On Baterilla Island, along a narrow stretch of coast, stood a solitary stone house.
The World Government agents had turned the entire island upside down, so there was no way they would overlook this place. Naturally, they had searched it too, and they had discovered the beautiful woman living there alone. Yet not a single one of them had suspected her.
The reason was simple.
Inside the dim room, the curtains by the floor-to-ceiling window fluttered softly, letting sunlight spill through and fall across the beautiful woman sitting in a rocking chair.
She gently stroked her slightly swollen belly and quietly listened to every movement outside.
Just then, there came a knock at the door.
A flicker of tension passed over her face, but she quickly forced herself calm again. Supporting herself on the chair, she rose slowly to her feet and asked in a low voice,
"Who is it?"
A similarly quiet voice answered from outside.
"My name is Yemu. I wonder whether you've heard that name before."
A trace of surprise appeared on the woman's face. She walked over slowly and opened the door.
Outside stood a red-haired boy, with two girls beside him, one older and one younger.
At the sight of his red hair, the woman visibly relaxed a little, though she still spoke nervously.
"P-please... come in..."
"Thank you..."
Yemu stepped inside with Flare and Ayala.
The woman spoke with gentle warmth.
"Please, sit wherever you like. No need to be formal."
"Thank you."
After the three of them sat down on the sofa to one side, Yemu looked at the woman before him, a mother who could be called one of the greatest in the world of pirates, and said,
"It looks like you know who I am."
The woman sat back down in her rocking chair. Her expression was still a little tense, but there was also nostalgia in it.
"He told me about his adventures, and about some of the places he'd been. You were among those stories. He was deeply impressed by you."
"Is that so?"
Yemu had not expected Roger to mention him, but he did not dwell on it and instead got straight to the point.
"I came here at Shakky-san's request..."
Seeing the woman's puzzled expression at the name, Yemu explained,
"Shakky-san is living with Rayleigh-san now..."
Only then did the woman understand.
"Shakky-san told me that a group of pregnant women and children on this island were about to suffer a terrible fate, so she asked me to save them if I could. It was her request as a woman, and also her way of atoning for Roger and Rayleigh..."
Hearing Yemu's words, the woman's tense expression finally eased, and a gentle smile appeared on her face as she looked at him.
"Thank you so much. If Roger knew, he would surely feel lucky to have known you."
"You're too kind. Even though I agreed, whether this will be a good thing or a bad thing for them is still hard to say. My presence here may save them, but it may also harm them. After all, I am a pirate..."
The woman immediately understood, and a hint of tension returned to her face.
That tension seemed to trigger something. A pained expression crossed her face, and she pressed a hand to her slightly swollen belly.
Seeing that, Yemu said,
"If you don't mind, let this child take a look at you. Her name is Ayala. She's the doctor on our ship."
The woman looked at the little girl before her in surprise. Ayala looked no more than ten years old. But when she saw the worry and concern on the girl's face, she shook her head.
"She's a remarkable child, but there's no need. I know my own condition well enough."
Yemu did not insist. Instead, he glanced around and asked,
"Has Garp been here?"
The woman nodded.
"Not long after he died, Garp-san came once. He was even the one who helped me forge my identity."
"If that's the case, then why didn't he take you away from here?"
"He originally intended to take me away, to his hometown in the East Blue. But they came too quickly... we couldn't leave anymore..."
"I see..."
All that could be said was that the timing had been terribly unfortunate.
Yemu had nothing more to add, so he stated the real purpose of his visit.
"Strictly speaking, since Roger already entrusted you and his child to Garp, I shouldn't be interfering. But first, perhaps it's fate that brought me to this island. And second..."
At that point, Yemu looked at the woman with open admiration.
"I hate tragedies. Faced with a great mother like you, if there's a chance to change this tragedy, then I'm willing to try."
The woman looked slightly surprised, then smiled faintly.
"He really was right. You really are a very unusual child."
Yemu paid that no mind and simply continued with his thoughts.
"Tonight is going to be very eventful. Once it's over, it will inevitably affect this island..."
At that point, he spoke with a touch of helplessness.
"How should I put it? It's the kind of choice where neither outcome is very satisfying."
"Either I ignore the deaths of those pregnant women and children. In that case, maybe nothing changes. No one will know I ever came here, and after some time, when the World Government fails to find you, they'll leave. Aside from the pregnant women and children who died, the whole island will return to how it was before, as though nothing ever happened."
"Or I save those pregnant women and children. But if I do that, the World Government and the Marines may truly become convinced that you're here. At that point, the blockade may continue, the scale of it may expand, and even more people may die. Even if I can save them this time, what about next time?"
"Of course, there is one way to quickly put an end to this incident. I could announce that Roger's child has already been taken away by me."
The woman's face filled with shock.
That really was the final option, and there was no way she would fail to understand the consequences.
Yemu gave voice to what she was thinking.
"How should I say this? I like to think I'm the sort of person who doesn't fear trouble, but even for me, trouble on this scale is a real headache..."
"So right now, I can't afford to think too far ahead. I can only follow my own judgment and save those who are willing to let me save them..."
At that, Yemu looked at her slightly swollen belly and said,
"So now I want to ask you this. Do you still intend to remain here and follow Roger's last wish, entrusting yourself and the child in your womb to Garp? Or will you come with me? I can take you somewhere no one will ever find you..."
After Yemu finished, the woman looked deeply shaken.
After thinking for a moment, she asked,
"Why are you helping me like this? Is it because of Roger?"
Yemu shook his head.
"Don't misunderstand. It's not because I owe Roger anything. You can think of it as a kind of connection between me and the child in your womb. I'm rather fond of him too."
Honestly, if those words had been said to an ordinary person, they would have sounded baffling. But this woman, who knew from her husband's stories that her child was extraordinary, understood what Yemu meant.
At that moment, she fell silent in thought. Gently stroking her belly and feeling the little life within, she asked,
"May I ask you something? The child in my womb... what kind of fate do you see in his future?"