If it's a girl, Ann. If it's a boy, Ace.

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Before people around the world began to enjoy one of the most thrilling arcs ever, the Marineford Arc, before its release, on the evening of Saturday, April 9th, in the Sea Calendar 1505, Rob was inside his office at the art store in Ohara.

The brush in his hand seemed to come alive as he vividly depicted the events in his memory with extreme precision.

The current arc he was drawing was filled with magnificent scenes and perfect frames that any manga artist would find challenging to draw alone, but Rob was no ordinary manga artist; his abilities were truly supernatural, not human.

Just as the scene appeared in his memory, he drew it almost instantly. Adding colors to the artistic mix could transform the volume pages into animated videos if compressed and streamed quickly.

At that moment, Rob enjoyed drawing the manga just as readers enjoyed reading the chapters.

When he reached the poignant scene from the epic war events, where Akainu intended to attack Luffy and kill him, he frowned and sighed...

"...I have no say in such a fate, even I was very sad when I first saw it... I wonder how many hearts will break and how many eyes will tear up after this..."

"How many readers will find this outcome unfair, and how many readers will be shocked because it goes against all their expectations..."

"As the author in this world, will I be blamed for this outcome?"

With a helpless smile, Rob continued drawing the final features of the great arc.

…

•———•———•———•———•———•

Chapter's Events:

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[Flashback]

"Garp!! I'm gonna have a kid."

"It's too bad I'll be gone by then."

Inside the cell, Roger spoke with a smile on his face.

"I'm a marine! Why are you telling me that, Roger!!? All the women connected to you are going to be executed!!" Garp was surprised and didn't know why Roger was revealing this secret to him.

"That's why I'm telling you. The government will be all over my footsteps for the next years."

"If they find her, she'll be killed!! But my unborn child bears no sin!! Garp!!"

Despite the smile that never left his face, Roger's concern was evident at that moment.

"We've faced each other dozens of times in battle! That makes us comrades, right!!?"

"I trust you as much as one of my own crew!!"

"Protect him!!" said Roger, smiling.

"Don't be so selfish!!!" exclaimed Garp.

"No… You'll do it…!!"

"Take care of my child!!"

For some reason, Roger seemed convinced that Garp would take care of his child for him.

…

Days passed and Roger was indeed executed.

On a certain island, the Marines and agents of the World Government completely surrounded the place.

"Are you sure it's this island!?"

"Roger was seen here, acting more like a father than a pirate."

"Check all the children who were born within ten months of his arrest!!"

"The pregnant women too! Kill any mother who seems suspicious!!"

"Roger's time is over! His bloodline must be exterminated!!"

…

"Five children were born this month…"

"The women due next month are…"

…

Sitting on a rocking chair, a woman with light orange hair gently touched her belly.

"Not yet…"

"You can't be born yet…"

…

Months passed, and finally, when the World Government lost hope of finding the intended child on this island, a baby was born.

"Ogyaaah!" These were the cries of the newborn.

"If it's a girl, Ann… If it's a boy…"

"Ace… That's what he decided... This boy's name is… Gol D. Ace, the son I had with him… Haa… Haa…"

Tears fell from her smiling face, finally revealing Portgas D. Rouge, but she died shortly after giving birth.

"Rouge!! Rouge!! Hang on!!!"

"…" Garp's expression darkened after seeing this.

•———•———•———•———•———•

Returning to the present time, the world was boiling... When the natural flow of life in the maritime world came to a halt, it meant one thing.

It's One Piece Manga Day!

At Ohara's art store:

"Can enemies be born with such a feeling of absolute confidence due to the fierce battles they've fought for years?"

"Weird! Why did Roger choose a former enemy to entrust his son's care to instead of leaving him with his vice captain Rayleigh, for example?"

"Weird? This can't just be categorized as weird! This is beyond comprehension! How the hell does this pirate king think!?"

"Well, he must have seen Garp's integrity... After all, that's Garp! Luffy's grandfather!"

"It's saddening to see this... Rouge-san was such a lovely store goddess, seeing her die in the manga this way pains me..."

"In the past, Olvia-san, and now Rouge-san... Oh, unfortunately, why do the mothers of main characters always have tragic fates?"

"That's what the author intended..."

"No, that's what the damned World Government wanted!"

…

Baterilla Island:

"As expected from Garp... He's an honest man." Roger smiled after seeing the short flashback of Garp's memories.

Rouge wiped her tears and smiled, "At least not everyone in the Marines is corrupt."

"I heard he became a revolutionary! Wahaha! That's something young Garp would do, One Piece manga must have influenced him greatly." Roger laughed, then couldn't laugh for a long time.

The rapid scenes of what happened after his execution were reflected, how the Marines besieged Baterilla Island, and how the government ordered the killing of pregnant women suspected of involvement.

"Killing pregnant women... That's something the World Government would definitely do."

"There you are... Rouge..."

"If it's a girl, she'll be Ann... If it's a boy, he'll be Ace... That's our child..."

Rouge felt her whole being tremble as she saw herself holding Ace, who had just been born and was screaming in her arms like any newborn.

"... Is this my fate in this life..."

Death has always been the inevitable end feared by everyone; undoubtedly, seeing someone with your face and your name die is terrifying, even if it's just a story drawn on paper.

At that moment, Rouge trembled with fear, but in the moment Roger embraced her, her fear completely disappeared, replaced by a great sense of security.

"She exchanged her life for Ace's life..."

"It's an extension of their lives, Roger and Rouge, they gave meaning to their deaths, it's the fruit of their love... This is the greatest scene I've ever seen in my life."

With a smile on his face, Roger embraced his wife even tighter.

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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):

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Chapter 690: The Entrance of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Chapter 691: A Quake's Man!

Chapter 692: Three Years Ago.

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