"Your father's name… is Gol D. Roger! You are the son of the Pirate King—Gol D. Ace!"
As Fleet Admiral Sengoku's voice thundered through the air, silence fell.
The 100,000 assembled Marines stood frozen in the heart of Marineford.
At Sabaody Archipelago's plaza, an equally deep hush settled over the crowd.
A brief, suffocating stillness passed—
Then—
Boom!
At both Marine Headquarters and Sabaody Plaza, the crowd erupted into chaos.
"The Pirate King's bloodline… still lives on?!"
"That Fire Fist Ace is the Pirate King Roger's son?!"
"He's inherited the world's most evil bloodline, and he's alive—right here!"
"It's a good thing he's been captured! The son of the Pirate King would surely inherit his brutality."
"Ohohoho… an execution turning into the Pirate King's son—just like 22 years ago! This will be entertaining!"
"This is today's biggest news! Move, move!"
Beneath the central plaza, in the underground space, even the commanders of the Revolutionary Army couldn't keep calm.
"Ace… the Pirate King's son?"
Two years earlier, Sabo had whispered those words with disbelief, pain flickering across his face. Memories of past conversations with Ace came rushing back—moments when Ace had opened up to him completely.
"Ace, just wait for me… I'll definitely save you!"
Now, two years later, Sabo clenched his fist with steely determination.
Back at Marineford, Sengoku's speech pressed on:
"That is why, even if it means waging total war with Whitebeard, we will not hesitate!"
"Marines—prepare for battle!"
He thrust his hand upward.
"OOOHHH!!!"
The roar that answered him shook the bay like thunder.
Suddenly—
BWAAAA! BWAAAA! BWAAAA!
The sharp wail of the alarm split the air.
"They're coming!!!"
From the thick fog outside Marineford, the shadows of countless ships began to emerge—forty-three New World pirate crews allied with Whitebeard, their flags snapping in the wind:
The Bohemian Knight Doma, Thunder Lord McGuy, the Decalvan Brothers, the Maelstrom Spider Squad, the Ice Witch, and more.
Every single captain here was a notorious powerhouse in the New World, answering Whitebeard's call to war.
But then, in the very next instant, something no one had anticipated happened.
In the center of the crescent-shaped bay, a massive whirlpool began to form.
"It can't be… they're not planning to—"
Vice Admiral Tsuru's eyes widened.
"I see… their main ship is coated! They're invading the bay directly from underwater! Our formation is useless!" Garp's voice was grim.
And then—
With the Moby Dick at the lead, four colossal whale-shaped ships erupted from the depths of the sea.
The Whitebeard Pirates' Main Fleet had arrived.
On the bow, the man himself appeared—his crescent-shaped mustache like a white banner, his presence alone enough to fill the air with crushing weight.
The Strongest Man in the World, the Emperor who had ruled since the age of Rocks—Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
"Gurararara… it's been decades, Sengoku! My beloved son's been well taken care of, I hear!" Whitebeard laughed, his voice like a rolling earthquake.
From the execution platform, Ace bit his lip, emotions warring inside him—guilt, regret, but also an undeniable warmth.
"I acted recklessly… it's my fault! Why didn't you just abandon me?! I brought this on myself!"
"No… it was I who sent you," Whitebeard replied, his voice gentle yet firm. "I'm sorry, my son, for letting you take on such a dangerous task."
The division commanders' voices rang out one after another—Marco, Vista, Jozu—each declaring that no one who harmed Ace would escape their wrath.
The bay erupted with the war cries of forty-three pirate crews, their fighting spirit surging like a tidal wave.
The tension snapped—Whitebeard drove his massive bisento into the deck and clenched his fists.
A low, resonant boom rolled through the heavens.
And then—
CRACK… CRACK… CRACK!
The very air split apart, web-like fissures spreading from Whitebeard's fists. The sea itself recoiled, retreating in an impossible wall of water—
Until it came crashing back as towering tsunamis, hundreds of meters high, bearing down on Marineford from both sides.
"AOKIJI!!! NOW!!!" Zephyr bellowed.
Admiral Aokiji vaulted into the air, hands outstretched.
"Ice Age."
In an instant, the bay froze solid, the frozen tsunamis glinting like crystal mountains under the sun.
The war had officially begun.
Pirates surged forward—Whitebeard's division commanders clashing with the Marine Vice Admirals, the Seven Warlords moving into position.
Mihawk drew Yoru, sending a blade of emerald energy slicing across the battlefield toward Whitebeard—only for Jozu, in full diamond form, to deflect it skyward.
Kizaru's light rained down in a storm of golden beams, intercepted midair by Marco's blazing blue phoenix wings.
Akainu's magma fists obliterated a massive iceberg hurled toward the platform, raining molten destruction indiscriminately across the battlefield.
Amid the chaos, the ground shook with colossal footsteps.
Little Oars Jr., towering over even the giants, charged forward, cleaving warships apart with a single swing. His target—the execution platform where Ace was bound.
"Ace! I'll save you!"
But before he could reach it, Bartholomew Kuma appeared, unleashing Ursus Shock—a compressed air blast so powerful it tore a hundred-meter crater in the ice.
Even gravely wounded, Little Oars refused to fall—until Doflamingo severed one of his legs and Moria's shadow spear pierced through him.
The giant collapsed, his blood staining the ice.
---
Sengoku raised a Den Den Mushi to issue orders—
But a panicked voice shouted from the watchtower:
"Fleet Admiral! A ship—it's flying in the sky! The 48th ship of the Whitebeard Pirates is attacking from above!"
"What?!"
From the clear blue sky, a lion-headed ship descended into the battlefield.
Standing at its prow, arms crossed, a black coat billowing behind him, was a determined young man.
The Fifth Emperor of the Sea—Monkey D. Luffy—had joined the Summit War.