A/N: Hello again. So the vetting process was successful and now my novel appears on my profile "Can I Magic Please". If you enjoy my other stories, definitely check it out. Its about magic, different races and several other stuff. Plus it would help me in my dream of winning the WSA 2026.
Thank you very much. And enjoy the chapter :)
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The room had gone completely silent.
Even the two chained women had frozen.
Tenjin stood there unmoving, staring at the man before him as though he had just spoken another language entirely.
Father?
No.
No chance.
"…Bullshit."
The words came out cold.
Immediate.
Garling merely leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other with complete composure.
"I expected that reaction."
Tenjin's fists trembled slightly.
"You think you can just say something like that and I'll believe you?"
His voice rose.
"You Celestial Dragons lie like you breathe."
Garling chuckled faintly.
"True enough."
That answer only irritated Tenjin more.
"You're insane."
Tenjin pointed at him.
"I already have a mother."
Garling's gaze sharpened slightly.
"…Makima?"
Tenjin's eyes narrowed.
"What about her?"
Garling took another slow drag from his cigar before answering.
"She is not your real mother."
The words struck harder than any attack.
For a moment—
Tenjin simply stared.
Then anger exploded from him.
"You're LYING!"
A burst of plant life erupted around the room.
Roots cracked through the marble floor.
Vines lashed violently through the air.
The chained women gasped in fear.
Gunko's eyes shifted carefully toward Garling.
But Garling himself?
Didn't move.
Didn't flinch.
He simply looked at Tenjin calmly.
"…You truly know nothing."
Tenjin's breathing grew heavier.
"Shut up…"
Garling ignored him.
"Your mother was once one of my women."
Tenjin's eyes widened slightly.
"She fled Mariejois with you as an infant."
"SHUT UP!"
BOOM!
Wooden spikes burst upward violently around Garling's chair.
But before they could even touch him—
A pulse of Haki exploded outward.
CRACK.
Every single wooden construct shattered instantly.
Tenjin's pupils shrank.
The pressure alone almost made him stumble.
Supreme Commander of the Holy Knights.
The man standing at the peak of the World Government's military power beneath Imu.
Figarland Garling.
And he hadn't even stood up.
Garling exhaled smoke calmly.
"She feared what you would become here."
His tone remained steady.
"So she ran."
Tenjin gritted his teeth.
"No…"
Garling continued.
"But she was weak."
The words turned colder.
"She abandoned you."
Tenjin froze.
"…What?"
Garling looked directly into his eyes now.
"Makima raised you because your real mother left you behind."
"No…"
"She disappeared."
"No…"
"And even now, you still don't know where she is."
"STOP TALKING!"
Tenjin slammed his fist into the wall beside him.
The impact cracked the marble.
His breathing had become uneven now.
Not because he believed Garling.
But because part of him…
Part of him remembered things that never made sense.
Makima avoiding certain questions.
Her strange silences.
The way villagers sometimes looked at him.
The way she always seemed… afraid whenever the World Government was mentioned.
Garling watched him carefully.
Reading him.
Then—
He spoke again.
"Join me."
Tenjin looked up sharply.
Garling's expression remained calm.
"Become a Holy Knight."
Gunko remained perfectly silent beside the door.
Even she seemed interested in the answer.
Garling continued.
"You possess monstrous potential."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Your Haki has not even properly awakened yet, and already you stand above most Marines."
He leaned forward slightly.
"With proper training…"
The air itself felt heavier.
"…You could stand at the summit of this world."
Tenjin's jaw tightened.
Garling's voice lowered.
"And if you join me…"
A pause.
"…I will find your real mother for you."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Even Gunko's eyes shifted slightly toward Tenjin now.
Waiting.
Watching.
Tenjin stood there motionless.
His fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms.
Then—
"…Piss off."
Garling blinked once.
Tenjin's glare burned with fury.
"I don't care who you are."
His voice steadied again.
Cold.
Sharp.
"You think blood changes anything?"
He pointed toward the chained women.
"You people are monsters."
His eyes narrowed.
"And I'll never become one of you."
Garling remained quiet.
Tenjin turned around immediately.
"And unlike you idiots…"
His Marine coat fluttered behind him.
"…I actually have a war to prepare for."
He began walking toward the door.
Gunko stepped aside silently.
But just before Tenjin left—
Garling's voice echoed through the room once more.
"Tenjin."
Tenjin stopped.
Barely.
Garling looked at him with a faint smile.
"My offer remains open."
Smoke curled upward around him.
"You are a Figarland."
His gaze sharpened.
"And one day…"
A small pause.
"…you will understand what that means."
Tenjin didn't answer.
He simply walked out.
The doors slammed shut behind him.
BOOM.
Silence returned to the chamber.
Gunko glanced toward Garling.
"…Should I restrain him?"
Garling chuckled softly.
"No."
He leaned back into his chair again.
"Let him go."
His eyes drifted toward the closed doors.
"He has spirit."
Then his smile widened slightly.
"Far more than Shamrock did at that age."
Gunko stayed silent.
Garling took another drag from his cigar before speaking again.
"…Please make sure he leaves Mariejois without trouble."
Gunko bowed slightly.
"As you command, Supreme Commander."
And outside the chamber—
Tenjin walked through the halls of Mariejois with rage boiling inside him.
But beneath all that anger…
For the first time in years—
Doubt had entered his heart.
---
The sea was restless tonight.
Massive waves rolled beneath an armada powerful enough to shake the world itself.
Dozens upon dozens of pirate ships sailed together beneath the moonlit sky, their flags dancing against the cold ocean wind.
At the center of it all—
The Moby Dick.
The flagship of the strongest man in the world.
Music echoed across the deck. Laughter mixed with shouting. Giant barrels of alcohol rolled from side to side as pirates drank like tomorrow might never come.
Because for many of them—
It wouldn't.
Still…
Nobody on that ship showed fear.
Only resolve.
"GUHAHAHAHA!"
A giant pirate slammed down a barrel beside him.
"Two days until we storm Marineford!"
"THOSE MARINES BETTER BE READY!"
Cheers exploded across the ship.
"OY! PASS THE MEAT!"
"WHO TOOK MY SAKE?!"
"BLAMENCO! STOP EATING EVERYTHING!"
6th Division Commander Blamenco laughed loudly with meat hanging from his mouth.
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"You're literally holding three plates!"
"That proves nothing!"
The surrounding pirates burst into laughter.
Nearby, Vista calmly sipped from a cup of wine, his twin swords resting beside him.
"The atmosphere is lively tonight."
Across from him, Jozu crossed his massive arms and grinned.
"That's because everyone's fired up."
His diamond-covered shoulder gleamed under the moonlight.
"How long has it been since Pops went to war personally?"
Vista's smile faded slightly.
"…Too long."
At another table, allied captains from Whitebeard's fleet drank together loudly.
Squard slammed his cup down.
"Marineford, huh…"
Beside him, Little Oars Jr. laughed deeply.
"ACE GOOD FRIEND!"
"LITTLE OARS HELP SAVE ACE!"
Several pirates cheered loudly at that.
Not far away, Whitey Bay leaned against the railing with a drink in hand.
"The Marines really picked the worst possible enemy."
Another allied captain nodded.
"They think they can execute Pops' son publicly and get away with it?"
"Idiots."
At the center of the chaos—
One man remained still.
Massive.
Unmoving.
Like a mountain sitting upon the sea itself.
Edward Newgate sat upon his enormous chair, sake bottle in hand.
The moonlight reflected off the scars covering his body.
Beside him stood Marco, arms folded, watching the celebration carefully.
Marco sighed lightly.
"They're trying too hard to act cheerful."
Whitebeard chuckled deeply.
"GUHAHAHAHA!"
"Of course they are."
He lifted the massive sake bottle slightly.
"They know what kind of war is coming."
Marco's expression darkened a little.
"…Marineford won't hold back."
Whitebeard's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I know."
The laughter across the ship continued.
But underneath it—
Everyone understood.
This was not some normal battle.
This would be history itself.
Marco looked toward Whitebeard.
"…Pops."
Whitebeard glanced at him.
Marco hesitated briefly before speaking.
"You sure about this?"
Whitebeard snorted.
"What kind of stupid question is that?"
Marco smiled slightly.
"…Yeah. Thought so."
Whitebeard looked out toward the horizon.
Far away.
Toward Marineford.
Toward war.
Toward his son.
"Ace…"
His voice lowered slightly.
The deck slowly quieted as nearby commanders turned their attention toward him.
Whitebeard rested Murakumogiri beside his throne-like chair.
Then—
He smiled.
Confident.
Absolute.
"I'm bringing my son home."
Silence.
Then the entire deck erupted.
"YEAHHHHH!"
"WE'RE SAVING ACE!"
"TO MARINEFORD!"
"WHITEBEARD PIRATES!"
The roar of thousands of pirates echoed across the ocean.
Even the sea itself seemed to tremble beneath their spirit.
Marco looked at Whitebeard quietly for a moment.
Then he smiled too.
"…Ace better appreciate all this trouble, yoi."
Whitebeard laughed thunderously.
"GUHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
And under the moonlit night—
The greatest pirate fleet in the world sailed toward destiny.
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