A Standoff Between Fathers

Sal did not care whether everyone believed he was Roger. The more they did, the easier it would be to harvest experience later. Besides grinding experience, he had to come out as the winner of this war at the very least. He had gone to great lengths to bring in help, not to sightsee.

Facing the Navy's top lineup, Sal had no intention of charging in recklessly. With Garp, Sengoku, and the Three Admirals on the other side, he could not afford to act wildly. Holding nothing back would only get him surrounded.

So Sal directly shouted a suggestion to Whitebeard.

"Newgate, we can't wait any longer. We need to break into the harbor as soon as possible. The Navy's backup plan is to trap your pirate crew on the frozen bay, then raise the walls and wipe you all out in one sweep. Oh, and they still have a batch of Pacifistas they haven't deployed."

Whitebeard was surprised. How did this Roger clone know Sengoku's plan? Since he had come alongside Rayleigh, he should not have been a Navy spy.

"Gurararara! I don't need you teaching me what to do. More importantly, why did you come to Marineford, and why did you bring Rayleigh? Don't you know these muddy waters are dangerous?"

"It wasn't my idea to come. Rayleigh begged me to help save his grandnephew, so I came only because I had no choice."

Sal spouted nonsense with a perfectly serious face, earning a vicious glare from Rayleigh. However, he did not refute the truth of those words, prompting Whitebeard to thank Rayleigh—a rare occurrence.

"Thanks, Rayleigh. With your help, we'll definitely save my foolish son."

Whitebeard's gratitude made Rayleigh pause. He then carefully examined Whitebeard and understood the worry in his heart. That powerful body looked the same as before, but it was actually just a hollow shell.

Whitebeard's body was failing. He was not very confident that he could save Ace.

Sal suddenly interrupted the exchange between Whitebeard and Rayleigh.

"Newgate, Ace is Roger's son, not yours."

Everyone around them was baffled by the sudden remark. Was this really the time to argue about something like that?

For some reason, when Sal heard Whitebeard, Roger's former rival, call himself Ace's father, a faint irritation suddenly rose within him.

Maybe it was Roger's lingering soul influencing him, or perhaps some other reason. Either way, it irritated Sal.

Whitebeard's lips curled upward as he replied with an expression that said, What can you do about it?

"Oh? You have a problem with Ace becoming my son? Whether in the past, present, or future, he will only ever be my son."

"Newgate, you seem very confident."

Sal narrowed his eyes, radiating a dangerous aura, while Whitebeard returned the challenge with an equally sharp gaze.

The two men staring at each other from afar instantly turned tense. Though it was not a clash of Conqueror's Haki, even their simple confrontation of powerful auras made those nearby keep their distance.

The sudden nonsense from these two made Rayleigh, stuck between them, clutch his head in frustration. If he could, he truly wanted to ignore them, but the Navy was right in front of them.

"Hey, hey, if you two want to fight, wait until we leave. This is a critical moment. Keep this up, and I'm heading back without you."

"..."

Sengoku had no time to watch this bizarre performance from his opponents. When Sal exposed the second and third steps of his encirclement plan, his first thought was that there was a spy among the Navy's higher-ups. Yet no matter how much he thought it over, he found no suspicious candidates.

The mole could be investigated after the war. The urgent matter now was to change the plan immediately, or simply move it forward.

"Move the plan ahead. Execute Fire Fist Ace immediately."

As the Navy's rear forces began mobilizing on a large scale, Whitebeard also shifted his gaze away, no longer competing with Sal.

Seeing that face identical to Roger's, and hearing him declare that Ace could only be his son, filled Whitebeard with delight. Even the pain in his body seemed to lessen somewhat.

"My children, spread out and get into the harbor first. Don't give the Navy a chance to surround us."

"Yes, Pops..."

"The Navy's schemes will not succeed."

The pirates' morale instantly surged. Whether Sal was truly Roger's clone or not, Dark King Rayleigh, the Pirate King's first mate, was undeniably a real heavyweight.

The allied pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates split into two forces and charged toward both sides of the harbor. The Ice Witch, a stunning beauty with long blue hair, drove her icebreaker straight through the wall and onto land, while several great pirates comparable to vice admirals broke through on the other side as well.

Meanwhile, Whitebeard's main force split into three groups to expand their foothold as much as possible. Led by Marco, Diamond Jozu, and Flower Sword Vista, they steadily advanced toward the harbor's land.

Just as Sal and Rayleigh prepared to move, a graceful pink-haired figure rushed toward them and attacked without the slightest hesitation.

"Die! Hina hates scum like you the most!"

"Black Cage!"

Rayleigh easily dodged the black iron bars and stepped aside to watch. As for why he did not intervene, it was because he could tell that she had come for Sal. The unforgettable hatred on her face was obvious.

There were only two situations in which a woman hated a man that much: he had either killed her family or deceived her in love. Rayleigh had no intention of getting involved in such messy affairs.

Sal also easily evaded the attack. He leaped in front of Hina, caught her two pink fists one after another, and gripped them tightly so she could not pull them back. Looking at her lovely face from close range, he asked, "Black Cage Hina, what are you doing? Leave now. You're no match for me."

Seeing how calmly he wanted her to retreat, Hina immediately flew into a rage.

"Hina will never let you go! What you did to Hina that night, Hina will repay tenfold!"

Tenfold repayment? Was she really that bold? Sal did not think Hina was that uninhibited, so he promptly advised her, "You did scream rather loudly that night, but we're young people. We need to know moderation. Still, holding it in too long isn't good either. If you want it, you can contact me."

Those shameless words made Hina so furious that she nearly lost control. She continued viciously, "Pah! Hina never wants to see you again for the rest of her life! If Hina gets pregnant, Hina will hunt you down to the ends of the earth!"

Still not satisfied after saying that, she bit down hard on Sal's shoulder and refused to let go.

"Are you a puppy? Why are you biting people?"

Sal struggled to pull the crazy woman away. When she tried to go wild again, he lowered his head and sealed her lips with his, then knocked her out and picked her up.

Rayleigh, who had been watching, was genuinely shocked when he heard the word "pregnant." Was Ace about to gain a younger brother or sister?

Sal did not care about the old man's gossiping instincts. After scanning with Observation Haki, he leaped before the wary Smoker and tossed Hina to Tashigi beside him.

Thankfully, Hancock was not paying attention to his side at the moment. Otherwise, dealing with this crazy woman would have had serious consequences.

Smoker's expression shifted as he looked at Sal. He had noticed the changes in his friend Hina over the past few days. She had been extremely irritable, tearing up Sal's wanted posters all day to vent her anger. Something must have happened between them.