Atop the Naval Headquarters battlefield, chaos reigned.
The sudden appearance of the Flying Pirate—Golden Lion Shiki—had already thrown the entire Marine force into disarray. Yet what truly shook the world was not merely his return after twenty long years, but the shocking revelation that the Golden Lion now claimed allegiance to Fairy Tail.
The once-untouchable overlord of the old era had bowed his head to the emperor of the new one. It was a truth too staggering for anyone present to calmly accept.
But before the shock could settle, Shiki's next words shattered the battlefield's composure all over again.
"Speaking of which, Newgate…" he said with that familiar, mocking grin, turning his gaze toward the towering man known as Whitebeard. "You said earlier that I was lucky to join Fairy Tail—and you were right. So tell me, how about sharing a little of that luck for yourself?"
Stretching out one hand in invitation, Shiki laughed wildly.
"Come on, Newgate! Join us—join Fairy Tail—and become the second captain under Chairman Sugisawa Yuuto's command!"
His words rang like thunder.
For a heartbeat, the entire battlefield went deathly silent. Even the crashing waves beyond Marineford seemed to pause.
Then—
"Wha—what did he just say!?"
"He… he invited Whitebeard!?"
"You've got to be joking!"
"Is he suggesting the Four Emperors—Whitebeard himself—should serve under Fairy Tail!?"
Disbelief turned to pandemonium. The shocked outcries of Marines filled the air, echoing across the fortress.
Because deep down, every one of them knew—it wasn't impossible.
This was the Summit War. The Whitebeard Pirates had been cornered by the full might of the Marines. Their defeat was already all but certain.
And in such desperate circumstances, what choice did they truly have?
If Whitebeard agreed to Shiki's invitation, aligning with Fairy Tail—even as an affiliate fleet—then Fairy Tail would gain the right to intervene openly.
The Marines' worst nightmare would become reality: facing both Whitebeard's remnants and Fairy Tail in unison.
That would be a battle even hell itself could not contain.
"Are we… are we about to witness history?" murmured the world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, his hawk-like eyes flashing open in rare intensity.
"Not just Golden Lion, but even Whitebeard…" he said softly, his voice edged with awe.
From the edge of the battlefield, the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock clasped her face in her delicate hands, her cheeks flushed crimson.
"Fufu~ as expected of the man I adore… truly worthy of being Lord Yuuto…"
Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the field, Gekko Moria trembled violently, his teeth chattering as he shouted into the void, "Fairy Tail… you've ruined everything! Thriller Bark will never forget this humiliation! One day—I'll return with the strongest zombie army and have my revenge!"
Not far away, Blackbeard Teach's expression twisted in horror.
"Oi oi oi! Don't tell me you're seriously considering this, Pops!? You're the great Whitebeard—one of the Four Emperors!"
He wasn't just panicking for Whitebeard's pride—his entire plan depended on this battle's outcome. If Whitebeard allied with Fairy Tail now, every ounce of Teach's scheme would crumble into dust.
And worse… he might not even leave Marineford alive.
Teach's crew shared the same dread.
"Teach," hissed Crescent Moon Hunter Catarina Devon, narrowing her eyes, "this battlefield is nothing like what you promised."
"Yeah!" barked Basco Shot, gripping his barrel like a lifeline. "If you can't hold up your end, we're walking out!"
"Match up with Fairy Tail? No way! I'm not crazy!" snarled Avalo Pizarro, shaking his head furiously.
"Everyone shut up!" Blackbeard roared, voice cracking like a whip.
"Calm down!" interjected Lafitte, his tone deceptively smooth. "It's not over yet."
"Right," agreed Burgess, the fighting champion. "This isn't the time to start killing each other—we need to hold it together!"
"That old man hasn't agreed yet," said Van Augur, raising his sniper's scope. "Not until then, nothing's certain."
Across the battlefield, all eyes turned toward Whitebeard—the man whose decision would shift the balance of the entire world.
His crew, spread across every corner of the war-torn Marineford, looked to him with unwavering faith.
If this had happened in any other era—if anyone had dared to suggest that the Whitebeard Pirates should bow to another—they would have been met with steel and fury.
But this was different. Their numbers were dwindling. Their strength fading.
And their opponent… was Fairy Tail.
Whatever Whitebeard chose, they would follow him to the end.
"Ku la la la la…"
Whitebeard's deep, booming laughter rolled across the battlefield, breaking the tension like thunder.
Finally, he spoke.
"Chairman Sugisawa Yuuto… I'm an old man now. My time is running out. To tell you the truth, when I came to this battlefield, I never planned to return. Even if I did… I wouldn't set sail again."
He took a slow, heavy breath.
"So, let the future belong to the young. Let you decide what comes next."
Yuuto nodded once, calmly, his expression unreadable.
"I understand."
"Jie ha ha ha ha!" Shiki's laughter rang out again. "Cunning as always, Newgate!"
He narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't press the matter further. Yuuto had spoken—and as Shiki's acknowledged superior, his word was final.
"What's happening now?" whispered a Marine officer.
"Did Whitebeard just refuse the offer?"
"If that's true, then Fairy Tail won't continue backing the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Their hope barely lasted a heartbeat.
Because in the very next moment—
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The skies split apart.
From the heavens descended massive, shining airships—Fairy Tail's fleet, casting their shadows across the entire battlefield.
The full might of Sugisawa Yuuto's Fairy Tail had arrived.
And the world itself trembled.