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"Ah, so you left the crew to live a happy married life. I'm really jealous of Sister Olivia for her luck. If only we could have the same luck…"
"Haha, excuse my manners. Don't take my words seriously. After all, Captain Roger's responsibility cannot be compared to that of a crew member…"
"No need to apologize, Rouge-san. I understand how you feel, and I think my wife will too…"
"In fact, I was also forced to leave the crew. I was diagnosed with a fatal illness at that time. I didn't have much time to continue the pleasant journey with the captain…"
The image of Ace, standing tall on the execution platform, reflected in her eyes that fluctuated in size with the frequency of these voices—her voice, and the voices of Rob and Olivia in her mind—from their first meeting five years ago.
Rouge's memory returned to the day everything began, the day she bought two volumes of One Piece for the first time, the day her curiosity overcame her and she decided to visit the art store for the first time after getting groceries.
On that day, after the shock of reading One Piece manga for the first time and seeing how Roger was executed in the first chapter, her sense of reality shook her core.
Soon after, two guests arrived at her house: Rob and Olivia.
…
At this moment, Rouge's mind rewound to the day everything began.
[Flashback]
After a pleasant chat with the duo, Rouge chuckled, saying,
"It's really surprising how much fun your real personality is, considering how shy you were in the past few years."
Upon hearing that, Olivia laughed gently, her smile brighter than a candle's light there,
"Hahaha, his real character is really great, isn't it, Sister Rouge?"
"Hahaha, yes, it reminds me a bit of my husband," replied Rouge with a fond smile, trying to hide her tension beneath her smile, but failing under Rob's observant eyes.
…
"Rob-san, I didn't expect you to be the one who drew this... I mean, I saw the name of the owner of that art store, but I didn't associate it with you at all... That's a really big surprise."
Upon hearing that, Rouge was truly surprised in that moment, not expecting it at all. Hence, her vibrant mood soured momentarily, her expression dimming for a brief moment.
Seeing this, Rob seemed in a hurry to let Olivia intervene:
"Yes, Rouge-san, we will be good neighbors from now on. Since you had no friends before, I think my wife here would be happy to become the friend you need, right, my dear?"
"Yes, darling, we have become really good friends. Don't you see?!" Olivia approached her and hugged her tightly in that moment.
…
"Haha, do you guys think I'm mad at something as trivial as this? Even Roger himself, when he sees this book, I'm sure he'll laugh with his usual laugh and forget about it as if it doesn't matter. He won't even need to ask you about this, Rob-san, because he trusts his comrades more than himself, or do you not know this better than me, considering that you have already traveled with Captain Roger on the same ship?"
Suddenly, Rouge understood why Rob and Olivia made this visit, which made Rob appear more mysterious in her eyes. The voices of Rob and Olivia and all the sounds outside stops, her mind fell silent as the more mysterious Voices of All Things began working.
Rob, sitting across from her, resembled a million-year-old giant tree with countless branches, each branch carrying a world of information and fragments of memory. Her eyes widened from the pain she felt in that moment.
Rouge subconsciously ignored most of the branches of this tree and focused her attention on a specific branch containing Ace's voice from the execution platform, 'Your mother deceived the world by carrying you for 20 months in her womb, your mother's name is Portgas D. Rouge!'
'Your father's name is Gol D. Roger! the Pirate King!'
'My dad is Whitebeard!' Ace retorted to the Marine fleet admiral with disdain.
The voices came in quick succession, Ace calling out to Whitebeard as soon as he arrived at the war-torn plaza, 'Old man!'
Then his voice calling out to a giant of immense size, 'Oars!'
The sad voices continued, and Ace grew more and more frustrated and suffering, especially after his grandfather sat beside him and started crying, 'Gramps!'
His brother, who did everything to reach him, fell from the sky, fell alongside many allies. Still, he could only call out without power or strength, 'Luffy!'
The voices ground Rouge's soul into an endless extension towards a certain end that shook the pillars of Rouge's soul, as if she were a small soul wandering amid a sea of scattered sad memories.
In that moment, Rouge was forcefully expelled from this surreal state when Rob called out anxiously,
"Rouge-san, are you okay?"
…
..
[End of Flashback]
"Rouge? Are you okay? You seem distracted…"
These memories left Rouge's mind upon hearing Roger's concerned voice.
"I'm okay, dear," reassured Rouge.
Roger noticed the sweat on her forehead, so naturally, he didn't believe she was okay, "Let's go, we need to visit a doctor. We'll look for Crocus or Kureha."
"No need for that, I just had a waking nightmare. I'm okay, dear."
"A waking nightmare? What's that?"
With the return of that deep memory buried in the depths of her soul, Rouge finally knew that the promised day had indeed arrived.
This was the day she saw in one of the branches of that tree five years ago.
After everything on that day, Rouge saw the future through Rob's thoughts.
…
•———•———•———•———•
Chapter's Events:
—————————
Luffy kicked Crocodile's golden-hooked arm, preventing him from attacking Whitebeard.
"We had an agreement, did we not? Why do you defend Whitebeard?" Crocodile asked, annoyed.
"So this guy really is Whitebeard, huh? Then you're not touching him! This is the one guy Ace really cares about!" Luffy affirmed, not allowing Crocodile to touch the Whitebeard.
…
"That brother of Ace's isn't half bad…" Marco commented with a smile.
…
(In East Blue…)
Seeing the familiar straw hat on Luffy's back, Whitebeard recalled Shanks' previous words.
(What manner of enemy took that left arm from you?)
(Oh, this…? I bet it on a new age…)
"Boy… That Straw Hat you wear… it bears a strong resemblance to the hat Red Hair once wore…" Whitebeard asked Luffy for confirmation.
"Oh, hey! You know Shanks, huh!?"
"I'm borrowing this hat from him!" Luffy confirmed.
(Check it out, Old man!! This kid is my brother!!)
Whitebeard remembered the smile on Ace's face as he proudly showed his brother's wanted poster.
"Are you here to save your brother?" Whitebeard asked.
"That's right!!" replied Luffy.
"I hope you understand who you're up against. You will simply be throwing your life
away!!" Whitebeard tested Luffy with these words.
"Shut up!!! It's not your job to decide that!!!" Exclaimed Luffy, then continued:
"I've heard about you… You want to be the Pirate King, right? Well, the one who's going to be the Pirate King is me!!!"
(Whaaaaa!!?) The escaped prisoners were almost knocked off their feet after hearing that.
Upon hearing that, Whitebeard smiled:
"… Well, I'll be damned… You'd better not get in my way, greenhorn!!!" Whitebeard commented mockingly.
"I'll do this however I damn well want!! I'm saving Ace myself." Luffy pressed his knees, ready to run towards the battlefield.
(He's competing with Whitebeard…!!!) Ivankov and Buggy were shocked until their snot fell. As for Mister 3 and the other escaped prisoners, their mouths dropped open until they fell to the ground.
…
"Dear me… may I assume that all of these intruders may be executed, Sengoku-san…?" Kizaru asked.
"Naturally!!!" Sengoku replied decisively.
•———•———•———•———•
"Wahahahahahaha!" Roger laughed after reading this scene.
"I wonder how Newgate will react to his first meeting with Luffy~"
"My dear, you're fine now, aren't you?"
"Look at this, hahaha! Luffy challenging Newgate for the Pirate King's seat."
Rouge nodded with a smile, finding the scene enjoyable as well.
…
The scene shifted from Baterilla to Ohara, where readers here had the same expressions on their faces as they listened to Luffy and Whitebeard's conversation.
"Oh my god! Is this really the first time they're meeting!?"
"How old is Luffy!? 17 years old!? How old is Whitebeard? Maybe 72 years... He's like his grandfather! No, maybe even older…"
"I like this Luffy, hahaha! He fears no one, neither for his status nor his strength! I want a character like him!"
"Look! Even the great Whitebeard is impressed by Luffy!"
"Hahaha! I love that! Poor Crocodile is afraid of Luffy but not afraid of Whitebeard. What's wrong with his sandy brain?"
"Hahaha! Whitebeard must be the reason for his missing hand and that scar on his face."
"Hahaha! Man, that scar on his face gives him a special charm; without it, he'd look bad."
The residents of Ohara, whether archaeologists, doctors, teachers, farmers, or fishermen, were all fully aware of Whitebeard's status compared to the rising supernova Luffy, each in completely different spheres.
But while reading this scene, they forgot the differences in status between these two personalities.
"One of them is already at the pinnacle of the world, while the other hasn't even been born yet, Fuffuffu~ Quite intriguing," Doffy laughed after reading this scene and hearing the readers' comments from the side.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 708: Sengoku's Wisdom. The Weird Bartholomew Kuma.
Chapter 709: I've seen enough of cages today!
Chapter 710: Because They're Brothers.
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