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Gentle winds blew, neither strong nor weak, but they rustled the man's cloak and the woman's hair only, on a slightly elevated grassy hill overlooking the sea.
They gazed at a majestic pirate ship, its crew spreading out across the island's surface.
"... He doesn't mean that from the depths of his heart, does he?" The woman seemed to ask the man beside her... but she was actually trying to tell him that the boy in the manga didn't mean what he was saying.
"It's okay, Rouge. The kid suffered a lot without his parents. It's not strange for him to have such thoughts." Roger replied with a warm smile on his face.
He tried to maintain a calm facade in front of his wife so she wouldn't sense his sorrow at that moment. After all, who wants to hear such harsh denial from their own son? Even if it's he who's being denied, or his counterpart in the manga, who's already "dead."
He still represented his counterpart in the manga and eagerly anticipated Ace's birth in this world to be an ideal father.
"Damn you, Newgate! He's a pro at stealing others' children! Our son isn't spared from him... Well, go and adopt everyone, you bastard!"
"Pft..." Rouge chuckled gently after seeing her husband's comedic reaction.
"Wahahaha!" Seeing her beautiful laughter, Roger couldn't help but burst into laughter himself.
"It seems Gaban and the others are feeling angry after seeing Newgate's deed. Listen to their angry curses."
"My dear... don't get angry at Ace in the manga... he's... he's miserably wretched to the point that-" Roger put two fingers on Rouge's lips, stopping her from talking.
"How can I feel anger? I don't deserve that. He deserves to be angry, to hate me, to rebel against me. After all, I wasn't a father to him, not even for a day..."
"Look at what he said to Garp here... I didn't give him anything except half of his blood. I didn't leave him a single memory. He grew up hearing people curse me as the king of pirates—no, the king of demons who was eventually executed, and the world was relieved of his tyranny."
"Heh~ No, the world didn't really get relieved. With a few words from him before his death, he caused a frenzy among pirates worldwide, giving birth to hundreds of thousands of new pirates, meaning he caused an entire era of grief for ordinary people... How can he not hate me when he grew up hearing that the name Gold Roger equals the devil?"
Roger spoke non-stop, but when he stopped, he sighed, and a small tear couldn't be stopped from falling from his eye.
"He's my son..."
"... Yes, he's your son." Rouge embraced him, silently wiping away her tears.
...
Wano Country:
"It seems Roger won't sleep tonight. Gurararara!"
"It's sad to hear your biological son say such things."
"You too, Oden?"
"Hmm... well, it is indeed sad, but he should be grateful because I raised his son as my own."
"He must know how much I love my sons."
Whitebeard continued to drink his own beer while chatting with Oden.
"But I heard you sent your biological son to Rob..."
Whitebeard's forehead trembled upon hearing that, feeling like he swallowed a mosquito.
"I sent him for treatment only."
...
•———•———•———•———•———•
"Chapter 525" Events:
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"Vice Admiral Momonga!! We've spotted a pirate ship at ten o'clock!"
On board the warship carrying Luffy and Hancock towards Impel Down, the Marines noticed a specific pirate ship.
The pirate flag belonged to Buggy the Clown!
"Whose ship is it...?" Momonga inquired.
"I feel like I've seen that flag before... I'll look it up right away," replied a Marine using binoculars.
"Leave them. We're on a tight schedule," Momonga ordered without hesitation. The most important thing for him was escorting Hancock to Marineford on time, and he didn't want any additional delays disrupting his plans.
After the ship stopped in front of the massive Gate of Justice, Momonga spoke with the officials at this departure point.
[] This is Momonga, Marine code G100660. We will soon enter the current. Prepare to open the gate. []
[The Marine ship that Luffy and Hancock are on is approaching the 'Tri-Current' reserved for marine use, tying together the government's three central points.]
In the background, there was a schematic diagram illustrating the current location of the ship and the three central points of the government: Enies Lobby, Marineford, and Impel Down.
•———•———•———•———•———•
"It's good to follow orders... but why ignore the pirates, Momonga?" Sakazuki's tone made Momonga flinch.
"It's not like remnants of Buggy and Alvida can do anything, right?" Kuzan eased the intensity of the argument.
"Heh~ That clown got caught too? When?" Borsalino felt curious.
"Well, well, this is Momonga, and that's a completely different counterpart. Don't mix manga with reality, Sakazuki," Sengoku said calmly.
"But the manga is always right."
"You'll see that in the Summit War. I'll make sure the manga highlights my strength and dominance against those cursed pirates."
...
Sorbet Kingdom:
"You're doing it again?" Dragon said without any change in his expression.
Before him stood Kuma in his clergy attire, extracting the pains and illnesses of the weak old men and old women in the village where Kuma's church was located, away from his royal palace.
"I've gotten used to it already..."
"You really don't need to do this, Kumachi. Your kindness alone is enough for my healing."
"Please, return to us that gentle smile... seeing you smile is the greatest medicine for us."
"You're not Ginny to make him smile."
When the elderly mentioned Ginny's name, Kuma's expression stiffened before becoming sadder.
"Aren't you ready to talk to Rob about her yet? I'm sure he can help you seek revenge at least."
"Who do you want revenge on? This old man will do it for you." Garp arrived at that moment.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 618: Akainu's Extremist Justice.
Chapter 619: Impel Down.
Chapter 620: Luffy and Buggy in Impel Down!
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