Sengoku turned toward the source of the commotion and instantly recognized one of the figures, it was none other than Monkey D. Luffy, the grandson of his old friend Garp.
"Garp! It's your grandson again! How much more trouble are you planning to dump on me?!"
Sengoku glared at Garp irritably.
Garp gave a helpless laugh. "Why is that brat here too? Wasn't he supposed to be near Jaya Island?"
"Who else could've sent him here? It's gotta be that guy from Skypiea!"
"This is bad. If that brat Arima decides to get involved, we don't have the manpower to stop him!"
"Relax. If he really wanted to join this war, he wouldn't have gone to Mary Geoise."
Sengoku quickly pieced it together, Arima must have used the Marineford war as a distraction to invade Mary Geoise.
What he couldn't understand was why. With that kind of power, why attack Mary Geoise now?
Was it really just to take advantage of the clash between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates?
On the execution platform, Ace spotted Luffy and shouted in shock and frustration, "Idiot! Who told you to come and save me?!"
Luffy beamed up at him, yelling, "Me and Sabo came to take you home!"
Right beside him, Sabo called out too, "Sorry I'm late, Ace! Let's go home together this time!"
Hearing that oh-so-familiar voice and seeing the face that looked so much like his own, Ace stared in disbelief. "Sabo?! You're alive?!"
Tears of joy welled up in his eyes as he muttered over and over, "Heh… you're alive… thank goodness you're alive…"
Looking from his father Whitebeard, Marco, and the others aboard the Moby Dick to his two brothers who had grown up with him, Ace felt his will to live flare up again.
For the first time in a long while, he longed for freedom, he wanted to live.
Forcing back his tears, Ace shouted, "Thank you all for coming to save me! I will live, and I'll go home with you!"
Their exchange reignited the fighting spirit across the battlefield. Yet even so, the immense, godlike presence that had descended moments ago remained branded into everyone's hearts.
Whitebeard, standing proudly at the prow of the Moby Dick, threw back his head and laughed heartily. He raised his arm high and roared, "Save Ace!"
The Whitebeard Pirates rallied instantly, shouting in unison, "Save Ace!"
Sengoku watched the rising morale of the pirates below and compared it to the sinking spirits of his Marines. A bad feeling gnawed at him.
Before he could act, a call came in from the Marines stationed at the Sabaody Archipelago.
"This is Sengoku."
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! Former Warlord Bartholomew Kuma and Boa Hancock are leading large forces against us! The situation is critical! Please send reinforcements, ahhhh!"
The voice on the other end broke off in screams, then silence.
Sengoku's expression darkened. Whoever had been on the other end was likely dead.
Disaster rarely comes alone, more urgent intelligence arrived from all four seas.
He tore open the reports and skimmed through them, his face growing gloomier with every page.
Cross-referencing Arima's strange movements with the uprisings of the Revolutionary Army and the Kuja Pirates at Sabaody, Sengoku finally understood the scope of it all.
"So this was your plan all along… You intend to overthrow eight hundred years of World Government rule, don't you? That pillar of light, that's your trump card?"
A cold, oppressive aura radiated from him as his tone turned grave.
Garp, seeing his friend's face pale and harden, asked worriedly, "What happened?"
Sengoku's eyes gleamed coldly. "That 'Arima brat' you mentioned… he's trying to topple the entire World Government!"
"What? He's gone that far?" Garp murmured in disbelief.
Sengoku shook his head grimly. "Forget Mary Geoise for now. We must annihilate the Whitebeard Pirates. I cannot allow the bloodline of that demon to be rescued!"
He looked down at Ace, his gaze resolute.
Garp sat beside Ace, rubbing his forehead wearily before lowering himself cross-legged beside his grandson.
Sengoku left him be, his mind already consumed by the escalating battle.
Garp spoke softly to Ace.
"Ace… don't blame your grandpa for being heartless. I wanted to raise you and Luffy as Marines, not to shackle your dreams, but to protect you.
But now… both of you chose to be pirates. You've made it so hard for this old man…"
Tears rolled down his wrinkled cheeks. His voice cracked, unable to continue.
"Gramps, I… I'm sorry…" Ace choked out, unable to find more words.
In that moment, he finally understood Garp's intentions. As he gazed at the white-haired old man, memories of their carefree days together surfaced, days that now felt so far away.
Still, he had no regrets. If he were given another chance, he would make the same choice, to set sail, to challenge the old man Whitebeard, for that was where his true home lay.
The battle below grew fiercer, locked in a tense stalemate.
Then, one of the Admirals finally moved, and Kizaru rose from the platform.
In an instant, he became pure light, appearing before Luffy and Sabo.
A golden blade of light formed in his hand as he swung from Luffy's blind spot.
Sabo sensed the incoming strike through his Observation Haki, but he was already engaged with another opponent and couldn't intervene.
He shouted desperately, "Luffy! Watch out!"
Luffy turned his head just in time to see the tall figure descending upon him with a shining sword, but there was no time to dodge. He clenched his eyes shut instinctively.
The blow never landed.
When Luffy opened his eyes, an old man with white hair and beard stood before him, blocking the golden blade with a jet-black sword.
"Well, well… terrifying as ever. Didn't expect the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh, to take the field himself," Kizaru said with a mocking smile, peering down from his taller height.
"Heh, just a has-been with a bit of reputation. But I still have my pride, I wouldn't lift a hand against a kid," Rayleigh shot back.
"This kid, though… he's something else," Kizaru replied, his eyes narrowing.
He had seen the potential in that brief exchange, this one was dangerous.
Rayleigh ignored him and turned to Luffy. "Go, save Ace. Leave this to me."
Luffy nodded without hesitation, scrambling to his feet and sprinting toward the execution platform. "Thanks, Rayleigh!" he called over his shoulder.
Rayleigh smiled faintly. No wonder Shanks values him so much.
He turned back to Kizaru, his expression steeling. "I won't let you snuff out Roger's son."
"How terrifying," Kizaru quipped lightly.
A flash of light burst from his foot as he launched a blinding kick. Rayleigh met it with his sword, and the two legends clashed, light and darkness colliding in a storm of sparks.
Rayleigh's arrival instantly tilted the tide in favor of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Sengoku, sensing the moment to spring his trap, pulled out a Den Den Mushi and barked, "Proceed as planned!"
Deep within Marineford's base, hidden mechanisms roared to life.
All around the plaza, towering steel walls began to rise, locking together until they sealed off the entire battlefield.