Dinner was the same as always.
Naru and Dadan ate their food quietly as they watched the chaotic spectacle before them.
The boys and the bandits were acting like they hadn't eaten in days, fighting over the pile of food in the middle of the table. Naru wasn't even surprised when some of them got pushed hard or kicked across the room.
Honestly, this sight had become so familiar that she could no longer be bothered to comment. She had grown up surrounded by this kind of chaos ever since she was a baby, so getting used to it was inevitable. At first, she had doubted her grandfather's decision to leave her with these people.
But over the years, as she grew older, she had come to know and even care for these mountain bandits. Somehow, their rowdy energy had become comforting. Naru preferred this kind of loud, lively dinner to a quiet and lonely one. To her, family meant eating and laughing together over a warm meal.
Even though Dadan and the others were bandits, Naru had long regarded them as her own family. Dadan was rough and blunt, a woman who struggled to express affection, yet she was the closest thing the siblings had to a mother. The others, despite their scary appearances, were more like a bunch of intimidating-looking uncles with surprisingly soft hearts.
Naru's lips twitched in amusement as she watched her youngest brother's pitiful attempt to protect his meal from being stolen. Luffy's food kept disappearing from his plate, unlike Ace, who snatched food after food with practiced ease.
Clearly, all those days of running and dodging during Garp's brutal training had paid off.
"Nee-chan…" Luffy, unable to keep up with the madness, approached her with teary eyes and a bump on his head. "I'm so hungry!" he whined pitifully.
As funny as it was, she could not help but feel sorry for him. With a small sigh, she handed him her own food, earning herself an instant grin from the boy.
Just then, Ace came over with a piece of meat in one hand.
"Tch. You still can't get food on your own?" he scoffed, but then tossed the meat to Luffy anyway.
"Wahh, thanks, Ace!" Luffy beamed, immediately devouring it.
Even Dadan was not spared, glaring in irritation when some of her own food went missing. "The food isn't going anywhere, you damn brat! Do you want to choke to death?" she snapped.
While Naru watched the scene unfold with quiet amusement, she suddenly blinked and turned her head toward the door, sensing something, or rather someone.
Then came the sound.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Someone was at the door.
Even before it opened, Naru already knew who it was.
Apparently, the visitor had grown impatient because the next second, the door was flung open with a loud crash, splintering in half.
"There goes the door…" Dadan sighed tiredly.
"Bwahahahaha! Is it dinner time?"
The booming voice drew everyone's attention. A large, muscular man stepped through the ruined doorway, grinning broadly.
"Arghhh! It's Garp!"
Panic ensued immediately. The bandits scattered in every direction, carrying their food like frightened animals.
Garp ignored them completely. His focus was on the three children sitting at the table.
"Grandpa, welcome home!" Naru greeted warmly, ever the sensible grandchild. Ace grimaced, while Luffy nearly choked to death from the shock.
Naru quickly handed Luffy some water.
"Couldn't you open the door like a normal person, Garp-san?" Dadan cursed him with her glare.
In response, Garp just laughed her off and said that he would give her the money to get a new door before turning his attention back to the kids.
As always, Naru was the calmest of the three, while Ace eyed him warily and Luffy tried to sneak more food into his mouth.
"What's this?" Garp approached them slowly, raising his fist, which made the boys flinch. "You brats still don't know how to greet your elder? Seems like I need to remind you of some basic manners!"
"Grandpa!" Luffy said quickly after swallowing the food in his mouth. He waved enthusiastically. "Long time no see!"
"…Welcome back," Ace muttered halfheartedly.
"Ho? You don't sound very happy to see me," Garp said, raising an eyebrow.
Ace clenched his jaw to keep from blurting out, Obviously.
"That's not true," Naru interjected suddenly, her tone deceptively sweet. The gleam in her eyes immediately made Ace tense. "Luffy and Ace were just telling me earlier how much they missed you. They couldn't wait to show you how much they've improved since the last time you visited."
Luffy blinked, confused by her words, while Ace stared at her in betrayal.
"Oho? Really?" Garp cracked his knuckles with a grin that sent shivers down their spines. At that moment, Naru thought he looked more like a thug than a hero of the Marines. "Then now's the perfect time for some family bonding, don't you think?"
Ace and Luffy exchanged looks of dread before slowly backing away.
A second later, the room echoed with their screams as they bolted outside, desperately trying to escape the lunatic old man who was laughing maniacally while throwing an actual tree at them.
"Bwahahahahaha! Is that all you've got?!"
Dadan sighed. "…"
Naru tilted her head. "Oh? Luffy seems to be improving a lot."
"Are you sure they'll be fine?" Dadan asked dryly.
In the distance, they could still hear the boys' terrified screams, Garp's laughter, and the occasional explosion.
"Don't worry," Naru said with a small smile. "They'll be just fine."
Dadan stared at her for a moment, then shook her head. "…Right."
.
.
.
Later.
Looking at her sleeping brothers, Naru shook her head with a helpless smile.
Honestly, Garp did not even land a single hit on either of them.
Sure, he threw trees and boulders at them, but the old man still had enough conscience to purposely miss so he wouldn't actually hurt his grandsons. The two were mostly exhausted from all the running and screaming they had done throughout the night.
It had been like a game of tag. The extreme kind.
When Naru noticed that Ace and Luffy could not endure the "torture" anymore, she finally decided to take pity on them. Though, it was probably because they kept giving her those pitiful gazes.
Once they were clean and fed again (mostly Luffy), she immediately sent them to bed, which did not take much effort on her part.
After confirming they were asleep and properly covered with their blankets, Naru left the room the three of them shared. She stepped carefully between the many men sleeping on futons in the living room, heading straight for the door. The main entrance had been broken earlier by Garp, so they had covered the space with an old curtain.
Outside, she turned her head left and saw a certain old man sitting on a wooden bench built by Magra and Dogra last year, one leg crossed over the other.
Even though it was late, she could still make out the bottle of sake in his hand.
Naru was not surprised to see him there. She had known he had not left yet. What did surprise her was that he was still here at all. Usually, once he finished visiting them, he would return to his home in the village down the mountain regardless of the hour.
The siblings had been to his house a few times whenever Garp was kind enough to bring them along. As for why they had to live on the mountain instead of in his house, Naru had never asked either Garp or Dadan.
The reason was obvious enough to someone as perceptive as her.
"Oh, you're still awake?" Garp had already noticed her presence. Since she did not bother to hide and only stood there silently watching him, he spoke first.
"I couldn't sleep," Naru replied, offering an excuse. "What about you, Grandpa? I thought you'd be gone by now."
"It sounds like you're expecting me to die or something."
She rolled her eyes. "You know that's not what I meant."
Garp smirked. "What a sassy brat."
She only shrugged in response.
Garp chuckled and patted the spot beside him. "Come on, keep this old man company for a while."
"Alright." She walked over, climbed up onto the bench with ease, and sat beside him, her short legs dangling above the ground.
"You want a taste?" he asked suddenly, waving the sake bottle.
Naru raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "You do know I'm only eight, right?"
"Bah! You don't even act your age." Despite his words, Garp knew better than to actually give alcohol to a child, no matter how grown-up she acted.
While Garp took another gulp, Naru decided not to waste her time just sitting with an old man drinking sake. There was something she had been curious about for a long time.
"Hey, Grandpa."
"Mm?" Garp lowered the bottle and turned to look at her.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Can you tell me about my father?" she asked at last. She thought her question might surprise him, but instead, it was her who was caught off guard when he said, "Huh. Took you this long to ask about that darn son of mine."
He looked like he had been prepared for this conversation for quite some time.
"Anyway, where should I start? Oh, right. Do you even know what your old man's name is?" he asked, expecting her to shake her head, but she nodded instead.
"I know. His name is Dragon," Naru answered without hesitation. When she saw Garp's surprised look, she added, "I read the news, you know?"
Her father, Dragon, was a famous man, and not really in a good way.
After mastering her favorite jutsu, the Kage Bunshin, along with several other basic techniques, Naru had used her clones to explore the island while one stayed behind to watch her brothers. One of her disguised clones had reached the main capital and managed to get a freshly delivered newspaper from a delivery bird.
Imagine her shock when she saw a familiar face on the front page, with bold letters announcing his identity.
Dragon, her father and the son of the Marine Hero, was a notorious criminal wanted by the World Government, the very organization Garp worked for.
According to the article, he was the leader of an army that rebelled against the World Government, and that army had existed long before she was even born.
Naru had not known what to feel about her family after that.
Unlike with Garp, she felt no real bond with Dragon. With no contact and no memories beyond a few fleeting moments, he was more of a stranger who happened to share her blood. She felt closer to the mountain bandits Garp had threatened into raising her and her brothers than to the man who had abandoned them.
Even so, she could not help but wonder why.
Dragon clearly had the ability to come and go freely, as proven by how he had dropped off his newborn children, twice, yet never stayed. Why?
She did not believe he was a cruel man who hated his children. She could still remember the faint trace of affection she had seen in his eyes when he looked at her, both as a baby and again when she was five.
Three years ago, before she could even ask him why, he had suddenly appeared, patted her head, and apologized. He said his situation was complicated and that he couldn't care for newborn Luffy, so she, as the big sister, would have to take care of him in his stead.
Then he vanished.
The audacity!
He really had the nerve to ask his five-year-old daughter, whom he he had not visited in years, to raise his infant son?
For the love of Rikudo Sennin, she was eight years old now and had only seen him twice!
Since she was, in truth, an adult inside, Naru did not mind living without parents. But knowing her father was alive and had still chosen to abandon them did not sit right with her. She had learned to cherish the family she had now, and even though Dragon was not a good father, he was still a family.
Still, understanding his reasons would not excuse his flaws.
"Huh, where'd you even get a newspaper about him? I told those guys not to bring anything related to him here," Garp said, frowning slightly.
So, Dadan and the rest knew more than they'd let on.
"Actually, I was planning to tell you about him when you were twelve or something," Garp went on. "But it looks like you've got your own ways of finding things out. So, why don't you tell me what you have found out so far?"
Naru looked at him, his eyes glinting with curiosity, urging her to speak.
"My father is a criminal, wanted by the World Government for leading a rebel army against them. I don't know his reasons, but despite his status, I don't think he's a bad person."
A light flickered in Garp's eyes. "Oh? Why do you think that?"
Under the moonlight, Naru's blue eyes gleamed brightly. Instead of answering, she asked, "Then why didn't you catch him when you had the chance? I don't believe you're the kind to abuse your position. You wouldn't let a criminal escape just because he's family."
Garp grinned. "So you want me to capture your old man?"
Naru stayed silent, and Garp did not push.
"You may act older than your age," he said, "but there are things about us adults that you won't understand yet."
Naru frowned, trying to read between his words. A possible explanation crossed her mind, but she kept it to herself.
"That's fine," she said. "I'll figure everything out sooner or later, even without you telling me."
"Good! I like that determination!" Garp laughed heartily. He could have told her more, but something in her calm, steady gaze stopped him.
Naru found the irony of her life almost amusing. In her past life, her father had been a hero who was loved, praised, and admired by his people. Now, her father was a criminal, branded as the "worst in the world," leading an army against the world's greatest power.
And her grandfather worked for that same power.
It was fortunate that Dragon's full name was not a public knowledge. Otherwise, she could say goodbye to her peaceful life, because the moment people managed to connect Dragon to Garp, the World Government would come knocking on their door and chaos would follow.
The thought made her frown. This mountain was her home. These people were her precious family. She could not let anything happen to them or anyone to ruin their peaceful life here.
Garp noticed her expression and spoke seriously, "You're a smart kid, Naru. I know you understand how serious your situation is. The only reason I'm telling you this much is because you're not like other kids your age."
"I understand," she said quietly.
More than he knew. She understood that being tied to someone with power, especially the wrong kind, was dangerous. But she also knew that good and evil were not as simple as the world believed.
Dragon was not evil. If he were, Garp would have caught him long ago.
She did not know Dragon's exact reasons for fighting the World Government, but her instincts and Kurama's told her that there was more to it.
Still, what did that have to do with her?
If anything, learning all this only strengthened her resolve to stay out of that mess. She had no interest in power struggles. Even if the world found out about her lineage someday, she was confident she could protect herself.
But what about Ace and Luffy?
One day, she would leave this place. Who would protect them when she was gone? She could not travel the world and guard her brothers at the same time.
As she mulled over the problem, Garp took another drink, his eyes briefly flicking toward the house. He did not say a word.
The chirping of crickets filled the silence. Naru turned back to him, curiosity stirring again.
"What about my mother?" she asked.
That question caught him off guard.
"Is she still alive? And is she even the same person who gave birth to all of us?" she continued.
The old man hesitated for a moment, which she noticed, but then he sighed and said, "I can't say much about your mother, but yes, she's the same woman who gave birth to you brats."
"Then what about Ace?"
"What about him?"
"I actually know that he isn't related to us by blood."
Garp looked at her in silence. After a few moments, he finally said, "You're a sharp kid."
"So it's true then."
When Garp had brought Ace here six years ago, Naru never questioned his origin. But her suspicion that Ace might not be related to them by blood was confirmed when Luffy entered their lives.
That night when Ace was first brought to the mountain, Dragon was nowhere to be seen. Later, when he appeared again with the newborn Luffy and told her to take care of him, not once did he mention anything about Ace.
It was as though he did not even care abotu Ace, or rather, he was not aware that his daughter already had a little brother before Luffy was born.
Even so, Naru never considered it a problem. Blood ties or not, she had raised Ace since the day he arrived. Their bond was every bit as strong as any real sibling relationship could be.
"Ace is the son of the Pirate King, Gol D Roger. I'm sure you've heard of him," Garp began, revealing Ace's origin before she could even ask further.
According to Garp, Ace's mother was a woman named Portgas D Rouge. She had carried Ace in her womb for twenty months before finally giving birth to him a year and three months after Roger's execution.
She died shortly after giving birth.
Who could have imagined that Roger would entrust his greatest rival, Garp, with the safety of his wife and child? The world would be shaken to its core if this ever became known.
When Garp finished speaking, Naru could only blink twice, too stunned to respond. The old man's casual tone while revealing such a shocking truth left her speechless. What truly stunned her, though, was how long Ace's mother had carried him.
Twenty months?
How was that even physically possible?
Before she could recover, a third voice broke the silence.
"Is that true?"
Both Naru and Garp turned toward the house. At the entrance stood a small figure, staring at them with wide, disbelieving eyes.