Chapter 890 - 890: I Order You Not to Die

"So, do you understand now? We have no reason to lie to a condemned prisoner, do we?"

Ace lowered himself sympathetically and lightly tapped his knuckles against Juste's already shattered shoulder.

Inside the conference room, the setting sun stretched the shadows between the two of them long, like two paths that should have overlapped but had been forcibly separated by fate.

"If Garp had arrived one day earlier back then, or Father had arrived one day later, the life you have now would have been mine."

Ace's voice was soft, but every word struck Juste in the heart, "So, I'm very grateful to Father. Not only because he saved my mother, but because thanks to him, I didn't have to bear this fate of yours."

"Why... why... did... it... have... to... be... me?"

There was sorrow in Juste's voice.

If all of this had been arranged from the very beginning, then were the emotions he had once treasured with his whole heart also nothing more than a script the World Government had drawn up for him?

Perhaps even the birth of those emotions themselves had come from some invisible hand manipulating things behind the scenes.

If they could silently stuff memories into his mind, then was his own consciousness real or fake?

Could every thought surging through his mind right now also be fake?

Juste did not know.

He did not dare to know, nor did he want to know.

It was fake. Everything was fake.

"If you want someone to blame, blame Garp. And blame the fact that you look too much like Roger."

Ace paused, and for once, his voice carried a trace of complexity and hesitation, "No... actually, Roger's blood really does flow through you."

"At a time like this, is there really any need to keep lying to me?"

Juste forced out a pale smile. He was already like this. Was there really any need to keep deceiving him?

Roger clearly had nothing to do with him.

"It's not a lie," Ace shook his head, "When the World Government chose people back then, they didn't just pick someone at random. Every condition of yours matched what Roger's bloodline should look like. Even your mother's appearance was deliberately chosen to resemble my mother."

He paused, then continued, "Because only genes combined in this way could make the world believe that you were Roger's son. It's just that they were short on time back then and didn't have time to make a careful selection, so they simply found someone in the South Blue."

"But no one expected that after you grew up, you would actually come to resemble Roger that much."

"So, out of curiosity, we took your genes and compared them with Roger's, who had already died."

"I'm real?"

Juste suddenly raised his head, his face filled with disbelief.

This result was truly beyond anything he had expected.

How was that possible?

"The comparison showed that you are indeed related to Roger, but you aren't father and son."

Ace slowly spoke the words that caused the light in Juste's eyes to fade again, "Perhaps you're a descendant of one of Roger's parents' siblings. Or perhaps we'd have to trace it back even further. Maybe you and he were even of the same generation. Who can say?"

"We couldn't figure out why the bloodline of Roger, who was born in Loguetown in the East Blue, had a branch that ended up scattered into the South Blue. But without a doubt, Roger's ancestral blood really does flow through you."

Ace looked at him with a complicated expression.

When all was said and done, how many people had died because of the name Roger back then?

Of course, it was also because of Garp's ridiculous stupidity.

Three years.

From the moment Garp learned of Rouge's existence, a full three years passed, yet he did not provide her with even the slightest protection.

With Garp's strength, this was not something he was incapable of doing.

The World Government had known about it from the beginning, so his attempt to deceive himself by pretending not to see was meaningless from start to finish.

If things had gone just a little differently, Garp would have been unable to save anything.

This was also the one thing Ace could never let go of in his life.

For someone like that, why would Roger entrust everything to him?

If Roger's final decision had really allowed him and Rouge to live out their lives safely, Ace might even have been willing to sincerely regard Roger as his biological father.

But the result had always been so cruel.

With a man like that, Ace simply could not regard him as his father.

"I have some of his blood, at least. That means I'm not an ordinary person, right?", Juste smiled bitterly.

"With your talent, if you hadn't been chosen back then and had joined the World Government early on and received proper training, you might really have been able to take my position today."

Ace patted his shoulder again. Telling him all of this was also a way of leaving him a final bit of dignity.

Then again, leaving with a false death might not necessarily be a bad thing.

But Ace still felt that before a person died, they should at least have the right to know the truth.

Even if that truth made them extremely uncomfortable.

"Hahaha! Perhaps."

Juste laughed. His smile was sorrowful, but a tiny glimmer still stubbornly burned in the depths of his eyes instead of sinking completely into ashes, "I have a question. I hope you, and the person controlling my fate from behind the scenes, can answer me."

"Ask," Ace nodded lightly.

"Pops treated me like his son, and I acknowledged him as my father. Did you interfere with that?"

Juste stared at Ace with his eyes wide open, as if he wanted to analyze the truth from every subtle expression on his face.

"I can tell you, we didn't!"

Zephyr, who had remained silent beside the conference table, suddenly spoke, "Whitebeard and I came from the same era."

"With his personality, the moment he met you and saw that face of yours that resembled Roger's by three parts, he would definitely decide to take you as his son. That's Whitebeard's personality. It's something he would inevitably do."

"As for you...", Zephyr suddenly laughed heartily, "I don't think that little struggle of yours could have had any effect on Whitebeard. The you back then could never have obediently surrendered like that either. In the end, didn't you willingly submit to his charisma?"

"So as long as you arranged that meeting between me and Pops, you had already predicted the outcome, right?"

When Juste said this, a relieved smile actually appeared on his face.

The meeting had been arranged.

But at least...

The bond between him and Pops had truly existed. It had been real.

"If you insist on treating it as fake, I can arrange another scene for you."

A frivolous woman's voice suddenly came from Juste's mouth, "People's hearts are complicated, and you're no exception. When you learned that you weren't Roger's son, and also learned that Whitebeard had always believed you were Roger's son, didn't your heart waver?"

This time, Juste instead appeared calmer than ever.

Because he knew that the one speaking was that person who could control his fate.

"Hahahaha! I really did waver back then."

Juste laughed and admitted it frankly.

Since the other side could stuff memories into his mind, they could naturally search through his memories as well.

There was no point in lying about something like this.

When the truth about his false identity spread across the sea, he had indeed wavered.

Especially back then, he had suspected that Whitebeard had accepted him only because he was the son of an old friend.

Now that this identity had been exposed, had he lost his right to remain aboard Whitebeard's ship?

But as he continued chasing Momonosuke along the way, he gradually figured it out.

Momonosuke's experience was somewhat similar to his own.

The difference was that Momonosuke was genuinely the son of an old friend, yet in the end, he chose to betray them and flee.

While he, the fake one, had never done such a thing.

Besides, every time he spoke with the Whitebeard Pirates, the concern Whitebeard showed for him would come clearly through even over a Den Den Mushi, warming his heart.

After reaching this point, what more could he be dissatisfied with?

He might not even know who his biological parents were.

But in the end, he actually lacked nothing.

"Hey, I'm really grateful to you for giving me this extraordinary life."

Juste suddenly spoke loudly, "But if I die right now, you won't be able to hold a grand funeral for Pops and me, will you? Hahahaha!"

Before his voice had even faded, he suddenly twisted his head hard, trying to break his own neck through sheer force.

After his Devil Fruit ability had been completely sealed by the seastone, this was one of the few methods he still had to end his own life.

["JUSTE, STOP!"]

But at that very moment, an old yet powerful shout exploded like thunder, causing Juste's entire body to freeze halfway through the movement like a stone statue.

"Pops?"

Juste raised his head in disbelief, his eyes falling on the conference table.

A Den Den Mushi was sitting there.

And the appearance of that Den Den Mushi was clearly Whitebeard's face.

Obviously, every word they had just said had been heard by Whitebeard without missing a single one.

["Juste, you stupid son! I order you, don't die!"]

Whitebeard's bold voice rolled out from the Den Den Mushi:

["Just stay there in Marineford and wait for us to come save you! Gurarararara!"]

Then that voice turned toward Zephyr, ["Zephyr, you old bastard. You want to prepare a funeral for me. You've probably been plotting this for a long time, haven't you? Gurararara! Being able to die like a legend isn't such a bad way to go."]

"Think whatever you want."

Zephyr slowly spoke, his voice carrying a trace of sadness, "Of the opponents from our era, you're the only one left now. Oh, right. Garp, Sengoku, and the others can be considered opponents now too. This time, let them all come together. Don't worry, Garp and the others' funerals won't be held in Marineford."

There really were very few of the old friends from back then left.

And in this world, among the old acquaintances still standing on the World Government's side, he was the only one left alone.

But... the things he had gritted his teeth and persisted in back then had finally borne fruit.

Rosse had fulfilled the promise he once made to him. The world today was already a world of justice and fairness.

At least, it was far more just than it had been twenty years ago.

Now, everyone could live the life they wanted.

As for the East Blue and the Grand Line, once Luffy's story came to an end, everything would eventually return to its proper course.

As for sacrifice, Zephyr now viewed it rather lightly.

Ever since he left CP0 and joined the Military Affairs Department all those years ago, he had taken over the position that Kong had once held.

Now, he stood higher and could see farther.

The achievements would not necessarily belong to his generation.

There was never such a thing as absolute justice in this world.

To have the world balanced to this extent, he was already completely satisfied.

Compared with any ruler of the past, Rosse was worthy of being called a saint.

At least, that was what Zephyr believed.

His conversation with Whitebeard was not long, and Zephyr soon hung up the Den Den Mushi.

The news that Juste was here had already been sent out. That was enough.

And Juste's identity, arranged by the World Government itself, had been exposed along with the truth behind it.

Given Whitebeard's personality, he would come even without hearing any of this.

After hearing it, he would only come faster and with even less hesitation.

Even knowing that all of this had already fallen within the World Government's calculations.

But Whitebeard was still Whitebeard.

As the strongest man in the world back then, what made him strong had never been merely that earth-shaking power, but that heart of his that was gentle to the extreme.

He would never let Juste go to his death alone.

Even knowing that coming meant certain death, that man would still come.

Unlike Shanks, unlike Dragon, everyone in the World Government, whether from the older generation or the younger generation, believed that he would definitely come.

When the time came, everyone would gather at Marineford and offer the greatest funeral of this century to Whitebeard.

And that grand funeral in the future would also be Zephyr's final farewell to this old friend.

At Whitebeard's age, he did not have many years left to live anyway.

Rather than quietly growing old on a sickbed, it would be better to let a legend come to a spectacular end in his final days.

That was more worthy of his extraordinary life.

"Pops!"

On the other side, Juste collapsed onto the cold floor and wept uncontrollably, but he no longer had any intention of seeking death.

He knew that whether he died or not, Pops would definitely come.

Since that was the case, why should he die?

He would live well and personally watch how Pops rescued him from Marineford.

Or at the very least, at the final moment, he would do something within his power.

Even if they had to die, they should all die together.

This was the only thing this unfilial son could still do for Pops.

["Announce to the entire world that thirty days from now, I personally will give the final legend of the Great Pirate Era, this great pirate, the most dignified farewell."]

Rosse's steady voice rang out in the room.

In fact, he had been watching this place the entire time.

Naturally, he was not watching Juste's performance. Whatever Juste did had all been within his expectations.

He simply wanted to know whether Whitebeard had changed from before.

Now it seemed that he had not.

Then preparing this funeral for him was worth it.

After all, Whitebeard was not Dragon or Shanks.

For those old friends worthy of respect, Rosse was still willing to give them the greatest dignity.

"""Yes!"""

Everyone in the room straightened their expressions and acknowledged Rosse's words.

The entire Marine machine began moving at this moment.