In a certain part of the East Blue, two Marine ships were approaching each other, one on the left, one on the right.
Diarmuid was on one of the ships. His ship had no special markings, but the ship sailing toward him had a giant dog head on its bow.
From a distance, Diarmuid immediately recognized it as Vice Admiral Garp's ship.
After all, he was the only Marine who put a dog head on his ship.
A moment later, as the two ships drew close, Garp, holding a small baby, jumped directly from his ship.
Looking at the cracked deck where he landed, Diarmuid felt a pang of heartache.
"You're a father now, yet you're still so reckless. We were just two steps away, couldn't you have waited for the ships to dock?" Diarmuid grumbled.
Garp, who had just landed on the deck, scowled. "What are you talking about? 'A father now'?"
"The baby in your arms, isn't that a child?" Diarmuid rolled his eyes.
"Hmph, others might not know, but you, of all people, know what's going on, you bastard!" Garp snorted in annoyance.
The two hadn't seen each other in almost two years.
When Diarmuid was setting up G-7, Garp had been in the South Blue for most of the time.
With no one else on the deck, Diarmuid didn't hold back. He walked up to the baby and looked at it, saying with a touch of emotion, "Roger's bloodline, huh? You know, he entrusted his wife and child to you. So how did one of them die?"
Garp's face darkened. Why did this bastard's words have to be so unpleasant?
But soon, he shook his head helplessly. "I couldn't save her."
His words were powerless, but Diarmuid understood. Rouge's death wasn't Garp's fault; it was the ultimate effort of a mother.
Diarmuid didn't press the matter. He reached out and poked the baby sleeping in Garp's arms. He smiled and said, "Roger might have been a brute, but this little guy is kind of cute."
"He looks like his mother," Garp said, a gentle look in his eyes.
Diarmuid shuddered, feeling like Roger was getting cuckolded even after death.
"By the way, the child's name is Ace. Portgas D. Ace," Garp said, as if suddenly remembering something.
"I see." Diarmuid nodded without much comment. Instead, he asked, "How come I ran into you here? The last time I was at Headquarters, I heard the Admiral say you were heading back there. Oh, and about your son, what's your take on him?"
The first two sentences were fine, but the mention of Dragon made Garp wince. He looked at Diarmuid with a bit of anger, thinking this bastard was doing it on purpose.
From the moment he stepped on the ship, every one of Diarmuid's comments had been a pain in the neck. So what if he cracked the deck? Couldn't he just pay for the repairs?
"I've been on a mission in the South Blue for two years. I'm such a dedicated man, isn't it normal for me to take a vacation? I'm going back to my hometown, Foosha Village, in the East Blue. I'm also going to entrust little Ace to my friends there. I can't exactly bring a baby back to Headquarters, can I? You've heard the rumors, haven't you? If I bring this child back, I'll lose face, and it'll look bad for the Marines," Garp grumbled.
Diarmuid nodded in understanding. He had a point.
There were already rumors painting Garp in a bad light. If he brought a child with him, he would never be able to clear his name. It wouldn't be good for him or for Ace.
Of course, leaving Ace in Foosha Village would lead to poor supervision and a lot of painful conversations. He would hear things he shouldn't and eventually walk the path of a pirate, which wasn't good either.
However, that had nothing to do with Diarmuid, at least for now. After all, Roger entrusted the child to Garp, not to him.
"So, about Dragon, what's your take on him?" Diarmuid asked again.
"You son of a bitch, are you ever going to stop?! Can't you see I don't want to answer?! You looking for a fight?!" Garp cursed with a furious expression.
"Hahahahahaha… It's been so long since I've been able to bully you. I just couldn't help myself," Diarmuid laughed.
Garp looked at the way Diarmuid was laughing so wildly and snorted, then asked, "Do you have some kind of connection with that guy?"
"Why do you ask?" Diarmuid glanced at Garp.
"Just a gut feeling," Garp shook his head.
"I wouldn't say so, but I have run into him a few times. He wanted me to join his cause. Of course, as a Marine Admiral Candidate with a promising future, with one foot already in your boss's shoes, why would I run off at a time like this? So, for the sake of justice in my heart, I refused him without hesitation…" Diarmuid said, full of righteous conviction.
But Garp didn't buy it for a second. He just grumbled, "Next time you see that boy, give him a good beating for me!"
"Alright, no problem," Diarmuid replied with a smile.
After a brief pause, he looked at Ace again. "So, what's your relationship with this little guy now?"
The moment Diarmuid said that, a smile finally appeared on Garp's face. "I'm going to make Ace my adopted grandson. I'll train him to be a Marine in the future. I can't let him follow in that bastard Roger's footsteps…"
At this point, his voice became a little more wistful. "Although you and I don't believe blood is a sin, the public's hatred for Roger will always affect others. I don't know how long I can protect this child. So after thinking it over, I feel the Marines are his only real path. As long as he joins the Marines and becomes a top-tier officer, then even if his identity is exposed one day, the Marines will be able to protect him…"
"That's true. Your idea is right, but in the future, it will definitely cause some conflict with the higher-ups. After all, they don't care about…" Diarmuid trailed off.
Wait.
If Ace joined the Marines, with Garp's influence, he would surely become a younger relative to old-timers like Garp, Zephyr, and Tsuru. They would all refer to him as their grandson. A real emotional connection would definitely be formed.
While he wouldn't go so far as to scheme against him, what if, one day, the World Government found out? Wouldn't Ace become a critical point to further fracture the relationship between the Marines and the World Government?
But Diarmuid quickly swept the thoughts from his mind. There was no need to rush this. He could slowly ponder the situation later.
Garp wasn't worried. He waved his hand. "Maybe there's a risk, but isn't it still the safest path?"
"Hahahaha, it is," Diarmuid nodded. Then, without waiting for Garp to speak, Diarmuid grinned mischievously and asked, "So you have a lot of animosity for Roger, huh?"
"What are you talking about?" Garp frowned.
"Ace is Roger's son, but you're going to be his grandfather. Well, well, well, Roger's dead, but you still find a way to get the better of him. You're truly one of a kind!" Diarmuid laughed.
To be honest, Garp hadn't thought about it that much. He had only considered it in terms of age. After all, his own son had already started a revolution. He couldn't be bothered to raise another young one. So he just naturally made Ace a grandson.
He hadn't thought of anything else. But now that Diarmuid brought it up, he finally understood.
After he understood, Garp burst into laughter. "You're right! I only just realized! Hahahahaha, that's perfect! Doesn't that make me that bastard Roger's father now?"
Seeing his complete lack of integrity, Diarmuid lost the will to tease him any further. He waved his hand and said, "The Marine's legendary 'unshakable will' is truly well-deserved."
After Garp had a good laugh with Ace in his arms, he finally asked, "Speaking of which, what are you doing in the East Blue? Do you want to come back to my place for a visit?"
It was a true coincidence that the two had run into each other on the vast ocean. They hadn't arranged a meeting beforehand. It was a special kind of fate.
Diarmuid pulled a cigar out of his pocket, lit it, and exhaled a puff of smoke. "You know about Shiki's death, right?"
Garp was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, that guy tried to break out of Impel Down and ran right into you."
"I gave him my Nagasone Kotetsu. Consider it a parting gift so he's not lonely on his way. Now, I have no sword on me. I heard a cursed sword is about to appear here in the East Blue, so I came to get it," Diarmuid said with a smile.
"Is that so?" Garp nodded.
Garp didn't care at all about whether a Marine officer should use a cursed sword. In fact, no one would.
After all, while the name sounded ominous, it was just a name. It didn't equate a cursed sword with evil.
One of the Gorosei, the highest authority in the World Government, was rumored to wield the Supreme Grade Blade Shodai Kitetsu, a top-tier cursed sword. No one had ever said it was inappropriate!
"Well, my vacation is still long. Since we ran into each other, how about I join you on your trip? After you get that sword, you can come back and relax at my place," Garp asked after a moment of thought.
Diarmuid stroked his chin, saw no problem with it, and nodded. "Sure. Looks like you've been cooped up for a while."
"You bet! Two years! You have any idea what I've been through for two years!" Garp said suddenly.
Diarmuid flinched, fearing he would suddenly burst out with "I didn't come this far just to come this far!" or something similar.
Diarmuid looked at Garp's slightly sorrowful expression and understood.
Garp must have been under immense pressure for the past two years, and he couldn't talk to anyone about it. It was only natural that he would want to talk to his "accomplice" and vent his frustrations.
Diarmuid didn't say anything. Garp didn't dwell on it either. After a moment of melancholy about the two years that had passed, he suddenly burst into laughter again. "Hahahaha! So where are you getting this cursed sword? I know the East Blue like the back of my hand!"
"The Asuka Kingdom," Diarmuid replied, not hiding anything.
"You're going for Kokorowatari?" Garp was taken aback.
Diarmuid: ???
'So I'm the only one who doesn't know what Kokorowatari is?'
"You've heard of this sword?" Diarmuid asked, surprised.
"What kind of question is that? Who who grew up in the East Blue hasn't heard the story of the cursed sword Kokorowatari? That's not a good sword… It almost cursed the Asuka Kingdom to destruction…" Garp rolled his eyes and said wistfully.
But then he chuckled. "But you're a tough kid. You definitely won't be killed by it. Besides, even though the stories are all mystical and whatnot, it's just a sword in the end. Don't take it too seriously."
"I wasn't to begin with…" Diarmuid mumbled.
After a brief pause, Diarmuid suddenly remembered something. "Oh, by the way, did you know your son got a wife? I even saw him once in Loguetown. He told me he wanted to have a child…"
Garp: ??? What the hell are you talking about?
The smiling Garp's face turned as black as a pot. Diarmuid, the culprit, was finally satisfied and turned to walk away.
Sure enough, bullying Garp was always the most fun. Hahahaha.
"He didn't even tell his own father about something this important! That ungrateful son!!" Garp's furious voice echoed from behind.
His booming voice woke up little Ace, who began to cry loudly. Garp became flustered as he tried to console him, and the deck became a lively place, filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
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