Ace struggled to open his eyes, and a burst of light shone into his vision.
What caught his eyes was an extremely soft face.
But at this moment, the owner of this face, Portgas D. Rouge, looked weak, her forehead covered with beads of sweat. Every breath seemed to take all her strength. In order to avoid being hunted by Marine and the World Government, Rouge extended her pregnancy from ten to twenty months, consuming all her life force.
Even though her life was at its end, Rouge's face radiated joy, her eyes filled with the ultimate tenderness and attachment as she gazed at Ace.
"Roger's child?"
Beside Rouge's bed stood a burly man in a black suit. His determined eyes held an extremely complex expression. This was Marine hero, Monkey D. Garp. It felt absurd for Garp, a Marine hero, to be in the same room with the wife and child of the Pirate King. But Rouge seemed to be oblivious to Garp's presence. She took a deep breath, looked at Ace in her arms with endless tenderness, and spoke slowly.
"Ace, eat more, don't be picky, and grow up early. Remember to take a hot bath on time every day, don't stay up late, and ensure you sleep. Make more friends. This ocean is very vast, and you will definitely make a lot of friends, but you don't need too many true friends, just a few are enough. You should wait until after you are twenty to drink alcohol. Excessive drinking is harmful to your health, so be careful. In the future, Ace, you will be interested in women, but remember, don't be seduced by strange women. Find a woman like Mom. As the son of the Pirate King, you will encounter many painful and sad things in the future. You must remain firm in yourself and have dreams. And, you also need to have the confidence to realize your dreams. And, and, and..."
At this point, Rouge had already burst into tears, her extremely soft face full of sorrowful tears.
"I really still have many things I want to teach you, and I also want to be by your side all the time. … Mom loves you."
Rouge used all her strength to kiss Ace on the forehead and slowly closed her eyes.
Ace felt the warmth on his forehead and Rouge's body temperature that had not yet dissipated, and his eyes gradually became moist. As an orphan in his previous life, he had never experienced such pure maternal love. But Rouge's life had come to an end. Even the tough Garp was moved by this pure maternal love and was speechless for a long time. But soon, Garp's Observation Haki sensed something was wrong.
"Hey, Rouge!"
Although Observation Haki had already told Garp that Rouge's life signs had disappeared, he still called out.
Garp silently took Ace from Rouge's arms.
"Don't worry, I will let him grow up safely."
Garp's eyes changed from complex to determined as he spoke slowly. To let the child of the Pirate King grow up safely, this Marine hero had made the strongest oath.
At this moment, Ace, in Garp's arms, unconsciously reached out to the lifeless Rouge, his eyes still filled with nostalgia for his mother's love.
Suddenly, Ace's vision darkened. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Marines surrounding him. Next to him stood a heroic middle-aged man with short blond hair. Pluton, Rayleigh?! Ace's heart jolted.
"Roger Pirates, you should surrender!" a Marine Vice Admiral roared, his voice trembling.
"Oh? Hahaha...!"
A wild laugh full of Haki came from Ace's mouth.
"If you want to catch me, call Garp and Sengoku over, hahahahaha...!"
After the laughter, his eyes suddenly condensed, and a terrifying purple-black color erupted.
"Boom!"
Terrifying purple-black lightning swept out instantly. The sky and earth trembled violently, and the clouds rolled back and dissipated in an instant. The countless Marines standing before him, including the Vice Admiral, rolled their eyes and fainted. There is no existence that can stand above the king! An ant is not even qualified to look directly at the king! Conqueror's Haki!
The next second, the vision shattered, and Rouge's figure appeared in Ace's eyes again.
"Your heaven-defying understanding, through intense emotional fluctuations, personal realization through visualization, awakens Conqueror's Haki!"
Garp, still holding Ace quietly, suddenly changed his expression.
"Boom!"
An invisible and powerful momentum surged out of Ace's small body. The next moment, countless purple-black lightning bolts, centered on Ace, swept across the entire Island. All the civilians on the island felt an unprecedented wave of energy. The next moment, they rolled their eyes and knew nothing. Even the Marines on Garp's warship docked on the coast, except for the most Seasoned bunch all fainted.
"This... this is Conqueror's Haki?!" A Marine Commodore looked in disbelief at the terrifying purple-black lightning emanating from the center of the island, speaking in horror. The few remaining generals suppressed the fear in their hearts, put their hands on their swords, and prepared to board the island to check for abnormalities.
"Calm down!" Garp's lieutenant Bogard stretched out his hand to stop everyone's movement. "Vice Admiral Garp is on the island, so there is nothing to be nervous about. This Conqueror's Haki should be because the Vice Admiral didn't want to take action and used Haki to deal with some accidents."
Hearing this, several generals reacted and showed relaxed smiles. "Yes, with Vice Admiral Garp here, we can handle any accident." "Yes, he is indeed Vice Admiral Garp. The Conqueror's Haki is so strong. I almost fainted from such a distance." "Vice Admiral is the Marine hero. Even the Pirate King was chased by Vice Admiral Garp and fled everywhere. Vice Admiral's Haki is naturally powerful." "Yes, if we go there, it will only hold back Vice Admiral Garp. We should wait for him on the ship."
The words of the Marines showed their absolute trust in Garp's strength. None of them considered that someone else might have used Conqueror's Haki. After all, that's Conqueror's Haki! Only one person in a million has the qualifications to be a king. Even in an organization as large as Marine, there are only a few people with this kingly qualification. Anyone who possesses Conqueror's Haki is a prestigious figure on the sea. How could there be another Conqueror's Haki user on such a remote island?
But they didn't know that at this moment, Garp's eyes were wide with horror. Feeling the invisible momentum slowly dissipating, the violent purple-black lightning in the air gradually disappeared. Garp looked at Ace's small body in his arms, his face full of shock and disbelief.
"Ha, Conqueror's Haki...?!"
Garp swallowed and struggled to spit out the words. Incredible! At this moment, Garp felt he had encountered the most unbelievable thing in his life. It wasn't surprising that Ace possessed Conqueror's Haki. After all, Ace was the son of Pirate King Gol D. Roger. But for Haki to awaken Conqueror's Haki right after birth was unheard of. Moreover, the Conqueror's Haki was so powerful. Even when he himself first awakened, Garp's Haki was not so potent.
Conqueror's Haki signifies the qualifications of a king. So, for Ace to awaken such powerful Conqueror's Haki as soon as he was born... could it be...
"A born... king?" Garp murmured, his emotions complicated. If such a talent appears in the child of the Pirate King, what impact will it have on the world? At this moment, Garp was wavering, unsure if he should continue to fulfill his agreement. But seeing Rouge pass away with tears and a smile, he gritted his teeth and rushed towards his ship with Ace. As for Rouge, Garp had made arrangements for her burial. It would be better for him not to come forward.
Ace, from an angle that Garp didn't see, took one last deep look at Rouge.
A somewhat bloated Garp appeared on the boat in a flash. "Vice Admiral Garp! You're back!" Seeing Garp, Bogard and several Marines who had settled the unconscious subordinates hurriedly came over.
"Vice Admiral! You are so outrageous!" Bogard suddenly said with a deadpan face.
Garp's face suddenly froze, and he held his heart guiltily. Did they find out already? It shouldn't be!
"How could you release Haki so randomly? The soldiers and captains couldn't bear it at all, and they all fainted." Bogard continued, looking at Garp's guilty expression.
Upon hearing this, Garp let out a long breath. It turned out to be about Conqueror's Haki. He almost thought Ace's story was exposed. But Garp was still extremely shocked. Although he had felt Ace's Conqueror's Haki was very strong, he didn't expect it to be so powerful that even the captains of Marine couldn't resist it. The ones he brought were powerful captains of the headquarters, far beyond ordinary Marines.
"Okay, I will pay attention next time. Now, set course for Windmill Village!" After Garp finished speaking, he covered his heart and hurriedly walked into the cabin.