South Blue, Baterilla Island.
Waves lapped against the silver sand, coconut trees swayed in the breeze, and the air was filled with a salty, leisurely scent.
Kane descended from the sky, landing on a secluded hillside.
Following the address Roger had given him, he soon found a small wooden cottage surrounded by flowers.
The owner of the cottage stood at the door, holding a watering can.
She was a gentle woman with seaweed-like long hair cascading over her shoulders. Her loose floral dress couldn't conceal her slightly swollen belly.
Her eyes were filled with worry and uncertainty about the future.
Portgas D. Rogue.
The woman of the Pirate King, the mother of that future unlucky boy, Ace.
"Navy... Kane?"
Rogue stopped what she was doing, instinctively protecting her stomach, her face full of wariness.
"Don't be nervous, Ms. Rogue."
Kane wore a gentle smile on his face, deliberately suppressing his aura to appear like a harmless young man from the neighborhood.
He pulled something from his chest—a slightly worn straw hat.
The moment she saw the straw hat, Rogue's eyes instantly reddened. Her strong facade crumbled in an instant, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
"Is he... is he okay?"
"He's fine." Kane casually pulled out a rattan chair in the yard and sat down, his voice as calm as if he were narrating someone else's story. "We made a deal. He traded his life and his reputation for a stable future for you and this child."
Kane succinctly laid out the details of that "devil's bargain."
He didn't embellish or dramatize, simply stating the facts plainly.
By the time he finished, Rogue was already in tears.
She looked at this impossibly young Navy man before her, the one who had personally ended her lover's era, her gaze filled with an indescribable complexity.
There was hatred, resentment, but more than anything, a sense of helpless gratitude.
"Why should I believe you?" she choked out, asking the same question Roger had.
"Because you have no other choice."
Kane's reply was as domineering as ever. "Besides, I've already prepared everything for you. A new identity, an absolutely safe residence, and... a bright future that belongs to him."
His gaze shifted downward, landing on Rogue's slightly swollen belly, and his smile took on a meaningful depth.
"The descendant of the Pirate King cannot have blood tainted by sin flowing through his veins."
"He will be personally trained by me to become an outstanding Navy officer, using his own hands to atone for the sins his father committed."
"This is also part of the deal."
Rogue's body trembled violently.
Making Roger's son... a Navy officer?
How absurd, what irony!
Yet, as she looked into Kane's unfathomably deep eyes, the panic in her heart miraculously began to subside.
Perhaps...
For this unborn child, this truly was the best outcome.
...
Two days later.
Three figures with distinctly different styles walked over from the forest path.
Sakazuki led the way, his magma-like scorching aura raising the temperature around them by several degrees.
Kuzan and Borsalino followed behind, their expressions growing increasingly peculiar.
From a distance, they could see their boss sitting in the courtyard having tea with a beautiful pregnant woman.
The atmosphere was so harmonious, even carrying a hint of... domesticity?
The three of them halted their steps, plunging the scene into a deathly silence.
"Yoh~"
Borsalino was the first to break the silence, his tone trembling with the thrill of discovering a shocking secret, "If this is the reason you wanted to 'relax' in the South Blue... I suppose I can understand it."
Kuzan's gaze toward Rouge's belly looked as if he were staring at some indescribable monster: "Ara ara... At this stage of pregnancy, the timing doesn't quite add up, does it? Kane, you've been fooling around outside since a year ago?"
Sakazuki's expression was the darkest. He looked at the pregnant woman, then at Kane, finally settling his gaze on the prominent "Justice" written on Kane's Admiral coat.
"For something like this... you called us all the way here to provide escort?" Sakazuki's voice was low, carrying a suppressed intensity like a volcano about to erupt. "Do you realize, if Fleet Admiral Kong finds out about this..."
"Stop! All of you, shut up!"
Kane nearly spat out his tea.
Looking at these three brothers with faces full of "I never thought you were this kind of person," he finally understood just how twisted their thought processes had become.
"This woman's belly has nothing to do with me, not even one Berry's worth!" Kane stood up abruptly, his voice so loud it startled the seabirds in the forest.
"Oh~ I understand, we all understand." Borsalino grinned with a lewd smile. "These things, we're all adults, no need to explain so clearly."
Kuzan patted Kane's shoulder with a grave tone: "Don't worry, we keep our mouths shut. When we get back, I'll tell the Fleet Admiral you discovered Roger's remnants in the South Blue and are personally eliminating them. As for this child... as long as it looks like you."
"Get lost!"
Kane couldn't take it anymore, giving each of them a flick on the forehead.
"This is Gol D. Roger's wife! The child in her belly is the Pirate King's seed!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire scene fell into a chilling silence.
"What did you say?" Sakazuki stepped forward, his eyes instantly turning murderous. "The Pirate King's bloodline? Such a scourge should be eradicated on the spot!"
Kane looked at this blockhead, wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and patiently guided him.
"Sakazuki, broaden your perspective a bit! Killing them, how boring is that?"
"Imagine, twenty years from now, a young man who perfectly inherited Roger's talents, wearing a Navy Admiral's uniform, standing before the entire world, roaring into a Den Den Mushi: 'My father Roger is trash of the sea, Absolute Justice is the only truth!'"
"Tell me, wouldn't that kind of Justice be even more fucking thorough?! Can't you fit some brains in that head of yours besides magma?"
The magma on Sakazuki's body extinguished. He stood frozen in place, his brain rapidly processing, trying to digest this unprecedented "view of Justice."
Borsalino's mouth hung open in an "O" shape, his sunglasses sliding down his nose: "Hey hey... Even the devil would shed tears hearing about something like this, right?"
...
Three days later, Nameless Island.
At the island's very heart stood a fantastical wooden villa.
Surrounding it were rare flowers she had personally selected, and nearby, a mountain spring had been diverted to create a small open-air hot spring.
Sea breeze, sunlight, beach.
This place felt less like a secret base and more like a top-tier vacation resort.
Gion stood on the villa's balcony, gazing at the distant horizon, her heart filled with sweet anticipation.
She had already changed into casual home clothes, her long hair loosely tied up, shedding some of her military bearing and gaining more of a wife's gentle grace.
She was waiting for her hero to return.
Finally, a familiar G-5 Warship appeared where the sea met the sky.
"Brother Kane is back!"
Gion's eyes instantly lit up. Like a little rabbit spotting its owner, she lifted the hem of her skirt and dashed toward the dock.
Until she saw Kane carefully helping a woman with a prominent belly down the gangway.
In that moment, Gion felt as if the sky had collapsed.
That floral dress and that glaringly obvious belly were like heavy hammers, striking precisely at her innocent, maiden heart.
"Bro... Brother Kane?"
The decorative flowers in her hand fell to the ground with a soft thud.
Seeing this, Kane showed not a hint of remorse. Instead, he greeted her with casual familiarity.
"Yo, Gion. Nice house you've built here. This is Rouge. She'll be a tenant here from now on. Look after her a bit, keep any unwanted people away."
Gion froze in place.
She looked at Rouge's gentle face, then at Kane's utterly unperturbed expression that seemed to say, "I just brought a friend back."
Tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
"Brother Kane..." Her voice trembled with a sob, filled with the grievance of feeling abandoned by the whole world. "Who... is this?"
"Her?"
Before Kane could answer, Borsalino, who had been enjoying the show the whole way, lazily added fuel to the fire.
"Yah~ Gion-chan, this here is the most important 'spoils of war' from our G-5's latest voyage~"
Spoils of war?
Gion was stunned.
Kuzan, yawning, delivered the second blow.
"Ah, la la. Yeah, to get her, Kane almost lost his life down in the South Blue."
Almost lost his life?
The information overload fried Gion's CPU completely.
She stared fixedly at Rouge's belly, tears swirling in her eyes, while her mind screamed internally: I want to have Brother Kane's children too!! How could some outside woman beat me to something like this?!
"Little rabbit, what nonsense are you thinking?" Kane walked over and flicked her forehead with his finger. "This is Pirate King Roger's wife. I'm not so desperate as to sink that low."
"R... really?!" The light instantly returned to Gion's eyes.
"Of course! This woman's identity is top secret. Aside from the few people here, anyone who leaks it gets sunk into the Calm Belt for fish food. Understood?"
Kane's tone was gentle, but the coldness in his eyes sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Gion instinctively snapped to attention. "U... understood!"
...
Night fell.
Kane sent everyone away and walked alone to Rouge's room.
She was sitting by the window, quietly watching the stars in the night sky, her expression tragically beautiful.
"Don't look like that. This will be your home from now on." Kane's voice was very soft.
Rouge stroked her belly and nodded. "Thank you."
"No need."
Kane walked over to her, his gaze falling on her slightly trembling abdomen.
He could clearly sense the incredibly tenacious little life growing inside.
Slowly, he reached out and, under Rouge's astonished gaze, gently placed his hand on her stomach.
The fetus inside seemed to sense the unfamiliar presence and moved curiously.
A smile appeared on Kane's face—a mix of affection, admiration, and... the satisfaction of a human trafficker spotting top-tier merchandise.
"Listen up, little one."
Kane's voice was soft, yet it carried a magic powerful enough to pierce the soul.
"Your irresponsible father left you and your mother with a colossal mess."
"But you're lucky because you met me."
"Those people outside either want you dead or want you to live as a hidden orphan."
"But I'm different."
"I will forge you into the sharpest blade on these seas. The future of the Navy... heh, now that's a thrilling script."
"From today onward, call me... Godfather."
[Ding!]
At that very moment, the long-awaited system notification exploded in Kane's mind.
[Host's actions have been detected as touching the core causality of the worldline! Initiating subversive alteration of the "Pirate King's Son's" fate!]
[Detected that the "Pirate King's Son" has been influenced by the host's will, causing irreversible deviation in his future destiny!]
[Reward Violation Value: 100,000 points!]
[Current Violation Value balance: 409,500 points.]
Kane straightened up, listening to the delightful notifications, feeling utterly exhilarated.
He lit a cigar, took a deep puff, and amidst the swirling smoke, the corners of his mouth curled into a wicked arc.
"How can doing Justice's work be called swindling?"
"This is... laying the groundwork early for a brighter tomorrow on the seas."
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