"I can let you go and keep it a secret for you, but I have three conditions," Rosse raised three fingers, unhurried and calm.
He knew Garp would compromise.
Or rather, Garp was soone who always compromised when things didn't work out.
Garp was determined to capture Roger, but in the end, it all depended on Roger turning himself in. The entire chase was basically for show. After Roger surrendered, he even caught up with him as an old friend, and agreed to take care of his descendant.
Garp wanted to raise his son to be an excellent Marine, but Dragon defected and founded the Revolutionary Army. He never personally tried to bring Dragon back, only tacitly allowed him to stay out there.
Garp clearly had his own sense of justice and principles, and refused promotion to Admiral because he disapproved of the Celestial Dragons. That act itself was a form of compromise.
Garp wanted to raise Ace as a Marine, but Ace, despite hating Roger, still went to sea as a pirate. After becoming a pirate, Garp didn't try to bring him back either, and only regretted it after Ace was captured.
Garp wanted to raise Luffy as a Marine, but Luffy was determined to beco the Pirate King. When they t again on the way, Garp still chose to let him go free.
Garp wanted to save Ace, but hesitated, ending up neither a proper Marine nor successfully saving anyone. In the end, he didn't even go after the dog Akainu who killed Ace, and still chose to compromise.
Besides his strength and reputation, hesitation, failure, and compromise defined the latter half of Garp's life.
And based on all this, Rosse dared to conclude that this ti, Garp would also compromise.
"Let's hear it," Garp's face darkened, but with Zephyr present, he didn't dare make a move.
He couldn't kill Zephyr quickly enough, so he couldn't kill off all the witnesses.
His only current option was to risk his life and go one-for-one with Rosse.
But once he did that, whether he lived or died was uncertain, and Ace would definitely die.
Even the people on this island might end up buried along with them.
Even he could figure that much out, so of course he couldn't do it.
Either way, Ace dies. aningless.
Since Rosse was willing to state his conditions, then as long as he and Ace could leave safely, what did it matter if he compromised?
After being in the Marines for so many years, the evils of the World Governnt, hadn't he seen enough?
And every ti, he just suppressed his anger and chose to ignore it.
"First condition: you must go all out for three tis in the future. Don't worry, the opponents will definitely be evil people, won't make it difficult for a Marine hero like you," Rosse raised his index finger and waved it.
"No problem!", Garp agreed without hesitation.
Asking him to fight evil people, that was within his principles anyway.
At this point, his face looked a lot better. At least Rosse's request was reasonable, not trying to make things hard on him.
"Second condition: you can take the child away, but he must change his na. His na will be Gol D. Juste."
Rosse raised two fingers and waved them in front of Garp.
Half-true, half-false matters, they're all too common in the pirate world.
He didn't care about Juste's future. If he lived long, that's entertainnt; if he died young, it wasn't worth regretting.
Life is long. As a Celestial Dragon, one must learn to find ways to amuse oneself.
"As you wish," Garp's expression changed slightly, but he still agreed.
He didn't want Ace… Juste, to inherit the na Gol, but thinking it over, naming him after Ace didn't really make a difference.
Gol wasn't just one person. As long as Juste joined the Marines in the future, it shouldn't be a big problem.
"The third condition, I won't make it too hard on you either. Juste was born in front of . Even though I was only interested in Rouge, I still raised him for these many days," Rosse paused slightly. He spoke casually, but seeing Garp's face show realization, he knew his words had hit ho.
Whether Garp was truly foolish or extrely clever, it wasn't worth letting him overthink a casually explained matter, which might cause a shift in the plan.
Even if Garp didn't believe him, it didn't matter. Even if Garp found out in the future that Ace was swapped, what could he do about it in Mary Geoise?
Next, it was ti for his favorite part.
"Vice Admiral Garp, the third condition is simple. Punch yourself once, light injury with blood is enough, and kneel before to admit defeat," Rosse said unhurriedly.
A rare chance to complete an S-rank defeat, he didn't want to miss it.
S-rank defeat equaled killing an A-rank powerhouse.
There weren't many A-rank powerhouses in the entire world. They were either with the World Governnt or hiding in the New World. Even finding targets to kill was difficult.
After multiple confirmations, the defeat reward only required injury with bleeding and verbal admission of defeat — quite simple to fulfill.
"Tch, you Celestial Dragons really have so twisted tastes," Garp laughed out loud after hearing the condition.
The incident of Sakazuki kneeling and admitting defeat had spread throughout Marine high command under the deliberate propaganda of the World Governnt.
This was exactly the result Rosse wanted.
To build himself a reputation of enjoying powerful people admitting defeat. That way, even if strong people surrendered on sight, it wouldn't stir up unnecessary trouble.
Maybe in the future, even S-rank powerhouses from the pirates' side, after crossing paths, would give him face.
Of course, if it was an enemy S-rank, he would absolutely kill if he could. Only when he couldn't kill would he consider taking defeat rewards.
"Agree, once you do it, you may leave. If you don't, you know the consequences," Rosse said indifferently.
"I don't care about such worldly nas,".Garp laughed loudly, picked up Juste with one hand, and punched his chest hard with the other.
Puchi!
A mouthful of blood sprayed out. Garp didn't care at all, it felt like a tickle.
To a powerhouse like him, even a serious injury wouldn't make him cry out, let alone a minor wound.
Then, Garp knelt with both knees and said in a deep voice:
"Saint Rosse, today I admit defeat. Next ti, I will not let you stop ," This line, he said with genuine emotion.
This ti, being blocked by Rosse and Zephyr, he truly lost.
If Rosse held onto this and directly reported to the Five Elders, he wouldn't have even the slightest chance to fight back.
Though he lost this ti, it didn't an he would lose next ti.
Garp stood up in silence, carrying Juste, quickly passed Zephyr and Rosse, and rushed onto the boat that had been prepared.
Alone, he set sail imdiately.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[S-rank defeat completed!]
[Power 500000]
[Special reward: Rokushiki (A-rank)]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
'Rokushiki, a pretty decent reward...'
Rosse smiled, watching Garp sail farther and farther away, until he disappeared from view.
"By the way, Zephyr, you checked the ship. Seems like it only has at, wine, and fresh water. Do you think Garp might end up starving Juste?"
"That's really possible," Zephyr replied with a strange look, "but he should go to a nearby island for help. The nearest island is less than a day away."
"Poor little Juste, let's hope Garp acts like a decent human and doesn't let the kid starve to death," Rosse smiled and turned to walk into the island.
Having collected the biggest reward, there should still be a small reward waiting for him to pick up.
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