"Roger's son?!"
In Foosha Village, the mountain bandit Dadan bit down on her cigarette, looking in shock at Garp, who was holding Ace, and Diarmuid standing beside him.
"Keep your voice down!" Garp immediately complained.
Dadan was completely flustered by Garp's antics. She grabbed Garp by the collar. "Hey, Garp, do you know what you're doing?! This is… this is… a capital crime!"
"You're a mountain bandit, and you're talking about crime to me?" Garp shoved Dadan's arm away.
Then, he looked at Ace in his arms and said softly, "It's certain that bastard Roger was a criminal, but he's dead. Does this little guy have to be condemned just for the blood he carries?"
Dadan listened to Garp's words, looked at Ace in his arms, and then seemed to realize something. She immediately threw her cigarette on the ground and stomped it out, then quickly opened a window to air out the room.
Diarmuid chuckled at Dadan's actions.
She was a good-hearted mountain bandit, after all.
On the way here, Diarmuid had heard Garp talk about Dadan.
She was a good friend who Garp grew up with. Garp later joined the Marines but still hung around Foosha Village.
However, for a lot of reasons, Dadan became a mountain bandit.
But in reality, even though she called herself a mountain bandit and had a large group of underlings, Dadan and her crew never did anything bad.
On the contrary, they became bandits and turned Foosha Village into their turf to protect it.
Because there were a few groups of real mountain bandits in the Goa Kingdom, Dadan's crew, while officially bandits, was basically a security force for Foosha Village.
On most days, they would just farm in the mountains and help the villagers hunt wild beasts.
They rarely went down to the village, only when they needed to buy alcohol or other supplies.
Both sides had always maintained a peaceful relationship.
Diarmuid didn't find anything wrong with Garp's reasoning.
Diarmuid himself believed that Garp wouldn't have a relationship with truly evil mountain bandits. Even if he adopted Roger's bloodline, he never lost his morals.
After Dadan calmed down, she carefully took the sleeping Ace from Garp and asked, "So what's this about you adopting Roger's kid, you old coot?"
"I was entrusted with him," Garp said, shaking his head.
Then, a bright smile appeared on his face as he patted Dadan's shoulder. "Hahahaha! Thank goodness for you, Dadan!"
Dadan: ???
"What do you mean, 'thank goodness for me'?" Dadan asked, confused.
"I'm going to leave Ace with you. You can take care of him!" Garp said, with no hesitation.
Dadan was stunned. She immediately said, "This is a bandit den! You're leaving Ace here? What are you doing?! Are you trying to get me killed?! If anyone finds out, the whole village will be in danger!"
"Don't worry, no one knows about this. I've already made all the arrangements. Just treat him like a regular kid. I'll come visit you often when I have time," Garp promised.
Dadan heard this and tried to refuse again.
But just then, Ace woke up, grabbed Dadan's clothes, and grinned.
The smile was truly adorable.
With just that smile, Dadan couldn't get the words of refusal out of her mouth.
"Sigh, if I die, it's all because of you, you bastard…" Dadan couldn't help but complain.
Garp heard her words and laughed. He knew Dadan had already agreed.
Then, Dadan looked at Diarmuid nervously and asked him, "And who is this?"
"Oh, don't worry about him. This is the bastard who roped me into this. He was the one who found Roger in the South Blue, cornered him on Baterilla Island, and made a deal with him. He tricked me into taking care of Ace… So, he's my accomplice. You don't have to worry about him," Garp said casually, patting Diarmuid's shoulder.
"Cornered him on Baterilla Island…" Dadan was stunned for a moment, then said in shock, "You're the one who captured the Pirate King, Vice Admiral Rodriguez Diarmuid?"
Diarmuid finally smiled and nodded. "That's me."
"I can't believe there's a story like this. The man who captured Roger also helped Garp adopt Roger's child," Dadan said, her voice filled with a sense of wonder.
Diarmuid waved his hand. "There's no big conspiracy here. I just helped out a little."
Garp heard that and quickly said, "Hey, Diarmuid, don't think you can escape responsibility!"
"What responsibility do I have? I told you not to be soft-hearted, and there would be no problem. But you took the job anyway. What does that have to do with me?" Diarmuid immediately retorted.
"I don't care! It has everything to do with you! If it weren't for you, none of this would be happening! You have to help me with Ace in the future!" Garp said without hesitation.
"I have no connection to Ace, okay?" Diarmuid argued.
"Then you can be his uncle?" Garp suddenly said.
"Are you trying to make fun of me, you bastard?! You're his grandfather, and I'm his uncle? What does that make me? You're demoting me by a whole generation! I'm your son's peer now?" Diarmuid said, annoyed.
But when he said that, Garp looked at him in surprise. "Isn't that right? You've always been informal with me, but I've always considered you a nephew. You're on friendly terms with that bastard Dragon, so shouldn't you be a generation below me?"
Diarmuid: ???
He wanted to say something, but he realized that Garp was making a lot of sense.
Even though he and Garp were always informal with each other, Garp's seniority was a fact. Diarmuid considered Zephyr and Sengoku his elders, and Garp was on the same level as them.
Then there was Dragon, Kuzan, and so on.
It seemed Garp was right.
At that moment, Diarmuid came to his senses and quickly said, "How did you get me all turned around? I'm not arguing about this. I won't get involved with Ace's matters…"
"You don't have to get involved too much. Just, based on what happened today, if something ever happens in the future, I hope you'll help him out," Garp said, his expression suddenly serious.
Diarmuid looked into Garp's eyes and didn't say anything.
After a long time, he sighed. "Why me?"
Garp smiled and said, "Whether you admit it or not, Ace has a connection to you. You are the origin of all this. What's more…"
At this point, Garp's voice became a little more wistful. He looked at Ace in Dadan's arms. "What's more, I know that one day, you'll reach the position of Marine Admiral, and that won't even be your limit. Maybe you'll even become a Fleet Admiral like Kong-san. I've said it before, I believe Ace's only path is within the Marines. If you become an Admiral or Fleet Admiral in the future, it would be good for this little guy. At least I won't have to worry about you doing anything to him because of his bloodline."
Diarmuid didn't say anything and also looked at Ace, who was playing with Dadan.
After a while, Diarmuid suddenly spoke. "So, you're supporting me to be an Admiral, or even Fleet Admiral?"
Garp looked at Diarmuid, then said, "That guy Kuzan is lazy, and Borsalino is a slacker. If I don't support you, who will I support? That stiff Sakazuki?"
Garp and Sakazuki were at odds, but there was no real conflict between them. Their relationship just wasn't great.
At the same time, Garp knew that Sakazuki's personality was what it was. If he were to find out about Ace's identity, he would definitely be ruthless.
So, it was impossible for him to support Sakazuki. At the moment, Diarmuid and the other three were the ones with a chance to become Admiral. The future Fleet Admiral would be of a similar nature.
Because of this, Garp used Ace as a way to lay his cards on the table with Diarmuid.
To put it more bluntly, Garp was using Ace as a bargaining chip with Diarmuid.
As the Marine Hero, his influence in the Marines was extraordinary. Otherwise, with his personality, constantly insulting the World Government and cursing the Celestial Dragons, he would have been killed a long time ago.
Why was he still living so freely?
Because he was strong and had a great influence on the Marines.
So, if Diarmuid could formally gain Garp's support within the Marines, it would be a huge boost for him, whether he was challenging the World Government in the future or competing for the position of Fleet Admiral.
Thinking about this, Diarmuid looked at Ace again and finally sighed. "I'll try my best. To be honest, even though blood is not a sin, as Roger's son, he's naturally going to be extraordinary. And you know what that means…"
"It means he's going to be a lot of trouble," Garp said casually.
"Yeah, a whole lot of trouble," Diarmuid chuckled.
After a brief pause, he added, "But he's also a good kid with a lot of potential…"
"He's Roger's kid after all. Although that bastard Roger became a pirate, you can't deny his talent. Maybe Ace inherited it?" Garp said with a smile.
After he finished, he looked at Ace, and his voice was filled with a little hope. "If I can one day see this kid become a pillar of the Marines, if he can become a Marine Admiral like you, I can die in peace…"
Hearing Garp's words, Diarmuid felt a little touched.
He wondered how the grandfather and grandson had developed such a deep bond in just a few months.
Putting those thoughts away, Diarmuid glared at Garp. "You tricked me into coming to your hometown just to get these promises. Now that I've given them, you can continue your vacation. I'm going back to G-7…"
"What are you talking about? You've already come this far, stay in the village for a bit as my guest," Garp said, grabbing Diarmuid's arm.
Then, he turned and gave Dadan some instructions before pulling Diarmuid toward the village down the mountain.
Dadan stared blankly at the two's retreating backs, then looked at Ace in her arms.
So you're just abandoning him now?
What happened to that deep bond between grandfather and grandson?
You're just pretending Ace doesn't exist now?
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