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Three days passed in a blur.
Marineford — Marine Headquarters.Oris Plaza.
Under the gaze of the entire world—
Fire Fist Ace, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, walked step by heavy step as he was escorted onto the final execution platform.
A full one hundred thousand Marines stood in flawless formation, solemn and silent.
Today, Marineford had become a true tiger's den — just waiting for the Whitebeard Pirates to take the bait.
Everything was unfolding exactly according to the Marines' plan, orderly and precise.
Everyone was in position.
Except—
Two Warlords of the Sea had vanished.
Bartholomew Kuma and Blackbeard Teach.
Right now, in the Warlord section, only Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk, Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, Gecko Moria, and "Heavenly Yaksha" Donquixote Doflamingo remained.
But the bowstring had already been drawn.Sengoku didn't have the luxury to worry about the missing two — accountability would come after the war.
"Everyone!!"
On the execution platform, Fleet Admiral Sengoku looked down at the one hundred thousand elite Marines, his expression grave.
"Before the execution begins, there is something extremely important I must tell you — something that concerns the true significance behind executing Ace."
His powerful voice, amplified by a transponder snail, boomed across Oris Plaza.
And simultaneously blasted from the live broadcast screens of the Sabaody Archipelago.
The hundred thousand Marines and countless citizens watched with bated breath.
Most were just here to witness the spectacle…But many had already sensed something was off.
Now the truth was finally about to be revealed.
As the world held its breath, Sengoku glanced sideways at the hollow-eyed Ace and commanded:
"Ace. Tell them who your father is."
Ace flinched, looked up at Sengoku, and rasped, "My old man is Whitebeard."
"Wrong."
Sengoku cut him off instantly.
"There's nothing wrong about it. My father is Whitebeard!"
Ace repeated firmly.
Sengoku shook his head and looked away from him.
"With the scraps of intelligence we had back then, we spent enormous manpower and time investigating your mother. We followed every trace, every clue — yet found nothing."
"Because everything had been erased by your mother's sacrifice. Your mother, Portgas D. Rouge, deceived us — and the entire world."
"She broke the natural laws of this world. She carried you in her womb for twenty full months. Only because of that did you survive."
"A year after that man died, Portgas D. Rouge gave birth to the most dangerous child in the world — you."
"Ace… don't you know whose blood runs in your veins?"
Sengoku glared at him again and declared:
"Your real father is… the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!!!"
The moment those words fell, Oris Plaza — and the entire Sabaody Archipelago — fell into utter silence.
Then—
BOOM!!
An explosion of voices.
"What?! Ace is Roger's son?!!"
"Damn it — the Pirate King's bloodline still exists?!"
"The most evil blood in the world wasn't wiped out?!"
"I knew something was off — but this is insane!"
"Good thing the Marines caught him. If Ace grew up… we'd get another Roger!"
"Hahahahaha! Good job, Marines! A monster like Ace deserves to die!"
"Twenty-plus years ago, Roger was executed publicly. Twenty years later… it's his son's turn. How ironic."
The Marines and civilians erupted in shock, whispering furiously.
Sengoku raised his hand for silence, then continued:
"Because of the special identity Ace possesses, executing him here today is of immense importance — not just to the Marines, but to the entire world!"
"Even if we must go to full-scale war with Whitebeard, we will not hesitate!"
His impassioned declaration thundered across Marineford.
"OOHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Oris Plaza exploded into roaring cheers. One hundred thousand Marines let their battle energy pour into the sky.
Moments ago, they thought this was just another execution.Now—
One side comes, one side dies.
"Hahaha! The Pirate King's blood must never be allowed to continue! Ace must die!" A Marine Vice Admiral shouted with arms crossed.
One sentence from Roger had plunged the seas into decades of turmoil.
If Ace were allowed to grow, the world would be overturned again — and countless innocents would suffer.
"HAHAHAHA! If Whitebeard dares come today, I'll take his head myself!"
Vice Admiral Doberman's killing intent surged as he gripped his sword.
"No need to worry. Whitebeard's old. I'll find his weak point and strike him down."Giant Vice Admiral Ronse clenched his massive fists.
"All of you, listen up! If the Whitebeard Pirates attack, give it EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT! Don't hold back — kill every last one of them!!"
Another hawkish Vice Admiral raised his blade high.
Tens of thousands of Marines roared back:
"YES SIR!!"
"YES SIR!!"
Under Sengoku's rousing speech and the hawkish commanders' provocation, morale reached its peak.
Admiral Section
Akainu nodded in satisfaction.
This — this was what Marines should be. When dealing with pirates, there was only one word: kill.
Aokiji remained laid-back as ever, though his eyes wandered toward the far side every now and then.
Kizaru's face was dark, completely abandoning his usual lazy attitude.The killing intent radiating off him surpassed even Akainu.
He was sitting on needles.
Ever since he arrived, countless curious glances had drifted toward him—
Toward his missing arm.
The moment he thought of what Logan did to him, rage churned in his chest.
If Whitebeard showed up today, he'd be the first one charging in.
Second Level of the Execution Platform
If anyone here was the angriest, it wasn't Akainu.It wasn't Kizaru.
It was Garp.
Three days earlier, Sengoku and the three Admirals had combined forces to restrain him.
Afterward, Sengoku promised him — personally — that once Ace's situation was resolved, they would launch an all-out strike against Logan.
At any cost… Logan would be executed.
Not just Sengoku — the Five Elders wanted the same.
Only after hearing that did Garp finally calm down.
Now, staring down at the Marines roaring with bloodthirsty enthusiasm, Garp's face was darker than soot.
Luffy had just died.And now they wanted him to watch his last grandson die too?!
"Logan… this is all because of you!!!"Garp clenched his teeth, murderous intent leaking uncontrollably.
"Garp! Calm down! This is the execution ground!!"Vice Admiral Tsuru grabbed his arm, scolding sharply.
Garp inhaled deeply, forcing himself to suppress the fury.
Warlord Platform
The four remaining Warlords all watched in silence.
Hawkeye observed everything calmly, eyes deep and unreadable.
"Fufufufufufu… Come on… start fighting already!!"
Doflamingo laughed like a deranged flamingo, craving chaos.
Moria shot him a subtle glance, lips curling.
Ever since Logan warned him, he'd kept an eye on Doflamingo.He still wasn't a match… but killing him wouldn't be easy anymore.
Hancock, resting her cheek on her hand, looked distracted — her mind clearly drifting far away.
Logan should've reached Impel Down by now…
She wondered how he was doing.
BZZT—BZZT—
Suddenly, Marineford's alarms began blaring.
"They're here!!!" Sengoku's eyes hardened.
Through the thick fog, massive pirate ships began to appear, their silhouettes looming larger and clearer.
The pirate fleet was closing in fast.
Squard the Great Whirlpool Spider, Ice Witch Whitey Bay, Thunder Horse McGuy, Karma, the Decalvan Brothers…
Renowned captains stood proudly at their bows.
All forty-three allied captains of the Whitebeard Pirates had answered the call and come to save Fire Fist Ace.
Their arrival sent waves of tension across the entire bay.
One hundred thousand Marines raised their weapons, bracing for combat.
But just as everyone focused on the famous figures approaching—
The center of the bay suddenly shifted.
The previously calm sea rippled unnaturally.
"Damn it — we still fell for it!!" Sengoku's expression changed instantly.
Marine officers turned toward the enormous shadow beginning to rise from beneath the waves—
The tip of an iceberg-like giant emerging from the deep.
The next second—
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Led by the Moby Dick, the Whitebeard Pirates' flagship, four massive whale-shaped ships burst out from beneath the waves one after another.
With that, the entire Whitebeard Pirates had officially stormed Marineford.
Tension crackled through the air like invisible lightning, the fighting spirit of both sides shooting skyward and blanketing all of Marineford.
A battle was about to explode at any moment.
Meanwhile—
"So this is Impel Down?! Ugh, it looks creepy."From high above, Nami looked down at the entrance and wrinkled her nose.
"It's a prison. What do you expect?" Logan replied casually as he guided the Ark Proverbs into a slow descent.
"Who goes there?!"They weren't hiding their presence at all, so the guards spotted them almost immediately.
But the moment the two guards saw the flying ship and the man standing at its bow, they instantly realized who he was.
"It's Logan! Logan is here, hurry and—"
Shhk!!
Shhk!!
Before they could finish, two sharp blades of air sliced across their necks. Their bodies dropped with a dull thud.
"Your swordsmanship improved again, Tashigi."Robin smiled warmly at Tashigi as she slid her sword back into its sheath.
Clean, quick, perfect.
Tashigi answered with a bright smile and a nod.
"The real opponents are still inside."Logan put away the Ark Proverbs and led Nami, Robin, Perona, Tashigi, Doll, Kalifa, and Margaret into the infamous prison.
The moment they stepped inside, the surveillance room noticed.
The staff immediately called Deputy Warden Hannyabal.
"Logan? Oh, hell no. Why is Logan here?!"
Just hearing that name made Hannyabal's skin crawl.
This was the lunatic who didn't even hesitate to kidnap a Celestial Dragon.
He didn't dare waste time. He quickly gathered nearly a thousand guards and several hundred beasts, then called Magellan—who was apparently in the restroom.
As soon as he hung up, Hannyabal rushed toward Level 1, the Crimson Hell.
Logan spread out his Observation Haki and instantly pinpointed Sadi-chan and Domino.
Two little birds in a cage.
The group strolled forward unhurriedly. Even though the air around them felt like a literal hellscape, Nami and the others didn't look the least bit intimidated.
With their current strength, the only real threats were on Levels 5 and 6.
"Hey, brats! Who the hell are you?!"
"Hahahaha… so many beauties!"
"I've been locked up here for years. It's been forever since I've seen this many gorgeous women!"
"Kid, you're swimming in good luck!"
As they walked past the cells, prisoners grabbed the bars with glowing green eyes, drooling as they ogled Nami and the others.
Life in Impel Down was practically monk training.
"…Huh?"Logan stopped walking and shot a cold sideways glance.
The prisoners froze as if they had been dumped into ice water.
A monster.That was their first instinctive thought.
They immediately shut their mouths and shrank back in fear.
This man was not someone they wanted to mess with.
"Die."
Rumble—Rumble—
Thunder erupted without warning, striking with deadly precision.
Screams filled the Crimson Hell.
More than 99 percent of the prisoners died instantly.
The few who survived curled up in terror, trembling violently.
The only reason Logan spared them was because they were wearing seastone cuffs.
Meaning: Devil Fruit users.
Still… something bothered him.
He understood why the Marines kept Devil Fruit users alive—if the host died, the fruit would respawn somewhere else, and they didn't want it falling into the wrong hands again.
But what about everyone else?
Anyone locked up here was a monster among criminals. Pure evil. Why keep them alive at all?
He couldn't understand it, so he simply stopped trying.
Aside from Devil Fruit users, he slaughtered the rest without hesitation.
He definitely wasn't going to repeat Luffy's mistake and let these scumbags run free and cause chaos across the sea.
Since Crimson Hell mostly held small fry, there weren't many Devil Fruit users. After the lightning stopped, only a few were left.
Among them—
Buggy the Clown, with his trademark red nose.
Logan glanced at him once, then looked away. No interest.
After recovering the Nika Fruit, he still had eleven blank fruits left. It'd be a waste to use one on such an unpredictable ability like the Chop-Chop Fruit. Much better to hunt down fruits he actually wanted.
"Let's go. Next level." Logan led the women forward.
But the moment they reached the entrance, they ran right into Hannyabal and his thousand guards.
"Logan, what did you do?!"Hannyabal roared when he saw the field of corpses behind them.
"You saw it. I cleaned up for you. You should be thanking me." Logan replied with a mocking smile.
"Bastard! This is Impel Down! Don't get cocky!"
"All units! Attack! Take them down!!"
At Hannyabal's command, the guards and beasts charged forward with furious screams.
"Hurry it up. We're on a schedule." Logan said calmly to the women.
The moment he said that, wicked smiles spread across their faces.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Thousand Blooming Colors, Giant Tree!"
"Sound Soul Explosion!"
"Tempest Kick, Severing Spiral!"
"Sword of Judgment!"
"Mini Ghost—Boom!"
"Toxic Serpent Flow!"
The seven women rushed forward, tearing through the enemy like a storm.
The Impel Down guards and beasts weren't even close to being a match.
Under Nami and Perona's wide-range Devil Fruit attacks, the thousand enemies dropped like wheat in a harvest, row after row.
Within minutes, every guard and beast except Hannyabal lay dead in bloody heaps.
A thick, metallic smell of blood filled the air, spreading fast.
"....."