"Hm???"
At the very instant the kick was about to land, a terrifying slash wrapped in black-red lightning tore through the air.
Forced to withdraw his light-speed kick, Borsalino scattered into photons just before the slash could hit his true body, retreating in a rare show of disorder.
"Divine Departure?"
That black-red slash did not stop there. It kept sweeping forward, smashing through the Navy's ranks and throwing them into chaos.
A chasm hundreds of meters long was carved across the ground of Marineford.
"That move... could it be Black Gun Ozz?"
"I knew he might turn against the World Government, but I didn't expect him to go this far to protect those brats."
The Marines whispered nervously among themselves.
"No..."
Borsalino rose from the ground and dusted himself off. The lazy, mocking look he usually wore was gone. In its place was a calm face dotted with cold sweat.
"Come on now... this has to be a joke. You died long ago, didn't you?"
He gathered light in his hand and stared into the smoke ahead.
"The man who should have died twenty-two years ago, the one who should be the least likely person to appear here, is now standing here in this form."
"If I didn't recognize that Haki and that presence, I'd think Ozz was pulling some absurd prank on all of us."
Everyone's attention was drawn by Kizaru's words. Those with keen Haki sense froze first, then their expressions changed violently.
Some even dropped to the ground, trembling.
"No way..."
"How is this possible?!"
Even Sakazuki, who had been hell-bent on killing the three brothers, turned toward the smoke with sweat on his face.
Then, from within the dust, an old man in a red captain's coat slowly emerged, carrying a black blade they all knew far too well.
And Borsalino spoke the man's name.
"As much as I hate to admit it, you really do seem to be..."
"Pirate King Roger."
At that moment, Whitebeard and Sengoku could no longer stay calm either. Their eyes widened as they stared at that all-too-familiar grin beneath those distinctive nose hairs.
"What kind of joke is this, Roger?!"
Sengoku shouted, his eyes bloodshot.
"You never died?! Roger, you bastard..."
Even Whitebeard looked shaken.
Weapons slipped from the hands of countless Marines. Some soldiers had gone numb with despair, while others looked close to madness.
"How many great pirates need to show up before this is over? Even the Pirate King, who died over twenty years ago, is here now..."
"Ahahahahaha!!!"
Roger, aged now, his hair completely white, bared his teeth in laughter as though their astonishment was the most natural thing in the world.
"Sengoku, Whitebeard, you old geezers turned into old men too, huh? Ahahahahaha!!!"
"Of course we're old, you idiot. It's already the year 1520 on the Sea Circle Calendar."
Despite being heavily wounded, Whitebeard looked oddly more spirited at the sight of Roger and even had the mood to joke.
"Forget that. Since you're still alive, get Ace and the others out of here first."
"You should take some responsibility for once, Roger."
"Someone already said that to me, Newgate."
Carrying the black blade, the now-elderly Roger walked over to the three brothers.
Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were completely stunned.
Ace most of all.
As he stared at that face, so similar to the one in the old legends and newspapers, only older, he froze.
By the time Roger reached him, he only then realized the man had already pulled him into an embrace.
"I'm sorry, Ace..."
Warmth spread across Ace's shoulder instantly. The sensation made his whole body go rigid, his thoughts stopping altogether.
He did not realize it was the warmth of tears.
"I was an unworthy father. Maybe you don't even want to acknowledge me as your father. Back then, I didn't realize how wrong I was, either."
"But... I love you, Ace."
...
A moment later,
the three brothers were running again.
With the hormone effect fading, Luffy was draped over Sabo's back. He looked toward Ace, who was running beside them.
Ace was streaming tears and snot, biting down so hard to stop himself from sobbing that his face looked twisted as he kept sprinting forward.
"Hey, Ace, was that really your dad, Pirate King Roger?!"
"If that's true, doesn't that mean I can't become Pirate King anymore?!"
"Be quiet, Luffy."
Sabo was just as shocked, but seeing Ace with tears pouring down his face, he knew now was not the time. He had no idea what the father and son had said in those brief moments, but Ace was clearly overwhelmed.
"Let's push through in one go and get out of Marineford."
"Don't think you're escaping!"
Sakazuki, never one for acting, immediately prepared to throw another magma fist, only for a black blade to block his fist head-on.
"You Navy brat, if you want to wipe out a sinful bloodline, then step over the corpse of me, the father, first!"
Hearing that, Sakazuki hesitated for a split second, then hurled his fist at Roger.
"I don't know how you survived, but if I kill you here, the dignity of justice will be restored to the greatest extent possible!"
"Great Eruption!!!"
"Divine Departure!!!"
Then...
thud, thud, thud...
Sakazuki spat blood and rolled across the ground.
"Wahahahaha!!!"
"Navy brat, if you want to beat me, send Garp and Sengoku instead!"
This elderly Roger, with his upper limit supplied by Ozz, was still operating close to his prime strength.
If even a half-dead Whitebeard could send people flying like that, then for Roger, it was no difficult feat.
And just then, an extremely excited, air-splitting red streak shot in from the distance.
It shone like a miniature sun, drawing everyone's eyes.
Whitebeard and Sengoku, still trading blows. Kuzan and Kizaru, still tied up against the Warlords. The Whitebeard Pirates. Akainu. The three brothers.
All of them felt an overwhelming pressure descend.
Only one man stood there with eyes blazing, his blade wrapped in violently condensed Conqueror's Haki, a grin of exhilaration on his face.
"I knew you wouldn't miss this, you bastard..."
A powerful old soldier, no longer showing a trace of the earlier hesitation, descended like a god. His fist burned with searing red light.
"Hey!!! Roger!!!!"
"Oh!!! Garp!!!!"
There were no extra words.
Only the excitement in their eyes, like that of old friends reunited.
"Divine Departure!!!"
"Fist Bone, Galaxy Impact!!!!"
Under the horrified gazes of all present, and despite everyone silently begging for it not to happen,
a nuclear-level explosion detonated in the center of Marineford.
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