Summit War · The Beginning

"Wait! I need to take this call!"

As soon as they heard the phone ringing, all the prisoners aboard turned to look toward the Den Den Mushi, tense in an instant. That was when Luffy called out to Chen Qiang, hopped over beside it, and picked up.

"Hello!"

"This is the monitoring station at Marine Headquarters!"

"I'm Luffy!"

"We've identified the two main prisoners behind this breakout: Straw Hat Luffy and Buggy the Clown, a former crewmate of Pirate King Roger. Your destination is Marine Headquarters. You're planning to rescue Ace, aren't you? You won't succeed. We've already closed the Gates of Justice. There's no way through! Just surrender quietly!"

"I'll rescue Ace no matter what!"

Hearing the other man's words, Luffy shouted back before slamming down the receiver.

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

"He's been hiding it all this time!"

"Exactly!"

After learning Buggy's secret identity, the other prisoners stared at him in shock and crowded around him.

Chen Qiang paid little attention to what was happening aboard the ship. Having resolved his inner uncertainty, he closed his eyes to rest, no longer concerning himself with the commotion.

As for the Gates of Justice mentioned over the phone, Chen Qiang knew Blackbeard had a backup plan there. The Marines in the control room had all been hypnotized, and the gates would open as soon as a warship approached. There was no point worrying about that useless information.

As Chen Qiang and the others headed toward Marineford, the Marines had already made all their preparations.

One hundred thousand elite Marines had gathered, along with every Vice Admiral and Admiral. Five Shichibukai had also arrived. They stood ready, watching the calm sea before them.

The situation was also being broadcast around the world through Surveillance Den Den Mushi, allowing everyone who could receive the signal to witness the execution.

Ace was escorted up the wooden platform, step by step. When he reached the top, two Marines behind him forced him to his knees.

At that moment, Fleet Admiral Sengoku also stepped onto the platform and came to Ace's side. He began his speech, first revealing to everyone that Ace was Pirate King Roger's son, then explaining the great significance of the execution.

"Look! What's that on the sea?"

Just as Sengoku finished speaking, a Marine on a lookout tower, keeping watch over the scene, was startled by what he saw.

The sea, which had been calm moments earlier, suddenly filled with fog. One by one, ships appeared through the haze.

"It's pirates! The pirates are here! All units, prepare for battle!"

As soon as he made out the flags on the ships, the Marine on the lookout tower shouted to alert the troops below.

"Pirate ships! They're pirate crews under the Whitebeard Pirates!"

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

"Right! Where's Whitebeard?"

As soon as they heard that pirate ships had appeared, the Marines prepared for battle. But when they got a good look at the ships, they were surprised to find that they were all crews under the Whitebeard Pirates—and Whitebeard himself was nowhere among them.

"Wait! Look inside the bay!"

Someone soon noticed something was wrong. The water inside the bay began to churn, and ripples spread across the surface.

"Boom!"

With a tremendous crash, three ships flying the Whitebeard Pirates' flag burst through the sea's surface, rising up from beneath the water.

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

As everyone stared in astonishment at the three ships that had appeared out of nowhere, a terrifying series of footsteps rang out from aboard them. The entire Marine Headquarters fell silent.

Then Whitebeard's towering figure appeared before them. As he emerged, a powerful aura swept across the battlefield.

Fortunately, the Marines who had gathered were all elite soldiers. Whitebeard's arrival unleashed a tremendous surge of Conqueror's Haki, making the Marines around him go weak in the knees, but none of them fainted. It was clear how well-trained they were.

"Gurararara! Sengoku, it's been decades, hasn't it?" Whitebeard looked straight at Sengoku, standing beside Ace, and called out to him.

"Whitebeard!" Sengoku simply said his name.

"Is my dear son all right?" Whitebeard hadn't come here to reminisce with Sengoku. As soon as Sengoku called his name, he asked after Ace.

"Pops!" The moment Ace saw Whitebeard, he was overcome with emotion. Tears welled in his eyes, and he shouted out to him.

Hearing Ace's cry, Whitebeard planted the great Guan Dao he held in the ground beside him. Then he clenched both fists and punched the air around him.

"Crack! Crack!"

The space around his fists shattered, and the surrounding waves began to churn beneath the force of his blow.

Just after Chen Qiang's group had passed through the Gates of Justice, with the Marine warship carrying them nearing Marine Headquarters, a powerful gust of wind struck. It blew the advancing warship backward.

"Has it begun? The Summit War!"

The instant the wind rose, Chen Qiang opened his eyes, stood up from the deck, and shouted to the people around him.

"Everyone, take in the sails! Get ready to ride the tsunami into the battlefield!"

At Chen Qiang's words, the other prisoners aboard froze and stared at him in confusion. They'd all wondered where that strange wind had come from, but it hadn't seemed strong enough to herald a tsunami. They couldn't understand what he meant.

"Has it begun? Looks like Pops has made his move! Listen to him! If you don't want to be swallowed by the tsunami, hurry up and take in the sails!"

After Chen Qiang's shout, Jinbe was the first to react. He realized that the strange wind must have been caused by Whitebeard, so he shouted at the prisoners, who were still standing there dumbfounded.

The prisoners were still confused, but when they saw the serious expressions on Chen Qiang and Jinbe, they began taking in the sails.

They didn't have to wait long. A huge force surged in, and the ships that had already come to a stop began speeding forward.

"Ah! It's really a tsunami!"

"Grab onto something!"

"I'm being swept away! Somebody help me!"

As the ship sped forward, the prisoners spotted the hundreds-of-meters-high wave behind them, and panic erupted among them.

"Hold on tight! We're going into the tsunami. It'll carry us to Marine Headquarters!" Chen Qiang called out again as the wave threatened to swallow the entire ship.

"Ah! Aaaah!"

Everyone was screaming in terror now. No one heard what he said; they were too busy clutching anything they could reach.

"Ice Age!"

Just as the Marine warship carrying Chen Qiang and the others crested the wave, a booming voice rang out from beneath it.

The tsunami, which had been raging moments before, froze solid.

"Marine Headquarters is right below!" Luffy was the first to jump off the ship and rush to the edge. Looking down, he spotted Marine Headquarters already in the midst of battle.

"Hurry! Think of something! We need to get down there!" Luffy shouted to the others when he saw what was happening below.

"You figure out what to do. I'll go ahead and scout the way!" Chen Qiang came up beside Luffy. He glanced down, confirmed where Ace was, then turned to address the others.

Before anyone could respond, Chen Qiang transformed into a massive tiger on the spot. Without a moment's hesitation, he leaped down toward the ground below.