The time was noon—12:00 sharp.
At Marineford, the eyes of the entire world were fixed on one place.
In the very center of the plaza, the massive execution platform loomed over the square.
Under the watchful guard of two executioners armed with long spears, the 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Fire Fist Ace, was escorted up the steps. His expression was clouded, his steps heavy, each one dragging him closer to the top of the platform.
The time had come.
The motivational speeches to rally the forces had ended.
From across the world, one hundred thousand elite Marines stood in perfect formation. The air was solemn and tense—so tense that even the clouds in the white sky seemed to scatter and vanish.
Right now, the Marine force was nothing short of a dragon's den, a tiger's lair—ready to devour anyone foolish enough to enter.
They were waiting for the Whitebeard Pirates to walk right into the trap.
At the front of the Marine ranks, standing upon raised stone platforms, were the summoned Seven Warlords of the Sea—or at least, those who had answered the call.
"Ahi hihi hihi… so this is our ultimate fighting force, huh?"
The rotund and twisted Gekko Moria chuckled darkly.
"Fufufufufu… right now, this place is the center of the world!"
The flamboyant Heavenly Yaksha, Donquixote Doflamingo, laughed wildly without a care.
"Luffy… please be safe! I'm so worried!"
The world's most beautiful woman, the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, pressed a hand to her chest, her stunning face clouded with concern.
"Straw Hat…?"
The world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, raised an eyebrow and glanced at the Empress, but said nothing.
The fully cybernetic tyrant, Bartholomew Kuma, remained silent as always: "..."
Of the Seven Warlords, five stood here ready for battle.
The sixth—Knight of the Sea Jinbe—had openly defied Fleet Admiral Sengoku and refused to fight, resulting in his imprisonment in Impel Down. At this very moment, he was making his way toward the battlefield alongside a certain young man wearing a straw hat.
As for the seventh, the newly appointed Warlord Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach, the man who had replaced Crocodile and helped set today's war into motion—he was currently deep underground in Level 6 of Impel Down's Eternal Hell, busy recruiting powerful allies.
Behind the Warlords stood the Marine elite units—divided into squads of one hundred, battalions of one thousand, and grand divisions of ten thousand—each commanded by veteran officers.
Occupying the very center of the plaza, just before the execution platform, were the Marine Vice Admirals Yamakaji, Doberman, Momonga, Onigumo, Strawberry, and Stainless, each in command of a ten-thousand-man division.
On either flank stood six Vice Admirals of the giant race, their sheer presence radiating unmatched power.
The Execution Platform – Second Level
Here stood three living legends from the previous era:
The "Hero of the Marines," Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp!
The Vice Admiral and Chief of Staff, Tsuru!
And Black Arm Zephyr, the current Chief Instructor of the Marines—who normally would never have joined the battle, but whose presence here was another ripple caused by the "butterfly effect."
---
The Execution Platform – Third Level
Guarding Ace directly were the Marine's three strongest active fighters:
Admiral Aokiji Kuzan!
Admiral Akainu Sakazuki!
Admiral Kizaru Borsalino!
At the very top of the execution platform stood the heart of the Marines—their unshakable pillar—
Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha, radiating absolute authority.
The strongest possible Marine battle formation had been completed.
Every officer and soldier was burning with fighting spirit, ready to crush the Whitebeard Pirates in one decisive blow—and in doing so, strike a major blow to the Four Emperors of the New World.
---
The air was deathly still.
"Everyone,"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku's voice rang out from the execution platform as he began his final rallying speech.
"Today marks a moment of great importance!"
"Before we begin the execution, there is something I must announce to you all—something that concerns the necessity of today's public execution."
His voice, amplified by Den Den Mushi, echoed across the entire plaza—and in real time, across the world to Sabaody Archipelago.
Gulp…
In the plaza, one hundred thousand Marines stood in tense anticipation.
At Sabaody, tens of thousands of reporters and spectators leaned forward, holding their breath.
All eyes were fixed on Sengoku.
---
The Fleet Admiral lowered his gaze, looking directly at Ace.
"Portgas D. Ace—state the name of your father."
His voice was sharp and commanding.
At the words, Ace's expression flickered for the briefest moment—but he quickly composed himself.
"My father… is Whitebeard, Edward Newgate."
"Wrong,"
Sengoku's denial was absolute.
"You're wrong! My only father is Whitebeard—there is no one else!" Ace's voice was firm.
"At the time, we risked our lives to uncover the identity of that man's final child. Even with CP's intelligence, with all our investigations into his birthplace, the child's mother, everything—we found nothing!"
"And that is only natural… because your birth was bought with your mother's life!" Sengoku declared, his voice ringing with steel.
"That woman deceived not only us, but the entire world. Your mother's name… was Portgas D. Rouge!"
"Her actions went far beyond anything we could imagine—she carried you in her womb for twenty full months, defying all logic, all medical sense! And yet, because of that, she protected you from those who sought your life!"
"One year and three months after your father's death, the child who inherited the most evil bloodline in the world was born!"
"You know it already, don't you? Your father's name… was Gol D. Roger!!!"
Sengoku's voice roared like thunder, announcing to the entire world the earth-shattering secret that had been buried for twenty years!