I hate Kurohige, but I get very emotional thinking about the fact that Newgate had to have realized at some point that Teach was growing up to be Xebec’s spitting image.
Yes, Shirohige’s whole motto is that it doesn’t matter who engendered someone, what matters is who they are as a person. But it still gets me that the reason why Newgate must have been so emotionally compromised when it came to Teach—not heeding Shanks’ warnings, not doing more to stop Ace from going after Teach, not going after Teach himself right after he killed Thatch—was because Teach was Rocks’ child.
Having Teach around meant he still had a piece of Xebec.
And the same can be said for Ace and Roger.
Newgate can pretend to be as unbiased as he wishes, but it’s simple human nature to be biased. By facts, by environment, by emotions.
Shirohige welcomes everyone with open arms. He grows fond and protective of them in an instant, but love comes as time goes. And there’s no denying Newgate loved those boys as his own, and he cared for them, yes, but he grew to love them first because they were the blood of the men who had the greatest impact on his life.
The only thing that snapped him out of it, that made it possible to break the connection he had with Teach, was because Teach is the reason why Ace was in danger.
The only bond stronger than Rocks’ was Roger’s, in the end.