Chapter 624: The Straw Hat Promise

Thirteen years ago, Roger's pirate group arrived at the final island, and Roger was therefore called the "Pirate King" - or the vicious "devil" by the world.

Twelve years ago, on Rogue Island in the East China Sea, Roger was publicly executed, and the life of this once powerful pirate came to an abrupt end.

From being famous and powerful... to disappearing into obscurity and being hated by everyone...

What happened to the invincible Roger Pirates in that short year? How did the once famous and unrivaled Roger, who had never suffered any loss from the navy, suddenly get captured by the navy?

The year when the Roger Pirates, unknown to outsiders, disappeared from the public eye gave rise to countless mysteries, aroused speculation, and even triggered a series of conspiracy theories...

Even Garp had thought about why Roger... turned himself in. Was it just to say those words before his execution?

However, how to execute him, whether to execute him publicly in front of the world, or to execute him secretly and then cut off his head and send it to the world, and whether he would have the chance to say those words before the execution, are all uncertain and unknown...

But Karp didn't expect the answer to be so simple.

Suffering from a terminal illness, God has given me no time left. I have witnessed the truth of the world and learned some kind of prophecy about the future, but I really don’t have time.

Faced with such a trick of fate, perhaps even the most open-minded person would regret that he was born at the wrong time... So, what about you, Roger?

Hey, what do you think?

The flickering flames flickered on Garp's wrinkled face, and it was dim and unclear. He chuckled and said, "That Roger guy played a trick on our navy before he died!"

This guy who always loved pomp and circumstance, who wanted everything to be grand and earth-shattering, used the last bit of his life, which was like an ember, to make a last big splash in front of the whole world...

It's really cool...

You bastard, are you some naughty kid? You feel very unwilling because you can't participate in the future era? So you finally used that mischievous way to brand your name Gol D. Roger forever on the head of this era after your death?

It really is...

That's very much like your style! Cap grinned silently.

"The next person to get off the ship was Captain Roger himself..." Shanks recalled the past in front of the fire, his eyes moist. "Although no one wants to admit it, that day... everyone cried miserably. Only Captain Roger, who asked Mr. Crocus for the last bit of medicine and hugged and said goodbye to Mr. Rayleigh, the most senior deputy captain on the ship, did not cry... Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen him cry, not even on the day of his execution..."

Ace stared blankly at the much smaller flame. Of course, he had found the newspaper about the execution of Pirate King Roger and read it. He clearly remembered the expression of the man who was his biological father in the execution photo that almost filled the entire page of the newspaper.

He is laughing.

Even though he was stabbed with swords, wearing shackles, and kneeling on the execution platform...he was still grinning.

What's so funny?

He's obviously a dying criminal... Tell me, what's so funny?

Abandoning his wife and unborn son, leaving them in this world full of hostility towards them... You are dead, but what about them? What's so funny about this? ! "We didn't know where the captain ended up... Of course, now I know."

Shanks looked up at the dark night sky, "Ace, do you know how old the captain was at that time?"

"..." Ace said nothing.

"When he got off the ship, he was already fifty-two years old. Normally, if someone wants to leave a bloodline, they wouldn't wait until this age, right?"

Shanks muttered to himself, "I think that when the captain heard the prophecy on Fishman Island, he first felt that he should have a child... Captain Roger, many people say that he is conceited and arrogant, and he steps on everyone he sees and kills anything that makes him unhappy. He is simply a self-centered bastard! But you know... they are not wrong."

Ace was startled when he heard that, Garp snorted, but Shanks laughed, "'I'm the world's number one pirate. If it's predicted that a more powerful guy will appear in the future, then of course it will be my son'. The captain is 100% thinking in this way. Hahahaha..."

Amid Shanks' laughter, the campfire gradually became quiet.

Shanks lay down and looked at the starry sky, which had not changed much compared to many years ago.

Ace looked cold.

Luffy was sleeping peacefully on Tulip's lap.

Karp sat on the ground with his arms folded, his eyes lowered, wondering what he was thinking...

"Garp, do you remember?" Shanks said, lying on the grass, looking at the night sky, "the last words our captain left in this world that day in Rogue Town..."

“…”

That paragraph was published in the newspapers at that time in bold and colorful strokes. Not only the World Economic News, but also newspapers and magazines all over the world were reprinting it crazily. People also spread it by word of mouth. Even if the world government wanted to stop it, it couldn't. Even on the windless Nine Snake Island where information was blocked, Tulip had seen such a newspaper and knew that paragraph.

"..." Karp chuckled, "'Want my treasure? Then go to the sea to find it. I put everything there.'"

Tulip said to herself, "It was because of his words that all the ambitious pirates in the four seas rushed to the Grand Line like crazy..."

Garp snorted coldly, "That bastard wanted to cause trouble before he died, forcing our navy to focus its main efforts on the first half of the paradise. How many loopholes did Newgate and Charlotte take advantage of in the New World?"

"That day, I was also in Roger Town. I saw with my own eyes that Captain Roger was executed after saying these words..."

Shanks took off his straw hat, gently covered his face with it, and murmured to himself, "Who is the captain talking to? Is he talking to us? No, we have witnessed everything with him... Is he talking to other pirates in the world? I was sure it was the latter before, but now I am a little unsure..."

The forest was quiet for a long time. Until Ace's cold voice broke the silence, "What do you mean?"

"..." Shanks sighed, "It doesn't mean anything. I just think that Captain Roger is such a show-off. Even as a father, he would definitely want to do something that no one else can do. Even if he wants to leave something for his son, he must do it in a way that no other father in the world can replicate..."

……………………

Luffy woke up because he had to pee.

He opened his eyes dazedly, lifted the skirt of his mother's skirt, jumped off her lap, wandered to the side of the woods in a daze, unzipped his pants and started to pee...

Woo~! The boy with a scar under his left eye shuddered and hissed. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "Oh no, I accidentally fell asleep and didn't hear the story of One Piece - never mind, I didn't hear it."

He didn't care, and even felt a little lucky that he didn't hear it.

After releasing the water, Luffy looked back and saw that all that was left of the bonfire was ashes and a pile of wild boar's bones.

The sky was already slightly bright, and the air in the mountains was slightly cold in the morning, with the moisture of morning dew.

Grandpa Garp was nowhere to be found, and Shanks was nowhere to be seen either... Only mom was still there. She stretched, closed her eyes, opened her arms and smiled in Luffy's direction, "Come, let mommy hug you."

Luffy walked over to be hugged, and as he passed over his mother's shoulder, he saw a figure going away in the woods over there.

"It's Ace." Luffy broke free from his mother and tried to chase after her, but Tulip grabbed his ear and pulled it back to become as thin and long as ramen noodles.

Luffy was pulled back, somersaulted, covered his ears and screamed in pain: "Mom, what are you doing?"

Tulip pulled him into her arms and ravaged him, saying softly, "Leave him alone for a while."

"..." Luffy was pressed in his mother's arms, blinking, as if he understood something, but also as if he understood nothing.

“…”

Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss... Ace dragged his broken water pipe, leaving a long trail on the dew-covered ground behind him.

[“What if Goldo Roger has a child?” In the restaurant, on the street, young Ace, who once admired his father, heard those people say this as a matter of course, “Of course he should be executed!”]

Ace was walking alone in the woods, his eyes were bloodshot, as if he had not slept all night.

[“We have arrived too early... Who will truly obtain the great secret treasure? That ‘voice’ is the ‘truth’. Someone will definitely be born and surpass us!”]

[On the pirate ship, Roger laughed confidently, "Haha, that must be my son!"]

[Rayleigh was speechless, "Where did you get your son?"]

【Roger laughed and said, “It will happen next time!”】

…

Dadan and his family’s mountain cabin was not far from the beach, and Ace quickly walked out of the forest.

[“Hey, old man…” Ace, who had fought with others in the town again, stared blankly at the sea, “Should I really be born into this world?”]

Ace looked up and saw the coastline ahead.

[“If that devil has blood in this world, I hope that when he is caught and executed…” the people in the tavern burst into laughter, “he will cry and confess like this: ‘I’m sorry, I’m a rubbish and shouldn’t be alive.’ Hahahaha!”]

Ace walked slowly to the shore alone.

[Karp said from behind: "If you see this kind of thing, you will know it, right?"]

The sea breeze ruffled Ace's black hair.

[The red-haired man, who was beaten all over by himself, lay in a pool of blood and said: "The captain answered me like this: 'What nonsense are you talking about? You have already been born into this world...'"]

The waves hit the shore, splashing bursts of crystal mist that brushed across Ace's face, bringing a cool feeling.

He looked at the arc-shaped horizon in the distance and a fiery red sun slowly rising at the end of the sky.

[Many years ago, the young Gol D. Roger came to the port of Roger Town, holding up his straw hat, and said with a smile: "Hey, Rayleigh, how about coming with me to turn the world upside down?"]

The morning sun dyed the sea surface at the end, as if there was an image of Roger with a raised beard and a big smile on his face, looking at Ace on the shore from afar.

[“Want my treasure?”

[“Then let’s look for it on the sea…”

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

“I put it all there!”

Boom!

The roaring waves crashed against the shore, raising white caps that drowned out the sound of the freckled boy's howling.

【“Who cares what other people do?】

[“Since you are still alive, even if there is only one day left, live with your head held high!”]

“Asshole…”

Ace was facing the boundless sea, crying for the first time since he was born, as if he was crying out all the sadness, unwillingness, and endless grievances that had been accumulated in his heart.

"I won't... forgive you..."

The golden morning sun rose slowly over the horizon, dyeing the sea like a long-haired woman emerging from the water, looking back at Ace and smiling slightly.

"Mother……"

Ace allowed himself to become weak, crying until he almost collapsed, choking with sobs, and even his mumblings were unclear, "I really want... to see you... just once..."

………………

………………

〖Another day, Windmill Village, Port——〗

The pirates loaded the cargo onto the ship and prepared to leave.

The village chief was very happy and drank two more cups.

Makino and some people came to the port. Shanks' face was covered with bandages and band-aids that Makino had put on himself.

As for Garp, he had already left here and returned to the headquarters. He originally wanted to leave Luffy to Dadan and Ace to raise together... but with Tulip here, he obviously couldn't leave him alone.

Tulip came with Luffy.

As agreed, Shanks informed Luffy before leaving.

"Luffy!" Beckman, Jesus Bu and others greeted him on the ship and asked with a smile, "Can you tell me now? Why did you give up on boarding our ship? Don't you want to be a pirate anymore?"

Shanks was about to board the ship and turned back to look at Luffy with a smile.

"Of course I want to be a pirate!" Luffy shouted to his friends on the ship with great energy, then walked up to Shanks, raised his head and grinned, "But, a ship can only have one captain, right? So I don't want to get on your ship!"

[“Throwing wine at me is one thing, betting my life is another! Betting my own life is one thing, betting my friend’s life…”]

[Standing in front of the bandits, the red-haired man under the straw hat looked serious, "That's another matter! I will never let go of the guy who hurt my friends."]

"I see, you want to be the captain."

Shanks smiled when he heard this, he had expected what Luffy would say, but he was still touched to hear the young man say it.

Luffy chuckled and said, "I will find a group of friends who are not inferior to you! Then I will become a pirate myself! Shanks, I will surpass you——"

The boy raised his fists and announced with high morale.

"I want to be the Pirate King!!!"

"..." Shanks smiled, "You want to surpass us and become the Pirate King... Ace will be unhappy if he hears that, right?"

Luffy stuck out his tongue and made a face, "I don't care!"

"That's right!" Shanks chuckled and took off the straw hat on his head. "This hat... was given to me by Captain Roger. It is my most precious treasure. I'm leaving it with you now..."

Puff, he put the straw hat on Luffy's head and pressed the boy's head, "When you don't need it, give it to me like Captain Roger did."

It was time to say goodbye. Luffy couldn't help crying under his straw hat. He heard Shanks's smiling voice: "Do you have any objection, future Pirate King?"

Luffy choked up and said, "No..."

Tulip watched the scene quietly from behind with a smile on her face.

Shanks handed the straw hat to Luffy and turned to board his own pirate ship. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a black-haired boy carrying the broken water pipe under a tree on the shore not far away. He raised his finger from a distance, as if waving goodbye.

“…”

Shanks smiled slightly, raised his fist over there, and continued to board the ship.

"Weigh the anchor! Hoist the sail!"

"Let's go!"

“Ohhhhhhhhhh!!!”

The Red Hair Pirates' ship gradually went away. At the port, Tulip walked to Luffy, pressed the straw hat on his head, and leaned against his side.

…………………………

In the afternoon, Luffy and his mother returned to the cabin on Mount Korpo, only to find a freckled boy carrying a water pipe waiting for them on the hillside.

"Ace!" Luffy smiled and waved from afar.

Ace didn't sneer at his enthusiasm like he had before. He nodded at him and looked up at the tulips next to Luffy.

Tulip asked, "What's wrong? Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

"You are training him, right..." Ace was referring to Luffy, of course. He said to Tulip sincerely, "Please train me too. I want to become stronger!"

Tulip asked curiously: "Oh? I have never taken action in front of you, how did you know..."

Ace was also startled, but Tulip smiled, "It seems that you, who are as sensitive as a girl, may be better at observation Haki."

Ace didn't know what Observation Haki was, but being described as being like a girl made him feel embarrassed - of course, this was mainly because after Luffy heard his mother's evaluation of Ace, he pointed at Ace and laughed "Hahahaha" in a very rude manner.

Ace glared at Luffy, who quickly shut his mouth.

"If he's Luffy's friend," Tulip said to herself thoughtfully, "then it's not impossible to train together..."

"..." Ace was speechless and looked at Luffy. He slowly lowered the straw hat on his head, looked into his eyes, and then extended his hand, "My name is Ace, Portgas D. Ace."

Luffy, who was wearing a straw hat, didn't mind at all. He held his hand and said with a grin, "My name is Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy."

Tulip looked at the two boys holding each other's hands and smiled with relief.

But Ace looked up, thinking of something, and asked awkwardly, "Well... since we have already taught two people, how about teaching one more?"

(End of this chapter)