.
He casually put an arm around Luffy's shoulders and whispered something to him.
Luffy's mood instantly improved.
Ezra sighed.
Ace really was better at handling this.
"Do you need to prepare anything?" Ezra asked.
Ace shook his head and pulled out his bag, grinning widely.
"Do not worry, Uncle!
I already prepared everything!"
"Alright.
We will wait for you at the harbor."
Ezra left with Aokiji.
As they walked, Aokiji hesitated several times before speaking.
"Admiral Blazing Ash," he said, scratching his head.
"Why let him become a pirate?
If he gets caught someday, would that not put you in a difficult position?"
Ezra shrugged.
"For me, whether he becomes a pirate or gets captured is inevitable.
I have thought about changing things.
But I cannot extinguish his will.
That is the most precious thing he has.
So I will let him choose his own path."
Aokiji fell silent for a moment.
Then he smirked.
"After all that, you are just too lazy to interfere, right?"
Ezra shot him a sideways glance.
Some things really did not need to be said out loud.