A Short Time Earlier — Within the World of Song
In the illusory realm of melody, the Whitebeard Pirates stormed across the square in the bay.
Meanwhile, in the real world, the Straw Hat brothers had made their way to the execution platform—unhindered and unchallenged.
"Ace!"
Luffy rushed forward in excitement, wrapping his arms around his brother, shaking him, calling his name again and again.
But Ace didn't respond. His body remained limp, motionless.
"Luffy," said Sabo, his tone steady but urgent. "Ace must have fallen asleep—just like everyone else. Let's get him out of here before something happens!"
Luffy nodded, still trembling with emotion. He tugged at the iron chains binding Ace's wrists—
only for his body to go weak as his hands touched the metal.
"I… I can't move! This is seastone!"
"Leave it to me."
Sabo stepped forward. His right hand hardened, taking the form of a dragon's claw. The air shimmered around it as Armament Haki coated his fingers.
He clenched tightly around the chain—
but even his Dragon Claw Fist couldn't break through the near-pure seastone.
"Could the key be with the Marine Marshal?"
Karas, whose body was transformed into a murder of soot-black crows, spoke in a low voice.
Hearing that, Luffy's eyes lit up. "Then let's find it!"
He immediately turned toward the unconscious Fleet Admiral Sengoku lying nearby—
only for Sabo to grab his arm in alarm.
"Wait, Luffy! Don't act rashly!" he warned.
"The top fighters here—those with advanced Observation Haki—can sense danger even subconsciously. We don't know what kind of state they're in. If you touch them, you might wake them up!"
Luffy froze, frowning. "Then what about Ace's cuffs?"
"If we can't unlock them, then we'll take the entire platform board with us," said Revolutionary Army Commander Lindbergh, his voice calm but sharp.
"Good idea!" Sabo's eyes brightened.
He immediately drove his claws into the thick wood of the execution platform, cutting through it as easily as tofu. Within seconds, he had severed the section connecting Ace's chains.
"Got it! Let's go, Luffy!" Sabo said, slinging Ace over his back.
"Yeah!" Luffy shouted, following close behind.
They had only just escaped the platform when Sabo suddenly stiffened.
A chill ran through him.
Ace's breathing—his heartbeat—had turned weak and chaotic.
Elsewhere — On the Whale Ship's Bow
Rayleigh's expression shifted. His sharp senses picked up something wrong.
He turned toward Whitebeard, towering like a mountain in the distance.
Two silent tears rolled down the old pirate's weathered face.
"Newgate… what's happening on your side?" Rayleigh murmured quietly.
At the Bay Square
"Sabo! What's going on?" Luffy shouted, panic seizing his voice. "Ace's life card—it's burning! Damn it, it won't stop burning!"
The joy on his face vanished, replaced by raw fear.
Fortunately—
the life card stopped before it was completely gone.
Though most of it was reduced to ash, a small fragment remained.
As long as it wasn't fully burned, it meant Ace was still alive. There was still hope.
Both brothers exhaled in relief.
Then—
darkness surged across the execution platform.
"Oi, oi… can someone tell me what's going on here?"
The sudden, deep voice shattered the tense silence.
Ten tall, menacing figures emerged from the shadows—
led by the hulking, grinning form of the new Warlord of the Sea, Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach.
One hour before the Summit War began, Teach and his crew had vanished from Marineford, where they'd been summoned as newly recognized Shichibukai.
No one knew where they went.
But Marine Headquarters hadn't bothered to question their absence—
and that was exactly what Blackbeard had counted on.
From the very day Ace was captured, his plan had been in motion.
He'd deliberately provoked the all-out war between Whitebeard and the Marines, knowing both sides would exhaust their forces.
While the world's attention was fixed on Marineford, he slipped away—heading for Impel Down, the great underwater prison.
With Lafitte's hypnosis powers, the Gates of Justice had opened without resistance.
The Blackbeard crew stormed through every level unhindered.
This time, there was no Straw Hat-led riot—
but the result was almost identical.
After a few bloody twists and turns, they freed the infamous Warden Shiryu of the Rain,
igniting yet another riot in the depths of Eternal Hell.
And from that chaos, Blackbeard gained the monstrous allies he needed.
Now, his crew had returned to Marineford—ready to seize the spoils.
According to Teach's plan, by the time they came back, the war would already be over.
Whitebeard—though powerful—would have fallen after battling the full might of Marine Headquarters.
Then, Teach would step in, take Whitebeard's head, steal the Gura Gura no Mi, and ascend to the throne of the seas.
Everything had been perfect.
Everything should have gone according to plan.
But now—
Something was terribly wrong.
From the moment they'd landed near Marineford's rear port, Blackbeard's crew had sensed it.
Why was it… so quiet?
The battlefield that should have been shaking the world was utterly still.
Not the sound of gunfire, not the clash of swords—only silence.
When they reached the square, they finally understood why.
Over 150,000 people—Marines and pirates alike—had collapsed.
"Oi, oi! What the hell happened here?" Blackbeard roared, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Wasn't there supposed to be a war today? What is this?!"
"Did… did they all kill each other?" shouted Burgess, the so-called Fighting Champion.
"No," said Van Augur, his voice low, eyes narrowing behind his scope. "Everyone's still alive. And this place… doesn't look like a battlefield at all."
Shiryu, the former Impel Down guard captain, frowned. "So, just as the war was about to begin—something knocked everyone unconscious?"
"That's impossible, meow," Catarina Devon hissed, her crescent-shaped grin faltering.
"Even the strongest Conqueror's Haki couldn't do this! What kind of monster could make every fighter on this battlefield collapse?"
"Gods, maybe?" mused Avalo Pizarro mockingly.
Basco Shot raised his barrel and sniffed the air. "Even the Admirals, the Marshal, the Four Emperors—none of them should fall this easily."
Then a deep, sand-roughened voice cut through the confusion.
"If it's that man's doing… it's not so hard to believe."
Everyone turned.
Crocodile stood there, arms crossed, his coat whipping in the wind. His gaze was locked on a single figure floating above the battlefield—
Sugisawa Yuuto.