Chapter 4: Roger, Don’t Escape!

Lucas: "Alright, everyone, calm down! The chat group doesn't have a function that allows you to fight each other, so no matter how much you want to throw punches, you can't. Instead of wasting time arguing, how about we try solving this through actual conversation?"

Pirate King Roger: "Sigh... Fine. I admit it—I was a failure as a father. I was gone before you were even born, so it's only natural that you resent me."

Roger's voice carried a trace of helplessness. Now that he thought about it logically, he realized that Ace's hatred was justified.

Fire Fist Ace: "That's right! Blood ties don't mean anything to me. You were never there. I have no memories of you. To me, you're nothing but a stranger."

There was an undeniable coldness in Ace's words.

Pirate King Roger: "Then… what about your mother? Is she doing well?"

Roger awkwardly tried to change the subject.

Fire Fist Ace: "Hmph! You were the Pirate King. You ignited the Great Pirate Era. Did you really think the World Government would allow your bloodline to live freely? In order to protect me, my mother held me in her womb for several extra months. She sacrificed her own life just so I could be born. She died the moment I took my first breath!"

Ace's voice was filled with fury. Every time he thought about it, every time he was reminded of what his mother had done—what she had suffered through—it made his hatred for Roger burn even stronger.

Pirate King Roger: "She… she died?"

Roger's voice wavered. He had expected Lu Jiu to struggle, but he never imagined she would pay such a heavy price.

Pirate King Roger: "But before I died, I asked Garp to take care of you! He promised me he would! Did he break his word?"

Roger frowned. He didn't believe Garp was the kind of man who would betray a promise—especially not a promise made to him, a man who had been both his enemy and his closest friend.

Had something happened to Garp back then?

Fire Fist Ace: "Garp was a marine! How could he openly protect the child of the Pirate King? He was already under the World Government's scrutiny. There was no way he could reach us in time. He didn't even know about me until after my mother had already died!"

Pirate King Roger: "..."

Roger fell silent.

Fire Fist Ace: "You knew the World Government would come after your family. So tell me, why didn't you send my mother away to safety? She stayed in the same place where you were last seen! That made it easy for them to find her!"

Pirate King Roger: "Uh... I…"

Fire Fist Ace: "You didn't even think about it, did you?"

Pirate King Roger: "..."

Roger was speechless.

Looking back now, he could see how foolish he had been.

He had been so caught up in the joy of knowing Lu Jiu was pregnant, so focused on the relief of having an heir, and so obsessed with carrying out his final message to the world that he had completely overlooked the danger he was leaving behind for his family.

It wasn't until he was already locked in prison, waiting for his execution, that he suddenly remembered—his wife and child would be hunted. That was why he had called Garp, why he had begged him to protect them.

But by then… it was already too late.

It was a common story, wasn't it?

How many pirates actually stayed with their wives and children?

Most of them got married, had kids, and then never came back.

Take Usopp's father, for example—Yasopp had been gone for nearly twenty years, sailing under Shanks.

And yet, in this twisted world, women like Rouge accepted it. They endured it.

This was the harsh reality of the pirate life.

But that didn't change the fact that Roger had failed as a husband. And as a father.

Fire Fist Ace: "After I found out who I was… I asked around. I wanted to know what people thought about the son of the Pirate King."

Ace's voice grew bitter.

Fire Fist Ace: "Do you know what I found out? Almost everyone said the same thing—they wished I was dead."

Ace clenched his fists.

Fire Fist Ace: "You, Roger—because of your selfishness, you doomed me before I was even born. You condemned my mother to death. I will never forgive you for that!"

Pirate King Roger: "..."

Whitebeard: "Gurarara! Roger, don't take it too hard. You were wrong, and Ace has every right to hate you."

Golden Lion Shiki: "That's right! Roger, I gotta say—you were a real bastard in this situation. You married a woman, got her pregnant, and then just up and died before your kid was even born! How irresponsible can you be?!"

Shiki took every opportunity to mock Roger. He couldn't physically get back at him, so this was the next best thing.

Pirate King Roger: "Shut up! You don't understand. I was dying! I was terminally ill long before I reached Raftel!"

Golden Lion Shiki: "Wait… you knew you were dying, and you still went and got a woman pregnant?! Roger, you're even worse than I thought!"

Pirate King Roger: "And when did you become a moral saint, Shiki?! You have no right to criticize me!"

Golden Lion Shiki: "Who said I don't?! At least I knew I wasn't father material, so I never went around ruining someone else's life! Can you say the same?"

Shiki's arrogance was on full display.

Golden Lion Shiki: "You knew you were going to die. And yet, you still chose to leave behind a mess. You didn't even stay long enough to take responsibility! Roger, you are one hell of a deadbeat father!"

Fire Fist Ace: "Alright, enough! Right now, I only care about one thing—why did you start the Great Pirate Era?"

Ace's voice was firm.

Fire Fist Ace: "If you hadn't made that damn speech before your execution, if you hadn't set off this so-called Golden Age of Piracy, then the World Government wouldn't have cared about your legacy. They wouldn't have been so obsessed with hunting me down!"

Fisher Tiger: "That's right! If you had chosen to live in hiding and die in peace, maybe none of this would've happened. The World Government left your first mate, Rayleigh, alone, didn't they?"

Golden Lion Shiki: "I also want to know, Roger! What the hell was the point of starting this ridiculous pirate era? You turned the sea into a playground for a bunch of reckless idiots pretending to be pirates! It's an insult to real pirates like us!"

Fisher Tiger: "This is the third time we've asked, Roger. Don't run away!"

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