One Piece: Start by Saving Roger, I Was Invited to Join the Crew

"Roger, if we don't give Garp a heads-up in advance, I'm afraid that guy might run off somewhere to have fun. Are we just supposed to wait for him forever?"

Rayleigh offered his suggestion. Given Garp's personality, there was a real chance he'd run off to eat, drink, and enjoy himself.

"Brother Rayleigh, Garp is a Marine after all. If we contact him now, aren't we basically telling the Marines where we're going? And didn't we just mention that the Den Den Mushi might be tapped?"

Reid voiced his concern. After all, in the future, Garp didn't even save Ace, which showed how firmly he upheld the justice of the Marines.

Even though he later got angry and wanted to kill Akainu, that only happened after witnessing Ace's death.

"It's fine. Rayleigh, go ahead and contact him. At this point in time, Garp might not have any soldiers around."

"Alright." Rayleigh pulled out the Den Den Mushi and started calling.

"Roger trusts Garp that much?" Reid couldn't help but be curious. These two were supposed to be on opposing sides, and Garp had pushed Roger into desperate straits multiple times.

"Desperate straits" implied he had almost died or been captured.

At Marine Headquarters, Garp was lounging in his office—more precisely, half-lying down with both feet propped up on the desk and a bag of donuts in hand.

"Pururururu… pururururu…"

Garp picked up the Den Den Mushi from his desk. He immediately tossed the donut aside and looked around. Seeing no one was around, he answered the call like a sneaky thief.

"Roger, what are you planning?"

"Garp, let's meet in a few days at that place…"

After hanging up, Garp's expression briefly took on the look of a responsible man—deep and solemn, rather than his usual carefree and unserious demeanor.

"What exactly is this Roger up to?"

Garp thought for a while but couldn't come up with an answer. He picked the donut bag up off the floor, then returned to his chair to continue eating.

"Let's go. Contact Whitebeard. We'll set off in a few days. Make sure to prepare enough food and water."

"Brother Roger, did Garp agree to meet?" Reid was a bit skeptical. That seemed too easy. And Roger had stayed calm the whole time—no arguments with Garp or anything.

"Hehe, let's talk more once we meet him." Roger laughed heartily and walked ahead.

Rayleigh gave Reid a grin and followed.

"So casual…" Reid didn't say anything more and followed behind.

A short while later, the Whitebeard Pirates came to meet Roger and the others.

Whitebeard stood in front of Roger.

"Roger, I've waited nearly two years. Finally, we're going to Wano."

"Yeah, I've been waiting too. That Kaido… I'm going to tear him to pieces!" Izou said with a fierce look and murderous intent in his eyes.

Reid was a bit speechless at that. He muttered to himself, "I get how you feel, but saying that sounds a little overconfident."

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Whitebeard. I called you over this time to let you know—I'll be making a stop at Ohara in the West Blue."

Whitebeard was confused. "Ohara? Roger, what are you going there for?"

Nearby, Marco, Vista, Rakuyo, and the others all looked intrigued. The rest wore curious expressions as they stared at Roger.

"There are a few people I don't like. Just going to deal with them."

"Oh? Roger, who are these people?" Whitebeard asked, puzzled. Who could bother Roger this much?

"Spandine, and five Marine Vice Admirals. There might also be one or two Marine Admirals."

This was something Reid had told Roger on the way. He was speaking from memory, so it might not be completely accurate, but it was close enough.

Everyone looked a bit confused after hearing this. Why would Roger bother heading to Ohara to deal with some Marines? Shouldn't they be going to Wano?

Before Whitebeard could speak, Roger continued, "There's someone there who's a friend of Brother Reid. The Marines plan to launch a Buster Call to destroy the entire island."

"Brother Roger's right. This is a personal matter for me, but it won't take too long. A few months at most. If we're lucky, maybe just a day or two—or even less. Maybe we can just take Nico Robin away from there."

Reid had thought it through. They could protect Ohara for a while, but not forever. Once they left, the Marines would still kill the scholars. It was safer to take Robin away now.

"Hahahaha, that's it? With this many people on our side, I'd like to see who's destroying who!"

The swordsman Spencer crossed his arms and spoke indifferently, clearly unbothered.

"Yeah, I haven't had fun killing a few Marines in a while," said Rakuyo, starting to get excited.

"Rakuyo, why are you copying the way I talk?" Nozdon pouted. He always said stuff like that.

"Hmph. Nozdon, you think you're the only one who's killed Marines before?" Rakuyo shot back.

"Hahahahahaha! It's no big deal. Reid, your business is my business. Leave it to me," said Whitebeard.

Everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates was stunned—why was their captain being so polite to someone from the enemy crew?

Roger's side was just as shocked—their jaws dropped, eyes bulging in disbelief.

Only Roger, Reid, Rayleigh, Jabba, and Marco understood: Whitebeard was sincerely grateful to Reid for curing his illness.

"All these guys… why do they sound so weird when they talk? Really weird. This Reid guy…"

"What is he really up to?"

Teach remained silent in the crowd, simply listening quietly. Although he didn't quite understand what was going on, he didn't ask any questions either.

"Hahaha, then it's settled! We'll set off in three days. Everyone, make sure to prepare plenty of water and food to bring along," Roger said with a hearty laugh, clearly in high spirits.

Later, Roger spoke with Rouge in private.

"My dear, I'm going to rescue an old brother this time. It wouldn't be convenient to bring you and Ace along. I'll arrange a place for you both to stay. Once everything is over, I'll come back to get you."

Roger felt a bit guilty—after all, his child had only just been born, and now he was already leaving.

"Hehe~ It's fine. It's not like you won't come back. Besides, I'm not exactly eager to hang around a bunch of men all day," Rouge said with a playful tone.

"Hahaha, then go get some clothes and things ready. We leave in three days."

"Mm, go handle your business. I can take care of these things."

"Alright, then I'll be off."

Roger grinned and made a playful face at baby Ace in Rouge's arms.

Rouge watched Roger's figure and softly murmured to herself, "Marrying the captain of a pirate crew... my life is never going to be peaceful. Haha~ But I don't mind it at all."

Three days later.

Roger's crew boarded the O,R Jackson, while Whitebeard and his men sailed on the Moby Dick.

Both crews departed from Baterilla Island, where they had stayed for nearly two years, now heading toward Ohara in the West Blue.

On the shore, several CP intelligence agents stood watching, the ships now long gone from sight.

"I never would've thought Reid was a doctor. That really caught me off guard," one of them said.

Jabra clenched his fists, clearly itching for a fight.

Rob Lucci remained silent, his calm gaze fixed on the distant horizon.

"Let's go. Time to head back and regroup—there's nothing left for us here," Fukurou said as he turned and walked back to their ship. The others quietly followed.

Aboard the Moby Dick, the flagship of the Whitebeard Pirates:

Whitebeard sat at his usual spot with a massive bowl in front of him. Lifting it up, he drank deeply.

"Dad, why did you agree to go to Ohara with Roger?" Blenheim asked, unable to contain his curiosity. "Aren't we supposed to be heading to Wano to rescue Oden?"

He remembered how furious Whitebeard had been upon hearing Oden was in danger, ready to charge straight into Wano to take down Kaido and Orochi.

Now, after nearly two years spent idling on Baterilla, they were detouring to Ohara?

"When someone shows you kindness, you repay it. It's a matter of principle," Whitebeard said simply.

Seeing that Whitebeard wasn't in the mood to explain further, Blenheim stayed quiet.

The others, sensing the mood, held their questions too.

"This is getting stranger and stranger," Teach (Blackbeard) thought, frowning. "They said this trip was to help a friend of Reid's in Ohara. But now Dad talks about returning a favor… Could it be that it was Reid who helped him?"

He glanced around. Most of the crew looked just as puzzled as he felt, so no one noticed the conflicted expression on Teach's face.

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