One Piece: Signing In as a Pirate Begins with Roger's Execution

"Get up, you're seven or eight months pregnant now; kneeling is not good for the baby."

Seeing Rouge kneel down, Karl quickly helped her up.

Meanwhile, Garp was casually picking his nose, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Moments later, Garp gave Karl a hearty pat on the back, almost sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Old man! What's your deal now?!"

Karl looked at Garp with a face full of grievance, but Garp just let out an awkward laugh.

"Haha, I suddenly thought of something, so I might have hit a little too hard..."

Rubbing his nose, Garp finally got to the point.

"Miss Rouge, I have an idea. If you're willing, after your child is born, we can take care of him for you.

Of course, you have the right to stay by his side, but without my help, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for both you and your child to survive!"

Rouge's expression shifted slightly.

She had already considered this.

The child of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, would inevitably bring great trouble to this world just by existing. It could even shake the entire world order!

Because of this, Rouge had been torn about where to go and how to raise her child after he was born.

If she entrusted her child to Garp's care, their safety would be assured. Moreover, Rouge wouldn't have to worry about being separated from her baby.

But for a mother, giving her child to someone else to raise was a cruel and painful decision.

"Miss Rouge, you can completely trust the old man with this. He's very experienced—after all, I grew up under his care.

Although I went through a hellish childhood of near-death experiences, including snake bites, being chased by wild beasts, and swallowed whole by Sea Kings...

But hey, look at me now! I'm still alive and kicking. So don't worry, leaving your child with the old man will at least ensure he doesn't die!"

Karl's exaggerated expressions and gestures would have seemed comical under normal circumstances, but to Rouge, his words were utterly terrifying.

Even her gaze toward Garp now carried a hint of fear.

Karl's vivid descriptions were simply too horrifying!

"You brat! Stop spouting nonsense! All of that was just part of your training!

Without those experiences, would you be this strong now? Ungrateful little punk! Hmph!"

Crossing his arms in a huff, Garp's tone was indignant, but his response inadvertently confirmed the truth of Karl's claims. This made Rouge's face go even paler.

She began to question whether revealing her identity and asking for their help had been the right decision.

Could these two really be trusted, even though Roger believed in them?

Why did they both seem more terrifying than reassuring?

Overwhelmed by the situation, Rouge fainted on the spot.

Both Karl and Garp were startled and rushed to catch her, preventing her from hitting the ground and risking a miscarriage.

"This is all your fault, old man! You scared her!"

"What do you mean, my fault? If you hadn't been running your mouth, would she have been so scared?"

"Hah! Stop making excuses, old man!"

"Excuses?! You little punk, looks like you're itching for a beating again!"

While bickering back and forth, the two carried Rouge back to her room and called for someone to take care of her. Their quarrel created such a tense atmosphere that the nearby Marines didn't dare utter a word, lest they incur the duo's wrath.

Just then, Bell-mère burst into the room, looking flustered.

"Something bad has happened! The Poker Pirates are attacking our port, and King Bear is destroying buildings there!"

"The Poker Pirates? You mean that King Bear with a bounty of ten million?"

Hearing Bell-mère's report, Karl immediately recalled the notorious pirate who had recently made a name for himself in the East Blue.

King Bear was a formidable foe with a Devil Fruit ability. Though he had been at sea for less than a year, his reputation had skyrocketed, making him a fearsome presence in the East Blue.

"Where are Buggy and Smoker? Those two should be more than enough to handle him!"

Despite King Bear's strength and Devil Fruit powers, Karl was confident in Buggy and Smoker's abilities. In the East Blue, they were practically invincible, especially after a month of intense training under his guidance.

However, Bell-mère's anxious expression did not ease.

She glanced at Garp before awkwardly explaining, "Smoker overdid his training and knocked himself out this morning. As for Buggy, he's already engaged King Bear but isn't his match…"

"Useless…"

Karl rubbed his temples in frustration, feeling secondhand embarrassment. Meanwhile, Garp smirked in amusement, clearly enjoying the situation.

"Fine, I'll deal with this guy myself. Bell-mère, figure out a way to wake Smoker up. I need to find out what the hell he was doing to pass out from his own training!"

Frustrated, Karl stomped his foot and launched into the sky using Moonwalk, disappearing from Bell-mère's view in an instant.

"So that's Moonwalk… It's amazing..." Bell-mère muttered, her eyes filled with envy.

"Haha! You've got potential. Once your physical strength improves, Moonwalk isn't that hard to learn," Garp reassured her casually.

Then, his tone turned curious. "By the way, what happened to Smoker? If I recall, he's a Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, right? How could he knock himself out?"

"Well, Garp-san, it's exactly as I said. He's a Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, but he insisted on training with Seastone as a weapon.

He accidentally injured himself in the process and passed out..."

Though her explanation sounded absurd, it perfectly fit Smoker's personality.

After all, this was the same man who would eventually wield Seastone weapons in the future. His current training seemed to align with his long-term goals.

Garp, deep in thought, refrained from commenting further since Smoker was Karl's subordinate. Instead, he resumed munching on his rice crackers.

Bell-mère, always tactful, refilled his tea and brought him a fresh plate of crackers, much to his delight.

"You're Bell-mère, right? Do you have a boyfriend?" Garp suddenly asked.

"No, no…"

Caught off guard by the personal question, Bell-mère's face turned bright red despite her normally tomboyish demeanor. Out of respect for Garp's rank, she didn't dare leave.

"Well then, what do you think of Karl? Sure, the kid has a bunch of flaws, but his good looks are undeniable! He's at least a tenth as handsome as I was in my youth!" Garp declared with a hearty laugh.

"There's no way! Karl is the most handsome, bar none!" Bell-mère blurted out before realizing her mistake.

"Oh ho, so you're already defending him, huh?"

"N-no, I'm not…"

Bell-mère's blush deepened, her face now resembling a ripe fruit exuding an intoxicating sweetness.

Garp, seeing her flustered state, pressed on with teasing questions until Bell-mère couldn't take it anymore and fled the scene, leaving Garp behind, laughing heartily.

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