“Hateful!”
He had never expected that his son would die at the hands of Sakazuki—who was only a Vice Admiral at the time.
This was something he had completely overlooked!
Roger’s anger naturally alarmed the other person in the room.
That person was his wife, Ace’s mother, Portgas D.
Rouge.
“What happened?”
Rouge hurried over, her belly slightly swollen—it was clear she had been pregnant for several months.
Seeing his wife approach, the anger on Gol D.
Roger’s face disappeared instantly, though the fury in his heart had nowhere to go.
He forced a smile to reassure her:
“It’s nothing.
Go and get some rest.”
He gently caressed Ace, still in her womb, his eyes growing more determined.
Rouge nodded and returned to the room.
At the same time, in another time and space in the West Blue, Nico Robin clenched her teeth.
She let out a low growl, like a furious little tiger cub.
“Akainu!”
…
I’m One Piece: “@Kaelin, since you mentioned Ace, can you tell us about him?”
Roger didn’t want to reveal his identity, and he was worried that Kaelin would refuse to help if he found out he was a pirate.
But he had to know why Ace died.
No father could accept hearing that his child died young before even being born.
This only strengthened Roger’s determination to live—he had to change Ace’s tragic fate!
Talk about Ace?
… Kaelin rubbed his fingers and started typing.
Kaelin: “Ace’s life is relatively simple, but he’s also a very interesting character, so I’ll go into some detail.”
Roger stared at the chat, unwilling to miss a single word.
Kaelin: “Ace lost his father before he was even born.
Before Roger died, he entrusted Ace’s mother—who was still pregnant at the time—to Monkey D.
Garp, someone who was both his enemy and his friend.
Garp lived up to Roger’s trust.
After Roger’s death, the first thing he wanted to do was protect Rouge and her child.”
Roger couldn’t help but nod.
He might not have been the smartest at planning, but he had always been good at judging people.
He knew Garp was someone he could trust.
But in the next second, Roger’s eyes widened like bells.
Kaelin: “But an accident happened.
After analyzing Roger’s final movements, the Marine higher-ups suspected he had left behind a child.
So they sent a large number of Marines to every town and island Roger had been to, arresting all women who were pregnant or had recently given birth.
This included Baterilla, where Roger lived with his wife.”
Boom!
Roger felt like he had been struck by lightning.
His mind buzzed violently.
Kaelin continued calmly.
Kaelin: “Garp arrived too late.
The Marines had already landed on Baterilla Island.
They captured and eliminated all pregnant women and newborns on the island, leaving no chance for the bloodline of the Pirate King to survive.”
Inside the room, Roger suddenly turned to look at Rouge lying beyond the wall.
He had miscalculated!
He had expected the Marines wouldn’t spare his descendants—but he hadn’t expected their speed or ruthlessness to be this terrifying.
Roger clenched his fists, unable to bear what came next.
Kaelin: “Fortunately, Rouge was an incredibly strong mother.
The Marines stayed for over a year, and she managed to keep Ace in her womb for a full 20 months.
It wasn’t until one year and three months after Roger’s death that she finally gave birth—but by then, she had exhausted all her strength and died from the strain.”
Hearing this, Roger burst into tears.
Kaelin: “But by then, Garp had arrived.
He took Ace from Rouge and brought him back to Windmill Village.
Since Garp was a Marine Vice Admiral, he attracted too much attention—especially since he also had a son in the Revolutionary Army.
So he entrusted Ace to the bandit Curly Dadan to raise him.
Ace grew up without parents, burdened by the ‘sinful blood’ of the Pirate King.
He constantly questioned whether he even deserved to live.
Because all he ever heard was how his father had started the Great Age of Pirates and brought disaster to the world.
He wondered if inheriting Roger’s blood meant he would also bring destruction.
And since his birth caused his mother’s death, he even questioned whether he should have been born at all.
So he grew up filled with self-doubt—and hatred for his father.”
“I was wrong…” Roger muttered, his voice hoarse.
It was hard to imagine that the mighty Pirate King could look like this.
Kaelin: “Fortunately, after living like this for a while, Ace met his first friend, Sabo.
Then Garp threw Monkey D.
Luffy to Dadan as well.
The three of them became brothers, and that changed Ace.
Together, they decided that when they grew up, they would go out to sea—with becoming the Pirate King as their goal…”