"You need to take responsibility for this, Garp!"
Sengoku's voice was hoarse.
"Senny, I know what to do. I don't need you to teach me!"
Garp stood beside him, clenching his fists, his expression complicated as he looked ahead.
His gaze crossed hundreds of meters, locking onto his two grandsons standing side by side on the ice plain, their faces showing no fear. The muscles in his face twitched slightly.
That damn brat Luffy had come after all. And the moment he arrived, he had punched a hole in the sky!
He had turned all of the Marines' plans upside down.
For the Marines, any unexpected event could be tolerated, as long as they could keep Whitebeard here.
But Luffy had rescued the one restraint that could have kept Whitebeard in place.
Sengoku still had his wits about him.
Before Whitebeard appeared, as long as they captured all the escaped prisoners from Impel Down and publicly executed them, things could return to their intended course.
Sengoku's goal was not to kill Ace. He could have done that long ago.
The public execution that Sengoku wanted wasn't merely about executing a single pirate. It carried great significance for the future direction of the world.
All strategic objectives served the ultimate goal.
To kill an Emperor of the Sea!
And thereby elevate the Marines' prestige!
At this point, the original plan for the public execution had already failed.
The most threatening Whitebeard Pirates still had not appeared. The mess before him had to be dealt with quickly.
In Sengoku's eyes, that Straw Hat kid, who should have only recently set sail, had now become as troublesome as Whitebeard himself.
He picked up a special Den Den Mushi connected to the broadcast system of all the warships.
"All Marine soldiers!"
Sengoku's voice reached every ship and every corner of the ice plain—and also reached every corner of the Sabaody Archipelago.
"The public execution originally scheduled for Marineford has been disrupted. Prisoner Straw Hat Luffy has broken into Impel Down, and the prison has been destroyed. The strategic objective is now changed!"
"The highest priority is to surround and eliminate all the vicious pirates who have escaped from Impel Down!"
"Before the Gate of Justice, there is no retreat behind us! All of you, the time has come to show the justice of the Marines!"
As his voice fell, the 100,000 Marines on nearly 100 warships roared in unison, a cry that shook the heavens: "For justice!"
The sound waves, like a tsunami, hit the nerves of every pirate on the ice plain.
After the roar, the Marine soldiers on the front ships could already see the vast group on the ice.
Aside from the Impel Down prisoners, the figures at the front stood out prominently.
"What is going on over there?"
"Is that the guy who ruined the entire operation?"
"The Straw Hat who killed a Celestial Dragon on the Sabaody Archipelago is there too!"
"Fire Fist Ace has been rescued! And Golden Lion, Jinbe, Crocodile!"
"For justice!"
The Marines were filled with righteous indignation.
Many Marines had been uneasy about the sudden strategic adjustment. The war hadn't even started yet, and they were being transferred from Marineford—this was worse than changing generals on the eve of battle.
Then, when they heard that they weren't going to fight Whitebeard but rather deal with prisoners from Impel Down...
The Marines relaxed.
If they couldn't beat Whitebeard, they could still beat you, couldn't they?
This force had originally been assembled to take on a Yonko crew, to take on the World's Strongest Man, Whitebeard.
And now it was being used against a bunch of escaped prisoners.
Even Sengoku felt it was overkill.
He knew that this alone wasn't enough.
He needed to give this sudden war—a sufficiently weighty reason, a truth that would completely ignite the Marines' morale and make the world understand why the Marines were going to such extremes.
"I'm going to say everything, Garp. Is that alright with you?" Sengoku put down the Den Den Mushi and looked at Garp.
"Do what you want. I'm going to the front line." Garp jumped directly off the ship.
Sengoku picked up the Den Den Mushi again. His voice, transmitted through the airwaves, reached the entire sea.
"There is something I must inform you all in advance."
On the ice plain, Garp's expression suddenly changed, but his lips moved only to let out a heavy sigh. He walked step by step toward the front line of the ice plain.
A woman with graying hair walked up beside him. Tsuru quietly came to his side.
"This isn't your fault, Garp," Tsuru said softly.
"Women are so gentle at times like this, Tsuru." Garp let out two dry laughs.
But what was coming would come regardless.
Sengoku took a deep breath. His resonant voice rang out again:
"The man standing there—Portgas D. Ace! Regarding this man, today's execution carries significant significance far beyond the act itself!"
His words drew the attention of the entire field, and also made countless citizens on the Sabaody Archipelago hold their breath.
Their instincts told them that Fleet Admiral Sengoku was about to reveal something that would shock the world.
"His mother, Portgas D. Rouge, in order to give birth to this evil bloodline, carried him in her womb for over twenty months! One year and three months after the child's father died, this pirate—who inherited the world's most evil bloodline—was finally born!"
"Fire Fist Ace... his biological father is..."
Sengoku paused, then announced, word by word:
"The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!"
As Sengoku spoke, the entire sea fell into an eerie silence.
And this news, personally confirmed by the Fleet Admiral and broadcast live to the Sabaody Archipelago, caused an impact of nuclear proportions!
The Pirate King had left behind a child?
And that child had already grown to this extent?
None of them had ever dreamed that the man who had triggered this major incident had such a background.
On the ice plain, countless pairs of eyes turned to Ace.
But Sengoku's words weren't finished.
His gaze slowly moved and finally fixed on the man beside Ace—the man wearing the straw hat.
Luffy noticed and grinned at him.
The corner of Sengoku's mouth twitched again.
Did this guy have no idea how serious this was?
His resonant voice continued, dropping a second bombshell:
"And there is another man who has inherited the world's most vicious bloodline—Straw Hat, Monkey D. Luffy!"
"He is Fire Fist Ace's sworn brother! And his biological father is the leader of the Revolutionary Army, the world's most vicious criminal, Monkey D. Dragon!"
Chaos!
The entire sea erupted.
The bloodline of the Pirate King and the bloodline of the Revolutionary Army leader... were brothers?
How crazy was this world going to get?
The fact that the Pirate King had left behind a child was already shocking enough. But the man considered the world's most vicious criminal after the Pirate King—Revolutionary Dragon—also had a son!
And these two, who had inherited the most vicious bloodlines, had actually become brothers!
"So they have that kind of evil bloodline, huh? Hahaha, that guy really is a monster!"
Sabaody Archipelago.
Watching everything unfold on the giant screen, Kid, who had returned here, laughed loudly.
Seeing the panic and chaos erupting among the crowd, he dismissed it with contempt and asked the man not far from him, "Hey, Drake. Coming back to a piece of news like this, how do you feel?"
Thanks to Luffy and Rayleigh occupying the Admirals' attention, the Supernovas had all managed to escape.
But knowing that war was about to break out, they had all come back to the Sabaody Archipelago almost simultaneously.
No one had expected to get such explosive news right away.
Drake was silent.
For someone with his position, this was definitely not good news.
So Straw Hat was that man's son?
Where would this war go?
He could no longer see the future.
Drake left the area.
"Ah, what a boring man. I was going to invite him."
Kid looked toward a few other corners. "How about it, Basil Hawkins, Scratchmen Apoo, Trafalgar Law... Let's form a pirate alliance. Otherwise, there won't be room for us in the New World."
"Hahaha, no hurry. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this war turns out." Apoo laughed. There were still injuries on his face from earlier.
He had been punched unconscious by Luffy earlier.
He was really looking forward to seeing what happened to Luffy!
"This war is uncertain. The probability of the Marines winning is only fifty percent." Hawkins, sitting on a barrel nearby drawing cards, glanced at his fortune.
He had also calculated Luffy's survival rate.
Still fifty percent.
That meant anything could happen on that battlefield.
That shouldn't be the case.
The Marines had mobilized such a huge force. Even the Warlords had been summoned.
So... was the man who would break the battlefield coming?
"Hey, Law, where are you going?" Kid looked at the man leaving.
Law grinned. "Eustass-ya, just watching a war like this from here is too boring."
If you wanted to watch, you went to the scene itself!
Kid scoffed. "What a lunatic."
In a corner.
Uta was there too. Or rather, she had never left the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Please be safe." Uta clasped her hands in prayer.
Beside her, Gordon was also praying.
Because he had seen it—the unstable thing inside Uta.
The demon Tot Musica, that terrifying entity existing between reality and illusion, seemed to be smiling at him!
On the ice plain battlefield, there was also dead silence.
All eyes were focused on the two brothers.
Pirates, Marines, prisoners, guards... everyone's expression was incredibly complex.
Fear, disgust, jealousy, fanaticism...
They had suddenly become the center of attention.
"Hey, Ace. Looks like everyone knows now."
Luffy glanced around. "But is it really that surprising?"
A single piece of news had Navy on edge for this long. If he had known, he would have used it as a special battle tactic earlier.
Wasn't't this better than hearing and killing?
"If bloodlines actually mattered, we wouldn't have faced life-or-death crises so many times growing up."
He smiled. "Do these guys even understand?"
Just because Roger had one son didn't mean there would be a hundred Pirate Kings. These two had been on the verge of death more times than they could count.
Bloodlines mattered—but only if you were prepared to die a few times first.
Ace paused, then also laughed. "Yeah. We're just ourselves. And even if they know, my only father now is Whitebeard!"
Ace didn't care about the looks people were giving him.
He had been used to that kind of look since he was a child.
For him, the only ones who had never looked at him with any prejudice were his brothers and his family.
After saying all this, Sengoku stared at the two brothers and continued, "In fact, we've been aware of this matter for two years now. And Whitebeard was aware of it as well.
He allowed his rival's son onto his ship and intended to raise him to become the next Pirate King. If Fire Fist's potential is allowed to flourish, he will surely stand at the peak of the next pirate era!"
Luffy wasn't listening to Sengoku's pre-battle speech. He glanced at Ace beside him and asked, "Ace, are you trying to become Pirate King too?"
Ace smiled and shook his head. "I have no such intention. My dream is to help Pops become the Pirate King."
"Oh."
Luffy nodded thoughtfully. "Good. I'd have a real problem if I had to fight you."
Would he hit hard or go easy?
Thinking about it, it was a bit of a shame, really.
He could have taken this chance to get back at him for all those times when they were kids.
Ace saw the look on Luffy's face and laughed despite himself. He had a pretty good idea what Luffy was thinking.
But a great sense of pride welled up in his heart. He patted Luffy on the shoulder. "Yeah. You have that potential, Luffy."
No—not "have that potential."
He had already taken that step.
Ace was very proud that his little brother had reached this level.
And Ace wasn't the only one thinking this.
As Sengoku's resonant voice rang out, many of the strong fighters on the ice plain had subtle and strange expressions on their faces.
"Standing at the peak of the new era?"
In the Marines' ranks, Smoker, a cigar in his mouth, looked at Ace and Luffy in the distance and muttered to himself, "Fire Fist Ace is certainly shocking, but right now, he doesn't have what it takes."
"Fufufufu. Interesting, very interesting."
On a warship, Doflamingo let out a strange laugh. Narrowing his eyes at the tall, dark figure beside him, he said, "Straw Hat is the one who's truly shocking, isn't he? That's the guy who beat you. What do you think, Moria?"
"Hehehehehe."
Moria let out a high-pitched laugh, his giant scissors opening and closing in his hands. Ace's background had surprised him, but when it came to Luffy, there was both caution and hatred in his laugh. "Straw Hat really is a monster!"
Even Garp, walking step by step toward the front line, remained silent.
The peak?
Ace was certainly talented, but he still had a long way to go. He was far from the top.
But Luffy...
Garp's mind flashed to the image of Luffy fighting on the Sabaody Archipelago. That brat, after such a short voyage and so many trials, had already undergone an astonishing transformation!
He was the one who truly had the qualification to reach the peak of the new generation of pirates. He had even already begun to radiate the light of a king.
"Luffy is the man who will become the Pirate King!"
On a warship, Hancock clasped her hands over her heart, gazing at Luffy's figure on the ice plain with an infatuated look, feeling like her heart was about to float over to him. "So dazzling, so strong, so charming! Ah~ I'm going to die."
Sengoku had finished his pre-battle speech. The Marines' morale had indeed been ignited.
But at the same time, a more subtle emotion was spreading among many Marine officers.
The most threatening opponent right now might not be the yet-to-appear World's Strongest Man, but rather the man in front of them who had just torn apart Impel Down and had such a terrifying background.
Straw Hat, Monkey D. Luffy!
In fact, many of the upper echelons were looking for Garp.
What role did the Hero of the Marines play in all this?
Would Garp also become a variable?
Monkey D.—wasn't this family's bloodline scary enough?!
Just then, the communications soldier beside Sengoku, looking terrified, leaned in and quietly reported something.
The next moment, Sengoku's face turned an ugly shade of purple at a visible rate. Veins even bulged on his forehead.
"Someone has been broadcasting everything happening here live to the Sabaody Archipelago with a Den Den Mushi? Who? Who?!"
For the first time, Sengoku lost his composure. Were the words he had just spoken possibly being broadcast live to the entire world?!
He had explicitly ordered all non-military communications to be cut off!
Which bastard had done this?!
At that very moment, the culprit—Buggy—was holding that hot-potato of a Den Den Mushi in his hands. Looking at Sengoku's murderous expression on the other end, his throat moved with difficulty, and his legs began to go weak.
He was done for.
He was done for.
"Stop filming the Marines! I told you to look at Luffy! Is he safe or not?! Do you want me to fly over there and kill you?!"
The Den Den Mushi simulated Vivi's anxious and beautiful face.
Were all the women in Straw Hat's crew this terrifying?
Always threatening to kill people.
Buggy really wanted to cry. He tremblingly pointed the camera toward Luffy in the center of the ice field. "S-Safe. He's definitely the safest one here!"
As he spoke, he prayed desperately in his heart:
Straw Hat, you'd better hold up!
If you fall, none of us following behind are going to live!
News company headquarters.
Morgans watched as his office was nearly disassembled by the cyclones Vivi was unconsciously radiating. While crying tears over the damage, he stared at the epic battlefield footage on the screen, his entire body trembling with excitement, his feathers shaking.
"Big news! The scoop of the century!"
"Marines surround and eliminate the brother alliance of the Pirate King's son and the Revolutionary Army leader's son!"
"Impel Down collapses, legendary pirates break out in masse! Warlord of the Sea Blackbeard supposedly defeated! Marines forced to change strategy!"
Every single headline was enough to shake the world!
Morgans had watched almost everything unfold. He felt he had enough material for the front page for the entire coming year.
On the ice plain, Luffy pushed down his straw hat. His gaze swept across the Marine fleet, which surrounded him like an iron wall, and finally landed on Ace. The smile on his face grew even brighter.
"So, our goal is to break out past all these people."
He paused, as if remembering something from long ago—their days in the Gray Terminal.
"So? This seems like it's hundreds of times harder than the situation back then with Bluejam, doesn't it?"
Ace paused at this, then laughed loudly. "Yeah. Are you ready?"
He made a fist.
Luffy made a fist.
Their two fists, just like they had done so many years ago, met gently in the air with the same unspoken understanding and bond.
The two brothers spoke as one.
"We'll break through!"
***
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