Following Skuad's blood-soaked accusations, chaos erupted across the Naval Headquarters battlefield.
"What…?"
"Could it be true?"
"Have Marshal Sengoku and Whitebeard really colluded?"
"I don't understand!"
"Pirates… and the Marines… working together? Impossible!"
"If that's true… what has all our struggle been for?"
"And what about Marshal Sengoku's rallying speech… everything we've sacrificed…"
All across the battlefield, sailors who didn't know the truth trembled with disbelief.
"Idiot! Don't think about it!"
"That can't be true!"
"Justice will prevail!"
Vice Admirals like Flying Squirrel, Dauberman, and Huoshaoshan, who knew the inner workings, scolded them one by one. Even among the Marines, this level of confusion was shocking—but for the pirates under Whitebeard, it was almost unbearable.
"Hey, Skuad, what nonsense are you spouting?!"
"Father betrayed us? Impossible!"
"I won't believe it—there's no way Daddy Whitebeard would do such a thing!"
"It's one thing for outsiders not to understand, but we've seen his kindness with our own eyes!"
"Dad, please… tell us this isn't true!"
The New World pirates shouted in unison, desperately clinging to faith in their captain. Many of them, however, felt their resolve shake.
On the bow of the Whale Ship, Whitebeard remained silent.
"A single stab won't end me," he said quietly. "I've made up my mind. Kill me if you must."
Skuad, posing as the heroic whistleblower ready to die for truth, stood firm.
"You fool! You've been deceived, Skuad! Don't you trust Dad?" Marco cried out, pained.
"Don't pretend to know everything, Marco!" Skuad barked. "Ace is Roger's son! That's the truth!"
Finally, Whitebeard spoke, his voice calm but powerful.
"They manipulated the one most likely to be swayed… using him as a pawn in their battle."
Whitebeard's massive arms lifted high.
"You think you're rebelling against your father? You're just a foolish son, Skuad!"
Skuad closed his eyes, bracing for death.
But the anticipated pain never came.
Whitebeard's enormous hands did not strike. Instead, they enveloped Skuad in a warm, broad embrace.
"Even if you're a foolish son, I still love you," Whitebeard said gently.
"D-don't… don't lie! You almost—" Skuad's voice faltered, his heart a whirlwind of emotion.
"Who has led your loyal, honest heart astray?" Whitebeard's voice, calm as a sea breeze, hid the fury beneath.
"The… Marines' rebels…" Skuad whispered, dumbfounded.
"I understand your hatred of Roger," Whitebeard continued softly. "But what did Ace ever do to you? You and Ace have shared hardships together. No matter what difficulties arise, haven't you always faced them side by side?"
Whitebeard's words were gentle, full of fatherly wisdom.
"It doesn't matter whose child Ace is. What matters is that we met on this vast sea! You, Ace, everyone—you're all my sons, Skuad. Ace isn't the only one special. Everyone here is family!"
Pat!
The murder weapon slipped from Skuad's hands.
At last, he realized the terrible mistake he had almost committed.
"Marine… you tricked me…" he muttered, eyes wide, ashamed.
Whitebeard rose, fixing his gaze on Field Marshal Sengoku on the execution platform.
"You think I would sell the heads of my sons?" His eyes blazed with fury. Then he struck the ground with a mighty punch.
Boom! Kaka!
The shockwave shattered the ice walls of the Naval Headquarters. The pirates' escape route was revealed.
"As pirates, believe what you will!" Whitebeard shouted.
"Hahaha! It was all a lie—a conspiracy by the Marines!"
"Damn Marine, how dare you deceive us!"
"I knew Dad would never betray us!"
"Sorry, Dad! I'll never doubt you again!"
"Me too! I'll follow you all my life!"
The New World pirates roared in unison, their morale surging.
"Those who want to rise with me—follow me, and die together if you must!" Whitebeard leaped into the fray, officially rejoining the battle and charging toward the plaza in the bay.
"Ohhhh!"
The Whitebeard Pirates responded as one.
"The strongest man in the world… is about to go berserk!!!"
On the scaffold, Marshal Sengoku shouted helplessly.
Meanwhile, in the real world:
Misty Motobu, overseas.
The spirited Little Lion ship Qianyang sailed toward the battlefield.
"Something's wrong! Too quiet! Is today really a day of war?" Lindbergh, commander of the Revolutionary Army's Southern Army, frowned, uneasy.
"Mr. Rayleigh," Sabo said, frowning. His Observation Haki detected no signs of fighting ahead. Rayleigh sensed the same.
"It's… strange," he murmured.
Not long ago, they had news that the Whitebeard Pirates had landed on the battlefield. By now, the war should have reached its most intense point.
"Look! That's the ancient giant under Whitebeard's command… Little Ozzy! Offering a 550 million Berry bounty!" Karas, northern army leader, pointed.
"Is the giant… asleep?" Luffy, on the bow of the Little Lion, tilted his head, confused.
"Doesn't matter. There's only one thing I need to do: rescue Ace!" Straw Hat Luffy patted his face and stood firmly.
Crash!
The Qianyang pierced the mist. Ahead, the battlefield's shocking reality became clear. All aboard froze.
Even Rayleigh, the legendary Pluton, stared wide-eyed.
"This… what the hell is going on?!"
...
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