79. Ace's Birth

Rouge's labor day has finally come. Manba & some nurses will do the Caesarean Section now. The others wait outside of the room nervously. They never wait for birth labor, and this is really nerve-wracking.

Buggy suddenly senses someone and he leaves the house. The others ask him and he just says he wants to get some fresh air. He tells them to wait here to help if something happens.

Buggy goes outside and sees Garp is standing beside the door. Buggy stands on the other side and leans to the wall. They don't talk and just stand there for a few moments.

"Have you finally decided to take care of the baby?" asks Buggy.

Garp is silent for a moment before saying, "Yeah, what Roger said has made sense to me. A baby can't bear their father's sin."

"Then, I want to ask you too. Please take care of Rouge. We have done what we could to save her & the baby. The baby will need a mother and I believe you can't be the mother," says Buggy while smirking.

"Damn brat, do you want me to breastfeed a baby?" asks Garp angrily.

"That's why I told you to take Rouge too. She has never done something bad, Garp. She is not a pirate & criminal like Captain & me. She is just someone who loves a pirate. I still don't understand why WG & Marine are targetting people who are close with Captain," says Buggy with a displeased expression.

"That's exactly why. Because they're close with the number 1 criminal in the world," replies Garp.

"He's the criminal, right? Then he was the one that should be punished. But what's the sin of those who are close to him? Is blood the source of sin? Or is it love? Besides, what are Captain sins?

"Did he ever kill or massacred civilians? Never. If it's about killing & massacring civilians, then you guys were the ones who did it a few months ago, on Ohara," says Buggy casually.

Garp flinched and looks at Buggy seriously, "Brat, how did you know that? That's a top-secret that not many people know, even high-ranked officers."

"I know more than you think," says Buggy calmly.

"You better not talk about it again, or it will put you & your crew in danger. You still can't take the consequences that it will create," warns Garp.

"I know," says Buggy.

"OE! OE! OE!" a baby's cry is heard from the house.

Buggy & Garp turn their head and look at each other. Garp wants to get inside, but Buggy stops him.

"The procedure hasn't finished. My crew will tell us if it's finished," says Buggy.

"Hmph, a brat is telling me what to do," grumbles Garp, but he still stands back.

Sometime later, Cricket calls Buggy from inside, signaling that the procedure has finished. Buggy & Garp now enter the house and go to Rouge's room.

The Clowns get surprised and alert when they see Garp. But Buggy tells them to calm down and not do anything. Garp doesn't come here for them, after all.

They know that Garp will take care of Rouge & her baby from now on. But they still can't forget what Garp did to Buggy, so they are still angry at Garp.

Garp sees this and grins, "Just getting angry won't change anything. Unless you become strong enough to defeat me, then you will just become like toothless dogs. Just bark and no bite."

The Clowns click their tongues and put down their fists. Garp grins seeing them still have the spirit and are ready to fight him even though they have calmed down.

Buggy sighs and enters the room with Garp following him. They see Rouge is still sleeping because of the anesthesia. While the baby is on a baby crate, looking around curiously.

"It's a boy. Rouge has told me that if it's a boy, then his name will be Ace," says Manba.

"Just like Captain's sword. How is Rouge?" asks Buggy.

"She is fine. But as I thought, the prolonged pregnancy has caused a problem. I've seen her womb's condition and it is bad. She won't be able to get pregnant again. She will also need to lay in bed for an unknown time. She has used too much energy and we can't recover that even in a month. But at least she has enough energy to go through the labor and survive," explains Manba.

"That's enough. At least Ace will have a living mother. How is it, Garp?" asks Buggy to Garp.

"Sure, I'll take care of her too. But they will need to hide from the world," says Garp.

"Of course. It is too dangerous for them. That's why I want to ask you this. Tell Rouge to give Ace her surname instead of Captain. His surname will put Ace & her in danger," says Buggy.

"Alright," replies Garp.

Buggy then leaves the room after taking a look at Ace & Rouge. He tells his crew that they will leave the island now. The crew takes a look at Ace & Rouge too before following Buggy to their ship.

"Now, let's explore South Blue again and get stronger. We won't die in Grandline, no matter who the enemy is," says Buggy.

"YEAH!" answer the Clowns.

The Clown Pirates go to their ship and sail to the sea. They take a look at Baterilla for the last time before sailing faster. They can finally resume their journey.

They decide to stay afloat on the sea for a day so they can rest. The next day, they set their course to the nearest location, The Briss Kingdom.

On their way to the Briss Kingdom, Buggy teaches Manba about haki. He wants all his current crewmates to be able to use haki when they reach Grandline. If they get new members on South Blue, then Buggy will teach them too, but won't set the requirement to have haki before sailing to Grandline.

'The urgent position is a Helmsman now. If we don't have a good Helmsman, then it will get harder to sail on Grandline. Shipwright will be important too, especially on Grandline. We can pay some shipwrights to fix the ship on some islands, but a personal shipwright is better. We never know how long we will stay on the sea, after all,' thinks Buggy.

Buggy plan to find a good Helmsman because Grandline is not so friendly. Shipwright is also important, but it's not urgent right now.

As for combatants, Buggy doesn't think much about it. He can train his crew to fight and they will grow as they go through battles.

The Clowns arrive in the Briss Kingdom in a day. They immediately search for Shipwrights to check their ship. It's been a long time since Little Hunter got treatment.

They ask a fisherman and he showed them the location where there are many shipwrights. The Clowns go to the location and find a hidden coast. They dock their ship there and leave to find a shipwright.

Then like usual, Cricket will guard the ship while the others leave. Buggy goes with Manba to find a shipwright, while Mantis goes with Jude to buy things.

Buggy & Manba go to the location that the fisherman told them. They arrive in a dockyard and see many ships being built or repaired. They go to the office to meet with the manager.

"You are pirates? Sorry, but we can't work on a pirate ship. The Kingdom has forbidden us to do it since many citizens became pirates after Pirate King's execution," says the manager to Buggy & Manba.

"Can't you do it somehow? I can pay more if you want," Buggy tries to negotiate.

"Sorry, but the Kingdom is very strict lately," says the manager.

Buggy & Manba sigh and don't force the manager. They don't want to ruin someone's business. They turn around to leave, but the manager suddenly calls them.

"I can't fix your ship, but I can tell you someone that might do it. He is a good shipwright and I can say he is the best in this Kingdom. But he is an idealist and often refuses job offers. He might refuse you too," says the manager.

"Let me see him first," says Buggy.

The manager nod and write the address where they can find that shipwright.

Buggy takes the paper and smirks, "A troublesome shipwright, huh? Interesting."

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