Sea Circle Calendar year 1520, the day of Ace's public execution.
Morning in Marineford held not a trace of the rising sun's warmth. Only lead-gray clouds hung low over the fortress, while the sea breeze carried salty moisture and the thick, lingering smell of gunpowder across the tense faces of the One Hundred Thousand Marines in the plaza.
The Execution Platform towered at the far end of the plaza, Seastone shackles holding Portgas D. Ace fast. Kneeling on the platform, he looked at the densely packed Marines below, then at the fleet blotting out the sky along the distant horizon. His eyes reddened slightly, but a bitter laugh escaped his lips. "Pops... why did you come...?"
He would rather die here than watch his family charge into the inescapable net the Marines had laid, entering this near-certain death trap to save him.
"Silence!"
Beside the Execution Platform, Sengoku stood in his Fleet Admiral's uniform, holding a Den Den Mushi. His hawklike gaze swept over the crowd, and his voice carried through the Amplifying Den Den Mushi across all of Marineford-and across the entire world. This execution was being broadcast live worldwide through Visual Den Den Mushi.
"Portgas D. Ace, the posthumous son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, will be publicly executed here in Marineford today!"
"We will declare to the entire world that Roger's bloodline will be extinguished completely today! Anyone who dares oppose the World Government and the Marines will meet this same fate!"
Sengoku's words rang out with the absolute authority of Marine Headquarters. The One Hundred Thousand Marines in the plaza raised their rifles in unison and let out deafening shouts. Their killing intent soared into the heavens, making even the clouds above churn.
But at that