"Ace!"
Upon hearing Sengoku announce this news to the entire world, Garp face was filled with deep sorrow and he muttered to himself.
Standing on high ground, with the breeze gently blowing, the hem of his clothes fluttered loudly.
Slowly closing his eyes, Garp thoughts drifted back to twenty years ago and images from the distant past continuously surfaced in his mind.
It was before Roger public execution, inside the prison where he was held.
Roger personally entrusted his child to Garp.
As a Marine Vice admiral and a hero of the Marines, Garp could have easily ignored this and completely severed ties with the pirates.
But a friendship that transcended their rivalry made him agree.
After Roger death, Garp personally went to the island where Roger wife lived: Baterilla Island.
He took Roger son from Rouge, who had been pregnant for 20 months while evading CP pursuit.
He raised him alongside his own grandson, Luffy.
Over the years, Garp had come to regard Ace as his own grandson. But now, Ace had followed in his father footsteps, facing the same fate as his father.
And Garp had to witness it all, powerless to stop it.
"Zehahaha, so he's really Roger son after all!"
On the city wall, Blackbeard Teach looked towards the execution platform, his heart filled with astonishment.
He was a man who aimed to trample the world under his feet and reach the pinnacle!
"I am indeed the man who will become the Pirate King!"
With even Roger own son defeated by his hand, Blackbeard felt certain that he would become the Pirate King.
At this moment, his arrogant gaze was already set on the highest position in the pirate world.
"This plan must be completed as scheduled!" On the other side, Sengoku, seeing everyone reactions, narrowed his eyes and glanced at the time.
There wasn't much time left before the execution.
"The Whitebeard Pirates should be appearing soon!" Sengoku mood grew increasingly heavy.
The upcoming battle would shake the entire world.
Behind him, Kong and Garp also arrived on the execution platform.
"Garp!" Kong placed a hand on Garp shoulder and spoke with deep meaning.
"Ace carries Roger bloodline! Now that his identity has been revealed to everyone, he is destined to die here today! Remember, we are the Marines!"
Hearing this, Garp face twisted in anguish.
After a long silence, he finally nodded with great difficulty.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, time passed minute by minute.
The previously noisy and chaotic crowd gradually fell silent and the entire square became eerily quiet. They knew that the time for Ace public execution was imminent.
Yet, the Whitebeard Pirates had not appeared and the other two pirate crews were nowhere to be seen.
"Could it be that the Whitebeard Pirates aren't coming?"
"What's going on? Why haven't they shown up yet?"
"The execution time is almost here!"
"Maybe they know the Marines are fully prepared and are too scared to come!"
"…"
Various thoughts began to surface in people minds as they speculated whether the pirates, upon seeing Marineford defenses, might be too afraid to come.
However, among these people, there was one who was absolutely certain that Whitebeard would come.
He was none other than Blackbeard, Teach.
As a former member of the Whitebeard Pirates, he knew Whitebeard character all too well.
No matter how many forces the Marines had stationed here, Whitebeard would undoubtedly charge forward without hesitation to rescue his son.
The scene was eerily silent, even the sea was unnervingly calm.
Yet, the powerful figures present, especially the Warlords standing on the fortress walls, could sense a faint aura of unease.
"Is it coming?" Blackbeard muttered to himself.
Suddenly, a thick gray fog began to rise from the horizon, spreading across the water's surface.
The next moment, at the forefront of the steel walls, within a watchtower, a sentry adjusted the standing telescope in front of him and in the next moment, he suddenly saw pirate ships emerging on the horizon, heading straight for Marineford.
Even with the gray fog obstructing his view, he could still recognize them as the ships of the Whitebeard Pirates.
The sentry face turned pale.
He put down the telescope, grabbed the Den Den Mushi, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"THE WHITEBEARD PIRATES IS HERE!"
As the sentry alarm rang out, everyone in the plaza tensed up.
The expression of an impending battle appeared on their faces and sweat dripped down their cheeks.
"All hands, prepare for battle!!" A loud command echoed throughout Marineford.
The massive cannons on the fortress walls began to move, their dark barrels aimed at the entrance of Marineford.
Within a few moments, a large fleet of pirate ships appeared before everyone's eyes, breaking through the thick gray fog with an overwhelming presence.
"Bohemian Knight, Doma!"
"Thunder Lord McGuy!"
"The Decalvan Brothers!"
"Maelstrom Spider, Squard!"
"All renowned captains from the New World!" What came into the Marines' view were the elite forces of the Whitebeard Pirates, their subordinate ships.
"The flagship hasn't appeared yet?" Kong, Sengoku, Garp and the three Admirals stationed below the execution platform frowned as they watched the forty pirate ships appearing in the distance.
In the next moment, they activated their Observation Haki, searching for Whitebeard presence.
On the massive fortress walls, the Warlords narrowed their eyes, observing their surroundings, also trying to locate the position of Whitebeard flagship.
But their efforts yielded no results.
Suddenly, a bubbling sound emerged from the waters of Marineford, followed by the appearance of a massive bubble.
The next moment, at the center of the bay, the seawater began to slowly swirl inward, creating ripples that spread outward, stirring up waves.
At the bottom of Marineford waters, a colossal shadow began to rise.
A few seconds later.
"BOOM!"
The waters of Marineford surged violently, rising dozens of meters high, accompanied by a deafening roar.
A massive pirate ship, dozens of meters long, split the waves and propelled by an immense force, soared into the air.
Under the astonished gazes of everyone, it crashed down with a thunderous impact into the central waters of Marineford.
The ship's hull was coated with a rainbow-colored bubble film and its bow featured a massive whale head.
The mast flew a flag bearing the iconic white-bearded skull.
This was the main ship of the Whitebeard Pirates: the Moby Dick!