166 With the Justice System

"Stare—"

The massive projection Den Den Mushi opened its eyes.

In an instant, across every public square, tavern... even in the underworld, countless screens lit up simultaneously.

A broadcast sweeping across the entire world had begun.

...

Sabaody Archipelago.

Before a giant screen, a sea of heads gathered, packed so tightly they formed a black mass.

Pirates, bounty hunters, slave traders, ordinary residents—everyone craned their necks upward, staring unblinkingly at the enormous projection.

Among the crowd, a few figures were especially eye-catching.

They were the Supernovas who had just arrived here, ready to set out into the New World.

"Hmph, so it's finally starting."

With spiky red hair like a hedgehog and a heavy fur coat draped over his shoulders, Eustass Kid sneered softly.

Beside him, the masked Killer remained silent.

Not far away, a man in a spotted fur hat holding the cursed blade Kikoku—Trafalgar Law—leaned against a wall, wordless.

Scratchmen Apoo tapped idly at his teeth, producing scattered musical notes.

In a corner, Hawkins quietly drew cards from his divination deck.

...

"The time's come! Where's the Whitebeard Pirates? Why haven't they shown up yet?"

"What are you rushing for? He's Whitebeard!"

"Look! The execution platform!"

A wave of commotion rippled through the crowd as every gaze fixed on the very center of the image.

...

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

In the crescent-shaped plaza, a symbol of Justice, one hundred thousand elite Marines stood in formation—a silent white forest, so oppressive it seemed to spill out of the screen.

At the front, seated on three enormous chairs that represented the Marines' ultimate power, were the figures of Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji—like three immovable mountains.

And behind them towered the execution platform, reaching to the sky.

Two figures knelt upon it.

One was the infamous Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, "Fire Fist" Ace.

The other, a man unknown to the world, curled within the shadows—"Blackbeard" Teach.

...

"Tap, tap, tap—"

Measured footsteps echoed.

The Fleet Admiral of the Marines, Sengoku the Buddha, slowly walked up the high platform, stopping before the two condemned men.

Holding the amplification Den Den Mushi, his calm gaze swept over the hundred thousand Marines below, as if also brushing across the countless eyes watching from screens across the world.

The entire world fell silent in that moment.

...

"Today, we gather here."

Sengoku's voice, transmitted through the Den Den Mushi, spread with solemn coldness to every corner of the world.

"It is to declare to all: the Justice of the Marines cannot be challenged!"

"The era of pirates must end!"

"And behind me stand the beginning of that end!"

He extended a hand, pointing at Ace kneeling on the ground.

"Portgas D. Ace!"

"Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, with a bounty of 550 million Belly!"

"But!"

Sengoku paused, his voice suddenly rising, "That is only his surface identity!"

"Today, I will reveal to the entire world a secret hidden for over twenty years!"

"In this man's veins flows the most evil bloodline upon these seas!"

"His father is none other than the source of the Great Pirate Era twenty-two years ago—"

"The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!!!"

...

"Boom—!!!"

"!!!"

The world erupted in an instant!

In the square at Sabaody Archipelago, every pirate's face twisted in extreme shock and fear!

Kid's grin froze. Law's hand clenched tightly around his cursed blade. Apoo's tapping stopped abruptly.

"Wha... what?!!"

"Fire Fist Ace... is Roger's son?!"

"Are you kidding me?! How could that be possible!"

"The Marines have lost their minds! They're executing the Pirate King's bloodline?!"

But that was only the beginning.

...

Sengoku's hand turned to point at Teach.

"And this man!"

"Marshall D. Teach!"

"Former member of the Whitebeard Pirates, who treacherously murdered a crewmate for the sake of a Devil Fruit!"

"But his sins go far beyond that!"

"According to top-secret Marine intelligence, we discovered a terrifying truth!"

Sengoku's eyes sharpened like blades.

"This man has an inseparable connection to the old overlord who, forty years ago, sought to overturn the world and rule the seas!"

"He is the son of the Rocks Pirates' captain—"

"Rocks D. Xebec!!!"

...

On the plaza, young pirates wore blank faces.

Who was Rocks?

That name was too distant, too alien to them.

"!!!"

But the old pirates who had survived the last era looked as though they had seen the devil itself—trembling violently, their faces ashen.

"Ro... Rocks?!"

"That legendary ruler of the seas?! He... he left behind a descendant?!"

"This is madness! The Marines have gone completely insane!"

"They intend, on the same day, to execute both the bloodline of the Pirate King and the Old Era's overlord?!"

"This is... a declaration of war against every pirate in the world!"

...

The world fell utterly silent.

All were shaken to the core by this earth-shattering act of the Marines.

...

On the high platform, Sengoku lowered the Den Den Mushi.

He stepped down slowly, unhurried.

As he descended the final step, he brushed past a tall, straight figure.

"I'll leave the rest to you, Hawke."

"Yes!"

"Tap—"

Rayne Hawke strode onto the high platform, standing in the center.

He swept his gaze across the plaza, then raised his right hand.

"Commence the execution!"

...

"Whoosh—"

On either side of the platform, two massive executioners inhaled deeply.

They raised their execution blades high.

The blades pointed toward Ace and Teach's necks.

...

The world seemed to fall under mute silence.

Then—"Rumble—!!!"

Suddenly, the sea before Marineford churned violently without warning!

Next, a colossal shadow surged upward from the ocean depths!

"Splash—!!!"

The waters parted as a massive whale-shaped ship burst from below!

The Moby Dick!

The flagship of the Whitebeard Pirates!

"Gurararara—"

A booming laugh rang from the bow, overwhelming the roar of the sea.

That man stood there.

He held a massive naginata in one hand, draped in a pure white captain's cloak.

The strongest man in the world—"Whitebeard," Edward Newgate!

"You Marine brats!"

Whitebeard's thunderous voice shook the skies above Marineford.

"What do you intend to do... to my son?!"

As his words fell, an invisible wave of terror erupted from him!

Conqueror's Haki!

"Buzz—!"

From the Moby Dick, an unseen shockwave exploded outward in all directions!

On the high platform, the two executioners froze, their bodies trembling violently—their blades clattered loudly to the ground.

"Hmph—!"

"Newgate!"

Below the execution platform, Sengoku suddenly flung back his Fleet Admiral's cloak.

He stepped forward, unleashing an equally vast yet majestic and orderly force of will that shot into the sky!

"This is Marine Headquarters!"

"You will not run wild here!"

Golden light flared around Sengoku as his own Conqueror's Haki surged forth, colliding with Whitebeard's in midair!

"Boom—!!!"

Two forces belonging to the pinnacle of the world clashed at the heart of Marineford Bay!

And just then, behind the Moby Dick—

"Splash! Splash! Splash!"

One ship. Two. Ten. Dozens!

Ship after ship coated with bubbles rose in succession from the depths!

Atop every bow stood a fearsome pirate, renowned across the New World!

Marco the Phoenix!

Diamond Jozu!

Flower Sword Vista!

The Whitebeard Pirates—fully assembled!

Nearly fifty thousand elite pirates stood in silence upon their decks.

Their gazes converged on Ace at the execution platform.

In their eyes burned unmasked killing intent and unwavering resolve.

War was on the brink of eruption!