Portgas Rouge
Ten days had passed since the two of them set sail together.
They had finally reached Baterilla.
They docked the warship at the harbor.
Several hundred Marines followed them off the ship.
"The captain of the first squad will follow me, and the second squad will follow Commodore Xiu..."
Before she finished, Xiu was already walking toward the island's town.
"Hey! Xiu, where are you going?"
Without looking back, Xiu waved a hand.
"Well, I'll just search on my own."
"Don't worry about me~"
Gion blushed. "Wh-who's worried about you?!"
By the time she said that, Xiu had already disappeared from everyone's sight.
In a rare display, Gion stamped her foot like a young girl.
"That annoying jerk. Forget him. We'll start searching over there!"
She pointed casually in a direction, then led her squad that way.
Baterilla lay in a remote corner of the South Blue.
As such, the town on it was not particularly large.
Xiu's Reiatsu perception could cover the entire island.
"Phew... I didn't want to do this, but I still want to meet your mother..."
A trace of reminiscence flashed through Xiu's eyes. Portgas Ace.
He could be called an everlasting source of pain for almost every One Piece fan.
Even Xiu in his previous life had never been able to get over it.
He had even fantasized about Ace coming back to life someday.
But fantasies were only fantasies, after all...
He shook his head, casting those jumbled thoughts aside.
He focused on sensing everyone in town.
Finding Rouge was actually quite simple.
According to the original story, Rouge had already been pregnant in April.
So Xiu only needed to sense who was pregnant...
But very soon,
Xiu's face darkened with exasperation.
"...Four... ten... fifteen?!"
"Is this a fucking village of pregnant women?!"
Xiu cursed under his breath.
On an island with fewer than a thousand people, there were over a dozen fucking pregnant women!
Had Roger picked out this island specifically for Rouge or what?!
Xiu took a deep breath, feeling as though the town before him harbored deep malice toward him!
"Sigh, what else can I do? I'll check them one by one..."
After lamenting his troubles,
Xiu began checking house by house.
Time ticked away.
Xiu's face grew frosty.
"Fuck... over a dozen houses! And not a single one was hers?!"
"Has my luck gotten this bad now?!"
Grumbling, Xiu knocked on the last pregnant woman's door.
Knock, knock, knock!
Then a clear voice came from inside. "Who is it?"
"Ahem, Marines. Please open the door."
There seemed to be a moment of silence inside.
Then footsteps sounded.
The door slowly opened.
A head of long pink hair came into Xiu's view.
Then came a face with a few freckles.
A gleam flashed through Xiu's eyes.
Finally found her!
He shouted joyfully in his mind.
"Um, can I help you, Mr. Marine?"
Portgas Rouge was a little panicked now.
Roger had left just two months earlier.
And the Marines had followed right on his heels.
One could imagine how Rouge felt now.
"Uh, beautiful lady, what should I call you?"
"Portgas Rouge."
Rouge answered somewhat distractedly.
She was worrying about whether the man she loved had already turned himself in...
Xiu could see Rouge's worry too.
He chuckled. "May I come in and sit for a while?"
Rouge froze at his words. Was this Marine... out of his mind?!
"Um, Mr. Marine, this isn't a good time... Hey! Wait!"
Before she finished, Xiu had already strode into her home.
Strictly speaking, this could be considered trespassing...
His gaze swept over the small house.
There was not a single item related to Gol D. Roger.
Looks like she's already prepared...
Then Xiu sat down on a chair without ceremony.
Rouge stormed over to Xiu.
She was just about to demand an explanation.
Then she heard Xiu speak slowly.
"Be careful of the child in your belly. I don't think Roger would want anything to happen to him..."
Rouge trembled all over at his words.
But she forced back her questions.
She was afraid!
Afraid that this was a Marine bluff to trick her!
Xiu sighed softly.
"Relax. The main Marine force is on the other side of town. I'm the only one here."
Hearing that, Rouge suppressed the panic in her heart.
Feigning anger, she demanded,
"Who exactly are you? What do you want?"
Xiu elegantly removed his scarlet gloves and placed them on the table.
"Era Xiu, Marine commodore..."
"I came here only to tell you..."
"You're under arrest, Portgas Rouge!!"
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