"That's right!" Ritter puffed out his chest proudly. "I was a combatant in the Roger Pirates, known as the Crimson Mist, with a bounty of two billion berries. When the Navy sees me, they—"
"want nothing more than to capture you and collect the reward," Rouge cut him off coldly. "Roger's already preparing to turn himself in. He never told me someone would be coming to get me. Besides, Ritter is supposed to be an older man not someone this young."
"I won't give any of you the chance to threaten my husband again." As she spoke, Rouge raised the kitchen knife toward her own neck.
How she wished her child could see the world outside but once she sensed the overwhelming power gap…
"I'm sorry. I'm just a useless mother."
Ritter: ??? "Damn you, Roger! You're sending someone to fetch her, but you didn't even tell her who?"
To be fair, ever since the God Valley incident, Ritter's appearance had been frozen in his twenties. By normal reckoning, he should be well into his uncle years by now. A grown man with the face of a twenty-something… and still a virgin? Seriously?
Ritter's pupils shrank as he spotted the knife in Rouge's hand. In the next instant, he vanished from sight.
Clang—!
Rouge felt a sudden numbness in her wrist the knife had already been taken from her. Ritter's other hand firmly caught her shoulder.
"Sis, calm down!" Ritter's usual arrogant smirk was gone. His voice was low and earnest. "I'm not with the Navy, and I'm not here to threaten you. Just trust me, alright? I only look young."
Rouge's eyes were red, staring him down. "Then who are you, really? Roger told me Ritter boarded the ship at age three. There's no way you'd still look this young."
Ritter took a deep breath and slowly pulled a pocket watch from his coat. Inside was a photo of the entire Roger crew a keepsake Roger had given him.
Rouge's eyes trembled, and finally, her tears began to fall.
"Roger... he..."
Ritter grinned. "So come on, Sis. Don't give up just yet. Captain Roger definitely wanted you to live on. At least let this so-called 'two-billion-bounty relic from the old era' be of some use, alright? Thanks to my Devil Fruit power, I can rejuvenate my body. Captain Roger mentioned that to you, didn't he? That's why I still look young."
After a long silence, Rouge finally lowered her guard and said softly, "...Come in."
Rouge began packing her belongings.
Ritter eyed the two massive bundles. "Uh, Sis? Do we really need to bring all this?"
A teacup once used by the captain was understandable but unwashed underwear? That might be pushing it.
Rouge gently shook her head. "These, I want you to help me bury. I'm only bringing these two things."
In her arms, she cradled a sword and a pistol. With a bittersweet smile, she said, "My husband once told me, if it's a boy, we'll name him Ace. If it's a girl, she'll be Anne."
Ritter immediately recognized the weapons. They were Roger's the sword Ace and the gun Anne.
Now, his job was to get Rouge to the capital of the Seven Seas.
He had prepared a small speedboat that could hold three people small enough to avoid attention. The fewer people who noticed Rouge's presence, the safer she'd be.
But there were always those with no sense of timing.
"Captain, there's a little boat over there."
"Alright, boys blast them! Let them feel the terror of the sea! Hahaha!"
Ritter frowned, following the sound. A pirate ship flying a skull flag slowly approached, and standing on the prow was a man with a face full of scars, greedily eyeing them.
"Tch. Perfect timing," Ritter muttered, glancing at Rouge with a reassuring smile. "Sis, go rest in the cabin. I'll take care of it."
Rouge, however, shook her head. "Little Ritter, let your sister see how you fight."
That genuinely surprised Ritter. But then it made sense. A woman who'd managed to evade the Navy for over a year while pregnant couldn't possibly be just some fragile damsel.
Ritter chuckled and drew his massive black greatsword.
"Let this old-era villain with a two-billion bounty put on a little show."
Cracking his neck, Ritter hoisted the blade and stood at the rear of the boat. He grinned wickedly. "Hey, you bottom-feeders drop dead."
"Fire the cannons!!" the pirate captain roared. The cannons let loose, and black cannonballs screamed through the air!
Ritter didn't even blink. He raised his sword slightly and gave it a twist
"Mist God Style: Flash Cut."
Slash—!
A crimson arc of light tore across the sea. Every cannonball was sliced clean in two midair before exploding harmlessly away from the boat.
The pirates were dumbfounded. "W-what?!"
Cold sweat poured from Captain Barton's brow, but he forced a sneer. "D-don't panic! He's only one man! Fire again!!"
"Captain, take a look at that sword isn't that Ritter, the 'Crimson Mist' from the Pirate King's crew?!"
Ritter sighed. "Sheesh... you can't even play the role of bystanders properly."
He slowly raised the sword again. This time, it crackled with dark crimson Haki. The air around them grew heavy, almost frozen.
"Mist God Style: Oni Slash."
BOOM—!!!
One swing split the sea itself, leaving a rift hundreds of meters long. The furious wave of sword energy shredded the pirate ship like paper.
Crash—
Debris and seawater rained down. Ritter had already sheathed his blade. He turned to Rouge with a sunny grin. "How was that, Sis? Satisfied?"
Rouge clapped softly, a smile in her eyes. "Don't call me 'Sis-in-law.' You trying to let the whole world know I'm Roger's wife? Just 'Sis' will do. But... that was very cool."
Ritter felt the warmth of Roger's spirit in her words. She truly saw him as family.
Is this what they mean by birds of a feather, Captain?
In this moment, Ritter didn't feel like a two-billion-berry criminal at all. His youthful appearance, maintained by his fruit powers, kept him full of life and that was enough. She was the wife of his captain. That alone was all the reason he needed.
He chuckled. "Sure thing, Sis."
After the skirmish, Ritter used his mist powers to disguise Rouge's appearance. They stopped by a nearby island to resupply.
Looking into the mirror, Ritter's eye twitched.
After spending time together, Rouge had genuinely begun treating him like a younger brother and Ritter couldn't help but roll with it.
"Uh, Sis... isn't this outfit a bit much?"
He tugged at the dark blue robe embroidered with golden waves. A white sash tied at the waist, and his long black hair flowed behind him. The whole look screamed aristocrat.
Rouge nodded approvingly. "Looks great on you."
Ritter sighed. "But I'm a pirate. How am I supposed to fight in this?"
Rouge gave a playful smile and pinched his cheek. "You can change when the fighting starts, my sweet little brother."
Ritter: "..."
He was exasperated. At just over 2.4 meters tall, he wasn't exactly short but Rouge was already approaching 2 meters herself.
Ritter was starting to suspect this was karma for mocking Buggy's height. Maybe Buggy cursed him with his Conqueror's Haki-laced bad luck. He hadn't grown much in decades.
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