He went off claiming it was a life-or-death challenge—
and in the end, he straight-up became someone else's son.
Back then, Roger had directly snatched away Whitebeard's most prized second-division commander, Kozuki Oden.
Twenty-odd years later, the wheel of fate turned full circle—
Whitebeard struck back by taking in Roger's biological son instead.
And in the end, that kid's reverence for Whitebeard ran even deeper than his feelings toward his real father, Roger.
This kind of plot development was so absurd it carried a pitch-black sense of humor.
Just thinking about the karma and causality involved made a mischievous amusement rise in Tenma's heart—
the kind only a transmigrator could truly appreciate.
Still, melodramatic as it was…
As long as the overall direction continued along the script he'd envisioned, the details didn't really matter.
Under Tenma's cold gaze, Ace's greatest value at this point boiled down to one thing—
The blood flowing through his veins.
As the posthumous son of Pirate King Gol D. Roger, the moment Ace's identity was exposed to the world,
The Marines—both to uphold so-called justice and to prove the "correctness" of executing Roger at the cost of igniting the Great Pirate Era—
would spare no price to completely erase this so-called "sinful bloodline."
In other words, Ace was a walking super bomb.
At any moment, he could ignite a world-shaking war that would completely alter the course of history.
And now that he had become Whitebeard's son, the fuse of the Paramount War had already been buried.
This war would not only deal a crippling blow to the Marines, the World Government's strongest military arm—
Tenma could also fish in troubled waters and seize that Devil Fruit hailed as the strongest Paramecia:
The Quake-Quake Fruit.
But even more critical—
Was Whitebeard's soul-shaking final declaration before death:
"ONE PIECE… DOES EXIST!"
That single sentence would re-ignite a sea that had grown somewhat calm under the conscription policies,
and propel the world toward the true chaos and upheaval that would erupt two years later.
Sea Circle Calendar Year 1518.
Only the penultimate year remained before the original storyline officially began.
The gears of the world continued to turn—
slowly, quietly, beneath an appearance of calm.
The once-every-four-years World Conference convened once again.
The massive World Government, which had once boasted over two hundred affiliated nations,
now found its attendance quietly reduced to just over one hundred eighty.
This wasn't only because the underground world had grown rampant, with arms trafficking becoming far too easy and destabilizing regimes everywhere.
More importantly—
In just these four short years, the organization known as the Revolutionary Army had "liberated" no fewer than ten affiliated nations.
Its leader, Dragon—the man branded the "World's Most Dangerous Criminal"—
had forced the World Government to establish a dedicated covert task force after being officially targeted.
There had been results.
Key Revolutionary figures such as Emporio Ivankov, the "Queen of the Kamabakka Kingdom," along with some members, were captured and imprisoned in the iron fortress of Impel Down.
This forced the Revolutionary Army to temporarily go underground.
But anyone with eyes could see—
As long as Dragon himself remained at large, the threat posed by the Revolutionary Army would never truly diminish.
As affiliated nations, these kingdoms paid enormous sums of Heavenly Tribute each year—
in exchange for the protection of the World Government and the Marines.
True, under the influence of the global draft, the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line had stabilized somewhat.
But in recent years—
Figures like Red-Hair Shanks, Zephyr, and last year's headline-dominating Fire Fist Ace
had all clearly demonstrated that the government's suppression of pirates was still far from sufficient.
And now, at this critical juncture, an even greater danger had emerged—
The Revolutionary Army, which directly threatened the very foundations of global rule.
This became the primary excuse for the affiliated kings to launch their offensive during the conference.
The government officials presiding over the meeting remained calm and unflustered—
clearly long accustomed to this sort of scene.
Those in the know understood perfectly well.
These security risks certainly existed, yes.
But at the end of the day, the kings had only one real goal—
to save money.
Every World Conference, like clockwork, there were always a few shrewd monarchs hoping to shave down the amount of Heavenly Tribute they paid.
Some wanted to line their own pockets.
Others genuinely wished to ease the burden on their citizens.
But how could those fox-like government elders ever let a fat piece of meat escape their mouths?
By regulation, any proposal required approval from more than half of the attending nations to pass.
The reason proposals to reduce Heavenly Tribute almost never succeeded wasn't because kings despised money—
but because every four years, the World Government always produced something convincing enough to shut them up.
Last time, it had been the Global Conscription Plan, which truly did bolster the Marines' prestige.
But this time—
With performance indicators falling short, many kings had already begun coordinating in secret, preparing to apply joint pressure.
One king might not dare be the first bird shot from the tree.
But when a group of kings banded together, they naturally gained the courage to challenge the World Government.
After a fierce exchange of words—
A senior official standing at the center of the round table inclined his head slightly and spoke in a flat tone:
"The opinions of King Rias and King Galdana have been fully noted."
"However, before we proceed to a formal vote on this matter, please allow us to present to you—"
"—the World Government's latest ultimate weapon, currently under secret development."
The moment he finished speaking—
An aide immediately produced a Video Den Den Mushi.
A beam of light projected into the air, forming a massive holographic image visible to all the kings.
The scene showed a desolate testing ground littered with jagged rocks.
Judging by the distinctive markings, it was clearly a restricted zone belonging to the World Government's scientific division.
Under the curious and puzzled gazes of the assembled monarchs—
A massive humanoid mechanical monster, constructed from countless precision steel components, slowly appeared at the center of the projection.
The announcer's voice rang out at just the right moment, tinged with pride:
"This is the newest weapon led by Dr. Vegapunk, code-named—"
"Pacifista."
"Its cost is extremely high. The price of a single unit rivals that of the Marines' highest-class battleships."
"But correspondingly, it is constructed entirely from expensive special alloys, granting it durability far beyond ordinary steel."
"At the same time, it is equipped with our latest laser weapon technology, possessing astonishing destructive power."
As the explanation continued, the Pacifista began demonstrating its capabilities.
In particular—
The laser beam fired from its mouth instantly obliterated a small mountain range in the distance, reducing it to dust.
The apocalyptic visual impact made many of the kings gasp, their faces filled with shock.
"More importantly," the announcer continued,
"It possesses an intelligent core capable of autonomously distinguishing friend from foe, executing capture protocols, and employing advanced combat techniques."
"Currently, this technology is in the final stages of enhancement."
"Within two years, these steel monsters will be officially deployed to combat pirates."
"And in the future, they may also be leased for use in national security and defense systems."
"The power you have just witnessed speaks for itself."
"With further iteration, they will be able to easily crush pirates with bounties exceeding one hundred million Berries."
Seeing that the technology had firmly captured the kings' interest—
The government official finally played his trump card:
"Of course, the progress of this research is inseparably linked to the Heavenly Tribute paid by all of you."
"As everyone knows, scientific research is a bottomless pit—especially this kind of era-defining, cutting-edge technology."
"If funding becomes insufficient, development will continue, yes…"
"But the distribution rights of this technology in the future—"
"—may not be available to certain countries that choose to reduce their contributions."
"Or worse…"
"This technology might be exposed prematurely to certain hostile forces."
The threat was unmistakable.
The kings who had just been shouting about cutting Heavenly Tribute immediately grew restless.
As rulers, very few of them were fools.
Compared to catching pirates—
That line about "domestic security usage" was the true bait—and the true intimidation.
A war machine with overwhelming defense, terrifying destructive power, and the ability for a single unit to function as an army—
No power could resist such temptation.
It didn't just enhance national security.
More importantly—
It would become a new bargaining chip in inter-national power struggles.
If a neighboring country possessed Pacifista units and you didn't—
Your nation's status would instantly drop a tier.
Trade sanctions might follow.
Even armed invasion wasn't out of the question.
After all—
Major powers annexing and plundering weaker states was an unspoken rule tacitly approved by the World Government.
And so—
The wind shifted instantly.
The proposal to maintain Heavenly Tribute at its current level was reintroduced—
this time by the very kings who had led the earlier opposition.
And now, it passed with overwhelming support.
The approval rate soared past eighty percent.
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