Half an hour later, inside a cleaned-up house, Ginny finally managed to soothe the baby to sleep.
Rubbing her forehead, she let out a long breath.
That brat Rowan back then was nowhere near this hard to handle.
When he was hungry, he knew to open his mouth. When he was thirsty, he would point at the cup. When he needed to pee, he would babble.
If it weren't for this female Marine just now, her head would have exploded from the baby's crying.
Glancing at the woman who had helped calm the baby, Ginny sighed.
"Don't blame yourself too much. Compared to your superior, you could only follow orders."
The woman, Bell-mère, didn't look at her.
Her gaze remained fixed on the sleeping baby.
"When I became a Marine, I wanted to protect ordinary people from pirates. Even as a woman, I trained harder than everyone else. Harder than all of them."
"I believed only the Marines could protect civilians. Protect my old village. Protect every child from becoming an orphan."
"But now I realize I was wrong. Those high above only care about their own interests. Only about gaining more."
At this point, she turned to look at Ginny.
"Civilians have become a burden to kings. They've become sacrifices in deals between the Marines and rulers. In a world like this, do ordinary people even have a chance to live?"
"Pirates run rampant. The Marines are corrupt. And the Heavenly Tribute hangs over our necks like a blade every time. How are ordinary people supposed to live? How are they supposed to survive?"
The room fell silent.
After a long moment, Ginny extended her hand.
"Then… join us."
Bell-mère froze, staring blankly at the hand in front of her.
"Join… you?"
As a Marine, she had seen the wanted poster of the cloaked man.
It labeled him as a criminal trying to destroy the world.
But what she had seen today did not match that at all.
"We want to create a world where ordinary people can live freely. If our goals align, then we're companions, right?"
"You…?"
"The Revolutionary Army. Our goal is to overturn this rotten world. To unite all the oppressed and bring it down together."
"The Revolutionary Army… the cloaked man…"
"The one just now wasn't Mr. Flame. As for the cloaked man, the main reason he's wanted is because he killed two Celestial Dragons."
Bell-mère froze again.
World Nobles.
Beings that ordinary people must kneel before.
Killed.
Ginny awkwardly withdrew her hand.
"Even if you want to join, you still have to pass evaluation. Looks like I'm really not suited for recruiting people… I'm not as good at talking as that guy."
At that moment, Roger walked in, holding the hand of a small girl.
Behind the mask, his gaze was sharp.
He sighed and spoke directly.
"She's the only one left alive. I killed the Marine officers leading them. All the pirates are dead too."
The simple words carried the killing intent of the former Pirate King.
Ginny thought for a moment.
"Information about the cloaked man will reach the Marines soon. The World Government's CP will also come investigate. We should leave."
Roger nodded.
"I want to take this child back. Ace can play with her."
Ginny looked at the sleeping baby.
"And this one too. I'll have to trouble you with her."
At that moment, Bell-mère, who had been listening, spoke up.
"I can help you. I can take care of children. I owe…"
Before she could finish, Roger immediately agreed.
After Ace learned to walk, he had become harder to manage day by day.
Now adding a two-year-old and an infant, he was worried Rouge would be too exhausted.
With one more woman helping take care of the children, Rouge would have it much easier.
"Then it's settled."
One week later, a World Government ship arrived at the ruins of the Oykot Kingdom.
After searching the entire island, the CP agents began compiling their findings.
"Previously, although the cloaked man displayed multiple abilities, most of his attacks relied on a short, special weapon, which seemed linked to his teleportation ability. There are no records of him using a sword."
"Judging from the slash that split the ground, that level is comparable to a great swordsman."
"According to Marine branch intelligence, the mask used was also not the white mask typically associated with the cloaked man."
"So someone is impersonating him?"
"No. I just received a speculative report from one of the five previously suspected countries."
A photo was placed on the table.
It showed Ginny.
"Based on Marine identification, this Revolutionary Army woman appears to be the leader. Possibly a squad captain."
"So the cloaked man is part of the Revolutionary Army?"
"Those rat-like vermin…"
"Report this upward. Let the higher-ups decide."
At the same time, after completing his mission, Rowan returned to Marine Headquarters.
The first thing he did was attend swordsmanship class.
In the morning, he trained at Marine Headquarters.
In the afternoon, his main body went to East Blue to train under Kozaburo.
Just as he finished meditation, a Nimbus cloud swept low overhead, and a figure jumped down.
"Heard from the old man you've been learning swordsmanship here lately. Why didn't you come find me?"
Rowan glanced at her.
"Why would I look for you? You know how to use a sword?"
Ginny immediately became dissatisfied.
"I don't, but that masked guy does. You didn't see it. A week ago in the Oykot Kingdom, that guy used a flying slash and cut an entire group of pirates in half."
Rowan didn't hear the latter half.
He only caught the first sentence.
Thinking about it, Roger was also a top-tier great swordsman.
Even Shanks' swordsmanship was likely taught by him.
Kozaburo, who later taught Zoro, followed Wano-style training. It was mostly repetitive horizontal and vertical strikes, along with meditation.
So… should he go ask Roger?
Maybe Roger's swordsmanship would be more suitable for a Zanpakutō.
With that thought, Rowan stood up and instantly disappeared.
Ginny froze.
She had flown all this way just to see this kid, and he just left like that?
East Blue, Foosha Village, Goa Kingdom.
When Rowan appeared behind Roger, he was momentarily stunned.
Roger was currently playing a pirate game with two little kids.
The boy holding a wooden sword was Ace. That much he knew.
But the girl cheering beside him, with purple hair… who was she?
Roger's illegitimate child?
"Oh? You're here, sir?"
Roger's Observation Haki had already detected Rowan the moment he appeared, but he waited until finishing the game with Ace before coming over to greet him.
"Masked uncle… take this!"
The wooden sword came straight at Rowan, stabbing into his leg.
Rowan played along, letting out a pained cry, then collapsed onto the wooden floor.
"Hahaha! I won! I'm number one!"
But when Rowan sat back up, ace quickly put away the wooden sword, grabbed the girl's hand, and ran.
"The monster's here! Run!"
Rowan looked at Roger.
"You're starting to look like a proper father now. But where did that girl come from? Your illegitimate child?"
Roger burst out laughing.
"How could that be. That's Nojiko, a survivor from the Oykot Kingdom. That country was destroyed a week ago. The king tried to reduce the population by bringing in pirates, and the Marines were involved too. In the end, we just happened to pass by."
Nojiko?
Rowan froze for a moment, then asked,
"There's another girl, right?"
Roger looked at him, equally confused.
"How did you know there's another girl? Also, we brought back a female Marine too. She's joined us now."
Great.
Nami and her adoptive mother Bell-mère had actually ended up in Foosha Village. Bell-mère joined the Revolutionary Army, and now she was raising kids together with Roger and Rouge.
And Nico Robin, another future Straw Hat, was currently in Baltigo, living happily with Olvia.
Because of him… everything had changed.
Wait.
Dragon had been busy lately, and there was no sign he had gone out or gotten into any kind of relationship.
So…
Monkey D. Luffy just… didn't exist?
Seeing Rowan suddenly go silent and act strangely, Roger snorted and turned to look at the two kids playing in the distance, with Rouge watching over them.
After a while, Roger suddenly sighed and spoke.
"Sir, when you executed me… if you had acted a little faster, would the parents of those two girls still be alive?"
He let out a self-mocking laugh.
"Looking at it this way, I might actually be their enemy. After all, their parents died because of pirates. And the Great Pirate Era started because of me."
Rowan snapped out of his thoughts about whether Luffy could even exist anymore.
He looked at Roger, then at Nojiko in the distance.
"You knew this from the beginning, didn't you? I won't say things like someone has to be sacrificed. But you already made that choice."
"Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, was reckless and free, the most free man on the seas. But at the same time, he was also someone filled with sin."
"Whether you regret it or not, you already did it. Honestly, you and I are the same. We're not good people. Just ordinary individuals in this world. Not good, but not completely rotten either."
"Not good… but not completely rotten?"
Roger seemed to recall many things from his past.
"I'll raise them. Just like Ace. I'll teach them strength. And in the end… I'll tell them about my past."
Rowan looked at him.
"What if they hate you and want revenge? What is this, some melodramatic soap opera?"
Roger turned back and met Rowan's gaze.
"When that time comes, don't tell me you still haven't succeeded in changing the world. If the future described by the Revolutionary Army comes true, then in that peaceful world… there will be no reason for me to continue existing."
With a body revived through unnatural means, someone like Roger might truly not want to continue living in a half-dead state.
After a moment, Rowan finally remembered why he came.
"Teach me how to communicate with my sword!"
"Huh?"
Roger was stunned.
"Why are you suddenly using a sword? Kouzaburo has been complaining to Ginny a few times about you. Your combat style… wait!"
"Did you get it from a treasure chest?"
"Over a year… those two Celestial Dragons' sin value must have been fully drained by now. So this time you opened a million-level chest?"
Faced with Roger's rapid-fire shock, Rowan grinned proudly.
"If I can fully use this sword's power, let me tell you, Mary Geoise would be nothing. I could wipe them out in one afternoon. Believe it or not."
Roger looked at the sword in Rowan's hand.
"A sword that strong? Does it have some special ability?"
Rowan laughed.
"If I fully release it, I could evaporate the ocean. Sakazuki's magma? In front of me, it's garbage."
Roger stood up.
"Draw it. Let me see this power."
Rowan froze.
Rowan glanced at him awkwardly.
"I already told you, that's only when it's fully unleashed. Otherwise why would I come to learn swordsmanship from you? Right now this sword is just an ordinary blade. Only after Shikai can it start to show its special power."
That explanation…
instantly killed Gol D. Roger's interest.
Still, since the boss asked, he began explaining the basics of swordsmanship to Rowan.
In the end, Rowan realized it was pretty much the same as what Koushirou had taught in Shimotsuki Village.
Swordsmanship basics came down to one thing: practice, and becoming familiar with the blade in your hand.
Half a day passed quickly.
After training for half the day, Rowan also went to take a look at baby Nami.
Still not grown at all.
Ugly as hell.
Losing interest instantly, Rowan slipped away before Ginny noticed him.
Tomorrow he still had to attend sword classes at Marine Headquarters. Training in three different places at once might speed up his ability to sense his Zanpakutō.
Another month passed.
The latest intelligence about the Revolutionary Army was delivered to the Room of Authority in Mary Geoise.
The five elders silently read the report in their hands.
"The Revolutionary Army… it seems these rats hiding in the shadows can no longer be ignored."
"If the cloaked man is also part of the Revolutionary Army, then their objective is already clear."
"The five nations that experienced coups and then stabilized… there's a problem."
"Bugs that have been discovered will ultimately be eliminated."
"The teleportation fruit's strength lies in mobility. Now that we know he belongs to the Revolutionary Army, things become much easier."
"So the trap at Sabaody Archipelago…"
"The importance of the cloaked man is obvious. Just his combat power alone makes him a core member. Capture him, and the rest will walk into the net themselves."
"Then proceed."
"Have CP agents continue monitoring those five nations. Their current kings are likely Revolutionary Army members. Ideally, locate their base and wipe them out in one sweep."
"The situation in Oykot Kingdom is not an exception. But it doesn't matter. If one affiliated nation falls, another can simply take its place."
"Bugs should behave like bugs."
"The pirates need to be suppressed."
"The Great Pirate Era started by Gol D. Roger is becoming increasingly uncontrollable."
"The Navy's strength must be increased."
"Vegapunk has not been found. The science division is progressing too slowly. Germa in the North Blue is an affiliated nation, have them hand over their technology."
"Germa…"
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