inally, Cudius po stay in Water 7 until his ship was pleted, the off on his venture. But, as always, pns couldn't keep up with the ges life threw at him.

  By the time the new year rolled around, he had been in Water 7 for nearly three months. Then, one m, he received a call from Vice Admiral Garp through the Den Den Mushi.

  "What's the matter, Garp?" Cudius asked, a hint of a smile on his face.

  For a moment, there was silen the other end. Just as Cudius started w if the signal was bad, he finally heard Garp's voice—hoarse, and ced with an uncharacteristic sadness.

  "Cudius… Rouge is dead," Garp said quietly.

  Cudius froze, processing the words. Slowly, he picked up a cigar from his desk, lit it, and took a long drag. Exhaling the smoke, he felt a wave of mencholy wash over him. It wasn't that he had any personal e te—after all, she was the wife of Gol D. Roger. Cudius wasn't that shameless. They'd only met a handful of times. But still… despite everything, she hadn't been able to escape her fate.

  As his thoughts grew tangled, a sense ret crept in. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if he could have done more to help. But just as quickly, he dismissed the thought. He wasn't under any obligation to help her, after all. Why burden himself with guilt? He didn't want to end up like Rosinante, aragic soul who couldn't leave well enough alone.

  "She was… truly something. How long did she st?" Cudius asked, voice softened with respect.

  "Twenty months. Twenty damn months. you even imagihe kind of ce and endurahat takes?" Garp's voice trembled, and for ohe irrepressible Vice Admiral sounded genuinely vulnerable. "I don't admire many people, Cudius… but Rouge is one of them."

  It was a staggeri. To keep her unborn child hidden from the world, from the relentless search by the Marines and the Wover, she had held on for twenty long months, enduring unimagirain. All for the sake of her child, with the stahat she could be discovered at any moment.

  "Yeah… she was a great mother," Cudius said softly. "What about the child? Is it a birl?"

  With everything in flux, Cudius couldn't be sure if things had turned out exactly as he remembered.

  "A boy. A real cutie," Garp replied, his tone finally lifting a bit.

  "Really? What's his name?" Cudius asked.

  "Ace. Good name, isn't it? Roger came up with it. Rouge wao honor his wishes, so she named him Pas D. Ace," Garp said, a hint of pride in his voice.

  "Ace, huh? That is a strong name—like 'the best,' right?" Cudius remarked with a smile.

  "Yeah… the best," Garp said, chug softly.

  After a brief pause, Garp tinued, "Anyway, I've been held up long enough. That bastard Sengoku has been sendihree messages a day, urgio get baarineford. I'll be passing by Mariejois on my way. Are you there?"

  "Uh… no, I'm still in Water 7," Cudius replied, a bit taken aback.

  "Water 7? What are you doing all the way out there?" Garp asked, genuinely puzzled.

  "Getting a ship built, doing some business on the side. You know, keeping busy," Cudius replied, giving a vague ao avoid too many questions.

  Garp didn't press further, but instead asked, "Well, you make it baariejois? We're about the same distance from there right now, maybe we could meet?"

  Cudius hesitated. He was quite fortable in Water 7, enjoying the leisurely pace of things, and really didn't feel like making the trip to Mariejois.

  Sensing his reluce, Garp the stubborn old marihat he was, didn't hesitate to turn up the pressure. "Cudius, don't be a damn coward! You remember our deal, right? I'd look after Rouge, and you'd take responsibility for the kid. Or are you bag out now that Rone?"

  Cudius felt his temper fre. "Look after her? You call that 'looking after her'? She died on your watch, Garp! You think you did such a great job?"

  "You think I wanted her to die?" Garp shot back, voice rising. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep her hidden from the gover's hunters? I did everything I could!"

  "Yeah, yeah… fine, whatever. I 't win an argument with you," Cudius said, sighing i.

  He kne robably taking Rouge's death harder than anyone. After all, he'd been the one proteg her, watg her struggle until the very end. Cudius didn't want to push him any further.

  "So, what's the pn now?" Garp asked, his voice back to a low rumble. "Do you wa the kid to Marineford?"

  Cudius rubbed his temples and sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll head baariejois. We'll meet there, and you hand the kid over to me. Then you go back to pying marine hero."

  "That works. But I'm warning you, Cudius, just because I'm handing him over to you doesn't mean I'm out of his life. I've already decided to raise this kid as my own grandson," Garp said, his tone leaving no room fument.

  Cudius was stunned for a moment, then burst out ughing. "Only you, Garp… you're really something else. Ser's gone, and now you're stepping in as the 'grandfather'? You've just gone and made yourself family! Per—if he knew, he'd be rolling in his grave. You're making yourself sound like you're his father!"

  With Garp g to be the 'grandfather,' that teically made him a geion above Whitebeard in Ace's life. In some twisted way, this old man had mao leapfrog Whitebeard's title of "Dad."

  But before Cudius could tinue ribbing him, a sudden realization hit him, Garp had totally roped him into this.

  "Damn it, Garp! You tricked me, didn't you?" Cudius cursed, only half-joking.

  "Hahaha, tricked you? What're you talking about? Look, I'm not getting any younger, Cudius. If I suddenly showed up with a 'son,' how would that look? Dragon would think I'd lost faith in him and was trying to raise a rept!" Garp ughed heartily, clearly amused at Cudius' exasperation.

  Cudius muttered in a serious tone, "Holy, I think Dragon could use some pany. Maybe if you gave him a brother, it'd make food story iy years."

  "Enough with the nonsense! I'll see you in Mariejois!" Garp growled, realizing he wouldn't win this banter. With that, he abruptly ehe call.

  Cudius gred at the now silent Den Den Mushi, muttering to himself, "Damn you, Garp…" The out a sigh, taking a long drag on his cigar. "So… Ace, huh?"

  He found himself lost in thought. He already had his hands full taking care of Enel, who was still a kid himself, and now he was about to take in another child?

  Luckily, he didn't io get too involved personally. Mariejois had no she of skilled nannies; he'd find a few to hahe day-to-day care.

  "Guess when the kid grows up, I'll see if he be molded into something useful. Maybe a Warlord of the Sea one day… yeah, that could work," Cudius thought, smirking to himself.