Ace's body began to tremble violently.
It wasn't the oppression of the Seastone, nor the pain of the wound, but the anger and regret welling up from the bottom of my heart.
He remembered his Pops's aged but resolute face, and Marco's words to him, "Don't be impulsive."
I'm reminded of what Shanks said on Whitebeard's ship, "I understand you want to avenge Thatch, but it's not that simple."
Everyone was trying to persuade him.
Everyone could tell that something was wrong.
Only he—only he, like a stubborn mule, recklessly rushed out of the New World, ignoring all the warnings from others.
He understands now, but it's too late.
Ace lowered his head, his body trembling uncontrollably.
The Seastone chains rattled and squeaked as he shook them, leaving bloody welts on his wrists from the chain's clasps.
" Pops... everyone... I'm sorry..."
His voice was very soft, so soft it was as if he were talking to himself.
"Don't come... please don't come because of me..."
He was no longer afraid of death.
From the day he set sail, he was prepared to die in battle.
But what he feared was that the old man who had approved of him would pay with his life for his foolishness and recklessness.
Blackbeard stood up, patted Ace on the shoulder, and the gesture was as intimate as that of an old friend.
"Don't blame yourself too much, Captain Ace."
This is fate.
Your fate is to be captured by me, Whitebeard's fate is to die at Marineford, and my fate is to become the King of the World.
He turned and walked towards the cabin door.
The hatch closed, and the light disappeared.
Ace was left in the darkness.
After a few moments of silence, he let out a roar that was suppressed to the extreme.
The Seastone chains rattled as he struggled, the chain links cutting deeper wounds on his wrists, blood dripping down the chains.
Above the clouds, Roy sat cross-legged on a transparent platform formed from Telekinesis, listening to every word of the conversation in the cabin below.
His expression was calm, but the rhythmic tapping of his fingers on his knees betrayed the turmoil within him.
Blackbeard's plan, when viewed in the original work, was a stroke of genius; when viewed now, it is even more audacious and outrageous.
If Blackbeard succeeds, he will become one of the Four Emperors after the Paramount War, then devour the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and gradually rise to the top.
Unfortunately, what he didn't know was that every move he made was on a chessboard that someone else had laid out in advance.
" Teach, your plan is truly brilliant."
"Without me, you might have actually succeeded, become one of the Four Emperors, and even come close to the throne of the Pirate King."
Roy thought to himself.
"But unfortunately—you, the most crucial piece, have been lying on my chessboard from the very beginning."
His gaze pierced through the clouds, as if he could already see the restraint bed prepared for Blackbeard in the underground laboratory on Hachinosu.
The bed had Seastone lock, a bloodline extraction device, and a suppressor specifically designed to counter the properties of the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Dr. Gracia spent two whole years building that system, just waiting for the last component to arrive.
And this component is on that wrecked ship below.
Roy stood up, brushed the moisture off his cloak, and slowly stepped into the clouds.
His pace was slow, but each step he took was steady, keeping pace with Blackbeard's wrecked ship.
He was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Blackbeard intends to hand Ace over to the Marines, who will then imprison him in Impel Down, after which the World Government will announce his public execution.
Then began the greatest battle in the world of One Piece.
The Grand Line.
The port closest to the Marine Branch on Banaro Island is unusually busy today.
Three warships were lined up in a guard formation outside the harbor, and there were twice as many soldiers on the dock as usual. All of them were fully armed, and the atmosphere was as tense as a bowstring that could snap at any moment.
"Everyone, perk up!"
Base Commander Major Rear Admiral Gasparde stood on the dock's command platform, his voice Amplifying Den Den Mushi) throughout the entire harbor.
"The target we're escorting this time is Fire Fist Ace, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!"
A notorious pirate with a bounty of 550 million Beli! Anyone who makes a mistake will be court-martialed!
The soldiers didn't dare to breathe.
They were just ordinary marines from the branch, good at catching small-time pirates, but when faced with a captain-level figure under Whitebeard, they would go weak at the mere mention of his name.
Fortunately, that Fire Fist was now bound like a dumpling by Seastone chains, otherwise they wouldn't even dare to get close.
A dilapidated pirate ship slowly docked at the port.
The ship was covered in traces of battle, and the gunwales were still stained with blood that hadn't been washed off.
The naval soldiers waiting on the dock, upon seeing the ship's appearance, all muttered to themselves—did these pirates just crawl back from hell?
The gangway was lowered.
Blackbeard was the first to disembark.
His left shoulder was wrapped in a dirty bandage, the blood seeping through it and turning black.
He still had several unhealed wounds on his face, but a smug smile graced his fleshy face.
That smile sent chills down the spines of the sailors on the dock.
Doc Q and two other henchmen followed behind carrying a Seastone stretcher.
A young man lay unconscious on a stretcher, his orange cowboy hat nowhere to be seen, his body covered in congealed blood scabs, and his breathing weak but steady.
"Hahaha!"
Blackbeard walked towards Gasparde with his arms outstretched, his posture more like attending an awards ceremony than handing someone over.
"Your Excellency Rear Admiral General!"
This is Fire Fist Ace, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!
I brought him here!
Gasparde frowned as he glanced at Ace on the stretcher, then at Blackbeard's smug face; his disgust was practically written all over his face.
But he was a soldier, and a soldier's duty is to obey orders.
"Identity confirmed." Gasparde waved his hand.
A naval officer stepped forward with the wanted poster, carefully compared Ace's facial features, and finally nodded to Gasparde.
"Identity confirmed, it is Fire Fist Ace himself."
"Take away."
The Seastone stretcher was taken over by naval soldiers and carried to a temporary prison deep in the harbor.
There are special detention cells prepared for people with special abilities. The four walls are inlaid with Seastone, so that not even a fly can get out.
Blackbeard watched Ace being carried away, his eyes practically overflowing with excitement.
He rubbed his hands together as he approached Gasparde, trying to make his tone sound less urgent.
" Rear Admiral General, um... Fleet Admiral Sengoku should be ready by now, right?"
Gasparde, expressionless, pulled an encrypted Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
The Den Den Mushi rang five times before a deep, authoritative voice came from the other end.
"I am from the Sengoku."
Blackbeard's breathing quickened instantly.
Gasparde stood up straight, speaking quickly and steadily.
" Your Fleet Admiral, Fire Fist Ace has completed the handover. Blackbeard is awaiting his appointment."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi.