"I just confirmed it. There don't seem to be any dangerous people here, so for now, we can let Luffy and the others stay in this place… but the situation here is completely different from before."
Uta looked around at the surrounding buildings and spoke softly.
"In the past, we were always the ones who entered memories and dreams on our own. But this time, it feels more like someone's memory fragment was forcibly dragged into my Uta World."
Cain nodded and began examining the situation in Mary Geoise.
His gaze swept over the surrounding buildings, and he understood clearly in his heart that while this place was indeed Mary Geoise, its essence was only an image Uta had extracted from his mind concerning the "Mary Geoise attack incident."
It seemed Uta did not know that this memory came from him.
Seeing that she did not ask too much, Cain stopped thinking about how he should explain it, and quietly set the matter aside.
On top of that, Uta had confirmed earlier that there were no dangerous figures here, which meant only the core people who had experienced the incident and a few unimportant side characters existed in this space.
The God's Knights, the Five Elders, and even Imu's group had not appeared in this space, so there was naturally no need to worry about Luffy's safety.
There was just one person that night who seemed to be wearing an eyepatch.
Shanks from thirteen years ago.
Cain thought about it for a moment, but eventually gave up on the idea.
There was no need to meet that version of him.
This space-time had turned into a gigantic translucent sphere of light, floating quietly inside the colorful Uta World.
Although the people inside the light sphere still retained vivid self-awareness and genuine emotions, they ultimately could not cross the barrier of rules and reach the real world.
After all, to the real world, they were nothing more than phantoms woven from memory. They were so realistic they felt almost alive, but in the end, they were still false.
Cain and Uta stepped out of the light sphere and turned to look at the other spheres floating in the space.
Uta took the initiative to extend her hand toward Cain.
"Let's go. Let's see what other interesting things are happening with the others."
"Mm. Together."
…
Inside the light sphere where Garp and Ace were—
"Hey, stop sleeping, Garp!"
"Hah? Did this old man fall asleep?"
Garp abruptly opened his eyes and looked closely, only to find that the person who had just woken him up was actually the Pirate King, Roger.
He froze for a second.
Then he raised his foot and kicked.
His shoe flew off and hit Roger squarely in the face through the iron bars opposite him.
Garp yawned and muttered,
"Didn't Roger die ages ago? Mm, this old man must still be dreaming. Back to sleep! Eh? Wait!"
Garp suddenly realized he was holding something in his arms.
He lowered his head and saw that it was Ace's leg. The brat was leaning against him on the floor, fast asleep.
Garp stared blankly, turning his head to look at the sleeping Ace, then at Roger behind the bars, back and forth who knew how many times, until he was completely stunned.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"I should be asking you that, Garp!"
Roger tossed Garp's stinking shoe back beside his foot and raised an eyebrow.
"We were just talking a moment ago. Why did you suddenly disappear? And when you showed up again, you'd gotten so old! Your hair's completely white!"
"What?"
Garp was obviously stunned and was just about to ask more when Roger crouched down. His gaze landed on Ace sleeping nearby, and he started grinning to himself.
"Speaking of which, this brat you brought is pretty handsome. Mm, he's got my style from back in the day! If he grows a mustache like mine later, he'll look even more like me."
"Hah?! You dare say Ace looks like you? Stop fooling yourself, you bastard!"
Those words instantly struck Garp where it hurt.
The image of Ace going to be executed during the Summit War surged into his mind, and fury rushed straight to his head.
He grabbed Roger by the mustache and yanked outward.
"You irresponsible bastard! Back then, you threw Ace to me with one casual sentence and didn't care about anything afterward! Do you know how hard it was for this old man to raise him? And now you want Ace to grow that lousy mustache of yours? No, wait, this isn't even a mustache. Your nose hair's sticking out! Watch this old man pluck it clean!"
"Ow, ow, ow! Garp, are you insane?!"
Roger grimaced in pain, but then he suddenly grabbed Garp's wrist, his eyes turning sharp and serious.
"Ace? Where did you hear that name?!"
Looking at the white-haired Garp in front of him, then at the sleeping young man whose features resembled his own and who had freckles just like Rouge, Roger already had a vague guess in his heart.
But Garp did not think too deeply.
He grabbed Roger's mustache again and yanked hard.
"So you're refusing to admit it even in a dream, huh? You personally entrusted Ace to me back then, and now you dare play dumb?"
"Ow, ow, ow!"
Their noisy scuffle clearly startled Ace, who had been sleeping nearby. He yawned and slowly sat up.
"What are you making so much noise for? Haaah…"
Ace rubbed his sleepy eyes and began to get up, but halfway through his yawn, his gaze swept over the man behind the bars wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a distinctive mustache.
He instantly froze.
That face.
That person.
It was the father he least wanted to mention, yet whose existence was carved into his very blood!
After the shock passed, anger instantly surged up.
His eyes grew cold and sharp, and his fists clenched until they creaked.
"Why are you here?!"
Roger's face was half-red from Garp pulling his mustache. But when he saw Ace like this, his eyes filled with both pain and joy.
He struggled to move closer.
"Ace… my child…"
"Don't call me that!"
Ace cut him off sharply, his voice ice-cold.
"I don't have a father like you! My father is Whitebeard!"
Garp, who was still tugging on Roger's mustache, visibly froze.
He turned his head back and forth between the two of them.
Was this not a dream?
What made his head hurt even more was that flames had already started rising from Ace's body. It looked as if he was about to say something hurtful.
Garp could not possibly let him do that. He punched Ace directly on the head.
"Ow! Old man, what was that for?!"
"Call me Grandpa! This old man didn't teach you to act like this! No matter how irresponsible Roger was, he is still your father! When he entrusted you to me back then, he placed every last hope he had on this old man!"
Garp released Roger's mustache and spoke in a heavy voice.
"He knew that after he turned himself in, the World Government would never spare his bloodline. That's why, with his last breath, he handed you to me. He wanted you to live properly! Or do you want to experience the Summit War all over again and make all of us worry for you one more time?"
"I…"
"I'm sorry!"
After being tempered by the Summit War, Ace had already grown.
He was no longer as impulsive as before, and he quickly realized his mistake.
He immediately lowered his head and apologized to Garp.
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. He is."
Garp rubbed Ace's head and raised a hand to point at Roger.
Ace pressed his lips together.
After hesitating for a moment, he still turned toward Roger and spoke in a low voice.
"I'm sorry."
Roger, however, was currently wearing a completely confused expression.
After all, he had only just been preparing to entrust his child to Garp, and now this grown son had suddenly appeared.
Although he had already guessed from various details that the Garp before him came from the future, and that this child named Ace was his son, he could not understand a single thing from their conversation.
He scratched his head, glared at Garp, and shouted.
"WAIT! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SUMMIT WAR? AND YOU, GARP! WHY ARE YOU MAKING MY SON CALL YOU GRANDPA? AREN'T YOU OPENLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ME?"
Then he turned toward Ace, his eyes full of confusion.
"And how did Newgate become your old man? I'm your real father! Explain this properly! What exactly happened?"