"I didn't recognize her identity at all."
Nao, after quickly running through his pre-planned response in his mind, put on a look of feigned surprise. "Weren't you the one who told me just now?"
"…Huh?"
Chishio paused for a moment and realized that, yes, she had indeed mentioned it herself. She frowned slightly. "Then what were you planning to say when you were holding the photo?"
"She looked familiar," Nao answered honestly. "I felt like I'd seen her somewhere before—especially those eyes."
Chishio's gaze sharpened. "What do you mean? Where?"
"I couldn't think of it right away," Nao scratched his head, pretending to look confused. "But more importantly, Rear Admiral Chishio, may I ask you something?"
"Don't try to change the subject." Chishio frowned but still gave him permission. "…Fine, what is it?"
"Why exactly… between you and Vice Admiral Garp—" Nao noticed Chishio's face darken and hastily continued, "It's just that, Vice Admiral Garp isn't just a hero I respect. He's also the one who recommended me to the elite training program at Headquarters."
"Given that you two were comrades for so many years, your relationship should be close. Why has it come to this? Why don't you even want to hear his name?"
"Is that really important?" Chishio countered.
"Yes." Nao nodded seriously. "Please, I have to know. It might help me figure out who the owner of those familiar eyes is."
Chishio studied him for a moment, then turned her gaze to Hina and spoke softly: "Go upstairs and sleep, Hina. It's late. If you don't rest now, you'll be too tired to get up in the morning."
"No, I'm not going," Hina said firmly, more resolute than expected despite her drowsiness. "I'm not a kid anymore. I've already heard this much, Grandma Chishio. Why are you still hiding things from me?"
Chishio hesitated, then sighed and gently patted Hina's head. Giving in, she let Hina stay curled up in her lap and looked up at Nao. "You're guessing that my departure from Marineford three years ago has something to do with Garp, aren't you?"
"Just a little guess."
Nao didn't deny it.
"Then you guessed right," Chishio said quietly. "Whether it was my falling out with Garp or my resignation from the Marines, there's only one reason: Rouge's death three years ago."
"I mentioned it to you before, right? After the execution of Pirate King Roger, the Marines launched a manhunt for his family and descendants. That was when I learned Rouge was Roger's wife."
"When I found out, I volunteered to handle the operation—perhaps for personal reasons. But whatever the case, as Rouge's only remaining family in this world, there was no way I could just stand by and watch her be hunted down and thrown into the same fate as Roger."
"But at the time, Shiki the Golden Lion had just caused chaos at Marineford, half the city was destroyed, and rebuilding was a mess. Tsuru-nee was overwhelmed with work, so I had no choice but to focus on those efforts first."
Nao nodded silently. He knew this part of the story.
After Roger surrendered himself, Shiki couldn't believe his rival had been captured and stormed Marineford single-handedly to demand answers. Though he was ultimately defeated by Garp and Sengoku and imprisoned in Impel Down, the attack caused unprecedented devastation to the base.
"By the time I finally managed to refocus and take charge of the pursuit of Rouge…"
Chishio's voice trembled slightly, her thin frame quivering. "I heard news that Rouge had been spotted in the South Blue—and Garp was already leading a fleet to intercept her."
Hina hugged her tightly, pressing her face against Chishio's chest, comforting her enough to let her gradually calm down.
"You're young, so you might not understand the grudge between Garp and Roger," Chishio murmured. "He absolutely loathed that man, especially after Roger's final words before his death, which ushered in the Great Pirate Era and caused endless trouble for the Marines."
"So when Garp learned about Roger's pregnant wife, he didn't even wait to recover from his own injuries. He personally led the mission to erase Roger's bloodline at its root."
"And he succeeded." Chishio's tone was heavy. "Just two days later, Headquarters received word from him. Rouge had been chased into the sea and died, and Roger's unborn son died with her."
"That's the answer you were looking for."
Chishio looked at Nao, who remained silent. With a wry smile, she added, "Garp didn't technically do anything wrong. From the Marines' perspective, if it were me, I probably wouldn't have spared Roger's offspring either—at the very least, I'd have kept them under strict surveillance."
"But no matter how you look at it, Rouge died because of him. I couldn't face him the same way again, nor did I have any reason to accuse him. So I chose to endure it and leave Marineford to escape everything."
"So." She glanced at the now-hung-up Den Den Mushi and shook her head. "Now you should understand how unrealistic it is for you and Gion to try and persuade me to return to Marineford."
"…"
Nao, who had been listening quietly, finally raised his head and met her gaze.
"Do you really believe Vice Admiral Garp would do something like that?"
"What, hunt down a pirate's family?" Chishio shook her head. "Normally, Garp wouldn't. But Rouge's situation was different—she was Roger's wife…"
"Even so, I don't believe Vice Admiral Garp would go that far. You've known him for years, you should know his character better than I do," Nao interrupted. "Also, did he even know about your relationship with Rouge?"
"…No. Zephyr and Sengoku didn't know either. I never mentioned it at Headquarters."
Chishio's voice was hoarse, her eyes filled with regret. "Maybe I should have told him back then. If I had, Rouge might not have—"
"What if Rouge didn't actually die?" Nao suddenly asked. "Don't you think Garp's actions were strange? Completing the pursuit in just two days? And claiming she drowned at sea, with no body recovered? Could it be that he staged the whole thing to protect Rouge?"
"I thought about that too," Chishio said coldly. "But unfortunately, kid, that's impossible. My personal Den Den Mushi has never changed. If Rouge were alive, she would have called me at least once over all these years."
Nao sighed inwardly. He knew the truth—Rouge had delayed giving birth for over a year to protect her unborn son, eventually dying from exhaustion after giving birth to Ace. But he couldn't say that out loud, not without explaining how he knew.
So, instead, he steered the conversation back to the deeper mystery he had prepared.
"I said before that the girl in those old photos looked familiar, especially her eyes. I felt like I'd seen them somewhere."
"…?" Chishio narrowed her eyes.
"Now I remember."
Nao took a deep breath and said calmly, "A year ago, while traveling with Garp from East Blue to Headquarters, we stopped at an island where I saw him hand a baby—just a few months old—over to local villagers to raise."
"The baby was so quiet and never cried. I remember him clearly."
Looking at Chishio's face, which had suddenly paled in shock, Nao added softly, "That child looked a lot like Rouge, especially the eyes. They were practically identical."
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin