Before the Gate of Justice, Jiang Lin stared at its tightly shut doors. His hands trembled slightly. After so much preparation and so long a wait, he had finally reached the last step.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Cannons fired in rapid succession around Jiang Lin, sounding almost like a salute to send him off.
"How are we supposed to open the Gate of Justice?"
Buggy stared at the enormous gate, despair written across his face. After seizing the warship, he had completely forgotten this obstacle still stood in their way.
In Impel Down's power room, Blackbeard arrived with Shiryu of the Rain. Under their threats, the guards hurriedly pressed the switches before them.
"D! You can't stop my will!"
The moment the guards pressed the switches, Blackbeard engulfed the entire power room in black mist.
"It's... open?"
Aboard the warship, Buggy had only just finished venting his frustration when the Gate of Justice opened before him.
"Oh... Was this Captain Buggy's backup plan? Long live Captain Buggy!"
Buggy happened to be standing at the bow when the gate opened, so the prisoners on deck plainly misunderstood why it had opened.
"Wahaha... Of course... of course this was my backup plan! Hahaha..."
Hearing the prisoners praise him from behind, Buggy accepted the credit without a second thought.
"D, was this your doing?"
Jinbe kept one hand on the helm as he gave Jiang Lin a knowing look.
"Just a deal."
Jiang Lin casually froze an incoming cannonball, then walked calmly to the railing. Before him lay a vast, unfamiliar stretch of sea; behind him, more than a dozen Marine warships pursued them relentlessly.
"How is this possible? Why did the Gate of Justice open? Don't tell me Magellan betrayed us!"
Aboard a Marine warship, the commander stared at the open gate in shock.
If Magellan could have heard him, he would surely have cursed, "You're the traitor! Your whole family's traitors!"
With the Gate of Justice suddenly open and nothing left to block its path, Jiang Lin's warship rode the current through the gate amid the thunder of cannon fire.
As their warship passed through the Gate of Justice, a whirlwind was stirring the world.
Across the four seas and along the Grand Line, everywhere people lived, every corner touched by civilization, the talk was of one thing: Whitebeard and Marineford!
The world could feel the storm gathering. Every eye turned toward Whitebeard and Marineford. Everyone wondered whether Whitebeard would appear there, and everyone waited to see him.
"Dear God, what will become of the world?"
As a priestess knelt devoutly at the edge of a cliff and prayed for guidance, the residents of Marineford waited quietly on the Sabaody Archipelago. They watched the screen before them, following the live broadcast of Ace's execution with mounting tension.
Reporters from around the world had gathered among the residents, their faces tense and expectant. They had come to carry news of the event to the world.
At Marine Headquarters, soldiers summoned from across the world and a vast number of warships had assembled at Marineford Square. One hundred thousand soldiers, fifty warships, and the Marines' full fighting strength stood ready there.
At the very front of the formation stood five summoned Shichibukai: Bartholomew Kuma, Donquixote Doflamingo, Boa Hancock, Dracule Mihawk, and Moria. Each carried an air of authority that kept the surrounding Marines in awe.
Behind the Shichibukai stood countless Marine soldiers. Every one of them had been urgently mobilized for this unprecedented war.
On a raised platform behind the soldiers stood three conspicuous Golden Thrones. They belonged to the Marines' greatest fighting force—the Admirals of Marine Headquarters!
Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru sat upon them with imposing poise. Their sheer presence anchored all of Marineford.
Creak!
A wooden door swung open with a piercing sound. A young man covered in scars appeared before them all, chains draped across his back. His appearance shook the world. He was the spark that had ignited this war—Fire Fist Ace!
Thud!
Ace reached the Execution Platform and dropped to his knees. He let the guards fasten his shackles to the floor restraints behind him, then slowly raised his head. Before him stood the Marines' full fighting strength, a sea of "Justice." With the cold wind whipping across the platform, the atmosphere froze.
Clang!
Two long blades crossed before Ace, their edges glinting coldly. Every preparation for the execution was complete.
Not long after Ace was brought onto the Execution Platform, Fleet Admiral Sengoku strode up alone.
"There is something I must tell you first. It concerns Portgas D. Ace, and why this man's death here today carries such great significance."
"Ace, tell us your father's name!"
Standing beside Ace with a Den Den Mushi in hand, Sengoku began addressing the world. Everyone watching the live broadcast looked puzzled. No one knew what lay behind his words.
"My father is Whitebeard!"
Ace's voice was defiant.
"No."
Sengoku denied it without a flicker of emotion.
"You're wrong! Whitebeard is my only father! There's no one else!"
Ace squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
"We searched desperately for the child that man might have left behind on some island, but found nothing. Then we investigated your mother in detail. Yes, that woman named Portgas D. Rouge. To escape our pursuit, she carried you for twenty months through sheer force of will. After finally giving birth to you, she died of exhaustion."
"And when she died, a child bearing the world's most wicked bloodline was born. That child was you, Portgas D. Ace!"
"And your father was none other than the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!"
At Sengoku's words, silence fell across the world. After that brief hush came a surge of shock and fear.
The Pirate King had a child alive in the world. No one could ignore what that meant.
To the Marines, Ace's existence carried even greater weight. His identity meant Sengoku would go to all-out war with Whitebeard if that was what it took to eliminate him. That was the Marines' justice—and Sengoku's.
"Yeah!"
A deafening roar rose over Marineford Square as countless Marine soldiers brandished their weapons in support of Sengoku.
As Sengoku's speech drew to a close, a mysterious fleet passed through the Gate of Justice and entered Marineford.