Jace

"I can let you go and keep your secret, but I have three conditions."

Ross held up three fingers, speaking unhurriedly.

He knew Garp would compromise.

Or rather, Garp was the type of person who compromised when things didn't work out.

Garp was determined to capture Roger, but ended up only capturing Roger because the man turned himself in. Garp's pursuit was essentially a show, and then Roger surrendered. Garp reminisced with him as a friend and even promised to help care for his offspring.

Garp wanted to raise his son to be an excellent Marine, but Dragon defected and founded the Revolutionary Army. Garp didn't personally capture Dragon, merely tacitly allowing him to operate outside.

Garp clearly had his own principles and justice; his refusal to be promoted to Admiral because he couldn't stand the Celestial Dragons was itself a form of compromise.

Garp wanted to train Ace to be a Marine, but Ace, despite hating Roger, still went out to sea and became a pirate. After Ace became a pirate, Garp had no intention of pursuing him, only regretting it after Ace was captured.

Garp wanted to train Luffy to be a Marine, but Luffy was determined to become the King of the Pirates. When they met again on his journey, Garp still chose to let him be free.

Garp wanted to save Ace, but he hesitated, failing to be a good Marine and failing to save him. In the end, he didn't pursue Akainu, the killer, and still chose to compromise.

Aside from strength and reputation, hesitation, failure, and compromise defined the latter half of Garp's life.

It was based on these factors that Ross dared to assert that Garp would compromise this time as well.

"Tell me."

Garp's face was grim, but with Zephyr present, he dared not make a move.

He couldn't kill Zephyr in a short time, and thus couldn't ensure all witnesses died.

The only thing he could do now was to risk his life in a one-for-one exchange with Ross.

But if he did that, it was uncertain whether he would die, but Ace would undoubtedly die.

Perhaps even the people on this island might perish as a result.

Even he could figure this out, so he wouldn't do it.

Either way, Ace would die, so it was meaningless.

Since Ross was willing to make demands, as long as it meant Ace and he could leave safely, what was wrong with compromising?

After so many years as a Marine, hadn't he seen enough of the World Government's wickedness?

Hadn't he always suppressed his anger and chosen to ignore it?

"The first condition is that you will go all out for me three times in the future. Don't worry, the opponents will definitely be villains, so it won't be difficult for you, a Marine hero." Ross wiggled his index finger.

"No problem!"

Garp agreed decisively.

It was his duty as a Marine to deal with villains.

His expression improved considerably at this point. At least Ross's demands were reasonable and didn't seem like he was intentionally making things difficult.

"The second condition is that you can take the child, but he must change his name. His name will be Gol D. Jace."

Ross held up two fingers and waved them in front of Garp.

Truth and falsehood were common in the pirate world.

He didn't care about Jace's future; if it brought him amusement, it would be fun, and if the child died young, he wouldn't regret it.

Life was long, and as a Celestial Dragon, one had to learn to find some amusement for oneself.

"As you wish."

Garp's expression changed slightly, but he still agreed.

He didn't want Ace... Jace to inherit the surname Gol, but upon closer thought, naming him Ace was essentially no different.

There was more than one Gol, and as long as Jace joined the Marines in the future, it shouldn't be a big problem.

"For the third condition, I won't make it difficult for you. Jace was born under my watch. Although I'm only interested in Rouge, I've at least raised him for all these days."

Ross paused, speaking seemingly carelessly, but seeing Garp's look of understanding, he knew his words had been effective.

Whether Garp was genuinely naive or wisely pretending, there was no need to make him overthink a simple explanation, which could lead to unexpected changes in his plan.

Even if Garp didn't believe him, it didn't matter. Even if Garp knew Ace had been swapped, what could he do to him at the Holy Land in the future?

Next was his favorite part.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

"Vice Admiral Garp, the third condition is very simple: punch yourself, injure yourself enough to spit blood, and then kneel and surrender to me." Ross said unhurriedly.

It was a rare opportunity to achieve an S-rank defeat, and he didn't want to miss it.

An S-rank defeat was equivalent to killing an A-rank expert.

There weren't many A-rank experts in the world; they either belonged to the World Government or were holed up in the New World, making them difficult targets to find and kill.

After multiple confirmations, the defeat reward only required spitting blood and a verbal surrender, making the conditions quite simple to meet.

"Tch, you Celestial Dragons are truly perverse!"

Upon hearing the demand, Garp burst into laughter instead.

The matter of Sakazuki kneeling and admitting defeat earlier had reached the ears of the entire Marine high command, thanks to the World Government's deliberate propaganda.

This was exactly the result Ross had wanted.

By cultivating an image of someone who admired strong opponents admitting defeat, he could avoid unnecessary trouble even if he made strong individuals surrender upon meeting him.

Perhaps later, those strong individuals from the World Government would proactively seek him out to surrender when they saw him.

After all, he wouldn't just accept surrenders from any Tom, Dick, or Harry.

One S-class opponent admitting defeat was equivalent to defeating 5 A-class, 50 B-class, or 500 C-class opponents.

The World Government had no less than 10 S-class individuals, but it was highly unlikely they could muster 500 B-class individuals.

Instead of having B-class opponents line up to surrender to him, he would only accept A-class and above, and proactively target S-class individuals to build his reputation first.

Perhaps later, even S-class pirates, after clashing with each other, would be willing to give him some face.

Of course, if it were an opposing S-class, he would definitely crush them if he could. Only if he couldn't would he consider the defeat reward.

"Agreed. Once you're done, you can leave. If not, you know the consequences," Ross said noncommittally.

"I don't care about these common titles."

Garp laughed heartily, scooping up Jace with one arm and slamming the other fist into his chest with force.

"Ugh!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, but Garp didn't care. It felt like he'd just been tickled.

For a strong individual like him, even serious injuries wouldn't elicit a groan, let alone this minor one.

Immediately, Garp knelt down, his voice deep, "Saint Ross, I lost today. Next time, I definitely won't let you stop me!"

He spoke these words with genuine sincerity.

Being stopped by Ross and Zephyr this time was indeed his loss.

If Ross were to press the issue and directly notify the Five Elders, he wouldn't have even a sliver of a chance to turn things around.

But losing this time didn't mean he would lose next time!

Garp silently got up, carrying Jace, and quickly passed Zephyr and Ross, rushing onto the ship that had been prepared.

He alone quickly set sail.

[S-Class Defeat Completed!]

[Strength +500000]

[Special Reward: Marine Rokushiki (A-Class)]

Marine Rokushiki, that's a decent reward...

Ross smiled, watching Garp's ship sail away until it disappeared.

"By the way, Zephyr, you checked the ship earlier. It seemed to only have meat, alcohol, and fresh water. Do you think Garp will starve Jace to death?"

"There's actually a possibility," Zephyr said with a strange look. "But he'll probably go to a nearby island for help. The closest island is less than a day away."

"Poor little Jace then. Let's just hope Garp is a decent person and doesn't let him die."

Ross smiled and turned to walk back into the island.

After claiming the biggest reward, there should be a small reward waiting for him to collect back at base.