"One Piece… Roger!!!"
Crocodile, the former Warlord of the Sea, exhaled a plume of cigar smoke, his sharp eyes narrowing to a sliver.
Twenty-two years ago, in Loguetown of the East Blue, he had stood among the crowd and witnessed it all—the public execution of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. He had watched the end of an era.
And now… the Pirate King had returned.
Crocodile could already sense it—the tides of the world were about to shift dramatically.
On another section of the battlefield, Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman, fixed his keen gaze on the figure in the distance. He, too, had witnessed Roger's execution more than two decades ago.
For Mihawk, the throne of the Pirate King had never been of interest. From the beginning, his only pursuit had been the sword. He had never sought to learn Roger's blade, but he had crossed swords more than once with Roger's disciple—the red-haired Emperor, Shanks.
Now, seeing Roger himself again, Mihawk couldn't help but feel a flicker of excitement in his cold heart. To him, this was a rare chance—to glimpse the true spirit that had once inspired the blade of Shanks.
Some on the field were thrilled. Others were unsettled.
Within Whitebeard's ranks, the mood was electric—cheers and disbelief echoing through the chaos. In contrast, the faces of the Marines and World Government agents turned pale.
And they weren't the only ones shaken.
On the opposite flank, Blackbeard—Marshall D. Teach—stood amid his crew, his expression twisting in disbelief. He had come here prepared, ready to seize any opportunity that arose on this grand stage.
Even when the arrival of Fairy Tail had thrown the battle's rhythm into chaos, Blackbeard hadn't lost hope. As long as Whitebeard remained here, his chance to strike still existed.
But now…
The battlefield had become a storm with no center, spiraling wildly out of control.
"Damn it!" Blackbeard growled under his breath. "What kind of madness is this? How can a man dead for twenty-two years return to life?!"
Nearby, the "Fighting Champion" Burgess cursed as well, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"That's the real One Piece, Captain Teach," murmured Lafitte, the eerie "Demon Sheriff." "What are your orders now?"
"Heheheh… quite the stage, isn't it?" sneered Avalo Pizarro, the "Corrupt King." "Teach, you promised us a grand performance—but this? This isn't what we agreed on! How do you plan to fix this mess? If you don't, we're walking away!"
"Roger… and Whitebeard," muttered Sanjuan Wolf, the "Colossal Battleship," his tone uneasy. "Two monsters from the old era standing together… what kind of power is that? I don't want to be caught in their sights."
Katarina Devon, the "Crescent Moon Hunter," quietly stepped back, putting distance between herself and the others.
"Zehahaha!" Blackbeard's deep, gravelly laugh rolled out across the din. "As long as we're still on this battlefield, anything can happen! My show isn't over yet—it's only just begun!"
Shiryu of the Rain, the former warden of Impel Down, shot him a skeptical glance. "I hope you're as confident as you sound, Teach."
On the outside, Blackbeard's smirk didn't falter—but inside, his heart was pounding.
Gol D. Roger and Edward Newgate… two kings of the old era. Titans who had once ruled the seas.
Facing one was terrifying enough—but both together? Even he couldn't hide the dread crawling up his spine.
His plan had been simple. Let the Marines and Whitebeard destroy each other. Then, like a vulture, he would sweep in and claim Whitebeard's life and his power for himself—ushering in a new age under his banner.
But plans were fragile things.
The sudden intervention of Fairy Tail had shattered every expectation. The war's core had shifted—from Marine vs. Whitebeard to Fairy Tail vs. the World Government.
And now, with Roger's resurrection, the chaos had reached a point beyond reason.
If Whitebeard turned on him, and Roger joined in… the result would be disastrous.
After all, Whitebeard was Ace's adoptive father, and Roger was his biological one.
And Teach—the man who started this war—was the reason Ace had fallen.
It wouldn't be strange at all if they both came for his head.
"Please… don't notice me," Blackbeard prayed silently, sweat glistening at his temple as the battlefield raged on.
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