Summit War · The Beginning

"Wait! I need to take a call!"

Upon hearing the ringing, all the prisoners on the ship turned their gazes toward the Den Den Mushi, their expressions tightening with sudden tension. It was at this moment that Luffy spoke a word to Chen Qiang, leaped toward the Den Den Mushi, and answered it.

"Hello!"

"This is the Marine Headquarters, monitoring station!"

"I'm Luffy!"

"We have completed our investigation. There are two primary culprits behind this prison break: Straw Hat Luffy and Buggy the Clown, a former crewmate of the Pirate King Roger. Your destination is Marine Headquarters to rescue Ace, right? You will never succeed. We have already closed the Gates of Justice; you cannot possibly pass through. You had best surrender obediently!"

"I will definitely rescue Ace!"

Hearing the voice on the other end, Luffy shouted his reply before slamming the Den Den Mushi shut.

"What? Captain Buggy was actually a crewmate of the Pirate King Roger!"

"He hid it so well!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

"..."

The other prisoners on the ship, upon learning of Buggy's hidden identity, exclaimed in shock one after another, quickly surrounding him in the center.

As for the commotion on the ship, it did not warrant much of Chen Qiang's attention. Having resolved the confusion within his own heart, Chen Qiang began to close his eyes and rest, completely ignoring the events unfolding on the deck.

Regarding the Gates of Justice mentioned in the call, Chen Qiang knew that Blackbeard had already laid his trap there. All the Marines in the control room had been hypnotized; as soon as the warship approached, the gates would open. Thus, he saw no reason to concern himself with such useless information.

While Chen Qiang and the others were advancing toward Marineford, the Marine Headquarters had already made full preparations.

One hundred thousand elite Marine soldiers, along with all the Vice Admirals and Admirals, had assembled. The five Shichibukai had also arrived, staring intently at the calm sea ahead.

At the same time, the situation was being broadcast via surveillance Den Den Mushi to every corner of the world capable of receiving the signal, allowing the entire world to witness this execution.

On the wooden scaffold, Ace was escorted step by step toward the summit. Upon reaching the very top, he was forced to his knees by two Marines standing behind him.

It was at this moment that Fleet Admiral Sengoku stepped onto the platform, arrived at Ace's side, and began his speech. He first introduced Ace to everyone as the son of the Pirate King Roger, then proclaimed the profound significance of this execution.

"Look! What is that on the sea?"

Just as Sengoku finished his speech, a Marine stationed in an observation tower, constantly monitoring the situation, was stunned by what he saw.

The sea, which had been perfectly calm, suddenly began to churn with thick fog. Within that mist, the silhouettes of ship after ship began to emerge.

"It's pirates! Pirates are here! All departments, prepare for combat!"

Upon clearly seeing the flags flying from the approaching vessels, the Marine soldier in the watchtower immediately shouted to alert those below.

"Pirate ships! They are pirate crews under the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"Where is Whitebeard's ship? Why don't I see it?"

"That's right! Where did Whitebeard go?"

"..."

Hearing that pirate ships had appeared, the Marines immediately readied themselves for battle. However, when they clearly identified the ships, they were surprised to find that while these were indeed subordinates of the Whitebeard Pirates, Whitebeard himself was nowhere to be found.

"No! Look at the inner bay!"

Soon, someone noticed something amiss, for in the inner bay, the water suddenly began to boil, sending ripples spreading outward.

"BOOM!"

With a deafening roar, three ships bearing the flag of the Whitebeard Pirates shattered the surface of the sea, surging up from the depths below.

"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!"

While everyone was still stunned by the sudden appearance of these three ships, a terrifying sound of footsteps echoed from the decks. The entire Marine Headquarters fell into a deathly silence as those footsteps rang out.

Simultaneously, with the arrival of those footsteps, Whitebeard's towering figure appeared in everyone's field of vision. As he emerged, a powerful aura swept across the entire battlefield.

Fortunately, the Marines gathered here were elites. Although the massive Conqueror's Haki unleashed by Whitebeard caused the surrounding soldiers' legs to tremble uncontrollably, no one collapsed outright, a testament to the high caliber of these Marine troops.

"Gurararara! It's been decades, hasn't it, Sengoku?" After appearing, Whitebeard looked directly at Sengoku, who stood beside Ace, and addressed him.

"Whitebeard!" Sengoku did not offer a pleasantry, merely calling out the name.

"Is my dear son alright?" Whitebeard had not come here to reminisce with Sengoku, so after the Fleet Admiral spoke his name, he immediately asked after Ace with concern.

"Old Man!" Seeing Whitebeard appear, Ace was overcome with emotion; tears welled up instantly as he shouted out to him.

Upon hearing Ace's cry, Whitebeard drove his massive naginata into the ground. He then clenched both fists and struck the air around him.

"CRACK! CRACK!"

The space around his fists shattered, and under the force of that single blow, the surrounding ocean began to boil violently.

Meanwhile, just as Chen Qiang's ship cleared the Gates of Justice and was nearing the Marine warship stationed at Marine Headquarters, a powerful gust of wind erupted, forcing the advancing vessel to retreat backward.

"Has it begun? The Summit War!"

The moment that gust of wind appeared, Chen Qiang snapped his eyes open, stood up from the deck, and roared at everyone around him!

"Everyone, take down the sails! Prepare to ride the tsunami into the battlefield!"

Upon hearing Chen Qiang's words, the others on the ship were stunned, looking at him with confusion. While they had been curious about the origin of that wind, none of them had imagined it would reach the level of a tsunami, leaving them completely bewildered.

"Has it begun? It seems Whitebeard has made his move! Listen to him—if you don't want to be swallowed by the tsunami, move quickly and take down the sails!"

Following Chen Qiang's shout, Jinbe was the first to react. He immediately realized that the strange wind must have been caused by Whitebeard, so he bellowed at the still-dazed prisoners.

Although the prisoners were still somewhat confused, seeing the grave expressions on both Chen Qiang and Jinbe, they scrambled to take down the sails.

They didn't have to wait long; a massive force pushed against them, and the ship, which had previously come to a halt, began to accelerate forward.

"Ah! It really is a tsunami!"

"Quick, find something to hold onto!"

"I'm being blown away! Someone save me!"

Just as the ship surged forward, the prisoners spotted the hundreds-of-meters-high wave behind them and instantly fell into a panic.

"Hold on tight! We are going to ride the tsunami—let it carry us straight to Marine Headquarters!" At that moment, seeing the wave about to engulf the entire ship, Chen Qiang shouted another warning.

"Ah!~~~~"

Everyone was screaming in terror; no one could hear a word he said, as they were all frantically grabbing onto anything within reach.

"Ice Age!"

Just as the warship they were riding reached the crest of the wave, a booming voice echoed from beneath the water.

In an instant, the raging, roaring tsunami was frozen solid.

"That's Marine Headquarters down there!" Seeing this, Luffy was the first to jump off the ship, rushing to the edge to look down, where he caught sight of the chaotic battle unfolding at Marine Headquarters.

"Hurry! Think of something—we need to get down there!" Luffy shouted to the others after seeing the situation below.

"You lot figure out a way; I'll head down first to scout the path for everyone!" Chen Qiang arrived at Luffy's side, glanced downward to pinpoint Ace's location, and turned to speak to them.

Without waiting for a response, Chen Qiang transformed into a massive tiger right where he stood, and without a moment's hesitation, he leaped directly toward the ground below.