"Hey, Meiser!"
"We can already see the Gates of Justice!" Luffy, standing at the bow of the ship, looked excitedly at the distant Gates of Justice and said, "Once we pass through here, we'll reach Marine Headquarters, right!"
Meiser, who had been chatting with Ivankov, turned to look at the distant Gates of Justice and replied, "Should be."
The Gates of Justice at Impel Down and Enies Lobby weren't too far from their main structures, so... Marine Headquarters' Gates of Justice should be the same!
"Ahahaha!"
Hearing Meiser's words, Luffy laughed heartily and said, "Ace!"
"I'm coming to save you!"
Watching the excited Luffy, Ivankov shook his head helplessly, then turned to Meiser and said, "Boy Meiser,
it's all up to you now."
Only Meiser's Water Release Technique could get them out of this Basin Current.
"Ah, I know, leave it to me with confidence." Meiser smiled.
Then, the man went to the bow of the ship, staring at the distant Gates of Justice and said, "Such huge Gates of Justice, I wonder how they were built."
Shaking his head, Meiser activated his Water Release Technique.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!!"
As Meiser's voice fell, the seawater below suddenly began to tremble.
Then, an enormous water dragon rose from below, lifting the massive warship into the air!
"We're... flying!!"
"No, this is Ninja Bro's Water Release Technique!"
A prisoner leaning over the ship's edge looked down excitedly and shouted, "This is the ninja's Ninjutsu!"
"So cool!!"
Everyone rushed to the edge to look down and started cheering.
"Whoa!"
"As expected of Ninja Bro!"
"Ninja Bro, take us out of this damn Basin Current!"
"What an astonishing man." Ivankov said, "He actually lifted the warship."
Looking at it this way, with Meiser's strength, he doesn't need to fear any sea's weather!
"The ninja's Water Release Technique... truly enviable!"
"Ahahaha, charge!"
Luffy, standing beside Meiser, said excitedly, "Charge to Marine Headquarters!"
Meiser smiled at this, then narrowed his eyes to assess the distant situation and said, "Let me see, the edge of the Gates of Justice is..."
Before Meiser could finish, he noticed the distant Gates of Justice making some noise.
"Huh?"
"This sound is..."
As if realizing something, Meiser's pupils contracted and he said, "Could it be that someone opened the Gates of Justice?"
As if to confirm Meiser's words, the Gates of Justice really began to slowly open!
"Eh?!!"
"Why did the Gates of Justice open by themselves?" Mr.3 said in shock.
"Didn't that marine just say the Gates of Justice wouldn't open? How come now..."
"It is indeed strange," Jimbei said with a puzzled expression. "Logically, the control room should be at Marineford, so why would they open the gate for us?"
"Maybe it's a trap?" Inazuma speculated.
"Who cares what's going on," Crocodile grinned. "The Gates of Justice opening is advantageous for us, after all."
This way, they could smoothly pass through the Gates of Justice and reach Marine Headquarters!
'Whitebeard, I'm coming!'
This time, he would definitely take Whitebeard's head with his own hands!
"Meiser," Luffy pointed at the opened Gates of Justice ahead and asked, "Did you do this?"
"Not at all," Meiser shook his head. "I didn't do anything extra."
He had only used the Water Release Technique to lift the ship—nothing more.
As for the Gates of Justice... he had no idea what was going on either.
Could it really be a trap, just as Inazuma said?
Meiser pondered carefully, wondering if the Marines knew he could use Water Release and realized the Gates of Justice couldn't stop him, so they proactively opened the gate.
Then, to crush them head-on?
It wasn't impossible.
"So it wasn't you," Luffy scratched his head. "Then what's going on?"
"Not sure," Meiser shook his head. "But since the Gates of Justice are already open, there's no need for us to take a detour. We can just go straight through."
As he spoke, Meiser canceled the Water Release Technique, setting the massive warship back down on the sea.
"Boom!!"
The huge warship landed steadily on the water and continued rushing forward along the Basin Current.
"That makes sense."
Luffy nodded, then followed Meiser back to Ivankov and the others.
"Huh?"
Glancing at Buggy, who was standing on a high spot with his hands raised, Meiser had a question mark pop up in his mind.
What was this guy up to now?
"Yahahaha!" Buggy, with his hands held high, laughed loudly. "Just as I predicted, everything went exactly as planned!"
"C-could it be that you did this?" a prisoner asked, looking at Buggy in disbelief.
"As expected of Captain Buggy!"
"You must be a messenger sent by God!"
"Eh, really?!" Luffy stared at Buggy in shock. "You're a messenger sent by God?!"
"There's no way that's true!" Mr. 3 roared with a shark-like expression.
How could such a clumsy lie fool so many people?
This is just too ridiculous, you idiot!
"What the hell is this guy up to?" Bon Clay said, exasperated.
Meiser also looked at Buggy with disbelief. This guy never missed a chance to show off in front of others.
The key point was, the idiots below actually fell for it.
Shaking his head, Meiser stopped paying attention to him and turned to look at the Gates of Justice ahead.
Soon, the Gates of Justice opened wide enough for them to pass through.
"Everyone, hold on tight!!" Jimbei shouted.
As his words fell, the current noticeably sped up, causing the warship to sway back and forth, almost throwing people off!
"What's going on?" Luffy, held in Ivankov's grasp, looked puzzled at the distant scene and said, "Why did the speed suddenly increase?"
"Because the current carried us inside the Gates of Justice," Jimbei explained. "Naturally, it's faster than before."
Luffy: ???
What is he talking about?
After thinking for a moment and failing to understand, Luffy promptly gave up on further thought.
Then, the man declared, "Whatever! We're almost there anyway, everyone get ready to go!"
"Ooh!!"
"Rumble!"
Under Jimbei's control, the warship safely passed through the Gates of Justice and sailed toward the distant Marine Headquarters.
"We finally made it through safely," Bon Clay sighed in relief, then said seriously, "We'll be arriving at Marine Headquarters soon. Everyone, prepare for battle."
"Don't worry, I'm already prepared!" Luffy grinned, baring his teeth.
"I hope that old man Whitebeard has already arrived."
Crocodile wore a smug smile, clearly looking forward to the upcoming battle.
"Whitebeard, huh," Ivankov muttered, then turned to Luffy and said, "I wonder if your father will come here."
"Our father?"
"Yeah." Ivankov leaned close to Luffy and whispered, "If Dragon knew his own son was about to be executed, he'd never just stand by and do nothing."
I just wonder where that guy is now.
If Dragon and Whitebeard joined forces, given Dragon's strength...
As if imagining a certain scene, Ivankov suddenly grinned widely.
"Ah, you mean that," Luffy said. "Ace and I don't have the same father."
"Huh?"
Ivankov froze. Had he been mistaken all along?
Straw Hat Boy wasn't Fire Fist Ace's brother?
Then why did Straw Hat Boy call him 'brother'?
Thinking this, Ivankov looked at Luffy with a puzzled expression, wanting to understand what was going on.
"My dad is Dragon, but Ace's dad is Gol D. Roger," Luffy explained.
"Hah?"
Hearing this answer, Ivankov was utterly stunned.
That man about to be publicly executed... was actually the Pirate King's son?
The surrounding pirates stared at Luffy in shock, clearly never expecting Fire Fist Ace to be Pirate King Roger's son.
"This... is this something we're even allowed to know?!"
"This is too shocking!"
"Ah, right, you guys have to keep this a secret, okay~" Luffy said.
"He was the captain's son?"
Buggy, who had just finished showing off, immediately changed his expression upon hearing Luffy's words.
He never imagined their captain would have any descendants left in this world.
After a moment of silence, Buggy turned to look toward Marine Headquarters with a complicated expression.
"So Ace is Roger's son," Meiser frowned at Luffy and said. "Why didn't you mention this before?"
If he had known earlier that Ace was Roger's son, Uncle Rayleigh might have come to join the battle.
He was a powerhouse capable of holding off a Marine Admiral!
"Ace told me not to say anything," Luffy scratched his head.
Meiser: ...
He told you not to say it, yet you still blurted it out. Unbelievable.
At that moment, Ivankov suddenly had an epiphany and exclaimed, "So that's how it is! Now I understand what's going on!"
Seeing everyone look at him, Ivankov explained, "The Marines chose to publicly execute Ace precisely because they learned he is Roger's son."
"Why do you say that?"
"There are two reasons."
"First: They can lure the Whitebeard Pirates to Marine Headquarters, allowing them to utilize their existing forces against Whitebeard."
"And with Ace as a hostage, Whitebeard wouldn't dare to sink Marineford recklessly, as that would endanger Ace!"
After saying this, Ivankov paused briefly before continuing, "Under these circumstances, by deploying their full combat strength, it's possible they could permanently eliminate Whitebeard at Marine Headquarters!!"
"This would effectively crush the pirates' morale."
"Second: By leveraging the identity of the Pirate King's son, they can further demoralize the pirates!"
"Publicly executing the son of Pirate King Roger would undoubtedly intimidate many ambitious individuals!"
After all... if even Roger's son couldn't escape being killed by the World Government, what chance do other pirates have?
"Indeed." Jimbei nodded in agreement, then said seriously, "But I won't let them succeed!"
Although Whitebeard is a pirate, he is truly a remarkable hero!
And it is precisely because of this man that their Fish-Man Island hasn't become a paradise for pirates.
It can be said that without his flag, Fish-Man Island would be in a far more miserable state than it is now—a hundred times worse!
After all, Fish-Man Island's strength is truly weak.
As for Ace... he is a very close friend, so Jimbei would never allow the Marines to kill him.
"You really admire Whitebeard, don't you," Crocodile remarked, glancing at Jimbei.
"You wouldn't understand, Crocodile," Jimbei retorted, shooting him a look. "A pirate like you has no idea what the flag of a Four Emperor signifies."
"Hmph."
Crocodile sneered coldly, not bothering to debate the topic with him.
"The flag... of a Four Emperor?" Meiser asked curiously, looking at Jimbei. "What does that mean?"
"Let me explain, Ninja Boy," Ivankov said. "In the New World, there are four great pirates who rule over the seas. These four pirates are known as the Four Emperors."
"Each of the Four Emperors controls certain territories and uses their reputation to protect the islands within their domain from other pirates."
"The way they provide protection is by planting their flag on the islands." After a brief pause, Ivankov turned to Jimbei and said, "I assume Fish-Man Island is under the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates."
Based on what Jimbei had said and the situation on Fish-Man Island, this seemed highly likely.
"That's exactly right," Jimbei admitted openly. "Without Pops, our Fish-Man Island would never enjoy the peace it has now."
It can be said that Whitebeard gave them a chance to live in stability, which is why Jimbei didn't want to see that man die in battle.
"So the Four Emperors do things like that?" Meiser remarked with surprise.
"Is this... a kind of order amidst chaos?"
"Yes," Ivankov nodded. "But in return, we need to collect some protection fees."
"Reasonable," Meiser nodded.
After all, none of the Four Emperors were running charities. It was impossible to lend their flags to others for free—some compensation was necessary.
The only question was how much that fee would be.
"So how much is it?!" Bon Clay exclaimed.
He didn't know how big the New World was, but if only four great pirates in the entire New World were collecting money... wouldn't that be incredibly profitable?
Ivankov thought for a moment, recalling past intelligence, then said, "Anyway... it's cheaper than the Celestial Gold."
"Celestial Gold?"
Meiser found the name strange. It sounded as if this money... was being offered to people in the heavens.
Wait... heavens?
Could it be referring to those Celestial Dragons?
At that thought, Meiser frowned.
"Ah, it's the money given to the Celestial Dragons," Ivankov explained. "Member nations must pay a large sum to the Celestial Dragons every year to maintain their status as member nations."
"It's just that this money..." Ivankov paused, his expression darkening, "leaves many commoners unable to even afford food."
This was one of the reasons they despised the Celestial Dragons so much.
"An unimaginable tax burden," Meiser murmured to himself.
In that moment, he finally understood why there were so many pirates in this world.
The existence of the Celestial Dragons was undoubtedly one of the most important reasons!