At the Holy Land of Mariejois, down by the parp was standing there holding a baby, looking as if he was waiting for someone.

  A ship flying the fg of the Wover was slowly dog. As soon as the gangway was lowered, Garp couldn't wait and strode forward.

  Soon enough, Cudius disembarked, apanied by Nia and Enel.

  Stussy, however, had stayed ba the City of Water 7, busy establishing her new anization, Happy Street. Ially, she was also waiting for a ship to be built, pnning to return directly to Mariejois o was ready. The two mermaid girls had remained in Water 7 temporarily.

  The moment Garp saw Cudius, he hurried over and asked, "What took you so long? Weren't we traveling the same distance?"

  Cudius looked at Garp, who was holding a baby, and couldn't help but chuckle. "You were traveling through the South Blue, while I was ing along the Grand Line. Not quite the same thing. Naturally, it's a bit slower."

  Traveling along the Grand Line involved a u of challenges. Fortunately, Mariejois was well-ected to the world. After all, it would be ridiculous if the Wover and the Marines had to make detours every time they traveled just because they had to stick to the Grand Lihey'd be te to everything.

  "Fair enough." Garp nodded in agreement. However, he quickly hahe baby over to Cudius, despite a relut expression on his face.

  "This is Ace. From today, he's your responsibility," Garp said, his tone serious. "Remember, not a word to anyone about who he really is. From now on, this kid isn't Roger's son. If anyone finds out, we're both irouble."

  Cudius took Ace from Garp, raising an eyebrow as he replied, "You really have to spell it out? If the Five Elders found out I was raising the son of the Pirate King, you think I'd still be standing here in Mariejois?"

  He still wasn't sure how Fleet Admiral Sengoku had pieced together Ace's identity in the inal story, but this time around, with all his efforts to cover things up, Cudius felt like he'd done a pretty thh job.

  With Rouge goheoretically, Garp was the only perso who khe truth. As long as Garp kept quiet, and Cudius didn't let anything slip, there should be no reason for the secret to ever e out.

  Besides, as long as Ace didn't choose a path that would pit him directly against the Wover, even someone as astute as Sengoku might see any clues as mere ces rather tharuth. After all, this was one issue where turning a blind eye was simpler for everyone involved, especially sidering the potential fallout with Garp and Cudius, both respected figures within the ranks of the Marines and the Celestial Dragons.

  "Good. As long as you uand," Garp said with a nod, sounding a bit relieved. "Alright, I've gotta get going. That bastard Sengoku has been bugging me nonstop."

  "In such a hurry? What's got the Marines so worked up now? Didn't you just deal with an attack frer's crew a month ago?" Cudius asked.

  "Yeah, that's right," Garp replied, nodding. "But this time, it's about historians."

  "Historians?" Cudius repeated, frowning slightly. "So, the Marines have tracked down some schors researg forbidden history and aexts?"

  "Pretty much." Garp scratched his head. "There's a giant Vice Admiral under me named Saul. He's been trag a group of schors causing trouble on the first half of the Grand Line. Retly, he mao cate of them alive, along with some uroyed dots we think may reveal their ins. The Marines are w with CP-9 to interrogate the survivor and analyze the evidehey're hoping for a breakthrough soon."

  Cudius fell silent, a thoughtful look crossing his face. He had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Jaguar D. Saul—the Marine Giant Vice Admiral under Garp, known for his strength was also a close friend of Kuzan, and was indeed responsible for hunting down schors who studied Poneglyphs and forbidden history. If things followed the course he remembered, Saul had likely captured a key figure in the Ohara i, possibly even Nicole Olvia, Robin's mother.

  Sooner or ter, trouble was bound to erupt within the Marines. In a few months, Saul would likely end up swayed by Olvia's ideals, awakening the "Will of D," and ultimately throwing away his future in the Marines by helping her escape from Naval Headquarters. That, in turn, would lead Olvia back to Ohara a in motion the events that would bring about its destru. Eventually, Saul would be frozen by Kuzaing in his impriso.

  A Marine Vice Admiral defeg would certainly stir things up, but in Cudius's view, it wasn't his .

  He gave Garp a skeptical look and asked, "But what does any of this have to do with you? You're not an interrogator. Since when did you have those skills?"

  "Saul's my subordinate, isn't he? So, officially, I'm supposed to be involved, at least on paper," Garp grumbled.

  "I didn't expect the Mario care so much about formalities," Cudius remarked with a ugh.

  "The bigger the anization, the more formalities you're stuck with," Garp replied, nodding in agreement.

  With that, Garp seemed eager to be on his way. After waving goodbye to Cudius, he quickly boarded a mert ship bound for the Marine residential quarters at Marineford, disappearing as quickly as he'd e.

  Only after Garp had left did Cudius turn his attention to the little bundle in his arms. The baby was truly adorable, with a face so ihat it was hard to believe he would one day grow up to be one of the world's most feared pirates, known as a dangerous criminal and the son of the Pirate King.

  "Ace…" Cudius murmured softly, a small smile tugging at his lips. He gently pihe baby's nose and added, "Grow up fast, kid. The world stage is waiting for you."

  ly a child-rearing expert, Cudius pyed with the baby for a while before handing him over to Nia who held Ace securely as they all headed back towards the pace.

  "Yhness, how would you like to hahis?" Nia asked, smiling as he cradled Ace.

  "Hmm… go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and have them assigwo experienao take care of Ace. We don't have that kind of free time. Best to leave things to the professionals," Cudius replied with a smile.

  Nija nodded in uanding. However, Cudius had no idea that by seleg two nannies from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and bringing a baby into his household, he'd iently set off a storm of gossip among the Celestial Dragons of Mariejois.

  In no time, rumors spread across the Holy Land: the notorious romantic, Cudius, had fathered a child with some unknown woman outside and was ning his "bastard" son home.

  That's right, before Cudius even had a ce te a proper identity for Ace, such as an adopted son or ward, the bored Celestial Dragons had already spun an eborate backstory for him.