The New World.
On the azure sea, dozens of heavy warships from the G-5 Branch were arrayed in formation, the roar of their cannons deafening.
Any uninformed passerby who saw this would surely think a decisive naval battle determining the fate of the seas was underway here.
But in reality...
"Kuzan, the ice layer you laid is too thin. The Sea Kings have all escaped. If we don't secure today's extra rations, Sakazuki will definitely stuff you into the boiler room." Borsalino lay on a deck chair, his eyes behind sunglasses fixed on his fishing rod, his tone lazy.
"Ah, la la, how long is that guy Kane going to keep up this act?" Kuzan squatted at the bow, casually tossing a chunk of ice into the sea.
Not far away, Kane stood before the porthole of the command ship, a Den Den Mushi in hand.
His expression was solemn and grave, his voice trembling as if he had just endured some profound personal tragedy.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral! We have been conducting a dragnet search in these waters for three days and three nights! I haven't missed a single reef in the entire eastern sector. Although we haven't found any traces yet, I assure you, as long as I have breath in my body, the line of Justice will never crumble!"
On the other end of the line, Fleet Admiral Kong let out a long sigh, his voice full of emotion: "You've worked hard. After days of continuous searching, that guy Garp has already started complaining. In the entire Headquarters, only G-5 under your leadership is truly dedicated and responsible. You are truly a model for our Navy."
"Vegapunk's kidnapping was the incompetence of the Cipher Pol, not your fault. You must rest; don't exhaust yourself for those useless people. Once this storm blows over, I'll personally apply for a medal for you!"
"Thank you for your guidance, Fleet Admiral! For Justice! I will give my all!"
Click.
The call ended.
Kane casually tossed his unfinished cigar into the ashtray and turned to the waiting officer: "Tell those guys to return to port once they've used up the shells. Our budget is limited; don't waste it on fish bombing."
The door to the command room was shoved open.
Gion barged in without even knocking, her steps frantic.
"Brother Kane! Rouge... she's suddenly going into labor!"
Kane frowned.
The timing was about right; that kid Ace should indeed be due around now.
"Find a doctor. Why come to me?"
"The doctors can't do anything!"
Gion's eyes were red with urgency, her voice choked with tears.
"She's hemorrhaging badly, the whole bed is soaked red, Rouge is barely breathing!"
"The baby is stuck too. The doctors say neither can be saved!"
Kane's eyes darkened instantly.
Ace was currently his biggest "Violation Value" investment product.
If he died in the womb, all his planning over the past two years would go down the drain.
Moreover, that woman who dared to defy fate shouldn't have such an ignoble death.
"Have Sakazuki take over the operation."
With those words, Kane's form transformed into a violent green tornado, shattering the office's floor-to-ceiling window as he shot into the sky.
...
Unnamed Island.
In the second-floor delivery room of the hidden villa, the smell of blood was thick enough to sting the nose.
Rouge's face was as pale as paper, the terrifying blood loss rapidly draining her vitality.
Although she hadn't forcibly carried the pregnancy for twenty months in this life, the inertia of fate still sought to claim her life.
"I'm sorry... Roger..."
She murmured weakly, her gaze unfocused.
The chief surgeon was drenched in sweat, clutching a scalpel in trembling hands, preparing to cut open her abdomen and forcibly extract the child.
Just then, the wooden door to the balcony was violently flung open by a gust of wind.
Kane landed with a thud, carried by the airflow.
"Sir... sir," the military doctor stammered.
Kane didn't even glance at the two terrified doctors, striding directly to the bedside.
Rouge's eyes were half-open, her pupils already beginning to dilate. "Please... save... the child..."
"Cut the melodramatic act," Kane said in an extremely harsh tone.
"I promised Roger I'd keep both you and your child safe. You don't even have the right to die."
He flipped his hand, and a small, emerald-green bean glowing with a rhythmic pulse of life appeared between his fingers.
A Senzu Bean.
Prying open Rouge's jaw, Kane shoved the Senzu Bean into her mouth, then grabbed a nearby cup of warm water and poured it down her throat.
He roughly forced open her teeth and dropped the bean inside.
This rule-defining holy medicine from the world of Dragon Ball dissolved the moment it touched her throat.
Under the doctors' horrified gazes, Rouge's still chest suddenly began to beat again.
Her ashen complexion regained its rosy hue.
Her failing organs were frantically repaired by the medicine's effects, bursting with vitality far surpassing before.
"A miracle... Is this a miracle?"
The doctor collapsed to the floor, babbling incoherently.
Rouge then let out the loudest cry of her life.
It was a mother's instinct.
"Wah—!!"
The piercing cry of a newborn echoed through the entire villa.
The doctor scrambled over to cut the umbilical cord, his mind completely blank.
Kane picked up a nearby warm towel and casually wiped the blood from his hands.
He looked at the tiny, wrinkled creature wrapped in swaddling clothes, resembling a red-skinned monkey.
The son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
The stubborn, obstinate Portgas D. Ace from the original story, who threw his life away in the Summit War for a hollow reputation.
"Let me... see him."
Rouge, now revived, weakly reached out, tears streaming down her face.
Kane picked up the red-skinned monkey and examined him.
"Ugly as sin. Didn't inherit any of your mother's beauty," Kane remarked, then turned to the two military doctors. "You two, get out."
The doctors fled as if granted amnesty, scrambling away.
Only Kane, Rouge, and the crying infant remained in the room.
"Kane, what are you doing?"
Rouge sensed something was wrong, struggling to sit up and reach for the child.
Kane ignored her.
[Ding!]
[Host detected preparing to cast "Kotoamatsukami" on a core D. bloodline!]
[Consuming 1,000,000 Violation Points to forcibly refresh cooldown.]
[Confirmation successful.]
[Current Violation Points: 6,009,500.]
Kane's eyes instantly transformed.
His pitch-black pupils turned crimson, with three tomoe rapidly spinning before connecting into a complex, mysterious, and eerie four-pointed windmill pattern.
The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
The powerful ocular force twisted the surrounding air.
Kane looked at the infant in his hands.
The little one had just stopped crying, slowly opening his clear eyes and curiously staring up at the crimson pupils above him.
Their gazes met.
"Remember this feeling." Kane's voice became ethereal and otherworldly.
A mental connection was established.
At this moment, the delivery room seemed detached from the present world.
An endless tide of mental pressure surged into the depths of the infant's consciousness, still a blank slate.
In that fleeting vision, Ace seemed to see a sea of crimson.
Pirates ravaged the land, civilians wept, and flames burned.
A towering figure stood with its back to him, clad in a Justice Coat as white as snow, cleaving through the darkness with a single slash.
"Pirates... are all evil."
"Justice... shall be eternal."
"I am the guardian of light."
These suggestions became the deepest imprints on the child's soul.
Even if he later remembered he was Roger's son, his first reaction would not be guilt, but disgust.
He would despise the so-called "evil bloodline" flowing in his veins, and he would be even more eager than Sakazuki to purge these seas.
The red in his eyes gradually faded.
Kane returned to his usual lazy, carefree demeanor.
The little one yawned, closed his eyes again, and fell into a deep sleep.
"What did you... do to him?"
Rouge's face was pale, her voice trembling.
"Nothing much."
Kane placed the swaddled baby beside Rouge.
"Just gave him his first life lesson. Free of charge."
He pulled over a chair, sat down with an imposing posture, casually lit a cigar, and began puffing away.
"Take good care of him. In a few years, once he's weaned, I'll send him to Old Man Zephyr's Elite Training Camp."
Rouge held her child, regained against all odds, tightly as tears streamed down her face.
"As long as he can live, he can do anything."
Kane flicked the ash from his cigar, wearing an annoyingly smug grin.
"Of course he'll live. Remember to feed him plenty of meat. Make him taller, bigger. So he'll have enough strength to fight Pirates later."
Kane stood up and draped the coat bearing the word "Justice" over his shoulders.
Outside, hurried footsteps approached. Gion pushed the door open, panting, just in time to see mother and child safe and sound.
"Thank goodness, I finally made it," Gion sighed with relief.
"Back to base," Kane extinguished his cigar. "Still have to go back and write the sector summary report for Old Man Kong."
He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked out.
From this day forward, the future of the seas had completely shifted onto a new track.
As for whether Roger would be so furious he'd climb out of his coffin?
Who cares. Anyway, now the son of the Pirate King had become the number one enforcer.
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