Obstruction

After Garp left, the room fell silent.

Rouge stared blankly at the crib, her expression shifting unpredictably.

Zany showed little expression. She stretched, then left the room and headed for the spare bedroom.

Her overtime work for tonight was over. It was time to rest.

"Why...?"

The negative emotions in Rouge's heart had nearly built to their peak.

The moment Garp revealed his face, she recognized him.

Roger had mentioned him many times—the Marine he trusted most—and had even shown her a photograph.

Thinking back on it now, Roger had not been reminiscing about the past with her. He had been entrusting his child to someone.

So why did you entrust your child to a Marine?

Did you think I wasn't worthy, or did you think your pirate companions would be purged?

Rouge's face turned incomparably grim. Her fists clenched tightly, and her hatred for Roger nearly reached its peak.

She could ignore it if they wanted her life.

But if they wanted her child's life as well, and intended to force her child down some predetermined path, she would not accept it!

She would rather her child live as an ordinary person for life than follow the plans of that madman Roger.

Baterilla Island, an uninhabited shore where a wooden sailing ship was moored.

When Garp appeared there with the baby in his arms, he suddenly stopped.

He held the child tighter and stared gravely ahead.

Even without Observation Haki, he could clearly see two figures in the distance blocking the only path to the wooden sailing ship.

"Zephyr!"

Garp let out a low growl.

He had not expected that even with Zephyr's stupid brain, he could set an ambush in advance.

"Garp, you're here!"

Zephyr rolled his neck and stepped in front of Garp, blocking his path.

"Move aside!"

Garp said in a low voice.

"Whether I move aside isn't up to me."

Zephyr sneered and took a step to the side, revealing Ross behind him.

They had long known Garp would come to Baterilla Island, so naturally, they had made thorough preparations.

The child in Garp's arms was an orphan Ross had prepared long ago. The child had black hair and bore some resemblance to Rouge. Through a special CP Organization channel, the child had been sent to Baterilla Island.

They had let Garp seize the child first before intercepting him, all so Garp would have reservations.

Otherwise, once a battle began, even Zephyr could not guarantee Ross's safety with absolute certainty.

But as long as Garp held a child in his arms, even if he learned that child was not Roger's bloodline, Garp would not be able to use much of his strength.

If Garp could abandon an innocent child, then he would not be Garp.

Although Zephyr disliked Garp's personality, he still acknowledged Garp's faith in justice.

"Celestial Dragon!"

Garp's expression became even uglier as he looked at Saint Ross's face.

"Put Ace down, and I'll allow you to leave."

Ross spoke indifferently, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

He was not an ordinary person like Rouge, who had never acted before. At the very least, Garp could not see the slightest trace of an act in him.

Garp

Overall Rating: S+

"Impossible! He's my grandson. I'm taking him with me."

Garp tightened his hold on the child and replied in a deep voice.

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If he had been stopped before getting his hands on the child, he might have chosen to leave first and make plans later.

But Ace was already in his hands. How could he possibly give up halfway now?

"Your grandson?"

Ross and Zephyr both wore strange expressions. Was Garp treating them like fools? And was that really something he could say so casually?

"Heh, Garp, Roger's son is your grandson? Are you saying Roger was your son, or Rouge was your daughter?" Zephyr laughed loudly.

He knew Garp would not make excuses, but he had not expected the excuse to be this terrible.

"What are you talking about?"

Confusion covered Garp's face, as though he knew nothing about it.

"Who is Rouge? Roger has been dead for two years. How could his child have only just been born?"

"Whether he's Roger's descendant can be determined with a test, can't it? The World Government recently developed a new technique that can compare human genes to determine blood relations. Even if someone is dead, as long as there are cells, they can be tested."

Ross looked at Garp playfully, wanting to hear what other brilliant insights he had.

He had not come today to force Garp out of the Marines. As long as Garp remained within the Marine system, Ross had plenty of ways to use this matter to make him compromise.

But if he truly forced Garp away, then he would have to worry about Garp's retaliation instead.

More importantly, with the strength and manpower he currently possessed, he had no way to keep Garp here.

Upon hearing Ross's words, Garp fell completely silent.

He did not need a test to know the result. The child in his arms had to be Roger's bloodline.

Roger had told him so. There could be no mistake.

After Roger died, he had secretly visited Baterilla Island and secretly seen Rouge once, so he knew Ace had to be Roger's orphaned child.

This matter was also his fault.

If he had not accidentally let it slip while the Marines aboard his ship were discussing Roger dying without descendants, it would not have triggered the chain reaction that followed.

Even though he tried to patch things up afterward, he could only force himself to say that Roger had told him before his death that he had descendants, but Garp did not know who they were or where they were.

Because of his mistake, South Blue, where Roger had last appeared before turning himself in, suffered disaster. All infants and pregnant women who might have carried Roger's bloodline were implicated.

Now that things had reached this point, how could Garp possibly hand him over?

If Ace was not taken away by him in the end, then would those innocent people in South Blue not have died for nothing?

Thinking of this, Garp decided to strike first.

"If you dare make a move, I'll destroy every ship nearby."

Zephyr's single sentence completely crushed Garp's plan, making his expression even uglier.

"Hmph."

Zephyr snorted coldly. "We've known each other for decades. Do you think I don't know how your mind works? You can swim to the next island yourself, but if you bring a child with you, he'll die without question."

Garp fell silent.

Just as Zephyr said, without a ship, he had no way to take Ace away.

As he thought about it, an idea suddenly struck Garp, and he turned his gaze toward Ross.

The moment his gaze landed on him, Ross smiled and took out a Den Den Mushi.

"This Den Den Mushi can call my grandfather's Den Den Mushi—one of the current Five Elders."

"Vice Admiral Garp, you wouldn't want my grandfather to learn about this, would you?"

"What do you want? I can't hand Ace over to you."

Garp gritted his teeth. Since things had come to this, he could not even be bothered to keep lying.

As long as he did not hand Ace over, he would accept any conditions, no matter how harsh.

Otherwise, at worst, they would perish together.

He was alone now, with nothing tying him down.

His son Dragon had already grown up and did not listen to him at all. Garp could not even be bothered to discipline him anymore.

He had nothing left to cling to, neither the Marines nor pirates.

He had seen through this world. It was simply impossible for justice to descend upon it.

All he could do was remain true to his heart and refuse to yield, even in death.

If you can't find the book by searching its title, try searching the author. It may have simply been renamed!