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"Saint Garling, is this Shanks your child? That face of his looks way too much like yours!!"
The cigar smoke from the tip of Saint Maffey's fingers rose in wisps. Her sharp gaze fixed on the young, resolute red-haired face on the screen—with three scars over the left eye…
She looked from Shanks to the solemn, golden-haired Saint Garling beside her, scanning back and forth.
Apart from the difference in hair color, the contours of their brows, the line of their noses, even the subtle aura they unintentionally exuded—it was as if they had been carved from the same mold!
A bold guess flashed through Saint Maffey's mind in an instant. She whipped her head toward Saint Garling, her voice lowered but filled with absolute certainty: "It can't be… the child you secretly asked me to search for before… is him?!!"
Saint Garling remained silent, but his tightly pursed lips and the faint flicker in his eyes were already a wordless admission.
Saint Maffey hadn't risen to the ranks of the God's Knights by being dim-witted.
She quickly connected the dots, and every clue pointed to the young emperor on the screen named Shanks.
Realizing this, Saint Maffey looked in disbelief at the two infants with equally striking red hair—one in Roger's arms, the other in Rayleigh's.
If her deduction was correct, then this Red-Haired Shanks—who in the future would stand on equal footing with Whitebeard—was one of these two babies!
"Waaah! Eee-yah eee-yah!"
As if to confirm her guess, little Shanks—held in Roger's arms—had just caught sight of the majestic "himself" on the screen.
It was as though some wondrous resonance had stirred in him. He suddenly waved his chubby little hands excitedly, his round big eyes locked on the screen.
From his mouth came unclear but energetic babbling syllables, as if responding to his future self.
"Hahaha! Little guy, see that? You're going to be really amazing in the future!"
Roger looked down at the lively little one in his arms. His booming laughter was filled with open admiration and delight.
Even with his vast experience, he had never imagined this infant would one day grow to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a man like Newgate.
He spared no praise, gently poking the baby's nose tip with his rough finger.
Little Shanks seemed to understand the compliment and wriggled even more energetically, his clear, crisp giggles melting the hearts of the Roger Pirates members around them.
Rayleigh, Scopper Gaban, and the other tough guys couldn't help but show fatherly, silly smiles on their faces.
"Good boy, good boy!"
Roger lifted the little one a bit higher, his eyes brimming with pure affection.
Even he couldn't quite explain why—from the first moment he laid eyes on this red-haired infant—he had felt an instinctive, indescribable closeness and fondness.
It felt so natural, like a resonance deep in the bloodline.
By comparison, the twin brother Shamrock—held in Rayleigh's arms and looking identical to little Shanks—was just as quiet and well-behaved, yet Roger felt far less of that almost primal favoritism toward him.
"Roger! Give my son back right now! You bastards!"
Saint Garling's voice rang out again, suppressing his rage and breaking the brief warmth.
However, after witnessing Big Mom being heavily struck by the screen earlier, this commander of the God's Knights clearly harbored reservations and did not draw his sword outright as before.
The mysterious rule-bound power of that screen—even Big Mom couldn't resist it. He didn't dare take the risk lightly.
"Not giving him back—go ahead and die of anger! We're bastards, yeah? We're pirates, after all!"
Roger carefully shielded little Shanks in his arms, turned his head, and flashed Saint Garling an extremely punchable, smug, cheeky grin.
This unabashed pirate attitude made Shakky and Gloriosa nearby unable to hold back, bursting into laughter with a "pfft."
This shameless declaration perfectly matched Roger's signature style of never playing by the rules.
"Don't think I don't know what you're scheming!"
Roger partially dropped the joking expression, his gaze sharpening.
"You see this little guy is going to become a major powerhouse in the future, so you're thinking of taking him back to raise him as a Celestial Dragon and turn him into a fighting force for your World Government, right?"
"Sorry, but no way!"
Roger's tone was firm and ironclad, carrying unquestionable resolve: "These two kids now belong to the Roger Pirates! We're pirates—snatching a kid isn't exactly overboard, is it?"
He had accurately gauged that Saint Garling was currently too cautious to act rashly, which made him even more brazen in his provocation.
Saint Garling was so choked by these words that his face flushed red then pale, his chest heaving violently. The veins on the back of his hand gripping his sword bulged, clearly on the verge of exploding.
As the supreme ruler of God Valley and one of the Celestial Dragons' top combat powers, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?
In truth, even if Saint Garling truly threw caution to the wind and attacked, the Roger Pirates had no fear whatsoever.
Rayleigh, Scopper Gaban, and the other core officers had already subtly shifted positions, forming a solid offensive formation.
Even more delicately, the Rocks Pirates nearby were watching like tigers eyeing prey. Rocks himself stood with arms crossed, a mocking smile of anticipation on his face.
He had always harbored extreme disgust toward the World Government and the lofty Celestial Dragons. His earlier attitude had already made it clear: if conflict broke out, he wouldn't mind at all taking the opportunity to make things difficult for the God's Knights.
The situation could instantly escalate into the God's Knights facing a simultaneous siege from two legendary pirate crews—Roger and Rocks!
Saint Garling had intended to stand on the moral high ground and condemn Roger for kidnapping infants, only to find the other side refused to engage on those terms. Instead, Roger openly tore off all pretense, proudly declaring himself a pirate and framing "robbery" as perfectly reasonable and justified.
This utterly unreasonable "frankness" left all his prepared rebukes stuck in his throat, suffocating him beyond measure.
"Saint Garling, don't be impulsive! We're outnumbered—they have the advantage. Stay calm!!"
A more rational member of the God's Knights hurriedly stepped forward, whispering urgently.
He nervously scanned the eager pirates opposite them, as well as Garp—whose stance remained unclear.
Earlier, when Saint Garling had ordered Saint Maffey to hunt down Garp's son Dragon, Garp couldn't possibly have missed it. Asking this Marine to lend a hand now would be next to impossible.
Saint Garling's gaze swept across the smug Roger, the gloomy Rocks, the silent Garp, and finally settled on the screen overhead—still playing scenes of the future, radiating supreme authority.
Pent-up rage, humiliation, the anxiety of plans derailed, and the complex, hard-to-define emotions toward that "rebellious" bloodline…
All these negative feelings churned and clashed in his chest like poisonous fire.
"Pfft!"
In a surge of fury attacking his heart, Saint Garling's throat sweetened, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of bright red blood!
Blood droplets splattered onto his ornate uniform and the cold ground, stark and glaring.
This "king" who ruled God Valley with absolute authority, who viewed all beings as ants, had seen his prestige continuously challenged and trampled since the screen first appeared.
First his son was taken, then his subordinate's mission failed, and now he was publicly humiliated by lowly pirates with no immediate way to retaliate…
This chain of blows, combined with the extreme frustration of having rage he couldn't unleash and anger with nowhere to go, finally pushed his body beyond its limits.
Seeing Saint Garling so furious he spat blood, the members of both the Roger Pirates and Rocks Pirates wore expressions of "serves you right" and "reap what you sow."
Even Garp—who had been sitting on the ground with complicated feelings—merely turned his head away silently at the sight, thinking to himself: "Karma really is a thing…"
Toward this strongest Celestial Dragon warrior who had intended to harm his own son, he truly couldn't muster the slightest sympathy.
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