For a moment, the two men simply stood there.
Neither needed to explain the boundaries between them.
Whitebeard had come to retrieve his son.
Arthur had entered Marineford for reasons of his own.
Their objectives were different, but neither had any intention of standing in the other's way.
Then Rayleigh stepped forward.
His eyes settled on Whitebeard.
"Newgate."
Whitebeard's expression changed.
He looked at the former right-hand man of the Pirate King.
"Rayleigh."
The name carried the weight of another era.
For a moment, the sounds of the battlefield seemed strangely distant.
"Ace." Rayleigh looked toward the execution platform. "You knew about him from the start?"
Whitebeard's gaze followed his.
"I knew he was Roger's son." Whitebeard's eyes narrowed.
Rayleigh continued quietly. "What I didn't know was how far you intended to go for him."
"Everything for my son." Whitebeard's grin disappeared.
Rayleigh looked at him. "You never told me."
"It's my family." Whitebeard shrugged.
A faint smile returned to Rayleigh's face.
"That sounds like you."
Arthur remained silent between them.
He understood that this was not his conversation.
The two men standing before him belonged to the generation that had once sailed alongside Roger, fought against one another, and witnessed the end of an era.
Yet now they stood together on opposite sides of the same history.
Rayleigh's eyes returned to Ace. "He looks like Roger."
"Don't tell him that." Whitebeard snorted.
"I wasn't planning to." Rayleigh laughed softly.
"That boy spent his entire life trying to escape the shadow of his father's name. He became my son because he chose to." Whitebeard's gaze hardened.
"I know." Rayleigh's expression became solemn.
"He ain't Roger's replacement."
"No."
"He ain't some symbol for the next generation."
"He's Ace." Rayleigh looked toward the execution platform.
"My son." Whitebeard nodded.
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Arthur watched them quietly.
Then his expression changed.
His eyes shifted toward the distant sea.
"What is it?" Rayleigh noticed.
Arthur didn't answer immediately.
He looked back toward Whitebeard.
"There is something else." Arthur's voice lowered. "Blackbeard, Teach."
Whitebeard's attention returned to him.
The single name was enough to change the atmosphere.
Whitebeard's eyes hardened.
The commanders nearby also became alert.
Marco looked toward Arthur. "Teach?"
"Marshall D. Teach." Arthur nodded. "You've been thinking about him?"
Whitebeard's grip tightened around his bisento.
"I've been watching him for a while." Whitebeard's expression became colder. "He was one of my sons."
"Not anymore." Arthur met his eyes.
Whitebeard said nothing.
"He's shown me enough to know that his ambition is anything but ordinary." Arthur continued. "He left your crew."
"I know." Whitebeard's gaze remained fixed on him.
"He betrayed his own division."
"I know."
"He murdered a crewmate."
Whitebeard's voice became heavier. "I know exactly what Teach did."
Arthur didn't press the matter.
Instead, he looked toward the battlefield.
"Then you know why I'm warning you."
"Warning me about what?" Whitebeard followed his gaze.
Arthur's eyes narrowed. "Don't assume this war is the only thing you need to worry about."
The words settled between them.
Marco's expression became thoughtful.
Jozu glanced toward Whitebeard.
Even Whitebeard remained silent for a moment.
Arthur continued.
"Teach doesn't need to stand on this battlefield to influence what happens here."
Whitebeard's eyes hardened. "You think he's planning something else."
"I think Teach is the kind of man who waits until everyone else has exhausted themselves."
Rayleigh's expression became serious. "A scavenger?"
"A patient one." Arthur glanced at him.
Whitebeard's fingers tightened around his weapon.
"Teach has always been ambitious."
"Ambition isn't the problem," Arthur replied, his gaze growing colder. "It's what he's willing to do to satisfy it."
Whitebeard stared at Arthur.
The old Emperor knew Teach better than anyone on the battlefield.
Yet there was something in Arthur's tone that caught his attention.
Arthur wasn't speculating.
He was warning him.
Finally, Whitebeard gave a low laugh.
"Gurararara…"
"Pops?" Marco looked toward him.
Whitebeard's grin returned, but his eyes remained sharp.
"You've got quite a lot of confidence in your judgment, brat."
"Enough to give you a warning." Arthur shrugged.
"I'll remember it." Whitebeard nodded slowly.
That was all.
No promise.
No argument.
But Arthur understood that Whitebeard had heard him.
The old Emperor turned toward his crew.
"Marco."
"Yeah?"
"Keep an eye on everything outside the battlefield."
"Understood." Marco's expression sharpened.
Whitebeard looked back at Arthur.
Arthur turned away. "I've said what I came to say."
Rayleigh remained beside Whitebeard.
"Newgate."
Whitebeard raised an eyebrow.
"Bring him home." Rayleigh's eyes moved toward Ace.
"That was always the plan." Whitebeard's expression softened.
"That guy…"
"What?" Whitebeard glanced at him.
"Arthur doesn't seem like someone who gives warnings without a reason."
"He doesn't." Rayleigh's eyes remained on the battlefield. "He knows what he's doing, and he has all kinds of plans I can't predict."
Marco looked toward the horizon. "Then Teach…"
Whitebeard's expression darkened.
"Forget Teach for now." He raised his bisento. "We have a family to bring home."
"Right." Marco nodded.
Whitebeard turned toward his crew.
"MOVE FORWARD!"
The pirates roared in response.
Arthur watched from the edge of the battlefield as Whitebeard's forces continued their assault.
Arthur's expression remained calm.
But his thoughts remained fixed on the same name.
Marshall D. Teach.
He had not seen him.
Not yet.
And somehow, that was precisely what concerned him.
But somewhere beyond Marineford, another piece on the board was already moving.
And Arthur had a feeling that when Teach finally appeared—
he would not come as a pirate looking for a fight.
He would come when everyone else was too exhausted to stop him.
Arthur's warning to Whitebeard had been delivered, but the uneasy feeling surrounding the unseen Teach remained in the back of his mind. The war was already consuming Marineford, yet Arthur knew the battlefield was only one part of what was unfolding.
Neither the pirates nor the Marines noticed a small Den Den Mushi hidden beneath a nearby Marine structure.
Its eyes remained fixed on Arthur.
Listening.
Watching.
Then its receiver clicked softly.
A distant voice spoke from the other end.
"Keep watching him."
The connection ended.
And far away, hidden beyond the chaos of Marineford, someone was already waiting.
The battle around the execution platform had grown more chaotic.
Marco and all the division commanders were still fighting their way forward, while the Marines desperately attempted to prevent them from reaching Ace. Cannon fire shook the fortress, and the cries of soldiers and pirates echoed across the battlefield.
Ace remained on his knees.
His eyes followed the approaching figures below.
Then—
Something small drifted through the smoke.
A paperplane.
It floated gently above the battlefield, carried by the wind.
At first, nobody paid attention to it.
The small piece of paper slipped between the surrounding soldiers and continued toward the execution platform.
Closer.
Closer.
Sengoku noticed it.
His eyes narrowed.
"A piece of paper?"
The object moved unnaturally against the wind.
Sengoku's expression changed.
"That isn't ordinary paper."
The sheet suddenly folded itself.
Its shape transformed into a small paper airplane.
It continued gliding toward the platform.
Sengoku's eyes sharpened.
"Damn."
He wanted to make a move, but—
The paper airplane reached the edge of the execution platform.
Then—
FLASH.
The paper airplane disappeared.
Two figures appeared beside Ace.
One stood calmly.
The other stood slightly behind him.
The first figure was immediately recognizable.
A long coat moved gently in the wind.
His expression was calm.
His eyes were fixed directly on Sengoku.
Phantasm D. Arthur.
Beside him stood a woman with long green hair and an elegant appearance.
Her nine tails fluttered behind her before disappearing.
Monet.
The reaction was instantaneous.
"What?!"
"Arthur?!"
"He's on the execution platform!"
"How did he get there?!"
"He was just on the Athena!"
The entire battlefield seemed to stop.
Marines stared upward in disbelief.
Whitebeard Pirates turned toward the platform.
The Warlords froze.
Even the Admirals looked toward the sudden appearance.
Marco's eyes widened. "What the hell…?"
"He just appeared beside Ace." Jozu stared at the platform.
Whitebeard's gaze hardened.
But he did not move.
He knew Arthur would definitely keep the promise they had made, and a little regret lingered in his heart.
On the platform, Ace slowly turned his head.
His eyes widened.
"Arthur…?"
Arthur looked at him.
Monet remained silent.
Beside them, Sengoku's expression had become extremely tense.
For several seconds, he simply stared.
Arthur had somehow bypassed the Marine defenses and appeared directly beside the prisoner.
Beside Ace.
Beside the man whose execution had started the war.
A thought immediately crossed the minds of everyone watching.
Was Arthur here to save Ace?
Another question followed.
Had Whitebeard asked for his help?
And if Arthur intended to intervene—
Was this war about to end?
Sengoku's eyes hardened.
But the Fleet Admiral quickly suppressed his surprise.
He stepped forward.
"Arthur." His voice carried across the platform. "What do you want?"
Arthur looked at him.
For a moment, the noise of the battlefield seemed distant.
Sengoku studied the man standing before him.
The memories of another time briefly surfaced in his mind.
A young boy.
A child who had once sat before him at Anemone Residence.
A boy who had listened quietly while Sengoku taught him about the world beyond the walls.
A boy who had eventually grown into one of the most dangerous pirates alive.
Sengoku's expression softened for only a moment.
"If you still remember those days," he said quietly,
Arthur remained silent.
"When you were a child and sat before me to learn…" His gaze hardened again. "Then I'm asking you not to interfere in this war."
Sengoku continued.
"Whatever your reasons for coming here, don't turn this battlefield into something even worse."
"I won't." Arthur finally answered.
Sengoku's eyes narrowed.
Arthur glanced briefly toward Whitebeard. "Whitebeard asked me not to interfere."
A murmur spread through the battlefield.
Whitebeard's eyes remained fixed on Arthur.
Arthur continued calmly. "So I won't."
"You came all the way here…" Sengoku seemed slightly surprised.
Arthur nodded.
"But I'm not here to fight." His gaze shifted toward Ace. "I only wanted to ask him something."
Ace looked at him.
Arthur stepped closer. "Do you regret all of this?"
Ace said nothing.
Arthur waited.
The question sounded simple.
But the battlefield seemed to grow quieter around them.
Arthur continued.
"If you had listened to Garp and never become a pirate…" His eyes remained on Ace. "None of this would have happened."
Ace lowered his gaze.
"If you hadn't gone after Teach alone…" Arthur's voice remained calm. "None of this would have happened."
Ace's fingers tightened against the restraints.
A painful silence followed.
Arthur continued.
"If you had trained harder… become stronger… perhaps you wouldn't be kneeling here now."
Ace remained silent.
He didn't defend himself.
He didn't make excuses.
Arthur watched him for several seconds.
That silence was enough.
He understood.
Arthur slowly turned away.
"That's all I wanted to say."
Monet moved beside him.
But before leaving, Arthur stopped.
"Your two brothers are risking their lives to save you." He glanced back at Ace.
Ace's eyes widened.
"Don't waste that." Arthur's expression remained unreadable.
"Arthur…" Ace's lips parted slightly.
But Arthur had already turned away.
Monet raised one hand.
Sengoku's eyes sharpened.
"Wait—!"
But it was already too late.
Within milliseconds—
they vanished.
No explosion.
No smoke.
No attack.
They simply disappeared from the execution platform.
A stunned silence followed.
Then—
The small paper airplane appeared again above the platform.
It floated gently in the air.
Sengoku looked up.
His expression hardened.
Without hesitation, he raised one hand.
A powerful shockwave erupted from his palm.
BOOM!
The paper airplane was obliterated.
Tiny fragments scattered through the air before disappearing completely.
Sengoku lowered his hand.
His eyes remained fixed on the empty space where Arthur had stood.
Around him, Marines were still struggling to understand what had just happened.
Arthur had appeared beside Ace.
He had spoken to him.
He had left.
And he had never once attacked.
Below the platform, Whitebeard slowly smiled.
"Gurararara…"
"Pops?" Marco looked toward him.
Whitebeard's eyes remained on the empty execution platform.
"That brat…" His grin widened. "He really is something."
On the other side of the battlefield, Sengoku's expression remained grim.
Arthur had kept his word.
He had not interfered.
But somehow, his brief appearance had made the entire battlefield even more uneasy.
Because everyone had now witnessed something terrifying.
Arthur could reach Ace whenever he wanted.
And he had deliberately chosen not to save him.