On January 1st, 1520, according to the Sea Calendar, in some countries, this marked the beginning of a joyous New Year.
Countless News Coos carried brand new newspapers for the new year, flying to all corners of the world.
A piece of world-shattering news was spread across the globe.
'Fire Fist' Ace and 'Straw Hat' Luffy were arrested by the World Government and would be publicly executed at Marineford three months later.
To be honest, there wasn't much to be sensational about these two pirates' lives, but Fire Fist Ace, before his 540 million bounty, was also the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Which pirate in the New World didn't know that Whitebeard was the most protective among the Four Emperors? Publicly executing his 'son'-how was that any different from starting a war with Whitebeard?
The agitated world quickly understood that this was a blatant declaration of war.
The World Government had issued an invitation to war to the strongest man in the world: three months later, Marineford.
Whitebeard Pirates, Moby Dick
Early in the morning, Marco, who had received the newspaper, gathered all his family members to announce the bad news: Ace had been captured and was about to be executed.
What to do? There was no need to say more.
Rescuing Ace was a must.
Even if they, his 'sons', opposed it, Whitebeard, their 'father', would still go to Marineford alone.
"The Marines are gathering all their elite forces from the four seas and the Grand Line back to Marineford." Marco said with a grave expression.
"G-5 Branch in the New World is also mobilizing troops. The Warlords of the Sea have all received mandatory conscription orders from the World Government, Pops, this war will be very difficult."
The atmosphere was incredibly tense.
The only sound on the Moby Dick's deck was the flapping of the sails in the sea breeze.
All the commanders looked at the man seated at the head of the table.
His towering, giant-like physique, his rock-hard muscles covered in scars.
Even though he was well past his prime, he still exuded the aura of the world's strongest man.
But...his arms were already covered in IV needle marks, and even now, he was still on an IV drip.
Whitebeard was old.
The strongest man in the world was gradually being defeated by time.
Marco's heart ached.
In recent years, Whitebeard's stamina had been gradually declining, his body increasingly burdened, his internal organs failing-but Pops wasn't sick, or rather, he just had an incurable disease that everyone in the world would contract.
Aging.
The strongest man in the world could not defeat the erosion of time.
Whitebeard was on his last legs, now even needing IV drips to maintain his consciousness and vitality for most of the time.
If he went to Marineford, without a doubt, Pops would remain there, forever, marking the end of his legendary life...
"Kuhahahaha, such a grand war? That's just great!"
Whitebeard let out a hearty laugh.
The unique aura of this man filled the air, solidifying the resolve of all the commanders present.
"The Marines want to declare war on me using Ace. I accept! It's nothing more than taking Ace back from the Marines!"
Whitebeard clenched his fist, saying heroically.
"We are the Whitebeard Pirates, kuhahahahaha!"
"With Pops here, what are the Marines?"
"Let's go retrieve Ace intact, then give him a good beating!"
The commanders' morale was greatly boosted by Whitebeard.
Everyone on this ship was captivated by their father's charisma and benevolence.
Forget heading to Marineford; even if it meant venturing into a sea of blades and mountains of fire, they would follow their father!
"Since it's decided, we must make more preparations." Marco looked at the spirited atmosphere, a helpless yet proud smile on his face.
"We need to increase our weapons order from Poltorto. That arms dealer already knew about Ace's impending execution, but he's still selling weapons to us, which means he doesn't want to be the World Government's dog either, but that bastard took the opportunity to raise his prices again."
"Just give it to him, it's just some treasure anyway!" Whitebeard waved his hand grandly.
He had never cared about wealth in his life.
The minimum annual tax revenue the Whitebeard Pirates received from their protected countries was mostly piled up and rarely used.
"Also, we need some allies." Marco pushed up his glasses and looked outside the crowd, shouting loudly.
"Come over here, Ace's brother!"
The crowd parted, and amidst curious glances, Sabo, wearing a black top hat and suit, walked in.
He politely bowed to Whitebeard.
"My name is Sabo, Ace and Luffy's older brother, and also the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army-this time, I come both as Ace's brother and as a representative of the Revolutionary Army."
"Revolutionary Army? Don't you usually not cooperate with pirates?" A commander who was more familiar with the Revolutionary Army asked curiously.
If he came merely as Ace's brother, it would make sense, but he specifically emphasized that this time he was collaborating with the Whitebeard Pirates as the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army.
"Because our leader's son is also about to be executed, but... only I will go to rescue Luffy. As for the others, they will wage war on Mary Geoise." Sabo said softly.
The surrounding pirates were in an uproar.
They never expected that Straw Hat, besides being Ace's younger brother, was Monkey D. Dragon's son?
Wait, if that's the case, then by generation, that damned Garp would be everyone's grandpa, Pops's dad?
"When Ace gets back, we'll definitely give him a good beating!"
The pirates, feeling that they had been taken advantage of by an old man, muttered amongst themselves.
"You want to cooperate with us? Of course!" Whitebeard waved his hand grandly.
"But do you have any preparations or plans?"
"Of course, our Revolutionary Army has made full preparations to rescue Luffy and Ace." Sabo smiled slightly.
"But with all due respect, with the strength of the Whitebeard Pirates, even with us Revolutionary Army members, directly engaging the Marines in battle would be unwise."
These words caused dissatisfaction among some of the commanders nearby, but the one in charge, Marco, said nothing.
Sabo was right; no single Yonko crew was qualified to go head-to-head with the Marines.
"We need to bring in more allies. Perhaps their goal isn't necessarily to rescue Ace and Luffy, but as long as they help us tie down the Marines, that's enough."
"It seems your Revolutionary Army is quite confident?" Marco narrowed his eyes.
"At the same time the war begins, the prisoners on Level 6 of Impel Down will be released," Sabo said softly.
"But the ones making the move won't be us, but another unspeakable 'ally'... his goal isn't to rescue Ace and Luffy, but to weaken the Marines, so they can't directly help us rescue them."
"And then, he's confident he can also lure Big Mom and Kaido to Marineford."
"This... this isn't possible, is it?" Marco said, surprised and uncertain.
Kaido was one thing; that madman was always running around looking for death, and it wasn't impossible for him to go crazy and fight the Marines with Whitebeard.
But Big Mom was different.
She was usually much more rational.
It would be good enough if she didn't seize the opportunity to grab territory after Whitebeard left, let alone the fact that she was nearly killed some time ago and now basically never left Whole Cake Island, sticking to her son Katakuri like glue.
"No... he's confident." Sabo clenched his hand, frowning.
"Although that person's character is questionable, he is indeed very capable... We can only trust him, after all, betraying us would not benefit him, but rather bring disaster upon himself."
"You've been talking for so long, who exactly is this person you're talking about?!"
Vista, the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' Fifth Division, asked impatiently.
Sabo looked around, closed his eyes, and shook his head.
That person's name couldn't be spoken here.
He was the most crucial core of the plan, and... Sabo didn't trust the Whitebeard Pirates.
Regardless of whether he questioned their character, he was concerned about the possibility of CP spies infiltrating.
The Revolutionary Army, which directly confronted the World Government, knew all too well about CP's extraordinary powers.
When it came to inserting spies and informants, the World Government, having ruled the world for eight hundred years, was an absolute expert.
A trust group formed solely based on kinship and emotion was unreliable.
After all, didn't they also fail to see Blackbeard's true nature?
"This person is indeed trustworthy, because he knows many things, including Ace's true identity."
Sabo calmly looked at Whitebeard and said softly,
"You are Ace's father. I believe you are well aware of Ace's true identity. I think, before the war begins, we need to speak openly."
"Hey, what are you talking about? How could Pops have anything to hide from us!"
"Watch your mouth, kid, don't think we won't hit you just because you're Ace's brother!"
Sabo's words caused dissatisfaction among the pirates.
Whitebeard raised his hand, signaling them to be quiet, and said deeply,
"Did that 'cooperating person' you mentioned tell you about this?"
Sabo nodded lightly. "Heh, then I'm very curious who that guy is... But never mind, you're right, this matter, it's time to speak of it now."
Whitebeard shook his head.
His massive, imposing body stood up, looking at his sons, and said loudly,
"Regarding Ace's true identity, I have indeed hidden it for a long time! Because it was a promise! But now that things have come to this, there's no point in hiding it anymore."
"Ace, he's Roger's Son!"
Whitebeard's words were like ice dropped into a boiling oil pot, instantly stirring up countless commotions.
Roger's child? Which Roger, besides the Pirate King, had the right to be called that by Pops!
As the pirates were discussing amongst themselves, a man around forty years old, with long, thinning hair and a spider tattoo on his forehead, pushed everyone aside and stood before Whitebeard, saying hoarsely,
"Pops, is what you're saying true? Ace, he's Roger's son?"
Whitebeard nodded gently, and the man clenched his fists, his eyes red.
"Then... then I'm not going to save Ace!"
"What are you saying? Squard, aren't you and Ace very close?"
Izo, the captain of the 16th division, asked in disbelief.
Squard turned his head, staring at him with red eyes, and hissed,
"Do you know why I'm called the 'Great Vortex Spider'? Before joining Pops, my Great Vortex Pirates were destroyed by Roger himself!"
"My comrades, everything I had was buried by Roger. And now you're asking me to risk my life to save his son? I... I can't do it!!!"
Ace was Ace, Roger was Roger.
No one tried to persuade Squard otherwise.
To encourage someone to be magnanimous is to invite divine wrath.
If your former comrades and everything you held dear were buried by one person, and then you were asked to risk your life to save his son, would you be willing to do it?
"It's alright, Squard, it's alright."
Whitebeard patted Squard's shoulder affectionately, saying in a loud voice,
"You are all my sons. Ace is, and so are you. Today, no matter who is captured for execution, I will go to save him. I will not force any of you to follow me on this path of certain death."
Squard turned around, staring blankly at Whitebeard.
There was no gloom on his face, only calmness and the paternal love of a father.
Now, standing here was not a captain, but simply a father willing to save his son.
Squard suddenly felt an immense self-loathing.
He had actually just thought that Whitebeard intended to sacrifice them for Roger's son.
After all these years together, didn't he know what kind of person their father was?
"Pops!!!"
Watching this touching father-son moment, Sabo awkwardly rubbed his nose, but still spoke up.
"Precisely because of this, we don't have to worry about the Marines prematurely harming Ace. He must be executed, and it must be done publicly, just like the Pirate King. This gives us an opportunity to act, but the prerequisite is that we must break through the Marine's heavy encirclement."
His face grew serious, and he said sternly,
"A large batch of Anaheim's latest weapons will be delivered to you through our channels. We've figured out his trade routes with Germa, so we can intercept high-lethality weapons from that ship. But that's still not enough. Besides the Marines, we also have to guard against the CP0 experts."
"Our leader will accompany you to Marineford, while the rest of the Revolutionary Army's main forces will join me in a surprise attack on Mary Geoise, drawing back CP0 and the Five Elders' attention, ensuring that only the Marines confront you.
And during this time, you must hold them off until our reinforcements fully arrive!"
"Just as you say." Whitebeard reached out to Sabo.
"It's a pleasure working with you!"
Sabo gripped the hand that was larger than his own arm, his face full of confident smiles.
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