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[email protected]/Heroicverse
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In the original story of Bleach, Kyōka Suigetsu was practically a BUG, but the Devil Fruits of the One Piece world were equally formidable. Auguro didn't want Aizen Sousuke to accidentally meet his downfall!
"Understood! I will be careful!"
In fact, Aizen didn't need Auguro's reminder. He had seen the Fleet Admiral from a distance once. He had sensed a near-perfect soul emanating from the man! His Kyōka Suigetsu simply couldn't completely hypnotize him.
However, Aizen didn't need to completely hypnotize Sengoku! He was merely an infiltrator, not planning to turn the entire Navy into his puppets.
The two ended the communication.
Not long after, Auguro received a call from Hancock.
"That Straw Hat boy failed! Because he caused too much of a ruckus, Ace has already been taken away prematurely."
There was a faint trace of regret in Hancock's tone. After all, if Luffy had succeeded, she wouldn't have had to fight the Whitebeard Pirates. Plus, she would have gotten a good laugh at the expense of the Marines and the World Government!
Unfortunately, he failed.
"Where is Luffy?" Auguro asked.
Hancock sounded uncertain, "He disappeared on Level 5 of Impel Down! He must have hidden somewhere!"
Auguro's heart stirred. Level 5 of Impel Down? Then he must have met Ivankov!
Sure enough, a prison break was still necessary!
Auguro shook his head. The affairs of the Protagonist were not for him to worry about. Since Ace had been taken away, the curtain had officially risen on the Summit War.
It was time for him to prepare!
That same night, Auguro received news that the Straw Hat Pirates wanted to set sail!
It turned out that after successfully breaking out of prison, Luffy contacted them to let them know he was safe. After learning that Luffy was heading to Marineford, the crew couldn't sit still.
They couldn't help him get into Impel Down, but now that their captain was heading toward certain doom, how could they stand by and do nothing?
Unfortunately, the Thousand Sunny had just begun construction, so they could only pilot the recently patched-up Going Merry toward Marineford!
"I'm telling you, are you sure you want to go to Marineford? The newspaper says the Marines have gathered 100,000 elite soldiers there! You'll be throwing your lives away!"
Inside the dockyard, Paulie was trying to persuade the Straw Hat Pirates, who were lowering the Merry into the sea.
"We are comrades! Even if we die, we will die together!"
With Luffy absent, Zoro took up the mantle of the crew's leader and spoke with unwavering determination.
"Y-yeah! We will definitely save Luffy and Ace!"
Usopp raised a hand high, looking full of heroic fervor. Unfortunately, his continuously trembling legs betrayed his true emotions.
The others didn't speak, but the look in their eyes said it all.
Paulie sighed helplessly.
"The Merry has been hastily repaired, but no one knows how long she'll last! I can only wish you good luck!"
"You've already helped us enormously!" Zoro expressed his solemn gratitude.
Under the cover of night, the Merry hoisted her sails and departed. Auguro watched quietly from a distance.
He had already met the Klabautermann of the Merry. It was a very innocent and pure spirit. The feeling it gave him was very similar to a Zanpakutō!
Auguro had once asked if it needed his help to leave the Merry and gain a new life. The offer was refused.
The ship spirit's answer was simple: it had to remain with the Merry. If the Straw Hats ever ran into trouble in the future, it could help them one last time!
Now, just as the ship spirit had said, the time for its final action had arrived. Auguro knew that after this, the Merry was finally destined to meet her end at sea! Even if she could reach Marineford, she wouldn't survive the hail of bullets and cannon fire there!
"There isn't much time left until Ace's execution! They probably won't make it in time, will they?" Paulie said resignedly from beside him.
Auguro smiled at this. "No! They will make it!"
You underestimate the power of a ship spirit!
The reason Auguro felt the ship spirit was similar to a Zanpakutō was that its existence seemed to grant the ship a Shikai (Initial Release)!
The ship's performance was greatly enhanced, and it could navigate with its own consciousness. The Merry could choose the shortest route and head straight for the heart of the conflict!
Five days later, the day of Ace's execution finally arrived.
The Marines, in a bid to display their strength and authority, chose to broadcast the event live! The matter caused a huge commotion across the seas.
However, many people were also confused: why hadn't the Whitebeard Pirates made any move?
Many began to speculate:
"They must be scared!"
"It's 100,000 elite Marines, after all. No matter how strong the Whitebeard Pirates are, they can't take on 100,000 people!"
"That makes sense! I heard the Warlords of the Sea have also been summoned. If the Whitebeard Pirates dare to show up, they'll be annihilated!"
A host of ignorant people brazenly mocked the Whitebeard Pirates. However, those who truly understood them were now sitting on pins and needles.
Like Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
He was currently raging in his office.
"What do you mean, they're missing? Didn't I tell you to continuously monitor Whitebeard's movements?"
A bitter voice came through the Den Den Mushi (Transponder Snail).
"The Whitebeard Pirates planned it. All monitoring ships were destroyed almost simultaneously."
"By the time we received the report and rushed over, all of the Whitebeard Pirates had vanished!"
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
Sengoku cursed loudly.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, next to him, couldn't watch anymore and advised, "Don't blame them! If Whitebeard wants to do something, those young men certainly can't stop him!"
"The most important thing now is to be prepared to respond!"
"No matter what tricks Whitebeard is playing, he will ultimately come to Marineford!"
Sengoku nodded.
"So be it! Now, we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate!"
At 6:00 AM, six hours before the scheduled execution time.
Over fifty warships had already gathered at the port of Marineford! Dense rows of Marine soldiers marched onto the plaza at the port. This place would be the execution site for Ace and the battlefield for the Summit War!
Aizen Sousuke, Smoker, and Hina stood to the side, watching the tide of people with grave expressions. As the saying goes, a crowd of over ten thousand is boundless. An entire 100,000 elites were gathered here!
"Both of you, please be careful in this battle! Even a Devil Fruit user can die accidentally in a battlefield like this!" Aizen Sousuke pushed up his glasses, his tone sincere.
"Don't worry! I'm no rookie!" Hina flipped her hair, her eyes firm.
Then, she looked at Smoker, her tone teasing.
"But Smoker! Don't think you can just charge in recklessly because you're a Logia!"
"If you get targeted by those Division Commanders, you'll be in trouble! No one will be there to clean up your mess this time!"
Smoker's face immediately darkened.
"I don't need your reminder!"
He might be a bit reckless, but he wasn't an idiot! The Whitebeard Pirates were not something he could handle alone!
Suddenly, the bustling plaza quieted down.
From the back of the plaza, several dangerous-looking figures walked in with a haughty, arrogant gait.