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Ace's smile reflected in Roger's eyes, full of longing, as he heard Sabo's dream at that moment.
Immediately afterward, it was Ace's turn to speak about his own dream.
...
..
("I'm going to become a pirate, defeat every last person who stands in my way… And earn the kind of glory that dreams are made of! Only then will my life have meaning!")
("I don't care if the whole world refuses to accept me... They can hate me all they want! I'll become a great pirate and prove I'm better than all of them!")
("I won't run from anyone! I'll never lose! I don't care if they're terrified of me! I'm going to make sure the whole world knows my name!")
...
..
With each word Ace spoke, anticipation, joy, sorrow, and despair filled Roger's heart.
"I see... You've already fulfilled your dream, haven't you, my son?"
Roger took a big sip of sake this time, gazing into Ace's true dream, which didn't mention wanting to become the Pirate King or anything of the sort.
"You wanted to be a pirate, and you became a great one."
"You wanted to defeat every opponent who stood before you, and you did, until your very last breath."
"You sought to earn the glory you dreamed of, and you've done just that."
"The world rejected you, and they surely hated you, but you didn't care, and you became a great pirate, proving your worth to exist in this world despite them."
"You never wanted to run away from anyone… and you never did, though I wish you had my little boy..."
At last, the tears that had been welling up for so long spilled from Roger's eyes, like a dam that had finally broken.
For the first time, the crew of Roger witnessed their captain cry. And not just a tear, but an outpouring of grief.
Roger was the Pirate King! The King of all pirates in the world. But in that moment, he was just a father mourning his son's soul.
Seeing this, Shanks' heart ached, and even Buggy looked pained. Rayleigh and Gaban both sighed deeply, feeling the sorrow from the depths of their hearts.
"I thought your dream would be much bigger than this... But it turns out you didn't want to steal your brother's dream, did you? You really were a kind-hearted child."
Roger wiped his tears as he gazed at Ace's smiling face in the manga.
It seemed he had finally learned how to truly be a father.
…
•———•———•———•———•
Chapter's Events:
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"Shishishi…!! All right… Well, then..."
Now that both Sabo and Ace had shared their dreams before the vast ocean, Luffy couldn't just stand idly by.
He stepped forward, almost as if he were embracing the sea.
"I'M GONNA…!!!"
Luffy shouted his bizarre, unusual dream at the top of his lungs. This time, he revealed his true dream, rather than becoming Pirate King, which turned out to be just the stepping stone toward fulfilling his actual ambition.
"Huh??!"
As expected, Luffy's words left Sabo and Ace with shocked expressions.
"Ahahahaha!" Luffy laughed.
"… Of all the things… you could have said..." Ace muttered, bewildered.
"Ahahahaha! Man, you're one crazy guy!!"
"You're definitely someone worth keeping an eye on, that's for sure!!"
Sabo clutched his stomach and laughed like there was no tomorrow.
•———•———•———•———•
"I want to know what Luffy's dream is!"
Shanks was frustrated, feeling as though the author had deliberately skipped over the reveal and didn't want to share it.
"Wahahaha! I bet your future counterpart already knows it, or he wouldn't have given him the Straw Hat."
Roger laughed as he spoke.
"Huh, are you saying it might be like your ridiculous dream, Captain?" Shanks clicked his tongue with a sly grin.
"So now my dream's ridiculous, is it?"
"Wahahaha! Considering I couldn't achieve it in the end, you're right. It was a silly dream."
Roger chuckled as he remembered that day at Laugh Tale, the day he had laughed at the childish nature of his own dream for the first time.
The day he realized that his dream could only be fulfilled by one specific person... Sadly, it wasn't him on that day.
"Could it really be that your dream, Captain, is the same as Luffy's mysterious dream?" Buggy asked, astonished.
Rayleigh, Gaban, Nozdon, and the others smiled... They all knew about their captain's foolish dream.
If Luffy were to dream of something strange, it would certainly be like Roger's dream.
"What's wrong with that? Everyone's entitled to their own dreams. Blackbeard once said something wise... People's dreams never end."
"And that's absolutely true... There are no limits to what people can dream of. Don't laugh at anyone's dream, especially those with the will of kings."
That was a precious piece of advice from the captain.
…
"What is Luffy's dream, dad?"
Back on Dawn Island, Robin asked with confusion, seeing Luffy speak without words.
"Do you really want to know?" Rob turned his gaze from the couple (Sabo's biological parents) to Robin, who was in his arms.
"Of course, I want to know!" Robin lightly hit her father's chest with both hands.
"Well, when your father knows too, he'll definitely tell you," Rob patted Robin's head, who was puzzled at that moment, and then looked back at the couple.
"Well, maybe the time has come."
Rob stepped out of his personal space and slowly made his way toward the couple.
The store goddesses in his path bowed with great respect, their eyes filled with awe and admiration.
They couldn't see their master every day. Seeing him even once in their lives was a priceless blessing, especially given all the benefits he had bestowed upon them, benefits that couldn't be measured in money.
Rob nodded gently to their greetings and motioned for them to continue their work as usual, then continued on his way.
Readers were awed by the author's personal appearance, but they continued reading with enjoyment. They really wanted to catch him and force him to reveal Luffy's dream here and now.
But could they? Of course, it was a dream… The one dream that no one could dream of, because it was impossible for anyone else to achieve.
Only Robin… But even she couldn't, for her father himself didn't know what Luffy's true dream was yet.
…
"Was I a bad father, Queen...?"
On Urura Island, Kaido was heavily drunk, tears streaming from his eyes as he asked this question.
"You're asking a bad parent, Kaido-san... I also abandoned my child at one point in my life..."
"Tsk… I wasn't a bad father! I wanted to make Yamato strong! She wouldn't be strong if she didn't live a hard life!"
"What made me strong, huh!? Do you think it's because my race has tough bodies? Rubbish!"
"What made me strong was the hardship I went through! My parents abandoned me too! The hard life I lived shaped my strength! But I didn't abandon her! I was nurturing her from afar!"
"Uweeeh! I miss my Yamato… Will Rob give her back to me if I ask?"
Kaido didn't know why, but Sabo's story about his parents had stirred something in him… something that had been buried deep in his heart for a long time.
"Young Lady Yamato has officially become the daughter of the Sky Sword in a trade deal between you and him, Kaido-san... Getting her back from him is only a dream."
This time, King spoke.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 793: The Three Sake Cups. A New Miracle.
Chapter 794: The Gray Terminal Inferno
Chapter 795: The Corrupt Goa.
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