Good thing we planned for contingencies.
Beads of sweat formed on Sengoku's forehead. He grabbed the golden Den Den Mushi, voice straining to sound calm.
"Everyone, don't be deceived! This is just another despicable ploy by the Whitebeard Pirates! We've already issued public statements!"
His voice echoed across Marineford through the loudspeakers.
"How could a Celestial Dragon be captured by pirates? This is clearly—"
Before he could finish, Uchiha Itachi stepped forward.
His Sharingan eyes slowly spun, three tomoe glowing crimson. He pulled out a microphone, and though his voice was quiet, it rang clear across the battlefield.
"Saint Charlos. Say your father's name."
The scene felt eerily familiar. Sengoku had a brief moment of déjà vu.
Even Ace, still shackled in chains, blinked in disbelief. Do all these ninja from Konoha have this kind of flair?
Saint Charlos trembled violently, lips twitching uncontrollably. Under the crushing pressure of Itachi's gaze, he finally gave in and screamed in despair:
"My father is Saint Rosward! My sister is Shalria! Our family crest is a cross! I often go to Sabaody Archipelago to buy slaves!"
Down below, Donquixote Doflamingo burst into raucous laughter.
"Fufufufu. Well now, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, that's going to be hard to deny, isn't it?"
"Fake!" Sengoku snapped.
He ignored the flamingo-clad pirate and shouted into the golden Den Den Mushi.
"That's a fake! Just a puppet controlled by Uchiha Itachi's Mind Fruit powers! Whitebeard, these dirty tricks only disgrace you further!"
There were murmurs throughout the Marine ranks, but the soldiers quickly fell back into formation.
They were here to uphold justice, not to defend a Celestial Dragon.
Deep down, many of them wouldn't mind if that noble and the Pirate King's son died together.
"Elite Marines!" Sengoku raised his arm high. "Prepare for battle! Let these pirates witness what true justice means!"
As Marine morale began to recover, Itachi's Sharingan flared with intensity.
Then Charlos's voice suddenly surged through the loudspeakers.
"The Navy are just lapdogs for the Celestial Dragons! Every three years, we host slave hunts and destroy a nation! The Marines are complicit!"
"Silence!" Sengoku roared.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku knows all about it! Marine Hero Garp knows too! So do the Three Admirals! Even that ex-Celestial Dragon Doflamingo knows!"
Sengoku found himself speechless.
The three Admirals exchanged glances and looked to Sengoku. His expression told them everything.
Doflamingo's smile froze on his face, the name drop wiping all amusement away.
Charlos screamed, voice hoarse and hysterical, but the amplifier captured every word.
"Last year, in a non-member kingdom, we held another hunt. We killed one hundred thousand people!"
At this point, the rant was clearly being embellished. Charlos had never even taken part in a hunt.
The live broadcast snail's camera shook wildly, capturing every shocking moment.
In the distant newsroom, Morgans clutched his chest.
"Change the headline again! And triple the size of tomorrow's paper!"
Suddenly, the golden Den Den Mushi in Sengoku's hand began to shake violently.
The furious voice of the Five Elders came through, nearly hysterical.
"Damn it, Sengoku! Cut the broadcast! Now!"
Their outburst echoed across the square, destroying what little dignity Sengoku had left.
He was still reeling from the demand when Charlos dropped the final bombshell.
"And one more thing."
"There's already someone sitting on the Empty Throne in Pangaea Castle! His name is Im!"
"The World Government, the Navy's justice it's all lies!"
Sengoku's hands trembled. Sweat poured down his face. The Den Den Mushi slipped from his fingers and clattered to the ground.
On the other end, the Five Elders had gone silent. No doubt, chaos had broken out there too.
Sengoku finally understood: this execution was no longer under control.
Marineford fell into an unnatural silence. Even the sea breeze seemed frozen.
Marines looked around in confusion, weapons lowering unconsciously.
All eyes turned to Garp. In this moment, everyone wanted the Marine Hero to step forward and denounce everything as lies.
But Garp stood with his arms crossed and back turned. He said nothing.
Back at the World Economic News agency, Morgans clutched his chest like he was having a holiday heart attack.
"Change the headline again!" he shouted. "Today's a festival!"
On the execution platform, Ace was dumbfounded.
Whose subordinate is this? So damn ruthless.
Then, Whitebeard's booming voice shattered the silence.
"Gurararara! So, little Marines, are you still going through with this farce?"
His naginata slammed onto the deck, sending tremors through the entire bay.
"You see it now, don't you? The so-called justice you protect is nothing but the Celestial Dragons' plaything!"
Chaos erupted in the Marine ranks. Uncertainty and hesitation filled the eyes of the soldiers.
Some officers quietly lowered their weapons. Others stared up at the platform, waiting for the Fleet Admiral to speak.
But Sengoku was not one to collapse in the face of disaster. He picked up the golden Den Den Mushi and ended the transmission to the Five Elders.
If he could go back in time, he would have let Ace go.
But it was too late. Whether he released Ace or cut the feed now, nothing would change.
What happened next was beyond his authority.
Still, if this would be his last command before retirement, he would make it count.
He would gamble the legacy of his entire career as Fleet Admiral to end the bloodline of the Pirate King.
"Marines!" Sengoku's voice rang out, filled with commanding authority.
"No matter how the world changes, a pirate is still a pirate!"
He pointed toward Ace, bound in chains.
"Portgas D. Ace, son of Gol D. Roger must die today!"
"Gurararara! So it's war after all!"
Whitebeard's muscles flexed. With a full-force strike of his Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the entire bay dented inward, then rose up in a towering tsunami that blotted out the sun.
Just in time, Aokiji leapt into the air, releasing a wave of freezing mist.
The instant the water touched the ice, it solidified into twin mountains of frozen waves.
The sea itself froze into solid ground.
With morale surging, the Whitebeard Pirates charged the execution platform like an unstoppable wave.
The Marines, their spirits shattered, barely held the line.
Some even deserted. If justice had fallen, why should they risk their lives?
As the situation spiraled out of control, Sengoku barked a desperate order.
"Execute him early!"
Garp clenched his fists, about to shout that the time wasn't up yet.
But Sengoku shot him a glare and snapped,
"Don't forget where you stand!"
The two executioners raised their blades, approaching Ace with grim determination.
Their swords swung downward
"Hahahaha!"
Ace suddenly burst into laughter.
"You think killing Fire Fist Ace is that easy?!"
A surge of overwhelming Haki erupted from his body.
The Sea-Prism Stone shackles shattered under the force.
Flames burst into life across his form.
"All that training I endured today, it finally pays off!"
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