However, when Teach saw Ace, his eyes lit up. He approached Ace on his own initiative and began talking to him.
Ace showed him no friendliness whatsoever. For the most part, Ace merely listened while Teach talked.
At first, when Teach described his dream, Ace felt a small measure of admiration for him.
Later, however, Blackbeard directly invited Ace to join him, and Ace flatly refused.
Teach then began talking about Whitebeard, and his words filled Ace with rage.
"No one is allowed to insult Pops!"
Those words marked the beginning of the confrontation between Ace and Teach.
The result was unsurprising.
Ace lost.
"After Fire Fist Ace was defeated by Blackbeard and his crew, Blackbeard handed him over to the Marines. The Marines then imprisoned him in Impel Down. BON!"
Baron Tamago cautiously reported the news to Roy.
He knew that Fire Fist Ace had known Captain Roy since childhood. Blackbeard had also served as a division commander of the Thunder God Pirates for ten years and had made many significant contributions.
Even so, the man had still chosen to leave.
In the eyes of Tamago and the others, Teach's actions amounted to betrayal.
Yet Teach and Ace, two people who should have had little to do with one another, had become the central figures in this incident.
The only real connection between them was that Fire Fist Ace was now the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, while Blackbeard had previously been a member of that same division.
"Have the Marines decided on the final execution date?"
Roy's emotions remained largely unchanged as he asked the question in a calm voice.
"Uh… The Marines haven't made an official announcement yet, but it probably won't be long."
Tamago froze briefly before answering honestly.
Should his captain really be reacting this way?
Wasn't he quite close to Fire Fist Ace? Shouldn't he be heading to Impel Down to rescue him?
While Tamago was lost in thought, Roy spoke again.
"Pass down my orders. Tell every division commander to begin making preparations according to our established plan. The day Fire Fist Ace is executed will be the day we officially begin our war against the World Government!"
"…Yes, Captain! BON!"
Once Tamago recovered from his surprise, he responded excitedly and hurriedly withdrew.
From this moment onward, the Thunder God Pirates would undoubtedly be enveloped in an atmosphere of war.
A red light flashed through Roy's eyes as he clearly witnessed the scene that awaited them in the future.
"Imu… Just as I expected, you possess the power of that Devil Fruit."
"Eighteen years. I've spent eighteen full years in the One Piece world."
"It's finally time to go back."
Roy's solitary voice echoed throughout the Golden Palace, gradually fading until it could no longer be heard.
In the days that followed, news that Fire Fist Ace had been imprisoned in Impel Down spread across the entire world.
This meant that the Whitebeard Pirates would soon fight a historic battle against the World Government and the Marines.
The development greatly exceeded everyone's expectations.
In the eyes of every knowledgeable person in the world, the Thunder God Pirates should have been the first force to wage war against the World Government.
No one had expected the Marines to clash with the Whitebeard Pirates instead.
Was the World Government truly this bold?
They were already unable to deal with the Thunder God Pirates, who had grown far beyond their control, yet they had decided to pick a fight with the Whitebeard Pirates as well.
Where did such confidence come from?
It was not only outsiders who failed to understand. Many commissioned Marine officers were equally confused.
Even though they had imprisoned Fire Fist Ace, why did they need to execute him so publicly?
Wasn't that effectively an open challenge to the Whitebeard Pirates, inviting them into a full-scale war?
The far more powerful Thunder God Pirates were still continuing to expand, yet the World Government had chosen to attack the Whitebeard Pirates, who rarely interfered in outside affairs.
Wasn't that simply creating trouble for themselves?
According to the intelligence they had received, Fire Fist Ace was the son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
That bloodline of evil had to be eradicated!
Besides, did they truly believe the Whitebeard Pirates would remain inactive as long as the Marines did not publicly announce Ace's execution?
Naive!
Whitebeard and Ace were father and son.
Given Whitebeard's personality, how could he tolerate his own son being imprisoned and tortured in Impel Down every day?
Charlotte Linlin might have been capable of enduring such a thing, but Whitebeard absolutely would not.
War was therefore inevitable.
As for whether the Thunder God Pirates would wait for both sides to weaken each other before sweeping in to claim the benefits—
Who cared?
They would eliminate Whitebeard first!
At worst, on the day of the execution, they would mobilize every available Cipher Pol agent, including any retired operatives who were still physically capable of serving.
Anyone who could still be useful would either gather intelligence or enter the battlefield and assassinate the Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders.
They were idle in retirement anyway. They might as well make one final contribution to the World Government.
The Five Elders did not care whether those agents lived or died.
Cipher Pol consisted entirely of agents specializing in clandestine operations, so the World Government could deploy them without restraint.
The situation was different for retired Marine officers. The World Government still cared about appearances.
To avoid creating a damaging public impression—and to prevent the emergence of a second or third Zephyr—the Five Elders could not openly force those retired officers back into service.
In truth, however, they would have gladly summoned the former Commander-in-Chief, as well as the former Chief Guard, Chief Warden, and Vice Warden of Impel Down, to participate in the battle.
In any case, news of Fire Fist Ace's impending execution had already spread throughout the world.
This difficult battle could no longer be avoided.
They could only hope that no unexpected complications arose before the appointed day.
The New World was their greatest concern.
Should the Thunder Emperor make a move before the war even began, the World Government would find itself in serious trouble.
However, the Five Elders' feared complication still occurred.
It did not happen in the New World.
Instead, it happened in the first half of the Grand Line—and under circumstances they had never anticipated.
When Sengoku placed the report before the Five Elders, they could hardly believe what they were reading.
On the Sabaody Archipelago, Straw Hat Luffy had struck the Celestial Dragon Saint Charlos!
There was no mistake.
He had punched Saint Charlos directly in the head—and he had not held back in the slightest.
According to the medical personnel responsible for caring for the Celestial Dragons, Saint Charlos had suffered severe injuries.
(End of Chapter)
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