Bab 709: Three Years Ago.
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Chapter's Events:
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"Yeah! See ya, Luffy…!! I'll be going on ahead!!"
Three years ago, this was the time when Ace set sail, as Luffy remembers in this moment.
"Uh-huh!! And in three years' time, when I set out to sea as well… I'll have gotten stronger too!!"
Luffy exclaimed, expressing his desire as he watched Ace sail towards his dreams.
…
"Why that little brat… A pirate of all things!!!"
After Ace made a name for himself as a rising pirate and founded the Spade Pirates, Garp lost his temper in anger.
…
"Pirates!! It's a flag I've never seen before!!!"
…
"…D…!! Where is this boy from!?"
Sengoku wondered in confusion. He didn't feel good about those with the initial "D" in their names for some reason.
"His background seems to be a mystery… But even though he is a rookie… He has a Logia ability…!!"
The Marines reported alongside Sengoku.
…
"Looks like there's a promising young man making a name for himself in the Grand Line! Gurararara…"
The Whitebeard laughed as he read the newspaper.
"He rejected an invitation to join the Shichibukai?"
"How many years has his crew been at sea? These youngsters… They seem to be in an awful hurry…"
No one knows if the Whitebeard is praising Ace or not at this moment.
…
"Are you serious about this, Ace!!?"
At this moment, the members of the Spade Pirates were worried about the reason their captain was searching for this man after entering the New World.
"I've just got to meet him!!" said Ace.
..
"You wanted to see me?"
It turned out the man Ace was looking for is the infamous Red-Haired Shanks.
"Hey, hey… Don't get the wrong idea here!!"
Ace clarified hastily.
"I hear you saved my little brother's life… He talks about you all the time! So I figured I just had to at least meet you and say thanks…!!"
"You're Luffy's brother!!? Wow…!! I never knew he had a brother…" exclaimed Shanks warmly.
"I see… A pleasure to meet you! Please, tell me how he's doing!"
"Let's throw a party—!!" Shanks declared.
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Baterilla:
"So, he set sail for the first time three years ago, before Luffy,"
Roger nodded, recalling events from the Alabasta arc where Ace officially appeared for the first time, chasing Blackbeard at that time.
"I guess this isn't new information; he mentioned it in Alabasta, didn't he?" said Rouge.
"Yes, yes, dear, you're right,"
Roger acknowledged, remembering events from the Alabasta arc where Ace was first introduced, and which led to him chasing Blackbeard.
With a tender glance, Rouge once again revisited the manga pages that smoothly summarized Ace's journey since leaving the village where he was raised.
"After his birth, Garp took him and hid him in the safest place, Foosha Village on Dawn Island. He entrusted him to a caretaker who looked after him in his absence,"
Rouge recalled the few scenes of Ace as a crawling baby causing trouble for his caretaker in the early parts of the series, evoking nothing but laughter from her.
Seeing this, Roger also smiled, "Ace was quite a troublemaker even as a baby. I look forward to learning about the woman who raised him."
"I also look forward to it. After all, she can be considered his real mother. She must be as worried as I am, if not more, about Ace's current situation in the manga…"
Rouge said with a sad smile, although she knew these events were confined to the manga only, she somehow became emotionally attached to them.
"Then his journey to the sea and making a name for himself… Hmmm, he might have gotten his Devil Fruit at this stage… Establishing the Spade Pirates crew must have driven Garp insane, Wahahaha!"
"Could you imagine raising Ace as a marine? Wahahaha! Sorry, my friend, this boy has the blood of pirate king running in his veins. Even if he hated me, he would surely follow in my footsteps,"
Roger couldn't help but laugh heartily at seeing Garp's angry and shocked face in the manga upon seeing Ace as a pirate in the newspaper.
After witnessing what Garp did for him, how he took care of his son and considered him his grandson, Roger came to see Garp as his brother without even realizing it. He promised himself that he would personally visit him after finishing reading this arc.
"It would have been nice to see Ace as a marine instead of a pirate… He wouldn't have reached this dead-end road if that had happened… Garp wanted him to live a long life…"
Roger spoke from a different perspective after some thought.
"Do you know, my dear, what our role as parents is? The only responsibility that falls on us when we choose to have children?"
Roger looked deeply into Rouge's eyes and asked.
Seeing this intense gaze, Rouge's soul trembled. "I…" She wanted to answer, but it seems she was thrown off by the Haki emitted by Roger unconsciously.
This indicated one thing, he didn't want to hear her answer.
"To ensure they stay alive," Roger answered the question he posed.
"You sacrificed your life for him to live, you fulfilled the responsibility perfectly, and you proved that you are the best mother Ace could have…"
…
At the art store, Baterilla:
"Oh, Ace came looking for me!"
Shanks' eyes sparkled with joy as he witnessed the heartwarming interaction between Ace and his counterpart in the manga.
"Don't tell me you didn't see the shadow of the captain in him, Shanks…"
Gaban yelled, seemingly dissatisfied.
"What do you mean, Gaban-san?"
Shanks wondered.
"It's obvious that there's a great resemblance between the captain and Ace, but it seems your counterpart didn't even think he might be Roger-san's son… Otherwise, he would have either recruited him into his crew or at least declared his protection for him, considering your counterpart is a very powerful Yonko,"
Gaban explained, prompting the rest of the crew to ponder this perspective.
"That's true… Suppose Shanks already knew that Ace was the captain's son, or he wouldn't have gone to Whitebeard to warn him not to let Ace chase after Blackbeard any further," Rayleigh added this time.
"So does this mean that the Red-Haired Pirates might also intervene in this war to save Ace?" Shanks wondered.
"Hehe~ Buggy-sama, who has been hiding his great power for a long time, is already there, no need for you and your crew. The moment my counterpart enters the war, it will end already. Just watch, Ahahahaha!"
Buggy laughed mockingly as he said that.
Everyone looked at Buggy expressionlessly for a moment, then they resumed discussing the possibility of the Red-Haired Pirates joining the war, which was more intriguing than Buggy and his company joining.
"What!? Are you looking at my counterpart with disdain!? The hell! Just wait, you scoundrels, my counterpart will steal all the spotlight and glory in this war, hmph!"
Buggy erupted in anger at that moment.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 693: Ace and Whitebeard
Chapter 694: The war is beginning, Attack!
Chapter 695: Amazing Display of Superpowers!
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