Marineford.
The alarms sounded again, echoing throughout the fortress. The shrill sound cut through the air like an omen, and Sengoku's heart skipped a beat as he looked up at the sky. He took a deep breath, feeling the tension weigh heavily on his shoulders as he saw—once again—that damned screen forming between the clouds.
That bastard was doing it again.
He had barely contained the chaos caused by the exposure of the secrets of the Navy and the World Government, and Jason was already back in action. Since that day, the barracks had become a field of doubt and mistrust. The sailors questioned their own loyalty; some were horrified by the revelations. Others, extremists loyal to Sakazuki's faction, justified the crimes committed — the extermination of pregnant women and newborns — as "justice" and a "necessary sacrifice" to prevent the legacy of the Pirate King.
Sengoku looked out the window, silently.
"What is that boy going to do this time?" asked Tsuru, her voice firm but tired, from across the room.
Sengoku closed his eyes for a moment before answering.
"...I don't know. But whatever it is... it will shake the world once again."
His hair, once black, was already beginning to turn white—a reflection of the weight of each new crisis Jason caused.
And then, thousands of giant screens lit up around the world, floating above cities, ports, and villages. Unlike the first time, people did not despair. Now, it was almost a spectacle. Men, women, and even children gathered to watch, eating, drinking, and commenting on what Jason would do this time.
"Shut up! It's about to start!" said a customer in a bar on some island, with a mug of beer in his hand and a plate of snacks in front of him.
"Hehehe... it's fun to see someone sticking their finger in the World Government's face."
"Yeah, and look how strongly people are reacting. I bet this is going to change a lot of things from now on."
"Predict? Are you thinking you're an oracle now? Then tell me if I'm going to find money on the ground tomorrow!" laughed another, provoking laughter from the group.
But the jokes stopped when the screen in the sky finally came to life. A clear image appeared: a colossal bridge erected over an ice-covered island. Workers in tattered clothes and shackles were breaking rocks, dragging heavy chains in the bitter cold.
"I-is that...?"
"I don't know. I've never heard of that place."
"It's Tequila Wolf," replied an old man at the counter, his voice deep and calm. His eyes, however, shone with something between respect and bitterness.
"A World Government project to connect the islands of East Blue. It's been going on for over seven hundred years. And those who work on it are slaves—prisoners, pirates, and people from countries that refused to bow down to the Government."
He took a sip of his beer before continuing:
"If Jason is there... then something big is going to happen."
"How do you know that?" asked one of the customers.
The old man sighed and looked back at the screen.
"Watch... and the answer will appear."
Tequila Wolf —
The prisoners and guards looked up at the sky, waiting for Jason to act as if he were a divine judge.
"Inhabitants of Tequila Wolf."
Jason's voice echoed softly but piercingly — impossible to ignore.
"How many generations of you have died believing that pain was the price of obedience?"
"How many mothers have buried their children in this frozen snow, and how many children have learned to call chains 'life'?"
With each word, the air seemed to vibrate. The sound was like distant thunder that rekindled something inside each slave — a flame long extinguished.
"You build a bridge to the world... but for whom is that bridge?"
Jason's voice rose, resonating like the firmament itself.
"For yourselves? Or for those who live in golden cities and call your misery progress?"
Jason opened his arms and the golden light of the sun illuminated his body, making him look more than human.
"For centuries, the World Government has said that you are necessary. That you are tools. That you should be grateful for still breathing. But I say to you..."
His voice took on a heavenly tone, charged with power and restrained anger.
"...tools don't dream. Tools don't cry. Tools don't fight for freedom!"
His gaze swept across the horizon, resting on the crowd of slaves.
"You are not tools. You are humans. You are life."
"Every drop of blood that has fallen on this bridge will be returned... with interest."
Jason paused. His expression turned cold as steel.
"And to those who dare to call this slave justice... to those who whip and kill in the name of a flag..."
A black lightning bolt split the sky, and the ground shook. The ice beneath the slaves' feet cracked, as if the world were about to collapse.
"I have come to collect the price. And the price... is fear."
Silence fell over the place.
The air seemed to stand still.
Then Jason spoke again, his voice now deep and firm:
"Listen carefully, all of you—guards, slaves, and those watching from afar."
"Today, the whole world will see Tequila Wolf fall... not by my hand, but by yours."
Jason raised his hand.
Beams of golden energy shot out from his palm, like rivers of light, crossing the sky and plunging into the body of each slave.
Wounds closed. Bones mended. Weak hearts began to beat with a strength they had never known.
"Fight... and seize with your own hands the freedom that has been denied you!"
Jason's voice exploded like a roar, and that was the trigger.
The old man—the one who had barely been able to move before—was the first to rise. The fatigue disappeared from his body, replaced by a vibrant, almost divine energy.
He spread his legs, and the chains broke with a sharp snap.
Thuk.
The guard who always whipped him recoiled, trembling.
"N-no... back off! H-help!"
But it was too late. The old man advanced in a single step, and all the weight of his pain, anger, and years of humiliation condensed into his fist.
"FOR THOSE WHO DIED HERE!"
The punch hit the guard squarely.
BAM!
The man's head exploded like a rotten fruit, scattering blood and bones across the white snow.
The silence lasted only a second... before all the slaves began to scream.
Tequila Wolf's hell had become the stage for their first taste of freedom.
The whole world watched.
From every corner—islands, seas, and cities—people watched in awe as slaves, the lowest in the social hierarchy of all worlds, rose up and fought for their own freedom with their own hands.
They killed their tormentors, broke their chains, and destroyed the bridge that symbolized centuries of pain and submission.
The same bridge that had consumed thousands of lives now crumbled under the weight of the uprising.
Cries of liberation echoed throughout Tequila Wolf.
Guards, World Government agents, no one was spared.
The accumulated anger of generations exploded like a storm.
Soran watched everything with wide eyes, her heart racing.
She felt a mixture of relief, fear, and joy—emotions she had never experienced together before.
Was this real?
Was she finally being freed from slavery?
Could she finally fulfill her dream of drawing and seeing the islands of the world?
These thoughts propelled her to run with an energy she had never felt before.
She ran through the snow, dodging bodies, debris, and fire, heading toward her small house.
Luckily, Robin was already outside.
She had seen the screen in the sky and come out to understand what was happening.
When she heard Jason's speech and witnessed Tequila Wolf's liberation, Robin was silent for a few seconds.
But the moment she felt that energy coursing through her body—healing her wounds and renewing her strength—something inside her awakened.
The fighting spirit that had always accompanied her reignited like a living flame.
For a moment, Robin wanted to run with the slaves and destroy that cursed bridge with her own hands.
The symbol of slavery, oppression, loss of freedom—all of that had to disappear.
She looked up at the sky, seeing Jason's image enveloped in golden light, and murmured softly:
"So that's what he wants to do... destroy the chains of the world."
On the screen, Jason turned his face toward Robin and smiled, making her heart skip a beat. Jason may have just been looking to the side, but Robin felt like he was looking directly at her.
==
In the sacred hall of Pangea, the five elders watched everything from beginning to end. From Jason's speech to the liberation of the slaves, to the moment when the enraged captives killed every World Government agent present in Tequila Wolf.
The first to react was Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro.
"That boy again," he said, anger tightening his voice as he remembered the previous attack—an attack that was not only intended to injure the body, but to corrode certainties.
"He attacked a World Government facility and... showed it to the whole world!" His voice trembled between fury and disbelief.
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter clenched his fists, the veins in his neck bulging.
"It's not just a revolt... he's inspiring the rest of the world. Every word he says is a spark in a powder keg!"
Saint Marcus Mars, the Gorosei of the sword, leaned forward, narrowing his eyes.
"Jason isn't just seeking destruction. He wants to break the symbol. Tequila Wolf was the basis of obedience — and he challenges us on the concept, not just the territory."
Topman Warcury, always restrained, crossed his hands and exhaled slowly.
"The balance... has just been eroded. Slaves were the silent foundation of world order. If they realize they can fight and win, none of the affiliated kingdoms will remain under control."
Jaygarcia Saturn rose from his chair, his expression grim.
"Jason must be eliminated immediately. This... 'liberation' will be the beginning of an era of chaos. There is no way the world can return to what it was before."
He assessed the image of the enemy on the screen. The conclusion came quickly and relentlessly: the Navy alone would be no match. He needed overwhelming force.
"Should we make a Buster Call?" someone suggested, the proposal hanging in the room like a contained explosion.
"Against a flying enemy? Have you forgotten how the pirate Shiki, the Golden Lion, escaped just by flying?" commented another, remembering disastrous precedents.
Saturn smiled, but without humor. "Then let the risk come."
He slammed his open hand on the table, as if to engrave the phrase. "One of us must kill him. And that someone will be me."
The phrase fell like a whip. In Saturn's eyes there was something beyond determination: the certainty of someone who believed in his own immortality. He didn't see Jason as just a pirate to be hunted; he saw him as a personal affront that needed to be erased.
In the silence that followed, the other four elders exchanged glances. The coming war would not be just naval or political—it would be a collision between ancient orders and a man who set out to break them.
==
In Sabaody, at Shakky's bar.
Two men drank in silence, laughing and reminiscing about old times. The bar was quiet, with the sound of bottles and the aroma of Shakky's tobacco filling the air. Then, the sky above the archipelago lit up with the familiar projection—that huge screen that had become the new symbol of chaos.
The two looked up, but instead of being shocked, they smiled. For them, it was just another good show accompanied by beer.
"Hahahaha! So that's Jason!" laughed a man with a thick beard and lively expression, slamming his glass on the table. "What an amazing kid! I bet Captain Roger would have liked him!"
Rayleigh smiled, his gaze serene and nostalgic.
"Hehehe... you should meet him in person, Gaban. There's something different about this kid. When I talk to him, I feel like I'm talking to an elder. And the strangest thing..." He paused, swirling the beer in his glass. "...when I tried to sense his strength, I couldn't feel anything."
The two exchanged glances. They were Scopper Gaban, the "Mountain Eater," and Silvers Rayleigh, the "King of Darkness." The legendary companions of the former Pirate King.
Gaban leaned his elbow on the counter, curious.
"Hmm... then I'll have to meet him in person. Where has he been hiding these past few days?"
"Fufufu..." Shakky laughed, taking a drag on her cigarette and blowing out the smoke elegantly. "Gloriosa called me. She said he showed up in Amazon Lily right after leaving here. And from what she said, Jason won over none other than the Empress of the Kuja Pirates, Boa Hancock, and even her sisters."
Gaban choked slightly on his drink.
"He what?!"
Shakky continued, amused.
"What's more, it seems he managed to change the appearance of Sandersonia and Marigold. When I heard that, I became curious about his products. Imagine the profit if he decides to sell something like that."
Rayleigh let out a laugh.
"Hoh, so besides being a warrior, he's also a heartbreaker. I'm not surprised... he has the look of someone who already carries the world on his shoulders."
"Maybe the list of the world's beauties isn't just for show after all," Shakky commented with a smile. "There's even a woman from the giant race on his list."
"Ah, Gerd, doctor of the new giant pirates," replied Gaban. "Proud, strong... conquering a warrior from Elbaf is no task for just any man."
Gaban chuckled softly, taking another sip.
"Another human winning the heart of a giant... heh, I can't wait to see that happen."
But then, the mood changed. Rayleigh put his glass aside and looked at Gaban seriously.
"So... ready to enter the War of the Best?"
Gaban frowned, silent.
"As you saw, it's very likely that one of the Five Elders will come down from his throne to interfere—to eliminate Jason and ensure Ace's execution." Rayleigh spoke in a grave voice, his gaze steady. "This war will no longer be between Whitebeard and the Navy. It will be between the new and the old power."
Silence hung between them, broken only by the sound of bottles clinking behind the bar.
"In this war," Rayleigh continued, "the Navy and the World Government will do anything to win. They can't fail again. And we... we may not come out of it alive."
Gaban was quiet for a moment, staring at his drink. Then he smiled slightly.
"If we're going down, let it be on a day the whole world will remember."
Rayleigh laughed, that calm laugh of someone who has seen the world turned upside down more than once.
But in his eyes, there was something different—respect... and the certainty that the world was about to change.
Even so, a discomfort grew inside him.
For the first time in decades, Rayleigh felt his hands were tied.
It wasn't an opponent that worried him, but a decision—cold, logical, and completely possible.
What if the Navy executed Ace before his time?
The war that was supposed to begin with the execution of the Pirate King's son and end with the death of a Yonkou now had a new axis.
A wild card had appeared—Jason D. Winchester—and he had become the true epicenter of everything.
The man who exposed the secrets of the Navy and the World Government, who turned the world upside down with just one speech.
Rayleigh analyzed everything calmly.
The Navy could indeed kill Ace quietly, and the reasons were strong.
By doing so, they would avoid a large-scale war and prevent Jason from exploiting the situation.
They could eliminate a dangerous symbol and, at the same time, buy time to prepare a major coordinated attack between the Navy and the World Government — an attack directed solely at Jason.
But there was another side to it.
If Ace died before his time...
Whitebeard would not take it lying down.
Jason would not wait for a strategic meeting of the Goroseis.
And the revolutionary army, sensing the tide turning, would surely see this as a chance to bring down the system.
In that case, the early execution could become the trigger for something even worse:
an alliance between Whitebeard, Jason, the remnants of the Rogers, and the Revolutionary Army.
A group capable of setting the world on fire for good.
The Goroseis were at an impasse:
kill Ace now and face the combined wrath of monsters,
or continue with the War of the Best and maintain control of the stage and timing of the battle.
But above all this politics, there was something Rayleigh couldn't ignore:
the bitter feeling of helplessness.
Seeing his captain's son chained and at the mercy of the same men who once hunted Roger...
made his blood boil.
"Roger... the world you dreamed of is about to be born, but not as you imagined it."
Rayleigh thought, looking at the horizon, where the sky seemed heavier than ever.