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Fish-Man Island:
People of the Fish-Man, race from all corners of the island to secure their seats at the art store and ensure getting the latest volume faster than anyone else.
Smiles can be seen on the faces of random individuals of various ages as they flip through manga pages with gleaming eyes.
Occasionally, those smiles turn into somber expressions, indicating their immersion into the volume's events and complete forgetfulness of their actual reality.
One of them was the young Jimbei, who had recently gained great respect from people because he represented the Fish-Man community the best in the manga's world.
Jimbei's eyes smoothly transitioned from one speech bubble to another after carefully examining each scene, "This..."
At this moment, Jimbei became excited as the small flashback illustrating Ace's journey when he first set sail into the sea, showed Jimbei and Ace's first encounter.
"So, the first meeting was in a battle that lasted for 5 days, and it ended in a draw...?" Jimbei wondered.
…
•———•———•———•———•———•
Chapter's Events:
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"Big guy… I want to meet the man known as Whitebeard!!" Ace said calmly, standing before a fish-man, who happened to be Jimbei.
"A boy like you might be an assassin… I cannot allow you to see him!" Jimbei declared firmly, then added, "I may not be a member of the Whitebeard Pirates… But I owe them a debt… I will face you myself."
"Ace, that guy, that's Jimbei!!!"
Ace's crew recognized one of the Shichibukai members.
…
After a fierce battle between Ace and Jimbei…
"It's been five days and they're still at it…!!"
"You're gonna kill yourselves at this rate…!! Ace…!!!"
…
..
"Gurarara… So you still stand…" Whitebeard marveled at the determination of this young boy.
"This is no place for you to die, boy… If you still have it in your heart to fight, take my name upon your back, and rage across the seas to your heart's content!!!"
Whitebeard expressed his desire to recruit Ace into his crew, extending his hand and saying, "Become a son of mine!!!"
Ace's eyes widened at hearing that, and he shouted angrily, "Don't screw with me…!!!"
•———•———•———•———•———•
Baterilla:
"Wahahaha!"
Roger's laughter echoed through the forest, causing sensitive animals like deer and rabbits to flee.
"Newgate truly has thick skin… Thick enough not to be embarrassed in such a situation."
"But I wonder if it's thick enough to protect you from my sword, Newgate...?!"
"..." Rouge blinked her eyes repeatedly, unsure if she was just seeing things or if Roger truly showed devilish shadow behind him at that moment.
"Roger! Calm down... Why are you so angry?" Rouge asked, puzzled.
"How can I not be angry when this insolent man is stealing my child from me? He wants my son to bear his name? That is unforgivable...!"
"He has already adopted him, and it's over. This is just a flashback explaining how it happened..." Rouge explained calmly.
"..." Roger halted his childish tantrum and continued reading the events that had angered him for some reason.
His smile grew wider and wider as he saw Ace repeatedly attempting to assassinate Newgate, each time in a different way.
"Sigh~ Unfortunately, he fails every time..."
"Well, it's not like you're going to succeed in assassinating that old man with the crescent white mustache... Even your true old man couldn't do something like this..."
"Bft... Hahaha!" Seeing Roger's reaction to the manga, Rouge stifled a muted laugh, then burst into loud laughter.
Roger smiled when he finally saw his wife laugh, seeming to indicate that his performance had succeeded.
As it turned out, his previous anger and cursing towards Whitebeard were just acts, aimed at making Rouge laugh.
…
•———•———•———•———•———•
"Why do all of you call him your 'Old Man,' anyway…?"
Ace sensed Marco's arrival, who came to offer him food, and asked this question.
"Because… He calls us his sons."
"The world hates us for what we are, you know…"
A gentle smile appeared on Marco's face as he expressed his feelings freely and without any restraints: "It makes us happy… Even if it's just a word…"
Upon hearing that, Ace held back his tears to avoid crying.
"I hope you don't plan on keeping this nonsense up forever. It's time you made a decision," Marco suggested.
"You can't take our old man's head as you are now. So either you leave this ship for now… or you stay, and bear Whitebeard's mark."
…
..
"Gurararara… I see… That is a surprise… I see… Yes… You're not much like him in personality…"
At this moment, Whitebeard showed his surprise when Ace told him about his biological father.
"He was your enemy, wasn't he? Aren't you going to throw me out?" Ace wondered at Whitebeard's somewhat simple reaction.
"When you said you had something important to tell me, I wondered what on earth it might be… But then you come out with a little thing like this…?"
"It doesn't matter who brought you into this world… All humans are sons and daughters of the sea!! Gurararara!!"
That was Whitebeard's response when he confirmed that Ace was Roger's son.
•———•———•———•———•———•
Sphinx Island:
"Marco… My son…" At this moment, no one noticed the tear that fell from the smiling Whitebeard's eye, as he hid his emotions well.
"… Sorry, I couldn't control my emotions."
"I think something got into my eyes… Ah, damn it…"
"There's a bad smell that made my eyes tear up… Is it the smell of your feet, Vista?"
"Haha, I suffer from the same thing, sniff… No, it's the stench of your feet, you're disgusting!"
Like Whitebeard, his sons, such as Marco, Vista, Jozu, and the others, couldn't hold back either.
Marco's words in the manga, which revealed their true essence, made them cry.
Feeling embarrassed, they foolishly justified their tears.
It's true, because the world hates them, because Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, acknowledged them as his sons and gave them the family they never dreamed of... That's why they became what they are now.
"Gurarara!!" Seeing this scene, Whitebeard couldn't help but laugh.
"I really have a bunch of foolish sons… But how could I live without you, my sons?"
"Ace... he's the son of the sea I took under my name, each one of you is like Ace... Most of you initially refused to become my son and rebelled, but after a while, you became what you are today, my sons."
Stussy wiped tears from her lover's smiling face, whispering tearfully herself.
"Don't forget, you have a biological son too."
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 694: The war is beginning, Attack!
Chapter 695: Amazing Display of Superpowers!
Chapter 696: Marco the Phoenix, and Diamond Jozu.
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