As the seconds turned into minutes, and then as the minutes turned into hours, Ensign Isuka could only sweat nervously as Vice Admiral Garp kept his eyes on the paper, his scowl growing worse as more time passed.

"FIRE FIST ACE AND THE SPADE PIRATES JOIN WHITEBEARD," read the headline.

Isuka's concern for the pirate she admired reached bursting point when the paper crumpled in Garp's hands.

"Bogard! Gather the men and prepare my ship! We're going after that brat!" shouted a very very enraged Garp.

"Wait Vice Admiral sir!" shouted Isuka as she followed him. "Wait!"

"Sir, please reconsider!" pleaded Isuka. "You can't go after Ace!"

Her protests fell on deaf ears.

"Why not!?" shouted Garp. "That brat needs to be taught a lesson!"

That was an odd way of saying that justice must be served, but Isuka ignored it.

"What lesson!? What has he actually done that was pirate-like!? The closest he comes is being a habitual dine-and-dasher! That doesn't warrant a Vice-Admiral going after him, much less you, sir!" continued Isuka. "Even if he actually did something bad, he's under an Emperor's protection!"

"If you're going to continue protesting, then you can stay behind," said Garp's right-hand man, Bogard. "Once Garp decides on something, there's no changing his mind."

If was at that point that Isuka realised she couldn't stop this, but if that was the case, then she'd do the next best thing.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you. You guys agreed that Vice-Admiral Draw went too far in causing collateral damage to innocent civilians. I'm going to make sure you guys don't do anything that's just as bad," said Isuka.

"Do what you want," growled Garp.

As the days passed, Isuka wondered why Garp was so focused on Ace. Sure the pirate she admired was a supernova, in both ways that could mean, but it was because of all the reasons she admired Ace that Garp pursuing him made no sense. She knew Garp shared her view that a person being a pirate did not automatically made them a bad person, and while Garp would do his job if he crossed paths with those kind of pirates, he wouldn't go out of his way to catch them.

So why was Ace different? It couldn't be because he developed haki and managed to beat a Vice-Admiral. Most New World pirates have haki, and most New World pirate captains can beat one of the weaker Vice Admirals like Draw. Was it his bounty? No, Isuka remembered that there were other supernovas before Ace.

So what was it? Why would Garp go after Ace specifically when he only does that for the pirates that actually murder innocent civilians? What was it about Ace that made Garp willing to clash with an Emperor.

As the Moby Dick came into view, Isuka knew that at the very least, she'd get her answer. As Garp took the megaphone, Isuka pondered all they ways the day could end.

The best case scenario was that everything could be settled peacefully. Isuka didn't think that was likely given how enraged Garp looked as he got ready to speak.

The worst case scenario was that Garp kills Ace, causing Whitebeard to retaliate in turn. Even if they escaped, Whitebeard would come after them. Even if Garp failed in killing Ace, Whitebeard would still retaliate for even making the attempt in the first place.

Garp woke the Den-Den Mushi up, and Isuka gulped.

"Ace you brat! Where are you!?" he roared as the very air trembled. Most of the marines collapsed from sheer shock. Isuka herself was only able to keep herself steady by holding very hard onto the railing.

There was a commotion on the Moby Dick, and they responded.

"Garp? What are you doing here!?" asked a surprised voice.

"Where's Ace!?" repeated Garp. "Bring him to me now!"

"Garp, I may respect you, but I will never hand over any of my sons to the Marines. Please leave at once and we can forget this ever happened," said the voice Isuka was then able to identify as Whitebeard's.

"I'm not leaving until I teach my brat of a grandson a lesson!" shouted Garp.

All activity on both ships stalled as everyone processed what Garp just said.

Fire Fist Ace was Garp's grandson. After she got over the shock, Isuka realised everything then made sense.

She saw some movement on the Moby Dick, and the next voice she heard was one she knew very well.

"Grandpa," said Ace. "I'd ask what you're doing here, but the answer's obvious. Go away you shitty geezer. I don't want to talk to you."

Isuka could hear a lot of bitterness in his voice, but it was clear that as the distance narrowed between their battleship and the Moby Dick, Garp had no intention of leaving.

"What kind of attitude is that!" said Garp. "You left home, became a notorious pirate, joined Whitebeard, and the first thing you say to your grandfather is 'you don't want to talk'! Well we're talking whether you like it or not!"

"My brothers and I always wanted to be pirates!" shouted Ace. They were close enough that Isuka could see his face, but since he was focused on his grandfather, she doubted Ace noticed her yet.

"The three of you were supposed to be marines!" said Garp.

"Any chance of that ever happening was literally blown out of the water the day a World Noble killed one of my brothers!" roared Ace.

Isuka gasped and held a hand over her mouth. She wasn't blind to what the World Nobles did, but to think Ace lost one his brothers because of them.

"But by becoming a pirate, you became an enemy of the World Government!"

"The World Government made an enemy of us by letting the World Nobles commit any crime they want. Maybe you could have made marines out of us, but after that happened, Luffy and I would never work for the World Government! Not as a Warlord, and especially not as a marine!"

"Ace! You… Argh!" said Garp.

"Just fucking go already you shitty geezer!" said Ace.

Everyone, pirate and marine alike, was silent. There were many families divided between living the life of piracy and dutifully serving as a marine. Those divides could be very hostile. Isuka herself knew of the twins Andre and Candre. One was a marine, and the other a famous New World pirate, and the marine swore to do whatever it took to capture his pirate brother.

But this was the first time she and so many others saw such bitterness in action. Isuka could only look between Ace and Garp, both holding back bitter tears. Eventually, they turned away from each other.

And then, she saw something she never thought she'd see. The Hero of the Marines broke down crying. She looked back to the Moby Dick, and though his back was turned to her, she could hear Ace crying too.

"Bogard, we're leaving, set course back to Marineford," whispered Garp.

"Yes sir," said his subordinate, so quietly that Isuka barely heard him.

Wasn't that what she wanted. They were leaving. Ace was safe. So why was she feeling horrible?

Because… because a grandfather and a grandson were about to part on bitter terms, perhaps never to see each other again.

"Wait!" she shouted.

"Isuka!? What are you doing here!?" Ace asked.

"Never mind that!" said Isuka. "Is this how you want to part ways?"

"What do you mean?" asked Ace.

"Garp, Ace, is this how you want to leave things? With a massive rift between you two that might never heal if you go your separate ways now?"

"You're right, I don't," said Garp. "But…"

"But what!?" interrupted Isuka. "He's your grandson isn't he? So what if he's a pirate, he never did anything horrible. What has he done to get you to stop loving him?"

"Isuka," said Ace. "I get what you're saying, but consider my Grandpa's position here. If word gets out that his grandson…"

"Are you saying a marine and a pirate can't be friends? What about us!? We're friends aren't we!?"

"Yeah but…"

Isuka interrupted him.

"So once again, I ask, Garp, Ace, are you sure you want to part ways like this?"

Both men were silent, as they looked at each other, their crew mates, and her.

Finally, Garp and Ace wiped their tears away.

"Whitebeard," said Garp. "Is there an island nearby where I can talk with my grandson in peace?"

"We'll take you guys there," said Whitebeard.

On the island, Isuka held her breath as Ace and Garp stared at each other. Eventually though, both men smiled and hugged each other, allowing her and everyone else to let out a sigh of relief.

"Ace, you damn brat," said Garp. "You had me worried sick when I first heard you became a pirate."

"Missed you too you shitty geezer," said Ace.

And with that, all remaining tension went away. Ace and Garp began talking and Isuka took the opportunity to learn what the pirate she admired has been up to since last they met.

"So Ace, what did you do when you reached Fishman Island?" she asked.

"Did you go to Mermaid Cafe?" asked Garp. "I heard the mermaids there are very popular among male visitors."

Isuka suddenly felt a rather odd feeling in her chest.

"Nah, my crew went there, but I went someplace else," said Ace.

Isuka then felt an odd sense of relief. Why would that make her feel relieved?

Unknowing of her emotions, Ace continued. "After that, I burned Whitebeard's flag and headed for here in the New World."

"You burned Whitebeard's flag on Fishman Island? It's a wonder you're not dead you brat," said Garp as he laughed.

"Ha ha, yeah," said Ace as he rubbed his head sheepishly. "After that, I looked for Shanks so I could thank him for saving Luffy's life."

Ah yes, Isuka heard Ace met up with him.

"You learned manners just so you could properly thank him," sighed Garp. "Putting you boys together was good for you. If I could have convinced Luffy to become a marine in spite of everything, you would have joined him in a heartbeat."

"Yeah, I probably would," smiled Ace. "Too bad you'd never convince him. You lost that battle a long time ago."

"Hah! You know I can be very stubborn."

"So can Luffy! Face it you geezer, you're going to have pirates for grandsons," said Ace as he laughed.

Isuka found herself laughing too. Still, she had to ask one thing. "Garp, what did you mean when you said you put the boys together? If they're brothers, wouldn't they have been together since Luffy was born?"

"Oh, I adopted Ace," said Garp. "His dad asked me to."

"Ah."

And with that, Ace and Garp continued to talk, and Isuka could only smile as she knew they would parts ways on far better terms. They could visit each other again, and knowing them, they wouldn't be subtle about it.

She could just imagine the look on Sengoku's face if he found out. While the position is stressful, she just knew his expression was going to be epic.

The next day, she, Garp, Bogard, and the rest of the marines bid farewell to Ace and the Whitebeard pirates and went back to Marineford. On the way though, Garp called Isuka into his room for a private discussion.

With the door closed behind them, Garp went straight to the point.

"So, I can't help but notice, hard to not notice really, that you openly called my pirate grandson a friend."

"Yeah, so?" she asked.

"Bwahaha! Just like me and Roger! You're lucky it was me who heard that. Akainu would have executed you on the spot if he heard that. Aokiji wouldn't care though. Kizaru… well, he could go either way. Hard to tell with him."

Yeah, Isuka figured as much. She should probably be more careful about that in the future.

Ignorant of what she was thinking, Garp continued. "If my other grandson doesn't have a marine friend, I'll be disappointed."

"I thought you were going to continue trying?"

"Even I have to face reality at some point, that doesn't mean I won't try just to see if I could actually do it."

Isuka could only shake her head. From everything she saw and heard, what Garp was doing was clearly futile, and he could save himself a lot of trouble by giving up.

"So… you and the Pirate King were friends?"

"Yeah, a friend he trusted enough with the life of his child. When the marines were searching for his child all over, Roger asked me to raise him."

Isuka quickly put two and two together.

"Ah…"

"Yeah, that was part of the reason I called you here. If you were friends, then you deserved to know. Just be careful."

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks. Oh by the way, one more thing."

The grin Garp had filled Isuka with dread. There was no way she was going to get out of this with her dignity intact.

"You like Ace that way, right?"

She blushed and stammered.

"N- no. While he's a friend… friend, that doesn't mean that I-"

"Oh, so you'd be fine if say, a mermaid takes a liking to-"

"NO! No," said Isuka. She blushed further and looked away. There was no way she could deny it to Garp anymore.

There was no way she could deny it to herself anymore.

"Don't worry, I don't mind if you like him. In fact, if Ace somehow becomes the new Pirate King, then I'm perfectly fine with you being his queen.

Ace's queen? Isuka had to admit, that had a nice ring to it.

"If Ace asks, I'm going to tell him I approve of you. If Ace takes any other girl, I'm punching him until he makes the right choice."

"Thanks. I think?"

"Oh, and one last thing. If you and Ace have a child, let me know and I'll do my best to protect your kid."

Isuka smiled. "Thanks, Garp."