"Pops…"
Ace's guilt deepened the moment he realized Whitebeard had come here for him, not with blame, but with unconditional love. That warmth stung more painfully than any wound.
Whitebeard laughed, the sound booming across Marineford.
"Gurararara, you still look lively, kid. Ace, hold on a little longer. Pops is here to bring you back."
His gaze shifted toward Sengoku, his tone steady and commanding.
"Sengoku, when my sons make mistakes, it is us, the elders, who correct them. It is not the Marines' place to intervene."
Sengoku's eyes hardened.
"Whitebeard…"
Instantly, Whitebeard's expression turned icy.
"It seems the world has lived too peacefully. You have forgotten who I am. Then allow me to remind you."
He planted his bisento into the ground, clenched both fists, and swung them outward as if shattering invisible walls.
The air cracked.
The space itself fractured like glass, spreading jagged lines of destruction.
Marines gasped.
"What is happening? The sea…"
"That power… is this really the Tremor-Tremor Fruit?"
"He's creating an earthquake!"
For many Marines, it was the first time witnessing Whitebeard's ability in person. Marineford trembled violently, and the water surrounding the warships heaved in towering spirals. Only after long, unsteady moments did the shaking gradually ease.
"It stopped…"
A collective exhale followed as tension briefly loosened.
Ace stared at the massive figures of Whitebeard and the assembled Whitebeard Pirates, along with the forty-three allied ships behind them. Pain tightened in his chest.
"Pops… everyone… why come for me? It was my arrogance, my stubbornness, my refusal to listen that caused all of this. Why save someone as foolish as me?"
Whitebeard's expression softened. His voice lowered, calm yet firm.
"No, Ace. I told you to go, son."
Ace's eyes widened. The guilt inside him grew sharper.
"Stop lying! You stopped me back then. It was my own—"
"I told you to go."
Whitebeard's voice deepened, steady as iron.
"I said it at the time. Marco, you heard me."
Marco stepped forward, nodding.
"Yes, Ace. I heard it clearly too. You've suffered these last few days. Everyone should know what it means to provoke the Whitebeard Pirates. Don't worry. We will bring you back."
Voices rose behind him, firm and resolute.
"Of course, Ace, don't worry."
"Anyone who targeted our crew will pay in full."
"Prepare yourselves, Marines."
Ace felt a painful twist in his heart. From the moment Blackbeard defeated him, regret had eaten at him. Now Pops and his comrades were even willing to shoulder his blame just to ease his burden.
Marco's eyes narrowed.
As a transmigrator, he knew all too well the terrifying strength of the Marines. In the original timeline, Ace had only escaped the execution platform thanks to Luffy's protagonist momentum, and even then, his fate had been sealed by his own reckless choice to protect his brother.
Marco leaned toward Jozu.
"Jozu, later we switch positions. You protect Pops."
Jozu blinked, surprised.
"Me?"
Marco nodded.
"And keep an eye on Squard. His former crew was wiped out by Roger. With Ace being Roger's son… if the Marines manipulate him, it could harm Pops."
Jozu's reaction was instant disbelief.
"Squard? That can't be. He's followed Pops for over twenty years. His loyalty has never wavered."
Marco's expression stayed serious.
"Still, be ready. Even if the chance is small, the risk isn't worth ignoring."
Because Marco remembered clearly:
Whitebeard had suffered three critical injuries in the original Marineford War.
The first was Squard's misguided stabbing, the betrayal that weakened Whitebeard before he even began fighting.
The second, triggered by that wound and his old illness, allowed Akainu to punch through his chest, and Marines to swarm him.
The third — and deadliest — was Akainu's attack that blew off half his head.
If Marco prevented the first one, Whitebeard would enter the battlefield in far better condition. And if Whitebeard fought at close to his true strength, the war would unfold very differently.
Marco exhaled. He planned to dive into the battlefield later to gather attribute points, so he could not stay by Whitebeard's side constantly. That meant Jozu needed to take his place.
Jozu nodded with determination.
"Even if it's just your guess, Pops' safety deserves that level of caution. Leave it to me."
Before the war began, everyone had already been assigned roles. Marco had initially volunteered to guard Whitebeard, which made this sudden rearrangement strange… but Jozu didn't question it. Marco was rarely wrong.
A Marine suddenly shouted, panicked.
"The seawater is receding — fast!"
Another tremor rocked Marineford, the aftershock of Whitebeard's earlier strike reverberating through the island.
"What is that?"
"A tsunami…!"
Horrified voices rose as two colossal waves, each hundreds of meters tall, surged toward Marineford from both sides.
Seeing Whitebeard unleash such devastating power with ease, Sengoku's expression darkened.
"Do not assume we can win simply because we outnumber them. In front of this man, numbers are meaningless. He holds the power to destroy the world."
His words were meant to sharpen every Marine's resolve. If they faltered even for a breath, the sea itself would swallow them whole.
Marco watched the enormous waves gather strength, awe tightening his chest.
"So this is the true might of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit…"
The raw destructive force was far more terrifying than anything the anime had shown. For the strong, there were ways to defend or dodge. But for the weak…
This was a disaster with no escape.
________
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