February 1, 1520.
Marineford has gathered 100,000 naval officers, at least division commanders, all wearing cloaks of Justice. Several Giant Vice Admiral are lined up behind them, creating an imposing sight.
The WEC is already broadcasting live...
Such a major event is exactly what veteran Toriyama has been eagerly anticipating, and the Navy also wanted to use the opportunity for propaganda—in their view, executing Roger's last bloodline and killing Whitebeard would extinguish the passion for the Great Pirate Era.
So of course, we wanted to broadcast this scene live!
At this moment, the Three Admirals sat beneath the execution rack, below them were layers upon layers of marines, and... all the Shichibukai were present.
Even Blackbeard didn't refuse to come?
What made Sengoku both relieved and slightly uneasy was that, perhaps it was just his imagination, these troublemakers seemed unusually "peaceful" this time. They didn't argue much after arriving, only exchanging a few sarcastic remarks.
Whitebeard's Grand Fleet had disappeared from the World Government's surveillance several days ago, but at this time in Marineford, there was still no sign of Whitebeard.
With the execution time fast approaching, Sengoku decided not to wait any longer and personally stepped onto the Execution Platform, demanding of the chained Ace, "Ace, tell everyone... who your father is."
"My father... is Whitebeard!" Ace cried out with heartfelt emotion.
"No! You are a boy born in the South China Sea, you are... the son of Gold Roger!" Sengoku still didn't forget to conceal the presence of the "D".
But just then, Sig, who was not far away, glanced south—the rising tide of emotions had already spread to Marineford.
Sig had already been subtly Psychological Suggestion in the South Blue, without Sengoku's knowledge. After he announced Ace's true identity, everyone in the South Blue before the broadcast was reminded of that dark time twenty years ago...
And the emotions were contagious; many people began to shed tears and weep bitterly.
Psychological Suggestion is not hypnosis.
It won't change a person's will, but it can give them a push from behind, just like right now...
Sengoku clearly hadn't considered this point, only thinking that revealing Ace's background would dampen the enthusiasm for the Great Pirate Era. However... once the words were spoken, how the listeners would think was no longer under his control.
And at that very moment, explosions inexplicably rang out in various places in Marineford Square.
Amidst a series of explosions, Whitebeard, Big Mom, Kaido, and their subordinates emerged from the smoke!
Moreover, he showed absolutely no demeanor of a strongman, not even bothering to say a few polite words, and immediately attacked the surrounding navy.
You unleash an air-shaking attack, I counter with a Thunder Bagua, she retaliates with an Imperial Defense...
In a Time-Time Fruit powers and slashes swept across the plaza of Marineford!
The navy was thrown into disarray for a moment...
Sengoku:???
For a moment, Sengoku's mind went blank—why did Whitebeard suddenly appear? Why Kaido and Big Mom here too? Have they formed an alliance?
If the three Emperors truly formed an alliance, the best outcome for the Navy today would be the sinking of Marineford, resulting in mutual destruction for both sides.
After a moment of stunned silence, Sengoku immediately ordered his troops to stabilize their position and launch a counterattack!
But...
To the surprise of the Sengoku, they actually managed to stabilize the situation?
And after the Three Admirals took action, the situation was quickly brought under control...
When passively receiving attacks, these suddenly appearing "experts" were indeed very powerful. Even if they weren't truly at the level of emperors, they were at least no faster than elite Vice Admiral, but...
Once they are the ones taking the hits, they immediately show that they are not tough enough to withstand a beating!
Whitebeard turned into scorched leaves, Big Mom turned into leaves riddled with holes, and Kaido into frozen leaves.
Then their cadres were all defeated and disappeared.
Upon witnessing this scene, Moria's face twitched uncontrollably, while none of the Shichibukai, except for Kuma, made a move.
In the ensuing chaos, the navy suffered initial losses of around two thousand men...
Although none of them were top-tier experts, and the overall loss rate was only 2%, it did cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.
At this point, the Sengoku hurriedly tried to boost morale and declare that they had defeated the enemy.
"You treacherous pirate, so you really want to perpetuate Roger's most evil bloodline? It's useless... Justice will prevail! Ace, now..." Sengoku said, beginning to read out Ace's crimes, and making sure the live stream camera focused on him, not on the people carrying the wounded and the dead!
After Sengoku read out Ace's charges, just as the Marines were cheering in victory and preparing to announce his execution...
In the harbor in front of Marineford, after a surge of waves, the Moby Dick emerged—its exterior still coated with a protective film, clearly having come submerged.
This was not unexpected for Sengoku. After all, the Ryugu Kingdom was now under the banner of the Whitebeard, so it was perfectly normal for him to carry out the coating quietly.
"Sengoku... how long has it been since we last met? My worthless son, have you taken good care of him?" The Whitebeard still stood tall on the bow of the whale ship, showing no signs of illness.
"Ace, we've come to take you home!"
"Little Ace, did they bully you?"
"Are you kidding me? How dare you touch our brothers!"
"Naval dogs! Tremble in fear!"
At this moment, a group of other pirate ships also rushed out, joining the Whitebeard Pirates' commanders in shouting.
At the same time, Marco also discovered...
"These guys... it looks like they were just in a fight?" Marco muttered to himself, looking at the signs of battle.
Meanwhile, viewers watching the broadcast couldn't help but wonder—after all that talk about Whitebeard and Kaido, could it be... a stooge for the Navy?
They actually disguised themselves Whitebeard to kidnap people, and then lied and said they'd already killed them?
Now you've been proven wrong, haven't you...?
At the same time, the navy's losses were not just two thousand miscellaneous soldiers, but also the loss of their "one-shot" momentum!
Whitebeard didn't care about anything else at that moment and immediately assumed the posture of activating the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Those who recognized the posture immediately tensed up.
If someone were paying close attention, they would notice that four of the Shichibukai were rubbing the base of their index fingers, seemingly deep in thought, while Hancock was rubbing the base of her ring finger...
When Whitebeard's two punches struck the air, causing shockwaves that created huge waves on both sides of Marineford, Crocodile and the others exchanged glances briefly, then remained silent—let's wait and observe the situation further.
Aokiji was the first to step forward, using the "Ice Age" technique to freeze the tsunami-level waves sweeping in from both sides into ice walls.
Meanwhile, with Kizaru's attempt to strike at the heart of the enemy's territory blocked by Marco, the great battle truly began...