radicalducati Chapter 486: This road is blocked!
Chapter 486: This road is blocked!
Although Roger lowered his proud head, his gaze remained fixed on Ace.
Looking at the young man with a face full of anger, and at that face that was almost a carbon copy of his own when he was young.
The light in Roger's eyes gradually faded, leaving him like a soulless shell.
The surroundings were deathly silent.
Roger opened his mouth, but then stopped himself from speaking.
He wanted to say something, because he had to say something.
"Ace, it's me."
But the words stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say them no matter what he tried.
He spent half his life navigating the seas, always speaking his mind and cutting down anyone he wanted, never afraid of anyone.
Now, however, he's been choked by the most ordinary apology.
He couldn't speak; his lips trembled.
An unprecedented sense of embarrassment and helplessness gripped him tightly.
He didn't know how to face Ace.
Roger, wanting to break the stalemate among the residents, had only taken half a step forward.
The white beard moved.
He stood firmly between the two, like an iron tower, completely cutting off Roger's view of Ace.
Murakumo-giri raised its broad blade, the edge flashing a ghastly white light.
The vibrations surged wildly along the tip of the blade, creating a piercing buzzing sound in the air.
The sound wasn't loud, but it was extremely sharp.
Everyone understood that the white-bearded man wasn't joking.
He was ready to unleash a devastating blow that would tear the sea apart at any moment; he would never allow Roger to take another step forward.
As soon as the white-bearded man moved, all the captains followed suit.
Marco's eyes sharpened, and his arm burst into a bluish-green flame of regeneration.
Joz's thick arms tensed, and half of his body instantly turned into diamond, reflecting a cold light.
Vista's fingers touched the hilt of the sword, and the rapier slid out of its sheath.
All the team leaders were fully armed and ready to act at any moment!
The positions remained unchanged, the steps were unhurried, and the formation changed in the blink of an eye.
They protected Ace tightly, keeping him inside.
Whitebeard was no longer the only one in front of Ace.
This reflects the attitude of the entire Whitebeard Pirates.
Ace is family, a brother, not an object that anyone can claim and take away.
Anyone who wants to take him away, anyone who wants to touch him, will have to step over all of their corpses.
The white-bearded man looked down at Roger.
His eyes were as cold as iron, and his voice was deep and piercing.
Roger
"This road is blocked. Return the way you came."
Every word was forceful, leaving no room for compromise.
The white-bearded man stood ramrod straight, using his body to support Ace.
He wouldn't listen to explanations or care about the difficulties; he was stubborn and unyielding.
Ace is now his son.
At a table not far away, Lockes slapped his thigh and laughed loudly.
The sound of the slap was jarring even in the dead silence.
He wished the white-bearded man would speak even louder.
Having lived for so many years, what I love most is seeing Roger get his comeuppance, let alone being publicly rebuked by Whitebeard.
Lox grinned from ear to ear, his eyes filled with malicious excitement.
"Well done, Newgate!"
Rocks didn't even bother to hide his smugness, and started making a ruckus like a street thug.
"You spent your whole life as the Pirate King, and in the end you can't even recognize your own son. Roger, you've finally met your match."
He wanted to see the Pirate King humiliated.
Watch him struggle in the mud.
Zefa sat by the fire, not laughing, but becoming completely silent.
Holding his half-finished drink, and looking at the tense situation before him, he felt uneasy.
A legendary figure who commands respect across the world, a monster who can overturn rivers and seas, when faced with family and old debts, he's just as pathetic as a stray dog.
Zefa thought of his wife and children who had died tragically, and of the lives that could not be saved.
With a complicated expression, he sighed and put the wine bowl back on the table.
No longer amused by Roger's jokes, only a chilling sorrow remains.
Shanks dropped his nonchalant demeanor, his smile vanishing completely.
The wooden wine glass was placed back on the table.
despair.
He didn't interrupt, nor did he plead for the old captain; he simply sat quietly with his single arm hanging at his side.
At this time, it would be inappropriate for anyone to speak up.
This debt is too heavy, so heavy that no one but Roger himself can bear it.
Shanks's eyes were restrained.
Looking at the once spirited captain, and then at his hunched back, he could only shut up.
Long stood silently in the shadows, his entire being blending into the darkness.
The hem of the dark green trench coat hung limply.
He neither helped Roger nor stopped Whitebeard; he remained a bystander.
Watching coldly as this debt, which has been dragging on for over twenty years, is finally brought to a close.
His gaze was deep, and his breathing was steady.
He understands all too well how heavy fate can be, and how ruthless cause and effect can be.
Luffy watched the standoff ahead, noticing that Ace was not in a good state.
He could hear Ace's heavy breathing.
Luffy lifted his foot and tried to rush forward to help his brother.
Sabo grabbed his shoulder with a frighteningly strong grip.
His five fingers almost dug into Luffy's flesh, pinning him to the spot.
Sabo looked up, staring intently at Roger with a cold, sharp gaze.
"Ace is not your toy."
Sabo's voice was deep and hard, like iron.
"He's not someone you can just throw around a few words at."
Sabo is fiercely protective of his own and will never allow anyone to lay a finger on Ace again.
I don't care if you're the Pirate King or not, I don't care if you're his biological father.
All he knew was how much suffering Ace had endured, and how much pain Ace was in right now.
Sabo leaned forward, ready to strike at any moment.
Roger remained silent for a few seconds.
Ignoring Rocks's taunts and Sabo's warnings, he looked at the white-bearded man and spoke.
"Newgate"
His voice was no longer hoarse; it was incredibly deep.
"That's what my future self did."
Roger didn't dodge.
"But ultimately, it was me who hurt Rouge."
"Ultimately, it was me who hurt Ace."
They didn't act like the Pirate King, didn't use fate as an excuse, and didn't use time as a shield.
He took all the responsibility upon himself, leaving himself no way out.
He admitted his selfishness and his dereliction of duty.
He knew he owed a huge, unpayable debt.
Ace stood behind Whitebeard, listening to Roger bow his head and admit his mistake, but he felt no relief whatsoever.
This is not a hole that can be filled with a simple "I admit it," nor a scar that can be erased with a simple "I'm sorry."
For over twenty years, I've carried the heavy burden of blood ties, the birth my mother risked her life for, and countless sleepless nights.
How could I possibly let go?
Ace clenched his fists tightly, his body trembling.
He resisted this belated apology.
He doesn't need a father who suddenly appears, nor does he need this belated guilt.
Roger gazed at Ace from afar, through his white beard and across the captains who were on high alert.
It was as if a wall, so impenetrable even by the sea, stood between the two of them.
He wanted to get closer, to beg for Ace's forgiveness!
But Roger understood for the first time.
Some distances cannot be crossed by force.
A sense of powerlessness gripped him tightly, and a bitter smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
The title of Pirate King is worthless in the face of family ties.
From the high platform, Chen Ye looked down at everything.
He didn't say another word, like a cold-blooded director.
Watching the script reach its climax, watching Roger struggle, watching Ace tear things apart.
This is exactly the effect he wanted.
Let Roger taste the bitter fruit of his own actions.
Otherwise, how can one be a good person to resolve this problem?
Roger stood there, blood still flowing, his heart already sunk to the bottom of the sea.