Chapter 52: Grandma Erin
Sea Calendar 1512 - East Blue - Loguetown
The salty morning breeze was already thick as the Loguetown port bustled with activity. A small warship docked, and three figures walked down the gangplank.
"Big Bro Roy! I thought you said we were going back to see Grandpa Rook and Grandma Erin! Why are we here?"
A 9-year-old Luffy bounced ahead, a piece of meat still in his mouth, his words muffled as he shouted.
Roy, one hand in his pocket, ruffled Luffy's hair. "We're visiting an old friend first. Be patient~"
Ace, now 12, followed behind, carrying a small cloth bag. Inside was a delicate seashell wind chime he had picked out at Marineford. Grandma Erin loved the sound of the sea breeze.
"Last time we visited... she said she wanted a wind chime to hang by the window..."
Ace couldn't help but smile, excited to see her again.
Two years ago, when Roy had first brought them to his hometown in the East Blue, the scene had been... chaotic.
(Flashback - Two Years Ago - Dawn Island)
The morning mist was still thick. Three figures approached the small house. Ace and Luffy, carrying small backpacks, looked around nervously.
"Dad, Mom, I'm home," Roy called out, a warm smile on his face.
The door creaked open. His father, Rook, poked his head out, his expression already stern. "You brat, you finally decided to come home, huh..."
Then he saw them. Two small heads peeking out from behind Roy's legs.
"Huh? Who are they?" Rook's expression shifted from anger to confusion, and then, instantly, to horror.
"W-wait a minute..."
He looked at Ace, then at Luffy, his eyes going wide as saucers. "You... you brat... You had kids this big and never told us?! You irresponsible bastard!!"
"They're not..."
Roy's face darkened, but before he could explain, Rook had grabbed him by the collar (Roy immediately bent down so his father wouldn't hurt himself). "Don't you dare lie to me! This scowling one looks just like you when you were a kid! And this other little monkey!"
"Whoa! Don't pull on Big Bro Roy!" Luffy yelled, trying to 'rescue' him, only for Rook to lift him up with one hand. "Whoa! You're strong, old man!"
"Will you just listen to me..." Roy tried to explain, "They're not my sons! They're my students!"
Just then, his mother, Erin, came running out, still wearing her apron. "What's all the commotion?"
She saw Ace and Luffy, and she froze.
"Son... these... are these your children? You... you kept this from us for so long..."
"Mom! It's not what you think..."
"Don't you talk back to me!" Erin's eyes filled with tears, her voice cracking. "How could you let them grow up without a mother?!"
"I'm telling you, they're not..."
"Who taught you to be so irresponsible?!" Rook roared.
"We're really not his kids!" Luffy finally yelled, kicking his legs in the air. "He's our Big Bro Roy! Not our dad!"
Ace, who had been standing to the side with an "I don't know these people" expression, finally took a step back—just as Erin rushed forward and pulled both boys into a hug.
"You poor things..." her voice was as soft as the breeze. "Don't be afraid. From now on, this is your home."
Her embrace was warm and smelled faintly of lavender.
Ace froze. In that one instant, he felt a warmth he had never known in his entire, dark childhood.
Luffy, however, immediately started nuzzling into the hug. "Shishishi! Grandma smells good! Even better than Belle-mère!"
Erin laughed, wiping her tears. "You two must be starving. Grandma will go make you some food."
That day's lunch was a feast.
Seafood hotpot, sweet and sour fish, plum rice balls, pork rib soup... the table was overflowing.
"Eat, eat, you two are growing boys," Erin said, her heart aching. "You're both so thin..."
After lunch, she pulled out fabrics she had saved for years and began sewing new clothes for them.
"I want a red cape!" Luffy yelled, rolling in the fabrics. "A cool one, just like Big Bro Roy's!"
"And for you... I'll make you a set of pajamas that look like a Marine uniform, okay?" she asked Ace.
Ace was silent for a second, then his face turned red, and he gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
That night, as Ace lay in the soft bed, listening to Luffy mumble "Grandma's rice... so good..." in his sleep, and the sound of Erin gently closing the door, he felt something in his heart... mending.
The next morning, Ace was waiting by the kitchen door. "Thank you," he said quietly.
Erin smiled, ruffling his hair. "From today on, you and Luffy... you're my children, too."
From then on, "Grandma Erin" became the person Ace and Luffy were most excited to see, and Luffy became famous in the village for shouting, "I have the best Grandma in all of the East Blue!"
(Flashback End)
The morning sun hit the Loguetown docks.
Luffy, finishing his rice ball, was still complaining. "Who are we meeting? Is it really more important than Grandma Erin? I really want her stew... the soft, super-tasty kind..."
"We'll be there soon, be patient," Roy sighed.
Just as he spoke, the air grew thick and heavy. A dense, white fog rolled in from all directions.
"Fog?!" Luffy yelled, trying to grab it.
"This isn't natural," Ace said, his fists instantly igniting with blue-white fire. "It's a Devil Fruit user."
A deep, familiar, and annoyed voice rumbled from the mist:
"...Roy. You brat. You're here to cause me trouble again, aren't you?"
The fog parted, and a tall, silver-haired man stepped out. He wore a heavy white Marine coat, two cigars clamped in his mouth, his eyes as sharp as blades.
"Long time no see, Smoker!" Roy grinned, holding his hands up in a 'harmless' gesture.
Smoker took a long drag from his cigars, his eyes narrowed. "These the two brats you're raising?"
"Hey!" Ace stepped forward, his fists flaring. "Who're you calling a brat!"
Luffy, however, just got excited, his eyes turning to stars. "Whoa! You're made of smoke! That's so cool! Did you eat the 'Smoke-Smoke Fruit'?"
"It's the Moku Moku no Mi (Plume-Plume Fruit)!" Smoker growled, a vein throbbing in his temple.
Roy quickly stepped in, clapping Smoker on the shoulder. "Don't be so serious, old friend. I'm just here on official business. How about a drink?"
"Cut the crap. You never show up in my jurisdiction unless you're up to no good."
"Hey, I visit my parents all the time! You're just on the way," Roy said, winking. He then leaned in, his voice low. "But... you're right. There is something else."
Smoker's eyes narrowed. "Spit it out."
"...It's about Red-Haired Shanks... and the arm he lost."
The air went dead silent. Smoker's pupils contracted.
"...So it's true."
They looked at each other, a dangerous, unspoken understanding passing between them.
"You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?" Smoker sighed, taking another drag. "Just... investigate what you have to. But don't start a war in my town."
Roy just smiled. "Let's go to the old spot. We can talk there."
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