Marineford, atop the execution platform.
Ace's face twisted as he roared furiously.
"No! I am Portgas D. Ace. I have only one father, and that is Whitebeard..."
"Stop denying it! You were taken in by the Marine hero Garp, escaped the massive search of the South Blue, and after many twists and turns, grew up in the East Blue. That is why you survived until now..."
Faced with an execution broadcast to the entire world, Ace's face was filled with rage. Who would ever acknowledge that kind of man as their father?!
"Gold Ace, you carry the bloodline of sin—the bloodline of the one who began this age of chaos. The Great Age of Pirates should end with your death!"
"I, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, hereby declare that Gold Ace, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and son of the Pirate King, shall now be executed!"
Bang!
Waves surged into the sky. Every Marine soldier went on high alert, while quite a few officers stood frozen in place.
"What is going on? There were clearly no signs of any living activity. Wasn't the Moby Dick still in the New World? Why has Whitebeard's ship appeared at Marineford?!"
The next moment, multicolored bubbles refracted an unprecedented radiance beneath the sunlight, dazzling and dreamlike.
"A bubble coating—it's a coated bubble! Whitebeard came from beneath the sea! Everyone, raise your guard!"
Pop!
The bubbles burst. Amid the surging waves, a burly figure wielding a naginata threw back his head and laughed.
"Gurararara! Ace, my son, I've come to save you!"
"Old man! Take them and leave already! This is a trap aimed at you!!!"
Ace's words darkened Sengoku's expression. He immediately stopped concealing his resolve and shouted toward the sky.
"All Marines, intercept Whitebeard!"
The next moment, ship after ship moored along the