A joyful atmosphere filled the deck of the Moby Dick.
"Gurararara..." Whitebeard's signature booming laughter was the most inspiring of war drums, echoing in everyone's ears.
His great hand, powerful enough to shake the world, landed heavily on Ace's shoulder. "We really have that gentleman to thank for saving you this time!"
Feeling that familiar, dependable strength through his shoulder, Ace was filled with mingled excitement and guilt.
He raised his head and followed Whitebeard's gaze toward the black-robed figure slowly descending from the sky, his eyes full of confusion.
"Pops... who exactly is that man?"
"I don't know either." A trace of unprecedented gravity flashed through Whitebeard's eyes. "But he made that bastard Sakazuki vanish without a trace in an instant... I'm afraid even Roger in his day couldn't have managed that."
As father and son spoke, the Whitebeard Pirates' commanders gathered around them, and the deck was instantly filled with the warmth of a family reunion.
"Ace! You really know how to make trouble for everyone, yoi!" Marco the Phoenix flew down beside Ace, returned to human form, and punched him in the back, though a relieved smile hung on his face.
"What matters is that you're back, Second Division Commander!" Diamond Jozu's massive frame squeezed forward as he laughed heartily. "I was ready to smash all of Marineford!"
"Welcome back, Ace." Vista the Flower Sword also stepped forward and gave Ace a slight nod, his eyes, too, filled with joy.
Cheers rose across the deck.
Yet the instant Pero's black boots touched lightly down on the deck, all the clamor abruptly stopped.
Tens of thousands of great pirates who had roamed the New World now gazed with awe and curiosity at the man who had ended this war single-handedly.
They instinctively cleared a path, their silence conveying