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His youngest son had been acting strange, lately. The first time Ace grabbed the paper in the morning, Newgate's other sons were immediately concerned. Ever since, Ace had been bombarded by worried questions and unsubtle attempts to cheer him up. Ace was confused by it but didn’t seem to understand where it was coming from. He was too distracted by his new obsession with analyzing every article to care besides.
“Hey, Ace,” Thatch said one morning, hovering over his shoulder. “Anything interesting?”
Ace hummed, not even glancing up from the paper.
Newgate watched as Thatch turned helplessly to face the other Commanders, and he couldn’t help but laugh at them. Ace would be alright. He was plenty comfortable around most of them by now and was coming into his own as Commander of the Second Division. If something were truly wrong, Newgate trusted that he would come to one of them about it.
Suddenly, Ace jumped to his feet with a shout, startling Thatch enough that he fell over. Newgate smiled. It seemed they would be finding out what was on their youngest’s mind sooner rather than later.
As Newgate had suspected, Ace did not look distressed by whatever he had finally found. Instead, he was grinning brightly and laughing in near-disbelief. “Damn, that kid is always so full of surprises, huh?”
A kid? Perhaps an interesting rookie had just set sail? Newgate leaned forward in interest. If a rookie had caught Ace’s attention, then he would be worth meeting. Perhaps there was a new son in his near future, even.
Newgate wanted to ask, but before he could, Ace turned toward him, beaming. “Pops!” he said, brimming with excitement, and Newgate couldn’t have stopped the fond smile even if he’d wanted to. “Look!”
Newgate turned his gaze to the paper obligingly, even though they both knew his old eyes couldn’t see such small print from this distance. He could just make out enough to realize what Ace was holding up, if not the details. “A bounty poster?” he asked.
Ace nodded quickly. “Yeah! My little brother finally set sail!”
Newgate could see the surprise spreading across the deck. Ace hadn’t mentioned any other brothers to them. But he could see the joy plainly on Ace’s face, could hear the fierce pride in his voice, and Newgate smiled with a booming laugh. “Gurarara! And what did he manage for his first bounty?”
Ace preened at the question, posture straightening and grin turning smug as he looked out at his gathered brothers—who were of course making no effort to disguise their eavesdropping. Newgate watched as Ace waited patiently until a hush fell over them all, anticipation building. So many of his sons seemed to develop a penchant for dramatics after he took them in. Newgate sometimes wondered where they got it from.
“Thirty million,” Ace said finally.
Yells chorused out among his sons, all clamoring for answers or to see the poster for themselves. It was quite an impressive number for a first bounty, even more so coming from the East Blue.
Ace answered some of their questions. He told them that his name was Monkey D. Luffy, and yes, like Garp. He told them that he was three years younger and that Ace met him when he was only seven. He told them that he was always smiling and laughing and too honest and that he was selfish in the best way.
“He must be strong,” Newgate said, voice raised above the noise.
Ace’s eyes found him quickly, as they always did, and Newgate’s heart warmed. His son carried a great burden that he couldn’t bring himself to shed; it weighed him down even among those who would love him regardless. They were all children of the sea, after all. But at that moment, Ace looked light. As if nothing in the world mattered besides this, besides his little brother setting out for an adventure. And Newgate knew that that was what he sought and that it was what he would find—the D would bring a storm, as an old friend once told him.
“He is,” Ace said finally. “He’s going to be the King of the Pirates someday.”
That sent all of his children into a fit again, yelling and fighting like brats. “Oh?” Marco asked, grinning at Ace. The others quieted to listen, if only a bit. “What about Pops, yoi?”
Ace blinked at him before turning back to Newgate. “Eh? Did Pops want to be the Pirate King?”
And here Newgate couldn’t help but laugh again. He laughed so hard that it ached, and perhaps Marco and his daughters would be upset with him for it, but that was a problem for later. Ace looked conflicted over the idea, like he wanted to support his captain but his belief in his young upstart of a brother was unwavering. He supposed he should let the idea of a new son go, if Ace was that sure of him. It was too bad; the boy sounded interesting. Newgate offered him a warm smile. “No, my son,” he said. He looked out across the deck of the Moby, taking in the tableau of grappled holds and fists stopped midair to offer him their undivided attention. “I’ve already achieved my dream. That’s an adventure meant for the next generation.”