"Too many major events have happened lately."
"Yeah. First, the Straw Hat Pirates struck a Celestial Dragon a week ago, and now the World Government has openly provoked one of the Four Emperors. This place is about to be caught up in the flames of war too."
"Speaking of which, the Straw Hat Pirates really are outrageously bold. First they challenged the World Government at Enies Lobby, then they beat up a World Noble at the Sabaody Archipelago."
"I heard their whole crew has vanished without a trace. I think there's a good chance Admiral Kizaru already wiped them out."
"..."
The streets throughout Marineford were filled with discussion. Something like attacking a World Noble was destined to be impossible to conceal, especially when it had happened in the Sabaody Archipelago, a place crawling with newspaper offices.
Although the Straw Hat Pirates had been gone for a week, what they had done was something no one could ignore—especially on the third day after that bombshell broke, four days ago.
Another earth-shattering piece of news was announced to the world.
Four days ago, under orders from the World Government, every newspaper ran the same headline: the public execution of Portgas D. Ace, captain of Whitebeard's Second Division, would begin in one week.
It could be said with certainty that this act would inevitably enrage Whitebeard—the ruler entrenched in the New World, the man who had once competed with Gol D. Roger for the title of Pirate King, and now one of the Four Emperors dividing up the New World!!
There were still three days until the public execution—or rather, two days.
The sky had already turned a withered yellow, yet the number of pedestrians on Marineford's streets had not decreased. In groups of two and three, they gathered to discuss the