Marine Headquarters, Marineford
Sakazuki watched everything unfolding before him and couldn't help but glare at Garp.
"Hmph! A Marine, actually helping a pirate? Utterly incomprehensible. But since Fire Fist Ace has already been captured, I say we should carry out the execution as soon as possible. However, to be safe, Garp should not be allowed near him from now on."
Sengoku sighed upon hearing Sakazuki's words. "That won't do. The news of Fire Fist Ace's execution has already been announced to the public. Changing it rashly could damage the Marines' credibility."
Sakazuki scoffed coldly."Didn't we just lose that credibility? The Marine Hero helping a pirate... who will trust the Marines now?" Sengoku sighed helplessly; he didn't know what to do either. He looked at Garp, who had been silent from the start, wondering what he was thinking and if he regretted his actions.
Meanwhile, the sky screen began playing the answer to the previous question.
〖A series of rapid flashes showed Garp and Roger clashing dozens of times in just over ten seconds. Through their battles, they seemed to have formed a significant rapport. Then, the scene shifted to Impel Down, twenty-two years ago.
Garp, holding an oil lamp, arrived before a cell. He crossed his arms and looked at Roger inside. "You actually turned yourself in? It's really hard to understand. Why?"
Roger laughed. "I have my own reasons. But... there's one thing I still can't rest easy about. Garp, can you help me?"
Without waiting for Garp's response, Roger continued, "My child is about to be born. The regret is, I won't be in this world by then!"
Garp frowned. "I'm a Marine. Telling me this is useless. Roger, any woman associated with you meets a bad end."
Roger paid no mind to Garp's attitude .He stood up. "They will definitely search thoroughly for any trace of my whereabouts this past year. But my child is innocent. Garp, save him. I trust you."
"Don't dream! I won't help you!" Garp retorted coldly, somewhat agitated.
"No, you will. I'm counting on you."
Garp said nothing and left. Later, the Marines searched Baltigo for ten full months but found nothing and were forced to withdraw. What they didn't know was that a mother, to ensure her child's survival, carried him in her womb for twenty months.
That mother was Ace's mother, Portgas D. Rouge. On the day she gave birth, Garp appeared before her. Rouge, after immense hardship, finally gave birth to her child. She only had enough time to utter the name "Ace" before leaving this world. 〗
[Civilian 1: Keeping a child in her womb for twenty months? How is that possible? How could anyone do that?!]
[Civilian 2: It's truly incredible. Even though she gave birth to the Pirate King's son, I can't bring myself to blame her.
] [Civilian 3: The power of a mother's love is amazing. This is practically a miracle.]
Many viewers on the sky screen expressed deep respect for Rouge's actions. Below, within his prison cell, Ace saw his mother on the screen and witnessed her profound love for him. He couldn't hold back his tears. "Mom..."
The moving tributes to Rouge's actions soon passed on the sky screen. The remaining discussion focused primarily on Garp and Roger.
[Civilian 6: What are you all getting emotional about? That's the son of the Pirate King Roger! He possesses the world's most evil bloodline! He shouldn't exist in this world!]
[Civilian 7: Exactly! And because of that woman, Baltigo suffered that fate! So many innocent pregnant women and children were killed!]
[Civilian 8: But that's the fault of the Marines and the World Government! Why are you blaming a woman?]
[Civilian 9: It's because she was carrying the Pirate King's child! The Marines and the World Government were acting for the world's stability!]
...
Opinions clashed fiercely on the sky screen, everyone convinced they were right. Some Marines, watching the civilian's debate, began to question whether their own actions were justified.
Soon, pirates also began to voice their opinions on the sky screen.
[Big Mom Charlotte Linlin: Mamamama! Marines, your actions aren't much different from us pirates, are they?]
[Charlotte Katakuri: Mom, I doubt even we pirates would do something like that.]
[Kaido of the Beasts: Right! And this, along with that Ohara incident... twice now. I wonder if there will be a next time, Urororororo!]
[Wang Zhi: That bastard Garp actually did it... though I'm not surprised at all.]
[Donquixote Doflamingo: Fufufufu! Interesting, truly interesting.]
[Golden Lion Shiki: Zehahahaha! Bastard Garp! You Marines are full of surprises. Some of your methods are even harsher than pirates!]
[Queen the Plague: The Marines doing things more outrageous than pirates? Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter!]
[Kizaru Borsalino: Oh my~ This is getting hard to explain. What will you do now, Mr. Garp?]
[Aokiji Kuzan: Alright, you should just be quiet now.]
[Squard: Ace... Ace is really Roger's son? Damn it! Why?! Why is this happening?!]
On the Whitebeard Pirates' Ship Squard, filled with rage, charged towards Whitebeard, his eyes burning with anger. "Pops! Did you know all along? And you said nothing! When I watched the video before, I thought the Marines were framing Ace! But this video confirms it! Ace is truly the son of the Pirate King Roger! Pops! Why?!"
"Squard, calm down! What's wrong with you?" Marco immediately stepped in to block him. Other crew members also rushed forward, separating Squard from Whitebeard.
"Squard, what are you doing?"
"This is Pops! How can you speak to Pops like that?"
Whitebeard looked at Squard and signaled for his other sons to step back. He motioned for Squard to come closer. "Squard, both you and Ace are my sons."
"So what?! So you would do this to me for the sake of another son? Pops! All my previous crew members were killed by the Roger Pirates! You knew that! You know how much I hate Roger! So why?! Why didn't you tell me that Roger's son was on this ship?! Why did I have to call him my brother for two or three years?! WHY?!"
(End of Chapter 8)
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