The Public Execution

The news of Thatch's disappearance, including that of his Fourth Division, quickly caught the attention of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Since the Den Den Mushi can't be dialed at all, it seems there's no signal. There's only one possible explanation: something happened to the Den Den Mushi, which means something happened to Thatch.

The Whitebeard Pirates have their own intelligence network, which, while not particularly large, is sufficient to cover the entire Whitebeard Sea area without any problems.

That's why Thatch and his Hag Pirates so quickly.

Similarly, the Hag Pirates also disappeared, and it's unknown whether they are still alive.

This cast a shadow over the Whitebeard Pirates, and only the fact that Thatch's Vivre Card was still intact gave them a sigh of relief.

However, Thatch's Vivre Card has already burned down to one-third, indicating that Thatch's condition is not very good.

"Find him! You must bring Thatch back!"

Whitebeard ripped the salt water off his body, then slammed his dagger against the deck, causing the entire ship to tremble. A terrifying aura emanated from his body and spread outwards.

"Anyone who harms my son is my enemy!"

Everyone who knows Pops knows that Pops's angry now.

At the same time, Marco and his family were furious that someone dared to lay a hand on their family.

Whoever it is, they are all enemies of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Whitebeard is angry. No one knows who angered the Whitebeard Pirates, but now they are frantically searching for something in the New World.

After a thorough investigation, it was discovered that someone had actually Whitebeard Pirates; the Fourth Division had mysteriously disappeared while pursuing the Hag Pirates.

The Whitebeard Pirates are currently focused on finding the Hag Pirates. The disappearance of Thatch and his Hag Pirates.

Not only the Whitebeard Pirates, but other forces in the New World are also searching for the whereabouts of the Hag Pirates.

However, the Hag Pirates also mysteriously disappeared at sea.

Something has happened to the Whitebeard Pirates, at a crucial moment when the Navy is about to send troops to the New World.

This makes one feel that something is unusual.

Soon, some people speculated that it might not be related to the Hag Pirates, as some who knew the Hag Pirates aware that they did not have that kind of strength.

Even if they concealed their strength, they could not defeat Thatch silently and capture Thatch.

There must have been a third party involved, and it must have been someone with immense strength. After all, Thatch has a considerable reputation in the New World. As Great Swordmaster and the Captain of the Fourth Division Whitebeard, he's not someone to be trifled with.

This opinion quickly gained acceptance from others, and all sorts of information about the Hag Pirates were soon thoroughly investigated and exposed.

They simply couldn't evade the investigations of various forces, since they had already searched all the uninhabited islands around the sea area where war might have occurred, and found no trace of anything.

Who exactly is it? Which faction are they?

Many things cannot be hidden. Even if it's like finding a needle in a haystack, when it concerns the lives of family members Whitebeard Pirates went directly into the sea to search.

After two days of searching, the wreckage of the ships belonging to the Hag Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates was finally discovered in the sea.

Both ships were severely damaged, deliberately broken into countless pieces.

Even so, the Whitebeard Pirates acknowledged it.

In the deep sea, there are also corpses, most of them already reduced to bones, ravaged by sea monsters Sea King, making it difficult to tell how these pirates died.

This also reveals the fact that, due to the machinations of a third party, the Hag Pirates have been destroyed, as has the Whitebeard Pirates' Fourth Division. It is very likely that only Thatch is still alive and has been captured.

On that day, residents of islands across a large area of the sea felt a tremor in the ground.

Legend has it that Whitebeard became enraged that day, and his immense power tore the sky apart and alarmed the entire sea.

After many years, it once again displayed that terrifying power capable of destroying the world.

Is everything ready?

"Marine Headquarters, "Sengoku said solemnly, looking at the many high-ranking officers.

"Yes." The numerous high-ranking officials stood straight.

However, many of them still had doubts. Wasn't this a war against the New World? Why bring the elite troops at the branch level and above from each branch to headquarters?

This also includes those in high positions.

This force, equivalent to 90% of the entire Navy's combat power, is being deployed to Marine Headquarters. What about the other branches? What exactly is going on? Who is their enemy?

Sengoku looked around and could see their confusion, because only a few people knew the true purpose from beginning to end.

And now, it's time to reveal the answer.

"Our target is the Whitebeard Pirates!"

These words startled most of the people present, including the high-ranking naval officers who were attending the meeting via video link.

"Now that Thatch, the Captain of the Fourth Division of the Whitebeard Pirates, has been captured and imprisoned in Impel Down," Sengoku continued.

"What!"

They never imagined that the disappearance of the Captain of the Fourth Division of the Whitebeard Pirates was actually their own doing, and this so-called third party was none other than the Navy.

"Two days from now, Thatch, the Captain of the Fourth Division of the Whitebeard Pirates, will be escorted to Marine Headquarters for a public execution a week later. You will arrive at Headquarters within five days."

"Next, we will issue a mandatory conscription order for the Shichibukai to participate in this war."

"Given Whitebeard's character, he would never stand idly by. The war between the Navy and Whitebeard is inevitable, and you all need to be prepared."

"In this battle, with Marineford as our battlefield, we will cut off Whitebeard's head!"

The last sentence ignited the passion of the entire audience: the ultimate goal was to kill Whitebeard.

Using the main base as the battlefield demonstrates Sengoku's determination and allows him to maximize the advantages of the navy.

"Yes!"

A message spread throughout the world in a short time, and the front page of the screen featured a photo of Thatch, who had become a prisoner.

The Marine Headquarters publicly announced that it will publicly execute Thatch, the Captain of the Fourth Division of the Whitebeard Pirates, at Marineford headquarters one week later.

This news shocked the entire world.

The case is solved. No one expected that the Navy was behind it all. Some people had guessed it before, but very few. Most guesses were made by forces from the New World.

Even the Whitebeard Pirates initially believed that the Night Pirates responsible, given their capability. Currently, Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates maintain good relations with the Night Pirates.

As a force capable of disrupting the stalemate on the high seas, the Night Pirates are the target of suspicion for the vast majority of people.

Now that the Navy has revealed this, it has completely linked their actions over this period of time with the Whitebeard Pirates.

It's true that the Navy intends to wage war against the New World, but the target isn't the Beasts Pirates or the Night Pirates as many suspect, but rather the Whitebeard Pirates.

This is understandable, given the complicated relationships between the Night Pirates, the Beasts Pirates, and the Big Mom Pirates.

Kaido, the Beasts Pirates, and Charlotte Linlin, the captain of the Big Mom Pirates, were once on the same ship and were quite close.

Taking action against either side could involve a massive amount of combat power, which the Marine Headquarters cannot afford.

The Whitebeard Pirates are much easier to deal with. The aging Whitebeard and the Whitebeard Pirates, whose development has stagnated for many years, were once half-crippled by the Night Pirates, suffering severe losses in combat power.

There are only about thirty affiliated pirate crews.

Although their power remains immense, they no longer exert the same oppressive aura as before.

This makes one wonder, has the once mighty Whitebeard Pirates fallen into such a predicament?

It's quite interesting that the Beasts Pirates and the Night Pirates, who caused huge losses to the Navy, are unharmed.

The Whitebeard Pirates, meanwhile, were caught in an undeserved disaster, becoming the primary target of the Navy's venting of anger and attempts to disrupt the New World order.

They think the Whitebeard Pirates are easy to bully.

However, such an approach is indeed somewhat despicable.

Instead, it showcased the strength of the Night Pirates and the Beasts Pirates, which was a sign that the Navy was deliberately showing weakness.

But thinking about it from another perspective, the Navy's decision wasn't wrong; it was the most advantageous for the Navy, since the Whitebeard Pirates had no allies.

Alliances are not uncommon among Great Pirate; in fact, there are quite a few, but they rarely last long.

Night Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates are actually quite rare.

Everyone has their own ideas, but the one constant is the war between the Navy and the Whitebeard Pirates.

Whitebeard could not abandon Thatch. If he did, it would mean the Whitebeard Pirates would decline, becoming a sick tiger in the eyes of the pack, and even facing a crisis of credibility within the crew.

Moreover, Whitebeard's taboo is his own family.

Some people began to speculate that the joint attack by the Beasts Pirates and the Night Pirates was intended to force the Navy to deal with the Whitebeard Pirates, since the Whitebeard Pirates were the easiest for the Navy to handle.

From this God's-eye view, the Night Pirates seem to have a long-term plan, ultimately securing their position.

The Whitebeard Pirates wouldn't care about these comments, as this was something that happened after their war with the Navy ended.

After the news spread, the sea began to calm, awaiting the coming storm.

The Whitebeard Pirates gathered members of their numerous affiliated pirate crews, explained the advantages and disadvantages, and let them decide for themselves whether to follow them.

At this point, Whitebeard had already decided to storm Marine Headquarters and rescue his family.

Not a single member of their pirate crews refused or retreated, even when the enemy was the Navy.

Thus, the pirate alliance, comprising 38,000 members and including the Whitebeard Pirates, was officially established.

The Whitebeard Pirates also had other members, most of whom were of average strength and women, but Whitebeard did not allow them to participate in battles.

After all, those who went before were just cannon fodder, simply throwing their lives away. The final outcome is determined by high-end combat power.

The Navy knew nothing about the Whitebeard Pirates; several of their surveillance ships were easily sunk, and even spies planted within the Whitebeard Pirates or their affiliated pirate crews were unable to transmit information.

Because their Den Den Mushi) were confiscated to prevent information leaks, only key members were allowed to keep Den Den Mushi.

Morgans was very professional; at this critical moment, he did not leak any key information about either side, nor did he conduct a live broadcast.

At most, it's some trivial, borderline news related to war, just enough to pique people's curiosity.

The Red-Haired Pirates, watching the news about the Navy and the Whitebeard Pirates, realized that everything was already beyond their control.

"What should we do next? Even if Whitebeard dies, the balance of the New World won't be broken. To be honest, the Dark Emperor's rule over the New World is already established, so there's no point in us saving the Whitebeard Pirates."

Beckman knew a little about Shanks' thoughts, but the current world situation was beyond the Red-Haired Pirates 'Red-Haired Pirates ability to intervene; their influence wasn't particularly strong.

If the Sea Emperor were to be separate and not interfere with each other, there would be plenty of room for maneuver.

But the ruler of the New World is the Dark Emperor, the Night Empire.

They rule the Underworld, their influence extending throughout the New World and into the far reaches of the ocean.

Exceeding the limits of power and influence.

This unipolar structure with multiple strong powers could have provided a check and balance, but unfortunately, while the Big Mom Pirates are outwardly allied with the Night Empire, they are actually subservient to it.

The Beasts Pirates and the Night Pirates are not enemies; on the contrary, they cooperate quite a bit.

Artificial Devil Fruit are the flagship product of the Beasts Pirates, and combined with the Beast Transformation Drug, the Beasts Pirates' strength has been steadily increasing over the years.

This Night Empire is now invincible in the New World.

"I will do my best to save the Whitebeard Pirates. I have some connections with them. Whitebeard's death is not something I can decide alone, nor can I do it."

Too many people wish Whitebeard were dead.

Shanks was somewhat helpless; they all knew that it would be difficult for the Whitebeard Pirates to contend with the Navy on their own.

"I have a feeling that the Night Pirates won't be peaceful; they're very likely to be making moves in the shadows."

This is quite common, and this incident is inextricably linked to the Night Pirates.

Shanks were skeptical of the idea that the Night Pirates were using the Whitebeard Pirates to their advantage, Whitebeard Pirates posed no real threat to the Night Pirates.

This only suggests that the Night Pirates might have other motives at that time.

They couldn't guess what it was exactly; it could be the Navy? The World Government? Either way.