Dawn arrived quietly, and the Marine Headquarters had already made preparations. Although the Whitebeard Pirates were only one of the Four Emperors' crews, they should not be underestimated.
Whitebeard's destructive power alone was beyond what the Marine Headquarters could withstand. His Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability was too powerful, capable of shattering islands and creating tsunamis—terrifying abilities that could bring natural disasters. It was even more devastating than the attack on Marine Headquarters by Golden Lion!
Adding to the mix are the captains and commanders under their command, making things a bit tricky. After all, the main battlefield is at Marine Headquarters, so proper planning is the only sensible thing to do. It's not good news to destroy yourself in order to achieve the World Government's goals.
The Execution Platform was erected yesterday, and the fortifications in the front square and harbor were completed many years ago to prevent audacious pirates from attacking the Marine Headquarters.
So the infrastructure of the Marine Headquarters is fine. The main issues are manpower arrangements and the order in which they are deployed. It's like playing chess: you make a move, I respond, I make another move, and you defend. Sengoku and Tsuru's staff have arranged many pieces, and now they are just deploying them, waiting for them to achieve certain results in wartime.
As for the Shichibukai, their arrangements were already made. There were no specific plans; they were all free agents. As long as they didn't help the Whitebeard Pirates fight the Marines, that was enough. It was really difficult to order them around. They were all unruly individuals and couldn't be controlled by anyone. Just having them appear and have a deterrent effect was already a favor to the Marines. You really couldn't ask for too much.
By the time Vic received the call to the Execution Platform, the sun was already high in the sky. When he opened the door, he found Hancock standing by the exit at the end of the corridor. The doors to the other rooms were wide open, but no one was inside. Vic knew that Hawk-Eye others had already left, Hancock seemed to be waiting for him to go with them.
"They're already gone. As expected, in the Navy's eyes, you're the strongest! Let's go see what's going on."
Hancock went out after receiving the notification, assuming that Vic would receive the notification with her. However, she found that Vic's door was not open yet, so she waited at the exit. Doflamingo and Hawk-Eye Doflamingo passed by her and left.
Let's go.
In fact, Vic had some suspicions about this situation. Apart from him and Hancock, the Marine Headquarters only had three Shichibukai left. Knight of the Sea Jinbe, was imprisoned in Impel Down, Blackbeard should already have chosen his crew and gone into Impel Down Level 6 of Impel Down.
Of the remaining three, two had been beaten by him, and Doflamingo was almost killed by Rebecca. Vic had some grudges with all three of them, so who would wait for him to go to the execution ground together? Only Hancock would wait for him because of what happened last night.
When Vic and Hancock, this handsome couple, appeared on the execution ground, they immediately attracted everyone's attention. Both of them possessed both fighting prowess and good looks, which was very rare and naturally drew attention.
However, thinking of the upcoming battle, the navy below regained their focus. Vic glanced at the densely packed navy in the plaza below, including several Vice Admiral of the Giant Race, which indeed looked like a formidable force.
Vic didn't look much; he already knew where he was going because Hawk-Eye and the others were already sitting there, with two empty chairs between them, clearly reserved for him and Hancock.
Their location was only on the third level. There were three empty chairs on the second level, reserved for the Three Admirals, the Navy's top combat force. However, as the final act of this great battle, they would obviously be the last to appear.
The first level is the tall Execution Platform behind those three chairs; this is the strongest line of defense, guarded by the Three Admirals of the navy.
There are only five seats for the Shichibukai. Obviously, news of what happened in Impel Down has reached Marine Headquarters, Blackbeard's attack on Impel Down has been exposed. The Marines can no longer prepare a seat for him. If he really dares to come, not killing him would be the greatest mercy they can show him.
However, Vic remembers that in the original work, the Shichibukai were not assigned seats. The fact that they have seats here is mostly because of their own merits and proven track records, so they do deserve to be treated with respect.
Vic led Hancock past Doflamingo and sat in the middle. As they passed Doflamingo, he could clearly sense the tension in the Heavenly Yaksha, but he ignored it and didn't even glance at him.
Hancock followed closely behind and sat down next to Vic. On Vic's other side was Hawk-Eye, and next to Hawk-Eye was Moria. Clearly, Doflamingo and Moria didn't want to sit next to Vic; otherwise, Hancock's seat would have been Doflamingo's. The seating arrangement was clearly based on strength.
After sitting down, Vic saw many Camera Den Den Mushi snail-shaped electric probes) and knew that the execution would be broadcast live. Vic guessed that this was to put pressure on Whitebeard, forcing him to come to Marine Headquarters to rescue him, as an extra layer of insurance.
However, Vic knew it was unnecessary; Whitebeard would definitely come, even if he didn't know that Ace was Roger's son. That was Whitebeard's personal charisma.
Not long after Vic sat down, Aokiji led the way, followed by Akainu in the middle, and Kizaru close behind, as they walked to their seats. The hundreds of thousands of Marines in the square immediately erupted in a thunderous cheer.
The Marine Admiral are their pillar of strength, the source of their confidence in defeating that terrifying man. As for Vic and his fellow Shichibukai? They don't even have the trust of those Navy personnel, which is inevitable.
After the Three Admirals of the Navy took their positions, Ace was escorted to the Execution Platform in handcuffs and shackles. The Navy was very careful and did not allow anyone any loopholes.
From Vic's perspective, he couldn't see Ace, and Ace couldn't see Vic directly below the Execution Platform. However, Vic guessed that Ace must have been very frustrated and guilty at this moment, but he wasn't afraid of death. He must have been praying that Whitebeard wouldn't come to save him, and that Luffy wouldn't come to save him either!
Vic didn't look at Ace or say anything; he just sat there quietly waiting for the execution time to arrive. The execution was scheduled for a specific time, which could be considered as giving Whitebeard a concrete deadline.
Whitebeard had already led his men to infiltrate the waters near Marine Headquarters, but he had concealed the ship's coating underwater.
Meanwhile, with the help of Bon Clay, Luffy, along with Jinbe, Ivankov, Inazuma, Crocodile, and Buggy, left Impel Down, their destination also being the Marine Headquarters.
Luffy caused a huge disturbance in Impel Down and was nearly poisoned by Magellan, but he still didn't see Ace. If nothing unexpected happens, even if he goes to Marine Headquarters, he won't be able to save Ace's life.
Even knowing the outcome, Luffy would still fight without hesitation, which is part of Luffy charm. Luffy and Whitebeard also developed a mutual respect, so it's not surprising that they trusted each other later on.