"..."
The moment Whitebeard was stabbed in the face, the scene fell silent. Almost everyone stared in disbelief at the World's Strongest Man, betrayed by his subordinate and stabbed in the face.
" Pops ~"
After a moment of astonishment, all the pirates on Whitebeard's side let out incredulous cries and shouted loudly.
"Heh heh heh, just as expected, the Navy did it. Now we'll have to face Whitebeard in his rage!!"
Here, Luo Chen stood on the rooftop, indifferently witnessing this scene, and then said calmly.
"Hey~ that guy, Whitebeard actually got stabbed?!"
Here, Buggy and his group also looked at the scene with disbelief, but took no action, all of which was recorded and published by a video bug in their hands.
" Squard..."
Swoosh...
Bang!!
An enraged Marco transformed his hands into wings, flew over, and pinned Squard to the splint, then angrily questioned him.
Why? Why did you do that?
Swoosh...
"Shut up... You all forced me to this..."
Squard swung his sword to shove Marco aside, creating some distance before addressing them.
"You..."
Marco wanted to go up and question him again, but Whitebeard stopped him with his hand.
"Huff... huff... stop acting, Whitebeard..."
You've already discussed it with the Navy, haven't you? They'll ensure the safety of your Whitebeard Pirates and Ace...
Squard stood up, looking at them angrily, and spoke each word clearly.
"Huh?! What are you talking about, Squard? What's going on?"
The captains under Whitebeard's command, who were fighting against the Navy, looked on in surprise and asked.
"We... we were all deceived..."
I didn't know Ace was Roger's son. When you took me in, I was all alone. You should know what happened, right?
That's right, because all my comrades who risked their lives for me were killed by Roger himself...
You should know how much I hate him, so you should have revealed long ago that Ace is his son and that you wanted him to inherit his father's position as the next Pirate King.
I was fooled by you back then. I used to be on good terms with Ace, like brothers. But when Ace was captured, you made a deal with the Navy, didn't you? Trading the lives of forty-three pirate captains for the lives of Ace and your Whitebeard Pirates.
Back then, we were so naive, risking our lives for Ace Whitebeard, and now? Look, now only the forty-three members of our pirate ship have become targets, while not a single Whitebeard Pirates has been killed... Can you honestly say this isn't a conspiracy between you?"
Squard grew angrier as he spoke, and finally pointed to his men, who were being surrounded and killed by the Navy, and questioned Whitebeard.
"Hey, no way, Pops, that's not how it is, right? Tell me it's not like that, Pops!!"
Hearing Squard's words, the pirates gradually wavered, still finding it hard to believe, and loudly asked Whitebeard.
boom...
Ah~
Explosions rang out amidst cries of agony, but Whitebeard still didn't give the answer they wanted. He simply stood up from his crouching position, a gesture that seemed to the others as an admission of guilt.
"Let's do it... Aokiji..."
Meanwhile, Sengoku left the outside world with endless wild speculations, and then Aokiji took action to deal with Buggy and his group, forcibly cutting off the scene.
"Activate the Encircling Wall!!"
Upon seeing Aokiji cut off the last frame, Sengoku immediately ordered the activation of the Encircling Wall.
As his command was relayed, a series of loud cracking sounds echoed through the bend, causing the surrounding ice to tremble violently, letting the people here know that the navy was about to carry out another major operation.
"How shameful, Whitebeard! You actually got hit by such a pathetic attack! Get up right now! I don't want to be defeated by a coward!!"
Not far away, Crocodile's excited and angry voice rang out, and all eyes turned to him.
Crocodile...
" Sand Crocodile Boy..."
Jinbe, Ivankov, and the others looked at him and could sense the resentment in his heart.
"..."
Whitebeard merely glanced at him without saying anything.
"That's right, the key is that he should have been able to avoid that attack. Pops used to be able to easily handle any surprise attack, even from a close friend. This kind of mistake shouldn't have happened. The root cause is clearly... his body no longer allows him to do that!!"
Marco, as the ship's doctor, knew perfectly well what Whitebeard's physical condition was, but dared not say it out loud for fear of dampening everyone's morale.
" Squard, you actually dared to draw your knife against your own Pops, you're such a foolish son..."
Whitebeard then moved and slowly approached him. Just when Squard thought he was doomed, Whitebeard's next move greatly surprised him.
Even so, you are still my son, and I will continue to love you all...
Whitebeard put his strong arm around him and said.
"Are you kidding me...? You're going to take our lives..."
Squard still couldn't believe his words and stammered as he spoke.
"Who on earth? Who would lead someone as honest as you astray...?"
Instead of denying him, Whitebeard asked him this question.
Upon seeing this, Squard calmly recounted his encounter with Admiral Akainu and the things he had said to them.
"So that's how it is. It's Admiral Aka? I never imagined you'd believe a navy officer and question your loving Pops... Squard..."
Squard, I understand how much you hate Roger, but how ridiculous is the idea of children paying for their fathers' sins? Did Ace ever do anything to wrong you?
Whitebeard's next words awakened Squard, reminding him of his fond memories with Ace. This time, he realized that his friendship with Ace had nothing to do with his father, Roger, and that he truly recognized Ace as a close friend.
"Let's get along well, Squard. Ace isn't the only one who's special; you're all my beloved sons, my family..."
After Whitebeard finished speaking, he stood up again, looked at Sengoku on the Execution Platform, and smiled.
"You're still got it, Sengoku! You pulled off a brilliant move... even I was fooled. But it's time for us to have a proper battle again!!"
After saying that, he still didn't directly explain what Squard had just done. He withdrew his hands and then slammed them forcefully to the sides.
Click...
boom...
The Iceburg on both sides were blasted apart, leaving a way out for the pirates. Then he shouted loudly to all his subordinates.
"As pirates, you should hold fast to your own principles. What you believe is up to you. Those who aren't afraid to die, come with me!!"
Whitebeard's actions and words were undoubtedly the best answer to the questions raised about his actions, giving the pirates a powerful reassurance.
" Pops wasn't lying to us after all. Squard was wrong. Let's go! Follow Pops's lead and teach those cunning navymen a lesson..."
The pirates naturally understood the meaning behind Whitebeard's actions, knowing they had not been deceived. Their morale soared once again, and they excitedly shouted as they charged forward with him.
"Heh, a coward? Crocodile Boy, you really dare to talk like that. But save your breath. I'm just a slightly stronger ordinary person, and I can't maintain the title of strongest forever. But I can step down after entrusting a young life to the future..."
Although Whitebeard charged down and seemed to be mostly unharmed, he knew his own body best. He covered his bleeding wound with his left hand and thought to himself about Crocodile's evaluation of him.