They waited for a little over a week on Baterilla Island.
Vice Admiral Garp's dog-head warship finally arrived. From its speed, it was clear he had been sailing at full throttle without a single stop.
Diarmuid stood on the warship and watched Garp's ship slowly approach. He was about to go and greet him, but a black figure flew through the air.
It was Garp.
He had jumped over from his ship from a distance of dozens of meters. With a loud bang, the deck of the warship cracked, and his sturdy figure landed not far from Diarmuid.
Diarmuid grit his teeth. "Vice Admiral Garp, no wonder the Chief of Staff doesn't want you on her ship. At this rate, you'll tear the ship apart before it even reaches the enemy."
"Hahahaha! I was in a hurry! That bastard Sengoku is chasing me. And you, boy, why didn't you hold the news for a few more days?" Garp said with a loud laugh.
"Two days was the deal. You should know that Admiral Sengoku almost killed me for holding the news for two days…" Diarmuid said, glaring at Garp.
Garp nodded in agreement and patted Diarmuid on the shoulder. "I owe you one, boy."
He knew that holding back such big news for two days was a huge favor. If anyone else had dared to withhold the news of Roger's capture from Sengoku for two days, Sengoku would have chopped their head off.
Diarmuid hadn't lied to Garp. After two days, he had reported the news to Admiral Sengoku exactly as it was. Sengoku was so angry he almost coughed up blood, furious that Diarmuid would mess around just like Garp. He had sworn that he would personally come and give Diarmuid and Garp a lesson.
From what Garp said, it seemed that Sengoku was fast and was chasing them closely.
"Enough talk. That Sengoku is lucky I ran into a storm for a day and cut in front of him. He'll probably get here this afternoon. Where's Roger? I need to go see him," Garp asked eagerly.
"He's locked up inside. Doberman, take Vice Admiral Garp to see Roger," Diarmuid said, waving his hand.
Commodore Doberman nodded. He had been very excited these past few days. At first, he was baffled. Why didn't they storm the island and capture Roger when the Vice Admiral had found him? But after inexplicably waiting for two days, Roger just showed up at the port and surrendered to the Vice Admiral.
The Vice Admiral had captured Roger without lifting a finger or losing a single man. What an incredible accomplishment!
He didn't know what happened, but it was clear the Vice Admiral had used some kind of scheme to force Roger to surrender. This was a good thing. Doberman didn't know about Roger's condition, but he knew that if they had followed his suggestion and launched an all-out attack, the Marines would have suffered heavy casualties.
After walking a few steps with Doberman, Garp turned back. "You said there was a complication. What was it?"
"Go hear it from Roger yourself. But I'll warn you now: if you get soft, you'll have a lot of trouble on your hands later," Diarmuid said, waving his hand, not wanting to say anything more in front of so many people.
Garp was taken aback, then laughed. "Diarmuid, you may know that I have a… a thing with that bastard Roger, but I'm a Marine, and I won't make a mistake when it comes to my duty. Don't worry."
Diarmuid just smiled. "Of course."
Garp didn't say anything else. He turned to Doberman. "Get me a bottle of sake."
Doberman was shocked. "Vice Admiral Garp, we can't drink. This is a critical time, with Roger in custody…"
Garp lightly kicked Doberman. "Just do as I say! I'll take responsibility for whatever happens."
"But…" Doberman hesitated. Diarmuid spoke up. "Go on, get it for him."
Doberman nodded and ordered a Marine to get the sake.
Diarmuid was satisfied with Doberman. He had dared to question Garp but didn't hesitate to obey his own command. It was clear that he had won Doberman's loyalty. He would have to train him properly so that he could become a close member of his faction in the future.
Soon, Garp entered the cabin. Diarmuid looked at the calm sea in the distance, clicking his tongue. Is Admiral Sengoku really going to skin me alive? Tsk, tsk… I did catch Roger, after all. He probably won't. After traveling all that way, his anger should have subsided a little…
While Diarmuid was thinking about these things, Garp walked into the prison area of the warship, carrying a bottle of sake.
The prison cell had no windows and was dark and eerie, with only a few lanterns flickering. Roger was shackled at his hands and feet, lying lazily in the damp, dark cell. Just as he was thinking that Garp should be arriving soon, he heard the sound of a door opening and closing, followed by footsteps getting closer.
Roger opened his eyes and sat up from the damp wooden floor, looking at the figure walking toward him. The figure held a lantern in one hand and a bottle of sake in the other.
Roger's eyes were fixed on the bottle of sake. He burst out laughing. "Hahahaha, it's been two years, two years! I haven't had a drink in two years! Garp, you really are my best friend!"
He hadn't even seen his face, but Roger still recognized Garp.
Garp scoffed. "I don't remember ever becoming friends with a bastard like you." His mouth said one thing, but his actions said another. He had rushed to get here, but now that he was face to face with Roger, he acted as if he didn't want to talk to him. He walked over to Roger's cell, looked at him through the bars, and sighed. "It's been a while."
Roger didn't act polite. He reached his hand through the bars, grabbed the bottle of sake, and pulled it toward him. He uncapped it and took a big gulp. "You have no idea. I haven't tasted sake in two years…"
When he arrived at Baterilla Island, Rouge had forced him to quit drinking. Otherwise, he might not have survived for the past two years.
"Someone was able to tame you?" Garp muttered. He slowly sat down on the damp, dark floor, facing Roger through the bars.
After a few gulps of sake, Roger smiled. "No matter how wild you are, there's always one or two people in the world who can rein you in."
Garp didn't say anything. He just watched Roger drink. After a long time, he asked, "So, what did you want to see me for before you die?"
When he said that, Roger stopped drinking and smiled. "It seems Diarmuid didn't lie. You Marines have known I was sick for a while now, haven't you?"
"Yeah. Diarmuid figured it out from the medical supplies you bought…" Garp nodded. There was no point in hiding it now.
Roger said with a sigh, "The Marines really have a lot of talented people, don't they?"
"You don't have to tell me that," Garp said.
Roger didn't mind. He took another sip of sake and then said, "Garp, even though we've fought each other on the sea for so long, I've always considered you a friend I can trust and rely on…"
When Garp heard that, his face changed. He remembered Diarmuid's warning and said, "Shut up! I will never consider a pirate like you my friend!"
As he said that, Garp stood up, but Roger grabbed his wrist, his eyes fixed on Garp. "I'm going to have a child, Garp…"
Garp's already grim face froze. He regretted answering that Den Den Mushi and rushing here. "What nonsense are you talking about?!" Garp said, pulling his arm away from Roger.
"I'm guilty, I know. I never wanted to run from that. What's meant to come will always come. Now it's time to pay the debt. But Garp, even if I'm guilty, my unborn child isn't, is he? Or is that how your Marine Justice works?" Roger didn't grab Garp again, but his words grabbed Garp's heart.
"The World Government will definitely find out everything about me from the past two years in the South Blue. They won't let anyone close to me go. I thought about this for a long time, and I realized that only you, only you, Garp, can help me," Roger said again.
"I won't help a pirate like you. Stop talking! I only came here to see you at your lowest. Drink this sake and wait for your death, Roger," Garp said seriously. At that moment, the lantern flickered, and their figures wavered.
"Her name is Rouge, Portgas D. Rouge. She's on the island… My child, I'm entrusting him to you, Garp," Roger said to himself, as if he hadn't heard Garp refuse.
Garp's hands trembled. If he hadn't heard those words, he wouldn't have had to think about it. But now that he had, how could he not?
Even though he wouldn't admit it, Garp felt some affection for Roger, just as Roger considered him a friend. And Roger was right. He was guilty, but was an innocent, unborn child also guilty? With Garp's sense of Justice, he could never agree with judging people by their bloodline.
He stood up, wanting to leave, but his heart was wavering. He vaguely remembered Diarmuid's words: If you get soft now, you'll have a lot of trouble. Yes, it would be a huge trouble. Roger was the Pirate King… His bloodline…
Sigh.
Finally, Garp stood up. He took one last look at Roger, said nothing, and left, carrying the lantern. Roger didn't try to stop him this time. He smiled, took two more gulps of sake, and disappeared into the dark corner of the cell. He knew that even though Garp hadn't made a promise, his silence was an unspoken agreement.
When he walked out of the cabin and took a deep breath of fresh air, Garp felt a wave of frustration when he saw Diarmuid leaning against the railing, looking at the scenery. He walked over to him. "Diarmuid, you knew about this all along, didn't you?"
"Knew about what?" Diarmuid asked, turning his head.
"Roger's private matters," Garp said in a low voice.
"Of course," Diarmuid said, glaring at Garp.
"You knew, and you still called me here. You're pushing me into a fire pit!" Garp said, annoyed.
"If you hadn't come, Roger wouldn't have surrendered so easily. Who knows what would have happened. I just happened to get a tip that Roger was here and came to check it out. I wasn't prepared at all, so I had to use my wits to catch him. As for a fire pit, I told you, if your heart is hard enough, it's not a problem, is it?" Diarmuid said, smiling as he looked at Garp.
Garp knew Diarmuid hadn't done anything wrong. He sighed and didn't say anything else.
Seeing Garp's expression, Diarmuid knew he had made his decision. Even with all the variables he had introduced, Garp had still gone soft.
Sigh. A lifetime of trouble after meeting Roger, Diarmuid thought to himself, then fell silent.
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