Garp was, in fact, someone we could trust—and the only one who could truly keep the child safe right now.
"My sister's holding up," I told him. "We've got a good doctor. Her condition's under control."
"Good," Garp nodded. "Once the child is born, I have to take him and leave immediately. It's still not safe, and I can't linger. I'm sorry to part a newborn from his mother, but there's no better way."
"It's fine. Rouge will understand. Come on—you and Bogard can stay with us these two days."
I brought Garp and his aide back to the villa.
"Sis, this is Vice Admiral Garp and his aide, Bogard. Roger asked him to come."
"I know," Rouge said softly. "He told me before he left. Thank you for coming, Mr. Garp."
"Wahaha—think nothing of it. I'll count on you all until the baby arrives."
"Karl, get them settled," Rouge added.
"Right." I showed them to their rooms, then headed for the kitchen. Note to self: once we're at sea, we need a real cook. I can't do this forever.
That night—the very last night of Sea Circle Calendar 1499—we were all asleep when Rouge's voice jolted the house awake.
"Ellie! Check her—now!"
"On it!" Ellie dashed inside. "Wait outside—I'll call you!"
Moments later, the door cracked open. "Karl-nii, hot water! She's going into labor!"
"Got it!"
We'd prepped everything, so there was no panic—only the long, knifing cries from behind the door. Basin after basin of hot water went in. No baby yet.
"How is it?" I called.
"Twins!" Ellie shouted back. "It's been too long—labor's difficult—but overall she's stable. Don't worry!"
Midnight dragged toward dawn. I sat by the door, fists clenched. Garp paced. Bogard and Benson waited, faces set.
Then a thin wail split the air.
"First one's a boy!" Ellie emerged, placing a swaddled infant in my arms. "Wash him—I have to get back!"
I cleaned the boy and returned just as the second cry rose. Ellie came out again with a tiny bundle. "The second is a girl. Wash her—I'll tend to Sister Rouge. She's weak."
I passed the boy to Garp and took the girl to bathe. When I came back, the boy was fussing, so I fed him the beast milk we'd prepared.
"Wahaha, kawaii ne," Garp chuckled, cradling the boy and helping him drink, his stern face gone gentle.
Ellie stepped out, flushed but smiling. "The room's cleaned. Rouge is better. She wants to see them."
"Coming in."
"How do you feel, Sis?"
"I'll live," Rouge breathed. "Let me see them."
I placed the girl in her arms. Garp handed over the boy.
"Vice Admiral," I said quietly, "here's my thought: you take the boy, and the girl stays. Even if the Government guesses, they'll never imagine Rouge had twins."
Garp considered, then nodded. "All right. I have to move now—the longer we wait, the greater the danger. Do they have names?"
"They do," Rouge said. "Roger chose them. If it was a boy—Ace. A girl—Ann. So we'll use both."
"Ace and Ann, huh." Garp's eyes warmed. "I'll take Ace."
Rouge cried then—held Ace, kissed his brow, and handed him over, reluctant fingers lingering. "Please… take care of him."
"Count on me," Garp said, all clowning gone. He tucked the baby close and left at once, hurrying into the night.
Rouge clutched Ann and wept.
"It's all right," I murmured. "Ace will be safe with Garp. For now, that's the best, safest choice."
"I know," she whispered, "but letting my child leave me the moment he's born… it hurts."
"Ace is the Pirate King's son. His path won't be ordinary. There's so much waiting for him—and he'll grow into a man who makes the seas ring with his name. And Ann… Ann is here with you."
"…Mm." Rouge exhaled, and Ellie slipped in with a restorative shot, steadying her breath.
"Sleep, Sis," I said, lifting Ann. "I'll watch her. You need your strength back—and we need to leave soon."
"Okay… Be good, Ann." She kissed the tiny cheek and gave her to me. Sleep took her fast.
"You two, too," I told Ellie and Benson. "You've done enough tonight. Rest. We sail in three days."
"Right, Karl-nii."
Morning came with Ann's eyes—already open, astonishingly calm, wrinkled and tiny but quiet as a cloud. I fed her and carried her in.
"Sis—Ann's eyes are open."
"Really? Let me see." Rouge cradled her, drinking in every blink. "My Ann… so good."
"What do you want to eat? I'll make it."
"Anything. I'm starving."
"Give me ten minutes," I said, and fled gratefully to the kitchen. The weight choking my chest these past two years finally eased.
Breakfast filled the table.
"Benson," I said between plates, "check the ship bow to stern. List any damage and hire town shipwrights to fix it. Ellie, inventory your supplies and restock. We leave in three days."
"Aye, Captain."
"Got it, Karl-nii."
Three days later, Rouge stood in the doorway with Ann in her arms, the mountain breeze catching her hair.
"Let's go, Sis," I said, offering my arm. "When Ann's grown—if we can—we'll come back."
We crossed the forest to the hidden cove where Benson had the ship waiting. We boarded and slipped away. Baterilla dwindled to a dot.
Elsewhere, Garp made East Blue in Navy time, disembarking at Foosha Village and climbing Mt. Colubo. The Dadan Family was on their knees, freshly thrashed.
"Wahaha! Dadan," Garp boomed, dropping a swaddled bundle into her arms, "this is Ace—my grandson. You're raising him. I'll come see him often!"
"You've got to be kidding me, Garp!" Dadan howled. "Your grandson?! No way!"
"Wahaha—then I'll toss you all in jail."
"Damn you! …Fine! Hand him over!" She snatched the baby. Garp grinned, turned, and was gone. And so Ace began life in the Dadan hideout.
West Blue — Ohara
Sakazuki (Akainu) and Kuzan (Aokiji) led ten warships in a Buster Call. The Tree of Knowledge fell; Ohara became a furnace. A civilian ship that tried to flee was erased under Sakazuki's Meteor Volcano. Watching it, Kuzan's faith in "Justice" cracked for the first time.
Eight-year-old Nico Robin, shielded by former Vice Admiral Jaguar D. Saul, slipped the noose—perhaps also because Kuzan looked the other way. From that day, Robin's life became a long night of flight.
The Ohara Incident sent another shudder through the seas. Even scholars and books couldn't blunt the Navy's iron fist.
South Blue — En route to Reverse Mountain
We made steady but slower time. A small ship empties her stores fast, and Benson and I ate like Sea Kings.
One noon, a News Coo fluttered overhead. Ellie waved it down, paid fifty beli, and took a paper.
"Karl-nii, Sister Rouge—look! Ohara was wiped out by a Buster Call! The island with the Tree of Knowledge!"
I blinked. So it happens now.
"Let me see," Rouge said, rocking Ann.
"Why?" Ellie asked, skimming. "It says they were judged guilty for researching the World Government's taboo. The scholars and even civilians were killed. What could they have been studying?"
"Sis," I said, "we can't touch that yet. 'Taboo' means it's the Government's bottom line. Until we have the power to stand our ground, we don't go poking the leviathan."
"The scholars' mistake," I went on, "wasn't curiosity—it was underestimating the Government's hypocrisy. They challenged authority without the power to survive the consequences. From the moment they began, their fate was set."
"…I understand," Rouge whispered. "They're still pitiful. And this Nico Robin—only eight, with a 79 million bounty. That's too cruel."
"Robin, huh…" I felt the old ache. In my last life I'd watched her story—eight to eighty, betrayal to betrayal, nowhere to rest, until she met the Straw Hats and finally saw the sun.
"If we cross her path," I said, "we'll help."
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